Hedworth Clemson – Royal Corps of Signals

Signalman Hedworth Clemson – Royal Corps of Signals

Birth and Family Background

Hedworth Clemson

Wilfred Henry Clemson and Louisa Stock
marriage certificate
All Saints’ Church, Oystermouth

Hedworth Clemson was born in 1915 at Norton. He was the son of Wilfred Henry Clemson and Louisa Stock, who were married in 1911 at All Saints’ Church, Oystermouth.

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the Clemson family living at Limekiln Road, Norton, Mumbles. Wilfred Clemson (40), born in Staffordshire, was employed as a motor driver in the oil trade, working for Shell-Mex Ltd at Hafod, Swansea. His wife Louisa (42) undertook household duties, and their son Hedworth (6) was attending school.

There is no known entry for Hedworth Clemson in the 1939 Register.

Military Service

Hedworth Clemson served in the British Army as a Signalman with the Royal Corps of Signals, attached to the 18^th Divisional Signals, and saw active service in the Far East, including operations in Singapore.

On 13^th February 1942, the 18^th Divisional Signals were engaged in the final stages of the Battle of Singapore, as British and Commonwealth forces struggled to contain the rapid Japanese advance across the island. The role of divisional signal units was critical, maintaining communications between headquarters and front-line units under constant air attack, artillery bombardment, and ground assault.

Signalmen worked in extremely dangerous conditions, repairing damaged telephone lines, operating wireless sets, and carrying messages by hand when communications failed. As Japanese forces broke through defensive positions, roads were cut, units became isolated, and communications were repeatedly severed. During this period, many signalmen were killed in action, overrun while carrying out their duties, or captured, contributing to the high number of men initially reported as missing.

Missing, Prisoner of War, and Death

Evening Despatch

South Wales Daily Post

Following the Fall of Singapore on 15^th February 1942, Hedworth Clemson was reported missing. An appeal regarding his whereabouts was placed by an aunt in the Birmingham Evening Despatch, and a subsequent report in the South Wales Daily Post stated that he had reported missing.

South Wales Daily Post

It was not until 1946 that a further article in the South Wales Daily Post reported that his parents had officially received intimation that Signalman Hedworth Clemson had been killed in action on 13^th February 1942, during the fighting in Singapore.

Burial

Hedworth Clemson
Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore
credit - findagrave

Signalman Hedworth Clemson is buried at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore, where many Commonwealth servicemen who died during the fighting and subsequent captivity in the Far East are laid to rest.