Lewis Clive (8 September 1910 – August 1938) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

who won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

. He volunteered to fight for the Republicans in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

and was killed in action.

Life

Born in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, Clive was the younger son of Lt-Col. Percy Clive, a Liberal Unionist (later Conservative) MP for

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

who was killed in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was educated at

Heatherdown Preparatory School Heatherdown School, formally called Heatherdown Preparatory School, was an independent preparatory school for boys, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. Set in of grounds, it typically taught between eighty and ninety boys between ...

near Ascot, then

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

where he became captain of both

Oppidans A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's School ...

and Boats. Clive read Law at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, matriculating in 1929. He rowed in the losing

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

boats in the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

s in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. He partnered Hugh Edwards to win the

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless pairs at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing club A rowing club ...

at Henley in 1931 and 1932. They were selected to compete in the

coxless pair A coxless pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each having one oar, one on the stroke side (rower's right h ...

s at the

, where they won the gold medal with a comfortable victory in the final at

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. In August 1932, Clive was commissioned in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

; he resigned his commission in 1937. During the 1930s, Clive, influenced by the threat of fascism, moved politically to the left. He was a member of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fa ...

and a founding member of the

National Council for Civil Liberties Liberty, formerly, and still formally, called the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), is an advocacy group and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, which challenges unjust laws, protects civil liberties and promotes hu ...

in 1934. Clive was elected as a Labour Party councillor for St Charles ward of the

Metropolitan Borough of Kensington The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965, which since 1901 was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington, following the death of Queen Victoria, in accordance with her wishes. His ...

in 1937. His ''The People's Army'', with an introduction by Major C. R. Attlee, the leader of the Labour Party, was published by

Victor Gollancz Ltd Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group. Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...

, under the auspices of the New Fabian Research Bureau in 1938. Clive fell in love with Mary Farmar (the author

Mary Wesley Mary Wesley was the pen name of Mary Aline Siepmann CBE (24 June 191230 December 2002), an English novelist. During her career, she was one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including ten bestsell ...

) and asked her to marry him. Oxford Spanish War Memorial front

Spanish Civil War

Clive arrived in Spain on 4 February 1938, where he joined the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

. He took part in the fighting against

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

forces in

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, where he wielded a heavy machine-gun. He accompanied the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

volunteers during their retreat across the

River Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

. By July, Clive had risen to the rank of company commander of the International Brigades'

British Battalion The British Battalion (1936–1938; officially the Saklatvala Battalion) was the 16th battalion of the XV International Brigade, one of the mixed brigades of the International Brigades, during the Spanish Civil War. It comprised British and Do ...

, and recrossed the river, in what became known as the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

, as part of the final Republican offensive of the war. He led his soldiers to attack Hill 481, near

Gandesa Gandesa () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Terra Alta, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. History In the place known as ''Coll del Moro'' there is an ancient Iberian archaeological site belonging to the Ilercavones tribe that l ...

. After five consecutive attacks on Hill 481, Clive led the final charge on 3 August, when he was killed by a shot to his head.

Memorials

Lewis Clive is commemorated on at least three memorials: the first in

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

, the second in

Wormbridge Wormbridge is a village and former civil parish in Herefordshire, England, about eight miles south-west of Hereford, on the A465 road at (). The neighbouring villages are Kilpeck, Didley, Howton, Treville, Ewyas Harold, Pontrilas and Crize ...

Church near Hereford, and the third in

. He is named on a memorial in the foothills of the Ebro mountains. This memorial is one of the few not destroyed by Franco's forces, and was restored by local people in 2000. He is commemorated in St Peter's Church,

, Herefordshire, alongside others members of the Clive family. The

Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial The Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial is a monument in Oxford dedicated to the 31 known local residents who fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) against Nationalist forces. Erected and unveiled in 2017, the memorial is located close to ...

, erected in 2017, includes Clive's name and five other people from Oxfordshire who died fighting for the Republicans.

Legacy

A fictionalised version of Clive appeared in Mary Wesley's novel ''

The Camomile Lawn ''The Camomile Lawn'' is a 1984 novel by Mary Wesley beginning with a family holiday in Cornwall in the last summer of peace before the Second World War. When the family is reunited for a funeral nearly fifty years later, it brings home to them ...

''. The character, Oliver Ansty, was portrayed by

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for the ...

in the

TV adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

. British folk band

The Young'uns The Young'uns are an English folk group from Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton, County Durham, England, who won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Group" award in 2015 and 2016 and “Best Album” for ''Strangers'' in 2018. They specialise in singing u ...

’ album and stage show ''The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff'' mentions Clive, who was a comrade of

Johnny Longstaff John Edward Longstaff (1919-2000) was an English anti-fascist activist and soldier, who served with the International Brigades in Spain and later with the British Army during the Second World War. History Born in Stockton-on-Tees in October 19 ...

in the International Brigade. The song "Lewis Clive" is an exaggerated portrayal of Clive’s swimming ability, describes his bravery during the Spanish Civil War and mourns his loss.

Works

References

External links

*
Lewis Clive: The Red Blue
' – 2014 blog post {{DEFAULTSORT:Clive, Lewis 1910 births 1938 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English male rowers Members of Leander Club Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1932 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Members of Kensington Metropolitan Borough Council British people of the Spanish Civil War Military personnel killed in the Spanish Civil War International Brigades personnel Oxford University Boat Club rowers Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Grenadier Guards officers Deaths by firearm in Spain Members of the Fabian Society People educated at Heatherdown School Olympians killed in warfare