Clarke Te Ihi “Clarkie” Waetford
Lance Corporal · NZ #3420 · R2 Patrol · MM
| Rank | Lance Corporal |
|---|---|
| Service number | NZ #3420 |
| Patrol | R2 Patrol |
| Regiment | 2nd NZ Divisional Cavalry Regiment |
| Known as | “Clarkie” |
| Born | 1914-05-27 |
| Died | 2000-01-06 |
| Honours | MM |
| Campaign medals | War Medal 1939-45, NZ War Service Medal |
| Record | https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C135453 |
What this roll records
His Military Medal was announced on 23 January 1942, and the Cenotaph carries the citation. It records that “Lance Corporal Waetford was a member of a patrol which attacked and destroyed ten enemy vehicles on the Barce–Derna road on the night of 29 November 1941…” The full text has not yet been transcribed. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
AKA "Clarkie" added from LRP Roll. Source: LRP Roll (Original LRP Nominal Roll as at 5 Dec 1940, Capt L H Browne).
On the R Patrol Nominal Roll, 31 March 1941: Trooper Waetford C., 3420. Source: Brendan O'Carroll, 'R Patrol, Long Range Desert Group' (R Patrol Nominal Roll, 31 March 1941).
Full name Clarke Te Ihi. Born 27 May 1914 at Whangarei. Aged 85 at death. Buried/commemorated: Maunu Cemetery, Whangarei (RSA Block 21C, Plot 1985). Truck driver in civilian life. Embarked/served with 2nd Divisional Cavalry Regiment. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
The Kiwi Scorpions (Brendan O'Carroll): Sgt C. Waetford, MM — truck driver, Whangarei; born NZ, 27 May 1914.
In the combined S2/R2 Maraua road ambush (29 November 1941); awarded the MM. Source: ‘Long Range Desert Group in Libya, 1940–41’, Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (NZ official war history).
Truck driver, of Whangarei; born NZ, 27 May 1914. MM. Source: Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (biographical notes).
Truck driver in civilian life. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
HIS MILITARY MEDAL, CONFIRMED AND DATED. London Gazette, 20 January 1942, Supplement 35429, page 393, under “The Military Medal”, Middle East: “No. 3420 Lance-Corporal Clarkie Waetford, New Zealand Military Forces.” He was a LANCE-CORPORAL. The Gazette renders the forename “Clarkie”; the number is exact. Source: The London Gazette.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- Missing info added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll.
- Honours & campaign medals from Online Cenotaph: MM, War Medal 1939-45, NZ War Service Medal. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
- LRDG Nominal Roll, 28 Dec 1940 – Jan 1941 (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy)
- Additional sources (AWMM Online Cenotaph). Nominal Roll 2NZEF No. 1, p.187. Unit history: Loughnan, R. (1963). Divisional Cavalry; Beattie, P.J. & Pomeroy, M.J. (2016). Gallant Acts and Noble Deeds. External links: London Gazette, 23 January 1942, p.393 (Military Medal): http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35429/supplements/393
This page is part of the Long Range Desert Group roll of members at lrdgarchive.org. If you hold rights to anything on it and would like it credited differently, or taken down, please see Sources and Copyright. It will be dealt with promptly.
Not By Strength But By Guile