PARSONS, Clifford

Clifford Parsons was the son of Mr and Mrs N. Parsons of 13 Bloomfield Street, Halesowen, and attended Halesowen C of E school. He enlisted in the Worcesters and went to the 1/7th Territorial Battalion who had suffered heavy losses in the 1916 Battle of the Somme. In 1917 they came into the front line for the October battles of Third Ypres. At great cost the German troops had been pushed back some way towards Passchendaele and on the 9th October the Battle of Poelcappelle began the next phase. A mile to the south of the village and in pouring rain and deep mud the Worcesters attacked at dawn. They made initial progress but the conditions prevented mobility. Among those killed in action was Private Clifford Parsons who was 19 years of age and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot, Halesowen and Halesowen C of E school Memorials.