Clifford Coffin
Major General Clifford Coffin VC CB DSO & Bar (10 February 1870 – 4 February 1959) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Clifford Coffin | |
|---|---|
 Major General Clifford Coffin | |
| Born | 10 February 1870 Blackheath, London, England, |
| Died | 4 February 1959 (aged 88) Torquay, Devon, England |
| Buried | Holy Trinity Churchyard, Colemans Hatch, East Sussex |
| Allegiance |  |
| Service/ |  |
| Years of service | 1888 - 1924 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | Royal Engineers |
| Commands held | 25th Infantry Brigade |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
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| Relations | Isaac Coffin (father) |
Biography
Born in Blackheath, the son of Lieutenant General Sir Isaac Coffin. He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers. He served in the Second Boer War and was mentioned in dispatches.
He was 47 years old, and a temporary brigadier general, Commanding the 25th Infantry Brigade during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 31 July 1917 in Westhoek, Belgium, when his command was held up in attack owing to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, Brigadier-General Coffin went forward and made an inspection of his front posts. Although under the heaviest fire from both machine-guns and rifles and in full view of the enemy, he showed an utter disregard of personal danger, walking quietly from shell-hole to shell-hole, giving advice and cheering his men by his presence. His gallant conduct had the greatest effect on all ranks and it was largely owing to his personal courage and example that the shell-hole line was held.[1]
He served as Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon and ADC to King George V. He later achieved the rank of major general and was Colonel Commandant Royal Engineers. During World War II he was the chairman of the executive council of the British Empire Service League and Temporary Major General with the 36th Ulster Division.
He died in February 1959 and is buried at Holy Trinity Churchyard, Colemans Hatch, East Sussex. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham, Kent. In 2012, his grave was renovated by the Victoria Cross Trust.[2]
References
- "No. 30284". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 September 1917. p. 9531.
- "Clifford Coffin VC". The Victoria Cross Trust. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)
- VCs of the First World War - Passchendaele 1917 (Stephen Snelling, 1998)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clifford Coffin. |
- Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
- Location of grave and VC medal (East Sussex)
- Clifford Coffin at Find a Grave
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by F. A. MacFarlan |
Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon 1920-1924 |
Succeeded by H. W. Higgingson |