(From the November 2012 newsletter) Some time ago we discovered that there were only 267 Centaur names on the Sydney Memorial to the Missing; that of Darwin Clark, the Red Cross Representative on board had been omitted.
Mr Clark was on the Ship’s Medical Staff, attached to the Army, housed, victualled and kitted out by the Army, with the honorary rank of Lieutenant, but not actually of the Army. It seems his name slipped through the net when the Army presented the names of its casualties to the Sydney Memorial.
We followed up this omission and can now report that Darwin Clark’s name has been added to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database and will be added to the Sydney Memorial in due course, probably when a panel needs replacement or refurbishment. His service and sacrifice are now listed on the Debt of Honour website.
It is particularly significant that the nation should acknowledge Darwin Clark’s service. He had previously served in a combat unit in the First World War, and because of a war injury was not accepted for active service in the Second, so he elected to serve his country as a Red Cross Representative. He served in that capacity on both the Oranje, and the Centaur.