Alfred Clarke was born on the 11th February 1920 in Spalding, Lincolnshire. His parents were Edith Steel and Stewart Alexander Clarke and he was a concrete caster by trade. He enlisted into the 1st Battalion as a regular soldier on the 22nd of March 1938 on a 7/5 engagement. He served with the Battalion from 1939 in Palestine, Cyprus, Cairo in Egypt, North Africa and on the 20th June 1942 moved to Tobruk. On the 20th June 1942 as one of the survivors of the battle, he was taken as a Prisoner of War and sent to Italy. In late 1944, he escaped and returned to England for which he was Mention in Despatches. Alfred transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps on the 14th September 1945 and was discharged to the Reserve on the 30th July 1946. On the 10th July 1946, he married Kathleen Dickenson and he was a retained fireman for Donnington Fire Service. He sadly passed away on the 21st April 2011.