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Auction: 24002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 193A

The L.V.O. group of six awarded to Major A. T. Clark, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders

The Royal Victorian Order, Lieutenant's (L.V.O.) breast Badge, silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse officially numbered '2464'; 1939-45 Star (Lieut A. T. Clark); Burma Star (Lieut A. T. Clark); Defence and War Medals 1939-45 (Major A.T. Clark); Jubilee 1977, Second War awards all with privately impressed naming, mounted court-style as worn, contact marks, enamel repair to one arm, very fine (6)

L.V.O. London Gazette 3 May 1974.

Alastair Trevor Clark was born on 10 June 1893 at Glasgow and was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford. Whilst studying at Oxford, he received his call-up papers in 1941 but was deemed unfit for service due to his weak eyesight. Clark tried again the following year by memorising the part of the sight test, which he passed and was subsequently commissioned into the Cameron Highlanders. Posted to Nigeria, he served in the Royal West African Frontier Force. In November 1943, he was sent to India to fight the Japanese, serving with the Gambian forces in 81st (West African) Division. After the Second World War, Clark applied to work for the Colonial Administrative Service and found himself again posted to Nigeria in 1948, where he aided the effort of Nigerian independence.

He met his wife, Hilary Anderson, after his posting to Hong Kong. There he worked for eleven years until his final appointment as Officer Administering the Government and Deputy Governor of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, also acting as Deputy Governor. During this time, Clark received an L.V.O. in 1974 and also a C.B.E. in 1976.

Retired to his native Scotland in 1977, he lived in Edinburgh with his wife. He was not to stay retired for long, however, and in 1980 was elected a Conservative district councillor for Edinburgh Marchmont. In addition to his political life, Clark was an active participant in the cultural life of the city and was a council member for a number of organisations including the Edinburgh International, the National Trust for Scotland, Edinburgh's Film House, and the Museums Advisory Board.
Towards the end of his life, Clark reflected on decolonisation:

'...to keep the truth of our lives in the decolonising years fresh and on record, against some future time when our imperial story might be treated with honesty and dispassion'.

He penned a biography of his friend, the Nigerian political leader Abubakar Tafawa Balewa; A Right Honourable Gentleman: Abubakar from the Black Rock was published in 1991. He was invited to visit Nigeria to celebrate the book's publication, and upon his arrival was greeted as a celebrity. He also authored his own autobiography, Good Second Class, which was published in 2004 and died on 23 May 2005, survived by his wife Hilary, with obituaries appearing in 'The Daily Telegraph', 'The Herald', and 'The Scotsman'; sold together with a copy of his autobiography.


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Sold for
£480

Starting price
£200