Douglas Wellwood Clarke
Midshipman Douglas Wellwood Clarke, R.N. (23 February, 1879 – 1957) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He did not serve long, resigning his commission in 1898 despite "VG [very good]" evaluations.
Life & Career
The son of Stephenson Clarke and Agnes Bridger was born in Corydon, Surrey. As his father passed away in 1891,[1] Douglas Clarke listed his mother, of Croydon Lodge, Croydon as his guardian when he joined the Navy. He placed third in order of merit of the candidates in competitive exmainations for the January, 1893 intake term at the training ship H.M.S. Britannia.[2] His high placement in the examinations earned him an "Officer of the Watch" Telescope manufactured by Voigtlander & Sohn, Braunschweig, bearing the inscription "To Mr. D.W. Clarke R.N. for passing third into H.M.S. Britannia December 1892 from W.T. Littlejohns R.N."[3]
Clarke gained eight months' seniority upon passing out of Britannia in December, 1894. He was appointed to the second class battleship Camperdown in the Mediterranean on 15 January, 1895. He was lent to the second class battleship Collingwood on 18 May 1895, having been promoted to the rank of Midshipman on the 15th. His Service Record is somewhat obscure at this point, but he returned to Camperdown after she completed a refit, remaining in her until 2 December, 1897.[4]
Clarke's final appointment was to the cruiser Raleigh, dated 10 May, 1898. He is noted as being sick on shore on at Oban on 5 June 1898. He remained only until 25 August, 1898, when his resignation of his commission was accepted.
Clarke die in 1957 in Kent, England. His sons, Andrew Board Stephenson Clarke (1906 – 1943) and Guy Douglas Clarke (1909 – 1942) would both serve in the Royal Navy and both die in combat in World War II.[1]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wikitree.com page on D. W. Clarke.
- ↑ "Cadetships In The Royal Navy." The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Jan 03, 1893; pg. 11; Issue 33838.
- ↑ Contact form email from Jeffrey Jones, who possesses this artifact, on 20220108.
- ↑ Clarke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45/10. f. 10.
