Clifford Henry Todhunter
Corporal
75th Battalion
From the Old World to the New
Bustling streets filled with a multitude of varying peoples greeted the curious pair of dark grey-blue eyes which gazed upon these new surroundings. Philadelphia was an exciting and new place for the 9-year-old Clifford Todhunter, who had just arrived with his family from Sussex, England in 1907. The famed land of the free was to be their new home, his father continuing on with his trade as an artist specializing in engraving, well his mother took up work as a housemaid. Together they provided a good childhood for Clifford, though an attachment to England always remained in his heart.
Opportunity abounded for the young immigrant family, Clifford watching as his 4 older siblings pursued various careers around North America. Yet he had the distinction of coming of age as war engulfed his birth country. Being just shy of 19, Clifford had taken up work as a machine-hand in Philadelphia, the entry of the U.S. into the war in April of 1917, proving the final straw for the English-born youth. That same month, he packed his bags and left for northern New York, crossing the U.S.-Canada border at Bridgeburg in the Niagara peninsula. Shortly thereafter, he appeared in a recruiting office in Toronto on April 23rd, where he enlisted with the local 255th Battalion. His lack of connection to Canada itself didn’t particularly matter as he was in the company of a number of Brits and Americans who had also crossed over to fight for the young country.
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Unimaginable Mud
Any visions of patriotism for the mother country or devotion to duty were soon clouded as the 19-year-old Clifford Todhunter and his fellow comrades in the 75th Battalion began their stint of work parties behind the line in Potyze, Belgium in October of 1917. Unending rain turned the Flanders clay into a viscous layer of mud, which made movement by both foot and vehicle excruciatingly painful. Their initial job was to try to form a suitable camp, which proved difficult as they were shelled by German artillery and bombed by airplanes (1). Such conditions wore on the men, with the Battalion historian noting they “never imagined there was so much mud in the world" (1). It was to their relief that they would be pulled back into the remnants of the city of Ypres for a brief respite from the giant slop pit (1).
On October 5th the men were excited to find that the famed Canadian Officer, Athur Currie, had inspected their Brigade and delivered high compliments (1). This was followed by orders to return to work parties in preparation for an upcoming assault, which they did begrudgingly (1). Once again Clifford and company were put back to work scraping the horrid mud to keep supply roads open and to prepare infrastructure for the assault. They had the unique displeasure of operating along the Zonnebeke road where some 2,000 dead horses and mules littered a narrow 4-mile stretch of ground (1). The revolting stench and consistent artillery bombardments they endured were only made justifiable by the success of the Canadian Corps, which took the town of Passchendaele. Clifford would get a firsthand look at what was left of this town as they were moved into the line, eventually directly in what was Passchendaele itself (1). Though not part of offensive actions, he lived under consistent German artillery barrage, which sometimes included poison gas (1).
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March to Amiens
Passchendaele mixed with stints in and out of the line the following year quickly molded the once youthful Englishman into a veteran soldier. He and his fellow Ontario comrades had spent months performing raids and rotations in various trenches without an advance taking place. During this time, they also had consistently trained when not in the line, molding them into soldiers of the highest caliber. On August 1st, the men noticed an exciting uptick in activity, with masses of trucks and tanks starting to converge towards the front (1). The following day, Clifford was unexpectedly ordered to pack his gear as the entire Battalion was put on notice for deployment. That very night they were loaded up on buses in the dark and hauled off, having no idea where they were headed and very little time to comprehend the rapid movement (1).
The trek proved constant with no news, though some veterans in the unit recognized the town of Doullens from their previous march there back in 1916 (1). Yet the secrecy of the operation was upheld, the constant drive only once disturbed by a bus cruising off the road due to its driver falling asleep at the wheel (1). Thankfully no one was hurt, the busses occupants having bailed from the moving vehicle, seeking shelter in a ditch or up a nearby tree (1). Those same occupants no doubt even missed their derelict driver the following days as they were plopped in a French village and ordered to carry on by foot. Miles of marching for multiple days wore on the men, who still had no idea where they were going.
On August 7th, their many questions were answered as the orders for a major attack at Amiens that was to take place the following day were revealed. Ammunition, grenades, and rations were quickly shoved into Clifford’s pack and web gear as the 5’2” soldier prepared once again to march. There was no time to pen a letter to his parents or to his brother Reginald who had joined up that June. He arrived with the Battalion near Bois-de-gentiles at midnight (1). His mixture of excitement and exhaustion somewhat stifled by the issuing of a rum ration, which was most enjoyed by all in the Battalion (1).
The minimal amount of sleep afforded to the boys of the 75th was quickly disturbed at 4:30am as an artillery bombardment was unleashed on the enemy (1). Clifford and the others were soon roused to their feet, following the 54th Battalion as they moved towards the front along the Roye Road (1). Their progress was slow as they attempted to navigate the masses of men, cavalry, tanks, and artillery, which were all trying to move towards objectives. Lines of prisoners and a general lack of enemy artillery fire bolstered the spirits of the lads as the trudged on to their staging area (1). As they moved through what was the frontline, the scenes of mud and trench were quickly replaced with untouched French countryside. A warm blue sky, lush green foliage, and undisturbed houses were a welcome sight (1).
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Le Quesnel
When the 75th finally made it to their staging area, the peace and serenity of the untouched landscape was quickly ruined by the all too familiar sounds of German artillery. Clifford and company settled in on their bellies as they clung to the open earth outside the town of Le Quesnel, which they were to capture (1). Their German adversaries had already settled in the picturesque town, unleashing a torrent of machine gun fire on anyone who dared to move forward. The 75th Battalion Officers made the decision to settle in for the night with the promise of artillery support the following morning.
The situation could only be quantified as ugly for the Battalion. The French had not be able to breakthrough on their right, they were outside of friendly artillery range with the exception of one battery, the supporting cavalry had been repelled, and their motor machine gun batteries could not advance (1). It was no surprise that the artillery volley given by friendly guns on the morning of August 9th was weak given the situation (1). Despite all these factors, the men still surged forward when given the order, any fear or apprehension being stowed away by Clifford as he joined the men in the vicious assault on the town. Heavy machine gun fire cut through their ranks as expected, but the Officers ensured the Companies of the Battalion stayed together. Initially they took the left end of the town, before fighting their way into the very heart of it. By 5:30 am, they had driven out the Germans completely, though the once untouched village was little more than a pile of rubble and some 136 men of the Battalion had become casualties (1).
Canada's Advance
The success at Amiens had propelled the Canadian Corps on a seemingly endless offensive. Weeks of intense fighting against prepared German positions turned Clifford into an expert soldier at 20-years-old, which was recognized with a promotion to Corporal in September. Only a handful of days later on the 29th of September, the young Corporal moved into position in a trench south of Haynecourt from where they were to jump off at (1). This attack never began as large caliber artillery smashed into the position causing a number of casualties (1). They subsequently withdrew to a farm and prepared to move out the next day with their objective being the “Cambrai-Dousi railway outing on the sunken road running South from Belcourt" (1).
At 6:00am, Clifford moved with rifle fixed in hand following a friendly artillery barrage towards the railroad cutting (1). The rounds from enemy artillery fell behind them, but the machine gun fire was active and deadly as many brave Canadians began to be cut down (1). A ferocious fight took place as the 75th lads weeded out the machine gun nests and secured the initial objective. From there they tried to support fellow Battalions as they pushed on, but were pinned down by more German machine guns. Their position became untenable with only one Company Officer remaining and they withdrew to the railroad cutting from where they fended off a German counterattack with rifle and Lewis gun fire (1). At 2:00 pm, the remaining 75th Battalion soldiers were pulled back to their original starting positions (1). Intelligence would later find out that the counterattack endured was meant to push the Canadians back across the Canal Du Nord but had been stopped cold (1).
October 1st saw the Battalion attempt to cobble itself back together (1). Men were missing and mixed in with other Battalions following the attack. Clifford, had been wounded in the left leg and his lower back. He was subsequently carried back to the 23rd Casualty Clearing Station where the medical professionals did their best to treat him. Despite these efforts, life would leave the dark grey-blue eyes of the brave volunteer as he passed from his wounds. He was subsequently buried in Duisans where his headstone reads “The Spring of Life He Willingly Gave in Humanity’s Cause His All.” A fitting tribute to a hero who journeyed so far to sacrifice for the Commonwealth.
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Sources:
(1) War diaries - 75th Canadian Infantry Battalion, Library and Archives of Canada, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Search?q=%2075th%20battaliuon%20war%20diraries
(1) War diaries - 75th Canadian Infantry Battalion, Library and Archives of Canada, https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Search?q=%2075th%20battaliuon%20war%20diraries