Personnel Index - Detail

Name
CLARK
First Names
Donald Arthur
Rank
Flying Officer
Service
R A F
Service Number
189668
Crew Position
Pilot
Posting In
July 1945

 



F/O Clark (extract from the 1946 RAF Mepal squadron photograph)

Information from Mark Evans:

Donald Arthur Clark was born in April 1922. He joined the RAF aged eighteeen in 1940 and volunteered for air crew.
He spent most of the war over in Canada in Training Command flying Martinets and training the gunners of the big bombers. 
He was posted to 49Sqn in July 1945. While with the squadron he met a WAAF called Dorothy Brown who later became his wife and my grandmother.

Following the end of the war he flew several "Cook's Tours" (low level trips over the cities of Germany) and repatriation flights to Italy.
One flight to Heligoland he had a BBC commentator on board.
 





The above image possibly taken whilst flying to Heligoland (see logbook section above)
'Bullseye' operations were post war training exercises using live ammunition. Heligoland was a favourite target for these trips.



Possibly taken flying to Italy (F/O Clark appears to be wearing sunglasses).



Lancaster RF183 at RAF Mepal, Cambridgeshire.



Pilot F/O D A Clark (centre in the dark flying suit) with Lancaster EA-P and crew.



A crew photograph........possibly prior to an Italian flight as there are two pilots (see logbook section below)
F/O Clark is third from the LHS.



Logbook section showing Italian trips as co-pilot.



F/O Clark is second from the LHS.

Note that in the previous two crew photographs, the Lancaster is painted in its "Tiger Force" colour scheme.........white upper and black lower surface.



N-Nan in "Tiger Force" colour scheme.



Mark Evans writes:
My granny is the lady stood up on the far left in the long dress and my grandad is stood in the middle of the photo.



The number of hours flown by F/O Clark as of 31st July 1946. Note the number of hours in the Martinet.


Donald Clark was 'posted out' in October 2016.