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A
fitting salute to our very own VC war hero
Published:
27th January 2006
in the
Rochdale Observer
MY daddy’s a hero...
James Clarke hoists one of his children on his shoulders.
IN a quiet corner
of Rochdale Cemetery lies the neatly tended grave of James Clarke, who died in
June 1947 at the age of 54. At
first glance it looks just like the thousands of other silent tombstones in the
cemetery, the final resting place of a man with a fairly common name. But
this grave contains the mortal remains of the only Rochdale soldier to be awarded
the Victoria Cross, the nation’s highest award for gallantry. Sunday
marks the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross, an appropriate time to reveal
the full story of James Clarke, as Touchstones plans to do in a special exhibition
which opens on 28 February and runs until July. To
mark the anniversary, Touchstones will display, for the first time, a gold watch
presented to Mr Clarke by grateful townsfolk. His VC is now in a private collection. James
Clarke was born in Winsford, Cheshire, in April 1894. He
began his working life as a farm labourer, moving to Rochdale in 1913 where he
worked as a carter for Butterworth Brothers in Milnrow and then William Tatham
and Sons engineers. He
married in August 1915 and lived in Clyde Street, off Vavasour Street, before,
in October of that year, he enlisted into the 6th (Rochdale) Battalion, Lancashire
Fusiliers. He was posted
to the Western Front, where he rose to the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. On
2 November 1918 he was in charge of a platoon which braved heavy machine gun fire
to reach a well-defended ridge. In
the action, RSM Clarke and his men captured four machine guns and single handedly
bayonetted the crews. Later
he led the remnants of his platoon to capture three more machine guns and many
prisoners. The next day,
after capturing more prisoners, he was able to hold up an enemy advance. The
day after, in an attack on the Oise Sambre Canal, under heavy fire from the bank,
he rushed forward with his team in the face of an intense barrage, brought his
gun into action and effectively silenced the enemy. His
citation for his VC read: "Throughout all the operation RSM Clarke acted
with magnificent bravery and total disregard for his personal safety, setting
an inspiring example to all ranks". On
1 February 1919 a large crowd welcomed him home to Rochdale, where he was presented
with commemorative gifts including a gold watch. Days
later he was presented with the Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham
Palace. Mr Clarke went
on to attend reunions of VC winners in 1920 and 1929, while working as a stoker
in Rochdale, but he lost his job when ill-health overtook him. With
three children to bring up, his wife found work in a cotton mill while Mr Clarke
bought a barrel organ, playing it around the streets of Manchester. His
story doesn’t end there, though. In
1933 he went to London and was arrested by police for obstructing a footpath. Proudly
wearing his medals at his court appearance, Mr Clarke was discharged on probation
by the judge after hearing of his impressive war record. He
returned to the family home in Milnrow Road and died in Birch Hill Hospital on
16 June 1947 at the age of 54. He
was buried with full military honours at Rochdale Cemetery a few days later. In
July 1984 his medals came up for auction at Christie’s where they were bought
by a private collector for £8,800. The
Victoria Cross was born in the carnage of the Crimean War, even though the fighting
had ended a good year before. Since
its inception the VC, founded by Royal Warrant on 29 January 1856, has been awarded
1,350 times. The youngest
recipient was 15 and the oldest 69. | 
