Born on the 28th May 1917, the birth being
registered during the June quarter 1917 in the
Tamworth R.D. - ref: 6b/671, the son of Robert
Millard & Alice Maria Clayton (nee Crooke).

1939  National Registration - 25 York Road,
Birmingham.   Robert M. Clayton - born: 11th
January 1870 - occ: Retired Assurance Agent.  
Alice M. Clayton - born: 12th February 1874 - occ:
Unpaid Domestic Duties.   Eric J.B. Clayton -
born: 28th May 1917 - occ: Dairyman's Clerk.

One of 12 Royal Engineers from 1 Engineer, Supply
Base Depot killed when a H.E. bomb landed on the
Royal Artillery Officers Mess on Hyde Road,
Ardwick where they were billeted.  Eleven of them
were killed outright, but the 12th survived, only
to be killed when he went back into the building
to search for his buddies when the remains of the
building collapsed onto him.  His body was not
recovered until the following day.

In total only nine bodies were recovered, but the
remains of three of them were never found and, in
consequence they have no known graves - their
deaths were not registered until September 1941.

Eric was one of those whose body was not recovered
and his death was registered during the September
quarter 1941 in the Manchester R.D.- ref: 8d/311 -
aged: 24.

CWGC - Son of Robert Millard Clayton and Alice
Maria Clayton, of Hall Green, Birmingham.

Due to the military losses, the war-time Censors
did a fine job with this incident and it was
'hushed up' at the time.  So fine a job did the
authorities do, that until recently the local
studies libraries had no knowledge of the
incident, not even the Royal Engineers Museum at
Chatham knew anything about it.   Their names were
as follows:-

Benjamin Harry BROUGHTON
Eric John Berkley CLAYTON
Leslie DANES
William Reginald DEAKIN
George Wilfred HIMBURY
James Bird HODGSON
Charles C. HOLMAN
William Hugh MILLER
Isaiah MOSS
Henry William Abram ROBERTS
Jack Edward SHELDRAKE
Dennis Henry Wilfred THAYER