Harry Clarke
Last updated 11:44, Friday, 09 May 2008
Harry Clarke, who has died aged 84, was a proud lad from Jarrow. At 13 years of age he joined the Jarrow March for a few miles with great pride in what these men were fighting for – justice for the poor working class.
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At 13 he already had a political conscience and was filled with the determination to fight for a better life for his family and friends.
Harry, one of 13 children, and his parents Mary and Bob, lived in a two-bedroomed terrace house.
His humble beginnings and experience of severe poverty at such a young age paved the way for Harry to help his fellow working man.
By the time he was 15 Harry was secretary of the General Labour League of Youth and a regular speaker alongside Ellen Wilkinson, Labour’s first woman MP.
Eventually Harry joined the Navy and reached the rank of petty officer. He was determined to play his part in defeating the Nazis but his health broke down and he suffered the scourges of TB, so badly that the doctors did not believe he would survive.
Harry said at the time: “To hell with it all, I’m going to prove them wrong and live as long as I possibly can, certainly until I die”. This demonstrates who Harry was – a funny, determined, humble man who could laugh at himself but would never allow himself to be beaten.
After the war, Harry met Evelyn Walker in Whitley Bay at a political meeting. Evelyn herself was a formidable campaigner and her devotion to Harry in all his campaigns proved her loyalty and love for her husband and their beliefs and principles.
Harry trained to be a probation officer on Tyneside and then moved to Carlisle – and didn’t Carlisle know it?
As a probation officer he turned around the lives of many young people who were heading for a life of crime.
Harry was immensely proud when the ex-offenders reformed – proud to see them with their families.
He knew he was making a real contribution to society as he had always hoped to.
Most will remember Harry as the great campaigner who formed the organisation for pensioners’ rights. He was also a founder of the anti-poll tax union in Carlisle.
A kind, humorous, loving man who fought against injustice all his life, Harry was totally opposed to all forms of racism and was a leading campaigner to prevent the extreme right from gaining power.
He fought against fascism during World War Two and he witnessed the evils of apartheid when he was in South Africa, convalescing from TB.
He later worked for the African National Congress and gained honorary membership for his contribution.
Harry is survived by his daughters, Frances-Ann and Ann Marie, and two grandchildren.
