FROM THE VIDEO ARCHIVES: ST ANDREWS CHURCH, ECCLES PART 2 - THE ARTHUR HANDLEY CLAYTON WINDOW

Arthur Handley Clayton was born on the 15th August, 1892 and was baptised in All Saints Church, Horton Bradford, West Yorkshire, his parents were Henry and Lily Clayton. 

The 1901 census shows the family residing at 2 Bindloss Avenue, Eccles with Henry Senior's occupation being a financial clerk, by 1911 they were residing at "Redclyffe", Sandwich Road, Eccles, this was an affluent area of Eccles and the family had a domestic servant, Emily Lawrence. 

The Eccles and Patricroft Journal dated Friday 7th March 1915 tells us more about the life and death of young Arthur Handley Clayton. 

He was educated at the Eccles and Manchester Grammar schools and entered a career with Messrs Edward Sassoon, Indian Merchants with a view to to taling up an appointment abroad. 

When war broke out he was among the first to volunteer and on the 4th September 1914 he left for the Rifle Brigade Depot at Winchester. He was posted to the 12th Brigade and underwent his training on Salisbury Plain where he gained rapid promotion. 

On the 20th July 1915 he proceeded to France with his regiment and immediately took over trench duty. In the Loos attack the Rifle Brigade lost heavily, they held captured trenches for half a day against great odds and when they retired Clayton had been wounde first in the arm and then in the leg. 

Out of the 1,000 who went into fight only 462 of the Rifle Brigad answered the roll call afterwards, Clayton was amongst those reported missing, communications with comrades in the German prisons have left no hope that he is a prisoner and there appears to be little doubt that he was killed in the retirement on September 25th. 

Arthur Handley Clayton was awarded the Victory and 1915 Star Medals, his name is inscribed on panel 10 of the Ploegestreet Memorial, Commines-Warneton, Haimaut, Belgium. 

The England and Wales national Probate Calendar shows that he left £45 5s 6d to his father Henry Clayton. 

What a sad story and the waste of a life of a young man with the whole world ahead of him, who chose to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country and aged only 23, so if you visit St Andrew's church, take time out to have a look at his memorial window and reflect upon his short life. 

This article was first published on SalfordOnline on the 28th of February 2012, it is loving recreated here courtesy of renowned local old window specialist, Tony Flynn, with help from young Tom Rodgers on Video and the Ukulele.