Clifford Wykes
Attended Brunts School.
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
Son of George and Emily Wykes of Greendale House, Charles Street, Alfreton
In 1921 they were living at 19 Bainbridge Terrace, Stanton Hill.
He was baptised at St Andrews Church, Skegby on 20th June 1917.
Siblings: Herbert Eusthace (1898), George Norman (1900), Samuel Alliester (1906) and Emily Joan (1914).
In 1941 Clifford married Ruth Murthwaite Barker in Co Durham, they had no children. She married James William Shield in 1955
London Gazette 6th May 1941: made lieutenant with the Royal Tank Corps.
Casualty List 8/12/1942- 30/7/1943:
Correction Expeditionary Force Middle East, Tunisia
Killed in Action 2nd Lt Wykes C 50 RTC 184006 6/4/1943
Rank should read W.S. Lieut
50th Royal Tank Regiment formed in 1938 and deployed to the Middle East in July 1942.
They took part in the Battle of El Alamein, as well as seeing action at Medinine and Mareth. On the 6th & 7th April 1943 they took part in the Battle of Wadi Acarit. This action was to dislodge Axis forces from positions along the Wadi Acarit. By dawn on the 7th the German and Italian forces had withdrawn from their positions due to their heavy losses. The Aliies had lost 32 tanks and 1,289 men.
Northern Echo 23/7/2002
Ruth Barker was an 'Aycliffe Angel', one of the women working at the munitions factory close to Aycliffe village. It employed 14,000 people, mainly women. Ruth worked as a wages clerk.
Her first husband, Clifford Wykes was a member of the Sherwood Foresters Tank Regiment which was based in the North East at that time and he was killed during WW2.
She died in November 2001, of a heart attack, aged 80 and her husband Bill Shield died 2 months later. She had met Bill when he was an accountant visiting the factory.
No photos