George V (623181 Pte. R. CLARKE). Naming is engraved. Light contact, very fine. Accompanied by a copy of his Attestation Paper.
Footnote: Robert Clarke was born in Ireland on April 25, 1883, the son of Joseph Clarke and Elizabeth Clarke of Magheraleave Road, Lisburn, Ireland. He had three brothers: Corporal William. J. Clarke (who was in the Liverpool Scottish and was reported missing in 1917 but subsequently, on January 25, 1918 was reported wounded with a bullet through the thigh, and a PoW in Germany), Sergeant Joseph Clarke (Military Medal recipient, who was convalescing in the County Antrim Infirmary at the time of his brother’s death and was wounded again in August 1917, being shot through the mouth, losing a number of teeth) and Quartermaster George Clarke (who served with the 11th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles and had embarked from Borden Camp with them in October 1915), along with a sister, Mabel Clarke (who worked in Hilden Hospital as a Voluntary Aid Detachment volunteer). Robert Clarke signed his Attestation Paper as a Private (623181) with the 61st Infantry Battalion "Winnipeg Battalion" on September 8, 1915 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, at the age of 32, naming his next-of-kin as his mother, Elizabeth Clarke, stating that he had no previous military service, that he was married and that his trade was that of Clerk. It was noted in his medical examination that he had a hernia and would be accepted into the army after an operation to correct it, which may explain why he was initially given the service number 461161. The 44th Infantry Battalion was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba under the authority of G.O. 86, July 1, 1915. Mobilization headquarters was also in Winnipeg. The Battalion sailed on October 23, 1915 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, aboard the S.S. Lapland, with a strength of 36 officers and 1,076 other ranks under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel E.R. Wayland, arriving in England on the 30th. A little over three months later, Clarkewas transferred to the 11th Reserve Battalion at Shorncliffe on February 3, 1916 and was taken on strength the next day. Private Clarke was transferred to the 27th Infantry Battalion "City of Winnipeg Regiment", Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment) for service in the French theatre, on April 23, 1916, arriving at the base depot in France the next day. He arrived with his new unit in the field on May 15th. Four months later, during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, Private Robert Clarke, 27th Infantry Battalion was initially reported "missing" on September 15, 1916, then "for official purposes, presumed to have died" and subsequently was declared "Killed in Action", at the age of 33. He is remembered with honour on the Vimy Memorial, in Pas de Calais, France and is commemorated on Page 67 of the First World War Book of Remembrance.