When working with the India Office Records, it is not unusual to come across unexpected items.  One such example is within a volume of Public & Judicial Home Correspondence.  In the middle of a volume of correspondence and associated papers relating to the administration of India is a large poster of regulations for two coal mines in Scotland, the Titwood and Corkerhill Collieries: General & Special Rules for the Conduct and Guidance of the Persons Charged with the Management and of the several Workmen employed in and about this Colliery.

'The man engine at Cook's kitchen mine' from J C Burrow, 'Mongst mines and Miners (1893) British Library: C.194.b.213 plate 2 British Library Images Online

Dating from around 1861, the copies of the poster would have been pasted up around the sites making it clear what was required of anyone employed in the Collieries, and what they could expect in their working environment.  Both mines were located on the southwest of Glasgow and at the time of this poster were owned by Sir John Maxwell (1791-1865), a Scottish landowner and politician.  The Titwood mine in Pollock was worked from 1854 to 1875, and the Corkerhill mine was worked from 1860 to 1875.

'The man engine at Dolcoath mine' from J C Burrow, 'Mongst mines and Miners (1893) British Library: C.194.b.213 plate 2 British Library Images Online

The General Rules section of the poster covered such health and safety issues as ventilation, use of safety lamps, communication between the surface and the bottom of the mine shaft, and measures to prevent flooding of the mine.  The Special Rules section details the responsibilities of each occupation in the mine, the names of which are not always obvious:
• Brusher: responsible for maintaining the roof, sides and pavement of a passageway, usually done by an experienced miner.
• Bottomer: loaded and unloaded the cages at the bottom of a mine shaft and regulated the number of men ascending in the cages, making the signals which controlled the safe working of the cages.  In this case, only a maximum of 4 men at a time were allowed to ascend in a cage.
• Colliers were the underground workmen in a coal mine.
• Drawers took the coal from the working face to the mine shaft.  A Drawer might be assisted by a Putter to take his hutch (small wagon) past a difficult section of a drawing road (underground passage).
• Fireman: responsible for the supervision for the ventilation of the works.  He inspected the pit before each shift to make sure it was safe for the miners to work.
• Pitheadman: responsible for unloading the cages and weighing the coal at a pithead (the landing at the top of a shaft).
• Oversman: responsible for the underground operation of the Colliery and reported to the Manager.

Everyone working at the Collieries were issued with a set of the Rules, and pulling down or defacing the poster brought a fine of 40s.  A violation of the Special Rules brought a fine of £2 or three-months imprisonment.  The poster was sent to the India Office by Sir John Maxwell, with a covering letter, dated 15 February 1861, for the consideration of the Secretary of State for India.  Unfortunately, no reply, if any was given, was kept on file.

John O’Brien
India Office Records

Further Reading:
Titwood and Corkerhill Collieries on the Estate of Pollok, General & Special Rules for the Conduct and Guidance of the Persons Charged with the Management and of the several Workmen employed in and about this Colliery, 1861, reference IOR/L/PJ/2/157 File 23/1.
‘A Glossary of Scotch Mining Terms’ on the Scottish Mining Website

 

Amongst the Legal Adviser's Records in the India Office Records is an intriguing case which details the origin of a lease granted in 1852 for the village of Ghuthiwari.  The village was near Barwadih, Jharkhand, and it was given to Sri Raghavendra Guru in exchange for a daily service of reciting one chapter of the ‘Srimadbhagwat’ before the god Shaligram, one of the Hindu God Vishnu’s forms believed to manifest in fossilized stones.  The ‘Srimadbhagwat’, more commonly known as ‘Bhagavata Purana’, is one of the most Sacred Hindu texts.  The terms of this agreement were detailed in a ‘sanad’ (certificate) confirming the above terms which also stated that the lease could be passed down to the heirs of Sri Raghavendra Guru.

Shaligram - Fossilized stone or ammonite collected from the riverbed or banks of the Kali Gandaki, a tributary of the Gandaki River. Image from  Wikimedia Commons.

Case No.6 Kumar Kamakhya Narain Singh, (Appellant) Vs. Abhiman Singh; Jago Singh and others (Respondents) was heard by the Privy Council in 1931.  The Respondents were the heirs of Sri Raghavendra Guru.  Records of proceedings dated 1927 from the court in Hazaribagh detail the arguments presented by the appellant and respondents, as well as testimony given by three witnesses who lived in the nearby surrounding area.  They gave evidence that the daily recital ceased in 1920.  Key testimony and evidence for the case included written documents dated 1909 confirming the initial verbal agreement and a 1859 document amending the agreement to include an annual rent payment in addition to restating the condition of daily recital of the ‘Bhagwat before the God Saligram’.

A page of a Bhagavata Purana illustrated manuscript in Devanagari, supposedly prepared for Maharaja Pratap Simha of Jaipur (1779-1803). Image from Wikimedia Commons. 

The judge ruled in favour of the original landowner, highlighting the key fact that according to several key witnesses the daily recital of a chapter from the ‘Srimadbhagwat’ was no longer taking place and that a shrine to ‘Saligram’ was not present in the defendant’s house.  The case was appealed to the Privy Council which was the highest court of appeals for British occupied overseas territories.  The Privy Council considered the case concluding that ‘the performance of the said service was a condition of the grant, and that inasmuch as the said service was discontinued in May 1919, the plaintiff became entitled upon such discontinuance to obtain possession of the said village’, ultimately ruling in favour of the appellant.

Case documents in IOR/L/L/8/893.

Court documents also include a survey conducted in 1912 offering details about village life and the type of produce that was cultivated.  It lists the castes of the 20 inhabitants, the presence of several wells, fisheries, the growing of sugar cane and lac resin.

Approximate location of Ghuthiwari village from Wikimedia Commons.

Nathan Silver
Cataloguer, Modern Archives and Manuscripts

Further reading:
IOR/L/L/8/893 - P.C. No. 2 of 1933 between Kumar Kamakhya Narain Singh, minor, through the Courts of Wards (Appellant) Vs. Abhiman Singh; Jago Singh and others (Respondents) regarding a land dispute.
IOL.1947.b.68 - Account of a legal dispute between the Maharaja of Bikaner and Raja Jeoraj Singh of Reri, concerning an exchange of villages
Verma, Gaurishanker G. 1922-1923.

 

Since cataloguing of the extensive Maggs Bros. archive started in October 2024, we have begun to uncover many fascinating stories about the global antiquarian book trade and the lives of those involved in it.  The Correspondence series is a particularly interesting window onto the business transactions between Maggs and its international clients, spanning both World wars, and The Great Depression of 1929-1939.

Maggs primarily deal in rare books and autograph manuscripts.  However, their dealings occasionally strayed into artifacts, should their owner be someone as illustrious as Napoleon Bonaparte I (1769-1821).

Whilst re-housing correspondence from the 1920s (the golden era of book-collecting) we found a 1926 letter from Ernest Maggs (1876-1955) to Dr Ludwig Pollak (1868-1943), an Austro-Czech archaeologist and antique dealer, regarding an anonymous delivery they initially refused from him as it had been sent without warning.  This turned out to be the ‘Bibliotheque Portative’ (travelling bookcase) of Napoleon I – although for bookdealers, it lacked its more prized contents!  This curious acquisition had been made with the help of Arthur Rau (1898-1972), who managed the Maggs Paris house from 1925 to 1931.

Maggs’ letter to Pollak 4 November 1926 [Add MS 89311/1/1240 Carbon Files]; Pollak’s letter to Maggs 27 October 1926 [Add MS 89311/1/897 Continental Files]

In the letter to Pollak, Maggs agree to stump up the £75 for it (roughly £4,000 today) but comment on its missing contents: ‘The case interests us very much, but what would interest us more is to find the books that were once in the case. Can you help us?’.

Napoleon was known to be a fervent book reader. He commissioned his librarian Antoine Barbier (1765-1825) to create a small portable library of one thousand volumes in duodecimo (a book size similar to Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit) to accompany him on his military campaigns.

Further investigation into the archive suggests that Pollak remained silent on the matter, possibly neglecting to answer. However we have been able to piece together a small chain of events, beginning with an earlier letter from Pollak regarding Maggs’ initial rejection of the delivery.

A week after receiving the case, Maggs attempted to sell it on for £250 to the Swiss bibliophile and leading book collector Martin Bodmer (1899-1971).  In this correspondence the wonderful detail of its opulence is glimpsed:
‘A morocco book shape case, bound by Doll [a book binding company] in crimson morocco, with Napoleon’s crown shield in gold on sides, having in the centre his initial N.  The sides have an elaborate gold border.  The back carries the title, as given, and top and bottom panels have his favourite emblem of the Bee 46 times repeated, with centre panel of floral decoration and another panel with his crown initial N...  The edges are gilt to resemble a book.  The cover is lined green with a very charming dentelle border of flowers...’.

An engraved portrait of Napoleon I by Henri Buguet depicting his crown initial and bee emblem cloak design [Egerton MS 3717, detail from f. 31] Images Online

Research suggests that this travelling library (owing to a section titled Russian customs) was perhaps created in preparation for Napoleon’s failed 1812 Russian campaign – where it probably perished. However, the Emperor was also notorious for throwing undesirable books out of his carriage windows or into fireplaces – so maybe this is why few of them survive today!

Detail from Maggs’ letter to Bodmer 12 November 1926 describing the French sections of the bookcase. [Add MS 89311/1/1241 Carbon Files]

Sadly, Bodmer turned down the offer of the case; so many questions remain.  Where or from whom did Pollak obtain the case? Did Maggs manage to sell it on?  And where is it now?  Perhaps further cataloguing will reveal something?

Bodmer’s reply to Maggs 15 November 1926 [Add MS 89311/1/898 Continental Files]

Jasmine Churcher
Library Information & Archives Apprentice, Modern Archives and Manuscripts

 

Today is the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, which marked the official ceasefire on 8 May 1945 following Germany’s unconditional surrender.  VE Day saw jubilant celebrations in Britain.  The Clay and Baylis Papers, which were featured in a previous blog post, contains an account of these celebrations in London. 

Betty Clay was born in 1921, the youngest daughter of Sir Joseph Miles Clay (1881-1949), Indian Civil Service 1904-1937, Adviser to Secretary of State for India 1937-1942.  In 1945, she was working in London as a physiotherapist.  After the War, she went to India to work in military hospitals, first in Poona, then Jullundur, and finally to the Delhi Indian Military Hospital.  Tragically, she was killed on 2 October 1946 in a landslide while out walking in the hills around Naini Tal.

View of the crowd in front of the Ministry of Health building in Whitehall, 8 May 1945. The Prime Minister addressed the crowd from the balcony. Image:  IWM (TR 2876)

Betty wrote about the day’s events in her diary, and later wrote to her sister Audrey in India describing the celebrations in London.  The day began with a visit to church, then an afternoon spent at the cinema where she saw the new Warner Bros film Hotel Berlin.  At about 8.30 that evening she travelled with friends from her flat in Chelsea to St James’s Park, then walked to Buckingham Palace where a vast crowd had gathered.  It was a warm evening and, as they wriggled through the crowd, people fainting became a common sight: 'It was a sultry evening, which I suppose accounted for the fact that the ‘weaker sex’ were going down like nine-pins all round – I’ve never seen so many women faint, in such rapid success, it was a regular battlefield'.  She heard one ambulance worker comment: 'Oh this is just hopeless! It beats Cup Finals at Wembley'.  The Royal Family came out on the balcony at 9.30pm, and the King’s speech was relayed by loudspeaker all over the square.  The huge crowd listened in silence: 'you could have heard the proverbial pin drop'.  Betty was too far back to see much detail, but noted that 'the King was in naval uniform, the Queen in white, Princess Elizabeth in A.T.S. uniform and Princess Margaret in blue'.

Once the Royal Family went back inside, Betty and her friends walked down the Mall.  Bonfires were burning in the park, fireworks were being let off, and all the main buildings were floodlit.  They wandered onto Westminster Bridge.  At one minute past midnight a solitary gun in the distance fired once, then all the boats on the Thames sounded their sirens.  They wandered along the Embankment to Trafalgar Square where 'people were vying with each other in climbing lampposts', then to Piccadilly where she described the lights as 'magnificent, & made London seem quite a blaze of light'.  On the walk back home, 'any form of conveyance had long since packed up', they saw a huge bonfire outside St George’s Hospital, with a crowd of medical students dancing round it.

Men and women dance the conga around a bonfire in East Acton, London during the evening of VE Day, 8 May 1945. Image:  IWM (EA 65881)

Of the night’s events Betty noted: 'It was the crowds that impressed me the most, they were completely care-free & happy & profoundly good natured.  I expected to see drunkenness & hysterical excitement, but there was none …… just an atmosphere of infinite good-will & renewed pleasure in life'.  She arrived home at 2am, foot-sore and weary, but for her it was 'a night that will live in one’s memory for life – a never to be forgotten spectacle – the fitting climax to London’s long ordeal by fire & high-explosive …. We seemed to be going forward, out of darkness, into the light again'.

John O’Brien
India Office Records

Further Reading:
Letters written by Betty Clay to her sister Edith Audrey Baylis, 1936-1946, British Library shelfmark: Mss Eur F765/4/5.
Diary of Betty Clay, Jan 1945-Jan 1946, British Library shelfmark: Mss Eur F765/4/1.

 

With the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day approaching, it is a fitting time to revisit one of the British Library’s lesser-known treasures: Children in War-time: Stories and Drawings Printed by Boys and Girls [1941], a two-volume publication created by students at Hay Currie Emergency School in Poplar, London.

Title page for part I of Children in War-time: Stories and Drawings Printed by Boys and Girls. Poplar: The Hay Currie Emergency School, [1941].  BL shelfmark: Cup.410.f.1193.  Featuring a vignette picture attributed to William Reeves (age 11).

Unlike the ever-popular children’s classics Carrie’s War (1973) and Goodnight Mister Tom (1981), which offer fictional accounts of children and their evacuation, Children in war-time is a scarce record of children's firsthand impressions of war.  In the preface, Headmaster E.G. Porter claims to serve only as a 'compiler' of the volumes, with the children responsible for 'the writing, drawing, printing, reproduction, and book-binding'.  The result is a beautifully crafted collection of vignettes and illustrations that offer a window into the wartime lives of children in London’s East End.

A 1947 study described Poplar as 'probably the most universally poverty-stricken borough of London in the inter-war years'.  While the war brought greater employment stability, proximity to the Docks exposed the area to sustained bombing during the Blitz.  Children were evacuated and later returned, creating unprecedented challenges for the emergency schools tasked with remaining open.  In her contribution to the collection, 'Schools I've Attended in War Time', Dorris Brooks captures this instability, recalling frequent school moves, changing teachers, lessons spent sheltering during air-raids, and the bombing of local facilities.

A playful tone shines through Children in War-time, with students celebrating novelty amid hardship.  Fred Smith writes with pride about a homemade Morse-code buzzer; Alice Conroy recalls differences in wartime Christmases; John Page writes of singing songs while collecting salvage; and Edna McDonald fondly remembers watching Paul Robeson in The Proud Valley (1940), 'a mining picture', after her arrival as an evacuee in South Wales.

Page opening from part II of Children in War-time: Stories and Drawings Printed by Boys and Girls. Poplar: The Hay Currie Emergency School, [1941].  BL shelfmark: Cup.410.f.1193. Features a story 'My Kitten' by Joan Hunt (age 11) and a linocut titled 'Fire fighting' by Ronald Bowyer (age 13).

The Blitz looms over their writing.  One child remembers scavenging tins from the rubble of a bombed house; another writes about the fortunes of a tabby kitten her brother discovered 'on the debris' and saved.  Several children describe their Anderson shelters—the difficulty of building them, their smell and discomfort, how they distracted themselves and passed the time.

With neat layouts, striking linocuts, and the delicacy of private press production, Children in War-time is a feat of craftsmanship produced under unprecedented constraints.  The project speaks to the ambition of Hay Currie Emergency School’s staff.  Historian Stephen Hussey notes disruptions to typical classroom practice from the exigencies of war necessitated improvisation and innovation.  He argues it fostered far more creativity and student collaboration than was present in prewar classrooms.  The meticulous care shown in the book’s production seems designed deliberately to lend authority to the children’s writing and suggests a respect for their impressions.  It reminds me of the British Library’s call for children to make mini books during the pandemic.  Participation in the project clearly stayed with the students; one submitted her memories of making the book to the BBC’s People’s War Archive.

As VE Day approaches, Children in War-time is perfect item to revisit.  A text that stands as testament to educational ingenuity, children's wartime creativity, and the art of bookmaking—brimming with resilience, craft, heart.

Hannah Graves
Curator, Printed Heritage Collections, 20th century

Further Reading:
Children in War-time: Stories and Drawings Printed by Boys and Girls. Poplar: The Hay Currie Emergency School, [1941]. BL shelfmark: Cup.410.f.1193.
Barnett House Study Group. London Children in War-time. London: Oxford University Press, 1947. BL shelfmark: 8367.b.51.
Nina Bawden. Carrie’s War. Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, 1974. BL shelfmark: H.74/127.
Stephen Hussey. 'The School Air-Raid Shelter: Rethinking Wartime Pedagogies'. History of Education Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Winter, 2003): 517-539. BL shelfmark: Ac.9234.ry.
Michelle Magorian. Goodnight Mister Tom. London: Puffin, 1983 [c.1981]. BL shelfmark: H.2004/413.

 

Walter Key Haslewood was born on 19 November 1816 in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, the son of Reverend John Daniel Haselwood and Hannah his wife.  He was nominated to the East India Company for a Bengal Infantry cadetship in 1835 by Richard Jenkins at the recommendation of his father.

His first application for the 1835/6 season has an annotation in red ink that Haslewood had forfeited his appointment as he had not proceeded to India in line with a Standing Order of the Court dated 21 May 1828.  This order stipulated that cadets had to apply for embarkation orders within three months of being passed and sworn. However a second application submitted later in the same season was accepted and he was entered as a cadet for the Bengal Infantry.

In June 1836, prior to his departure for India as an ensign, he was presented as to King William IV by Lord Duncannon at the King’s Levée, the event being reported in the newspapers of the time.

Walter Haslewood arrived in Fort William on 7 December 1836.  Within a few weeks he had been appointed for duty with the 73rd Native Infantry before being transferred to the Left Wing of the 1st European Regiment of Fusiliers on 27 February 1837 and promoted to Lieutenant on 10 August 1838.

Bengal Army Service Record to 1841 for Walter Key Haslewood - British Library IOR/L/MIL/10/31, p.31

In 1839 the 1st European Regiment were involved in the capture of the fortress at Ghuznee.  Haslewood was severely wounded on 23 July 1839 by sabre cuts received from the enemy during the capture but recovered from his injuries sufficiently to continue serving in the Bengal Army.  He was described by his superiors as ‘an intelligent young officer’ and on 10 January 1840 was appointed Aide de Camp to the Governor-General Lord Auckland.  In February 1840 he was granted a Wound Pension, as his injuries were considered equivalent to the loss of a limb.

Announcement of the marriage of Walter Key Haslewood to Georgina Brice Ruggles-Brice, Bell's New Weekly Messenger 5 February 1843

On 13 January 1841 Haslewood applied for furlough to Europe, and whilst in England he was married on 31 January 1843 at Finchingfield, Essex, to Georgina Brise Ruggles-Brise, daughter of John Ruggles-Brice Esq. of Spain’s Hall in Essex.

Captain Walter Key Haslewood sailed once more for Europe on 6 February 1853 on medical furlough on board the Prince of Wales.  He may however have had more reasons than just the recovery of his health which prompted the return to England.

Notice of court proceedings for insolvent debtors, case of Walter Key Haslewood – Morning Herald 15 November 1853

On 17 September 1853 Haslewood was imprisoned in the Queen’s Prison as an insolvent debtor.  His case was heard before the Court on 14 November 1853 and he was discharged as a debtor the following day.  The report on his insolvency notes that his creditors had made inquiries as to whether the property left to his wife by her late father could be used to pay his debts, but the Court discounted this, along with an application for part of his pay as a Captain in the Bengal Invalid Establishment.

Haslewood continued to serve in the Invalid Establishment, rising to the rank of Major, until his death at Chandernagore on 29 August 1870.  Georgina returned to her family home of Spain’s Hall, where she died on 21 May 1880.

The Ruggles-Brice family had owned Spain’s Hall since Samuel Ruggles purchased it on 5 December 1760.  The estate remains in the family’s ownership to this day, although the manor house was sold in 2022 to the chef Jamie Oliver.

Karen Stapley
Curator, India Office Records

Further Reading:
IOR/E/4/768, p.683 – request for wound pension by Walter Key Haslewood, 21 December 1841
IOR/L/MIL/9/183 ff.191-194 Cadet Papers of Walter Key Haslewood 1835 season (1)
IOR/B/181 Court 21 May 1828 – Standing Order concerning cadets’ embarkation
IOR/L/MIL/9/184 ff.495-498 Cadet Papers of Walter Key Haslewood 1835 season (2)
IOR/L/MIL/10/31/31 Bengal Service Army List, Walter Key Haslewood
British Newspaper Archive e.g.
South Eastern Gazette 21 June 1836, page 4 – announcement of Walter Key Haslewood’s presentation to the King
Bell’s New Weekly Messenger 5 February 1843, page 7 – announcement of the marriage of Walter Key Haslewood & Georgina Brice Ruggles-Brice
Morning Herald (London) 15 November 1853, page 6 – Court proceedings for Walter Key Haslewood, insolvent debtor

 

In July 1801, Richard Corbett joined the East India Company as a labourer in the London warehouses at the age of 31.  He gave his previous occupation as servant.  In May 1808 he became a baronet on the death of his father Charles, but he did not inherit any lands or wealth and continued working in the warehouses as Sir Richard.

One of the East India Company London warehouses at Jewry Street – British Library IOR/H/763

Corbett was related to the branch of the family based at Longnor in Shropshire.  His father Charles, a London bookseller, was set to inherit the baronetcy and estates under the terms of a will written in November 1764 by his kinsman Sir Richard Corbett of Longnor.  However Charles fell into debt and on 9 June 1771 Sir Richard added a codicil to his will, stating Charles ‘has absented himself from his Business and is become Insolvent and is much distressed in his situation and Circumstances and his Creditors might have great benefit of the Devise to him and his Heirs Male in and by my said Will’.  Sir Richard decided to pass the land to another kinsman, Robert Flint, leaving Charles and his heirs with just an annuity of £100 per annum and the right to use the title ‘Sir’.  When Sir Richard died in September 1774, Robert Flint inherited, having obeyed instructions to change his name to Corbett.

The Daily Advertiser, Oracle and True Briton 14 June 1809 British Newspaper Archive

After his father’s death, Sir Richard Corbett took steps to try to reclaim the estates granted to the Flint branch of the family.  It was claimed that Sir Richard of Longnor had been unfairly influenced to change his will.  On 14 June 1809 an advertisement appeared in The Daily Advertiser, Oracle and True Briton asking for subscriptions ‘for the daughter of an English Baronet’ in a ‘singularly unfortunate situation’.  This was Sir Richard’s sister Elizabeth who received £20 per annum from the Shropshire estate.

Stamford Mercury 29 October 1813 British Newspaper Archive

Elizabeth married Reverend Charles Rogers Bond in May 1809, and he became Sir Richard’s agent in the legal action taken against the current holders of the Shropshire lands.  Bond placed more advertisements in newspapers to raise money, and in 1810 and 1813 he wrote to the East India Company asking for financial assistance, but nothing appears to have been forthcoming.

Minutes of East India Company Court of Directors 17 February 1813 - British Library IOR/B/156 p.1336

There was a Chancery case, but the matter was finally resolved at the Shrewsbury Spring Assizes in 1813.  The Court ruled that Sir Richard Corbett of Longnor had been perfectly competent when he wrote the codicil, and a verdict was given against the current Sir Richard.

The will of Sir Richard Corbett of St Ann Limehouse was written on 19 February 1814 when he was ‘very sick and weak in body’.  He left one shilling to his wife Elizabeth as a proof of his ‘disapprobation of her improper conduct’.  All his household goods and clothing were bequeathed to Elizabeth Harris otherwise Corbett.  She lived with him and they had two children: Ann Thomas Harris or Corbett (born January 1810), and Richard Charles Harris or Corbett (born April 1813).  The residue of Sir Richard’s estate was left to his sister Elizabeth and her husband.

Sir Richard Corbett’s death on 4 November 1814 was reported in The Gentleman’s Magazine.  He was described as ‘many years reduced to an inferior station in the employ of the Hon. East India Company’.  The baronetcy expired as there was no surviving legitimate male heir.

Margaret Makepeace
Lead Curator, East India Company Records

Further reading:
British Newspaper Archive.
Minutes of the East India Company Court of Directors - British Library, IOR/B.
Register of East India Company warehouse labourers appointed 1801-1832 - British Library, IOR/L/AG/30/5.
PCC wills at The National Archives – Sir Richard Corbett of Longnor, probate 1774, PROB 11/1002/280: Sir Richard Corbett of St Anne Limehouse, probate 1815, PROB 11/1565/40.
The Gentleman’s Magazine July-December 1814 p.509.

Whilst working through some Lord Clive Fund Pension records, the application for a pension from Mrs Maria Johnston, widow of Captain Leathes Johnston, caught my eye because the wording of her husband’s rank and title were not written in the usual manner.

The records of the Committee for the Management and Application of the Military (Lord Clive) Fund discuss the application of Mrs Maria Johnston and describe her as the ‘Widow of Mr Leathes Johnston, who died a Captain the Company’s Service at Bombay’.

Record of the admission of Mrs Maria Johnston to a pension from the Lord Clive Fund, 11 August 1773 - IOR/L/AG/23/2/3, p.68 

The wording for Leathes Johnston suggested he had not been in the Company’s employ for very long, so I decided to see what had brought him to Bombay at that time.

Leathes Johnston was born in County Antrim in about 1727 and was the only son of William Johnston and Jane Leathes.  Jane was the daughter of John Mussenden and his wife Jane, née Leathes, but following the death of her maternal uncle William Leathes, the family name was changed from Mussenden to Leathes to maintain the family title and inheritance.

Together with his cousin John, Leathes Johnston was educated at the Royal School in Armagh before going to live with his uncle Carteret Leathes, MP for Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.  Carteret secured commissions in the Army for his nephews and Leathes was appointed a Lieutenant in the 14th Regiment of Foot on 31 October 1751.  In April 1755 the Admiralty decided that 50 new companies of marines needed to be raised, and appointed Leathes as one of the new Captains in command of them.  The 50 companies were divided into 3 divisions, and Leathes was assigned to the division based at Chatham in Kent.

Appointment of Leathes Johnston as Captain to a Company of Marines  -  The Gentleman’s Magazine and Historical Chronicle, Volume 25, April 1755

Alongside his army commission, Leathes also served as a Gentleman Usher Quarterly Waiter to King George II, being appointed on 21 November 1753.

According to the memoirs of his nephew John Johnston ‘Leathes married Mary, the daughter of the late Sir Benjamin Bloomfield’ and the couple had at least six children before Mary died in around 1768/9.

In early 1770 Leathes Johnston applied to the East India Company for a position as a Captain in their Army.  On 28 March 1770 his appointment as a Captain was announced by the Court of Directors, and on 30 March 1770 he was sworn in as a Captain of Infantry for Bombay.

Appointment of Leathes Johnston as Captain in the Bombay Army by the East India Company Court of Directors 28 March 1770 - IOR/B/85 p.494

Prior to departing for Bombay, Leathes was married for a second time on 10 May 1770 to Miss Maria Branch at St Martin in the Fields, London.

It seems that Leathes departed for Bombay without his wife, as on 5 September 1770 Maria petitioned the Company to be permitted to travel to Bombay and join her husband, which was granted (although the Company mistakenly records her name as Mrs Ann Johnston).  The couple had a son Thomas who was baptised in Darenth, Kent, in October 1770, and the birth of Leathes’ youngest son may well have been the reason Maria could not travel to Bombay with her husband and had to delay her journey until later in 1770.

Leathes Johnston died in Bombay on 20 May 1771 where as well as serving as a Captain of Infantry he was also Town Major.

His widow Maria, on returning to England in 1773, applied to the East India Company’s Lord Clive Fund for pension which she received until Christmas 1783.

Leathes’ eldest son William followed him into the King’s Army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and serving in the West Indies; his youngest son Thomas became a priest and was Rector of Broughton in Huntingdonshire.

Karen Stapley
Curator, India Office Records

Further Reading:
IOR/B/85, 28 & 30 Mar 1770 – East India Company Court Minutes: Appointment of Leathes Johnston as a Captain in the East India Company’s Service.
IOR/B/86, 5 Sep 1770 – East India Company Court Minutes: application of Mrs Maria Johnston to travel to Bombay to be with her husband.
IOR/L/AG/23/2/3, p.68 – Records of the Committee for the Management and Application of the Military (Lord Clive) Fund: admission of Mrs Maria Johnston to a pension on the Lord Clive Fund, 11 Aug 1773.
250.e.1-26 The Gentleman’s Magazine and Historical Chronicle, Volume 25, April 1755
L.R.252.b.10. The history and antiquities of the County of Suffolk, Volume 2, Alfred Ingo Suckling, London: 1846-8
Historical Collections. Collections and Researches: Vol. XXXII, 1876, via Google Books