Arthur Clayton

Arthur went to Derby and enlisted into the Sherwood Foresters. At some point he transferred into the Royal West Kent Regiment whose 7th Battalion had been sent to France in July 1915 . They were involved in trench warfare, including the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and like other battalions they suffered massive casualties and needed drafts from Britain. He arrived in France around April 1917. Arthur made his second transfer of the war into the Labour Corps. In early 1918 they were being strengthened with men from shattered battalions and people returning from injury. Their units were often used as an emergency infantry and were deployed for work within range of enemy guns. They always suffered from a lack of transport and had many inexperienced officers. On 26th July 1918, under the heading Scotter, the ‘Gainsborough News’ reported:- ‘The sad news reached the village at the beginning of last week that Pte. Arthur Clayton, youngest son of Mr. Geo Clayton had died of pneumonia in France. Pte. Clayton, before joining up, was in the service of Mr Smith, of Carlton Hall, Worksop, with whom he had been a highly esteemed servant of upwards of fifteen years. Pte. Clayton had been in France about fifteen months and he leaves a widow and one child to mourn his loss.' He died at the 35th General Hospital and is buried at Les Baraques Military Cemetery in Sangatte near Calais, France.

Research by Colin Dannatt