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2nd Lieutenant Clive William NEELY
14th (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) attached to the 6th (Service) Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment Date of birth: 8th April 1886 Date of death: 20th June 1916 Died aged 30 Buried at Amara War Cemetery Plot XIV Row B Grave 35
William Neely was born at “Dellcot”, Elmfield Road, Bromley in Kent on the 8th of April 1886 the eldest son of William Neely, a stationer, and Clare Rebecca (nee Cope) Neely of Ruxley House, 157 Widmore Road Bromley. He was educated at Quernmore School, Bromley and at Lancing College where he won an Exhibition and was in School House from September 1900 to December 1902. On the 29th of March 1902 he won four school prizes. He served as a Lance Corporal in the Officer Training Corps and was a member of the Shooting VIII in 1902, representing the school at Bisley in the same year. He was appointed as a Prefect in September 1902. On the 4th of October 1904 he was articled to Messrs Gerard Van Der Linde. On the 9th of December 1908 he passed his final examinations and was admitted as a Certified Accountant in 1909. He served for a time with the 4th County of London Yeomanry (King's Colonials) and on the 18th of April 1908 he enlisted as Private Sq/149 in the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps. He resigned from the Corps on the 17th of April 1909. In April 1910 he accepted a position with the firm of Messrs Harrison Crosfield, Chartered Accountants of Kuala Lumpur and he arrived in Singapore on board the SS "Assaye" on the 20th of May 1910. While he was in Malaya he was active on the social circuit and served for a time as Hon Secretary of the Selangor Golf Club. He was received into the Catholic faith on the 4th of April 1914. He also served as a Lance Corporal in the Malay States Volunteer Rifles before being commissioned in the Federated States Volunteer Force. On the outbreak of war he decided to return home to seek a commission and on the 17th of March 1915 a farewell dinner was held for him and Mr Atkin-Berry at the Masonic Hall, Kuala Lumpur. In attendance were fellow members of the Selangor Golf Club and the Malay States Volunteer Rifles. He left for England on board the SS “Medina”, on a passage which was paid for by the Singapore Government and arrived at Tilbury on the 17th of April 1915. He applied for a commission from his parent's home on the 24th of April 1915, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 14th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) on the 6th of May 1915 and was posted to Worcester College, Oxford for officer training on the 11th of May. On the 10th of June 1915 he was posted to Purfleet and he was posted to Hythe on the 20th of June 1915. He returned to Purfleet on the 26th of June and was posted to Shoreham on the 20th of September 1915. He served for a time as the Adjutant of a Young Officers Corps. On the 1st of October 1915 he became engaged to Miss Ruby McAuliffe and came home for a week’s leave on the 30th of October. He embarked for Gallipoli on the 14th of November 1915 and landed at Suvla on the 1st of December 1915 where he was attached to the 6th Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. He lost all his kit during the journey and his parents sent out replacements. During his short time at Gallipoli he served in the trenches at Green Hill and Chocolate Hill before his battalion was evacuated from the peninsular between the 15th and the 20th of December after which they were reunited at Lemnos which they left on the 20th of January 1916 on board the SS "Ascanius". They landed at Alexandria and then moved to the Suez Canal where they landed on the 25th of January 1916 and were deployed in its defence. At 3.45pm on the 13th of February 1916 Clive Neely embarked with his battalion on board the transport ship "Corsican" at Port Said and disembarked at Basra on the 6th of March. From Basra the battalion sailed up river in river boats arriving at Sheik Saad on the 11th of March. On the 5th of April 1916 the battalion was involved in a successful attack on Turkish positions at the Hannah Defile as part of the attempted relief of General Townshend's garrison at Kut. He assumed the duties of Acting Adjutant for his battalion on the 10th of April 1916. On the 25th of May 1916 he wrote his last letter home saying that he was well. Following an eighteen mile march he was admitted to the 39th Field Ambulance at Sheikh Saad suffering from heat stroke. He died there of jaundice. His father received the following telegram dated the 27th of June 1916:- "Deeply regret to inform you report received from Basra states Lt. C.W. Neely died from jaundice 20 June 1916. The Army Council express their sympathy". On the 23rd of June 1916 Captain W.F. Cragg wrote:- “I myself, when I was commanding this regiment, thought so highly of his abilities that I sent his name in for promotion and he would doubtless have very soon got his captaincy as well.” He wrote again on the 20th of September:- “I am sure I must have told you what a splendid soldier he was and of his devotion to duty. I made several recommendations for promotion when I was commanding and I put him at the head of the list.” He is commemorated on the war memorial at St John the Evangelist Church, Bromley. His brother, 2nd Lieutenant Hugh Bertram Neely OL 1st Battalion Suffolk Regiment, died of wounds on the 25th of April 1915.

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