Clair W. (Clair Wallace) Hayes

Clair W. Hayes, listed by major library catalogs as Clair Wallace Hayes (1887– ), is remembered for popular juvenile adventure fiction centered on the First World War. His books were widely published in the "Boy Allies" line, a series that followed young protagonists through major wartime campaigns on land and at sea.

Catalog and ebook records confirm a substantial run of titles, including books set at Liège, the Marne, Verdun, Jutland, the Somme, and the final campaigns of the war. The stories are written for excitement and momentum, mixing military settings with serial-style cliffhangers that made them appealing to young readers of their day.

Reliable biographical detail beyond his name form and birth year is scarce in the sources I found, so it is safest to describe him as a prolific author of wartime boys' fiction rather than make stronger claims about his life. Many of his works remain accessible today through public-domain and library collections, which has helped keep this once-popular series in circulation.