Jamaican WWII veteran who joined RAF at 16 remembered as ‘courageous and humble’
A Jamaican Second World War veteran who lied about his age to join the Royal Air Force at 16 has been remembered as “courageous and humble”.
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Gilbert Constantine Clarke, who was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, signed up as a mechanic in 1943 after reading newspaper reports of ships being sighted in the Caribbean.
He died on May 23 at the age of 100.
His life was commemorated during a funeral service in east London on Saturday morning when a New Orleans-style jazz band led the cortege in East Ham.
Members of the RAF then carried his coffin into East Ham town hall.
Colin Mills, chairman of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, which supports former servicemen and women with free trips and entertainment, said: “Gilbert represented the very best of his generation – courageous, humble and devoted to his country during one of the darkest periods in our history.
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“It was an honour for our charity and our volunteer London cab drivers to spend time with Gilbert over the years at commemorations, social events and trips where his warmth, humour and remarkable stories touched so many people.
“Veterans like Gilbert are at the heart of everything the Taxi Charity stands for and we will forever be grateful for his service and sacrifice.
“I personally felt it was a real privilege to be Gilbert’s driver on his last trip abroad with the West Indian Regiment to Ypres – a journey I will never forget and one that meant so much to all involved.”
Within days of signing up, Mr Clarke was kitted out, receiving basic training at the Kingston Palisades RAF camp in Jamaica before being sent on a troop-carrying ship to Britain via the United States.
During the war, he was stationed at British and American air bases where he fitted, serviced and repaired radar and other electronic equipment for planes including Hurricanes and Spitfires.
He previously described feeling “very excited” when he joined the RAF and rejoicing as he heard planes flying towards Europe on D-Day in 1944.
“Everyone was doing their bit, you know,” Mr Clarke previously said.
“It was important not to do nothing because Hitler … there was word in the Caribbean saying any time he could be colonising the Caribbean and South America, and so we had to do something.”
He also told the Press Association how he lied about his age to join the RAF.
“I had just left school at 16 and I thought ‘why not?’,” Mr Clarke, speaking in 2024 at an event organised by the Spirit of Normandy Trust, said.
“In the newspapers and radio they said they’d sighted a few boats in the Caribbean, so I thought I’d join up.”
Talking about the journey from Jamaica to the US, he said: “In the Atlantic, many, many ships joined us and every now and again, the ships were torpedoed.”
Mr Clarke, who then lived in London, went on to describe hearing planes flying towards Europe on D-Day.
He recalled: “It started with that noise you hear.
“It was the planes going towards Europe – massive, massive planes.
“All the boys shouted ‘Give them hell boys!’, and then we thought that should be the end of the war, hopefully.”