Lewis Clive


Lewis Clive was a British rower who won a gold medal in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He fought for the republicans in the Spanish Civil War and was killed in action.

Life

He was the son of Lt-Col Percy Clive, a Liberal Unionist then Conservative MP for Ross who was killed in the First World War. He was educated at Eton where he was captain of both Oppidans and Boats.
Clive studied at Christ Church, Oxford and rowed in the losing Oxford boats in the Boat Races in 1930 and 1931. He partnered Hugh Edwards to win the Silver Goblets at Henley in 1931 and 1932. They were selected to compete in the coxless pairs rowing at the 1932 Summer Olympics, where they won the gold medal with a comfortable victory in the final at Long Beach, California.
In August 1932, Clive was commissioned in the Grenadier Guards; he resigned his commission in 1937.
Clive was a member of the Fabian Society and was elected as a Labour councillor for St Charles ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Kensington.
He joined the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. As a company commander of the British Battalion of the International Brigades, he was killed in action at Hill 481, near Gandesa, in August 1938, during the Battle of Ebro. He is named on a memorial in the foothills of Ebro mountains. One of the few memorials not destroyed by Franco's forces, it was restored by local people in 2000. He is also commemorated by a memorial in Wormbridge church in Herefordshire, alongside others of the Clive family.
His The People's Army, with an introduction by Major C. R. Attlee, was published by Victor Gollancz Ltd, under the auspices of the New Fabian Research Bureau in 1938.
Clive fell in love with Mary Farmar and asked her to marry him. A fictionalised version of Clive appeared in Wesley's The Camomile Lawn and the character, Oliver, was portrayed by Toby Stephens in the TV adaptation.
British folk band The Young'uns’ album and stage show The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff mentions Clive, who was a friend and comrade of Johnny Longstaff in the International Brigade. The song “Lewis Clive” is an exaggerated portrayal of Clive’s swimming ability, describes his bravery during the Spanish Civil War and mourns his loss.

Works

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