Commodore P. A. C. Clarke, RANPeter Clarke was born and educated in England and joined the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in 1970. He specialised in submarines and navigation, serving in several conventionally powered and nuclear submarines and ashore as a Staff Warfare Officer and Flag Lieutenant to the then Rear Admiral Fieldhouse.
Lieutenant Clarke completed the Submarine Command Course (Perisher) and the Royal Naval Staff Course at Greenwich before taking command of HMS OBERON in 1982. Following promotion to Lieutenant Commander in 1983, he spent a year as an analyst in the Defence Intelligence Staff and eighteen months as the submariners' poster. He subsequently took command of HMS TIRELESS a Trafalgar Class Fast Attack Nuclear Submarine and was promoted to Commander halfway through this appointment. Later shore postings included three years on the Naval Staff in the Ministry of Defence and eighteen months as the Executive Officer of the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.
In 1993 Commander Clarke resigned from the Royal Navy, migrated to Australia and joined the Royal Australian Navy. He began his time in Australia in Navy Office, Canberra and moved to Maritime Headquarters, Sydney as the Fleet Submarine Operations Officer in 1994. Later that year, he became Chief Staff Officer (Operations) and was subsequently promoted Captain in 1995. He completed a year's full time study at the Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies in 1996 before moving to Perth for two years as the Commander, Australian Submarine Squadron. In 1999 he was posted back to Canberra to manage the New Submarine Project.
Promoted Commodore in 2000, he is now charged with managing all aspects of submarine capability and begins this challenge by setting up a new organisation at HMAS STIRLING. As the senior serving Australian Defence Force officer in Western Australia he is also the Chief of the Defence Force's representative and an ADC to the Governor General.
Peter Clarke is married to Asha Rajah, a Perth native. Asha is a Defence public servant and is currently working on a doctoral thesis full time through the University of Western Australia. She and Peter have a baby daughter Nisha. Peter has three children from a previous marriage who live in England and eagerly visit Australia at every possible opportunity. Peter's interests include cycling, skiing, sailing, bush walking, reading, the performing arts, motor sport and playing the drums.