Clarke-Cecil-Edmund

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

2090504

Sapper

Cecil Edmund Clarke

1921/07/21 - Born Kempston, Bedfordshire

Son of Thomas and Catherine Mary Clarke

Occupation Carpenter

Royal Engineers

288 Field Company

18th Division

Service

1941/10/30 - Left Liverpool for Halifax in Convoy CT.5.

1941/11/08 - At Halifax transferred to American liners

1941/11/10 - Left Halifax with Convoy William Sail 12X, destination unknown, believed to be Middle East.

Above Photo of Convoy William Sail 12X supplied by the late Maurice Rooney

Vought SB 2U Vindicator Scout Bomber - USS Ranger which was flying an Anti Submarine patrol over the convoy.

Front Line Top to Bottom:-

USS West Point - USS Mount Vernon - USS Wakefield - USS Quincy (Heavy Cruiser)

Back Row Top To Bottom:-

USAT Leonard Wood - USS Vincennes (Heavy Cruiser) - USS Joseph T Dickman

(USS Orizaba Ap-24 also sailed with Convoy though not pictured in photo)

1941/12/08 - Japan entered war by bombing Pearl Harbour and invading Malaya

18th Division diverted from Middle East and sent to Singapore

1942/02/15 - Singapore surrendered to Japanese

1942/03/26 - WO 417/40, Casualty List No. 781. Missing

1943/04/16 - WO 417/59, Casualty List No. 1111. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 781 as Missing, 15/02/1942. Now reported a Prisoner of War

Japanese PoW

1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore

PoW No. M365

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

1942/10/27 - Transported oversea to Taiwan (Formosa) in Dainachi Maru (Built Liverpool 1900)

1942/11/13 - Arrived Keelung, Taiwan and trained to Taichu No. 2 Camp, which was in the centre of Taiwan

1942/11/14 - Arrived Taichu No. 2 Camp

New PoW No. I 2245

Work was to build a flood diversion channel in the river valley which ran adjacent to the camp

1943/08/12 - Transferred to Kinkaseki No. 1 Camp

Worked in Copper Mine

1945/03/22 - Transported to Shirakawa, No. 4 Camp

1945/09/07 - Liberated Camp 4, Taiwan

1945/10/10 - WO417/98, Casualty List No. 1880. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 1111 as reported Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.