Clinton Landis Pudney was born on September 20, 1922, in Oneonta, Otsego County, New York. He was the son of Herbert Eugene "Bert" Pudney and Katherine A. Bennett Pudney.

Clinton served in the 405 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Flight Sergeant during World War II. On June 16, 1943, his Halifax (#HR838) aircraft, based in RAF Gransden Lodge in Cambridgeshire and crewed by seven airmen from 405 Squadron, was struck by lightning during a training flight; as a result, the Halifax crashed near Clenchwarden, 2 miles west of Kings Lynn in Norfolk, killing all on board. The seven airmen who perished in this aircraft accident were:-
RCAF Flying Officer Roland Ernest Garnault AGASSIZ,
RCAF Flying Officer Walter Cecil DAVIES,
RAFVR Sergeant Arthur FAULKNER,
RAFVR Flying Officer Lawrence William FREWIN,
RAF Sergeant Malcolm Keith HOLLIDAY,
RAF Flight Lieutenant Christopher Daniel LAWSON and
RCAF Flight Sergeant Clinton Landis PUDNEY GM.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com