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Sydney ‘Clifford’ Lamplugh, born on 21st April 1897, was admitted to King Edward’s School in January 1909, having transferred from King Edward’s Camp Hill. He was the younger son of Sydney Augustus Lamplugh of 73, Cotton Lane, Moseley. His older brother, Alfred ‘Lamps’ Lamplugh, also an Old Edwardian, served with the 4th Hussars and the Royal Flying Corps (reputedly serving in Mesopotamia as the pilot of TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), and survived the war, going on to found the British Aviation Insurance Group. His father, Sydney Augustus, ran the family business which manufactured leather goods (such as saddles for the army, cycle saddles and luggage), and also racing car chassis for the Rothchilds. The firm dabbled with radios and Sydney Augustus was a shareholder in the British Broadcasting Company Ltd.
The School records reveal that although Clifford had no outstanding academic results, his strongest subject was drawing. After School, he enrolled at the Technical Institute, and matriculated at London University with the intention of becoming an engineer.
In October 1914, Clifford enlisted as a Private Soldier in the 3rd Birmingham Pals Battalion (16th Royal Warwickshire Regiment). He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as an Air Mechanic later that year, serving in France from January 1915. He was made an Observer in December 1916, and was killed in aerial action on 6th March 1917, aged nineteen. Clifford is buried in Crucifix Corner Cemetery, Villers-Bretonneux, France, and is commemorated on St Mary’s Church Memorial, Moseley. The inscription on his headstone reads: “A Boy In Years, A Man At Heart.” His mother applied for his medals in 1922.