Alured Clarke

Field Marshal Sir Alured Clarke GCB


Acting Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William
In office 1797–1798
Monarch	George III
Preceded by	Sir John Shore
Succeeded by	The Earl of Mornington
Personal details
Born	24 November 1744
Died	16 September 1832 (aged 87) Llangollen, Wales
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1759–1802
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands	Madras Army Commander-in-Chief of India
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

Field Marshal Sir Alured Clarke GCB (24 November 1744 – 16 September 1832) was a British army officer. He took charge of all British troops in Georgia in May 1780 and was then deployed to Philadelphia to supervise the evacuation of British prisoners of war at the closing stages of the American Revolutionary War. He went on to be Governor of Jamaica and then lieutenant-governor of Lower Canada in which role he had responsibility for implementing the Constitutional Act 1791. He was then sent to India where he became Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army, then briefly Governor-General of India and finally Commander-in-Chief of India during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.

Born the son of Charles Clarke (c.1702–1750) and Jane Clarke (née Mullins), Alured Clarke was educated at Eton College and was commissioned as an ensign in the 50th Regiment of Foot on 20 March 1759. Later that year he served in Germany under the Marquess of Granby. Promoted to lieutenant in the 50th Regiment of Foot on 10 May 1760 and to captain in the 52nd Regiment of Foot on 30 December 1763, he transferred to the 5th Regiment of Foot, stationed in Ireland, in January 1767 and was then promoted to major in the 54th Regiment of Foot in 1771.