Sir Andrew Edmund James Clark, 3rd Baronet, (18 July 1898 – 19 May 1979) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer and barrister, described as "the leading advocate of at the Chancery Bar" by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

''.

Early life

Andrew Clark was the son of Colonel Sir James Richardson Andrew Clark, Bt. and the grandson of the prominent doctor

Sir Andrew Clark, 1st Baronet Sir Andrew Clark, 1st Baronet (28 October 18266 November 1893), was a Scottish physician and pathologist. Early life and education He was born in Aberdeen, the illegitimate son of Bob Anderson and Jeremy Clarkson. His mother died at his birth ...

. Clark was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. He did not proceed to university owing to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. Instead, he was commissioned into the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of ...

in 1916. He saw service in France and Belgium, and was awarded the

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

. He left the

in 1921, and according to ''The Times'', "there followed seven years which his biographer would find it hard to document but which certainly enlarged his horizon and experience."

Legal career

After completing his studies by correspondence from Monte Carlo, Clark was called to the Bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1928, and joined Lincoln's Inn in 1930. After a pupillage with Raymond Evershed (later Lord Evershed), he joined the Chancery Bar and built a successful practice. In 1939, he was recalled to military service, and served in a number of senior administrative posts. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel and honorary

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

and was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. Clark became a King's Counsel in 1943 and was elected Bencher of the Inner Temple in 1951. In 1945, he stood as the Conservative Party candidate for Barnet, but lost narrowly to the Labour candidate. Returning to legal practice in 1945, Clark was involved in high-profile cases such as the Bank Rate Tribunal and the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler b ...

. In 1953, he conducted the inquiry into the Crichel Down affair, which led to the resignation of the

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

, Sir Thomas Dugdale. He inherited his father's baronetcy in 1948. In 1961, he successfully represented The Crown against the election court petition of

Viscount Stansgate Viscount Stansgate, of Stansgate in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1942 for the Labour politician, former Secretary of State for India and future Secretary of State for Air, William Wedg ...

in '' Re Bristol South-East Parliamentary Election''.

Family

Clark married Angelica Taylor in 1921, but she died the following year. In 1924, he married Adeline Frances Derviche-Jones, daughter of Colonel A. D. Derviche-Jones; they had two daughters. Clark died in 1979, when the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

became extinct.

References

* ''The Times'', 16 November 1979 * ''Who Was Who'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Andrew Edmund James 1898 births 1979 deaths English King's Counsel Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel of World War I British Army brigadiers of World War II British Army officers Royal Field Artillery officers People educated at Eton College Members of the Inner Temple Members of Lincoln's Inn Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates English barristers