Francis Joseph Clark was born in England in 1860. He came to western Manitoba in 1882 and farmed in the Carroll area. He later moved to Brandon and joined the Brandon Infantry Company as a private, rising to the rank of captain. When the Brandon Infantry Company was amalgamated with the Manitoba Dragoons in 1901, he took command and was promoted to major. In 1908, he was made Lieutenant Colonel. During the 1885 North West Rebellion, he served with the 95th Battalion and commanded a squadron in the Boer War in South Africa. During the First World War, he took the 45th Battalion overseas. LCol F.J. Clark was the first commanding officer of the 99th Manitoba Rangers (1908).

     He died in Brandon on 12 August 1953 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.

     LCol F.J. Clark’s medals are (from left to right): the North West Canada Medal, the British War Medal for World War I, the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers Decoration – King George VII version and the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal.