Earl Rudolph [Rue] Clarke
1904-1981
Earl Rudolph [Rue] Clarke |
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| Rue c. 1918-20 | Rue c. 1920-22 | Rue and Rose c. 1975 |
This directory contains information and documents about Kate and Anthony Clarke's 11th and last child Earl Rudolph, and his family. For details of Kate's life, see her own directory. For details of Kate’s very interesting first husband Anthony, including his families with other wives, see the AJCheeper/Clarke directory.
Earl Rudolph Clarke was born on 20 Jan 1904, at 10 Lindal Road, Brockley (around the corner from Braxfield and Ivydale Rds), Lewisham, London. His father was shown as Anthony Clarke, Commercial Traveller (by then 66) and his mother as Kate Clarke formerly Davidge (then 38). The birth was registered by Kate, on 26 February 1904. This is the last date that we're aware of Anthony being associated with the Kate Davidge household. (But the last documented date before that was Jun 1901, raising the possibility that he became only an occasional visitor 1901-04, and perhaps had ceased to even visit by that time).
Anne found his baptism entry on 20 Mar 1910 at St Aldhelm's, Branksome, on the Poole (western) end of Bournemouth. So it appears that Kate may have sustained contact – or perhaps had to re-establish it – with one or more of her Dorset siblings or cousins, most likely to have been Kate's 3-year-older sister Eliza Davidge m. Merrifield (1862-1950), who lived in Bournemouth and died in Poole.
He was generally known within the family as Rudolph, or Rue.
He appears in the 1911 census, as Rudolph, aged 7, born Crofton Park (which is in the middle of Brockley), with his mother and elder sister Vera, in the household of his brother-in-law and eldest sister Violet (who was 19 years older than him).
On 1 Jan 1928, he married Rosina Amelia [Rose] MITCHELL, at Christ Church, West Green, MX. He was shown as being 23, a bachelor, and a decorator, of 192 Harringay Road, Tottenham. His father was shown as Anthony Clarke, Commercial Traveller (dead). But Anthony would have been 90 by then, so they may have presumed it rather than knowing that he'd died in York 10 years earlier. Rosina was shown as 20, spinster, of 34 Park Road, Tottenham, father Frederick Mitchell (dead), market foreman. The witnesses were Rosina Eleanor Mitchell (presumably her mother) and Joseph Maurice Messenger.
Rue continued as a decorator through the 1930s. Anne Kratzmann found entries in the 1926 and 1933 Kelly's Directories for MX, for Clarke and Clarke, Painters and Decorators, 34 Buckstone Road, Upper Edmonton N18.
Rue and Rose had three children:
Rue was in the RAF during WWII. He was invalided out. With initial assistance from the Benevolent Fund, he started his business. David confirmed that Rue ran a very successful business in North London for many years, and in the years post-WWII had about 40 employees. David says Rue was a member of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, presumably near Epping, as was his 18-years-older brother Clement, who worked for Rue for a time, presumably immediately post-War.
Roger and Anne's uncle Ken Clarke b. 1936 (and Rue's nephew) remembers meeting Rue with Willie Tony after a football match, presumably post-WWII. David said that he and his brothers holidayed in both Bournemouth and Southsea, visited Willie Tony, and knew Enid and Kath. David remembers Willie Tony visiting their home in Enfield (north London), in his Home Guard uniform, because it gave him a reduction in the fare. Those contacts appear to have been mainly 1940-45, because Roger's father, Tony, had no memory of having met any of the family.
Rue was thought by a couple of members of the family to have been a medium who held seances in his home, but we have doubts about that story. David assured me that Rue and Rose worked out how to enjoy the fruits of a successful business.
Earl Rudolph died at 77, Mar Qtr 1981 (Enfield 12 0597).
Amelia Rosina Clarke died in Devon in 1989.
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Earl Frederick [Donald] Clarke |
The first of Rudolph and Rose's children was born on 20 Oct 1928 at 192 Harringay Road, Tottenham, MX (Edmonton, 3a 802, Dec 1928). Rudolph was shown as a house decorator. The birth was registered by E.R.Clarke, father, on 20 November, 1928, but of 45 West Green Road, Tottenham. (Had they moved between the birth and the registration? Or was the birth at the home of a local mid-wife?).
Earl Frederick appears to have been known as Donald (Don within the family) throughout his life.
When he did National Service (c. 1948), the found he had TB, and put him into hospital for 2 years. He was prescribed plenty of fresh air, even in mid-winter with snow on the ground. He suffered with it for many years, and spent further time in hospital.
He married Pauline MADDEN on 24 June 1967 at Christ Church, Enfield. He is shown as Earl Frederick Donald Clarke, 38, bachelor, lettering artist, of 22 Eastbury Ave, Enfield,MX. His father is shown as Earl Rudolph Clarke, builder and decorator. Pauline is shown as being 32, previous marriage dissolved, receptionist (stores), of 136 Clay Hill, Enfield, MX. Her father is shown as David Hegarty, deceased. The witnesses were E.R.Clarke (presumably his father, Earl Rudolph) and R.P.Acworth.
We've found no evidence of children of the marriage. We don't know when Pauline passed on.
Donald re-married Carole Mills in August 2002, at 73. He died on 30 Nov 2002, at 128 Sidwell St Exeter (or at 65 Oaklea, Honiton, Devon?). The informant was Carole Clarke, widow. His occupation was shown as retired electrical meter reader.
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David Raymond Clarke
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The second of Rudolph and Rose's children was born on 13 August 1930, at 451 West Green Road, Tottenham. Earl Rudolph is shown as a house decorator (journeyman).
Roger's aunts Kath b. 1926 and/or Enid Clarke b. 1922 said in the mid-1990s that they'd once met their cousins Donald and 'Derek'. (It appears that they or I invented the Derek name – which misled Anne's researches for over 3 years! We'd surmised that it was from his initials 'DRC', but when we finally met David in 2008, it was all news to him). The meeting was presumably in the mid-to-late 1930s, because they remembered arguing at the 'beach' over buckets and spades. (I say 'beach', because Southsea has pebbles, not the sand that for an Australian is a mandatory feature of a beach).
David visited the Portsmouth Clarkes with his family, c. 1938. He remembers Willy Tony telling them to "run like hell" to catch the ferry (presumably to the Isle of Wight, because they were going on holiday there). He also knew Queenie and Frederic Haskins.
David could name all of Rue's siblings, and knew most of them, including Violet and Louis with the two bike-shops in Cleethorpes (where they holidayed), Nettie in Watford, Laurie, Vera and Fred (who worked for his Dad Rue "for quite some years"). He watched the Victory celebrations in 1945 (aged 15) from the pub that Queenie (Victoria) and Fred managed, at the corner of Tottenham Court Rd and Oxford St.
But David said he thought there were 14 children in his father's family, not the 11 that we know of.
David also remembers holidaying with an aunty in Bournemouth (c. 1940?), which Anne has established as probably being Kate's elder sister Eliza m. Merrifield.
David worked with his father's company for a time, holding off National Service and working his way around the company doing estimating, bricking and plastering. He spent 2 years in the RAF c. 1950-52.
David married Rita Anne Snell WOOD, on 2 Aug 1952, at Jesus Church, Forty Hill, Enfield. He was shown as 21, a bachelor, jnr. sales representative, of 22 (or 27 or 29) Eastbury Avenue, Enfield, father Earl Rudolph Clarke, builder & decorator. Rita is shown as being 22, spinster, saleswoman, of 259 Rags Head Road, Enfield, father Herbert Neilson Wood, mechanic. The witnesses were Earl Rudolph Clarke (the groom's father) and H.N. Wood (presumably the bride's father). They had two daughters:
Claire Turbutt, a grand-daughter of Rita's older sister Sylvia Wood, made contact with Anne Kratzmann during 2007 and provided some information about the family. David remains in contact with Claire's family.
After leaving the RAF and getting married, David went into sales and later sales management. He had a successful career, in chocolates, cocoa and confectionery, as National Sales Manager for Hallmark Cards (UK) Ltd with 120 salesmen, in gold and silver, and for the last 20 years with a group of paper merchants and commercial printing that went on the acquisition trail and were eventually bought out by W.H.Smith.
Rita died in Mar qtr 1964 (Bethnal Green 5c 225), from heart problems. She was apparently one of the first people in the world to have heart surgery.
David remarried, to Cecilia [Cissy] CRIBBIN, b. Mainham county Kildare, Eire, in the September qtr of 1964. They had two sons:
Peter made contact with Anne Kratzmann in early 2008, after seeing one of Anne's postings at www.genesreunited.com. Peter gave us David's contact-points, re-joining a branch that had drifted out of contact with the Willie Tony family since the 1940s
David and Celia retired in 1996 to Sidmouth, Devon.
Cecilia died on 26 December 1999 (East Devon 4101A 4A 088 1299).
David remarried, to Barbara A. TOYE October qtr 2000 (Abingdon 697 1057 022 C6). David and Barbara have visited Australia and New Zealand several times. According to Peter, they're obsessive (in a good way) croquet players and heavily involved in charity and community work. Roger passed through Sidmouth in May 2008, and we all had a thoroughly enjoyable meal at the Blue Ball.
We were unaware of Tony until a mention from Claire Turbutt in late 2007 and then another from Peter Clarke in early 2008.
Tony was born 14 Jan 1940, registered in Edmonton (3a 1676).
Tony married Valerie D. Linning in Mar Qtr 1966, in Enfield (5b 626).
They had a son:
Tony and Valerie later divorced.
Tony married Ann Jeapes in April 1991, in Enfield (Vol 12 p 343 Reg No 491). Ann's maiden name is shown on their son's birth registry entry as Gillon, so she was presumable previously married.
They had a son:
Tony and Ann later divorced.
Tony lived in Enfield, North London. Tony d. 19 Mar 2014, aged 74, at Enfield, of pancreatic cancer. |
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This a page within Roger Clarke's Family Web-Site
Contact: Roger Clarke and/or Anne Kratzmann
Created: 8 October 2005; Last Amended: 22 August 2008, 9 Sep 2009 (1911 Census), 26 Mar 2014, 14 Oct 2015, 20 Dec 2015, 24 Feb 2016 (baptism)
