Lance Sergeant Alfred Henry Clarke
On this day 100 years ago - 30th October 1914
Lance Sergeant Alfred Henry Clarke, born in Wolston in 1883, the son of John and Elizabeth Clarke of Brook Street, was killed in action at Ypres. He had a wife, Florence Mabel Elizabeth Barker, who he married in 1909. They had two children; Alfred Henry Clarke born in Foleshill on 17th January 1910 and Ivy Mabel Elizabeth Clarke born in Foleshill on 28th June 1911.
He was 32 years old when he was killed and had only been on the western front for 23 days. It appears that it was only in early February 1915, more than three months after Alfred was killed, that his relatives were informed of his death. Up until that time, he was presumably considered to be ‘missing in action’. It doesn’t appear that Alfred’s body was found and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres.
