Daniel Joseph Clifford
Born 5 Nov 1918 - Died 18 Jan 1942
- Service number
- WWII NZ401753 AWMM
- WWII 401753 AWMM
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Air Force AWMM
- Last rank
- Pilot Officer AWMM Royal Air Force, No. 142 Squadron AWMM
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Daniel Joseph AWMM
- Surname
- Clifford AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- —
- Service number
- WWII NZ401753 AWMM
- WWII 401753 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 5 Nov 1918 RNZAF Biographies (R17845608)
- Date of birth
- —
- Place of birth
- —
- Birth notes
- —
- Address before enlistment
- —
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW2 Wife: Mrs. J. M. Corry, William Street, Cambridge AWMM
- WW2 Parents: Mr. & Mrs. D. J. Clifford of Helensville AWMM
- Relationship status
- Married/WWII AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
- Campaign
- Europe (Air) AWMM
- Europe (Air) AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Air Force AWMM
- Service number
- WWII NZ401753 AWMM
- WWII 401753 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- Royal Air Force, No. 142 Squadron AWMM
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- —
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, No. 4 Air Observer School, London, Ontario, Canada AWMM
Course 1: Class 14. Graduation Date: 26/04/1941. AWMM - British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School, Fingal, Ontario, Canada AWMM
- British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, No. 1 Air Navigation School, Rivers, Manitoba, Canada AWMM
- British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, No. 4 Air Observer School, London, Ontario, Canada AWMM
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- —
- Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW2 Vessel was Aorangi AWMM Royal New Zealand Air Force AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- Pilot Officer AWMM
Royal Air Force, No. 142 Squadron AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
Pilot Officer Daniel Joseph Clifford (NZ401753) was born in Napier on 5 November 1918 and later lived in Helensville. He enlisted in the RNZAF soon after the outbreak of World War II and trained in New Zealand before travelling to Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme. His training took him through several Canadian schools before he was commissioned and posted to No. 142 Squadron, Royal Air Force, flying Bomber Command operations from Lincolnshire.
Daniel married Jean Wemyss shortly before he left New Zealand. Their daughter, Margaret Josephine Clifford, was born on 4 August 1941. Daniel received a photograph of his baby daughter, but he never met her. On 18 January 1942, his aircraft failed to return from a bombing mission and he was killed, aged 23. With no known grave, he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
In recent years, sound historian Sarah Johnston traced a wartime recording that captured Daniel’s message home. Through Online Cenotaph connections, the recording reached his whānau, and Margaret heard her father’s voice for the first time, more than 80 years after it was recorded.
Daniel Clifford was the son of Daniel Joseph and Theresa Clifford. He was the husband of Jean Margaret Clifford of Cambridge, New Zealand.
Details of 142 Squadron's activities are also contained in W.R. Chorley's Royal Air Force Bomber Command Lossess of the Second World War 1942 - refer to page 22 for details of Daniel Clifford. Three of the crew on his final mission were members of the RAF, two were from the Royal Canadian Air Force and Clifford was the only Royal New Zealand Air Force member. The account records that having left Grimsby at 1740 the plane is believed to have crashed in the sea off Bridlington, Yorkshire, north east of Spurn Head.
Helensville District High School Memorial is displayed in the hall of Kaipara High School. Helensville. Barrass, M.B. (2001- 2008). Web site: Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. "Squadrons numbered in the 400 series were technically units of the RCAF, RAAF and RNZAF, but their members were placed under the operational control of the RAF and are usually considered to be part of the RAF's organisational structure". URL: http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn485-490.html
Attended Sacred Heart College (Source: RNZAF Biographies (R17845608))
Pilot Officer Daniel Joseph Clifford (NZ401753) was born in Napier on 5 November 1918 and later lived in Helensville. He enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force soon after the outbreak of World War II and trained in New Zealand before travelling to Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme.
While training in Ontario in early 1941, like many New Zealand airmen far from home, Daniel recorded a brief radio message to his family. The recording was made for broadcast back in New Zealand as part of wartime programmes connecting servicemen with their loved ones.
After completing further training in Canada, he was commissioned and posted to No. 142 Squadron, Royal Air Force, flying Bomber Command operations from Lincolnshire.
Daniel had married Jean Wemyss shortly before leaving New Zealand. Their daughter, Margaret Josephine Clifford, was born on 4 August 1941. He received a photograph of his baby daughter, but he never met her.
On 18 January 1942, his aircraft failed to return from a bombing mission to Bremen and he was killed, aged 23. With no known grave, he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
In recent years, sound historian Sarah Johnston identified Daniel’s wartime recording within RNZ Sound Archives. Through Online Cenotaph connections, the message was shared with his whānau, and Margaret heard her father’s voice for the first time, more than 80 years after it was recorded (Profile written for “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 initiative by Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand). AWMM- Daniel and Jean Clifford had a daughter, Margaret Josephine Clifford. She was born on 4 August 1941, a few months before Daniel was killed. He saw a photo of her before he died, but never met her.Public - Rochelle Ann - Direct descendant - 25 April 2016 - I am Margaret Josephine Clifford's youngest daughter. She Married William Hooton, they had four children, Larry, Jeffrey, Vicki and Rochelle.
About death
- Death
- 18 Jan 1942 AWMM
Age 23 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- —
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, United Kingdom AWMM
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories AWMM
- Helensville District High School (Kaipara College) Roll of Honour, Helensville, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
- Cambridge Cenotaph, Victoria St, Cambridge 3434 AWMM
- Cambridge Cenotaph, Victoria St, Cambridge 3434 AWMM
- Cambridge World War Two War Memorials AWMM
- Cambridge World War Two War Memorials AWMM
Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1084587
Sources Used - RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Bo - Cl. Archives New Zealand (R17845608)
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845608
Sources Used - List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. Archives New Zealand (R17845747)
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845747
Sources Used - Johnston, S. (2024, September 27). Her father’s voice: The travels of a wartime sound disc. World War Voices.
https://worldwarvoices.wordpress.com/2024/09/27/her-fathers-voice-the-travels-of-a-wartime-sound-disc/
Further Reference - Johnston, S. (2024, October 10). Her father’s voice: Connecting whānau through sound archives. Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.
https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/explore-stories/stories/sound/her-fathers-voice/
Further Reference - Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. (1941). Greetings from NZ troops in Canada [Audio recording]. RNZ Collection.
https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/12245/
Further Reference
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
- References
- The New Zealand Herald
The New Zealand Herald of 22 January 1942 reported that Pilot Officer Daniel J. Clifford was missing (possibly includes a biography). - Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press.
- This record is a work in progress and was partially compiled from the “Database of New Zealand Airmen who took part in Advanced Air Training in Canada during WW2”. Researched by Ivan and Lorna Lindsey of Tauranga. N.Z. 2003 – 2012. Reproduced with permission.
- RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Bo - Cl. Archives New Zealand (R17845608) - Former archives reference: AIR118
- List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [Missing - But Presumed Dead on Lapse of Time - Officers, Airmen]. Archives New Zealand (R17845743)
- Please note that the 11 volumes of the "RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945" held at Archives NZ (formerly known as AIR118) should be used in conjunction with Errol Martyn's "For Your Tomorrow". FYT reflects detailed examination of all of the AIR118 bios which contain many inaccuracies and omissions.
- List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [List of Missing]. Archives New Zealand (R17845747)
- List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - Embarkation Lists, November 1940 - July 1942. Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R17845762).
- Auckland Museum. Roll of Honour, Auckland Province, 1939 - 1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 93/139.
- This record was part of “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 commemorative partnership between Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand, where service stories were shared onboard a dawn flight from Auckland to Sydney.
- The New Zealand Herald
The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.
Online Cenotaph Data by Auckland War Memorial Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.