Educated at
Eton College, Clarke was
commissioned into the
57th Regiment of Foot in 1856. He rose to become
Commandant-General of the Colonial Forces of the
Cape of Good Hope between 1880 and 1882. He held a series of administrative roles before becoming
Commander-in-Chief of the
Madras Army in 1893 (renamed "the Madras Command of the Indian Army" in 1895). He was appointed to the command of the Sixth Army Corps in the
Second Boer War in South Africa in December 1899. He served as
Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1899 until 1903, during which he was promoted to
general on 5 August 1902. The following year he became
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Malta, serving until he retired in 1907. He succeeded to the title of
3rd Baronet Clarke of Dunham Lodge on 25 April 1899. ==Family==