Robert Cooper Clements was killed in September 1918 at Vieux Berguin in northern France. On hearing of his death, Mr Borthwick wrote the following in the school logbook, “With deep sorrow, I have to record that Mr Robert Cooper Clements, 2nd Lieut N. F, the third and last of the assistant masters who have served in this school, has been killed in France. Mrs Clements is absent this week.“

After his death, Robert’s wife Minnie and their daughter, Nancy stayed in Spittal. Minnie continued to teach at Spittal School which their daughter also attended. Nancy won a scholarship and eventually moved away from the area. However, in the 1970s, she returned to Spittal. In 1982, she presented Spittal School with the Clements Cup in memory of her parents and the family’s long connection with the school.