Claude served in France during WW1 and also, in 1919, the Russian Revolution where he was shot and consequently had his left leg amputated. After the war he became a clerk in the civil service. Two of his daughters still have his army notebook which is full of snippets about his day to day life during wartime and the reference he makes to his injuries and the loss of his limb are quite matter-of-fact and not at all melancholy.