In 1915, the strong Weston club lost five of its players to West Wallsend due to the club’s indecision on whether to carry on or disband until the war was over. David Clarke was one of them. After arriving from Scotland in 1912 to work in the mines “Davey” Clarke became of the finest players in the district. Before the war he represented Newcastle in representative games against Sydney and Queensland. In September 1915, he represented West Wallsend in the Gardiner Cup Final, losing the NSW Championship match to Balmain. In 1913, he married Janet Bower Ramage, sister of his Weston team mate, Adam Ramage.
When Private Clarke enlisted in July 1916 (his surname was spelt CLARK on the enlistment form) his wife had already had two children and she was pregnant with a third. He was slightly wounded in the forearm in September 1917 and shortly after transferred to England to recover from trench fever. By April 1918, he was back at the front in France.
Private Clarke was killed in action at Villers-Bretonneux on 24 June 1918. His brother-in-law Adam Ramage had been killed nearby a month earlier. In December 1918, the Newcastle Morning Herald reported on a ball and supper arranged by the Weston club with the proceeds of the evening handed to the widow of the late Private Clarke. Mention was also made of Private Clarke representing Australia against England in a match in France, only a couple of weeks before his death. He was 27 years of age.