Frances Charles Erlin Clarke

Francis Clarke is the only person, who, after extensive research, cannot be found to have a connection with Cheltenham but whose cross is in the cemetery.

Known as ‘Tommy’, he was born on 30th December 1895 in Worcester to Charles, a Solicitor and Violet who was born in Hobart, Tasmania. The family lived at 6 Lark Hill, Worcester. Francis was a day boy at The King’s School, Worcester, where his father was Clerk to the Governors. Having left school intending to join the Navy, Francis decided instead to attend Marlborough College and from there went to Sandhurst.

Francis received a commission in the Worcestershire Regiment on 16th December 1914 and served in Arras, France from 15th June 1915 until July 1916 when he was invalided home. He was attached to the 5th Squadron, Royal Flying Corps from October 1916.

On a cloudy day in the early morning of 11th October 1917, Francis was piloting an RE8 on a patrol of the front line, when he was attacked by four or five enemy scout machines. A letter to his parents states: “I don’t think that, but for your son’s bravery and grit in sticking it to the last, his observer would have been killed outright. As it was, a bad landing was made, and the machine crashed to the ground. It must have been humanly guided or there would have been practically nothing left.”

Sadly, Francis died soon after landing at 9.45am and his observer died the next day.

It is known that Francis received wounds in aerial combat as the 16th victim of 36 aerial victories from Julius Buckler, a German ace. On the same day Julius’s 17th victim was a Sopwith Camel at 5.50pm at Armentières. Julius survived both world wars despite numerous serious injuries.

Francis is buried at Duisans British cemetery, Etrun, Pas-de-Calais and the inscriptionon his headstone reads “Those who die so gloriously live everlastingly”. He is commemorated on five memorials in Worcester. Francis’s war medals sold for £920, auctioned by Dix Noonan Webb in 2002.