W. Bro. Lt. Col. Joseph Willoughby David Lloyd George Clarke GA, CVO, ADC, PJGD was initiated into Lodge Thistle No. 1014 under the Grand Lodge of Scotland on 25th November 1992 in the land of his native birth, Barbados. He affiliated to Shotokan Karate Lodge No. 9752 on 14th February 2004.
W. Bro. Lt. Col. Clarke was the hundredth master of his mother Lodge in 2005 and is also a past master of the Research Lodge of Amity No. 9073 and a founder member of Providence Lodge No. 928 under the Grand Lodge of Ireland in the Bahamas. He is also a member of Victoria Holy Royal Arch No. 2196.
W. Bro. Lt. Col. Clarke has served as a member of the District Board of General Purposes for Barbados and The Eastern Caribbean and was Junior Grand Deacon (JGD) in United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) from April 2018 to March 2019.
W. Bro. Lt. Col. Clarke started his karate journey in 1978 at the Queen’s College karate Club in Barbados and transferred to the Barbados Shotokan Karate Club in 1980. He gained his Shodan (1st degree black belt) on 21st March 1984 under the Japan Karate Association (JKA). He is currently a Shichidan (7th degree black belt) and president of the International Karate Daigaku (IKD) headquartered in Canada. Shihan Clarke represented Barbados from 1988 to 2000, was a Silver medallist at the 1989 ISKF/JKA Pan American Championships and was a member of the first Barbados team to compete at the World Shoto Cup in Tokyo Japan 2000. Shihan Clarke teaches regularly in Barbados, Jamaica and the UK.
W. Bro. Lt. Col. Clarke was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) on 14th October 2003 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 and promoted to a Commander (CVO) in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2017. He was awarded the Queen’s Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals, the King’s Coronation medal, the Gold Award of Achievement (Barbados), the Antigua and Barbuda twenty fifth anniversary of Independence medal, the Governor General’s Gold medal and the Caribbean Cadet Medal. He is also a Bronze, Silver and Gold Award holder of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and a Paul Harris Fellow.
W. Bro. Lt. Col. Clarke is married to Dr Shera Grant-Clarke and they are the proud parents of two children, Akela a medical Doctor and Joseph a final year university student.
W. Bro. Lt. Col. Clarke is pictured below (back row centre) at his 7th Dan grading at the Barbados Shotokan Karate Club Dojo on Tuesday 4th July 2023.
Shotokan Karate Lodge 9752 