In September 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, the British government ordered all theatres to close indefinitely."War and the Theatre", The Times, 7 September 1939, p. 7 Rupert D'Oyly Carte cancelled the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's entire autumn tour and terminated the contracts of all of his performers. When the company started up again at Christmas 1939,Rollins and Witts, p. 164 Carte's principal comedian, Martyn Green, had accepted another engagement and was not available.Green, pp. 175–79 At Richard Watson's suggestion Clifford auditioned for the vacancy and was engaged to play Green's roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, which were produced in repertory by the company. He was coached by the company's director, J. M. Gordon, who had worked with W.S. Gilbert, but Carte encouraged Clifford to recreate all his characters afresh. The Times said of his performance in The Yeomen of the Guard, "the final moments in which the heartbroken merryman struggles to hide his grief are played with real beauty. Mr Clifford makes no attempt to imitate his predecessors in the part, and his performance gains immensely as a result.""Savoy Theatre", The Times, 19 June 1940, p. 6 The Times critic, who had seen the original cast of The Mikado, considered Clifford "second to none" as Ko-Ko."Princes Theatre", The Times, 23 June 1942, p. 2
