LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Maxwell John CLARKE
Service No: 427869
Born: Perth WA, 28 July 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 7 October 1942
Unit: No. 36 Service Flying Training School (RCAF), Penhold, Alberta
Died: Aircraft Accident, Alberta, 2 January 1944, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Red Deer Cemetery, Alberta, Canada
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Guildford and Sylvia Frances Clarke; husband of Joy Elizabeth Clarke, of Inglewood, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Mount Hawthorn WA
Remembered: Panel 133, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
Remembered: Honour Avenues, Kings Park WA
On the 2nd January 1944, an aircraft from the No 36 Flying Training School at Penhold, Alberta, Canada, crashed at 1215 hours during a cross-country flight. The aircraft hit high tension wires during bad visibility, seven miles from Red Deer. The Pilot, who had completed his training, was killed in the crash. Both crew members are buried in the Red Deer Cemetery.
The crew members were:
Flying Officer Ronald Edward Lay (128576) (RAFVR) (Instructor Pilot)
Leading Aircraftman Maxwell John Clarke (427869) (Student Pilot)
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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/7/282