G. A. Henty in WWII

Wait a minute, Henty died in 1903. The Second World War began in 1939.

A number of years ago I attended the North American meeting of the G. A. Henty Society, a Henty gathering in South Carolina where we met a number of people from across the US, Canada, and the UK. The two-day event provided a number of diverse lectures on aspects of the life and influence of the 19^th Century writer and the beautiful books published by Blackie and Sons, Scribners, and others.

George Alfred Henty served in the British Army in the Crimean War (1853-56) and several other postings afterward. He resigned his commission so he could cover other wars, as a journalist. His successful war reporting led to other writing endeavors including novels. After completing several historical novels for boys, the demand for his meticulously researched and exciting stories set the course for the rest of his life. A stickler for historical accuracy, Henty’s books were read as history lessons and his fictional boy heroes sprang to life as honorable, courageous, and resourceful warriors, instructing generations of young people, first in the English speaking world and later to lads in many lands. He was second only to Rudyard Kipling in promoting the British Empire and inspiring men to civil and military service around the world.

One of the men who spoke to us at the Henty convention had served in World War II as a Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Artillery. Sergeant Clarence Cluff was born in Matador, Swift Current Census Division, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1915. Although he was formally educated only through the eighth grade, and spent all his early years working on his family’s farm, Clarence developed an abiding interest in reading and studying history and especially combining his interests in reading and collecting G. A. Henty books. Sergeant Cluff’s obituary in fact, reads like a description of a boy hero of a Henty tale: “he demonstrated intelligence, perseverance, honour, decency, bravery, humility, a good sense of humor, and a willingness to help others.”

Clarence related to the attendees at the G. A. Henty Conference the following story. He with his army unit landed on Juno Beach under fire from German guns on D-Day in 1944. His company fought their way to Germany throughout the rest of the year and on into 1945. The boy who had thrilled to the stories of combat and danger in the stories of G. A. Henty was now living them out in the real world. Mr. Cluff told us that his unit was ordered to dig in expecting a German attack the following day. Well aware that when Germans retreated, they always counterattacked no matter what, and were often successful, Sgt. Cluff thought of a Henty story he read once where the soldiers were caught in a similar situation and they dug in deep and put head logs at the top of the trench. Sure enough, they survived and won the battle by that sort of protection.

Clarence told his men to dig a deep trench, cut down trees and line their trench, though the ground was frozen, the men were exhausted, and it was simply too cold to fight. They complained that even the Germans wouldn’t stand for it. Mr. Cluff told me that the men worked all night complaining all the while and set up their defense exactly as Henty instructed. The flanking units did not do so. In the morning, the enemy attacked and Clarence’s squad did not lose a man. Their comrades on both flanks took casualties from being in the open and unprepared. He attributed survival of his men to lessons he had learned from reading G. A. Henty those many years before.

Clarence Cluff died in 2014, age 99, in Coaldale, Saskatchewan, untouched by German artillery, and with many fine volumes of George Alfred Henty on his shelves.

Bill Potter is a historian who teaches and writes from a biblical/providential perspective. He leads history tours in the United States and Europe for Landmark Events. He is the home-school father of eight and grandfather of fourteen. His degrees are from Cedarville University and The University of Dayton. He lives near Atlanta, Georgia.