Cecil Belfield Clarke (also known as Belfield Clarke) (12 April 1894 – 28 November 1970) was a Barbadian-born physician who qualified in the United Kingdom and practised near the

Elephant & Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The nam ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was a

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

and was one of the founders of the

League of Coloured Peoples The League of Coloured Peoples (LCP) was a British civil-rights organisation that was founded in 1931 in London by Jamaican-born physician and campaigner Harold Moody with the goal of racial equality around the world, a primary focus being on b ...

in 1931.

Early life

Little is known of Clarke's early life. He attended

Combermere School Combermere School is a school in Barbados, one of the oldest schools in the Caribbean, established in 1695. Its alumni include several leading cricketers, David Thompson, sixth prime minister of Barbados and other politicians, several authors and ...

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. He won an island scholarship to study medicine at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He arrived in London on 28 September 1914, just after the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, having travelled on the RMS ''Tagus'', which, after this journey, became a hospital ship. Other passengers included Aucher Warner, cricketer and future

Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

; the colonial administrator Herbert Peebles; Kenneth Knaggs, the son of Sir Samuel Knaggs, the Colonial Secretary of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

at the time; Roland Allport, a medical practitioner; Thomas Orford, the Government medical officer for

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

; and Richard Batson, who played cricket for Barbados and qualified as a medical practitioner in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, in 1920.

Career

Clarke went to

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

, and was awarded a BA in 1917. He remained a devoted member of the College community, being President of the College Society in 1965–66 and thereafter one of the Vice-Presidents until his death in 1970. He endowed a prize for Natural Sciences, which was first awarded in 1955. The Belfield Clarke Prize is still awarded by the college. Clarke qualified in 1918 with the Conjoint Diploma ( MRCS (Eng) and

LRCP The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of p ...

(Lond)), in 1919 as DPH, in 1920 as BChir, and in 1921 as

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

(Edin) and MB (Cambridge). In 1923, he was in London at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

. By at least 1924 he was practising in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

at 112

Newington Causeway __NOTOC__ Newington Causeway is a road in Southwark, London, between the Elephant and Castle and Borough High Street. Elephant & Castle tube station, Elephant & Castle Underground station is at the southern end. It follows the route of the old ...

SE1, where he would practise for the rest of his professional career, although he may have practised there as early as 1920. He practised at Newington Causeway throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, despite the heavy bombardment of the area. In 1941, the area was so badly bombed that 112 Newington Causeway remained the only building standing in the row of shops and houses; one wall of his surgery was open to the elements. At the time of the 1950

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

, 112 Newington Causeway remained on its own, surrounded by bombsites. Clarke retired in 1965, and 112 Newington Causeway was demolished after that. He was a member of the Council of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

from 1954 to 1967.

Clark's rule

Clarke developed the misnamed Clark's rule, a mathematical formula used to calculate the proper dosage of medicine for children aged 2–17.

Pan-Africanism

Clarke was one of the founders of the civil-rights organization the

along with another South London medical practitioner,

Harold Moody Harold Arundel MoodyDavid A. Vaughan''Negro Victory: The Life Story of Dr Harold Moody'' London: Independent Press, 1950. (8 October 1882 – 24 April 1947) was a Jamaican-born physician who emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he campaigned ...

, in 1931, and was a member of the League's executive committee. Other early members included

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989), Fraser, C. Gerald (2 June 1989)"C. L. R. James, Historian, Critic And Pan-Africanist, Is Dead at 88" ''The New York Times''. . who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson ...

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He played a significant role in the ...

Una Marson Una Maud Victoria Marson (6 February 1905 – 6 May 1965) was a Jamaican feminist, activist and writer, producing poems, plays and radio programmes. She travelled to London in 1932 and became the first black woman to be employed by the BBC, d ...

, and

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

. Clarke hosted garden parties at his house in

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

for the League. He was elected the first chair of the House Committee of

Aggrey House Aggrey House was a hostel established in London, England, in 1934 to cater for African students and students of African descent. It was named after James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey. It was located at 47 Doughty Street – next door to what had once b ...

, a hostel established in London in 1934 for students from Africa and the Caribbean. In the 1930s Clarke was also active in the

International African Service Bureau The International African Service Bureau (IASB) was a pan-African organisation founded in London in 1937 by West Indians George Padmore, C. L. R. James, Amy Ashwood Garvey, T. Ras Makonnen and Kenyan nationalist Jomo Kenyatta and Sierra Leonean ...

, with C. L. R. James and

George Padmore George Padmore (28 June 1903 – 23 September 1959), born Malcolm Ivan Meredith Nurse, was a leading Pan-Africanist, journalist, and author. He left his native Trinidad in 1924 to study medicine in the United States, where he also joined the C ...

, a London-based organisation intended to address issues relating to Africa and the African diaspora. Clarke wrote the obituary for the Pan-Africanist activist George Padmore in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' in 1959. He was active in the

West African Students' Union The West African Students' Union (WASU), founded in London, England, in 1925 and active into the 1960s,"History o ...

(WASU), which helped influence Ghanaian nationalism. Through WASU, Clarke became acquainted with the American Pan-Africanist

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

. The

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

holds Du Bois's papers, which include an extensive correspondence with Clarke. The letters invariably end "with greetings to Pat". Clarke was active in Ghanaian medical circles: he was Chairman of the Ghana Medical Advisory Committee, and wrote letters to the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' (''BMJ'') about independent

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

's first medical school, the

University of Ghana Medical School The University of Ghana Medical School also UGMS is the medical school of Ghana's first public research institution, the University of Ghana. It is currently located at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. The medical school was first plann ...

. Clarke kept an open house for West Indians at his home in Barnet on Sunday afternoons.

Personal life

Clarke was homosexual. As was usual before decriminalisation in 1967, Clarke was discreet. His lifelong partner was Pat Walker (Edward George Walker, 1902–1999), whom Clarke employed as his secretary. By at least 1939 they were living together in Clarke's house in Barnet, which Clarke called Belfield House, but they had both been on the electoral register at 112 Newington Causeway in 1929. After Clarke's death, Walker remained at Belfield House, but after the latter's death in 1999, it was left to St Catharine's College. The college has since sold the house, and it is now a nursery, Belfield Montessori. Clarke died in 1970, aged 76, at

St Stephen's Hospital St Stephen's Hospital Delhi is a private hospital in New Delhi, India. The hospital has 600 beds and currently functions as a superspecialty tertiary care center. History The institution started as a dispensary in 1876 by the Delhi Female Med ...

, Barnet. (St Stephen's was a geriatric hospital that closed in 1989. Clarke's obituary in the ''BMJ'' incorrectly states that he died in Barnet General Hospital.)

Legacy

A blue plaque honouring Clarke was placed on a building near the site of his practice in April 2023, sponsored by Black History Walks in collaboration with the

Nubian Jak Community Trust Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marle ...

. The prize that Clarke endowed at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, continues to be awarded. He was one of the Black Londoners featured in an exhibition at the

Cuming Museum The Cuming Museum in Walworth Road in Elephant and Castle, within the London Borough of Southwark, London, England, was a museum housing the collection of the Cuming family and later collections on Southwark's history. As of 2021, its collection ...

in 2008, curated by the historian Stephen Bourne, ''Keep Smiling Through: Black Londoners on the Home Front, 1939 to 1945''. Belfield Clarke was one of the figures highlighted by

LGBT History Month LGBTQ History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher ...

UK in February 2024, in connection to that year's theme: Medicine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Cecil Belfield 1894 births 1970 deaths 20th-century British medical doctors Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Barbadian emigrants to the United Kingdom Black British activists Black British health professionals British civil rights activists British pan-Africanists English gay men English people of Barbadian descent Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh LGBTQ physicians People educated at Combermere School People from the London Borough of Barnet