Clarke, GWF
(1899 - 1918)
Key Facts
DATE OF BIRTH:
9th October 1899
YEARS ATTENDED THE COLLEGE:
1914 - 1918
HOME ADDRESS WHEN AT THE COLLEGE:
2 Sutherland House, Marloes Road, Kensington
REGIMENT
Royal Air Force
FINAL RANK:
2nd Lieutenant
DATE OF DEATH:
23rd August 1918
AGE AT DEATH:
18
WHERE HE DIED (or was wounded)
Hounslow
LOCATION OF GRAVE OR MEMORIAL:
Brompton Cemetery. E.2. 174835
2nd Lieutenant Gerald Wilfred Francis Clarke
Gerald was born on October 9th 1899, the third of four sons of Frederick Clarke, Comptroller-General of H.M. Customs and his wife Josephine. He was one of four Alleynians in the family, as his two elder brothers, as well as a cousin, were also Dulwich pupils. Whilst at the College he won the Anstie Memorial Reading Prize, previously won by his eldest brother, Eric, as well as a prize for a piano composition. Additionally in his final year he won the Masters’ Cup, awarding to the outstanding Platoon Commander in the O.T.C.
Upon leaving Dulwich Gerald went into the R.A.F. in the spring of 1918, and by July had “earned his wings” as a fully qualified pilot, faster than any of those who entered the service alongside him. He had been due to transfer to France in early September when, whilst serving at Hounslow, he was killed in an accident whilst attempting to start a fellow officer’s aircraft. His eldest brother Eric, a fellow OA, had fallen near Arras the previous year.
