Captain Edward Denman Clarke (21 May 1898 – 5 September 1966) was a World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

. Although he was credited with six aerial victories, he was granted a

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his valour in a ground attack mission. In later life, Clarke was made a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

as the

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the aviation and shipping corporation

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aerospace and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took ...

Early life

Edward Denman Clarke was born on 21 May 1898Shores ''et.al.'' (1997), p. 105. in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, where his

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

-based family had a hunting lodge. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

World War I

Clarke joined the Royal Flying Corps in early 1916, being confirmed in the rank of second lieutenant on 19 May. On 21 August, he was appointed a

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

and was posted to No. 45 Squadron RFC. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 August 1917, and scored six aerial victories between 23 August and 20 October. He was shot down by ground fire on 26 October 1917, as he strafed enemy positions from his

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

during the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...

. His courage on that occasion earned him a

. The accompanying award citation,

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

23 April 1918, told the tale: :"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has shot down five enemy machines. In an attack he repeatedly dived to within fifty feet of the enemy infantry, firing between 500 and 600 rounds. Though struck by a piece of shell, which wounded him in both arms and shattered both petrol tanks, he succeeded in gliding back behind our lines." On 1 August 1918 he was appointed temporary captain. On 31 January 1919, Clarke relinquished his commission in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Aerial victories

Post war

He married first Audrey Rant with whom he had two sons,

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer * Larry Boo ...

and Peter, and a daughter Valerie . He later married Maureen Cowie Leitch. On 31 May 1956, Clarke was honoured with the award of

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

; at the time, he was the

of Saunders-Roe Ltd., Cowes, Isle of Wight. Clarke died on 5 September 1966.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Edward Denman 1898 births 1966 deaths People educated at Eton College British chief executives British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing Place of death missing