Education
Hugh Clark was educated at Bancroft School, Woodford Green, Hertford Grammar School and at King"s College, University of Durham.
Hugh Clark was educated at Bancroft School, Woodford Green, Hertford Grammar School and at King"s College, University of Durham.
He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in July 1943 and later transferred to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and was posted to the 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire (the 52nd) in September 1944. The 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire was a Gliderborne Battalion, part of 6 Airlanding Brigade, 6 Airborne Division. He served with 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire during the Ardennes Campaign and in the Netherlands from December 1944 to February 1945.
Clark was a platoon commander during: the air assault landing over the River Rhine on 24 March 1945.
The 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire encountered fierce enemy opposition and sustained 50% casualties during the battle of the landing area. Clark immediately led the remnants of his platoon in a counter-attack with fixed bayonets to recapture the bridge.
During the action he also manned anti-tank weapons to stop approaching tanks. An extract from the citation for his Military Cross reads: " lieutenant was entirely due to the determination and rapid action of this officer that a very important bridge was denied falling intact to the enemy.
His courage and leadership inspired his whole platoon.
" He then took part in the advance across Germany to the Baltic Sea. Following the Second World War he served in Palestine before being demobilised from the Army in 1946. He lived in Crewkerne, Somerset.
Clark wrote a book on his wartime experiences titled Hugh"s Wartime Memoirs which was published privately in 2006.
Captain Hugh Clark Military Cross died on 11 September 2010.
Clark was a member of the 2nd Ox and Buckinghamshire guard of honour for the meeting between Field Marshal Montgomery and Marshal Rokossovsky at Wismar on 7 May 1945.