Chesterfield millionaire businessman and property owner spurs author's new book

John Cuttriss, of Newbold, is halfway through writing a book about his first boss Samuel Arthur Clarke, who employed him as an apprentice painter and decorator 70 years ago.

"It was not long after the Second World War when I joined S.A. Clarke,” said John. “I worked with one guy who had been a Prisoner of War in Japan and was taking out the bodies of his dead mates and having to deal with them, another had been at Monte Cassino during the war. These guys were all good tradesmen – they taught me a lot and I am ever grateful.

“Mr Clarke kept a nucleus of five or six people; they lived in houses he owned on Heaton Street, Hipper Street and Wharf Lane.”

That handful of homes was just a fraction of the properties owned by the businessman who John believes had between 200 and 300 houses that he rented out in Chesterfield. Samuel, an only child, inherited the impressive property portfolio from his dad who was a master baker. John said: “His dad would push handcarts around Brampton and we used those handcarts to take the materials to do decorating jobs...I can remember pushing them down Chatsworth Road.”

The decorating business had a shop on Chatsworth Road, which is now the last house in the terrace next to Lidl supermarket. John said: “Robbo’s Angels would walk down the road from Robinsons factory, look in the shop and leave with seven rolls of wallpaper – Mr Clarke was making money hand over fist.”

Samuel Clarke lived in the biggest house in Walton where he had a billiards room and a table tennis room. He ran the Chesterfield and District Sportsmen’s Association which raised money for Chesterfield Football Club where he was a season ticket holder for more than 60 years, was president of the Lawn Tennis Club and a past president and honorary member of Chesterfield Bowling Club.

President of the Federation of British Decorators, the skilled businessman secured big contracts for his workers in hospitals, pubs and colliery buildings.

John remembers going to Cambridge University to decorate a wind tunnel that had been built at Markham Works in Chesterfield. He said: “We spent three weeks there and worked Saturdays and Sundays – I made pots of money.”

Samuel was married to Muriel and they had a daughter Margaret. John is keen to make contact with Margaret who, at one time, taught in Hasland Hall School. He said: “I don’t want to write anything about her father that she would object to. I’m asking for any relations or anyone who worked for S.A. Clarke to get in touch – any recollections will be considered for the book.”

Derek Lowe, an employee of S.A. Clarke, took on the business when Samuel retired. John believes that their former boss passed away during the Nineties.

Following seven years in his first paid employment, John joined the Royal Air Force before returning to S.A. Clarke for another couple of years. He later got a job as a laboratory technician at Chesterfield College of Art which led to him becoming a lecturer in painting and decorating. He spent the last 20 years of his career lecturing at Shirecliffe College in Sheffield before he retired.

John has designed the cover for his fifth book which is titled A Story Of S.A. Clarke. The artwork shows the shop painted red, white and blue which the proprietor did in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. John hopes to publish the new book in honour of King Charles III’s coronation this year.

He has previously published books featuring Chesterfield’s Aquarius nightclub and the Carlton Cabaret Club, The Clayton Challenge Shield about 100 years of schoolboy football in Chesterfield and Destination Dusseldorf about National Service during the Cold War.

If you have any information or anecdotes about S.A. Clarke, you can contact John on 01246 275110 or email him on [email protected]