Private Edward James Clarke was the eldest son of Charles and Emma Clarke of The Bull public house at Offley. He had two younger daughters and three younger brothers, all of whom worked in and around the public house, and assisted with baking and selling bread as well as the other jobs associated with brewing and serving ale.

Edward was an older man of 40 when he joined the Royal West Surrey regiment in 1916 as the result of conscription, and saw only 8 weeks of active service before he was seriously injured on May 1st, 1917, by shrapnel wounds to his back. He was removed to hospital in Boulogne where he died after 6 weeks aged 42.

He was an well known member of the Hertfordshire Arts and Crafts society, and won many awards and medals for chip carving. Prior to enlistment he had worked at Vauxhall Motors.