Frank M Clarke | ParaData

Frank Mortimer Clarke joined the Royal Berkshire Regiment on 20 September 1939, and later volunteered for The Parachute Regiment.

He served in North Africa with the 8th Army, and also took part in the second wave at Taranto, Italy in 1943 with the 10th Parachute Battalion.

In early 1944 he attended 161st (Royal Military College) Officer Cadet Training Unit at Aldershot, and was then commissioned in August.

Second Lieutenant Clarke attended course 136 at RAF Ringway, which ran from 1 to 17 October 1944, for parachute training.

He was then posted to the Isle of Wight as a Parachute Instructor.

After the war, Captain Clarke served in Palestine with the 8th/9th Parachute Battalion.

Frank Clarke died on 13 March 2012, aged 95.

By Rebecca Blackburn

Date not known
8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion, The 10th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (10 PARA) (Captain)

Operations

Event

Italy

The Italians had capitulated while the force was still at sea. The sinking of HMS Abdiel by a mine in the harbour, however, resulted in the loss of 130 soldiers from 6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion including their Commanding Officer.

Event

Palestine

Arab intransigence over the surge of Jewish immigration that followed the Holocaust in Europe led to the forming of extreme dissident Zionist groups such as IZL (Irgun Zwai Leumi) and the Stern Gang, all seeking to promote their aims through violence.

Decorations

Group photos_2

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No 5 Platoon, B Coy, 161st (RMC) OCTU, Aldershot, May 1944.

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Group Photograph of the Junior NCO's Cadre, Blandford, 1949.

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Solo photos_2

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Captain Frank Clarke, c1950s.

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Frank Clarke, with a photograph of himself as a Captain.

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Captain Frank M Clarke

28 Dec 1916 - 13 Mar 2012

Service History