(Ernest) Clement Clarke

1886-1949

This directory contains the limited information and documents we have about Kate and Anthony Clarke's 2nd child Ernest Clement, who seems to have been commonly called Clement.

For details of Kate's life, see her own directory.

For details of Kate’s very interesting first husband Anthony, including his families with other wives, see the AJCheeper/Clarke directory.

Ernest Clement was born in 1886, while the family was living at 24 Edwards Tce, St John Cardiff. We've been unable to find a birth registry entry, but 20 May 1886 is a strong contender.

(Early on, we had interpolated from the baptism and 1891 and 1901 Census information that he was probably born in April or May of 1886. In March 2009, Anne discovered his service record with the Royal Marines. This disclosed a birthdate of 20 May. It also said 1884, but that is less likely to be reliable than the other sources).

He was baptised, with his elder sister Violet, on 20 Jun 1886, at St Johns Cardiff, and his age was stated to be 1 month. His father was identified as Anthony Clarke, commercial traveller, and his mother as Kate, and their residence was stated to be 24 Edwards Terrace, Cardiff.

He appears on the Census entry in 1891 (left-side, right-side), where he is shown as Ernest C., born in Cardiff, and 4 years old (suggesting a birth-date after 4 April 1886).

He appears again in the 1901 Census entry (page 1, page 2), where he is listed as Ernest C., born in Cardiff, and aged 14.

His service record shows that he joined the Royal Marines on 5 Nov 1902. The address of his next-of-kin, his father Anthony, was shown as 25 Bartram Rd, Brockley Kent. This is very close to 282 Ivydale Rd (where the family was 1891-98) and 10 Lindal Rd (c. 1903-05).

He was then 16-1/2. But the records show his birthyear as 1884, and hence imply he was 18-1/2. He grew from 5/7-1/2" to 5'10" in the next 4 years, which is consistent with our interpolation that he put his age up. He could have enlisted in the Marines at 16 or even 14 (because the Marines thrived on orphans and otherwise displaced boys); so perhaps the motivation was to get a higher level of pay, or less draconian conditions of service.

He did his training at Deal (Kent), and his early service in Plymouth. He was posted to HMS Egmont from 29 Apr 1904 to 30 Mar 1906. It was a hulk used as a supply ship, just offshore at Malta.

The service record dislcoses no trade, just "Labourer General". But it says "Able to Swim: Yes. Tested 27 Feb 1903 at Depot". This was very early on, in Deal, so he could swim when he enlisted).

On 15 Nov 1906, he was "discharged Invalided". But the 'Invalided' section is blank. The 'Wounds and Hurts' segment says only "28 Aug 05 - Hurt Certificate (Amputation of last joint Right little finger) ?Sgt T, Pierce", which seems hardly likely to be grounds for discharge. By then, he was 20-1/2.

He hasn't been found in the 1911 Census. We're not aware of any service in WWI, when he was 28-32.

His nephew and niece Barbara Copeland/Sidebotham and Vivian Watson both said that he lodged with Kate Antoinette in Watford for many years.

Vivian said that he died a bachelor, has no memory of his employment, and said that he didn't have particularly good health. Barbara has an impression that he did the pools (and Barbara would have been 6-8 years old at the time of his presumed death c. 1950 at c. 64, and Barbara knew Kate Antoinette well until her death, by which time Barbara was 38).

A death registry entry gives a date of death of d. June Qtr 1949 (Southend 4a), at 63. But, given that Barbara and Vivian remember him in the early 1950s, that entry may be spurious.