Private (Drummer) Fletcher Clough

Service Number: 1837

1st/5th Bn. East Lancashire Regiment

Died of Wounds Received in Action 9th June1915, aged 16

Son of Henry & Annie Clough, 158 Cleaver Street, Burnley

From the Burnley Express dated 30th June1915: BRAVE BURNLEY BOY  - A DRUMMER’S GREAT ENTHUSIASM

Mr and Mrs Clough, of 158 Cleaver Street, Burnley received official notification on Saturday, of the death from wounds, of their eldest surviving son, Drummer Fletcher Clough, of the 1st/5th East Lancashire Regiment. The lad joined the Territorials a few months before the outbreak of war, and celebrated his 16th birthday in the trenches at the Dardanelles. When he first joined he was a Bugler, but the official notification describes him as a Drummer, so he must have had a step up while away on active service. Though one of the youngest members of the Battalion, he was so keen on his soldiering that he was among the first to volunteer for foreign service. His parents were present when volunteers for Foreign Service were asked for, and afterwards he said to his mother, “You won’t claim me out, mother, will you?”.  As a result of his persistency and the country’s need for soldiers, his parents decided not to claim him out. While in Egypt he wrote home telling his parents to let his brother Albert, who is only 12, also go as a Bugler. Albert attempted to enlist, and much to his disappointment he was told he was too young. His father has also joined a Company of the 5th Battalion East Lancashire Territorials, which have been training in Burnley. The young Drummer, as soon as he heard his father had enlisted, wrote home expressing his pleasure at hearing the news. He was a nice lad, and greatly liked by those who knew him. He was formerly employed as a weaver at Messrs West’s Browhead Shed.

Buried in East Mudros Military Cemetery, Greece:  I. C. 56.

Commemorated on Burnley Lads' Club Memorial