 A member of the prominent British Moody family, which made an important contribution to the administration and expansion of the British Empire during the 19th century, Richard Clement was the eldest son of Colonel Thomas Moody, Knight of the Order of Military Merit; the brother of Colonel Hampden Clement Blamire Moody CB, Commander of the Royal Engineers in China and agent of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada; and the father of Colonel Richard Stanley Hawks Moody CB.Like his brother Hampden Clement, Richard Clement was a polymath who displayed prodigious abilities in mathematics, music, and architectural draughtsmanship from an early age, and who enjoyed both science and the fine arts.He entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich as a Gentleman Cadet at the age of 14, became Head of School the following year, and left school having completed his examinations one year later.