Holmes, Clifford - Private

(No soldier photo available)

9th. Bn.

Durham Light Infantry

Died 21 January 1945

Age 24

The 9th. Durham Light Infantry landed in France on D-Day, June 1944. By January 1945 they were advancing towards the River Roer and Germany itself. As they reached the village of St Joost, 13 Platoon came under exeptionally heavy shelling and mortar fire. A few survivors, including Private Clifford Holmes, sheltered in a building. Pte. Webster later described how German civilians spotted them. "Within half an hour a German tank came. Our artillery started firing. A shell hit the roof - I heard groans each side of me - Holmes and Clarke. Cliff Holmes asked me for water. The Germans then opened up with tracers and in this loft, full of flames and smoke, Holmes and Clarke passed

Clifford was the elder son of Maria and the late John William Holmes. He was aged 24. He attended George Street Mission Church, where he was Sunday School Secretary. Before he joined the Army in May 1940, he worked for Mr. J. McIntyre, Painter and Decorator.

Clifford's remains were buried in Nederweert War Cemetery, Holland. The cemetery contains 362 casualties from the battlefields in the area. Clifford lies in Plot 3, Row B, Grave 9.

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The following information was compiled by Henk Penders, Dieteren, The Netherlands. 

CUT OFF! 13 PLATOON ‘C’ COMPANY 9TH DLI

The men ‘lost’ in the ‘C’ Company advance met many different fates this is just one of them and was based on an account by 1496288 Pte Sidney Webster. Pte Webster stated his group consisting of himself, 14669718 Pte Anthony Thomas Clarke4462019 Pte Clifford Holmes 5437939 Pte W J McCarthy and 4277192 L/Cpl A D Wear were all part of No 13 platoon. They had taken shelter near some outbuildings which they believed to have been part of their units objectives.As they hugged the shadows a noise was heard from within the buildings, one of the ‘Durhams’ threw a hand grenade into the building silencing the ‘occupants’ who had been a group of horses which had been stabled there for the night! The ensuing commotion drew concentrated fire but Webster‘s small group managed to escape in the darkness and took refuge in a hayloft with the intention of lying low and slipping away when the opportunity arrived. The straw was warm and the group were glad to be out of the bitter cold and took the joint decision to spend the night in this building.Early next morning they were awoken by the noise of shells as the British resumed their bombardment their luck at this point ran out when they were discovered by German civilians who raised the alarm. Webster looked out of the window and saw a German TigerTank approaching .The German‘s were firing into the loft setting fire to the straw and wounded 5437939 McCarthy in the arm/hand, McCarthy had been wounded previously at Lingevres on the 14th June 1944 . A shell, German or British, hit the building collapsing the walls and roof onto the occupants Webster,Clarke and Holmes were partially buried and it was L/Cpl Wear who cleared the debris from them. Pte Holmes could not feel his legs and was asking for water.Cpl Wear told the group they needed to surrender to get help for Holmes and Clarke, Clarke according to Cpl Wear had almost had it, blood from the pair was all around them. Webster, McCarthy and Wear busied themselves looking for rags to bind their comrades wounds but the Germans opened up again with tracer rounds re-igniting the straw. In the smoke and flames of the collapsed loft Clarke and Holmes died. Webster, Wear and McCarthy were taken prisoner but taking advantage of the confused situation managed to return to the British lines. Webster hid in a water tank and slipped away once the Germans had gone. How and when McCarthy and Wear returned to the British lines is not yet known.

Photo: thanks to Henk Penders