Andrew Clark (priest)

Andrew Clark (priest)

Reverend Dr Andrew Clark (June 7, 1856- March 24, 1922) was a Church of England minister best known for his lengthy diary of the First World War.

Born in Dollarfield, near Dollar, Scotland, Clark studied Greats at Balliol College, Oxford. In 1894 he took up the position of parish priest in Great Leighs, Essex, held in the patronage of Lincoln College, Oxford.

Although he was absent in Oxford when war was declared in 1914, he decided to keep a detailed diary of 'Echoes of the Great War' in his village. The diary records the sights and sounds of the war in rural Essex, the activities of Clark's friends, relatives and acquaintances, and rumours relating to the war. The full diary (extending beyond the end of the war) runs to 92 volumes. The original diaries are now held at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

In addition to his diary, Clark kept clippings during the war under the title 'English Words In Wartime', which are also held (along with other records sent by Clark) in the Bodleian. He also published several edited volumes of historical records and some original books, such as A Bodleian guide for visitors (1906).

References

• James Munson (ed.) Echoes of the Great War: The Diary of the Reverend Andrew Clark, 1914-19 (Oxford, Oxford University Press: 1985)

External links

• Bodleian Library catalogue entry for Clark's diaries

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