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34504 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
Walter Clarke was born in 1878 in Washbrook, Suffolk, the son of David and Mary Ann Clarke. His father was a farm bailiff and the family moved around Suffolk due to his employment including Pond Hall in Bentley, Rams Farm in Hintlesham before moving to Chestnut Farm in Barham, Suffolk.
At the age of 23 Walter was living and working as a ‘cellar man’ at the Bath Hotel, Cobbold Road, Felixstowe. He married Emma Reeve in 1904 and they had a daughter Edna. Both Walter and Emma were employed as Club Stewards at the Sudbury Conservative Club in New Street, living ‘over the shop’.
Walter enlisted in Sudbury and served with the Suffolk Regiment. It is not known when Walter joined his battalion which formed part of 76th Brigade, 3rd Division. On the eve of 9th April 1917 the battalion was billeted deep inside tunnels (Wellington Quarry tunnels) below Arras along with almost 24,000 allied troops. At 5.30am the Allies launched a surprise attack on the enemy (the First Battle of the Scarpe (9 – 14 April) in the opening phase of the Battle of Arras. On the first day the battalion suffered relatively light casualties considering the Battle of Arras had the heaviest daily casualty rate of any battle in the war which involved the British Army. Walter was one of those casualties.
He was killed in action on 9 April 1917 aged 39 and lies buried in Tilloy British Cemetery, Tilloy-les-Mofflaines, France. Walter was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
A Cross of Remembrance was laid by his grave in October 2011.
He was also remembered on the Sudbury Conservative Club Roll of Honour.
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