Mr. Egerton Clarke: Meet the Parents

Moving along to other matters, we come to Mr. Egerton Clarke. Clarke may be the most closely related person to George Mills we've examined for a while. Sometimes, this research can go far afield in an effort to provide context for the life of Mills, but in this case, the two men must have been friends, perhaps close friends.

In order to fully understand Egerton and relate him to Mills, we first have to examine his family of origin and that's what we'll be doing today.

Egerton Arthur Crossman Clarke was born in Canterbury, Kent, in 1899, the son of Percy Carmichael Clarke (1842 – 1902), then Chaplain in Dinard, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France, who was the son of London stock broker John Jeffkins Clarke, who was born in Islington, and Fanny Jane Crossman, of Exmouth, Devon.

Percy Clarke was baptised on 12 January 1843, and the document lists his birth date as 4 May 1842 (Other records indicate his birth date was 22 May). His father's occupation is listed as "Gent."

The 1861 census lists Percy's parents' ages as John, 44, and Fanny, 40, in that year.

Percy attended Cambridge [above, left] and his entry in Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900 reads:

Percy Carmichael Clarke. College: TRINITY HALL Entered: Michs. 1860 More Information: Adm. pens. (age 18) at TRINITY HALL, July 26, 1860. S. of J. J. C., Esq. Matric. Michs. 1860. Ord. deacon, 1871; priest (Chichester) 1872; V. of Stapleford, Sussex, 1875-84. R. of St Michael-at-Plea, Norwich, 1886-95. Chaplain at Dinard, 1895-1902. Disappears from Crockford, 1903.

On 30 January 1868, at the age of 25, Percy married Sophia Austen, daughter of foreign merchant Henry Rains, at All Souls, Langham Place, Westminster. The marriage Bann [right] only lists Percy Carmichael Clarke as being "of full age," with his profession being "gentleman" residing in that parish in the county of Middlesex.

The ceremony was witnessed by Sophia's father, her elder brother Rupert Rains, her elder half-sister Ann Sarah Rains, and Percy's brothers, Arthur Doveton Clarke and Egerton Harry John Clarke. Their signatures are all legible on the document.

Sophia Rains Austen Clarke was presumably a widow and older than Percy by 11 years. She appears on the 1871 census [below, left], living at home with her "foreign warehouserman" father, Henry, her mother, and her sisters. She was 38 at the time of that census, making 1833 her approximate birth year. She also was living with her daughter, Florence L. Austen, then aged 8 years.

Percy's new wife came with an instant family, and one of international pedigree. Sophia apparently was born in India, but there are no records to substantiate that. Little Florence was, indeed, born in Paddington, New South Wales, to her mother and her father, Benjamin Rupert Austen, gentleman, in 1863. Benjamin and Sophia had been married in London on 19 March 1861. Benjamin died in Paddington, NSW, in 1865, and Sophia had returned to England with their child.

Newlywed Percy doesn't appear in the 1871 census (according to ancestry.com). Sophia and Florence were living with her father, Henry, in that year, during which Percy was ordained a deacon.

In 1881 [right], however, we do find him living with his wife, Sophia, and stepdaughter, Florence, at the Vicarage in Staplefield, Sussex, in the Parish of Cuckfield, where he was "Vicar of St. Marks Staplefield." They had no children of their own at this time.

Sophia Clarke passed away in Norwich, Norfolk, on 7 October 1887 at the age of 54.

Her will was probated on 21 December. The notice reads: "21 December. The Will of Sophia Clarke (Wife of Percy Carmichael Clarke, Clerk) formerly of Cliffdown-grange-road Eastbourne in the county of Sussex, but late of St. Michael –at-Plea Norwich in the County of Norfolk who died 7 October 1887 at the Rectory St. Michael-at-Plea was proved at the Principal Registry by Rubert [sic] Rains of 25 Sylvester–road Hackney in the County of Middlesex Manufacturer the Brother and the said reverend Percy Carmichael Clarke of St. Michael-at-Plea the Executors."

Sophia's personal estate was proved at £1,807 5s. 11d., and resworn in December 1888 at £2,688 15s. 7 d.

Now here's an oddity based on the above information:

In 1887 or late in the spring (April-May-June) of 1888 (ancestry.com lists both years, but I only have seen the actual record for 1888), Clarke married Emma Anna Piper, daughter of farmer Francis Caton Piper and Hannah Parsey, who woked 130 acres at Hare Street Village, Royston, Hertfordshire (or Great Hormead, Hertfordshire in 1887). Clarke recently had moved to the living at St. Michael-at-Plea in Norwich, Norfolk [below, left] in 1886.

One way or the other, it didn't take Percy long to climb back into the marital saddle again, as they say.

Marriage records for Emma Piper cite the same pair of 1887 and 1888 dates for her nuptials. Given Sophia Clarke's death in October 1887, the 1888 date may seem more likely—but is it possible there was a quick ceremony late in 1887 that wasn't registered until 1888, or a wedding that was quickly annulled for being too soon after Sophia's death, with a ceremony then performed and consummated in 1888?

The only record of the birth of an "Emma Anna Piper" is in late 1856, and that was in Royston, Herts, where Percy and Emma were married in 1887 or 1888. She would have been about 31 years of age.

Either way, according to census records, 1891 would find 47-year-old Percy living with his young wife, Emma, 33, in Lowestoft, Sussex, along with their two-year-old daughter, Dorothy M. Clarke, and a nurse/domestic servant named Emily Mead. Little Dorothy Mary's place of birth is listed as Norfolk, Norwich, where she was born in spring of 1889. Percy's occupation is cited as "Clerk in Holy Order Rector at St. Michaels at Plea Norwich."

Percy would serve as rector at St Michael-at-Plea until 1895. Perhaps they were on a holiday there in Sussex at the time of the census, 5 April 1891.

After his time at Norwich, however, Percy would be named Chaplain of the église anglicane at Dinard, France, in 1895 [below, right].

Percy Carmichael Clarke passed away in 1902 in Dinard and a window was apparently dedicated to him. An inscription upon it reads:

The window is placed by the English and American colony of Dinard to The Glory of God and the affectionate remembrance of Percy Carmichael Clarke for 7 years the Chaplain who entered into his rest 13th April 1902. When I wake up after thy [sic] likeness I shall be satisfied with it.


I can find only one reference to Mrs. Emma Anna Clarke, that being in the year 2000, in the Bulletin et mémoires (Vol. 103) of the Société archéologique du département d'Ille-et-Vilaine. Unfortunately (for me), it is written in French:

Portrait de Mme Clarke, qu'évoque Lawrence lorsqu'il se rend chez elle, villa Staplefield rue des Bains aujourd'hui rue Georges Clémenceau (la première villa à droite de la photographie).

Mme Clarke née Emma Anna Piper le 1 1 décembre 1857 à Beithingford, Angleterre, semble être une grande amie de la mère du jeune homme. Lawrence évoque cette dame en ces termes : "Je pars pour voir Mme Clarke et peut- être le frère Fabel» et encore «Je suis allé chez Mme Clarke et ai porté mon linge en lui donnant une liste» et enfin «Elle vous offre toute sa maison et


That is the entire fragment available to me. Using the Google's on-line translator, I found it roughly means:

Portrait of Mrs. Clarke, Lawrence evokes when he goes home, villa Staplefield now rue des Bains St. Georges Clemenceau (the first house on the right of the photograph).

Mrs. Clarke was born Emma Anna Piper 1 1 December 1857 to Beithingford, England, seems to be a great friend of the young man's mother. Lawrence refers to this lady in these words: "I'm going to see Mrs. Clarke and perhaps the brother Fabel" and even "I went to Mrs. Clarke and I wore my clothes by giving a list" and finally "It gives you all his house and...

My hunch is that the translation is none too perfect, so I will refrain from adding anything here. (Assistance from Francophones would be greatly appreciated!)


Egerton Arthur Crossman Clarke had been born in Canterbury, England, in July 1899 to Percy and Emma. His sister, Dorothy, would have been about 11 years old. His father would have been about 57 and his mother—quickly widowed when Egerton was just three years old—would have given birth to him when she was around 43. He also was baptized there on 18 October 1899 despite his father having been employed at Dinard [below, left, circa 1900].

Egerton was born to older parents and without a sibling close in age or of the same sex with whom to bond. His household obviously would have been a religious one, and at the point in Percy's life at which Egerton was born, it was likely to have been quite devout: Percy had taken his family abroad to France in search of a congregation at a time when many men may have been thinking about settling down into retirement.

Of course, Percy had young children to support, so it may have been practical and economic decision. And, while there is no evidence, there may have been some scandal, or at least an irregularity, in Norwich, leading to Reverend Clarke becoming ensconced in Dinard. That would have been a very practical solution to such a problem: Get him out of England.

Remember that Clarke's tenure at St. Michael-at-Plea virtually began with the death of an aging wife and an almost immediate marriage to a very young one

No matter what, it was unlikely that Percy Carmichael Clarke took over as Chaplain in France as a promotion from St. Michael-at-Plea, or simply as part of some mid-life crisis. And we know the family, after all, never cut ties with England even a little—Egerton was born and baptised there, not in France.

Young Egerton does not appear on the 1901 UK census, likely because he was in France, the very young son of older parents, with no siblings, alone in a country in which everyone spoke a language different from the one used by his parents at home when they conversed, and with a congregation of transient vacationers on holiday, arriving for the mild climate... and the casino.

On top of all that, Egerton soon would be fatherless.

We don't know what happened to the family at that point, but an 11-year-old Egerton Clarke soon shows up in a summary for the 1911 UK census in an "institution" (presumably a school) in the village of Blean near Canterbury, Kent. The family still had ties to the area.

Pictured, right, are children from the Blean School in 1910. 11-year-old Egerton is very likely one of the boys in the middle row, if this was, indeed, the "institution" he was attending in 1911. One hopes that Egerton had escaped the infamous workhouse there, but only greater access to the 1911 UK census would provide an answer..

[Note: It is actually unlikely that any of these children are Egerton; according to his family he did, indeed, attend St Edmund's School in Canterbury, Kent. (08-17-11)]


Let's fast forward, however, to the part of young Egerton's life during which he lost his mother. He was 31 years old when she passed away.

According to probate records, Egerton's mother, Emma Anna Clarke, would pass away on 24 October 1930. She had been living at 30 Portland-road, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, but passed away at "Silverdale Sydenham Kent Administration (with Will)." Despite having at least one living child, the will was cited as "Limited" and probated on 23 January 1931 to George Ogilvy Jackson, solicitor attorney of Edward Arthur Baring-Gould,. Her effects were £194 12s [below, left].

This was not a rich woman. Percy Clarke may have left her a nice sum upon which to live—there are no probate records after his death—but we can see there was little left by 1930, if there ever was much. Even at that, it appears her legacy in 1931 went to solicitors, not family.


[Note: Boy, was I wrong! Solicitor Baring-Gould was married to Emma's daughter Dorothy, sister of Egerton Clarke. From Janine, Egerton's granddaughter: "Dorothy married a Baring Gould. He was referred to as Uncle Ted - so Edward Arthur Baring Gould - was one and the same." So, her probate was, indeed, handled by family. (08-17-11)]


It's likely that Egerton was raised by a mother who didn't have a great deal to spare. It’s possible his schooling may have been attended by his namesake uncle, Egerton Harry John Clarke, who had taken to the profession of young Egerton's grandfather, John Jeffkins Clarke: Stock Broker.

In retirement, when Uncle Egerton Harry John died in 1927, his probate left £18,525 17s. 3d. to his widow. We may need to look no further as to how young Egerton Arthur Crossman's education may have been funded, at least in part.

Next time we'll take a look at the results of that education, Egerton's time spent in the military during the First World War, and his relationship with George Mills.

Stay tuned…

Dr. Harold J. Penny of Adelaide and Stoke-on-Trent

Today we'll meet a person who numbered among the most common opponents of the Mills family: Dr. H. J. Penny. Penny presents a figure with an interesting history, especially when one includes him among the diverse mix of post-WWII croquet characters and personalities with which we've become acquainted here at Who Is George Mills?

Harold John Penny was born on 24 June 1888 to Charles James Penny and Emma Stephens Penny in Semaphore, Adelaide, South Australia [upper left]. Of his family or youth we know little to nothing, but in the Adelaide Advertiser of Tuesday, 22 December 1903, we find that Penny (out of St. Peter's Collegiate School) —then 15 years of age—had passed Junior Examinations at "The University." Penny had passed exams in English Literature, Greek, Latin, French, geometry, and chemistry, earning him a place on the "List of students who have passed five or more subjects, and who therefore, receive the junior certificate."

In the same newspaper two years later, on Monday, 18 December 1905, Penny passed three Senior Examinations at the University of Adelaide: Greek, Latin, and geometry. Five passed examinations were required for earning a senior certificate, so Penny's name appeared on a list below that one: "List of candidates who have passed in less than five subjects."


In 1906, Penny also passed five examinations, according to the Tuesday, 25 December, edition of The Advertiser: Greek, Latin, French, arithmetic and algebra, and geometry. He received a 1906 senior certificate.

In the same chronicle, on Thursday, 19 December 1907, Penny appears on a "Pass List" of the University of Adelaide, once more having passed examinations in Greek, Latin, and French.

At this point, Penny, who apparently has enjoyed years of schooling in languages and maths, seems to have left it all for a spell.


He crops up again in 1911. According to data recorded at http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/, Penny rowed in the Adelaide University Men's Eight, which competed at the 1911 Australian University Championships in Port River, Adelaide. His team finished 3rd behind Melbourne and Sydney Universities.

According to that site: "This was the first of four straight wins pre WWI for Melbourne but the margin was small - 1 1/2 lengths from Sydney. The race was conducted over a 3 mile course on 10th June 1911."

Penny rowed for Adelaide again in the 1912 Championship held in the Parramatta River, Sydney, and once again his team finished 3rd behind Melbourne and Sydney. The site this time adds: "The race was conducted on 1st June 1912."

Penny was clearly back at Adelaide, but studying what subject in earnest?

The Advertiser dated Thursday, 18 December 1913, carried this information about the 25-year-old Australian: "The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine presented for the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery:-Walter John Westcott Close, Laurance Llewellin Davey, Sydney Ernest Holder, Frederick Neill Le Messurier, Reginald Blockley Lucas, John Christian Mayo, Harry Carew Nott, Harold John Penny, Harold Powell, and Joseph Stanley Verco (Everard Scholar)."


The next day, Friday, 19 December 1913, the same newspaper ran this item [seen, left]: "At a meeting of the South Australian Medical Board on Monday , afternoon Walter John Westcott Close, Sydncy Ernest Holder, Frederick Neil LeMessurier, Reginald Blockley Lucas, John Christian Mayo, Harry Carew Nott, Harold John Penny, Harold Powell, .Joseph Stanley Verco, and Laurance Lewellin Davey, all M.B., B.S., Adelaide, 1913; and James McBain Ross, M.R.C.S., Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond., 1901, were registered as legally qualified medical practitioners."


By 10 January 1914, we find this note in a column entitled "Personal" within the Adelaide Advertiser: "Dr. Harold John Penny, M.B., B.S., (Adel. 1913), was appointed by the Executive Council to be a resident medical officer of the Adelaide Hospital for the ensuing 12 months."


By 12 March 1914, Penny made the papers in a case in which the master of a four-masted barque, Hougemont, John McDonald, was accused of "having on 18 February unlawfully and maliciously shot at [inebriated able seaman] John Murray with a revolver, with intent to do grievous bodily harm."

The article continued: "Harold John Penny, resident medical officer at the Adelaide Hospital, said he treated Murray in the institution on February 19."

The case was held over for trial, while Penny must have had some interesting dinner table conversation that day.


According to The Advertiser, dated Tuesday, 21 April 1914, Penny took part in an inquest into the death of a 38-year-old laborer, Joseph Eade, who had died at the hospital on 16 April: "Dr. Harold John Penny, of the Adelaide Hospital attributed the cause of death to shock and hemorrhage, consequent upon bullet wounds. These were just below the ribs on the left side of the body. The internal organs in this vicinity were injured. The deceased had told the witness that he used a firearm with his right hand… The Coroner's verdict was that deceased died from bullet wounds self-inflicted whilst of unsound mind."


Yet another case, this one described in the same paper on Saturday 27 February 1915, actually involving the will, estate, and beneficiarfies of Catherine Ratliffe of Australia Plain, cited: "Harold John Penny, medical practitioner at the Children's Hospital, said that on January 21 he was a resident medical officer at the Adelaide Hospital. He recollected the informant being brought in. She was suffering from shock and hemorrhage, caused by three recent bullet wounds in the right shoulder, two cuts on the lip, and a bruise near the collarbone. He attended to the patient for 10 days until she left the hospital. The wounds could be caused by bullets from a revolver of the kind produced."


Perhaps it was the violence of such cases that caused Penny to look into a shift to the local Children's Hospital [picturd, left].

And treating those victims of gunshot wounds would foreshadow the next phase of Penny's medical career.

We now fast-forward to the London Gazette of 1 June 1915 for the item regarding Penny. In a section entitled "ARMY MEDICAL SERVICE. Royal Army Medical Corps." it says: "The undermentioned to be temporary Lieutenants:— Dated 26th March 1915. Harold John Penny, M.B."


That notice confirmed what had appeared in the Adelaide Advertiser on Saturday 20 March 1915, several months after Great Britain had entered hostilities in the First World War: "Dr. Harold J. Penny, late of the Adelaide and Children's Hospitals, and youngest son of Mr. C. J. Penny, Hackney, has been notified of his appointment to the staff of the R.A.M.C., and leaves by the R.M.S. Mongolia [seen below, right] on Thursday next for London."


The Gazette followed with this in their 10 April 1916 edition, in a similar section: "ARMY MEDICAL SERVICE. Royal Army Medical Corps." It reads: "The undermentioned temporary Lieutenents to be temporary Captains:— Dated 26th March 1916. Harold J. Perry, M.B."


In exactly one year, Penny had entered the service and been promoted to Captain. Under unprecedented and nightmarish conditions, Penny was obviously excelling.


Following the war, the Medical Directory of 1919 listed Penny's practice as having been in his hometown at "23, Osborne Street, Hackney, Adelaide, S.A." Penny have returned to Australia and hung out a shingle after witnessing the carnage of the war. Considering the chemical warfare, as well as the technological advances made in the efficient mechanized destruction of soldiers, during the worldwide conflict, one shudders to think of some of the horrors he witnessed—ones that would have made those gunshot simple gunshot wounds treated in Adelaide seem extremely mild by comparison.

But records at Britain's National Archives at Kew contain the following record: "Divorce Court File: 8145. Appellant: Harold John Penny. Respondent: Winifred Annie Penny. Co-respondent: Frederick Haddon Rowat. Type: Husband's petition for divorce. Covering dates: 1925."


This would indicate that, at some point between 1919 and 1925, Penny relocated once again, this time to back to England.

F. H. Rowat was a dentist. His description in the 1960 edition of The Author's & Writer's Who's Who reads: "ROWAT, Frederick Haddon, FDS, HDD, LDS b: India 1894. e: Merchant Venturers Sch. Bristol, m: Munro-Chick. d: 2. Dentist, publ.: This Won't Hurt a Bit (J. Wright); The Palmy Days of British Oratory (Ceylon Times), a: Braeside, North Petherton, Somerset."


Penny's wife was probably born in Australia in the late 19th century, but there is no dearth of "Winifred Annies" having been born in South Australia during that period. Her maiden name is unknown. Neither records from the UK nor Australia record their marriage. In fact, ancestry.com has no record of the Penny union in any of its collections.

In 1938, at the age of 50, Dr. Penny sailed into Southampton aboard the steam ship Balmoral Castle of the Union-Castle Line on 19 September from Madeira. His address is handwritten as "28 Windmill St., Tunstall, Stoke/Trent."


This address is corroborated by a 1950 Stoke-on-Trent telephone directory, which lists his practice—clearly a partnership—in this way:

Penny, H. J, & Fee, S. R, Physns, Srgns,
      28 Windmill St, Tunstall . . . . . . Stoke-on-Trent 87642

His residence is listed as:

Penny, Dr. H. J,
      Claremont Porthill . . . . . . . . . . . Stoke-on-Trent 88180


The Medical Directory of 1961, however, lists the practice as being called "Penny, Fee, Wojtulewski, & Neill."


Notable on the manifest of Dr. Penny's return trip from Madeira is the lack of a wife, or even of a travelling companion. He was the only unaccompanied male from Britain or its colonies on the voyage. This trip alone may say a great deal about the pain from which Penny still must have suffered due to the betrayal committed by his wife and their divorce proceedings some 13 years earlier.

In the Medical Directory for 1959, Commonwealth List, Penny is listed as practicing at "28, Holland Street, Tunstall, Staffs," and it indicates his "Date of Registration" as having been 3 May 1915—coincidental with his arrival for service in the Royal Army Medical Corps.


Penny began playing tournament croquet, just before his trip to Spain, having competed in the North of England from 27 June to 2 July 1938. He also played that tournament in 1939, as well as in the Derbyshire Championship and for Hurlingham's Younger Cup, in which he beat Aimee Reckitt.

After the war, Penny—58 years of age in the summer of 1946—returned to the lawns. His career post-war record can be found in the database of the Croquet Association by clicking HERE.

Although the CA records Penny as an opponent of the Mills siblings—George, Agnes, and Violet—just 3 times (1-2 versus Agnes Mills), results from the London Times provide some evidence that—aside from doubles games which included George Mills—Penny played Violet Mills at least 3 times. He lost to her in 1960 (Parkstone) and twice (Budleigh Salterton). In fact, there is no evidence Penny ever beat Vi Mills.

Six career games against the Mills siblings may not seem like a great deal, but it does make him one of their arch enemies here—especially figuring in his appearances as a doubles partner and opponent of one or the other of the sibs.

The Times also records the Mills siblings as having encountered a C. H. R. Penny during their time playing croquet, although I also cannot locate him in the database. The Pennys played doubles together at least once, on 15 September 1960 at Parkstone, where they lost to the tandem of George Mills and Bryan Lloyd-Pratt [pictured, left], (-13).

A 1960 telephone directory for Southampton lists a C. H. R. Penny as residing at Chaffyn Grove Cottage, 75 Bourne Avenue, with telephone number "Salisbury 2905."


[Update: This was received today, 6 July 2011, from Mr. Williams of the CA:

CHR (Christopher) Penny is in the 1946-1984 database. Search for Christopher Penny. I have 14 games for him between 1957 and 1963.

Chris

For career information on Christopher H. R. Penny, click HERE, and thank you, Chris!

The database records no games against them, but C. H. R. Penny played singlely against the Mills at least once: He defeated Violet Mills in the Level Singles Final at Parkstone in 1960, according to The Times.]


Were the two Pennys related, they would have played even more matches as a family against the Mills family—hence, their inclusion here.

A member of what we recently saw referred to as "Croquet's Old Brigade," Dr. H. J. Penny died in Bournemouth, Dorset, England in March 1968. As far as we know, he never remarried. Penny played croquet from 1938 through 1967, winning 232 of 513 post-war games.

43 Speeches, Women's Hockey, and a Frock of the Deepest Beige Lace

When I set out to write entries about Guy and Joan Warwick, I wondered if I should combine them or write about the two two separately. It seemed as if I was coming down to the last of the things I would be writing about here, so I decided on two. I wanted to stretch things out a bit before this drew to a close.

Then, much like the well-known finger being pulled from the dike, information about a number of topics has come rushing in, much like the flooding this summer in the Mississippi Valley, making it appear I may have a busy summer at the keyboard after all!

Last time, we left Joan, the manager, captain M. M. (Mildred) Knott, and the rest of the All-England women's hockey team at their port of arrival, Sydney, Australia, having just come ashore to waiting press coverage [above, left].

This time, let's rewind just a bit, back to Australia's anticipation of the impending visit of the All-England team. One should know that Sydney had hosted the 1938 British Empire Games that February [opening ceremonies, right], winning 15 gold medals (to 2nd-place England's 10), and 66 overall medals (to 2nd-place England's 40). Hockey was not part of the February competition, but one can imagine that Australians were feeling magnanimous and well-satisfied regarding the sporting world. Such attitudes would undoubtedly make them gracious and welcoming hosts.

Here's the first article covering the July 1938 women's hockey event, from The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), dated Tuesday 3 May 1938:


RECEPTIONS TO VISITORS

Last night hockey players made plans for the visit of an American hockey team which will arrive in Melbourne in the Monterey on May 20. The visitors will attend a civic reception at the Town Hall in the morning, practice in the afternoon, and have the evening free to rest.

It was announced that the Albert ground had been obtained for a match Victoria v. the United States on May 21.

For this match the Victorians will be - Frances Newson (captain), Dr. Girlie Hodges (vice-captain), V. Wilcher, D. Neibour, J. Stevens, M. McAlpine, P. Burston, R. Farrer, G. Bell, R Moore, and B. McGennan. This is the team that represented Victoria against a visiting English team last season.

After the match there will be a Victorian Women's Hockey Association party in the evening, and on May 23 one of the vice-presidents (Mrs. E. F. Herring) has invited the American girls to luncheon at her home.

English Visitors in July

Another vice president or the V. W. H. A. (Dr. G. Buchanan) reported last night that she had heard by letter from Joan Warwick, the manager of an English women's hockey team which is coming out to play matches in New Zealand, that the English girls will arrive in Melbourne on July 25 by train from Sydney, and after a few hours in Melbourne will embark in the Narkunda on their homeward journey.

Victorians will be interested to meet again J. Warwick, as she was in Australia in 1927, and also M. Collins, who was here last year. Other interesting personalities in the team are M. Knott, who has been captain of England for several years [pictured, left, serving as coach at James Allen Girls School] and N. Judd also a very well known player.


Is that article merely being polite, or is it possible that Joan Warwick had made the sort of impression on the Aussies that lasts a good decade or more? It seems so.

Also, I'm convinced that the sentence containing the phrase "after a few hours" was a mistake, the author meaning "after a few days." However, the team embarked on the Strathmore for their voyage home. I suppose it is possible the original intent was for the team to stay but a few hours, play a game, and hop aboard a ship almost immediately. Perhaps plans changed.


Here we find that the All-English team will be following an American squad into the land Down Under. Still, one senses a certain warmth of expression and remembrance in reading about the return of the English girls.

Fast-forwarding through to their arrival on 25 July, here's coverage from The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), dated Tuesday 26 July 1938:


FORTY SPEECHES IN
SEVEN WEEKS.

Hockey Manager's Record.

"We had a marvelous time in New Zealand, and everybody was very kind to us and entertained us profusely, but I am most glad that there are no more speeches to be made to Mayors," said Miss Joan Warwick, the manager of the All England women's hockey team, which arrived from New Zealand yesterday.

"The team knows my speeches off by heart, and, after all, they should, as I made 40 of them and gave 10 broadcasts in seven weeks. We were given mayoral reception In nearly every town we visited, and after such consistent entertainment we are grateful that the Australian part of our tour is of an informal nature. We think it very generous of the Australian State associations to entertain us on our way home from New Zealand."

PRIVATELY ENTERTAINED.

Miss Warwick said that the team was privately entertained in the Dominion, only being at hotels before the three test matches. "We were never in the same place for long. Mostly our stay was for two nights and then we 'hustled' off to some other place. It was a rare occasion that we were in the same spot for three nights or four. It was lots of fun, and the team enjoyed seeing so much of the two islands, but it made the tour very strenuous. It is very welcome to know that we have lots of free time this week, and will be able to see as much of Sydney as possible."

SECOND VISIT.

This is the second occasion that Miss Warwick has visited Australia. She was a member of the 1927 English team which toured Australia, and she has taken English teams to Egypt and the Continent. Miss Norah Judd, who was in the Anglo-Scottish team which visited Australia last year, la the only other member of the team to have been here before. Miss Warwick was very proud of herself for remembering so much about Sydney after an absence of 11 years.

The English team was met at the boat by several of the Australian Internationals, including Miss Tory Wicks and Miss E. Mc Rae, as well as members of the State Hockey Association. Several of the State had met some of the English girls m South Africa in 1930, and in America in 1933. Miss M. M. Knott, for eight years England's captain and famous right-back, received a great welcome.

ICE SKATING.

The team will be entertained at luncheon to-day at David Jones's, after which they will visit the Ice Palais at Moore Park. Yesterday they lost no time In going to Koula Park, the zoo, and on the harbour. The girls intend to crowd in as much sightseeing as possible.

Five of the team are staying at the Imperial Hotel, and others are being entertained by Miss Camilla Wedgwood, Dr. Grace Cuthbert, Miss Kate Ogilvie, Miss Jean Sale, Mrs, Kidd, Miss E. Hollingworth, and Mrs. A. Holt.


The trip to New Zealand and Australia seems to have been grueling for the English girls, but rewarding. It certainly must have been the trip of a lifetime. The quotations above mark the leadership skills of Joan Warwick, serving as a graceful, polite, and articulate spokesperson for a group of young athletes.

It may be significant for us to know that Warwick, 40 years of age in 1938, was serving as manager, while Knott was playing on the tour at the age of 42. Was this due to the superb managing skills of Warwick? Could it have been due to the fact that Joan had suffered some sort of injury? Or might it have been some combination of both?

No matter, it's hard to imagine handling the travel, itinerary, excitement, discomforts, natural squabbling, competitiveness, nationalism, speeches, drudgery, packing and unpacking, and pressure from the press and local political figures, all while decorously representing one's country abroad, much more effectively than did Joan.

Still, the above article is not related to the actual games themselves. Let's take a look at the newspaper's 'scouting report' on the impending clashes between the women's teams, which includes the All-England team's complete roster, also from The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) of Tuesday 26 July 1938:


WOMEN'S HOCKEY.

ENGLISH TEAM ARRIVES.

"The English women's hockey team, which has just completed a seven weeks' tour of New Zealand, is above the average standard for touring teams," said Miss Joan Warwick, manager of the team, when it arrived In Sydney yesterday. "Our defence players were particularly strong, as Miss M. Knott [right, again at JAGS] and Miss M. Collins are England's representative backs and Miss P. Lodge, is the English left half. The fourth international in the team is Miss J. O'Donoghue, who has taken Miss Marjorie Pollard's place as left inner forward for England.

"All the other players are first-class county standard and the majority have represented in the territorial matches. That is why I consider this touring team better than the majority that England has sent abroad. We will not be at full strength in Sydney, as Miss Collins, Miss Thompson, and Miss Naylor, are not remaining here, but we are looking forward to playing New South Wales."

Miss Warwick was a Member the English team which visited Australia in 1927. Miss Judd, another player in the team, was the Anglo-Scottish left back who played in Sydney last year. No other member of the team has previously been to Australia.
Miss M, M. Knott, who has been captain of the English teams which visited South Africa in 1930 and America in 1936, is regarded as one of the greatest back players England has produced.

Discussing the standard in New Zealand, the manager and captain said that it was difficult to assess the merits of the teams, as many of the grounds were rough, and good stickwork was impossible. They were not impressed by the positional play of the Dominion girls, and considered this a weakness of their game. "They play differently from us," Miss Knott said, "and often I was relieved to get my team off the field without injury, the uneven grounds and the rushing tactics of the opposing forwards being disconcerting."

The team agreed that it had had a wonderful tour of New Zealand, and had been royally entertained everywhere.

The English team will have its first practice at Rushcutter Bay to-night. It will play against, the Lustre team.

The team to play the New South Wales team at the University Square on Saturday is: Goal, G. Huggins; right back, M. M. Knott; left back, N. Judd; right half, O. Barnes; centre half, P. Lodge; left half, B. Fairgrieve: right wing, E. Shelmerdine; right inner, B. West; centre forward, J. Wright: left inner, J. Donoghue; left wing, J. Dowling; reserve, B. Rathbone. Umpire, J. Warwick.


Ironically, one thing we fail to glean from the press coverage of the All-England team's tour is the final score of the contest. What we do know is that great sacrifices had been made to travel on this tour. The news service caption for the wire photo used above, right, reads:

English hockey girls leave london for australasian tour

A team of English hockey girls, some of whom have sacrificed their jobs and in addition paid £100 each in fares, left Liverpool Street Station on the Riviera boat train to tour Australia and New Zealand.


However, one must believe that in the end it was all worth while. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), dated Tuesday 9 August 1938, brings us coverage of the team's farewell:


FAREWELL DINNER
HOCKEY TEAM

To say farewell to visiting English women hockey players who will leave to-day in the Strathmore, members of the Victorian Women's Hockey Association gave a dinner party last night.

The party took place at Navaretti's, Collins street, and was attended by nearly 100 hockey enthusiasts The official table was decorated with deepest pink carnations in soft green pottery bowls. In front of each of the guests of honour was a spray of flowers and a gift of a V. W. H. A. tiepin.

The president of the Victorian association (Miss Sybil Taggart) who wore a frock of black lace under her cape of white marabou expressed the pleasure of Victorians at having the visitors here for a week on their way home from New Zealand. She especially welcomed the manager (Miss Joan Warwick) who was here in 1927, and Miss Norah Judd, who visited here last year.

In response Miss Warwick who wore a frock of deepest beige lace with a corsage of green flowers said humorously:—"It is with great pleasure that I rise to make my 43rd speech of this tour." She thanked Victorians for entertaining them and said that many of the team hoped to visit Australia in 1942, when the international tournament will be held.

Other speakers were the captain of the English team (Miss M. M. Knott) [right] who wore midnight blue chiffon; the captain of the Victorians (Miss Frances Newson) who had a sea-blue coat over her black frock; a vice-president of the association (Dr. G. Buchanan), Mrs. E. F. Herring, and Miss D. Lodge (an international player).
Also at the official table were the honorary secretary of the V. W. H. A. (Mrs. L. C. Wilcher) and the treasurer (Miss Betty Thorpe).

Among those present were other members of the English team, Misses E. Shelmerdine, O. Barnes, J. Dowling, B. Fairgrieve, G. Huggins, N. Judd, B. Rathbone, K. Thompson, E. Wright, and B. West, as well as Miss Marjorie Irvine, a life member of the V. W. H. A., and Miss Alison Ramsay, a vice-president, and various hostesses who have entertained the visitors at their homes.

Some members of the visiting team went on after the dinner to a dance held at Tudor Court by the Royal Society of St. George.

Yesterday afternoon the English girls were entertained informally at afternoon tea by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress (Councillor and Mrs. Edward Campbell) at the Town Hall.


Interestingly, the event involving the All-England team's send-off seems to have been covered as much like a piece for the Society column as it was a piece on sport. The resounding clash and clatter of wooden sticks around the field of play seems quite a contrast to the following array of frocks of "deepest beige lace" and "midnight blue chiffon."


Warwick, a noted figure in women's hockey of the era, later turned from speech maker to writer, co-authoring a book on refereeing women's hockey, a skill we saw above that she had exhibited during the match in Australia. From a website called Dotmaker: Books of Sports and Fitness we find this description of Warwick's text:


Umpiring for Women's Hockey

By E. Joan Warwick & Rebecca Blaxland

'Umpiring is fun! Those who start to blow the whistle can begin on a life of enjoyment that was never contemplated when they stood for the first time, anxious and bewildered with twenty-two players waiting for them to summon up courage to start the game. Once she is off the mark the budding Umpire can get so interested in her job that she finds her fun and exercise provided for her weekly and, as she improves, she may gain the coveted "B" and "A" badges of the All England Women's Hockey Association.'

Written by two "A" register umpires, this rare volume provides clear, thorough instructions on all aspects of umpiring – from positioning and offside, to the good manner and etiquette. Some charming illustrations by Mary Foxon.

Marjorie Pollard Publications, Oxford. No publication date. Boards. 52 pages.


While no publication date is provided for this edition, Amazon.co.uk cites a publication date of 1971, and the publication date at Google Books is a ridiculous 1900.

We do know, however, that the text is listed among others in the Physical Education Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's journal Physical Education (Volumes 45-47), published in the year 1953. We can safely assume the book was written before that year, while Warwick was residing in Peterborough.

Did I ever seriously expect to write just one entry here about Joan Warwick? We now find that even two has not been enough!

We still haven't reached Budleigh Salterton, or delved deeply enough into the success Joan found playing croquet later in life. And, thanks to the Croquet Association, we'll learn that, while hockey and croquet were the sports in which she excelled, she made significant contributions to society far away from the playing fields.


Lastly, as an aside, I'd like to salute the newspapers of Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore for making so much easily searchable historical material available on-line!

Introducing Miss E. J. Warwick, the British Wanderers, and the All-England Team

Friend of this website, Joanna Healing, recently checked in here with this brief recollection:

I also remember Guy and Joan Warwick – Guy better because Joan died earlier.

Although Joanna did not know Joan as well, many people must have known of Miss E. J. Warwick, and to a great many of them she must have been a hero. (By the way, who decided that "heroine" was no longer a word one uses?) Edith Joan Warwick was born on 13 June 1898 in Peterborough, where she lived at 103 Park Road [pictured, left], and passed away in Devon in September 1973, presumably in Budleigh Salterton where she lived with her brother, Guy.

Our association here with Joan is via the sport of croquet, in which she was a renowned figure. Warwick won the Women's Championship of the Croquet Association in 1960, 1962, 1965, 1966, and 1968. She lost in the final to talented Isobel Roe in 1961 amid that stunning run of success.

Remarkable! As a North American sports fan, the only similar run of success in my lifetime was that of ice hockey's Montreal Canadiens in the 1960s. Les Habitants, as they were known, won Stanley Cup titles under their legendary captain Jean Beliveau in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, and 1971.

Still, when the aging Beliveau had an off-night on the ice, his teammates could and would pick up the slack. Warwick had no such help on the lawns while making her run at those championships. There were other all-time great stretches of success by hockey teams—especially by those "Habs"—and there were other magnificent, year-after-year performances in the sport of croquet as well. However, the string of titles won by both those Canadiens teams and Joan Warwick would be crowned a sporting "dynasty" by rabid fans on this side of the pond!

Oddly, croquet was not even her sport of choice! Of her early life, we know little. She can be found in the 1901 UK census at the age of 2, but is not at home. She and her 32-year-old mother, Clara E. Warwick, were visiting the home of Mrs. Lily Bennett in "Burley-in-Whfdle," Yorkshire, where Mrs. Bennett lived at Glendair on Station Road with 2 sons, a daughter, and 2 servants. Mr. Bennett was not at home.

The record shows that both Clara and Joan Warwick were born in "Northhants Peterboro," and that in 1901, Clara was already a widow with a daughter in tow, and a son, James Guy Warwick, presumably at school. Guy, however, does not appear on the 1901 census, although in 1911's census, we find him at 16 living in a household in Erpingham, Norfolk, where he may have been working with an architect as an assistant while learning the profession.

In 1911, Joan was still residing in Peterborough at the age of 12 with her mother.


After that, there is an informational gap, but she does begin to crop up once again by 1927. In that year, Joan appears on the ship's manifest [left] of the Mooltan, a steam ship arriving in London on 9 September 1927.

Sailing from Sydney, Australia, and using the moniker "Miss E. J. Warwick," the listing shows her address as being "103 Park Road, Peterborough," fixes her at 29 years of age, and describes her occupation as "Home Duties."


That seems a very odd choice for Joan to have made for her occupation, and I would wager that most other women sporting the tag "home duties" were not engaged regularly in the nearly same activities as Joan! But more on that 1927 voyage a bit later.

We next find her asea in 1934, this time steaming into London (Tilbury) on 20th December aboard the S.S. Orford, bound from Brisbane. The manifest, however, indicates "Miss E. J. Warwick" boarded at Port Said, Egypt. She was then 36 years of age, still at the same Peterborough address, and still engaged in the same occupation:
"HOME DUTIES."


But Joan crops up elsewhere in the historical record in 1934. At right, you see a photograph of three women smiling from aboard a departing train. The news service blurb to be run in newspapers with the image states:

Caption: English and Scottish girl[s] who compose a hockey team called the British Wanderers left St Pancras on the Maleja boat train for a tour in Egypt - photo shows left to right Miss W M Neave with Miss E J Warwick ( captain ) an Miss J Ellis at the carriage window before their departure November 16th 1934.


It's no secret to regular readers of Who Is George Mills? that Warwick was a world-class hockey player in her youth, and this photograph corroborates that—as well as the reason for her 1934 trip to Egypt.

Even The Straits Times of Singapore, in their edition dated 16 December 1934, also ran a photograph of Warwick and her team, the British Wanderers, as seen, left. The team and its captain were apparently world-wide news, belying her own claim that she was merely a practitioner of "home duties," unless one counts often skillfully wielding a hockey stick against malicious opponents on a muddy field as simply a part of one's duty in the home.

At some point soon after this, however, Joan must have retired from taking the field herself, but maintained her strong link to the women's sport.

It's quite odd for me here to have so many images from an era to help tell a story—I'm usually scrambling to find something to illustrate each entry—but this time we just move to the next newspaper image, and so, too, into the next stage of Joan's life!

Below, right, find a photograph that ran at the top of page 3 of the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday, 26 July 1938. We find Joan below the equator once again, and the caption reads:

Miss Joan Warwick (manager) and Miss M. M. Knott (captain) of the All-England women's hockey team, which arrived in Sydney yesterday after a successful tour of New Zealand. Miss Warwick was in Australia with the 1927 team, and Miss Knott is one of the most famous of England's captains, a position she has held for eight years.


From this we can gather that, in 1927, Warwick had traveled with the All-England team, not the Wanderers, to the South Seas. It seems remarkable that, short of having been someone of privilege like Lady Dorothy Mills, author, traveler, explorer, and once sister-in-law of George Mills, these women had the opportunity to see so much of the world. So for Joan, the daughter of a Peterborough auctioneer who left a young widow to raise two very young children, living such a life virtually must have been a dream come true, and at the very least, it must have made for some amazing scrap-books and memorabilia!

For now, we'll leave Joan along with Miss M. M. Knott disembarking at Sydney after sailing in from New Zealand. Next time we'll take a look at the 1938 tour of Australia, meet their hosts and few of the players, and hear from Joan herself about the trip.

We'll also follow her to Budleigh and look at her later-in-life athletic career in croquet.

See you then!

A First Look at Gillmore Goodland, the Younger

Joshua Goodland was an important figure in the life of George Mills, schoolmaster, author, paymaster, and gentleman. One big question we've run into as we've examined the life of Joshua is how he managed to pay for a Cambridge education from 1900 through 1908, a time during which members of his family were either unemployed, at sea as sailors, or working as governess of the children of a farmer. Joshua's mother, as far as we know, was living in London at Gresham House during that period of years, following the death of her husband, Joshua's father, Gillmore Goodland.

One family member we have not examined has been Gillmore Goodland, eldest son of Gillmore and Frances Mary Goodland of Exmouth, Devon [pictured above, left].

Records show that the junior Gillmore was born there in Withycombe Raleigh on 15 January 1871. As we know, his father was a local schoolmaster who would soon become a "certificated" elementary school teacher, most likely at Withycombe School.

That's a puzzling birth date, however. There was a U.K. census recorded on 2 April 1871, but the younger Gillmore fails to appear on it. We find his parents at home that day with a 16-year-old servant, Mary Hankin, but 10-week-old infant Gillmore was apparently not there. Quite unusual.

According to records, the elder Gillmore and Frances Mary Butland were married sometime in the first quarter of 1871 (Jan-Feb-Mar), seemingly calling into question young Gillmore's legitimacy. Why, though, he wouldn't have been with his mother (or anywhere else) on 2 April is puzzling.

The junior Gillmore appears on the 1881 census form with his parents and siblings as a 9-year-old, leading me to believe that he actually was born in 1872, which would legitimatize him fully. He is listed in that census as a "scholar," presumably at his father's school.

In 1891, we find him (with some difficulty I might add) boarding with a Miss Elizabeth Hams at 32 Kilcraig Street [right] in Roath, Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales, working as an "engineer's assistant (civil)." Another resident, Elizabeth's cousin Anthony Howell, is listed as being a "contractor," and Gillmore might have been assistant to him.

Within two years of that census, in 1893, the senior Gillmore would pass away and younger brother Joshua also would take up residence in Roath, almost immediately, as an assistant/apprentice to noted Welsh architect G. E. Halladay. Joshua would stay with Halladay at least until passing his architectural examination in 1898.

Brother Gillmore, however, would soon leave and go abroad.

In 1895, Gillmore and an Australian legislator and sportsman named Frank Cole Madden published a text called The Ormuz Optic, a 54-page illustrated text on the ocean-going steamship R.M.S. Ormuz's voyage across the Indian Ocean and Red and Mediterranean Seas that year. The acknowledged editors of the book, it was "published" aboard, Vol. 1 in the Indian Ocean, midway between Christmas Island and Diego Garcia (Lat 7.44 S., Long 90.24 E), Vol. 2 near Bab-el-Mandeb south of the Red Sea (Lat. 13.00 N., Long. 44.00 E), and Vol. 3 in the Mediterranean, midway between Malta and Benghazi, Libya (Lat. 36.26 N., Long 19.26 E).

The three 'volume' text was then published that same year in Bristol, England, by H. R. Clarke.

This text about the R.M.S. Ormuz [left] records the first of Gillmore Goodland's travels, likely from Australia/New Zealand to England, which we can find. Presumably the trip had something to do with his occupation in "engineering." We don't know how Goodland arrived down under, or where his final destination was.

In 1896, a "G. Goodland" steamed into Sydney, New South Wales, aboard the S.S. Alameda, having sailed out of San Francisco, California. He had booked a cabin, not steerage.

Later that same year, Goodland was elected an associate member of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers during their General Meeting at the Mining School at Wigan on 14 July 1896. Goodland's entry reads: "Mr. Gillmore Goodland, Ravenswood, Queensland, Australia," but something was obviously of interest to Goodland in western North America.

Goodland was obviously abroad again by 1898: He becomes a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and his address is listed as "1, Army and Navy-mansions, S.W." These fashionable quarters for bachelors and couples were located on Victoria Street and in 1906 cost £70 - £100 per annum. By 1899, 1, Army and Navy-mansions, S.W., had been taken over by American Marvin Dana, editor, writer, poet, linguist, musician, raconteur, and enthusiastic lover of all sports, as well as being a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, for use "when he is in town."

Goodland wasn't in town all that much, as we'll see.

His name is on the manifest of the S.S. Brittanic traveling from New York City and arriving in Liverpool on 11 November 1898. Goodland, described as an "engineer," was 31 years old and unmarried at the time. His name is found non-alphabetically amid others [right] of some interest: J. L. Deraismes, a 34-year-old married foreign "capitalist," Andrew Houston, a 26-year-old single English "merchant," G.L. Stephenson, a 46-year-old married English "engineer," Lyndon H. Stevens, a 55-year-old married foreign "merchant," and Charles C. Dickinson, a 27-year-old single English "banker."

That cadre of gentlemen, some traveling without their spouses, may simply have queued up together because some had been engaged in conversation. On the other hand, when you put merchants, a banker, a venture capitalist, and a couple of engineers together, my hunch is that someone is thinking of investing in a mine.

In fact, earlier that year, in September 1898, Gillmore Goodland was listed among new members of the American Institute of Mining Engineers that had been elected at their meeting in San Francisco, California.

A year later, Gillmore sailed from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Liverpool aboard the Rhynland [below, left]. This time, however, the 32-year-old Goodland was not alone: He was traveling with his new wife, Kathleen, 23, of County Clare, Ireland on what was likely a honeymoon of sorts.

Interestingly, Gillmore listed his occupation on the manifest as "none." Goodland, as we shall see, was usually thinking about business first, especially at this point in his life, and it may have been a 'working' honeymoon.

According to the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, vol. 32, in 1902, we find his address changed to "109 Victoria Street, Westminster, London, SW, England." Today, that upscale section of London near Buckingham Gate might be largely unrecognizable to him.

Goodland had taken on that new wife and moved freely around the world. We already have seen that Gillmore is listed in the 1912 London telephone directory, described as a "consulting engineer" with an office at 17 Gracechurch St.

During that span of time, however, we can also track him sailing on the R.M.S. Torquah (out of Forcados, Nigeria) after a stay in Sekondi on the Gold Coast of Africa, bound for Liverpool. His date of arrival in England was 8 February 1906. Had Gillmore simply sailed in to see his brother, Theodore, then a sailor, on his way home from a South Seas adventure? Or did he perhaps take the new railroad (built in the Gold Coast and Sekondi in 1903) from another part of Africa to catch up with his younger brother?

Gillmore soon became a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. That was in 1909, and his addresses then were listed [below, right] as "17, Gracechurch-street, E.C.," "Hovingshaw, Woldingham, Surrey," and most interestingly "Ekaterineberg, Siberia."

Also in 1909, according to the American Chemical Society's journal Chemical Abstracts (Vol. 4, Part 3), Goodland published an article, "Kilierin," about the "recovery of the metallic contents of ores and the like by means of a woven fabric having a smooth back and a blanket-like face, and with ridges on said face" in Lavasheeda, County Clare, Ireland.

County Clare is the birthplace of Goodland's wife, Kathleen, although it is unclear whether he met her while tending to mining there, or was made aware of the local mines in her homeland after his marriage.

Also in 1909, the 25 December issue of Mining and Scientific Press, in an article entitled "Special Correspondence: Mexico," reported that a new company had been formed in England, with capital amounting to £300,000, to take over 1600 acres of titled mining property in Batopilas, Mexico, and "lease existing mines, mills, and haciendas." The area produces both silver and cyanide. The term of the contract between the old American-owned Batopilas Mining Co. and the new Baltopilas Mining, Smelting, and Refining Co., Ltd., of Great Britain was for 25 years.

The article adds: "Gillmore Goodland, an English mining engineer, has been making examinations and reports on the properties [a view from one silver mine is seen, left]."

Then, in 1911, this snippet appeared in Vol. 34 of a journal called Mining and Engineering World: "Gillmore Goodland of 17 Gracechurch St., London, a well-known English mining engineer, with extensive experience in South Africa, Australia and other parts of the world, was imprisoned on February 15 in a Mexican jail." It appears Goodland had his ups and his downs in Mexico!

With experience in South Africa, it becomes more likely that Gillmore dropped in on Theo in Sekondi because he was 'in the neighborhood,' and may have traveled there either by ship or train. There is no record of Gillmore entering the Gold Coast, today's Ghana, in 1906.

Now, according to historical abstracts from the British Department of Employment and Productivity (1981), the average engineer/surveyor made about £334 a year at the turn of the 20th century. That translates into about £20,000 today, which probably would pay the bills, but wouldn't necessarily allow one to keep a London office on Gracechurch, a residence called Hovingshaw in Surrey, and an address in eastern Russia. Goodland certainly was an atypical mining engineer/consultant.

Times change, but Woldingham is still just 30 minutes by train from Victoria and was recently named the 2nd most expensive suburb in Britain in 2007, with 17.1% of its real estate sales worth over £1,000,000.

Summing it up, we know that Gillmore Goodland, consulting engineer in the mining industry, was "well-known" with "extensive experience" in such far-flung locales as England, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, and Siberia—at the very least. He'd traveled abroad, rubbing elbows with merchants, bankers, and capitalists, and his detailed reports guided major corporations and their investors.

From a humble career beginning in the early 1890s, while boarding at the home of a music teacher in Roath, Cardiff, we've seen Goodland seemingly reach the apex of his profession, traveling the world on behalf of industrialists, speculators, and financiers.

In Gillmore Goodland, we seem to have found a very possible backer of his widowed mother's care and his younger brother Joshua's advanced education.

In fact, although Joshua was training as an architect in Cardiff for at least some of the time that Gillmore was there as an "assistant engineer," it's easy to believe that the elder Gillmore soon believed that young Joshua may soon have been of far more use to him as a barrister than an architect. It's not difficult in the least for me to suppose that a legal representative whose education he'd bankrolled—and who was a blood relative to boot—would have been an invaluable asset to a "consulting" engineer who was likely working under contract for high-rollers with their own incredibly reliable attorneys under retainer.

Couple that with the fact that Gillmore, by 1900 a world traveler himself, might have actually encouraged his brother Joshua to take holidays abroad and become a 'man of the world' as well. Those urbane and worldly qualities Joshua could have been expected to develop while at Cambridge and abroad would certainly add to the nouveau riche brothers' gravitas in board rooms among fellows reeking of "old money."

It all adds up.

There's only one possible fly in my proverbial ointment here. From the London Gazette of 31 October 1905:

"In the High Court of Justice.—In Bankruptcy.

2752 of 1905

In the Matter of a Bankruptcy Notice, dated the 18th day of October, 1905.

To GILLMORE GOODLAND, late of 1 Army and Navy-mansions, Westminster, in the county of London, engineer.

TAKE notice that a bankruptcy notice has been issued against you in this Court at the at the instance of Portable Gaslight Limited, in Liquidation, by Finlay Cook Auld, the Liquidator, of 62, King William-street in the city of London, and the court has ordered that the publication of this notice in the London Gazette and the Daily Telegraph newspaper, shall be deemed to be service of the bankruptcy notice upon you. The Bankruptcy Notice can be inspected by you on application at this court—Dated 25th day of October 1905.

J.E. LINKLATER, Registrar. "

Gillmore Goodland was sued by Portable Gaslight, Ltd., for bankruptcy in 1905, amid all of the travel above.

Could it have been a "paperwork" sort of bankruptcy filing, with documents filed and a newspaper notice purchased merely to spur the Goodlands' payment, with no furniture being carted away or padlocks put on front doors? Was it simply a matter of Gillmore having been abroad and somehow the bills due Portable Gaslight became mightily overdue?

I can't rightly say. I do know that it appears that Gillmore Goodland ran in a very smart set and appears to have earned a very nice income for his international services in the first decade of the 20th century, this single bankruptcy notice notwithstanding.

In Gillmore, we have our most likely candidate for lending assistance to a widowed mother and scholarly brother. And, don't forget, his sister Grace ended up following him to Cardiff as well, and Gillmore appears to have left an infant son in her care in 1911. His brothers Ernest and Kenny sailed in Gillmore's wake to Australia in 1907 and lived there for the rest of their lives. Gillmore also traveled to Sekondi at least once during the time his brother, Theodore, would have been a simple "able seaman" in the South Seas and around Sekondi [right] on Dark Continent.

Despite a penchant for hobnobbing with the rich in his capacity as a consulting engineer, family does seem to have mattered to him.

It just wouldn't be right to leave Gillmore in 1912, representing his new company in Batopilas, Mexico, and not follow up on what was an interesting life. We'll pursue that soon, as well as finishing our examination of the life of Joshua Goodland, mentor to George Mills—a task it seems we started ages ago!

Stay tuned…