Gordon Clarke
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
George Gordon (Gordon) was the only son of James John Gordon Webster (Gordon) Clarke and Elizabeth Clarke nee Aldridge. Gordon's father was born in Nottingham about 1851 and was registered as a dentist on 24 December 1878. According to an entry in the UK Dentist Registers 1879-1942, he was in Nottingham in 1879 and a Nottingham street directory shows him on Alfreton Road, Nottingham, in 1881. His mother was born in Ratcliffe on Soar. Elizabeth was the daughter of George Aldridge, a farmer, and his wife Mary who had three children including another daughter, Annie. In 1871 Elizabeth was a servant in the household of Thomas Bailey of Beeston. Her parents, George (69), a farmer, and Mary (71) together with her unmarried sister Annie (35), a trained nurse, were still living in Ratcliffe on Soar in 1911. His parents were probably married in 1890 (J/F/M Shardlow); according to the entry on the 1911 Census they had been married for 21 years and had had two children, a daughter (not yet traced) and George Gordon who was born about 1893 in Ratcliffe on Soar, near Kegworth, Derbyshire. In 1911 James Gordon (60), described on the census form as a dental surgeon, was living in Ratcliffe on Soar with his wife, Elizabeth (42) and George Gordon (17), a market gardener. A street directory of 1912 shows his father at 41 Nottingham Road, Loughborough, giving his occupation as dentist; this might therefore be a business address and not a home address. The UK Dentist Register of 1915 gives his residence as Ratcliffe on Soar. However, by 1918 James Gordon Clarke and his wife Elizabeth, appear on the London Electoral Roll living at 14 Waterloo Road (sic), Clapham, Lambeth; the 'In Memoriam' notice on the anniversary of their son's death in 1919 in the Nottingham Evening Post gives their address as 14 Waterloo Bridge, London. It seems from the various registers and street directories that George Gordon spent most of his life in Nottingham or Ratcliffe on Soar moving to London with his parents sometime after 1915.
He drowned when HMT Leasowe Castle was sunk on passage from Alexandria, Egypt. His body was not recovered for burial and he is commemorated on the Chatby Memorial, Alexandria. The following account is from a local resident, posted on the Woodborough village website. The Hussars had been fighting in the Middle East and they were returning to France where they were to be re-formed as a machine gun company. Their new title was to be the South Notts Machine Gun Battalion. They were sent to Alexandria, Egypt and had received orders to embark on a transporter ship called the "Leasowe Castle" on 23th May 1918 ¹. On 27th May, the ship was struck by a torpedo with devastating results. A very detailed account of the fateful journey may be read in the historical records of the South Notts Hussars Yeomanry by G. Fellows. The "Leasowe Castle" was one of a convoy of six transporters and they were accompanied by a number of destroyers. The weather was good, the sea was calm and a brilliant moon shone in the night sky. At 1.30 am on May 27th 1918 when the ship was about 104 miles from Alexandria, the "Leasowe Castle" was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side. The engines were immediately stopped. The troops mustered to their stations, rolls were called, boats lowered and rafts flung overboard. The Japanese destroyer "R" stood by, while the remainder of the convoy continued on their journey at full speed. We are informed that perfect order was maintained on board, the men standing quietly at their stations as if on parade, while those detailed for the work assisted in lowering the boats. Lifeboats were launched in the course of forty five minutes and the rescue attempt continued smoothly. The "Leasowe Castle" remained fairly steady, though sinking a little at the stern, with a slight list to port. All of 'B' (Warwickshire Yeomanry) Company of the Battalion went over the port side and were picked up in the water. About 1.45am. HM sloop "Lily" appeared having turned back from the convoy to assist in the work of rescue. She ran her bows up to the starboard side of the "Leasowe Castle" and made fast, so that troops were able to pass quickly on board. Meanwhile the Japanese destroyer put up a smoke screen for protection. Suddenly about 3.00am a bulkhead in the aft part of the ship gave way, and with a loud noise the "Leasowe Castle" sank rapidly. The "Lily" had a narrow escape, as the hawsers connecting her with the sinking ship were cut with an axe just in time.
(WMA 280162) Ratcliffe on Soar Holy Trinity, family headstone. Inscription: 'In loving memory of Gordon Clarke, 1/1st South Notts Hussars. Only son of Gordon & Elizabeth Clarke and grandson of the late George and Mary Aldridge, who was torpedoed on his way home from Palestine on May 27th 1918 in his 24th year. His name liveth for evermore in the hearts of those who loved him' Nottingham Evening Post, ‘In Memoriam’, 27 May 1919: ‘Clarke. In loving memory of George Gordon Clarke, 1.1st South Notts. Hussars who made the supreme sacrifice in the sinking of the Leasowe Castle, off Malta, May 27th, 1918, dearly loved and only son of J Gordon and Mrs Clarke, 14 Waterloo Bridge, London, late of Nottm.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) UK Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his father was his sole legatee.
