British Army Veterinary Corps
Alfred Henry CLAPP
Lieutenant
Died 15 May 1916 · Aged 42
His story
Lieutenant Alfred Henry Clapp FRCVS was the only son of Thomas Henry and Mary Ann Clapp of Peckham, London, and Herne Bay, Kent. He was born on 31 January 1874.
He graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London, in January 1905 and later became a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
While serving with the Army Veterinary Corps in northern France, Clapp was fatally injured at Heilly Station on 15 May 1916. He was boarding a train when it moved without warning; he fell beneath a carriage, which crushed both legs. The inquiry found the driver negligent.
Lieutenant Clapp was taken to Number 36 Casualty Clearing Station at Heilly, but he died within two hours of the accident. He was 42 years old and is buried in Mericourt-l’Abbe Communal Cemetery Extension, Pas-de- Calais. He has a standard Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone.
Alfred Clapp’s obituary notice was published in The Veterinary Record on 27 May 1916.
Photographs and documents
Before the war
- Nationality
- British
- Date of Birth
- 31 January 1874
- Place of Birth
- Herne Bay, Kent, England
- Veterinary College and Date of Graduation
- Royal Veterinary College - January 1895
Military service
- Last Rank
- Lieutenant
- Regiment/Service
- British Army Veterinary Corps
- First Theatre of War
- France November 1915
Medals and commemoration
- Name on RCVS Honour Board
- Yes
- Name In Officers who died in Great War
- Yes
- Medals and Awards
- 1914/15 Star; British War Medal 1914-1918; Victory Medal
Death and burial
- Date of Death
- 15 May 1916
- Age at Death
- 42
- Place of Death
- Heilly Station, France
- Cause of Death
- Killed in accident- slipped under wheels of train carriage
- Cemetery
- Mericourt-l'Abbe Communal Cemetery Extension
- Location
- Calais, France
- Grave Reference
- I.C. 9
- Commonwealth War Grave
- Yes - CWGC Headstone
- Emblem or Badge on Headstone
- British Army Veterinary Corps
Sources and further reading
- CWGC casualty and commemoration record
- Find a Grave memorial
- The Veterinary Record, 27 May 1916 — cited in the earlier biography
- Record of Alfred Clapp's death — reproduced document
- Whitstable Times and Tankerton Press May 27, 1916 — reproduced document
Cite this biography
Graham Hodgkins and Pete Matthews, “Alfred Henry Clapp”, Veterinary Virtual War Memorial, https://vetsremembered.org/people/alfred_henry_clapp/.
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