Sir Henry Ashley Clarke (26 June 1903 – 20 January 1994) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Italy. Later he was chairman of the

Venice in Peril Fund Venice in Peril Fund CIO is a British registered charity. It raises funds to restore and conserve the art and architecture of Venice, and to investigate ways to protect them against future risks, particularly rising sea levels. Although it foc ...

Early life

Henry Ashley Clarke was a son of Henry Hugh Rose Clarke (a son of Col. Henry Stephenson Clarke) and the former Rachel Hill Duncan (a daughter of John H. H. Duncan). He was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, independent, day and boarding school in the English public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school whi ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

Career

Clarke joined the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1925. He served at

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, Geneva (for the General Disarmament Conference) and Tokyo. He was Minister at

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

1944–46 and at Paris 1946–49 under the ambassadors

Duff Cooper Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian. First elected to Parliament in 19 ...

and Sir Oliver Harvey. From 1949 to 1953 he served at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

as assistant

Under-Secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

, then deputy Under-Secretary. He was officially present at the funeral of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

at Windsor in February 1952. In 1953, he received his last appointment as Ambassador to Italy where he remained for nine years, an unusually long period.

Later career

Clarke retired from the Diplomatic Service in 1962 and devoted himself to numerous cultural and artistic activities. He was chairman of th
British–Italian Society
and of the Royal Academy of Dancing, a governor of the BBC and of the British Institute of Recorded Sound (now the

British Library Sound Archive The British Library Sound Archive, formerly the British Institute of Recorded Sound; also known as the National Sound Archive (NSA), in London, England is among the largest collections of recorded sound in the world, including music, spoken word a ...

), and served many other organisations. In 1967, however, he dedicated himself to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

after the serious

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

in November 1966. He and others founded the Italian Art and Archives Rescue Fund which in 1971 became the

of which Clarke was vice-chairman 1970–83 and president 1983–94. He was also an early member of the General Committee of

Save Venice Inc. Save Venice Inc. is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of art and architecture and the preservation of cultural heritage sites in Venice, Italy. Headquartered in New York City, it has an office in Venice, a chapter in Bos ...

, a sister organization of the Venice in Peril Fund, and the secretary-general of

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Italian for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant inter ...

1969–70.

Honours

Clarke was appointed CMG in 1946, knighted KCMG in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dynastic ...

of 1952 and raised to GCMG in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1962. He was given the additional knighthood of GCVO in 1961 on the occasion of the Queen's

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

to Italy. He was awarded the Pietro Torta Prize by the

Ateneo Veneto The Ateneo Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti is an institution for the promulgation of science, literature, art and culture in all forms, in the exclusive interest of promoting social solidarity, located in Venice, northern Italy. The Ateneo Ven ...

for service to conservation in Venice. He was Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...

, Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of St Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

, ''cavaliere di San Marco'' (Knight of St Mark) and freeman of the city of Venice.

Personal life

Clarke was twice married. His first marriage was to an American, Virginia Bell, in 1937. Her father was an American diplomat and her maternal grandfather was the British Brigadier General Sir

Herbert Conyers Surtees Brigadier-General Sir Herbert Conyers Surtees (13 January 1858 – 18 April 1933) was a British military leader, politician and historical author. Early life He was born in London on 13 January 1858. He was the only son of Col. Charles Fr ...

. Her older sister Evangeline, was married to

David K. E. Bruce David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (February 12, 1898 – December 5, 1977) was an American diplomat, intelligence officer and politician. He served as ambassador to France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom, the only American t ...

, the U.S. Ambassador to France, the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Virginia and Ashley divorced in 1960. In 1962 he married Frances Molyneux, daughter of John Molyneux of

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

, Worcestershire, Clarke's birthplace. There were no children of either marriage. Lady Clarke was co-founder, vice-chairman, and later co-president, of the Venice in Peril Fund. She was awarded the OBE in 1984 and raised to CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 2000 – she was invested with the latter award in Rome during the Queen's state visit to Italy in October 2000. She too received the freedom of the city of Venice, in 1996. Clarke died on 20 January 1994.Sir Ashley Clarke
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 22 January 1994, page 17. His ashes were taken to Venice and on 26 February were ceremonially carried in a sixteen-oar boat, through thick fog, the length of the Grand Canal and across the lagoon to the funerary island of San Michele, where they were buried in the protestant cemetery.Obituary: Sir Ashley Clarke
''The Independent'', London, 25 January 1994.

Publications

*''Restoring Venice: the Church of the Madonna dell'Orto'' (with Philip Rylands), Paul Elek Ltd, London, 1977

References

External links

*
British Ambassador Presents Credentials
British Pathé, 1953 (British Ambassador in Italy Sir Ashley Clarke with Italian President Luigi Einaudi) (video, no sound) {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Ashley 1903 births 1994 deaths People educated at Repton School Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Italy Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great BBC Governors Culture in Venice People from Spondon