Hugh Vincent Clarke (27 November 1919 – 28 November 1996) was an Australian soldier, public servant and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, specialising in military history. Born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland, on 27 November 1919, Clarke was a cadet surveyor with the

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Main Roads Commission. He left the commission to enlist in the 2/10th Field Regiment, 8th Division in July 1940. He served as a bombardier in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

before being taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in February 1942. He was imprisoned in

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...

and also forced to work on the infamous

Thai-Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 by ...

. After the war, Clarke joined the Commonwealth Public Service and became Director of Information and Public Relations for the Department of External Affairs in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. He retired because of ill health in 1976. He was married with five children.

Bibliography

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References

1919 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian male writers Australian Army soldiers Australian male novelists Australian Army personnel of World War II 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers Australian prisoners of war Australian public servants Australian male short story writers People from Brisbane World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Burma Railway prisoners {{Australia-writer-stub