Patricia Clark

Second World War

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Patricia Clark (née Robins) was a former WAAF who worked as a Filterer during the Second World War. Born 1 February 1921 in Hove in Sussex, Clark was the second of three daughters born to the well-known novelist Denise Robins. She enjoyed a privileged childhood, attending schools in Switzerland and Germany, where she learned French and German.

In 1937, while attending school in Munich, Clark found herself stuck in a traffic jam just a few feet away from Hitler in his open-topped car. Though only 16 at the time, the encounter stayed with Clark for the rest of her life, and she vividly recalled ‘meeting Hitler’s cold blue eyes’ nearly 80 years after the brief meeting occurred. In 1940, 19-year-old Clark left her job as a junior editor at Women’s Illustrated magazine and joined the WAAF.

After completing her basic training, she was chosen for Clerk Special Duties and trained as a Plotter/Teller. Clark was posted first to RAF Rudloe Manor, Headquarters No. 10 Group, and then to RAF Watnall, Headquarters No. 12 Group. She thrived in her role, proving herself highly capable and becoming commissioned and made a Filterer. Here, Clark was responsible for analysing masses of conflicting information to decide the most accurate position, vector, height and strength of detected aircraft in a limited amount of time. She soon earned another promotion to Filter Officer, where she had overall responsibility for all incoming filtered information. 

In 1944, when Britain became the first nation ever attacked by ballistic missiles, Clark was involved in the groundbreaking work to find the firing positions of the missiles so that they could be attacked from the air. Based at Stanmore, the work was highly classified, and Clark was sworn to secrecy for 30 years after the war had ended.

Following the war, Clark went on to have a successful career as a novelist. She died on 4 December 2016, aged 95. A bronze statue of her wartime self, alongside her contemporaries, stands in the replica Filter Room at Bentley Priory Museum to commemorate the wartime contribution she made.