Universities at War

Brian Lloyd Clarke was born on 30 September 1888. His father was Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Marshal James Clarke KCMG (1841-1909) who, after a career in the Royal Artillery, including losing an arm to a tiger, became an administrator in Southern Africa. He had married Annie Stacy Lloyd in 1880 and Brian was their third and last child. The family home was "The Eyrie" at Wadhurst in Sussex and they also had Irish interests. Brian is listed in the University’s Roll of Service as having been an Unattached member of the university, that is, he was not resident in Durham and might in theory have been studying perhaps Theology elsewhere, or even Music. However, he appears on no surviving list of students and was already being gazetted from the Royal Military College as a Second Lieutenant destined for the Indian Army on 17 August 1907. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 17 December 1909. Thus his university career may have been an intention rather than an actuality. He served in India, in the 23rd Cavalry (Frontier Force), taking part in August 1908 in operations in the Mohmand tribal area, (now in northwest Pakistan), and in the February 1915 Army List is recorded as being Regimental Quartermaster. The regiment served in Mesopotamia but Brian transferred to the Royal Flying Corps at an unknown date. It is possible that he was on leave in Britain at the outbreak of war and obtained the transfer without ever re-joining his regiment. At the time of his death he was serving as an Observer with 6 Squadron. He was involved in an aircraft accident during a non-operational flight at Hazebrouck on 19 April 1915 and died the same day. 6 Squadron was based not far away at Poperinghe and flew a variety of aircraft at this period, mostly two-seater BE2s in the observation and reconnaissance role. His death was reported in Flight magazine on 30 April 1915. He is buried in Hazebrouck Communal Cemetery, Nord, France. (The Durham University Roll of Service records his name as Clark.)