Larry Denman Clarke

Larry Denman Clarke, O.C., LL.D.(Hon), was born in London, England, on June 12, 1925. His family moved to Canada in 1927. During the second World War he served as an electronics technician with the Royal Canadian Navy. Following the war, he studied law at Osgoode Hall, Toronto, and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1949.

When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Clarke left his legal practice to serve as lawyer and special advisor to the Canadian government's Department of Defence Production in Ottawa as it oversaw the military procurement operations as a member of the United Nations force in Korea.

Larry Clarke as a navy cadet

When the Korean War ended in 1953, Clarke joined de Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC) as contracts administrator, and began his career in the aviation industry. He soon demonstrated his business acumen as an organizer, planner and negotiator. He served as President of a joint venture with CAE Electronics and Ferranti Packard Canada called DCF Systems, where he set up the contract with the Canadian government to install Bomarc missile bases. Later, as corporate secretary and Vice-President of Administration and Planning for DHC, he arranged for the company to manufacture the wings and tail for the Douglas DC-9. He also arranged the subsequent sale of the former Avro plant at Malton Airport in Toronto to Douglas Aircraft.

Clarke also assisted the small research and development group within DHC known as the Special Products and Applied Research Division (S.P.A.R.). The S.P.A.R. Division was started in 1953, the year Clarke joined DHC, to work on the missile program for the Canadian government. At this time he had been working with infrared technology and components primarily for defence applications. When the government scrapped the Avro Arrow in 1959, S.P.A.R. lost the related Sparrow missile development work, and was left practically product-less. Its team of engineers began moving S.P.A.R. into non-military and space-related applications, developing the 'storable tubular extendible member' (STEM) from an abandoned National Research Council concept. This was the extendible antenna credited with launching S.P.A.R.'s abilities in space.

Canada's Alouette Scientific Satellite Program, conceived by Dr. John Chapman of the Defence Research Board, provided S.P.A.R.'s entry into the satellite business. For the Alouette 1, Canada's first, and the world's third, satellite, the research team at S.P.A.R. designed and built the satellite structure and provided the STEM'S, with RCA in Montreal providing the electronics. At this time, however, DHC decided to concentrate on its specialized line of short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft, and in 1967 decided to find a buyer for the S.P.A.R. Division.

Clarke had studied the business of S.P.A.R. since its inception and felt confident that it had the talent there to expand within the emerging space industry. Believing that unless Canada developed its own space business, it would become dependent on other countries for its space communications. He approached DHC with an offer to purchase S.P.A.R.

By the end of 1967 Clarke had assembled a team of investors and directors, raised the finances and launched his new company under the name of Spar Aerospace Products Limited. From this humble beginning, with few contracts and little cash flow, he built not only a company, but laid down the roots for an entire business sector in this country.

Clarke began a campaign to enhance Spar's profile in Ottawa, and within the plant he was a highly visible CEO, working long hours alongside the staff. He led the take-over and turnaround of York Gears, merged it with Spar and added space mechanisms to its line of jet engine and helicopter gear boxes.

In the mid 1970's, it became apparent that to become a prime contractor and leader in developing Canada's space manufacturing capability, Spar needed electronics expertise. He persuaded his board of directors to take a risk and purchase RCA Canada Ltd.'s Aerospace Division, and Northern Telecom's Space Division. The company was then renamed Spar Aerospace Limited. These acquisitions put Canada's satellite program firmly in Canadian hands and preserved high technology expertise in this country that otherwise would undoubtedly have been lost to the United States.

With its design and manufacturing capability successfully tested on subcontracts to American satellite builders, Spar won the Canadian contract to build the Anik D satellites, and became one of the few companies world-wide capable of supplying commercial communications satellites. This was reinforced by winning the contract for Brazil's first communications satellite, a contract that provided nearly 3,000 person-years of employment for Canadians.

Few people have the foresight to press ahead with such vigor as Clarke did in the face of huge odds. In the early 1970's, when Canada had no formal national space policy, Spar led a team of Canadian companies that conceived the world's first space robot. Spar was chosen by the National Research Council as its prime contractor for NASA'S shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS) which became known as the Canadarm, Canada's most recognizable technological achievement.

The success of the Canadarm program led to Spar being chosen to head up a cross-Canada industrial team to provide Canada's participation in the American Space Station program, developing the station's Mobile Servicing Systems. Spin-off technologies from this will continue to benefit Canada's economy in the fields of mining, forestry, environmental clean-up and nuclear energy.

Today, Canada is among world leaders in satellite communications with the Spar-built Anik E satellites and the first Mobile Communications satellites, called Msat. These sophisticated and powerful systems provide video, voice and data services for television, cellular phones, computers and navigation over all of North America. With the launch of RADARSAT, Spar put Canada in the forefront as the first nation in space with a commercial microwave radar satellite for remote sensing and monitoring the world's environment and natural resources.

For his patriotic vision and drive, Clarke was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1987 (O.C.). He served as Chancellor of York University in Toronto, and holds honorary degrees from Athabasca University in Alberta, Ecole Polytechnique in Quebec, Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, and York University. He has been the honorary Chairman of the Canadian Foundation for the International Space University, and the Chairman of the Advisory board of the same institution. He is also a member of the Corporate Higher Education Forum.

Clarke retired as CE of the Board of Spar Aerospace in 1989 and remained Chairman until the spring of 1993.

Larry Denman Clarke was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1996 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta. Larry Clarke died October 22, 2015 at West Vancouver, B.C.

Larry Clarke receiving Order of Canada from Governor General Jeanne Sauve