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Bernard Clayton was born in Ossett in late 1893, the fourth of five children born to John Henry Sims Clayton and his wife Hannah (nee Richardson) who married locally in 1882. In 1901, the family were living on Chancery Lane, Ossett and John Henry was a scale picker at a local colliery.
By 1911 John Henry, Hannah and two of their children: Bernard and Alice, had moved to 34, Woodbine Street, Ossett. John Henry was a rag grinder for a mungo manufacturer; Bernard worked as a mechanic and his sister, Alice, was a pyrotechnist working for Riley & Sons at Flushdyke, Ossett.
On the 31st August 1914, Bernard volunteered at Ossett and joined the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI). He was 20 years and 332 days old, had served an apprenticeship and was an engineering mechanic by trade. Bernard was 5’ 8” tall, 132 lbs in weight with a chest measurement 36½” with blue eyes, auburn hair and a fresh complexion. His pulse rate was 80 bpm and his physical development was rated as “good.” In fact, he was physically taller and heavier than the average 21 year-old in 1914 so would have been regarded as an ideal candidate for the British army.
Bernard Clayton’s religion was Wesleyan and he was passed fit for service at Pontefract on the 4th September 1914 and then transferred to the 7th Battalion KOYLI on the 12th September 1914. It was to be a short posting because on the 18th October 1914, he was discharged in accordance with Paragraph 392 (III)(c) of the King’s Regulations 1912. This section provided the Officer in Command (O.C.) to authorise and confirm the medical discharge of recruits, within three months of enlistment, those who were considered unfit for service. This required a further medical examination and provided for discharge without delay if circumstances were discovered which caused the O.C. to believe that the recruit was “not likely to become an efficient soldier.”
It was found that Bernard Clayton had an undescended testicle and he was deemed unfit for service. His address on discharge was 34, Woodbine Street, Flushdyke, the home of his parents John Henry and Hannah. His sister had married by this time and was recorded as Sarah Ellen Rayner of Queens Terrace, Ossett.
Bernard Clayton was amongst the first Ossett men to volunteer to serve his country in WW1 and these circumstances would have been very troubling for him and for his proud family. As a young man, he would have been required to return to work and in the coming years may well have faced accusations of cowardice from those who were unaware of the circumstances.
In many cases, where men had been discharged on medical grounds, the issue of the Silver War Badge (S.W.B.) and King’s Certificate to such men would often be sufficient a defence in the face of such cruel accusations. The sterling silver war lapel badge was intended to be worn in civilian clothes. It had been the practice of some women to present white feathers to apparently able-bodied young men who were not wearing the King’s uniform. The badge was to be worn on the right breast while in civilian dress, it was forbidden to be worn on a military uniform.
Bernard Clayton would not have been entitled to the King’s Certificate, which was restricted to men who had served overseas in a theatre of war, and were discharged on the grounds of wounds or illness. The Silver War Badge was authorised and introduced in September 1916. Almost half of the 2 million military personnel discharged from the armed forces during the war for illness or injury (including those who left before the award was instituted in 1916) applied to wear the SWB. No record has been found which indicates that Bernard Clayton applied for, or was awarded, the Silver War Badge. He did not qualify for the British or Victory War medals.
On the 4th August 1917, at the New Wesleyan Chapel, Wesley Street, Ossett, 23 year-old Bernard Clayton married Kate Isabel Burge, a 26 year old spinster living at Walton Place, Flushdyke. Bernard’s occupation was a metal turner’s mechanic and his given address was High Street, Saxilby, Lincoln. His father was named as John Henry Sims Clayton. Kate Burge worked as a moulder at a doll manufacturers.
Bernard’s address at Saxilby, a Lincolnshire village, 6 miles north-west of Lincoln, suggests that he may have moved away from Ossett in the hope of avoiding uninformed confrontations. Bernard Clayton, aged 25 years, died at 37 Spalding Street, Leicester on 14th November 1918, three days after the Armistice was signed. His death certificate indicates the cause of death as broncho pneumonia (probably Spanish Flu) and his rank or profession was described as an engineer’s turner and “ex Private King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry”. His wife, Kate I. Clayton was present at his death.
Bernard Clayton was not remembered by name in the ceremonial programme for the November 1928 unveiling of the Ossett War Memorial, but he does appear on the Roll of Honour of the New Wesleyan Chapel, Wesley Street Ossett. His name and address, Private Bernard Clayton, 34 Woodbine Street, Kitchener’s army, also appears in the Ossett Observer Roll of Honour published on 24th December 1914. His army service confirms that he was an early volunteer and thereby made more effort than many men to serve his country. Through no fault of his own, he had a different sort of War to most men, but it would still have been a troubling and very difficult time.
Bernard’s widow, Kate Isabel (nee Burge), born March 1891, appears not to have re- married. In 1939 Kate I Clayton was a widow and foster mother living at St. Leonard’s Road Bradford. Her 1939 household recorded eight more names, three of which were redacted. The remaining five names are of children aged between 4 years and 12 years. Kate Isabel Clayton, a 74 year old widow of 66 Kensington Street Bradford, died at Bradford Royal Infirmary on 30 Jan 1966. Kate had no children of her own. Her estate was valued at £1279.
Unsurprisingly in the circumstances Bernard Clayton does not appear to have been commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. His name was remembered on the Roll of Honour of the New Wesleyan Chapel, Wesley Street Ossett and consequently he is remembered by his engraved name at the Ossett War Memorial in the market place.
