Clifton Inglis Stockwell (1879 – 4 December 1953) was a British soldier who served as Brigadier-General of the 164th Infantry Brigade of the British Army between 1916 and 1919. In December 1914, he was a British officer who agreed a Christmas truce football match with a German officer.

Early life

Clifton Inglis Stockwell was born in 1879, the eldest son of the late Colonel C. de N. O. Stockwell of the Lincolnshire Regiment.Obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', ''BRIG.-GEN. C. I. Stockwell'', ''Four Years Fine Service in the Trenches'', 5 December 1953, p.8"Stockwell, Brig.-Gen. Clifton Inglis"
'' Who's Who and Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2016, online edition, accessed 13 December 2020 : "Born 1879; es of late Colonel C. de N. O. Stockwell, Lincolnshire Regiment." He was educated at Haileybury and then trained at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

Military career

After Sandhurst, Stockwell was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and served with his battalion in China and India. In September 1914, soon after the commencement of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he saw active service with the 2nd Battalion at the

first Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated a ...

. In December 1914, he was serving on the Belgian border at Frelinghien and was the British officer who agreed a Christmas truce football match with the German officer on the other side, Baron Maximilian von Sinner. The two also had a Christmas drink together. Stockwell recorded the experience in his extant diary now held by the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Stockwell continued to command the A Company of the 2nd Battalion until March 1915, when he transferred to command the A Company of the 1st Battalion. In command of his company, he captured Canadian Orchard at the

Battle of Festubert The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

in May 1915, and for this he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the DSO. The citation for the DSO reads: In September 1915, he was made Brigade-Major of the 59th Infantry Brigade and was once again mentioned in despatches on 1 January 1916. In February 1916 he was given command of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers where he was responsible for several attacks: Fricourt on 1 July 1916, Triangle Trench on 4 July 1916, Bazentin-le-Petit on 14 July 1916, Delville Wood and Ale, Hop and Beer Alleys on 14 August 1916 and the attack on Guinchy on 3 September 1916. He was again mentioned in despatches in July 1916. Stockwell was later appointed to command the 164th Infantry Brigade,

55th (West Lancashire) Division The 55th (West Lancashire) Division was an infantry division of the British Army's Territorial Force (TF) that saw extensive combat during the First World War. It was raised initially in 1908 as the West Lancashire Division. Following the out ...

. He led his brigade during an attack on the Gord Line and

Gueudecourt Gueudecourt () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History During the Battle of the Somme, the town of Gueudecourt had represented one of the most distant objectives for the British drive that opened on ...

on 27 September 1916. He was mentioned in despatches in January 1917 and led his brigade in the Battle of Passchendaele and the Battle of Cambrai. He was again mentioned in despatches and awarded the CMG in January 1918. Stockwell remained in command of the 164th Infantry Brigade and successfully held Givenchy taking 700 prisoners in April 1918, and was again mentioned in despatches. He commanded a surprise attack on Givenchy in September 1918 and captured the enemy position and pursued the retreating enemy from

La Bassée La Bassée () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Personalities La Bassée was the birthplace of the painter and draftsman Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845). Another native was Ignace François ...

to Tournai and in the forcing of the Haute Dendre Canal. On 9 November 1918 he organised a mobile column known as ‘Stockwell's Force’ which reached a point a mile from

Enghien Enghien (; nl, Edingen ; pcd, Inguî; vls, Enge) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1January 2006, Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is , which gives a population de ...

on the day of the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

. He was made CB and again mentioned in despatches. Stockwell was later Commandant of the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum, and Commander of the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade, Ahmednagar, between 1930 and 1931.

Family life

In 1908, Clifton Stockwell married Hilda Rose Westmorland, who predeceased him. By his first wife, who was a sister of Percy Thuillier Westmorland, he had one son and two daughters. In 1944, Stockwell married secondly, Madeline, the widow of Lt-Colonel W.C. Critchley-Salmonson. Stockwell died on 4 December 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockwell, Clifton Inglis 1879 births 1953 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College British Army generals of World War I Commandants of the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum Participants of the Christmas truce of 1914 Royal Welch Fusiliers officers British Army brigadiers