CLARKE

The CLARKE Family: Brothers Reginald Arthur George Clarke and Francis Edward Morley Clarke

The sons of Arthur and Mildred (née Alcock) Clarke.  The Reverend Arthur Clarke was a Church of England vicar and served variously at Mitcheldean, Elmore and Berkeley and in 1910 was appointed as the Chaplain at Sharpness Docks. The couple had five children.

Reginald Arthur George Clarke was born on 14 June 1894 at Gloucester. On 19 December 1916 he married Evelyn Muriel Pickup at Marylebone, Middlesex, and had one child who died in 2000. With the outbreak of war in 1914 Reginald along with his two brothers Francis and Charles joined the local Territorials, the 5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment. Charles, who did not play rugby for Gloucester, gained a temporary commission in the Gloucestershire Regiment while Reginald decided to become a professional soldier and was awarded a permanent commission in the Army Service Corps. However, he retired as a Lieutenant with full pay in 1918 shortly after being invalided back to the UK with an illness contracted on active service primarily on the Gallipoli Peninsula; he would become a Poultry Farmer.  Reginald played 12 games at centre for the Gloucester First XV between 1912 and 1914, scoring 2 tries. He also played for Dublin University and Leicester. However after the war he joined Coventry and helped to defeat Gloucester on two occasions. He died on 21 March 1961 at Gunsmore Hospital, Coventry, aged 65 years; Evelyn died in 1974.

Francis Edward Morley Clarke was born on 24 October 1896. In 1922 he married Vera Dagmore in London and had one child although sadly Vera died in 1953; Francis married his second wife, Marjorie Cameron, in 1958. Along with his brothers he joined the 5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1914 but was offered a commission in the 9th Gloucesters and subsequently served as Captain in the 2nd/19th Punjabis (Indian Army). Francis played rugby during the war and along with his brother Charles became the half back pairing for the 9th Gloucesters. As a professional soldier he rose to the rank of Major. Francis played 2 games for the Gloucester First XV in 1919. He  died on 11 January 1959 aged 63 years.

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