LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Leonard Herbert CLARK
Service No: 4789
Born: Annandale NSW, 18 October 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 2 October 1939 (at RAAF Station Laverton VIC)
Unit: No. 10 Repair and Salvage Unit, Milne Bay PNG
Died: Ground Accident, Milne Bay, 10 May 1943, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery PNG
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ernest Bertie and Marie Louisa Clark, of Campsie, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 113, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 10 May 1943, Warrant Officer Clark, a Fitter Armourer, was dangerously injured from an explosion and he died later that day. He was breaking down a Japanese anti-tank shell of approximately 37mm calibre and after removing the detonator, he commenced drilling the shell with an electric drill and it exploded.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/7/106