Ralph Clarke (British politician)
Ralph Clarke | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for East Grinstead | |
| In office 1936–1955 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Cautley |
| Succeeded by | Evelyn Emmet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ralph Stephenson Clarke 17 August 1892 |
| Died | 9 May 1970 (aged 77) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Rebekah Mary Buxton (m. 1921) |
| Children | Three |
| Residence | Borde Hill |
Colonel Sir Ralph Stephenson Clarke, KBE, TD, DL (17 August 1892 – 9 May 1970)[1] was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for East Grinstead from 1936 to 1955.
He was elected to the House of Commons at a by-election in July 1936, after East Grinstead's Conservative MP Henry Cautley was ennobled as Baron Cautley.[2] Clarke held the seat until he stood down at the 1955 general election.[3]
He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Sussex in 1932,[4] and in the 1955 New Year Honours, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), "for political and public services".[5]
Family[edit]
Clarke was the son of Colonel Stephenson Clarke. He married Rebekah Mary Buxton, daughter of Gerald Buxton and Lucy Ethel Pease, on 15 December 1921, and they had three children.[6] His wife was from the Pease family of Darlington; Lucy's father was Joseph Whitwell Pease and her maternal grandfather was Alfred Fox, who created Glendurgan Garden.
The Stephenson Clarkes were the founders[7] in 1730 of Stephenson Clarke Shipping, Britain's oldest shipping company.[8] In 1892, Ralph Clarke's father purchased a 200-acre (0.81 km2) estate at Borde Hill, near Haywards Heath in West Sussex, and from about 1912 began collecting trees and shrubs began by financing plant-collecting expeditions to the Himalayas and China.[9] Ralph Clarke took up residence there is 1949, after the death of his father, and opened the gardens to the public in 1965.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ "House of Commons constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons page. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 481. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
- ^ "UK General Election results May 1955: East Grinstead to Fife East". Richard Kimber's political science resources. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ^ "No. 33835". The London Gazette. 14 June 1932. p. 3875.
- ^ "No. 40366". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1955. p. 11.
- ^ Lundy, Darryl. "Colonel Sir Ralph Stephenson Clarke". ThePeerage.com. Retrieved 27 November 2009.[unreliable source]
- ^ "The Stephenson Clarkes". Great Gardens of Sussex. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ^ "About Us". Stephenson Clarke Shipping Limited. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ^ a b Borde Hill Garden. "History". Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
External links[edit]
| International | |
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| National | |
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