CLARK, William

William Clark was the son of Gordon Clark, of Worcester, and of Janet Clark, of 42 Park Road, Dudley. He served in the Royal Navy before the Great War and in 1914 was an Able Seaman on HMS Bulwark. She was a Formidable class battleship of 15,000 tons and 750 crew launched in 1899. In 1908 it had been commanded by Captain Robert Scott and in 1912 it had a major refit. It was, nevertheless, a pre-Dreadnought battleship and therefore outdated. In 1914 it was part of the 5th Battle Squadron in the Channel Fleet. In November the Squadron was in the Medway off Sheerness and on general guard against any form of German invasion. On the 26th Bulwark was destroyed by a catastrophic explosion and all the crew, except for 14, were lost. The cause was probably careless treatment of cordite in a magazine. Able Seaman William Clark was among those killed in action. He was 22 years of age and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval and on Dudley Memorials.