Rex King-Clark

Rex King-Clark

Robert "Rex" King-Clark MBE MC (27 November 1913 – 29 December 2007) was a British soldier, pilot, racer, photographer, author, and diarist.

Rex King-Clark was born on 27 November 1913, son of Alexander King-Clark and Katherine Margaret Elizabeth Mainwaring Knocker. He was educated at the Loretto School.

On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 Rex King-Clark was 25 years old. For the previous five years he had been serving as a subaltern officer in The Manchester Regiment commanding an infantry platoon in Yorkshire, Egypt, Palestine and Singapore. In 1934 an inheritance enabled him to channel his surplus energy and enthusiasms into other fields as well. He flew his Miles Whitney Straight airplane as far as Egypt, Singapore, and Bali. During March 1937 he flew aerial reconnaissance flights of the harbor at Benghazi, North Africa, taking photographs which were later used by the Royal Air Force during World War II. He toured Europe and America by car and raced his J4 MG at Brooklands which qualified him to become a member of the prestigious British Racing Drivers' Club.

In 1938 during the 'Troubles' in Palestine he commanded one of Orde Wingate’s three Special Night Squads, the SNS of Israel foklore, for the leadership of which he was awarded the Military Cross. His diaries of his pre-war adventures formed the basis for Free For a Blast published in 1988.

During World War II, he fought in the Battle of France, and was evacuated from Dunkirk. He commanded 2nd Battalion The Manchester Regiment during the Battle of Kohima fought on the Burma/India border from April to June 1944, despite being wounded on 24 April. He wrote two books from his diaries of those times, The Battle for Kohima, and Forward From Kohima.

King-Clark was promoted Captain in 1942 and Major in 1947 (although he was already acting in that rank). He married Jean May Evelyn Campbell, on 16 January 1950. They had two children, Robert Campbell King-Clark (born 28 October 1950), and Catherine Mainwaring King-Clark (born 30 October 1952). He retired from the Manchester Regiment with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1958.

King-Clark was one of last two surviving drivers who raced at Brooklands before World War II, and was the oldest surviving member of the British Racing Drivers' Club. He continued to be involved in the reconstruction of classic racing cars until late in his life.