Clifton was born on 21 June 1918 in Wanganui, New Zealand, to parents Robert and Caroline Benefield (nee Dungan). His grandparents, William and Esther Benefield, emigrated from England in 1874.
Clifton received his secondary education at Wanganui Technical College, where he gained his University Entrance and Higher Leaving Certificates. He was actively interested in rowing and was a member of the Aramoho Boating Club. At the time of making his application for a short service commission in the RNZAF – on 15 February 1940 – he was employed by the New Zealand Railways as a clerk.
F/Lt Benefield was enlisted at Ohakea on the 9 July 1940 and was employed for several months at this station on ground duties. On 16 February 1941 he was posted to Levin to commence his initial training. Having satisfactorily completed the course he embarked for Canada on 29 April 1941.
Shortly after arriving in Canada F/Lt Benefield was posted to No 6 Air Observers’ School, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. On 3 August 1941 he proceeded to No 3 Bombing and Gunnery School in Dafoe, Saskatchewan where, on 15 September, he was awarded the Air Observer’s Badge and promoted to the rank of sergeant. He was commissioned in the rank of Pilot Officer on 13 October, 1941 and then promoted to Flying Officer rank on 1 October 1942. On 13 October 1943 he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. In continuation of his training on 15 September 1941 he was posted to No 1 Advanced Navigation School, Rivers, Manitoba. On completion of the Course he proceeded to No 31 (RAF) operational Training Unit, Debert, Nova Scotia for a short period and thence to Dorval, Montreal. On 9 December he was posted to No 1 ‘Y’ Depot, Halifax, Nova Scotia for embarkation to the United Kingdom.
On arrival at No 3 Personnel Reception Centre, Bournemouth, F/Lt Benefield was posted to No 1 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit, Wigtown, Wigtownshire, Scotland and then – on 10 March 1942 – to No 13 Operational Training Unit, Hinton-in-the-Hedges, Northamptonshire.
The following month he continued his Operations Training with the same unit at Bicester, Oxfordshire. In July he proceeded to No 25 Operational Training Unit, Finningley, Yorkshire where he carried out air exercises as navigator on Anson and Wellington Bomber aircraft. He carried out similar exercises with the same unit at Bircotes, also in Yorkshire. On 31 October 1942 he was posted to No 1654 Conversion Unit, Wigsley, Lincolnshire, where he flew as navigator on Manchester and Lancaster bomber aircraft.
In December he proceeded to No 50 Squadron, Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire, from which base he flew as navigator on 34 operational flights over enemy territory. The targets on these raids included Berlin, Essen, Dusseldorf, Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Nuremberg, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Duisburg, Dortmund in Germany; St Nazaire, Lorient in France; Pilsen in Czechoslovakia and Spezia in Italy.
On 12 July 1943 he was posted to No 17 Operational Training Unit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire.
On 9 September 1943 F/Lt Benefield – then a Flying Officer – was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), the citation of which reads:
‘Flying Officer Benefield has flown on operations against principal targets in Germany, and his navigation at all times has been exceptionally accurate and has been a material factor in successes obtained by his crew.’
The award was reported in the Supplement to the London Gazette the following day.
On 29 January 1944 F/Lt Benefield was transferred to No 26 Operational Training Unit, Wing, Bedfordshire. In February that year he proceeded to No 9 Squadron, Bardney, Lincolnshire and from this base carried out an additional ten raids, with targets including Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich in Germany; Tours and Paris in France.
Navigator position – Lancaster bomber
On the night of 24/25 April 1944, F/Lt Benefield was navigator of the crew of a Lancaster bomber aircraft which took off from Bardney to attack a target in Munich. The aircraft failed to return to its base and all the members of the crew – including F/Lt Benefield, were reported missing.
Subsequently the death of F/Lt Benefield was officially presumed.
During his time in service Clifton had flown a total of 729 hours as Navigator.
Clifton and Victor Benefield were 1st cousins.
(Information supplied by Barbara Benefield and Archives New Zealand (Defence Forces)
