Description
Physical description
Ornate scrolled shield quartered with the Royal Coat of Arms. The whole in metal and painted in proper colours. The shield is currently inside a large glazed wooden frame together with FLA 5347.
Label
Metal car shield associated with the service career of Lieutenant General Sir Travers Edwards Clarke, GBE, KCB, KCMG (1871-1962). The shield was fixed to the car used by HM The King on all his visits to the Armies in France during the First World War. It was given to Lt General Clarke together with the small Royal Standard flown from the vehicle.The King used the Quarter Master General's car during his visits. Contained in an ornate wooden glazed frame with the flag.
History note
Lieutenant General Sir Travers Edwards Clarke, the son of the Revd. Walrond Whitter Clarke, of Clayhidon, Devon, was born in 1871 and educated at King's College, Taunton and the Royal Military College. Commissioned into The Royal Iniskilling Fusiliers, Clarke saw service with the 2nd Battalion during the Tirah Expeditionary Force 1897-98, and on the North West Frontier of India 1897-98. He served during the South African War 1901-1902 and was with the International Legation Guard in Peking circa 1911. At the outbreak of War in 1914 Clarke was a major. During the First World War, Clarke was mentioned in despatches some 14 times and by 1917 had been promoted to lieutenant general. From 1917-19 Clarke was QMG British Armies in France 1917-19. He was QMG to the Forces and member of the Army Council 1919-23 retiring from active service in 1926. Clarke was Colonel of The Royal Iniskilling Fusiliers from 1923-1941. He was Deputy Chairman and chief administrator British Empire Expedition 1923-25. Appointed GBE (Civil) 1926; KCB 1920, KCMG 1919. Clarke also received honours from Greece; France; Portugal; Belgium, Serbia and the United States of America. Lt General Sir Travers Clarke died in 1962. The Dept of Exhibits & Firearms holds all Clarke's orders, medals and decorations (Ref: OMD 4376-4395); some items of uniform (Ref: UNI 11051-11059: UNI 11493-11499) together with a metal car shield (Ref: EPH 2503), a flag (Ref: FLA 5347) and two shell cases (Ref: MUN 4690-4691). The Documents Archive holds papers relating to Clarke's service as QMG at GHQ in Montreuil, 1917 -1919, including: a bound volume of his Mentioned in Despatches certificates; his Visitors Book as QMG at Montreuil (notably a pencil sketch by Orpen); his 'Game Book' of statistics relating to the QMG's Branch at GHQ; an ms loose-leaf book of QMG Branch statistics, a I Corps Dinner booklet, 1914 -1916; memoranda between C5, QMG Branch, and Secretary, IWM, July 1919, concerning a commercial photograph of the Colours of the British Army (Ref: SR). The Museum's Photograph Archive holds a small collection of photographs