Orme Bigland Clarke, 4th Baronet (8 October 1880 in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

– 31 March 1949) was a British lawyer and military officer.

Biography

He was the son of Frederick Clarke, second son of

Sir Charles Clarke, 2nd Baronet Reverend Sir Charles Clarke, 2nd Baronet (15 June 1812 – 25 April 1899) was the eldest son of Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke, 1st Baronet of Dunham Lodge, Norfolk. Educated at Charterhouse School, Surrey and Trinity College, Cambridge, Trinity Col ...

, and Adelaide Catherine Kerrison. He was educated at Eton College, Berkshire and

Magdalen College, Oxford University Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

, in 1906. As a lawyer, he worked under

Sir John Simon John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954), was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of only three peop ...

for 8 years after being called to the bar.

Military and legal career

He was invested as a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

). He succeeded to the title of 4th Baronet Clarke, of Dunham Lodge, Norfolk, on 22 April 1932 from his uncle

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke, 3rd

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

GCB

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(13 December 1839 – 22 April 1932). Sir Orme is credited with helping implement the foundation of the Palestinian Legal system. According to Dan Izenberg in his article: "Founding Father"(see Sources), author Natan Brun writes in his "Judges and Jurists in the Land of Israel" that Clarke was responsible for a large part of the legal framework. Izenburg states that "the seeds of the modern Supreme Court were sown on December 9, 1917, when Allenby entered Jerusalem and declared martial law." Clarke, who had enlisted in 1916, had been in the Middle East in 1914 before war broke out as an adviser to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. When he was enlisted he was sent to Cairo then onto Jerusalem where Allenby appointed Clarke as the man to implement a judicial system. Izenberg states that according to Brun: "he served as minister of justice, legal adviser to the government and chief prosecutor." Whilst in Palestine he fell ill with a serious case of malaria and returned to England, resigning from the army. Izenberg sums up Clarke's career in Palestine: "In time, his unique contribution to the establishment of the rule of law in Palestine was largely forgotten. But closer to his own day......all credited Clarke with establishing a modern judicial system in Palestine."

Personal life

He lived at

Bibury Court Bibury Court is a Grade I listed Jacobean architecture, Jacobean country house in Bibury, Gloucestershire, England. The River Coln flows to the south of the property. History The house was built between 1560 and 1599, and was first extended in ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. Clarke married American Elfrida Roosevelt, granddaughter of James Alfred Roosevelt and

Augustus Lowell Augustus Lowell (January 15, 1830 – June 22, 1900) was a wealthy Massachusetts industrialist, philanthropist, horticulturist, and civic leader. A member of the Brahmin Lowell family, he was born in Boston to John Amory Lowell and his secon ...

, on 19 June 1905. They had three sons, including a set of twins. His second son died at age 2. Upon his death the Baronetcy passed to his eldest son, Sir Humphrey Orme Clarke, 5th Bt.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Orme Bigland 1880 births 1949 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Eton College 20th-century British lawyers Clarke baronets English barristers British people in colonial India