Sir Fielding Clarke (23 February 1851 – 30 July 1928) was a British colonial

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, civil servant and jurist. He served as Chief Justice of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Early life

Clarke was the fourth son of Henry Booth Clarke and his wife Isabella. He married in 1888 Mary (May) Milward Pierce, the daughter of Mr Justice Timbrell Pierce D.L.

Education

Clarke was educated in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and then returned to England to attend

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

(LLB). On 12 November 1872 he was admitted to

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

and in 1876 was called to the bar of the Middle Temple.

Career

After being called to the Bar, Clarke practised on the North Eastern Circuit. In 1881, he embarked on career as a civil servant and jurist in various British colonies. In that year, he was appointed Attorney General of Fiji in 1881 and served in that position until 1885. He acted as

Chief Justice of Fiji The chief justice is the Republic of Fiji's highest judiciary, judicial officer. The office and its responsibilities are set out in Chapter 5 of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. The chief justice is appointed by the President of Fiji, president ...

and Chief Judicial Commissioner, Western Pacific from 1882 to 1883 and in 1884. In 1885 he was appointed

& Chief Judicial Commissioner, Western Pacific. He served in that position until 1889. In 1889, he was appointed

Puisne Judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

, of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong. In 1892 he was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong succeeding Sir James Russell. Clarke was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1894 while Chief Justice of Hong Kong. In 1896 he was appointed as Chief Justice of Jamaica and served in that position until 1911 when he retired. He moved to

Southchurch Southchurch is a suburb and former civil parish in the city of Southend-on-Sea in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. England. In 2011 the ward had a population of 9,710. History In 824 AD, a Saxon thegn, Leofstan presented the manor o ...

, Essex and later lived in Stifford, Essex. In retirement, he was appointed, in 1916, to the Appeal Tribunal for the County of Essex created under the

Military Service Act 1916 The Military Service Act 1916 (5 & 6 Geo. 5. c. 104) was an Act of Parliament, act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom during the First World War to impose conscription in Great Britain, but not in Ireland or any other British jurisdi ...

which introduced conscription.

Death

Clarke died on 30 July 1928 in Essex, England.The Daily Gleaner, 15 August 1928, p1 , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Fielding 1851 births 1928 deaths Alumni of King's College London Attorneys general of the Colony of Fiji Attorneys-general of Fiji British expatriates in Fiji British expatriates in Hong Kong British expatriates in Jamaica British expatriates in Switzerland British Hong Kong judges Chief judicial commissioners for the Western Pacific Chief justices of Fiji Chief justices of Jamaica Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Colony of Fiji judges Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods Members of the Middle Temple 19th-century Jamaican judges