Untold lives blog

Sharing stories from the past, worldwide

8 posts from October 2024

30 October 2024

Valete fratres revisited: 100 years of the Librarians’ Memorial

In the foyer of the staff entrance to the St Pancras site of the British Library is a memorial tablet commemorating 142 librarians who died during the First World War.  It was unveiled at the British Museum 100 years ago this month.

Memorial tablet commemorating 142 librarians who died during the First World WarMemorial tablet at the British Library commemorating 142 librarians who died during the First World War

The memorial to ‘the British librarians fallen in the War’ was commissioned by the Library Association in 1923 and consists of a framed set of five oak panels with incised and gilded lettering.  It was made by Messrs Harry Hems & Sons of Exeter and was originally placed in the corridor leading to the main reading room of the British Museum.

The Library Association had started gathering information on British and Empire librarians who died on active service during the war itself.  A roll of honour was published as a supplement to the Library Association Record in March 1923, its preamble hoping that the printed roll would be superseded by another one, ‘necessarily briefer, but more monumental, in some appropriate public space’.  The contract with Harry Hems & Sons for the new memorial was awarded in early 1924.

‘Librarians’ Memorial’ - Newspaper article from the Western Morning News  28 April 1924

‘Librarians’ Memorial’ - Newspaper article from the Western Morning News, 28 April 1924, p. 5. British Newspaper Archive

A week or so before it was unveiled at the British Museum, the Librarians’ Memorial was the subject of a short article published in the Shields Daily News.  The local interest concerned the two members of staff from the public libraries at South Shields and Tynemouth who were commemorated on the memorial: 270013 Sergeant Reginald Maurice Daniel of the Northumberland Hussars; and Second Lieutenant Richard Harold Urwin Potts of the 1/2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment.

‘Librarians’ Memorial’ - Newspaper article from the Shields Daily News  9 October 1924‘Librarians’ Memorial’ - Newspaper article from the Shields Daily News, 9 October 1924, p. 2. British Newspaper Archive

The memorial was unveiled on 24 October 1924 by Sir Frederic George Kenyon, Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum.  A short account of the ceremony was published in the Shields Daily News a few days afterwards.

 

‘Librarians Memorial - unveiling ceremony at the British Museum’. Newspaper article from the Shields Daily News  27 October 1924 ‘Librarians Memorial: unveiling ceremony at the British Museum’ - Newspaper article from the Shields Daily News, 27 October 1924, p. 5. British Newspaper Archive

More names were added to the memorial after its unveiling, bringing the total number commemorated to 142.  Of these, 130 (ca. 92.5%) had previously worked for organisations based in the UK, nine in Australia, two in South Africa, and one in Ireland.

The Librarians' Memorial remained at the British Museum until 1998, when it was moved to the new St Pancras site of the British Library.  It remains a prominent feature there in the foyer of the staff entrance on Midland Road.

Michael Day
Digital Preservation Research and Services Lead

Further reading:
Graham Jefcoate, 'Roll of honour: the Librarians’ War Memorial and professional identity', Library History, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1996, pp. 171-182 (£)
Lynn Young, 'Valete fratres - Librarians and the First World War', Untold lives blog (13 November 2011) 
'The Librarians' Roll of Honour', Library Association Record, March 1923, supplement.

 

25 October 2024

Celebrating Ten Years of the Qatar Digital Library: Memorable Highlights – Part 3

Launched on 22 October 2014, the Qatar Digital Library (QDL) was developed as part of a longstanding partnership between the Qatar Foundation, the Qatar National Library, and the British Library.  The partnership includes the digitisation of a wide range of material from the British Library’s collections, aimed at improving understanding of the modern history of the Gulf, Arabic cultural heritage, and the Islamic world.

Following on from parts 1 and 2, in this concluding part, members of the team of experts working on the QDL reflect once more on memorable material that they and former colleagues have encountered during the last decade.

Excerpt from an administration report of the Persian Gulf  1945Excerpt from an administration report of the Persian Gulf, 1945 – IOR/R/15/1/720, f. 92r

The application of OCR to digitised records just before the QDL’s launch in 2014 enabled a response to a query from a geology professor at the University of Baluchistan, Pakistan, who was looking to find archival material on the 1945 Makran tsunami, as part of UNESCO commemorations on the tenth anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

A minute paper by Isaiah Berlin  dated 5 January 1944A minute paper by Isaiah Berlin, dated 5 January 1944 (not 1943, as stated in this copy) – IOR/L/PS/12/2124, f. 36r

As a cataloguer – and no doubt as a researcher too – when reading official government papers, it is rare to find something so candid and revealing on a single piece of paper.  Most often, things are implied rather than stated explicitly, across hundreds of pages and throughout dozens of files and volumes.  Inside this India Office Political and Secret Department file is one of those rare finds: a copy of a minute paper by the philosopher Isaiah Berlin, who at the time was working in the British Embassy in Washington DC.  Writing in January 1944, Berlin reports on having seen an extract from a secret report by the United States War Department, which outlined the long-term strategic interests of the US in Saudi Arabia and recommended that ‘no effort should be spared to develop close relations with King Ibn Saud’.  British officials responded with extreme scepticism; however, in just a few years, the US replaced Britain as Saudi Arabia’s key western sponsor and protector, and soon become the predominant imperialist power in the region.

Excerpt from an English translation of The Oriental geography of Ebn Haukal  an Arabian traveller of the tenth centuryExcerpt from an English translation of The Oriental geography of Ebn Haukal, an Arabian traveller of the tenth century – 306.37.C.18, pp. 39-40

The description of Palestine pictured above comes from an 1800 English translation of The Oriental geography of Ebn Haukal, which was written in 977 CE.  At a time when Palestinian history and lived experience is denied and devalued more than ever, brushed over with colonial myths about ‘making the desert bloom’, this account (one of many sources on Palestine that feature on the QDL), with its descriptions of ‘all the hills of Palestine ... covered with trees’ and ‘much fruit, olives, and figs’, constitutes evidence of a flourishing Palestine from more than a millennium ago.

Inscription at the start of a journal kept by Henry CrosbyInscription at the start of a journal kept by Henry Crosby – IOR/L/MAR/A/XXIX, f. 7v

Within the records of the India Office’s Marine Department (IOR/L/MAR) are two ship journals, IOR/L/MAR/A/XXIX and IOR/L/MAR/A/XXX, which appear to assert that a ship named the Roebuck was in two different places at once. How was this mystery solved? By assiduous cross-referencing.

IOR Cataloguing Team, British Library/Qatar Foundation Partnership

 

24 October 2024

Further digitised India Office Records now online

An additional 200 digitised items from the India Office Records have been made available online, as part of the library's recovery from last year's cyber-attack.

They are accessible on the interim Digitised Manuscripts webpage, and can be found on pages 2 and 3.

These items were digitised as part of the India Office Medical Archives project, and cover a range of record groups over the 19th and early 20th century: collections of the Board of Control (IOR/F/4), the Military Department (IOR/L/MIL/17), the Political and Judicial Department (IOR/L/PJ/3), selections from Official Publications (IOR/V/23) and Statistical Serials (IOR/V/14).

A wide range of topics are covered:

  • Hospitals and other medical institutions
  • Quarantine
  • Vaccination
  • Medical topography
  • Diseases including smallpox, malaria, cholera, and plague
  • Medical education
  • Sanitation

Detail from a map showing the Erinpura barracks and environsMap detail from IOR/L/MIL/17/5/4316, A Medico-topographical account of the Erinpura Regiment, 1907. iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100076102254.0x000001 

Also included are two volumes of Francis Buchanan-Hamilton's original manuscript notes on Gangetic Fishes, Mss Eur E70 A and B.

Mss_eur_e70a_f85v_snipMss Eur E70 A, f85v. iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100101225532.0x000001 

Information on where to access online catalogue records and other resources can be found in our previous blog posts:

Digitised India Office Records currently available online

India Office catalogue records added to Discovery platforms

Interim ways of working with the India Office Records and Private Papers

 

23 October 2024

Celebrating Ten Years of the Qatar Digital Library: Memorable Highlights – Part 2

Launched on 22 October 2014, the Qatar Digital Library (QDL) was developed as part of a longstanding partnership between the Qatar Foundation, the Qatar National Library, and the British Library.  The partnership includes the digitisation of a wide range of material from the British Library’s collections, aimed at improving understanding of the modern history of the Gulf, Arabic cultural heritage, and the Islamic world.

Following on from part 1 , members of the team of experts working on the QDL reflect on memorable material that they and former colleagues have encountered in the last decade.

  • Preserving original order in George Curzon’s Persia and the Persian QuestionMss Eur F111/33

Annotated pages in George Curzon’s personal copy of his 1892 book  Persia and the Persian QuestioAnnotated pages in George Curzon’s personal copy of his 1892 book, Persia and the Persian Question – Mss Eur F111/33 ff. 74v-75r. Image digitised by the BLQFP

George Curzon’s personal copy of his two-volume tome stands out for the interesting challenges it posed during conservation and cataloguing.  Rather unexpectedly, it contained dozens of assorted papers between its pages, including received correspondence, newspaper cuttings, various journal and magazine articles, and a few handwritten notes by Curzon.  The question for the conservation and cataloguing teams was how to preserve the inserted papers’ original order while ensuring their long-term preservation and indeed that of the book itself.  The solution was to number the pages of the book and the inserted items with the latter still in place, forming a single foliation sequence.  Now, when viewed on the QDL, the inserted items remain in their original order, between the pages of the two volumes (though some, e.g. certain newspaper cuttings, do not appear online for copyright reasons).  Physically, however, the inserted items are now preserved in a separate file.

A British wartime propaganda poster  dated c. 1941-42A British wartime propaganda poster, dated c. 1941-42 – IOR/R/15/1/355, f. 42v

Cataloguing can be very serendipitous, as unassuming files can reveal the unexpected.  Such was the case with this financial file, containing two rare Arabic-language propaganda posters, which the British Government produced during the Second World War.  The posters only survived because of a wartime paper shortage, which led to financial accounts of the Bahraini Government being typed on their reverse.

Excerpt from John ‘Jack’ Bazalgette’s 1984 memoirExcerpt from John ‘Jack’ Bazalgette’s 1984 memoir – Mss Eur F226/2, f. 152r. © Estate of John Bazalgette

These ten memoirs belonging to former British officials of the Indian Political Service provide a unique insight into one generation’s experiences of living and working in the Gulf during the last years of British India, as discussed at length in three blogs and in this QDL expert article.

Heading to a letter written by Muzah bint Ahmad Al Bu Sa‘id  to the Governor of Bombay  dated 8 April 1832Heading to a letter written by Muzah bint Ahmad Al Bu Sa‘id, to the Governor of Bombay, dated 8 April 1832 – IOR/F/4/1435/56726, f. 235v

As in many archival collections, women are under-represented in the records, and those who do feature are largely misrepresented.  For these reasons, this item is particularly notable, since it contains a letter to the Governor of Bombay from Muzah bint Ahmad Al Bu Sa‘id, who, in the absence of her nephew the Imam of Muscat, took charge and defended his territories.

IOR Cataloguing Team, British Library/Qatar Foundation Partnership

 

21 October 2024

Celebrating Ten Years of the Qatar Digital Library: Memorable Highlights – Part 1

Launched on 22 October 2014, the Qatar Digital Library (QDL) was developed as part of a longstanding partnership between the Qatar Foundation, the Qatar National Library, and the British Library.  The partnership includes the digitisation of a wide range of material from the British Library’s collections, aimed at improving understanding of the modern history of the Gulf, Arabic cultural heritage, and the Islamic world.

Since the QDL’s launch, nearly two and a half million images have been published, mainly deriving from two collections held by the British Library: the India Office Records (IOR) and Private Papers, and the Library’s Arabic manuscripts collection.  A small selection of items held by the Qatar National Library also features on the website.  Published alongside all these images are detailed catalogue descriptions, available in English and Arabic.

In the following passages, members of the team of experts working on the QDL reflect on memorable material that they and former colleagues have encountered during the last decade.

  • The General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf, and the importance of looking beyond appearances – IOR/L/PS/10/606 and others

Printed copy of the 1820 General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian GulfPrinted copy of the 1820 General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf – IOR/L/PS/10/606, f. 131r

The General Treaty with the Arab Tribes of the Persian Gulf is central to understanding the modern history of the Gulf and Britain’s role within it.  It is perhaps, then, no coincidence that it was given a rather vague and innocuous-sounding title, as this belied the force that lay behind it and the unbalanced relations it established with the rulers who signed it.

Front cover of an Indian Expeditionary Force ‘D’ War Diary  covering 1-15 August 1917Front cover of an Indian Expeditionary Force ‘D’ War Diary, covering 1-15 August 1917 – IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3282

The War Diaries of the Indian Expeditionary Force ‘D’ – a British Indian army dispatched to Ottoman Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during the First World War – are an excellent introduction to the fascinating complexity of the IOR collection.  They describe the day-to-day activities of a large military as it steadily advanced against its Ottoman opponents, allied with local populations, and laid the groundwork for post-war imperial ambitions to keep Mesopotamia under British control.  The volumes also contain wonderful individual stories, ranging from a disastrous journey made by German aviators to the efforts of a lone Frenchman to stay one step ahead of the British authorities and take up a diplomatic post in occupied Baghdad.

  • Royal letter dispatching in late 19th century Afghanistan – Mss Eur F111/361

A kharita sent in January 1899 by Abdur Rahman Khan Barakzay  Amir of Afghanistan  to Lord George CurzonA kharita sent in January 1899 by Abdur Rahman Khan Barakzay, Amir of Afghanistan, to Lord George Curzon – Mss Eur F111/361, ff. 2r, 3r, and 4r (the silk pouch does not have a folio number)

This very small file consists of two letters, dated 1895 and 1899 respectively, from Abdur Rahman Khan Barakzay, Amir of Afghanistan (reigned 1880-1901) to Lord George Curzon (Viceroy of India, 1899-1905).  The second letter is a kharita, a type of letter that was usually sent in an elaborate textile pouch, and which for centuries was dispatched as part of the royal correspondence of Muslim rulers.  The kharita is interesting not only for its contents but also for the way in which its various parts were made and arranged, as covered in this QDL expert article.

  • A letter requesting plant specimens for the new Botanical Garden in Bengal – IOR/R/15/1/1

Letter dated 3 October 1787  from Samuel Manesty  Resident at Basra  to Edward Galley  Resident  and Charles Watkins  Factor  at BushehrLetter dated 3 October 1787, from Samuel Manesty, Resident at Basra, to Edward Galley, Resident, and Charles Watkins, Factor, at Bushehr – IOR/R/15/1/1, f 50-50v

This short letter to Bushehr, containing a list of plants and a request that specimens be searched for, collected, and sent to Bengal, illustrates the Gulf being integrated into an expanding scientific endeavour, one that was becoming increasingly facilitated by British and European imperial expansion, to which it also contributed, as discussed in this QDL expert article.

IOR Cataloguing Team, British Library/Qatar Foundation Partnership

 

16 October 2024

Captain John Villier Forbes - a ‘Single-Man’?

Whilst undertaking some work on the pension records of the Lord Clive Fund, I came across the marriage of Captain John Villiers Forbes to Anne Burgett in Calcutta, Bengal.

Marriage entry for John Villiers Forbes and Anne Burgett, 23 January 1849 at Calcutta, showing him described as a 'Single Man'.Marriage entry for John Villiers Forbes and Anne Burgett, 23 January 1849 at Calcutta, showing him described as a 'Single Man'. IOR/N/1/75 f.83

What caught my eye about the marriage was that John Villiers Forbes was described as a ‘Single Man’. The usual terminology in the India marriage records at that time was ‘Bachelor’ for an unmarried man and ‘Widower’ for a married man who had been bereaved. I had never seen the term ‘Single Man’ used before, suggesting that the Chaplain wished to make a point about the marital status of the groom!

John Villiers Forbes was born in Walcot, Somerset in 1807, the son of Thomas John & Elizabeth Forbes. He was appointed an Ensign in the Bengal Army in April 1823.

On 4 April 1831 he was married in Port Louis, Mauritius, to Marie Eudoxie De Bissey. The couple returned to Bengal shortly afterwards and had six children: Eliza Mary born 1832, Charles D’Oyly born 1833, Henry Villiers born 1836, Anna Maria Louisa born 1837, Caroline Virginie Elisabeth born 1839 and Adelaide Marie Eudoxie born 1846.

On 23 January 1849 John Villier Forbes was married for a second time to Anne Burgett, and the couple had three children Eliza Caroline Matilda born 1849, Arthur Frederick Colin born 1851 and Herbert Edward born 1853.

At the time of John Villier Forbes’s second marriage, his first wife Marie Eudoxie was still alive and living in Mauritius, which may explain the choice of words used by the Chaplain to describe Forbes's marital status.

The circumstances surrounding John Villiers Forbes being permitted to marry when his first wife was still alive are unclear. It could be that he and his first wife were divorced; it is also possible that as his first marriage was Catholic it would not have been recognised by the Church of England, and he would legally, if not morally, have been considered single.

Marie Eudoxie Forbes also remarried on 10 July 1851 in Mauritius to Alexandre George de Courson de la Villeneuve, and the couple had one daughter, Mary.

Marie Eudoxie de Courson passed away in 1851 and was buried at Pamplemousses Cemetery in Mauritius.

First two pages of the will of John Villiers Forbes, written in June 1853 outlining his wishes in relation to his children from his first marriage.First two pages of the will of John Villiers Forbes, written in June 1853, outlining his wishes in relation to his children from his first marriage. IOR/L/AG/34/29/88 f.145

John Villiers Forbes died in Calcutta on 15 July 1853. His will left all his money and estates to his wife Anne, along with guardianship of their three children. He also left instructions for her relating to his surviving children from his first marriage. He left £100 Sterling each to his sons Charles D’Oyly and Henry Villiers, who at that time were at school in Essex before entering the British Army. His three daughters, Anna Maria Louisa, Caroline Virginie Elisabeth and Adelaide Marie Eudoxie, were described as living in Mauritius in the care of his late wife’s family and being supported by maternal inheritance, and he appointed their maternal uncle Gaston de Bissey as one of their guardians.

John’s second wife Anne moved to Munich following her husband’s death and remarried there in 1875 to Franz Binder.

Karen Stapley
Curator, India Office Records

Further Reading:
Bengal Marriage - IOR/N/1/75, f.83 marriage entry for John Villiers Forbes to Anne Burgett, 23 January 1849.
Bengal Burials - IOR/N/1/84, p.211 burial entry for John Villiers Forbes, 15 July 1853.
Bengal Wills - IOR/IOR/L/AG/34/29/88, f.145 – will of John Villiers Forbes, 1853.
Grave of ‘Marie Eudoxie de Courson’ at Cimetière de Pamplemousses, Mauritius 
Bengal Baptisms - IOR/N/1/35, f.79 – baptism of Eliza Mary Forbes, 29 April 1833; IOR/N/1/38, f.126 – baptism of Charles D’Oyly Forbes, 13 April 1834; IOR/N/1/50, f.60 – baptism of Anna Maria Louisa Forbes, 22 April 1838; IOR/N/1/77, f.64 – baptism of Eliza Caroline Matilda Forbes, 26 February 1850; IOR/ N/1/80, f.316 – baptism of Arthur Frederick Colin Forbes, 16 November 1851; IOR/N/1/83, f.267 – baptism of Herbert Edward Forbes, 5 June 1853.

09 October 2024

Papers of the Clay and Baylis Family

A recent acquisition to the India Office Private Papers has now been catalogued and is available for researchers to view in the British Library’s Asian and African Studies reading room.  The collection consists of correspondence, files, diaries, printed papers and maps of Robert Francis Sarjeant Baylis (1903-1996), Indian Civil Service (District and Sessions Judge, United Provinces) 1927-1949 and his wife Edith Audrey Baylis (née Clay) (1910-1998) relating to their family life in India.  
 
Detail from the Naini Tal Guide Map (Survey of India  1938) Detail from the Naini Tal Guide Map (Survey of India 1938) Mss Eur F765/8/2
 
Robert Baylis was born on 11 June 1903, and educated at Christ's Hospital and Lincoln College, Oxford.  He joined the Indian Civil Service on 20 October 1927, and arrived in India that December.  Initially appointed as an Assistant Magistrate and Collector in the United Provinces, he subsequently worked as District and Session Judge around various stations in the UP, including Bara Banki, Meerut, Allahabad and Cawnpore.  He finished his career in the ICS at the time of Independence as the District and Session Judge for Kumaon.  Robert’s papers only contain a few files relating to his work as a Judge, with most of his official papers in the collection relating to his preparations for retiring and leaving India in 1947.  There are also letters to his wife Audrey, letters he received from friends and family, and an unpublished memoir of his life as a Judge in India. 
 
Invitation to Independence Day celebration  15th Aug 1947Invitation to Independence Day celebration 15 August 1947 Mss Eur F765/1/28 f.3
 
In 1934, Robert was engaged to Edith Audrey Clay, and they were married in Lucknow on 15 January 1935.  Audrey, as she preferred to be known, was the daughter of Sir Joseph Clay, who had been a senior member of the United Provinces government, and advisor to the Secretary of State for India.  She was a dedicated diary writer, and the collection contains her diaries recording daily events in her life from 1920 to 1950.  There is also a large collection of her correspondence including letters to her husband Robert and from family and friends in India and England.  Audrey enjoyed writing, and the collection includes examples of short stories she wrote and chapters from an unfinished memoir ‘The Years Between’.  Her book about her early life in India is in the British Library’s printed collections. 
 
The collection also contains papers relating to other family members.  Robert and Audrey had four children, and there are papers relating to their early childhood in India.  Audrey had two sisters, Daphne and Betty, and the collection includes examples of their letters and diaries.  There are also letters from Audrey’s parents Sir Joseph Clay and Lady Clay, as well as from Robert’s parents and siblings. 
 
The collection contains many very interesting papers relating to the Second World War.  When war broke out, Robert and Audrey were on leave in England, and Robert was immediately recalled to India.  It was several months later before Audrey could travel back with the children and their Indian nanny, and Robert’s letters to her are full of worry over the threat of German submarine attacks.  The letters from family in England between 1940 and 1945 are fascinating for giving descriptions of life during wartime.  In India, the fear of Japanese invasion was very real. 
 
Programme for War Week  St John Ambulance Brigade Overseas  Programme for War Week St John Ambulance Brigade Overseas Mss Eur F765/2/48 f.38
 
Audrey was a serving member of the St John Ambulance Brigade Overseas, and the collection contains material relating to the Air Raid Precautions which every family was expected to take, including on what to do before, during and after an air raid; emergency first aid and treating snake bites; obscuring headlights; and building air raid shelters.
 
Air Raid Precautions information leaflet Air Raid Precautions information leaflet Mss Eur F765/7/5 f.5
 
Notice issued by Delhi Rationing  1947 Notice issued by Delhi Rationing 1947 Mss Eur F765/7/18
 
John O’Brien
India Office Records 
 
Further Reading:
Papers of the Clay and Baylis family, Mss Eur F765 – a paper catalogue of the contents is available to consult in the Asian and African Studies Reading Room. The book And Then Garhwal by Audrey Baylis (London: BACSA, 1981) is available in the British Library printed collections
 

 

02 October 2024

Discharge papers for soldiers of the Royal East India Volunteers

Researching the East India Company's London warehouse labourers is a challenge because many of the documents about them were destroyed by the India Office in the mid-19th century.  So it is always exciting to discover fresh sources of information about them.  Recently I came across the King's Freemen collection at The London Archives.  This consists of military discharge papers lodged with the Chamberlain of the Corporation of London by servicemen and their families in order to obtain certificates of entitlement to exercise a trade in the City, without being admitted to the freedom.  There are papers for East India Company warehouse labourers who served in the Royal East India Volunteers in the period before 1814.

I have found 25 discharge certificates for Company warehouse labourers in the King's Freemen collection.  Almost all are copies, but the document submitted for Willliam Jordan is the original certificate issued at East India Buildings, Cutler Street, on 5 May 1814, signed by Robert Markland Barnard, Captain and Adjutant of the Third Regiment of the REIV, and bearing the Company’s seal in red wax. 

As well as giving an outline of the man’s service, many of the certificates give interesting and useful personal details.

John Morgan of the Third Regiment was born in the parish of St Leonard Shoreditch in Middlesex and in December 1814 he was living at 1 George Street in Bethnal Green.  He was about 33 years of age, 5 feet 9 ¾ inches in height, with a sallow complexion, grey eyes, and light brown hair, and his skin was pitted by smallpox.

Robert Dynan served as a Private in the 5th Company of the First Regiment of the REIV.  He was born in London and was living in August 1814 at Field Lane in Holborn.  Aged about 44, he was 5 feet 5 ½ inches tall, and had a light complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair.

Dynan had joined the Company warehouses as a labourer in July 1803.  Having worked in the Private Trade warehouse, he transferred to the Crutched Friars tea warehouse in December 1834.  He was made redundant in March 1835 because the Company’s commercial operations were being wound up, and he was awarded a weekly pension of 11 shillings.

Field LaneField Lane, Holborn, from Illustrated London News 23 January 1847. Image © Illustrated London News Group. Image created courtesy of The British Library Board.

The information about Dynan’s residence in the discharge certificate makes it possible to identify him in other records which show his life outside the warehouses.  Dynan lived for decades in Field Lane which was described by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist as’ a narrow and dismal alley’, ‘the emporium of petty larceny’.

Field Lane description from Oliver TwistDescription of Field Lane from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - Illustrated London News 23 January 1847, Image © Illustrated London News Group. Image created courtesy of The British Library Board.

Whilst he was employed as a warehouse labourer, Dynan also kept a shoemaker’s shop in Field Lane. He was sued for debt in 1811 and imprisoned in Newgate. In 1827 William Sage was convicted at the Old Bailey for stealing a pair of shoes worth 5s from Dynan’s shop.

Dynan’s wife Margaret had a clothes shop in Field Lane. In 1829 she was tried at the Old Bailey for knowingly receiving stolen goods, a pair of trousers worth 19s.  Margaret was acquitted but William Scasebrook, aged 18, was found guilty of theft and transported for seven years.

Margaret and Robert were still living in Field Lane when they died in 1837 and 1842, aged 68 and 80 respectively. Both were buried at the church of St Andrew Holborn.

Margaret Makepeace
Lead Curator, East India Company Records

Further reading:
The London Archives COL/CHD/FR/11/04 King's Freemen 1780s-1820s
Colours of the Royal East India Volunteers
Black labourers in London
IOR/L/AG/30/4-5 Registers of East India Company warehouse labourers
Margaret Makepeace, The East India Company's London Workers: Management of the Warehouse Labourers, 1800-1858 (2010)
British Newspaper Archive
Old Bailey Online