He was educated at St Paul's School in London and at Exeter College, Oxford, where he obtained a First in Theology.
In 1930, Clayton led Toc H into creative support of the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association.
In 1959, the association helped to send British volunteers to America to do similar work, setting up a mutual exchange scheme that has continued to this day.
[7] While remaining based at All Hallows, Clayton travelled widely in Britain and throughout the British Empire promoting Toc H and encouraging the foundation of new branches.
He was also the chaplain to the British Petroleum Company - a duty which overlapped with his chaplaincy to the Anglo-Saxon tanker fleet during the Second World War (a position which he was particularly proud of).