Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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R/79118   Sergeant James Herbert S Clarke
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Dated added: 27/06/2020   Last updated: 27/05/2024
Personal Details
Regiment/Service: 148 Squadron (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (Canadian Air Force)
Died: 04/11/1943 (Killed in Action)
Age: 23
Summary      
James Herbert Stevenson Clarke was the son of Mrs J H Clarke. He was born in Cookstown about 1920. James was educated at Oldtown School. He emigrated to Canada at a young age. James attended Montreal Diocesan College. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force from the college. He received his wings in February 1942. On the evening of 3rd November 1943, his plane took off from its Libyan base for a night mission supply-dropping for Yugoslav partisans. The aircraft did not return
Sergeant James Herbert S Clarke
Further Information
James Herbert Stevenson Clarke was the son of Mrs J H Clarke. He was born in Cookstown about 1920.
James was educated at Oldtown School under Miss Ramsay and Mr George Ramsay, J.P.
James was the grandson of Mr and Mrs James Stevenson of Maghera, formerly of Millburn Street, Cookstown
He emigrated to Canada at a young age.
James attended Montreal Diocesan College.
He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force from the college.
James Herbert Stevenson Clarke received his wings in February 1942.
In March he went overseas.
By November 1944, Warrant Officer Class James Clarke was with 148 (R.A.F.) Squadron.
On the evening of 3rd November 1943, a Liberator (Serial No. AL509) took off from its Libyan base for a night mission supply-dropping for Yugoslav partisans, codename Fungus 35. Warrant Officer Class James Clarke was bomb aimer, part of a seven man crew.
 Liberator aircraft
The aircraft did not return. It struck a hilltop four miles north of Kosinjski Zamost, 60 miles southeast of Fiume, on Adriatic coast of Croatia. All seven crew were killed. They were:
bullet Warrant Officer Class I James Herbert Stevenson CLARKE (R/79118) Bomb Aimer
bullet Flight Lieutenant Hugh Irvine CRAWFORD (411065) Wireless Operator
bullet Flight Sergeant William Joseph DOWLE (1066563) Air Gunner
bullet Flight Lieutenant Eldon Burke ELLIOTT (J/4524) Navigator
bullet Warrant Officer Class I Ralph Edward HAWKEN (R/81068) Air Gunner
bullet Flight Lieutenant Maurice PASSMORE (116910) Pilot
bullet Flight Sergeant Edwin Archibald TOOLE (R/53246) Flight Engineer
rom the Mid Ulster Mail dated 18th March 1944: Canadian Airman Presumed Killed
Warrant Officer J H S Clarke, son of Mrs J H Clarke, of Outremont, Canada, and grandson of Mr and Mrs James Stevenson of Maghera, and formerly of Millburn Street, Cookstown, who was reported missing, is now presumed dead.
He was born in Cookstown and educated at Oldtown School under Miss Ramsay and Mr George Ramsay, J.P. On going to Canada he entered Montreal Diocesan College from which he enlisted, and received his wings in February 1942, and came overseas a month later. It is understood he was killed while on a mission for the Royal Canadian Air Force, he was a bomb aimer and unfortunately his plane crashed. Besides his grandparents he leaves his mother and married sisters, all in Canada.
From an unknown Canadian newspaper: Presumed Dead
Previously reported missing after air operations overseas, Warrant Officer Clarke, 23, is now for official purposes, ‘presumed dead’. He was the son of Mrs J H Clarke of Outremont, and late of County Tyrone, Ireland. He was educated in Ireland and in Montreal schools and was attending the Diocesan Theological College in Montreal whwen he enlisted. He received his wings in February 1942 and went overseas a month later he is survived by his mother, three sisters (Mrs V Anderson of Town of Mount Royal, Mrs W G Finlay of Three Rivers, and Mrs L Brunelle of Moncton, New Brunswick (N.B.)) and his grandparents living in Ireland.
His grandparents, his mother and married sisters all resided in Canada at the time of his death.
Warrant Officer Class James Herbert Stevenson Clarke is buried in Belgrade War Cemetery in what is now Serbia, part of the old state of Yogoslavia. His inscription reads: SPLENDID YOU PASSED, YOU HONOURED THE CALL OF GOD, KING AND COUNTRY
Warrant Officer Class James Herbert Stevenson Clarke is buried in Belgrade War Cemetery
The CWGC record Warrant Officer Class I James Herbert Stevenson Clarke as the adopted son of Elizabeth H Clarke, of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
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References and Links
No Link Reference Map Doc
1 Canadian Virtual War Memorial Details of James H S Clarke
2 FindAGrave.com Photo of James H S Clarke's grave
3 RAF Commands Details of crew and loss
4 War Graves Photographic Project Photo of James H S Clarke's grave can be purchased here
5 Wartime NI Edwin Toole, also on flight, wife from Belfast
Cookstown District's War Dead Acknowledgements 2010-2023