Olive Clarke OBE DL (19 May 1922 – 18 December 2023) was an English farmer and public figure in Cumbria.[1][2]

Early life and education

Olive Clarke was born on 19 May 1922, an only child in a farming family.[3] She gained a scholarship to Kendal High School for Girls, and there was encouraged by the headmistress, a Dr Frood, to take up public speaking. Clarke said that Dr Frood "believed women should assert themselves and achieve a place in society - and they would need to be articulate, so she included public speaking in the school curriculum". She left school aged 16.[3]

Public life

Young Farmers' Club

Clarke joined the Hutton Young Farmers' Club (YFC) in 1938 when she left school.[3] She soon entered a public speaking competition and did well, and later said that the greatest achievement of the Young Farmers' Club movement was to have produced "an articulate agricultural community".[3] She remained involved with the YFC all her life, was the first woman to be chair of the Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs[2] and in 2013 was appointed its honorary life vice-president.[4]

Settle and Carlisle Railway

Clarke was a member, and later chairman, of the North West England Transport Consultative Committee, and chaired the enquiry into the future of the Settle and Carlisle Railway.[2]

CLA

Clarke joined the Country Land and Business Association (CLA, formerly the Country Landowners' Association) in the 1970s, becoming the first woman to be the Westmorland and Furness branch president in the 1980s, and serving on the branch committee until October 2019 (retiring at the age of 97). From 1984 to 1988 she was a member of the CLA Council, and she served two five-year terms on the national CLA legal and parliamentary sub committee, based in London.[3][2] At the 2019 AGM of the Cumbria branch, the national CLA director general Sara Hendry praised Clarke for "her long and distinguished track record in Cumbria and beyond, especially for breaking new ground for women in the rural sector".[5]

Women's Institute

Clarke attended the inaugural meeting of the Old Hutton Women's Institute (WI) as a small baby because her mother, grandmother and aunt all wished to be present and had nowhere to leave her. She later joined that WI and at 18 became its secretary. At 31 she became president of Preston Patrick WI, and at 46 became chairman of the Westmorland County Federation (later "Cumbria-Westmorland"), and served on several national WI sub-committees.[3] She remained active in WI, and spoke as guest of honour at a large tea-party held to celebrate her 100th birthday in 2022. Clarke was appointed honorary president of the Cumbria-Westmorland Federation of Women's Institutes in 2010, the first time this office had been held since 1948.[2][3]

Other public roles

Clarke was a JP and served as a magistrate for over 30 years, being chair of the Cumbria Magistrates Association from 1981 to 1988. In 1980, she became a general commissioner of income tax, and in 1987 was appointed to the Cumbria Advisory Committee for Appointment of General Commissioners.[3] She also served as a county councillor, parish councillor, patron of Cumbria in Bloom, president of Witherslack Horse Show, treasurer of Preston Patrick Memorial Hall (for 50 years),[3] and was a life member of the Westmorland County Agricultural Society, becoming its first female president in 1986.[6][7]

Recognition

In 1978, Clarke received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal..[3] She was appointed MBE in the 1979 New Year Honours, the citation being: "Member, North West Transport Users' Consultative Committee. For public service in Cumbria",[8] and OBE in the 1994 New Year Honours "For services to the public and to the community in Cumbria."[9]

In 1993 she was appointed a Deputy lieutenant of Cumbria.[10]

In 2012 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in recognition of her "outstanding personal achievements and continuing record of service to agriculture and rural life".[3]

Clarke was a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Farmers and a Freeman of the City of London.[3]

Personal life

Olive married Arthur Clarke in 1947, and they remained married until his death in 1995. They had two daughters and at her death in 2023 Clarke had four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.[11] She lived her whole life on two farms, latterly Kaker Mill Farm at Preston Patrick.[5]

Olive Clarke died at her home on 18 December 2023, at the age of 101. Her funeral took place at St Patrick's Church, Preston Patrick on 4 January 2024.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Barry, Ben (29 May 2022). "Rural champion Olive Clarke reflects on her 100th birthday celebrations". The Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "CLA Legend Olive Clarke OBE celebrated". www.cla.org.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 MacKenzie, Jennifer (3 February 2020). "A lifetime of commitment to the countryside". The Northern Farmer. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Rawlinson, Ollie (18 December 2023). "Tribute paid to Cumbrian farming stalwart Olive Clarke following her death". The Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 Hodges, Maureen (4 November 2019). "Countryside group honours rural stalwart Olive Clarke". News and Star. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "Mrs Olive Clarke OBE. JP. DL. FRAgS". Westmorland County Agricultural Society. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Smith, Anna (16 November 2013). "Olive Clarke made honorary life-president of Cumbria Federation of Young Farmers". The Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "No. 47723". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1978. p. 13.
  9. ↑ "No. 53527". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1993. p. 11.
  10. ↑ "WI Reports and News: Brigsteer WI". Two Valleys Parish News: 16. January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Death notice: Olive Clarke". The Westmorland Gazette. 22 December 2023. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Pye, Daniel (3 January 2024). "Funeral of respected farming figure to take place". The Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
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