Clarence Albert Ripley’s parents were Cyrus and Eva Mary Towns nee White. Cyrus was born between brothers Walter and Norman and fought in the Royal Artillery, but, unlike his two brothers who both perished in the First World War, he survived. He and Eva had three children, the youngest of whom was Clarence, who was born in 1922 at Romford, Essex. He was the first of the children to be born at Romford after the family had moved south from Sheffield.

Clarence was only seventeen years of age when the Second World War broke out, although how soon it was before he volunteered for service is not known. Judging by the fact that he had already been promoted to the rank of Leading Aircraftman at the time he was killed, it is fair to assume that he had joined up at least the previous year, which would have made him just eighteen years old at the time. There are no records of his early service.

SS "Anselm" was a British turbine steamship of the Booth Steamship Company. She was built as a cargo and passenger liner in 1935. In November 1939 Anselm was in Liverpool and was due to sail to Lisbon. Because of war conditions she was to leave with Convoy OB 32G, which would then join Convoy OB 6. However, her sailing was cancelled and OB 32G left without her. Instead, Anselm was requisitioned and quickly converted to carry about five hundred troops.

Her civilian passenger accommodation was assigned for officers; her holds were converted to accommodation for other ranks. Toward the end of June 1941 "Anselm" left Britain for Freetown. She was heavily overloaded with about twelve hundred British Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Air Force personnel – more than twice the five hundred she had been converted to carry.

There were a hundred and seventy-five Royal Air Force personnel who were being posted to serve in the North African Campaign. Some accounts say she sailed from Gourock on the Firth of Clyde; another that she left Loch Ewe in northwest Scotland on 26th June; another that she left Liverpool on 28th June. Sources agree that she was escorted by the survey vessel HMS "Challenger" and corvettes "Lavender", "Petunia" and "Starwort". Some suggest that her escort also included the armed merchant cruiser "Cathay".

In the early hours of 5th July 1941 "Anselm" and her escorts were in mid-Atlantic, proceeding south through fog about three hundred nautical miles north of the Azores. "Challenger" was leading the troop ship in line ahead; "Starwort" was stationed in line astern because her sonar was out of order. "Lavender" and "Petunia" were in screening positions ahead, either side of bow of "Challenger".

At about 03:50 the fog cleared, and the convoy began to zigzag as evasive action against possible attack. However, a Luftwaffe patrol had reported the convoy’s position and at 04:26 a German U-boat fired a spread of four torpedoes at both "Challenger" and "Anselm". They missed "Challenger" but one struck "Anselm" port side amidships, causing extensive damage and momentarily lifting the troop ship in the water. The U-boat dived and the corvettes counter-attacked, "Lavender" firing six depth charges and "Petunia" firing twenty. When the attack drew too close to the survivors it was broken off, but the submarine was seriously damaged and broke off her patrol to return to Saint-Nazaire submarine base in occupied France for repairs.

"Anselm" launched all her lifeboats except number six, which had been damaged by the explosion. "Challenger" had been half a nautical mile ahead but manoeuvred close to "Anselm" port quarter and took off sixty or more survivors as the troop ship's bow settled in the water.

Officers from the passenger accommodation were able to reach the boat deck, but the impact caused extensive damage below decks, where collapsed overheads and wrecked ladders injured or trapped many of the men in one of the converted holds. One survivor stated that officers got away in boats from the stern of "Anselm" without waiting to help their men. One officer who stayed aboard to the end was an Air Force chaplain lately of RAF Bridgnorth,

Squadron Leader Cecil Pugh, who: "seemed to be everywhere at once, doing his best to comfort the injured, helping with the boats and rafts... and visiting the different lower sections where men were quartered. When he learned that a number of injured airmen were trapped in the damaged hold, he insisted on being lowered into it with a rope. Everyone demurred because the hold was below the water line and already the decks were awash and to go down was to go to certain death. He simply explained that he must be where his men were." The ship sank twenty-two minutes after being hit, and four crew and two hundred and fifty-four troops were killed. Pugh went down with the ship, and in 1947 was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

Amongst the men that perished with Squadron Leader Cecil Pugh was Clarence. He was trapped below decks and unable to reach one of the lifeboats.

He was only nineteen years of age.

As his body was never recovered, the sea became his grave. Along with others that drowned alongside him, he is remembered on Panel 56 at the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey.

Overlooking the River Thames on Cooper’s Hill, the Runnymede Memorial is sometimes known as the Air Forces Memorial. It commemorates 20,278 airmen and women who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe who have no known grave.

Having lost two brothers in the First World War, father Cyrus was thus dealt a further grievous blow upon receiving the news that his son was missing presumed dead.