Paul Clifford 39 Years in Rotary

Paul Clifford a charter member of this club and a Rotarian for 39 years gave a snap shot of his early years growing up during WWll and moving through various levels of education until receiving his doctorate in geology. Born in 1932 Paul was almost passed off to his aunt to be raised because his father was out of work and struggling to support his family.  In 1940 Paul was evacuated from London to avoid the bombing raids and moved in with a farming family in Cornwall. He said this was good because there was food on the farm, not like the ongoing rationing in the cities.  He learned to shear sheep and use horses to plow. At age 11 he took the usual scholarship exams and headed off to school in another city but moved again because of regular bombing. In fact a bomb landed less than 150 metres from Paul as he was looking out a window of the school. It blew out the window but did not harm him. He continued his education focusing on languages and just by chance read an interesting history book that led him to change to sciences and geology in particular. He came to Canada in 1954 and started teaching at various universities before settling on a 34 year career as a geology professor at McMaster University. Paul is a consummate volunteer giving significantly of his time and money to a variety of community organizations that help those in need of food, shelter, clothing and safety.