William Harries Clement

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

MC TD (9 April 1915 – 10 February 2007) was a Welsh international wing who played club rugby for

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

and was capped six times for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Clement was described as a staunch tackler with speed and a good turn of pace;Smith (1980), p. 295. and after his appearance for the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

was seen as the best defensive wing of the decade.Smith (1980), p. 296. In his later career he became Secretary of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

. He served as an infantry officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the Second World War, and was decorated during the

Normandy Campaign Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

, and twice wounded.

Rugby playing career

Clement was selected to the Wales team while playing for Llanelli, the team he captained during the 1938/39 season. On 22 October 1935, he was part of the Llanelli team that faced the touring New Zealand national team. In 1937, Clement was selected to represent the Welsh team as part of the

1937 Home Nations Championship The 1937 Home Nations Championship was the thirty-third series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the fiftieth series of the northe ...

under the captaincy of

Claude Davey Claude Davey (14 December 1908 – 18 February 2001) was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times. Dave ...

. It was a terrible campaign for Wales and Clement as the team lost all three matches; though Clement showed his team playing skills when he unselfishly set up a try for

Wilf Wooller Wilfred Wooller (20 November 1912 – 10 March 1997) was a Welsh sportsman (playing cricket, rugby union, and football), cricket administrator, and journalist. He was acclaimed as one of the greatest all-round sportsmen that Wales has ever prod ...

in the opening game against England.Smith (1980), p. 295. The selectors kept faith with Clement, and he returned for the entirety of the 1938 campaign, this time with Cliff Jones leading the team. Wales beat England in the opening game and just lost to Scotland three weeks later at Murrayfield. In the final game of the tournament Clement scored his first and only international points when he scored a try at St Helens against Ireland. In 1938 Clement was chosen to represent the

in their 1938 tour of South Africa. This would be his last rugby campaign as a knee injury sustained in 1938 ended his playing career.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 464. * 1937, 1938 * 1937, 1938 * 1937, 1938

Military career

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Clement was commissioned into the 4th Battalion of the

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

. He was injured in action twice, the first time was during the

Battle for Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) was a military engagement between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the Battle of Normandy. Caen is about inland f ...

, during the action for which he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

(MC). On 23 July 1944, Clement, now a war substantive

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and temporary

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, was part of a raid on enemy positions around Le Bon Repos, near

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. Clement was in command of one of two companies of the Welch Regiment involved in the operation, but as they advanced down a 900-yard slope toward the objective, he and his men came under heavy fire and Clement was injured in his leg. They suffered high levels of casualties, one of Clement's platoons was all but wiped out, with just four survivors. Casualties with this platoon included one of just two other officers who had started the attack with Clement. He managed to rally his troops and engaged the enemy in close-quarter combat, killing at least 30. When ordered to withdraw, Clement remained until his wounded had been recovered, and only then returned to the rendezvous, where he finally agreed to receive medical treatment. For his actions in this encounter he was awarded the Military Cross on 21 December 1944. In 1945, he was wounded in action in the Netherlands, again while in charge of his company of the 4th Battalion. Clement remained in the Territorial Army after the war, holding the rank of captain and honorary major. He was awarded the

Territorial Efficiency Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the T ...

for his long service on 29 April 1955, and finally left the army when he reached the age limit for service, on 9 April 1965.

Later life

After the end of the war, Clement returned to Wales, becoming an accountant in

Llanishen Llanishen (, ''llan'' church + ''Isien'' Saint Isan) is a district and community in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Its population as of the 2011 census was 17,417. Llanishen is the home of the former HMRC tax offices, the tallest buildings i ...

. He returned to rugby in 1955 when he was chosen from 83 applicants to take over the roll of Secretary of the WRU after Eric Evans became terminally ill.Smith (1980), p. 355. One of his first duties was to solve the problem of a home international against Scotland in 1956, when the pitch at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

was entirely frozen. Clements arranged for a team of men to keep

brazier A brazier () is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet, but in some places it is made of terracotta. Its elevation helps circulate air, feed ...

s burning on the pitch overnight in an identical solution to the same problem that affected the same pitch in 1893. He was secretary throughout the Second Golden Age of Welsh rugby and along with treasurer Ken Harris is remembered for overseeing the rebuilding of the old Cardiff Arms Park. On his retirement in 1981 he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) for his services to rugby.Wales' oldest international dies
BBC Sport 2 December 2007

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Bill 1915 births 2007 deaths Brecon RFC players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales British Army personnel of World War II Felinfoel RFC players Llanelli RFC players Officers of the Order of the British Empire Rugby union players from Llanelli Recipients of the Military Cross Rugby union wings Wales international rugby union players Wales Rugby Union officials Welch Regiment officers Welsh rugby union players