Hadleigh First World War Memorial
John Albert ARNOLD (aka John Albert CLARKE)
John Albert ARNOLD was born on 5th March 1899, in Islington, London. He was the youngest of four children born to Francis Calder Mander ARNOLD, a stick mounter, and his wife, Sarah HOOKER. He also had a half-brother from his mother’s second marriage to Charles CLARKE.
Francis, who was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, in late 1870, was the son of a whip-mount chaser, a craftsman who engraved the silver heads of whips and sticks. He and his family moved to London in the 1880s, where he found work assembling walking sticks and umbrella handles. He and Sarah, who was born in 1870 in Islington, had their first child in January 1889, six months before they married, and went on to have three more children during the 1890s. Francis died in early 1902 at the age of 31, leaving Sarah to raise their four young children alone.
- Francis Arnold (1889-aft.1947) – m.1906 to Alice Maud Rosetta Free; wood sawyer, millwright engineer (petrol refinery)
- Rachel Nellie Arnold (1893-1975) – m.1911 to labourer’s contractor Arthur James Miles
- Florence Sarah Arnold (1896-1961) – m.1918 to caterer William Stanley Weaving; emigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1922
- John Albert Arnold (1899-1918) – unmarried; porter, sawyer, soldier
John was just two years old when his father died. Four years later, on 19th June 1905, his mother, Sarah, remarried Charles CLARKE at St. John the Baptist Church in Leytonstone, Essex. Her new husband was their former next-door neighbour, who had been widowed for only eight months. Charles, born in 1863 in Shoreditch, was a firewood dealer and timber merchant with a sawmill in Bow. He and his first wife, Mary Ann RILEY (1863–1904), had seven children, though tragically, he lost his four youngest in infancy.
Charles and Sarah had one child together, born in Thundersley, Essex, where they had recently moved. By 1914, they were residing at 4 The Broadway, Hadleigh.
- Sydney Charles Clarke (1910-1986) – m.1931 to Ethel Cicely Tidman; daily motor driver (dairies)
1st Enlistment
On 20th February 1915, John, aged just 15, travelled to Southend to enlist in the Royal Field Artillery, likely eager to join the war effort. It is unlikely that his mother knew of his intentions. John claimed to be 18 years and 11 months old and was recorded as a porter. Just 21 days later, on 12th March, after his 16th birthday, he was discharged for “having made a mis-statement as to age on enlistment.” John’s discharge for being underage was a relatively common occurrence at the time. A high number of boys lied about their age to enlist. In many cases, it was the parents who alerted authorities to their son’s true age, leading to their discharge.
- Name: John Albert Arnold
- Birth Year: 1896 / 1988
- Birth Place: Bow, Middlesex
- Enlistment Date: 20 Feb 1915 in Southend-On-Sea, Essex
- Residence at Enlistment: 4 The Broadway, Hadleigh, Essex
- Occupation at Enlistment: Porter
- Discharge Date: 12 Mar 1915
- Discharge Reason: Under Age
- Rank: Private
- Regiment: Royal Field Artillery
- Regimental Number: 69574
2nd Enlistment
Undaunted by his previous discharge just five weeks earlier, John enlisted for a second time, on 20th April 1915, in London, joining the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry as a Private. He stated that he was 19 years and 1 month old and employed as a sawyer. For his residence, he provided the address of his older brother Francis in Bow, likely to prevent his family from alerting the authorities again.
This second attempt lasted 194 days before his age was discovered. After initial training with the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion in Bodmin, he was transferred to the 7th (Service) Battalion. His unit was mobilised in July, landing in Boulogne, France, on the 25th as part of the 61st Infantry Brigade in the 20th (Light) Division. While on the Western Front from July to October 1915, his battalion was stationed in the Fleurbaix area, where they underwent training and experienced shelling and sniper fire, but did not engage in any major named battles.
John was discharged for the second time on 30th October 1915 for “being under 17 years of age at the date of application,” having just turned 16 and a half.
- Name: John Albert Arnold
- Birth Year: 1896 / 1899
- Birth Place: Bow, Middlesex
- Enlistment Date: 20 Apr 1915 in London
- Residence at Enlistment: 3 Driffield Road, Bow, Middlesex
- Occupation at Enlistment: Sawyer
- Discharge Date: 30 Oct 1915
- Discharge Reason: Under Age
- Rank: Private
- Regiment: Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry
- Regimental Number: 19681
- Medals Awarded: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal
John may have returned to Hadleigh after his discharge before moving to Ilford, where two of his step-siblings resided. The eldest, Rosetta, had been married since 1907 to William Thomas JONES, a wood sawyer. William was serving as a Lance Corporal with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, the very same regiment John had enlisted with just a few months prior.
William landed in France on 20th July 1915. By the summer of 1916, he was positioned with the 1st Battalion, “A” Company near the village of Longueval in northern France as part of the massive Somme Offensive. The battalion was involved in the vicious fighting to capture and hold Delville Wood, an area that became known as “Devil’s Wood” due to the brutality of the combat.
In the early hours of 23rd July, the “A” Company were part of an assault on a German strongpoint. Despite some initial success, they were met with a heavy German counter-attack and overwhelming machine-gun fire. The attack was a disastrous failure, resulting in 149 casualties for the battalion in a single day, including William. His body was lost amid the fighting and the devastated landscape.
William was officially listed as “missing,” and his death was “presumed” by the military. This created a long period of anguished waiting for his family back home. It was not until 26th March 1917—over eight months after he was killed—that his family received the devastating news that he was presumed dead. A little over five months later, in October 1917, his widow, Rosetta, remarried to Private Joseph FANTHAM of the New Zealand forces. She and her two children emigrated in 1919.
3rd Enlistment
Conscription came into effect on 2nd March 1916 for eligible men aged 18 to 41, three days before John turned 17. He would not have been called up until 5th March 1917. John enlisted under the name John Albert CLARKE in November 1917 as a Private with the 21st (City of London) Battalion, a Territorial Force unit with extensive service. After four months of training, his company disembarked in Boulogne, France, on 2nd April 1918, just after his 19th birthday.
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- John Albert ARNOLD/CLARKE
On 11th April, John was transferred to the 7th Londoners to help defend against the German Spring Offensive. During his time at the front, he witnessed the historic first tank-versus-tank engagement near Villers-Bretonneux. The village was cleared of enemy troops on 25th April after heavy fighting and a German gas attack.
On 26th April 1918, John, at the age of just 19, died from wounds he received in action. His body was never recovered or identified.
For his service with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry as John Albert ARNOLD, he was posthumously awarded the 1914–15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He was also awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service with the London Regiment under the name John Albert CLARKE. His mother, Sarah, as his next of kin, received his pay of £4 4s on 15th August 1919, along with his medals.
- Name: John Albert Clarke
- Birth Year: 1899
- Birth Place: Bow, Middlesex
- Enlistment Date: Before 1 Mar 1917 in Stratford, London
- Residence at Enlistment: Ilford, Essex
- Rank: Private
- Regiments: 21st & 7th City of London Battalion: London Regiment
- Regimental Numbers: 656179 & 368003
- Death Date: 26 Apr 1918
- Death Place: Villers-Bretonneux, France
- Next of Kin: Sarah Clarke, mother
- Cemetery: Pozieres Memorial
- Type of Casualty: Died of Wounds
- Medals Awarded: British War Medal and Victory Medal
Sarah and Charles Clarke continued to reside at 4 Broadway, Hadleigh, after John’s death. The 1921 census recorded Charles as a 59-year-old builder’s merchant working from home, and Sarah as a 50-year-old housewife. Electoral registers show the couple remained in Hadleigh until 1926, after which their whereabouts are unknown.
John’s story is a powerful example of the fervent patriotism and determination of many young men and boys during the First World War. His repeated attempts to serve highlight his unwavering commitment, which tragically ended near Villers-Bretonneux.
John is honoured on the Hadleigh War Memorial as John Arnold ARNOLD, and as John Arnold CLARKE on the Pozieres Memorial (panel 87) in France.
FAMILY TREE
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- Arnold Family Tree
