The Soldier's Details
- Surname:
- Clarke
- First Name:
- James Sydney
- Nick Name:
- Syd
- Rank:
- Private
- Regimental #:
- WX7625
- Company:
- ‘C' Company, No. 11 Platoon
- Enlisted:
- 10.08.1940
- DOB:
- 9.06.1918
- Place of Birth:
- Bunbury, Western Australia
- Father's Name:
- James Charles Clarke
- Mothers's Name:
- Nellie Margaret Clarke
- Religion:
- Roman Catholic
- Pre-war Occupation:
- Abattoir Worker
- Memorial:
- Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Plot A3, Row C, Grave 20, Age 25.
- Singapore:
- Selarang Camp Changi
- Force:
- 'A' Force Burma, Green Force, No 3 Battalion
- Camps Burma:
- Victoria Point, Kendau 4.8km, Thetkaw, Khonkan, Augganaung.
- POW#:
- 1475
- Cause of Death:
- Pellagra and Cardiac Failure
- Place of Death:
- Khonkan 55km Camp
- Date of Death:
- 13.08.1943
- Buried:
- Grave No. 44, Khonkan
General Description
‘Syd’ Clarke enlisted AIF 1940 and later joined 2/4th’s “C” Coy 11 Platoon under Lt Boyle.
On 4th May 1942 the approximate number of 3,000 men in ‘A’ Force Burma embarked at Singapore on two ships. They were the first group of POWs to depart Singapore .
‘A’ Force was then split into three groups to work on airfield runway repairs at Victoria Point, Mergue and Tavoy prior to moving north to begin work on the Burma-Thailand rail link.
Clarke was evacuated sick from Augganaung 105km Camp on 7.7.1943 to Khonkan 55k where he died on 13 August 1943 having suffered cardiac arrest following pellegra. He was 25 years of age.
Read further about ‘A’ Force Burma, Green Force No. 3 Battalion.
There is a possibility James Sydney Clarke who enlisted 10 August 1940 may well have changed his birth year from 1921 to 1918.
Syd as he known, was from a large family of 13 children. His parents had married in 1917.
His father died in Bunbuey 1946 and his mother in 1980.
Camp Locations:
- Selarang Camp Changi - Singapore
- Aungganaung,105Kilo - Burma
- Kendau, Kandaw, 4 Kilo - Burma
- Khonkan, 55Kilo Hospital 360k - Burma
- Victoria Point, Kawthoung - Burma. \'A\' Force, Green Force No. 3 Btn
- Thetkaw 14 Kilo - Burma
