Clifford was born on 21 June 1899 in Pontefract, Yorkshire, the second child of four children to William and Annie (née Ashworth) Henderson. The parents, though born in Cumberland, had moved to Yorkshire then County Durham due to the father’s work in coal mining. He had an elder sister Elizabeth (1897 Cumberland), and younger sisters Benita (1905 Durham)  and Josephie Lilian (1908 Durham). The mother Annie also had a son Daniel Preece (1891 Cumberland) whose father had died in 1890. Clifford married Kathleen Emma Usher in Gosport, Hampshire on 13 February 1923 and they had a son Sydney Clifford born 7 February 1924.

Clifford joined the Royal Navy on 20 July 1917 at the Royal Naval Barracks HMS VICTORY ll in Portsmouth as a direct entry Stoker Second Class at the age of 18 years and 1 month. He then served in HMS ASSISTANCE (1917-1919), while  on board being advanced to Stoker First Class, HMS IRON DUKE (1919-1921), HMS DOLPHIN (1921-1923), DOLPHIN (1924 for H27), HMS VULCAN (1924-1926 for H44), (L17 1926), DOLPHIN (L14, 1926), where he was advanced to Acting Leading Stoker, HMS CYCLOPS (L16, 1926), HMS VULCAN (H47, June 1928).

On the morning of 9 July 1929 HMS H47 was returning to Pembroke Docks from the Irish Sea by heading South through St Georges Channel when two larger and faster “L Class” submarines (HMS L12 & L14), that were returning to Portsmouth from the West Coast of Scotland, undertook an overtaking manoeuvre. Good visibility and calm seas meant it should have been the case of the faster “L” boats passing safely down the port side of H47. Tragically it all went wrong and L12 rammed H47 and her bow penetrated the hull of H47. Within 15 seconds H47 listed sharply to Starboard and sank quickly with the loss of 21 of her crew.

Leading Stoker, Clifford Henderson, Svc. No. K44501 “Crossed The Bar” with 20 of his shipmates.