A CRIMEAN V.C. WITH NEW ZEALAND LINKS

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 28002, 23 June 1956, Page 5

A CRIMEAN V.C. WITH NEW ZEALAND LINKS

_ Clifford. V.C. His Leiters and “Sketches irom the Crimea. Michael Joseph. 288 PP-

Several New Zealand holders of the Victoria Cross have gone to England join in the centennial functions held to commemorate the founded this most coveted honour. Joong the first Englishmen to earn . award was Henry Clifford, whose ■Trters and sketches are now presented to the public for the first time. Al•\ough his citation only appeared in ± London Gazette of February 24. Henry Clifford was raally awaripd the Victoria Cross for me conSjcuous courage he showed in the £.+l6 of Inkerman which was fought f n November 5. 1854. This gal’ant soldier has a special interest for New Zealanders, quite apart from the very ijsiderable interest of his letters, swings and paintings. He was the rtusin and very close friend of Sir Frederick Weld, the Premier of New Zealand, 1864-65, and also the close Ration of Sir Charles and Sir George Clifford. It is perhaps worth recording that Henry Clifford. Frederick Weld and Charles Clifford were all educated at Stonyhurst. the beautiful mansion-house of the Shireburn family which Thomas Weld, grandfather o’f Frederick, handed over to the Jesuit fathers in 1794 for their use as a school when they had to flee from the French Revolution. The name “Stonyhurst” was. of course, given to one of the two sheep stations which Weld and Charles □ifford owned as partners. The name would also appear to have been appropriately perpetuated by the Canterhiry Jockey Club at its New Zealand Cun meeting. The introduction to this interesting book is written by General Sir Bernard Paget and a biographical note has been supplied by Cuthbert Fitzgerald. Henry Clifford’s grandson, who has also acted as editor of the letters. The letters themselves are sufficiently detailed and written so regularly as to make editorial comment practically raperfluous. The family tree w’hich is given shows the descent of Henry Clifford and the New Zealand Cliffords from Hugh. 3rd Lord Clifford of Chudleigh. Actually, the New Zealand branch of the family does not come in for more than an occasional mention—as for example. “My father writes most wonderful letters to me—about taking up half Rome for the accommodation of the George Cliffords who. tho’ the brothers are in New Zealand and Confiance and Francesca are not likely to move from Boulogne without them. ...” But the vivid and frank descriptions of conditions and of battles in the Crimea constitute the main attraction of this book.

Henry Clifford was a courageous officer, and a fine leader of men. He had a sense of humour as well as a angularly able pen. He wrote, irrespective of the physical conditions, long letters to his familv about his ex-, periences in the battles of Alma and Inkerman and at the siege of Sebastopol. In addition, he painted a series of pictures in the Crimea, many of which are reproduced in this book. But this brief outline gives no idea of the quality of the letters which soldiers and general readers alike will find to bp of considerable interest.

In addition to bein': a keen observer and an able soldier, the writer of these letters was a devout Catholic. Those who believe with Lord Montgomery of Alamein that religion can be of firstrate importance in building and maintaining the morale of the soldier will find their views strongly confirmed in this book. Time and again Clifford refers to the importance of the visits of the priests and other ministers of religion to the soldiers, especially in the front line. Quite naturally he writes “Religion is the only thing that can, 1 think, make a man truly composed and cool under fire. The other day I felt no more out of my element in front of the redoubt at Alma than on parade. I felt all was in the hands of God. 1 said my prayers and offered up my

life if it was His Will it should be taken away, but He has left me to be grateful for my safety.” That this was no passing mood, but a deeply ingrained spirit is shown by later letters

wnieh stress the same point. “I feel religion is my greatest comfort, and -iyes me courage in danger." “T>ll the bishops to send us out more priests and young healthy, active men. Our soldiers will fight twice as well if they have priests with them.” Of course, as a Clifford the writer could not omit to mention his horses . . Cn board our horses were a ver» 2F eat an xietv to us and tho’ we got them here all right it was only bv the greatest care and trouble.” “A number of horses have died during the late bad weather: I have got a sort of wall made of st"ne and mud round mine; and they are doing well ” Some of Clifford’s b-st sketches show horses m action. For example, there is the Bashi Bazouk on his flying Ar;-b and there are several of cavalry in action. Possibly the drawing of “All that remains of the Transport for th Light Division.” which shows two dead horses in the snow with four mtserable near-skeletons standing ready to drop, is the one which shows best how trying were the conditions in the Crimea for the animals. But men suffered as well as animals Clifford does not snare those responsiole for poor administration and various letters could be quoted to show how keenly he felt, on behalf of his men. the late arrival of warm clothing or the inadequate ambulance and hospital arrangements. The mud in winthe dust and flies in summer, the filth everywhere, the numbers who died from unattended wounds—although Clifford deals in sometimes qu’te picturesque language with all these matters, he also shows that the

men could still joke and make an effort to keep each other's spir'ts up lhe arrival of “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens tempts him to write about “Hard Times” in the Crimea, where sentries were sometimes found frozen to death and~ the mud was knee to thigh deep. Perhaps he exaggerated when he wrote about the harbour at Balaclava, from which he anticipated trouble when the warm weather returned. “It is composed of a little sea water, half choked by dead nurses dead men, dead mules, dead oxen . the filth of an Army with its hospitals runs into it, rotten hay, rotten biscuits, rotten meal and cargo of every description lost in the storm.” Written tents, huts and the battlefields themselves, these letteis have been recommended to the reading public by the Book Society. They certainly give an authentic and stirring picture of life during the Crimean war. Most winners of the Victoria . Cross have been reticent and probably General Clifford, as he later became, was guarded in h’s statements to those outside his family. In these letters, published 100 years after they were written, we are admitted to th* 1 family circle of an early V.C. and given as vivid a picture of the war Clifford saw and fought as one could wish to have.