TWO LITTLE BOYS

Two little boys in Victorian attire - but not the Goodings brothers!

On 6^th. June 1844 Private Robert GOODINGS of the 98^th. Regiment married Mary Ann MARSH in St. John’s, Hong Kong. Robert was 21 years of age and Mary just 17.

At this time the Hong Kong Administration was desperate to obtain constables for the new police force and the majority of the early recruits were seconded from the 98th. regiment.  By 1845 Robert was in the Force.

Over the next few years Robert and Mary had several children but the climate was harsh and babies died.  Fortunately two sons, Robert Augustus (born 20 December 1849) and Alfred Marsh (born 28 July 1851) did survive.

In 1852  the Gaoler (John Thomas Mitton) passed away and Robert transferred from the Police to the Gaol staff.

The family lived at the Gaol - and there was also a job for his wife as the matron of the gaol hospital.

In 1854, ten years after their marriage,  Mary gave birth to a daughter but this was one child too far and she died in childbirth at the age of 27. 

  

This is her headstone in the

Colonial Cemetery, Happy Valley, Hong Kong

Although the paint has worn the name Mary Ann is still clearly visible.  The name Collingwood can just about be made out towards the bottom of the inscription – and this was the name of one of her sons who had died as an infant.

Sacred to the memory

of

MARY ANN

wife of

ROBERT GOODINGS

who died at Victoria

23^rd. May 1854

aged 25 years …………

………………………..

COLLINGWOOD

son of the above

who died 10^th. November 1849

aged 3 ……….

Robert was left a widower with three very young children to bring up.  As a result, six months after Mary Ann’s death, when a colleague at the Gaol passed away Robert married the widow Mary ROE.  But Mary ROE came with a daughter so now there were four children to support

A few months later the little girl who had been the last child of Robert’s first marriage to Mary Ann died at the age of 1 year and 1 month.

But the Goodings production line knew no bounds and all too soon little Emily was born.

Robert then caught dysentery and died on 2^nd April 1856 at the age of 33.  His stone can also be found in Section 9 just a few rows down from his first wife.

Sacred to the memory

of

ROBERT GOODINGS

Keeper of the Victoria Gaol

for many years …. of the

Zetland Lodge of Freemasons

Hong Kong

who died of dysentery

April 2^nd. 1856

This is the end of the story as far as Robert and his first wife are concerned but of course it does leave his second wife all alone in Hong Kong with four children to raise. Sadly, a few weeks after Robert’s death her newly born baby, Emily, passed away so the number was reduced slightly.  

Mary had taken over the job of Matron at the Gaol and this bought in a few pennies but needless to say she really needed to find another husband.  The expatriate community was extremely small at the time so Mary ended up marrying the man who had replaced Robert as Head Gaoler.

Mary was a practical woman and knew it would be difficult to care for all the children, especially as only one of them was her own.  What was to be done with the two Goodings boys? 

The solution was simple – they had to go into the army.  Young Robert enlisted in Hong Kong on 28 May 1859.  His age was given as 11 years and 5 months when in fact he was only 9 years and 5 months.  However, Robert did well with his army career and from being a lowly Drummer Boy rose all the way to becoming Bandmaster. 

Alfred was 11 when he enlisted at Aldershot and his career saw him rise to the rank of Lance Sergeant.  

Both Robert and Alfred left the Army in the 1880s.  They moved to Liverpool and lived at 28 Carlton Hill.  Alfred married Jane Peck and they went on to have a son and two daughters. 

The brothers had managed to survive all that life had thrown at them in Hong Kong and throughout their army careers – but they both died young.  Robert died in July 1888 at the age of 41.  His brother, Alfred, followed him to the grave just six months later.  Unlike their parents the brothers have no headstones to mark their graves.  They were buried in common graves with 12-13 other people. 

The Hong Kong Water Police

 

George Arthur William BOOLE volunteered for duty with the Hong Kong Police in 1900 whilst serving with the Royal Marines.   Most of his service in Hong Kong was with the Water Police where he experienced the full horrors of the typhoons of 1906 and 1908.  George was born in Gloucestershire but moved to North Devon as a very young child so stormy seas were nothing new.  The full story of his life can be read on my Hong Kong Police Ancestors Blog:

George Arthur William Boole of the Hong Kong Water Police 

Hong Kong Police Constable 99 - James Edward NEW

The story of PC 99 James Edward NEW can be found on my Hong Kong Police Ancestors Blog at:

http://hongkongpoliceancestors.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/pc-99-james-edward-new.html 

He was a member of the intake known as "The Forty Thieves"

recruited from the Royal Marines in 1900

Hong Kong Police History

Would you like to hear the story of Inspector Thomas Smithers who drowned off Cheung Chau in 1848?

Would you like to hear the story of Inspector Swanston from Caithness who lost 5 children to Hong Kong's harsh climate and then

succumbed himself?

These and other vignettes from the History of the Hong Kong Police

will be told in a talk

"From British Bobby to Hong Kong Copper"

to be held at

The National Archives (TNA), Kew, London

at 2pm on Thursday 18th. September 2014.

Please follow this link to TNA's webpages to reserve your place:

National Archives Events 

 

The Earnshaw Brothers

Curtiss Oriole Airplane - 1919

Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Digital Library

Claude and Reginald Earnshaw were born in Battersea at the turn of the 20th. century. Their father was a broker at the Stock Exchange and by 1911 they were living in Swanley, Kent.

Reginald was interested in the new phenomenon of aviation and in 1918 he applied to join the Royal Air Force. Unfortunately, during the training period it was found that at a certain height blood rushed to his head and for this reason he was judged as being “unsuitable”. Reginald returned to the Training Reserve Battalion.

After the war the brothers wanted to broaden their horizons and they joined the Hong Kong Police. Recruiting had ceased during the war but a large intake of 34 men arrived during 1919 and a further 21 in 1920. However, after a couple of years the brothers decided that there were better opportunities to be had outside of the Force. Reginald became the Manager of the Kai Tack Motor Bus Company and Claude became the Manager of the Palace Hotel.

Even though Reginald had left the Police Force his training stayed with him. In 1924 he was instrumental in the arrest of a gang of armed bandits in the New Territories. His diligence won him a commendation from the Government plus a small reward.

Reginald was still interested in aviation and when the young American aviator, H.W. Abbott, arrived in the Colony he saw it as a perfect opportunity. The Abbott School of Aviation was formed and Reginald found himself working as mechanic on the Curtiss J N 4 planes. In order to drum up business Abbott organised an air display which was to be held at Chinese New Year 1925. Reginald must have been in his element spending all his spare time with the aircraft but it still was not enough. On a short holiday to Manila he actually made a parachute jump. The only trouble was that when he returned to Hong Kong none of his friends actually believed him.

The day before the display Reginald told his brother that he was to be part of the event and that at 4pm he would be jumping with a parachute from the small Curtiss plane from a height of 2,500 ft. He was intending to land on reclamation land in Kowloon. He assured his brother that it was all perfectly safe. Claude pointed out that the flight would be over the harbour and that there was a danger of landing in water instead of on land. Reginald said that he would organise a boat to be standing by – just in case that should happen. Claude advised that perhaps it might be safer not to wear his heavy riding boots as these could cause problems if he should land in the harbour. Reginald declined this advice saying that if he came down on land he could hit rocks and then he would definitely need his boots. It seemed that he had an answer for everything – as adventurous/foolhardy youngsters always seem to do !!

The display started at 2pm with the christening of “Felix” the new Curtiss plane built by Abbott. After the ceremony Mr. W. George Bunter gave a speech outlining the objects of the new school – which, incidentally, happened to be the very early beginnings of Kai Tak Airport. After this Abbott flew his new plane with a string of fire crackers attached to the tail. Henry Young who was described as being a famous Chinese aviator followed with a series of daring stunts including looping the loop, nose diving and tail spinning. The spectators loved it.

4pm came round all too quickly and poor Reginald wondered what he had let himself in for. Why had he been so rash as to say that he would do this? Oh well, he had said that he would jump – so jump he must. He climbed into the passenger seat in front of Abbott with his parachute rolled and ready. The plane took off and circled three times ascending all the time. The correct height was reached and Reginald summoned all his courage and climbed out onto the wing of the plane. He hesitated for about a minute and then jumped. The parachute opened and he began the descent. As he looked down he could see that he was coming down over the harbour instead of the land so he pulled on the guy ropes. But it was all to no avail and he landed in the harbour. With his heavy boots and thick clothing there was no way that he could stay afloat. By the time the little motor boat arrived on the scene there was no sign of Reginald.

Abbott and Henry Young went up again and circled and circled in the hope of spotting the young man but there was no sign of him. The Water Police searched for his body for days. He was found some 10 days later just a few yards from where he had descended. It appeared that cords had become entangled around his right leg and the weight of the parachute had dragged him under the water.

On 7th. February Reginald’s coffin draped with the Union Jack and borne on a gun carriage drawn by a detachment from the Water Police made its way to the Colonial Cemetery. The body was accorded military honours and a firing party from the East Surrey Regiment was present. At the graveside three volleys were fired and a bugler sounded the Last Post. His former colleagues from the Hong Kong Police paid their last token of respect by filling in the grave themselves.

His brother, Claude, was the chief mourner and to him fell the sad duty of informing his parents and sister back home.

Claude was a keen cyclist, oarsman and cricketer. He was also a billiards player and arranged tournaments at the Palace Hotel. He was described as being courteous and a person who always tried to serve others.

Just 6 years after the tragic death of his brother, Claude also passed away and was buried quietly in the Colonial Cemetery.

Reginald was buried in Section 16E whilst Claude was buried in Section 16C. In 1975 large sections of the cemetery were under threat due to the Aberdeen Tunnel Project. Neither of these sections were in danger as they were high on the hill in the centre of the cemetery. However, room was needed everywhere in order to relocate graves with headstones that were having to be moved. Neither Reginald nor Claude had headstones and their graves were, therefore, exhumed and the remains later placed in the Ossuary.

These simple plaques record the names of the two brothers. Fortunately they can both be found in the same block of the Ossuary.

Together in life – together in death.

If you would like a search of my database of Hong Kong Cemetery burials please e-mail me:

(you will need to type this into the address box of your e-mail as it is not a direct link to avoid spammers !)

Remembered in Kensal Green Cemetery

I recently visited Kensal Green Cemetery in search of the burial plot of William Barnicot’s father. William has a lovely old stone in the Hong Kong Cemetery and having researched the whole of William’s life I was keen to find where his father lay. However, that is a whole different story and one that is far too long to relate in a short blog. Having found the site I was looking for I took myself off around this famous West London cemetery fascinated by the wonderful old tombs many of them to individuals with connections to the East – Alexander Nesbitt Shaw of the Bombay Civil Service, Sir William Casement of the Bengal Army etc. etc. Then I remembered that there was an inscription here honouring a man who has been on the periphery of my research for many, many years – Charles MAY.

The Hong Kong Police was established in 1845 by three Metropolitan Police officers from the East End of London – Charles MAY, Thomas SMITHERS and Hugh McGREGOR. Charles spent some 34 years in Hong Kong and is mentioned in all the history books - so being rather “famous” I always felt there would be nothing further to find on him. My attention has always focused on Thomas Smithers and Hugh McGregor and after years of research I feel as if I know the Smithers family inside out. But before I get side tracked let’s return to Charles MAY.

After spending the majority of his life in Hong Kong Charles died on his passage back to England in 1879. He had been accompanied on the voyage by his daughter and no doubt it was she who had to watch as her father was buried at sea just before the ship reached Singapore. The MAY family were highly respected in London for Charles’ father, John MAY, had been appointed to the Metropolitan Police at the time of its establishment way back in 1829 and held the prestigious position of Superintendent “A” Division. He worked alongside the two Commissioners of Police – Sir Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne who had their offices in a private house at No. 4 Whitehall Place.

I knew that the MAY family tomb was somewhere within this West London cemetery and I had a very rough recollection of what it looked like but with thousands of graves, and much of the cemetery overgrown, what was the chance of finding it? I would say virtually nil. However, I have always been of the very firm belief that if somebody wants to be found then they will call me to them – or at least allow me to find the historical documents that tell their life stories. In this instance I needed to be led to some specific spot within the cemetery so I continued to meander first down the central avenue and then up a side path here or a side path there. I had no idea where my feet were leading me. After a while I rested on a handy parapet, relaxing and savouring the awe inspiring architecture of the Victorian tombs around me. Suddenly I was aware that the inscription on the side of a tomb right in my line of vision contained the words “Charles” and “John May”. Would you believe it – there was the very tomb I was hoping to find.

Charles, son of the above John May/ Chief Magistrate of Police, Colonial Treasurer and for 34 years in HM Civil Service in Hong Kong China/ died on his homeward passage 25 April 1879 aged 61 buried at sea.I can only say that Charles certainly wanted me to find him!!!!

The earliest surviving headstone to a Hong Kong Police Constable ?

Atop a hillock right in the centre of the cemetery can be found what I believe to be the earliest surviving headstone to a Hong Kong Police Constable. The stone stands firm but leans slightly to one side reminding me of a member of the constabulary who has perhaps had one too many drinks!!

The headstone is now weatherworn and very few details are discernable but the name stands out clear and proud:

Sacred to the memory of Wm. SOUTHWELL, a native of Louth, Lincolnshire

There is no indication here to show that William was in any way connected with the Police but the burial register shows William to be a Police Constable aged 41, buried on 16 July 1858 in Grave Number 1700

William was not the normal poverty stricken police constable of the time for he smoked a meerschaum pipe and carried a silver watch & chain in his pocket. As he lay dying in the Government Civil Hospital one of his last wishes was that he be respectfully buried and that a stone be erected over his grave.

As I look at the old stone still standing on its hillock after 150 years I think to myself that William would have been pleased with the result.