Leslie Ivan Clark

Originally born in Cardiff, he lived in the Boston area for 66 years. As the Chief Engineer for the Balck Sluice Drainage Board he was responsible for the largest drainage improvement scheme in Britain. He married Joan Mary Glenny (known as Mary) in 1938 at Wisbeach.

Extracts from Lincolnshire Standard 1968 on the publishing of David Lampe's “The Last Ditch”;

Among those who will be reading it [The Last Ditch] with very special interest are former underground Group leaders Captain Frank Dawson of Dalby Hall, Spilsby, Captain Leslie Clarke and Captain W E Greenwood both of Pilleys Lane, Boston and Lt.W J Ground of Spalding. They are among British Resistance leaders mentioned in the book...

“We reckoned we would have lasted about three weeks after going underground and fighting back at invasion forces” Mr Lesley Clarke, Engineer for the Black Sluice Drainage Board said frankly.
He finished his underground war as a Major [?] in charge of a large area. When he was recruited from the Home Guard he had been in Boston for about three years, coming from Cambridgeshire.
He took over an area and a number of Patrols that had already been established at a time when the underground army were being trained as an attack force....

“The plan was for us to go to our hideouts when the enemy was approaching our area and lie low until they had passed. Then we had to mount hit-and-run raids to disrupt their organisation as much as possible.
We were expendable and we knew it. But none of us felt heroic. Everybody would have pretty well been sharing the same dangers if the Germans had come, and at least we were trained to hit back.”

He recalled secret meetings in his home (then in Spilsby Road), with Patrol members coming after dark by pre-arranged routes to avoid being seen. As far as he knew not even his neighbours noticed anything unusual.
His wife was one of the few relatives of men of the underground army who knew something about it. She had to know, for the garage at the side of the house was packed with explosives and was often a weapons cache !....

...It was when the Boston area organisation grew too large for one man that Mr Clarke was brought in to help him [Captain Greenwood].

....All over Lincolnshire as this book is read, the secret will be coming out ….

Extract from Boston At War by Martin Middlebrook (1974)
So serious was the risk of invasion that Leslie Clarke, no relation to the Fisher Clarkes, but chief engineer at the Black Sluice Drainage Board was appointed by the Army to recruit a small group of reliable local men who would attempt to blow up vital bridges an installations if there was a German landing.

Explosives and detonators were delivered to the garage of Mr Clarke's private house in Spilsby Road (Boston). Mrs Clarke was given a loaded revolver with which to guard the explosives and the secret training meetings were held in her dining room.

The secret approach by the back path by the members was sometimes spoilt by the flamboyant arrival by car at the front of the house of the kilted Army Officer who instructed the group. [Captain Hamilton-Hill ].

Information from the late Bill Livett - Scout Section (1992) IWM

Bill remembered Captain Clark from the Boston area who was a Fens Drainage Inspector and this was an important job and the tidal information was extremely useful. By knowing the tides they could plan their exercises and patrolling duties and also know when the Germans could not land on the salt marshes.