Rex King-Clark

Who was Rex King-Clark?

Robert "Rex" King-Clark MBE MC 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.