Wilfred Clarke (1895-1918)
From South Shields, served with 2nd Battalion DLI, 'Shot at Dawn' 1918.
Born in South Shields in 1895, Wilfred Clarke was working as a railway labourer, when he enlisted in July 1913, aged 18 years old, as a Regular soldier in the 2nd Battalion DLI at Colchester. When the First World War began, Private Clarke was posted to the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion DLI at South Shields, before he was finally sent overseas in January 1916 to join 2 DLI on the Western Front.
In May 1916, after having gone absent twice before whilst in England, Wilfred Clarke deserted. He was finally apprehended by police at Rouen in October 1916, tried by court martial and sentence to death in November 1916. This sentence was, however, then commuted to ten years’ penal servitude and suspended.
Wilfred Clarke returned to 2 DLI but again deserted in October 1917. He was caught at Calais and in January 1918 was again tried by court martial and sentenced to death. This time there was no reprieve.
Wilfred Clarke was executed on 9 February 1918. He was 23 years old, and the last DLI soldier to be executed during the First World War.
Wilfred Clarke is buried in Bancourt British Cemetery, France, in the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
As Wilfred Clarke had been executed, no campaign medals were sent to his next of kin in South Shields.
Where to look for more information about this person:
Julian Putkowski & Julian Sykes, Shot at Dawn (Barnsley, 1998), p. 267.
11606 Private Wilfred Clarke’s Army Service Record has survived and is held at The National Archives. This record may be seen on the Ancestry family history website: http://www.ancestry.com/
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=BritishArmyService&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=1&gss=ms_r_db&gsfn=wilfred&gsfn_x=XO&gsln=clarke&gsln_x=XO&_F8007A65=11606&dbOnly=_F8007A65%7C_F8007A65_x&_F8007A65_x=1&dbOnly=_F0007CF4%7C_F0007CF4_x&dbOnly=_F0007E0C%7C_F0007E0C_x&uidh=000
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/205670/CLARKE,%20WILFRED
North East War Memorials Project
http://www.newmp.org.uk/article.php?categoryid=99&articleid=1386&displayorder=1
http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=9653
Civil Parish: South Shields
Birth date: 1895
Death date: 9-Feb-1918
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 20 Garrick Street, South Shields.
Religion: Church of England.
Employment: Railway labourer.
Regular soldier.
Family: Parents: William Henry and Elizabeth Louisa Clarke, 20 Garrick Street, Stanhope Road, South Shields.
Military service:
9685 Private, 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion DLI, 1913.
11606 Private, 2nd Battalion DLI, 1913-1918.
Medal(s): As he had been executed, the British War Medal and Victory Medal were not sent to his next of kin.
Memorial(s): Bancourt British Cemetery, France.
Memorial Cross, St Mary’s Churchyard, Tyne Dock, South Shields.
Gender: Male
Contributed by Durham County Record Office | Durham at War Volunteer
