The Armitage family has had connections with Honley since the 14 century. Charles Clement Armitage, the second son of Charles Ingham Armitage and his wife Jane Elizabeth, of High Royd, Northgate, Honley, was born on 12th December 1881 and baptised on 21st January, 1882 at St John the Evangelist in Huddersfield.

Known as Clement, he joined the Army as a second lieutenant on 6th January, 1900 and saw service in the Second Boer War with the Royal Field Artillery in 1901, rising to Lieutenant that year. Due to an extended period in South Africa, he did not return until 1904, when the people of Honley welcomed him on his entry to the village on 28th May. Crowds flocked to see him arrive along Banks and many more assembled in Market Place to greet their local hero.

He became a Captain in July 1908. He was promoted again to Major in 1914 and to Brevet Lt. Colonel in 1917.

During the Great War, Clement Armitage was based in France as part of General Haig’s team of liaison officers, which kept the Commander-in-Chief abreast of the situation at the front line. It was said that his finest achievement was planning the night counter-attack by British and Australian troops that recaptured the town of Villiers-Bretonneux, the site in April 1918 of the world’s first battle between two tank forces. He was also significant in the defeat of the attempt to capture Amiens. He interrogated Allied soldiers after the Battle of Cambrai and, through an interpreter, the prisoners of war after the battle.

Clement was awarded the CMG (Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George) and the Distinguished Service Order (1916) and Bar (1918) as well as French and Belgian decorations for his gallantry during the Great War. Clement’s older brother Harry also served, giving up his position in the family business to enlist as a bombardier. He was wounded in France and returned to England for convalescence.

After the war, Clement Armitage served in Palestine and India and the Artillery School in the United Kingdom. In 1938, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Bath (KCB) and was promoted to General in 1940 before retiring from the Army in July 1942. He settled in Gloucestershire. He was married to Hilda Caroline Hirst and they had three sons. One of them, John Clement Armitage, was a Lieutenant in King’s Royal Rifle Corps and was killed in Greece during the Second World War on 7th December, 1944. Charles Clement Armitage died on 15th December, 1973, just three days after his 92nd birthday.