CLARK, James Francis
| Service Number: | NX55941 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/12th Field Company / Squadron RAE |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 5 November 1909 |
| Home Town: | Kalgoorlie, Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Gold Mining |
| Died: | Illness while a POW of the Japanese, Thailand, 20 June 1943, aged 33 years |
| Cemetery: |
Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, (Burma) Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Thanbyuzayat, Mon State, Myanmar |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Sapper, NX55941 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Sapper, NX55941, 2nd/12th Field Company / Squadron RAE | |
| 2 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX55941 |
Help us honour James Francis Clark's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Matthew Grice
Jim was the son of James Clark (1874-1931) and Johanna Veronica Dillon (1886-1949).
He died of illness as a prisoner of war after his unit the 2/12 Field Company were captured by the Japanese.
Biography contributed by Geoff Tilley
James Francis Clark was born in November 1909 in Perth, to parents James and Johanna Veronica Clark (nee Dillon).
It was in 1907 that James’s parents married in Kalgoorlie. James was one of four siblings with two brothers and a sister.
James spent his early years in the goldfields of Kalgoorlie as his father held a senior position at the Great Boulder Mine.
James along with his two brothers commenced employment in mining and also prospecting in the Goldfields.
His family later moved back to North Perth.
It is unknown when and why James travelled to New South Wales, but his occupation is recorded as a miner with his address listed as George Street Sydney.
James enlisted into the AIF in July 1940 at Martin Place, Sydney. His training was conducted in New South Wales where he was attached to the Royal Australian Engineers, 2/12 Field Company.
James embarked from Sydney in July 1941 for overseas service, disembarking in Singapore in the August.
His records indicated he served in Malaya but returned to Singapore when Japan entered the war and commenced its advance through Malaya capturing Singapore, where British Forces surrendered on 15thFebruary 1942.
James was captured and with many other Australian’s became prisoners, held in Changi prison in Singapore. It was in November 1943 that James was recorded as a Prisoner of War.
It was in 1943 that James left Singapore as a part of F Force and transported to Thailand by rail to work on the Thai – Burma Railway where he was subject to severe conditions at the hands of the Japanese guards.
He was eventually transferred to a remote POW camp along the railway to Songkurai Camp #2 where the harsh conditions continued.
It was in this camp that James became ill and died on the 20th June 1943 to malaria.
Sapper James Francis Clark, Service number NX55941 of 2/12th Field Company Engineers, died whilst a prisoner of war in Thailand on 20th June 1943.
He was 33 years of age.
He is buried in the Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Myanmar (Burma) and is remembered with honour.
Click images to start slideshow.