The Roll of Honour, Volume 1 : A biographical record of all members of His…
1912. Capt. Glover wrote: “I personally have known the Sergt.-Major for
3072 words | Chapter 42
nearly thirteen years, and a soldier with a keener sense of duty and a
man straighter in all dealings I have never met. By his death I have
lost a friend and a comrade, and one who has never failed me in any
circumstances.” Besides the South African medal, Sergt.-Major Chudley
had the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal.
[Illustration: =John Frederick Chudley.=]
=CHURCHILL, DAVID EDWIN STANLEY=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 16325,
H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CHURCHILL, JOHN WILFRED=, L.-Corpl., No. 8109, 3rd East Yorkshire
Regt., _s._ of Nehemiah Churchill; _b._ Netherton, near
Dudley, 6 June, 1885; enlisted Jan. 1905, and was killed in action at
Paradis, 18 Oct. 1914; _unm._
=CHUTE, CHALLONER FRANCIS TREVOR=, Lieut., 2nd Battn. Royal
Munster Fusiliers, 3rd _s._ of the late Francis Blennerhassett
Chute, of Chute Hall, Tralee, co. Kerry, J.P., by his wife, Cherry
Herbert (22, Ashburton Road, Southsea), dau. of Norcott D’Esterre
Roberts, of Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin; b. Chute Hall, Tralee, 2
April, 1885; received his commission from the Militia in the Royal
Munster Fusiliers, 28 Nov. 1905 and was promoted Lieut. 9 Feb. 1908.
Reported “missing” after the Battle of Mons, it was afterwards
officially announced that he was killed in action near Etreux, France,
27 Aug. 1914. Capt. H. S. Jervis, the senior surviving officer of
the battn., gave the following account of the fight on 27 Aug. in
which Lieut. Chute met his death: “The regt. was left in a somewhat
exposed position, and the orders for a withdrawal seem to have gone
astray. Chute, with his guns which he handled during the day with
wonderful skill, covered the withdrawal of my company at mid-day. It
was pouring with rain, and with entire disregard to personal comfort,
characteristic of him, he lay down in six inches of water to manipulate
his guns better. The Germans were crossing the front, and he never
neglected an opportunity of delaying their advance. He withdrew them
from one position to another all day, forming an invaluable escort to
the two field guns we had attached to us. The withdrawal continued
through a village at about 5.30 p.m., and at the other side of it he
came into action again, firing right down the road, on both edges of
which Capt. Rawlinson’s company was withdrawing. Owing to the help of
your husband’s guns the company got safely through, and rejoined the
battn. The enemy were now on three sides of us, and their artillery
opened fire. Chute brought his machine guns back at the gallop along
the road under a positive hail of lead. It was a splendid feat, and
was successfully accomplished, and once again the guns were placed in
position. We were now completely surrounded, and your husband crossed
the road to try to find a target to aim at. As he crossed he was shot
in the right side and thigh, and fell dead. Up to the last he was
cheery and full of spirits as ever; in fact, he was the life and soul
of the mess. He was looked upon as the best machine gun officer of
the brigade, and his work during the day only served to confirm this
view. Yesterday, the 28th, the Germans allowed us to send out a burial
party of our own men, and they found Chuty and buried him with the
eight other officers of the regt. who were killed in a grave separate
from the men. He was buried with all his personal effects on him. His
heavier kit is with the regimental transport, the only part of the
regt. to escape.” Lieut. Chute _m._ 29 June, 1911, Maud Emily St.
Clair, only dau. of the late Edward O’Brien Hobson, of Myler’s Park,
co. Wexford, and had two sons: Desmond, _b._ 10 Aug. 1913; and
Challoner, _b._ 18 March, 1915.
[Illustration: =Challoner F. T. Chute.=]
=CLAIR, WILLIAM=, Stoker, R.N.R., 1406U, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in
action in the North Sea, 22 Sept., 1914.
=CLAPP, ALBERT GEORGE=, Po. /16499, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the
action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=CLARE, SAMUEL JOHN=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 8218), 293806,
H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CLARK, EDWARD=, Private, No. 13619, 5th Battn. 2nd Infantry
Brigade, Canadian Expeditionary Force. 4th _s._ of the late Edward
Clark, of Morley, co. York (died 28 April, 1909), by his wife, Mary,
dau. of William Walker Clark, of Morley; _b._ Morley, 8 Feb. 1888;
educ. Queen Street Wesleyan School there; went to Canada about 1906,
and settled first at Elkron, Manitoba, three years later moving further
west to Swift Currents, Sask. He enlisted there on the outbreak of war
in Aug. 1914, and came to England with the first Canadian contingent,
arriving in Oct. After training at Salisbury during the winter he went
to France in Feb. 1915, and was killed in action on Whit Monday, 24
May, 1915; _unm._ His company officer, Lieut. L. F. Page, wrote:
“He has been under my command ever since the first days at Valcartier,
and I got to know him very well. He was an excellent soldier, always
willing, obliging and brave. His death, I know, was all he would have
wished it to be. He was killed capturing a German position; his loss is
greatly felt by us all. May we each die as fine a death as he did.”
=CLARK, FREDERICK JAMES=, Gunner, No. 57600, Royal Field
Artillery, _s._ of James Clark, of 2, Philip Street, Bath;
_b._ Tiverton, Bath, 2 Feb. 1891; educ. there; enlisted in May,
1909; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and
was killed in action at Ypres, 31 Oct. 1914; _unm._ His brother is
now (1916) serving with the 4th Somersets.
=CLARK, HENRY WILLIAM=, Rifleman, No. 2612, 17th Battn. (Poplar
and Stepney Rifles) The London Regt., 3rd _s._ of Frederick Clark,
of 42, Goldsmith Road, Hackney, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Charles
Callan; _b._ Bethnal Green, 19 May, 1893; educ. Haggerston;
enlisted 3 Sept. 1914, was killed in the trenches 10 Nov. 1915, and was
buried behind Lone Tree, near Hulluch, Loos; _unm._ Lieut. W. A.
Clarke wrote that “He was always a good and devoted soldier, and did
his duty splendidly.” And his comrades, in a joint letter of sympathy
sent to his mother, said: “Owing to heavy rain the hole in the side
of the trench in which he used to sleep when off duty collapsed, and
he was buried under the heap of earth, although we made every effort
to dig him out; but I am sorry to say he had passed away before we
achieved our task. He was buried behind the old German line in front of
Loos, which we captured in our recent attack, and a little wooden cross
now marks the spot where he now lies in rest.”
[Illustration: =Henry William Clark.=]
=CLARK, JOHN=, Stoker, Petty Officer (R.F.R., Ch. B. 4915),
279038, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CLARK, NELLIE=, Sister, a nursing member of Lady Ralph Paget’s
Serbian Relief Expedition, dau. of Thomas Clark, of Bilsley, Alford,
co. Lincoln, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of James Tammos, of Hardley,
Norfolk; _b._ Cumberworth, 6 March, 1888; educ. Bilsby County
School; and was a private nurse, having passed all degrees. She joined
Lady Ralph Paget’s first unit for Serbia, in Oct. 1914, and died at
Skopje, Serbia, 25 Dec. 1914, of septic poisoning, contracted while
performing her duty, and was buried there. Lady Ralph Paget wrote: “She
was the best nurse we had, and was so very sweet and gentle that she
was loved by every one who had the honour of knowing her. As for the
wounded men she nursed they simply adored her, and it was touching to
see their grief when they heard of her death.”
[Illustration: =Nellie Clark.=]
=CLARK, OWEN WALTER=, Regimental Sergt.-Major, No. 5289, 2nd
Battn. The Royal Scots, _s._ of Walter Clark, by his wife, Mary,
dau. of (--) Humphreys, of Bow; _b._ at Bow, 30 Oct. 1877; educ.
Bromley-by-Bow; enlisted in the 1st Royal Scots at Chatham in 1895,
and after a short time at Edinburgh, and some years at the depot,
Glencorse, was in 1903 drafted to the 2nd Battn., then at Kamptee,
India. He returned from India in Oct. 1905, and on the occasion of
the visit of the King and Queen to Edinburgh Castle in 1911 was, with
three other N.C.Os., placed in charge of the Regalia. He also carried
the new Colours which His Majesty presented to the battn. at Holyrood
Palace on this occasion. The following year he was Worshipful Master
of the Regimental Masonic Lodge, “Unity, Peace and Concord.” When
war broke out he was Q.M. Sergt., and left Crownhill, Plymouth, with
the 2nd Battn. for the Front on 13 Aug. 1914. He was granted first
class Warrant rank, and promoted Regimental Sergt.-Major in Dec.
1914; was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of
17 Feb. 1915, for gallant and distinguished service in the field,
and was killed in action at Hooge, 14 July, 1915, within nine months
of completing 21 years with the Colours. He had been presented with
the Good Conduct Medal by General Sir H. Smith-Dorrien at Crownhill
in 1913, and numerous letters from his officers show that he had
made himself beloved and respected by all ranks. Sergt.-Major Clark
_m._ at Walthamstow Parish Church, 5 May, 1900, Alice Maud Mary
(735, High Road, Leyton, Essex), dau. of Edward Carr, of Leyton,
Essex, and had four children: Percy, _b._ 13 March, 1901; Roland,
_b._ 17 Oct. 1902; Ivy, _b._ 26 Sept. 1906; and Marjorie,
_b._ 12 Sept. 1910.
[Illustration: =Owen Walter Clark.=]
=CLARK, THOMAS WILLIAM=, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 9966, H.M.S. Hawke;
lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
=CLARKE, ALBERT=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 14643, H.M.S. Pathfinder;
lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East
Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
=CLARKE, ALGERNON PERCY=, 2nd Lieut., 1/23rd Battn. The London
Regt. (T.F.), 2nd and elder surviving _s._ of Joseph Percy Clarke,
of 14, Hans Court, S.W., formerly of Buenos Ayres, M.Inst.C.E., by
his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of the late Edward Glover; _b._ Buenos
Ayres, Argentine Republic, 8 July, 1894; educ. at Marlborough College,
and at the outbreak of war was an undergraduate at Pembroke College,
Cambridge. From the O.T.C. Cambridge, he received his commission as 2nd
Lieut. Territorial Force as from 29 Aug. 1914. He at once joined the
1st/23rd London Regt., and, volunteering for foreign service, trained
with his regt. until 14 March, 1915, when they embarked for France. He
went through a course of machine-gun instruction at St. Omer, France,
and was made machine gun officer to his battn. After several months
in the trenches he was badly wounded in both legs on 21 July, by a
German shell which burst in the room where he and two other officers
were resting, south of La Bassee, and he died on 24 July, 1915, at No.
1 Casualty Clearing Station, and was buried in the new cemetery at
Chocques, France. Writing to his father, Lieut.-Col. Streatfield said:
“I pray that you may be able to derive some comfort from the knowledge
of how splendidly your boy has done since he has been out here. We all
loved him, and the men of his platoon would have done just anything in
the world he asked them to. By his good heartedness and cheeriness he
had endeared himself to them in a way it has been the lot of few men
to do.” Lieut.-Col. Lord Herbert A. M. Douglas Scott, D.S.O. (formerly
commanding 1/23rd The London Regt.), wrote from the War Office, 29
July, 1915: “Your son was doing so extremely well under my command and
I heard from Lieut.-Col. Streatfield the same good account of his work.
Your loss is the country’s loss also.” His brother, Harold Percy, of
the Rifle Brigade, was killed on 9 May, two and a-half months earlier
(see his notice).
[Illustration: =Algernon Percy Clarke.=]
=CLARKE, AMBROSE CHILDS=, 2nd Lieut., 4th Battn. Leicestershire
Regt. (T.F.), elder _s._ of William Arthur Clarke, of The
Homestead, Manor Road, Leicester, Solicitor, by his wife, Ruth Lilian,
dau. of Charles Baimbridge Rendle, of Russell Road, Kensington,
Surgeon; _b._ Stoke, Devonport, co. Devon, 12 July, 1896; educ.
Stoneygate School, Leicester, King’s College Choir School, Cambridge,
and Malvern College. At the outbreak of war he was in camp with the
Malvern College contingent of the O.T.C., and returned to Leicester,
receiving his commission two days afterwards, 6 Aug. 1914. He was
killed in the trenches near Messines, 9 May, 1915, during a heavy
bombardment. He was placing his men under cover, refusing to take
shelter himself until all his men were out of danger, and he had
just got his last men under cover when he was killed by a shell
instantaneously. He was buried in what had formerly been “Packhorse
Farm,” Wulverghem, at the back of the English lines near Bailleul. A
brother officer, who has since been killed, wrote: “He honestly was one
of the cheeriest, best, most capable and well-loved officers in the
battn., especially taking his age into consideration.”
[Illustration: =Ambrose Childs Clarke.=]
=CLARKE, BASIL HEATHCOTE=, Rifleman, No. 2336, 1/9th Battn.
(Queen Victoria’s Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), yst. _s._ of
Henry Heathcote Clarke, of 17, Birchwood Mansions, Muswell Hill, N.,
formerly of Durban, Natal, Journalist, by his wife, Florence Annie,
dau. of Charles Samuel Clarke; _b._ Stamford Hill, N., 4 March,
1894; educ. Oakfield School, Crouch End, N.; was a member of the office
staff of the London Electric Supply Corporation, Ltd., 25A,
Cockspur Street, S.W., but on the declaration of war volunteered for
Active Service, and enlisted in Queen Victoria’s Rifles, 3 Sept. 1914;
landed in France, 23 Jan. 1915; served with the Expeditionary Force,
and was killed in action near Wulverghem, 6 March, 1915, only two days
after his twenty-first birthday; _unm._ He was buried in the
military burial ground near Wulverghem Church. Coy. Sergt.-Major Ashton
wrote: “He was on the look out at the time, and he was struck by a
rifle bullet, and death was instantaneous.... He had only been with us
such a short while, and we have lost a brave and good comrade.” Clarke
was a server at St. Peter le Poer, Friern Barnet, and also assistant
scout-master of the 91st London Troop.
[Illustration: =Basil Heathcote Clarke.=]
=CLARKE, CHARLES PRIOR=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 1190), 205888, H.M.S.
Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1
Nov. 1914.
=CLARKE, CHARLES WILLIAM=, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., B. 6419),
298869, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast
of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=CLARKE, EDWARD THOMAS=, Private, No. 27621, 15th Battn. (48th
Highlanders) Canadian Expeditionary Force, eldest _s._ of Joseph
Edward Clarke, of 26, Lagham Road, South Godstone, Surrey, Groom
Gardener; by his wife, Eleanor, dau. of Mark Chapman; _b._ St.
John’s Wood, London, 12 Dec. 1893; educ. Blindley Heath National
School, Surrey; went to Canada on his fourteenth birthday in 1907,
and settled at Sweetsburg, working as a farm hand. He joined the 13th
Scottish Light Dragoons, and gained his certificate as Sergt.-Major
at the Royal Cavalry School at St. Jean, Quebec, 15 Feb. 1913. On the
outbreak of war he joined the 48th Highlanders as a Private, came to
England with the First Canadian Contingent, and after training on
Salisbury Plain during the winter, went to the Western Front, 11 Feb.
1915, and was killed in action at Ypres, 22–24 April, 1915; _unm._
[Illustration: =Edward Thomas Clarke.=]
=CLARKE, ERNEST=, Seaman, R.N.R., 5535A, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in
action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CLARKE, FREDERICK WILLIAM=, Stoker, 1st Class, 302310, H.M.S.
Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off
the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
=CLARKE, FREDERICK WILLIAM=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9094), 201471,
H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CLARKE, GEORGE RANKIN=, Private, No. 271, B. Coy. 1st
Newfoundland Regt., _s._ of Captain John Clarke, of Brigus,
Newfoundland, Fisherman and Seafaring man; _b._ Brigus, Cape
Breton, Newfoundland, 20 Oct. 1897; educ. Brigus Methodist Academy,
and Methodist College, St. John’s; volunteered for Imperial service
and joined the 1st Newfoundland Regt. after the outbreak of war, Sept.
1914, and _d._ in hospital at Mudros, 24 Nov. 1915, of dysentery
contracted while on active service; _unm._
=CLARKE, HAROLD MARTIN=, Barrister-at-Law, Lieut., 17th Battn.
(Poplar and Stepney Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), only _s._
of George William Clarke, of The Glen, Forest Hill, S.E., Town Clerk
of Stepney, by his wife, Alice Mary, dau. of William Edwin Hill;
_b._ Kirby-le-Soken, co. Essex, 25 Feb. 1889; educ. Whitgift
Grammar School, Croydon, and Clare College, Cambridge, and was called
to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1911. On 9 May, 1913, he obtained a
commission as 2nd Lieut. in the Poplar and Stepney Rifles, and on the
outbreak of war, 5 Aug. 1914, at once volunteered for foreign service
and was promoted Lieut. 29 Aug. 1914; went to the Front with his regt.
9 March, 1915, and was killed in action at the Battle of Loos, 26–27
Sept. 1915. The following order was issued shortly before this action
(sent to England after Lieut. Clarke’s death): “The Major-General
wishes to place on record his appreciation of the good work which has
been done during the last four months by the following instructors
at the Divisional Bomb School: Instructor Lieut. Martin Clarke,
&c.--Headquarters, 10.25 p.m.” At Whitgift he was Colour-Sergt. in the
Cadet Corps, and in the History Sixth, and at Clare he received his
Lent and May colours. Lieut. Clarke _m._ at St. Albans in 1914,
Daisy Emily (120, Croxted Road, West Dulwich), dau. of Philip Early
Fenton Keatch, of India; _s.p._
[Illustration: =Harold Martin Clarke.=]
=CLARKE, HAROLD PERCY=, 2nd Lieut., 6th Special Reserve, attd.
2nd, Battn. The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), eldest
_s._ of Joseph Percy Clarke, of 14, Hans Court, S.W., formerly of
Buenos Ayres, M.Inst. C.E., etc., by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of the
late Edward Glover; _b._ Rosario de Santa Fe, Argentine Republic,
18 March, 1888; educ. Marlborough College; trained as a civil engineer,
and became an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in
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