Description
LT-GEN. SIR ANDREW CLARKE Autograph Letter Signed.
British soldier and Colonial Governor.
ALS. 4pp. 52 Portland Place, W. October 6th 1888. To [William] Woodall. Together with a contemporary portrait PHOTOGRAPH.
"Your kind note has touched me much. It tells me that my old service under you at the War Office still lingers in your memory. May I say how gratified I am by the invitation of the Chiefs of the Artillery Corps of your District and how happy I am in accepting the honour they have done me. Next week, as you tell me, you will be in Guernsey. In following I most probably will be in France but after the 22nd I will hold all my time at your disposal and will be right glad to accept your hospitality."
8vo. Approx 7 x 4.5 inches. Mounting traces to right edge of verso of last leaf, else fine. The portrait is a fine 19th century albumin photograph. It measures approx 5.5 x 4 inches (excluding mount). It is mounted on a card leaf from album which has some mounting damage to verso but the photograph itself is in fine condition.
Lt.-Gen. Sir Andrew Clarke began his career as a superintendent of convict labour in Australia, where his father was Governor of Western Australia. Following his father's death, soon after his arrival, Andrew Clarke rose rapidly in the Colonial Government and administration of both New Zealand and Australia, where he was a member of the first Victoria Legislative Assembly. He went on to play an important role in the government of the Straits Settlement at Singapore, where he served as the second Governor of Singapore from 1873 to 1875. He was instrumental in making Singapore the key port for the Malay states and negotiated the Treaty of Pangkor which established indirect British Rule over Malaya. He played a vital part in determining the outcome of the Klang War. From 1875 to 1880, Andrew Clarke was on the Council of the Viceroy of India. Both the letter and the photograph are from the 19th century collection made by the radical Liberal M.P., William Woodall. Woodall was surveyor-general of the Ordnance under Gladstone and, subsequently, Financial Secretary to the War Office. Andrew Clarke would have had dealings with Woodall during Clarke's time as Inspector-General of Fortifications (1882-86).
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