Story
Clarence. F. Keene, the son of George H S and Florence Shamer Keene, was born on the 1st of November 1894, making him only 19 when the war broke out. He grew up in a tobacconist on Poole High Street, after being born in Brixton, and attended Poole Grammar School for only one year before leaving to become an apprentice to an auctioneer. This is all we know about him from his official record kept at the school, apart from one small detail in the bottom corner. This detail states, in a somewhat aloof manner, that he was killed in The Great War. Unfortunately, very little is known of his activities during the conflict, leading to uncertainty surrounding even his place of death. What is for certain is that he enlisted almost immediately, in Sherborne on the 11th of September 1914, likely caught up in the rampant enthusiasm for the war and convinced by those who (notoriously) declared that it would be over by Christmas. He was first drawn into the Dorset Regiment, serving for an unknown amount of time before transferring. However, what is known about this regiment suggests that he was likely stationed in India, as one battalion was deployed in Lahore, setting sail in October. They were stationed there in order to relieve the regular army from garrison duty, thus allowing them to take up fighting on the Western Front. This would likely have meant a fairly secluded experience of the war, away from the main battlefronts and instead performing the role of an 'imperial police force' assumed by the British army before the war broke out. Once there, it is clear that certain units were also used to reinforce fighting forces in the Middle East where necessary. As the most able were used, it is likely that Clarence had done his duties well, making him perfect for the role of a military police officer. At this point he was automatically promoted and given extensive powers over other servicemen, before being pulled into conflict in Syria. The Middle Eastern theatre of war is rarely discussed beyond Lawrence of Arabia, yet this is where Clarence found himself. Conflict in this area was to have a profound impact in the region, with current conflicts potentially tracing their origins to this conflict. The conflict focused on the crumbling Ottoman Empire, the 'Sick Man of Europe', and was pivotal in determining future politics in the region. Allied forces fought successive campaigns to drive out Turkish influence in order to impose their own dominance on the region; the refusal of the Allies to recognise Arab independence after the war despite their influential help has been an important factor in the development of Arab nationalism. This help was seen especially in one of the final campaigns in this theatre: a push to control Damascus and effectively ending any Ottoman hopes of victory, consigning them to inevitable defeat considering the dire situations of their allies. Clarence Keene was deployed to this area as a military policeman, intended to monitor the actions of British forces as well as engaging in combat where necessary, playing a very experienced role for a man of only 23 years of age. It was likely in this series of battles that Clarence Keene was fatally wounded, dying in a French field hospital 18 days after the main fighting had ended. He died 13 days before his 24th birthday, 3,000 miles away from his home and his family. His previous life abandoned for one of adventure, he made the ultimate sacrifice for the supposed greater good. 'Dulce et Decorum Est'… Researched and written by pupils at Poole Grammar School
Subdivision
- Military Mounted Police