The Airmen's Stories - F/O H D Clark

Hugh Desmond Clark was born on 30th March 1919, his father was Lt. Col. William Charles Clark DSO & Bar of the Royal Fusiliers.

HD Clark attended Wellington College from 1933 to 1936. He was a member of Hill House and a Dormitory Prefect (photographs below).

All images courtesy of Wellington College.

He entered the RAF College Cranwell as a Flight Cadet in January 1937 and later became a Kings Cadet as well as gaining a Hockey Blue.

On graduation he was granted a permanent commission in December 1938.

Clark joined 213 Squadron at Wittering in early 1939. He was detached to the School of Air Navigation at Manston on 11th March 1939 for a short navigation course.

He was posted from 213 to 85 Squadron in France on 13th May 1940. Clark was shot down and wounded in Hurricane P2824 over Seclin on the 16th. After recovery from his wounds he rejoined 213 Squadron, then at Exeter, on 19th August.

Clark was wounded in combat over Portland on 25th August in Hurricane P3200 and did not return to 213 Squadron until 1st November 1940.

In the afternoon of that day he intercepted Me109s over Portsmouth but was shot down from 25,000ft in Hurricane N2608. He bailed out, landing in a tree at on the main road to Wickham, north of Fareham, with his Hurricane diving into the ground at Frith Farm, Wickham in the Meon valley.

An excavation of his Hurricane in 2019 found his control column with the gun button set to fire.

His subsequent service is currently undocumented however (April 2019) the Archivist of Wellington College forwarded the following data from their records:

Canada 1941-42
India 1944
Burma 1945
French Indo-China 1945-46
HQ British Commonwealth Occupation Force, Japan 1946
Air Ministry 1947-49
Married Margaret Renshaw 1949.

1951 Administrative Plans, HQ Bomber Command
1954 Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia as Senior Air Liason Officer

He retired on 1st October 1960 as a Wing Commander. Clark does not appear in the Air Force List after 1986.