CLARKE, Richard Slobom
| Service Number: | 69398 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 August 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Leading Aircraftman |
| Last Unit: | No. 21 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 1 January 1912 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Ultimo Technical College, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Textile Machinist |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , 18 December 1981, aged 69 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, NSW |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 26 Aug 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 69398 | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Oct 1942: | Transferred Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman, No. 3 School of Technical Training Ultimo | |
| 27 May 1943: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, Instrument Repairer | |
| 4 Oct 1943: | Transferred Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, No. 23 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| 15 Sep 1944: | Transferred Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, No. 21 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| 18 Dec 1945: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 69398 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Leading Aircraftman Richard Slobom Clarke (Service No:69398) enlisted in the RAAF as a Trainee on 26 August 1942 and was described at interview as 'A good type. Intelligent' (National Archives Australia). As an Aircraftman I, he attended No 1 and No 3 Schools of Technical Training and was mustered as an Instrument Repairer. Promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 27 May 1943, LAC Clarke served with Nos 23 and 21 Squadrons and was in New Guinea in 1944. LAC Clarke was Discharged on 18 December 1945.
Born in 1912 in Perth WA, Dick was the second of three children of Donald Sayers Clarke (b1877 in MacArthur, Victoria) and Miriam Slobom (b1877 in Bendigo, Victoria). Donald (a Clerk) and Miriam married in 1907 in Perth, WA where Donald worked as a Clerk - by 1921 the family was settled at Bondi in Sydney, NSW where Donald worked as a Furniture Dealer.
Dick worked in Sydney as a Custom's Clerk and Mechanic's Assistant (Kingsfordsmith Air Services), and was a Textile Machinist in 1940 when he married Myrtle Olive Matthews (b1912 in Morriset, NSW) - Myrtle was a Dressmaker in Sydney. Following his Discharge from the RAAF, Dick and Myrtle settled in Bondi where they raised their family and Dick worked as a Machinist, Removalist and Storeman. Dick died in 1981 and Myrtle in 1993.
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