Brigadier A.C.L Stanley-Clarke -Soldier and Sportsman

Looking back at soldiers who served in the Cameronians in the early part of the 20th century, one who stands out as an exceptional example is Arthur Christopher Lancelot Stanley -Clarke.

‘Chris’  was born in Brighton on 30^th June 1886 and became almost a model of the comic book hero as a young man.   He went to Winchester school where he excelled in sports of all kinds, especially cricket and football.  Evidence of his sporting skills can be seen in many editions of the Regimental magazine, The Covenanter,  more of this later.

His military career began when he was commissioned into the army and in March 1908 joined the 2nd Battalion, Cameronians and  he was promoted to Captain early in the war serving in France, and was wounded near Chamigny. Early 1916 he was second in command of the 9^th Battalion with the rank of Major and by the end of the year acting Lt Colonel commanding 10^th Battalion. 

1918 sees him awarded the D.S.O and Bar as well as the French awards of the Legion d’Honneur and the Croix de Guerre.  He joined 1^st Battalion at the Curragh in 1919 which was an important posting for Stanley-Clarke as it was there he met his future wife.

Between the wars Stanley-Clarke was O.C. at the Regimental Depot, commanded a Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and in 1937 became a Brigadier commanding the 154^th Brigade of the 51^st Highland Division.

Back home he took charge of the Lothian and Border area and retired from full service in 1944.  He was later awarded the C.B.E and the Polish Polonia Restituta.

A section taken from his Obituary, published in The Covenanter in 1983, written by Lieutenant-General Sir John Evetts, shows how well respected and liked Brigadier Stanley- Clarke was:

‘He retired from active service in 1944, and moved to Ireland in 1949. Here he became deeply involved in hospital work as Treasurer of a Children’s Hospital, and was for many years on the Board, and latterly Chairman of Mercer’s Hospital in Dublin. He held important positions in the administration of his Church, was an expert gardener, and contributed greatly to animal welfare in Ireland. He died on 8th January 1983, in his 97th year. A man of great charm who never let a friend down and who was loved and respected by all who knew him.’

Also from the Obituary:

‘The following tribute was paid to Brigadier Stanley-Clarke in the history of the 10th Battalion 1914-1918.

“‘The Battalion parted from Lt-Col Stanley Clarke with the sincerest regret. There was no man, who had had the privilege of serving under him who had not felt his influence as a soldier, as a sportsman, and as a gentleman. For more than two years of strenuous active service, his was the outstanding personality that dominated and impressed itself on the Battalion. Officers and men looked up to him in something of the same spirit in which small boys look up to the captain of their school, for there was nothing that they could do which he could not do better. He was an ideal Battalion Commander. On the one hand no detail of routine or of organisation escaped his searching eye, as is borne out by the printed book of detailed Battalion Standing Orders which he issued and which are a model of what such orders should be on active service. On the other hand he was a born athlete, an Oxford Blue, equally pre-eminent as Captain of the regimental football team as leader of his battalion, a genius at leading forlorn hopes, with an amazing faculty for bringing the best out of those whom he led. His presence was like a tonic; the Battalion was devoted to him and would have followed him anywhere. He was a disciplinarian to a degree, but no one was more thoughtful. more considerate, or more loyal to his officers and to his men. Always his men came first. He continued and developed the tradition of the regiment as laid down by Colonel Usher, that, under all circumstances, the first thought of an officer or an NCO must be for his men. And lastly – although it does not come under the category of military history – in his time there was no one fonder of a real healthy ‘rag’ than the C.O. as so many of his company officers fondly remember.”’

Although so highly regarded as a soldier, he would have been remembered just as fondly as a sportsman of high ability.

A piece from The Covenanter , Winter 1976 describes his many sporting achievements well:

Football:

‘Joining the 1st Bn. The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) he quickly made his mark and before being posted to Malta to join the 2nd Battalion, he won his first Army Cap versus the Royal Navy in 1910. Being in Malta and on War Service , undoubtedly deprived him of recognition for some years because it was 1920 before he captained the Army teams against the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. In 1921, he again captained in those two matches and also, the first post-war International between the British and French Armies. A member of the Army Sports Control Board, he had much to do with its efforts in early years, the results of which have benefitted games and sports in the Army since.’

Cricket

‘Stanley- Clarke’s cricket career was distinguished with many representative matches for the Army in the 1923-24 seasons. The touring teams could always find a place for him when military duties permitted.’

In 1921, the newly-launched “Covenanter ” was enriched with sports news and reports from the 1st Battalion’s Sports Officer at the Curragh. The reports not only gave the scores, etc, but an analysis.

This page from The Covenanter 1921shows his involvement in the cricket match between the 1st Battalion and the Northumberland Fusiliers and the match between Staff and the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. 

Also from The Covenanter Winter 1976

‘Gaining considerable renown as a member of the 2nd Battalion Polo Team in Malta before the outbreak of war in 1914, he later rode to hounds and Point to Point, both here and in Ireland. No “slouch” on the running track, his forte in that field was probably cross-country. One recollects a C- in- C’s Inspection at the Depot when he was commanding there.

The General was visiting the miniature range where he was to talk to the recruits, The following week the Command Recruit’s Cross-Country Run was to be held at Edinburgh and the C-in-C said he had heard the Cameronians expected to win, an expectation he was not surprised to hear of. The last time he had seen our Commanding Officer had been some years before at the British Expeditionary Forces Cross-Country Championships in France, when he, the C.O., had been first man home, Of course, we knew he could play soccer and cricket-we had seen him on both fields, but it was news he could run as well.’

A.C.L Stanley Clarke was a fine soldier, a wonderful sportsman, an exemplary Cameronian and, as was commented on the occasion of his 90^th birthday, a particularly modest man. 

He wrote a short report of a cricket match, in which he took 4 wickets for 51 runs and made 101 runs batting, and his remarks went as follows:

‘The real weakness of the side has been batting.  We caught most sides out pretty cheaply and the fielding has greatly improved, especially the wicket-keeping of Sgt Bugler Gardner.  C.S.M Thorn strengthens the batting, and C.Q.M.S. Ayling has the knack of always getting a wicket when he is first put on.  The mainstay has, of course been Captain Galloway.’

An Obituary was published in the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1983 ( The ‘Bible’ of cricket)

STANLEY-CLARKE, BRIG. ARTHUR CHRISTOPHER LANCELOT, CBE, DSO, MC, who died at Shiel, Bailey, Dublin, on January 8, 1983, aged 96, was in the Winchester XI in 1905, when he scored 82 not out in the second innings against Eton and headed the batting averages. A solid opening bat, he later played for the Army. At the time of his death he was the oldest living member of I Zingari and, as far as is known, the oldest living English first-class cricketer.

Looking through editions of The Covenanter between the Wars we can discover just what a generally good sportsman A.C.L was!    There is a report of a Regimental cross- country race he was running in 1926;   he played golf to a high standard, playing for the Depot team in 1928.  His football career continued, and an entry shows him appearing for the Cameronians in the Inter Company Competition against the Royal Scots.  He is cited as playing doubles in tennis and shown as a fine horseman riding Point-to Point races, including one at Catterick when his horse fell and he re-mounted to finish fifth in the race!

Brigadier Stanley-Clarke and his wife, Olive Carroll-Leahy, were married in 1931.   After retirement they moved to Ireland.  Olve outlived her husband and died at the age of 100 and was buried in County Cork. 

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