Percy Norman Clark was born in the December quarter of 1923 in the Hawarden Registration District (Hawarden Vol. 11b 350). His date of birth on the UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1730-1960 for Percy Norman Clark is given as the 14th October 1923 in Hope, Flintshire.
He was the son of Frederick William & Alice Clark (nee Jones), there is a marriage in the March quarter of 1913 at Dorchester between Frederick W. Clark and Alice Jones (Dorchester Vol. 5a Page 617).
The 1921 census, which was taken on the 19th of June 1921, gives us an insight into their family as they are seen living at High Street, Caergwrle, Denbighshire. Frederick William Clarke is head of the household, age 39 years and 2 months old, born in Cerne Abbas, Dorsetshire. He was a Coal Miner (Hewer) for the Wrexham & Westminster Coliers Coy. Ltd., at Gresford Colliery. Alice Clark, his wife, is 31 years and 9 months old and born in Guilsfield, Montgomeryshire. Their children were Mabel Clarke, 7 years, and 8 months old, born in Binnegan?, Dorsetshire. Joan Clarke was 5 years and 9 months old; Arthur Clark was 2 years and 8 months old & Leonard Clarke was 1 month old, all born in Hope, Flintshire.
I also have no knowledge about Percy Norman Clark’s childhood nor his teenage years, except from the newspaper cuttings below. They tell us that before he enlisted in the Royal Navy, Percy Norman Clarke was a keen member of the Caergwrle Home Guard and, he was a former scholar at the Presbyterian Church Sunday School.
I found his family living at 70 Bryn Yorkin, Caergwrle, Hawarden, Flintshire on the 1939 National Register which was taken on the 29th of September 1939. This source gives us the dates of birth for the household, except those who are redacted because of the 100 years rule. Frederick W. Clark had been born on the 14th of April 1882 and he was a Road Repairer for Flintshire County Council. Alice Clark had been born on the 10th of September 1889 and as most married women who did not have a job, was described as “Doing Household Duties.” Arthur C. Clark had been born on the 10th of October 1918 and single. Alfred L. Clark has been born on the 11th of May 1921 and both were single and Steelworkers doing heavy work. Winifred M Clark had been born on the 20th of November 1930 and was at school. There were two redacted or closed records and the register tells us -” For individual people, records remain closed for a century after their birth (the 100-year rule), unless it can be proven that they passed away before this milestone.”
Percy Norman Clark would have been 16 years old when WW2 started and I found from the newspaper cutting from the Chester Chronicle. 8th May 1943 (Page 3 Col. 4) of his funeral that he had only joined the Royal Navy the year before his death.
He was to find himself in Great Yarmouth on HMS Midge which was a Coastal Forces Base. Please click on the link:-
https://amershammuseum.org/history/people/20th-century/aileen-kilburn/
HMS Midge was a Coastal Forces Base located at Great Yarmouth. In 1943 there were 53 boats including mine layers, motor torpedo boats and motor gun boats used for escorting shipping convoys in the North Sea and for protecting the East Anglian coast. This was known as ‘E Boat Alley’ because the German fast attack boats, Schnellboots (called ‘E’ for enemy) were operating there.
I wanted to know how Percy Norman had died and I asked the WW2talk Forum if they could help me:- http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/mtb-630-1st-may-1943.90485/ They, as usual, were wonderful, especially “Temujin” who provided lots of information including links. Copy & pasted below is part of the description from Coastal Forces Veterans Forum which was part of the reply “Temujin” sent, describing what happened on the 1st May 1943 on MTB 630. Another Ordinary Seaman – William Cumming Bolton, C/JX 362711, age 19 years also died with Percy Norman, as did Lieutenant Graham Andrew Guthrie, RNVR.
Part of the reply was this link from the Coastal Forces Veterans Forum, many thanks to the Forum:- http://cfv.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=585&p=2306&hilit=630#p2306 please click on the link, but I have cut and pasted part of the “conversation” on the website to give a little bit of insight to what Percy Norman and the others went through.
“630 was the last boat in the line, and incredibly the enemy did not open fire until our four boats had had the chance to strike first and strike hard. The first target did not even fire a shot at us. – all her guns must have been disabled very quickly. The next two, were severely mauled but they and the fourth gun coaster soon began to reply with their larger calibre guns and that was when a shell hit the bridge and caused heavy casualties. The Captain (Lt Graham Andrew Guthrie RNVR), the starboard Vickers gunner and starboard .5” gunner were killed instantly. The First Lieutenant, TSLt Frederick Maurice John Goddard RNVR, was so badly wounded that he died next day in hospital and eight others including the Navigating Officer (TSLt William George Dalziel RNVR) and the Coxswain were wounded, many of them seriously.
Lt Guthrie, as 630 was last in line and the first attack had been so successful that return fire had dwindled, decided to attempt a depth charge attack on the fourth escort, and closed at speed. He shouted to me. “Leslie tell them to release manually” and as I turned back after doing that, the shell hit the bridge. “
I am very grateful to “Temujin” and the Forum at WW2 talk for all their help over the years, helping me to shed a little light on these brave men and boys who gave up us so much for us all.
https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1943-05MAY.htm
Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies, World War 2
Researched & compiled by Don Kindell, all rights reserved.
1st – 31st MAY 1943 – Edited by Gordon Smith, Naval-History.Net
1 May 1943 – MTB.630, surface action
Below is a photograph held by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) of one of the Fairmile ‘D’ Motor Gunboats which would later become MTBs with the addition of torpedo tubes. There is an MTB variant at the rear of it. (thanks to IWM)
(MTB’S IN THE THAMES. 20 MAY 1943, AT WESTMINSTER PLA PIER.. © IWM (A 16732)IWM Non Commercial Licence
Of the first 96 of the Fairmile ‘D’ type, commencing with MGB 601, half the boats were completed as gunboats and the other half as motor torpedo boats. Of the 48 completed as gunboats, including MGB 609 (later MTB 609), 16 were sent to the Mediterranean, leaving the remaining 32 to serve in Home Waters with the 17th to 22nd MGB Flotillas. The very early gunboat builds did not feature torpedo scallops, which were the insets fitted at the sides of the forward deck to enable future dual-use, visible on the MGB shown here.
Chester Chronicle. 8th May 1943 (Page 3 Col. 4) The Funeral of Percy Norman , also tells us that he was the first serviceman who had died in this war from the village, where the fallen serviceman was allowed to be brought home and buried in his own village. Seven local men had previously died in the conflict.
Mr. & Mrs. F. W. Clark had received a letter from a Lieut. Commander and an extract was read at the funeral service – “Your son was very much liked by all, and will be sadly missed. He lost his life in a very Gallant Action.”
The Chester Chronicle. 15th May 1943 (Page 6 Col. 5), also told us that he had 2 other brothers who were in the Forces, Fusilier Arthur C Clark and Gunner Len Clarke who was in the Middle East. This source also tells us that Percy Norman had worked at John Summers & Son’s steelworks at Shotton before he entered the Royal Navy.
The funeral was attended by nearly all the parish and the Presbyterian Church was not nearly large enough to hold everyone. The Caerwgrle Home Guard, under the command of Major G. Rowlands, in one of their largest parades provided full military honours. They provided bearers and at the cemetery their guard of honour stretched from the Cemetery gates to the graveside. Many thanks to the two newspapers named in this story.
Young Percy Norman Clark was obviously very well loved and he had his life before him, but he gave that to us for our freedom in a very gallant action and he shouldn’t be forgotten. His family made sure his name was put forward to be remembered for perpetuity on the Hope WW2War Memorial.
Percy Norman’s parents Frederick William & Alice Clark, were alive to suffer the death of their son, but I believe that Frederick William Clark died 2 years after Percy Norman’s death on 1945 (Hawarden Vol. 11B Page 188) and Alice Clarke was to pass away in 1966 (Hawarden Vol. 8A Page 583).
