War hero killed by superbug (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

War hero killed by superbug

8:26am Wednesday 18th June 2008

• Print
• Email
• Share

THE family of a man who died after contracting a deadly hospital superbug has revealed his fascinating history.

William "Bill" Clark died on September 2 last year after catching Clostridum difficle, also known as C.diff, following a serious fall at his home in Cottonmill Lane, St Albans.

Family members this week told the Review about the 91-year-old's past, revealing tales of the veteran's courageous escapes from prisoner of war camps during World War II.

Bill moved to St Albans from London, at the age of 20, and three years later the Second World War broke out and he joined the Royal Army Ordnance Corps.

He was deployed to Tobruck, North Africa, where he was first captured as a prisoner of war and taken to Italy.

During his five years in battle he was captured four times - he was released once and escaped three times - surviving on Red Cross parcels and help offered by Italian villagers.

Bill's final escape was en route to Berlin, when he finally reached allied lines and discovered the war was ending.

The following year Bill married his wife Marjorie and they had five children.

His daughter Pat put together a book for Bill's 90th birthday titled Bill's War.

The Review reported last week that an inquest into the pensioner's death found he had been given medication to treat various infections, which weakened his immune system making him susceptible to killer bugs.

Bill's age and long battle with Parkinson's disease also made him vulnerable to the risk of infection We also revealed Hemel Hempstead Hospital no longer performed transfusions overnight after Bill had been given the wrong blood type.

The coroner said that the manner in which a blood transfusion was organised had not contributed to Bill's death, but as a result of the mix up, transfusions would stop at 7pm unless a patient was critically ill.

• Print
• Email
• Share