The Somerset shoe company C&J Clark goes marching on. In 2009-10 it made a profit of £85.1m on a record £1.17 billion sales. The operation is 72% owned by the 400-strong Clark family but a small core led by retired Clark, 75, has about 25%. C&J Clark, with net assets of £322.5m, is worth £600m. The family has other assets.

In the mid-Sixties, Lance Clark ran a factory in Ireland that created sturdy black boots for the priests. However, the scion of the Somerset shoe dynasty possessed more fashionable ambitions.

Clark was able to play a key role in the launch of the Wallabee which is a laced-up riff on moccasins that became a huge hit in North America after their debut in 1967. Within a couple of years, Clarks’ Irish facilities started to create tens of thousands of pairs every week.

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