submitted by his daughter Lucy Walton
Clement Woods (known to his family as Clem) was born at Woonona, NSW on 31 May 1916. He was the tenth of twelve children born to John McBrien Woods and Frances Maria Woods (there being eleven boys and one girl).
He grew up on the family farm at Woonona. He was educated at St Columbkille’s Convent School at Corrimal.
On completion of his schooling he was employed as a mechanic and driver for a haulage company in Woonona.
He completed his St John Ambulance Certificate and served as a volunteer doing weekend relief at Bulli Ambulance Station.
By this time he had met and was going out with a Bulli girl, Beryl Annie King.
With the outbreak of World War 2 he enlisted on 17 July 1940 at Sydney Showground, and on 22nd November 1940 he became a member of the 2/12th Field Ambulance, 8th Division, AIF Headquarters company.
After some months the unit transferred to Cowra for further training.
On 10 March 1941 he married Beryl at St Raphael’s Catholic Church Cowra. He was attended by his best friend Jack Nichols, also in the 2/12th FA. But Jack was sick when the unit boarded the Centaur and he missed out. He remained a close friend of Clem’s family for the rest of his life.
The unit received orders and departed Cowra on 12th March to travel through NSW, Victoria, S.A. and N.T. to Darwin. Beryl returned to her family home at Bulli and on 22nd October 1941 their daughter Isabel Mary was born prematurely. Clem was not to see her until she was eleven months old, on his return from Darwin.
He was in camp at Reidtown on the South Coast (near Wollongong) when the unit received orders and left there for Sydney on 10 May 1943. They boarded the Centaur on 11th, then sailed north on 12 May. He was lost on AHS Centaur on 14 May 1943. His second daughter Lucy Maria was born on 28 January 1944.
Although we did not know our father we were fortunate to have ‘living memories’ of him that our mother and her family and his brothers and sister (who were always in touch with us) were able to tell us about our father. He was keen on farming and was looking forward to farming with his brother-in-law at war’s end. He was a hobby bee-keeper and he also loved tinkering with car, truck and motorbike engines. Several of our cousins insist their interest in all things mechanical came from watching our father working on motors. His widow Beryl survived him for 64 years until her death on 17 May 2007.
We scattered her ashes as per her wishes off Caloundra, Qld, on 27 June 2009 on what would have been her 93rd birthday. His daughter Isabel died suddenly on 15 December 2019.
He is survived by his daughter Lucy, five granddaughters, six great-granddaughters and three great-grandsons. A great-great-granddaughter was born on 1st August 2022.
