A Collection of Medals to Prisoners of War

Pair: Private W. A. Cliffe, West Yorkshire Regiment, taken Prisoner of War during the German Spring Offensive at Morchies on 23 March 1918
British War and Victory Medals (268778. Pte. W. Cliffe. W. York. R.) good very fine

Pair: Private W. Tanton, West Yorkshire Regiment, taken Prisoner of War during the German Spring Offensive on 29 March 1918
British War and Victory Medals (4799. Pte. W. Tanton. W. York. R.) extremely fine

Pair: Private F. Skelton, West Yorkshire Regiment, wounded and taken Prisoner of War during the German Spring Offensive on 25 April 1918
British War and Victory Medals (325107. Pte. F. Skelton. W. York. R.) good very fine (6) £120-160

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Medals to Prisoners of War.

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William A. Cliffe was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, on 20 October 1896, and served with the 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment during the Great War on the Western Front. He was taken prisoner of war at Morchies on 23 March 1918, on the third day of the German Spring Offensive. Repatriated to England on the cessation of hostilities, he arrived at Dover on 29 November 1918. He died in Wharfdale, Yorkshire, in 1965.


Walter Tanton was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, on 12 September 1886. Employed as a boatman on the River Humber, he attested for the West Yorkshire Regiment on 6 December 1915. He served with the Regiment during the Great War on the Western Front, and was regularly hospitalised with various illnesses, including influenza and trench fever. He was taken prisoner of war on 29 March 1918, during the German Spring Offensive. Repatriated to England on the cessation of hostilities, he again spent time in hospital, before transferring to Class ‘Z’ Reserve on 8 September 1919. He died in Leeds on 23 April 1932.


Frederick Skelton was born in Redcar, Yorkshire, on 7 April 1898, and served with the 1st, 14th, and 3rd Battalions, West Yorkshire Regiment during the Great War on the Western Front from 17 June 1917. He suffered gassing on 22 July 1917 and was transferred to 3rd Australian General Hospital at Abbeville, later returning to England for recuperation. He returned to the Western Front, and suffered a gun shot wound to his upper right leg and was taken prisoner of war on 25 April 1918, during the German Spring Offensive. He was held at Limburg and Geissen Prisoner of War Camps. Repatriated to England on the cessation of hostilities, he was subsequently employed in Redcar as a grocery and provisions Business Manager, and died in 1980.