Page 55 - They Also Served

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Percy Clive 1891.
Until 1928, officers in the regular armed forces
were permitted to combine their duties with sitting
as a Member of Parliament. Percy Archer Clive
was born in Herefordshire on 13th March 1873.
Educated at Eton, he entered Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards in 1891. From 1897 to 1899, he was seconded to the Niger Field Force based at Lagos, where his exploration of the jungle resulted in him being elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Soon after, he accompanied his regiment to South Africa. While serving in the Boer War, Clive stood for parliament as a Liberal Unionist in the Ross constituency in what became known as the Khaki Election of October 1900. Although the victor, he was not able to take up his seat until February 1902. Another former soldier and Sandhurst alumnus who became an MP at this election was Winston Churchill.
In late 1901, Clive was injured in the left leg by a revolver bullet in what was recorded as a shooting accident. The wound was so severe that, after treatment in a field hospital, he was shipped back to the UK, arriving home on Christmas Eve, 1901. Although keen to return to his regiment, the wound healed slowly, and he was refused permission to travel. Instead, he took up his seat in the Commons in February 1902 and immersed himself in his parliamentary duties. Considered a rising star in politics, he held several junior posts as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the secretary of state for India, then the financial secretary to the Admiralty, and finally, Chancellor of The Exchequer. However, his career was interrupted when he lost his seat to Colonel Alan Gardner in 1906. Clive resigned his commission and, following Gardner’s death, regained his seat at a by-election in 1908.
On the outbreak of war in August 1914, Clive urged all men between 20 and 30 to report to their local recruiting office. He led by example by rejoining the colours. Landing in France in November, in command of No. 2 Company 2nd Grenadiers, he was soon in action, being awarded the French Legion of Honour for gallantry during a trench raid in February 1915. In May, during the Battle of Festubert, No. 3 Company was cut to pieces and, upon being ordered to attack again over the same ground, Clive questioned the order, which was retracted, undoubtedly saving many lives.
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