Drifter HMS Hollydale

[JoMH]

18 hours ago, Victor said:

Hello Joanna, 

Thank you for you note, and for your interest in my wife’s gf, Robert W Urquhart. 

1. No, I regret that we have not yet seen the official reports that he submitted on the events in Smyrna, now in the custody of the UK National Archives. We would be very interested in gaining access to these and we would appreciate any guidance that you (or anyone else!) could share on how we might get access, bearing in mind that we are in Canada.

2. I googled your grandfather by name and found some of your work and publications related to his personal accounts of the horrific events in Smyrna in 1922.  I have just skimmed through them for now - I will read them again more carefully and share them with my wife’s family members. Your GF was a brave and very interesting man. I was glad that one account included a photograph of him; I was able to compare it to a contemporary group photo that includes Robert W Urquhart and I am certain that he was not in it. 

3. We are aware of the portrait of Robert W Urquhart in the National Portrait Gallery. Thank you for mentioning it.  

4. I did a quick search of our family history information and Ancestry and did not find a link to David Urquhart (1805-1877). There may be a connection, but it’s not an obvious one. 

Victor

 

 

Hello Victor

Great to hear from you! Thank you.

I have photographs of reports sent by Robert Urquhart to Rumbold in Constantinople (September - November 1922) and would be delighted to send these to you. I have written a chapter, currently under review, which uses these reports. Largely from the British Levantine viewpoint, and the dilemmas they experienced over whether to leave or stay, it brings together the build up to the fire, the time of the fire itself and the weeks afterwards, when some who had managed to escape were anxious about their property / interests in Smyrna and were considering returning, if they could. If you are interested, I can send this on, once I've made some adjustments.

I'm adding another photograph of Charles J H Dobson, taken in Nelson, NZ, in 1914 just prior to his leaving to serve as a military chaplain in Egypt, Galipolli, England and France. This may give a better oportunity for comparison with your group photograph. I would be interested to know who else was in your photo - was it a group of consular people?

The reports he wrote are available via the Levantine Heritage website which you may have come across. It's quite tricky to navigate the site but the search facility is useful. One of the reports has a comment added to the end which is not part my grandfather's testimony. (I can also send these to you.) The site is also useful for much information, diaries and accounts about Smyrna, a few of them referring to the dreadful time of September '22. 

Joanna

 

Edited 26 January , 2023 by JoMH
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[Victor]

9 hours ago, JoMH said:

Hello Victor

Great to hear from you! Thank you.

I have photographs of reports sent by Robert Urquhart to Rumbold in Constantinople (September - November 1922) and would be delighted to send these to you. I have written a chapter, currently under review, which uses these reports. Largely from the British Levantine viewpoint, and the dilemmas they experienced over whether to leave or stay, it brings together the build up to the fire, the time of the fire itself and the weeks afterwards, when some who had managed to escape were anxious about their property / interests in Smyrna and were considering returning, if they could. If you are interested, I can send this on, once I've made some adjustments.

I'm adding another photograph of Charles J H Dobson, taken in Nelson, NZ, in 1914 just prior to his leaving to serve as a military chaplain in Egypt, Galipolli, England and France. This may give a better oportunity for comparison with your group photograph. I would be interested to know who else was in your photo - was it a group of consular people?

The reports he wrote are available via the Levantine Heritage website which you may have come across. It's quite tricky to navigate the site but the search facility is useful. One of the reports has a comment added to the end which is not part my grandfather's testimony. (I can also send these to you.) The site is also useful for much information, diaries and accounts about Smyrna, a few of them referring to the dreadful time of September '22. 

Joanna

 

Hello Joanna, 

Thank you again for your kind offer to share the reports. And, yes, I would be very grateful to see your chapter when it is ready. 
 

What an awesome photo of your grandfather this new one is! Such a modern looking and kind face. A serious, intelligent man, and clearly good humoured too. I understand that he was awarded the Military Cross. 
 

I will see about posting the group photo, which I believe to be one of Robert Urquhart with his staff at that time. I don’t think we have identified anyone else in it. 
 

Best regards

Victor

[JoMH]

7 hours ago, Victor said:

Hello Joanna, 

Thank you again for your kind offer to share the reports. And, yes, I would be very grateful to see your chapter when it is ready. 
 

What an awesome photo of your grandfather this new one is! Such a modern looking and kind face. A serious, intelligent man, and clearly good humoured too. I understand that he was awarded the Military Cross. 
 

I will see about posting the group photo, which I believe to be one of Robert Urquhart with his staff at that time. I don’t think we have identified anyone else in it. 
 

Best regards

Victor

Thanks Victor

That's a great summary of CD's photo which is a favourite of mine. When I first began searching for information about him, there was only one belonging to my mother, taken a few years before his death in 1930. 

The position he held in Smyrna was an interesting one and, I believe, gives his reports even greater relevance. As a relative newcomer to the city, a rather independent thinker and a New Zealander who was married to a Greek woman, he was closely connected with many different parts of the communities there, but not necessarily *of* or belonging to them.

Do you know when RWU arrived in Smyrna? Or when he eventually left? (The reports I have found date from September to November 1922) His work there after the fire was extraordinary and very delicate, to say the least. I'm sure that his actions led to many lives being protected or saved.

All the best

Joanna

[KizmeRD]

48 minutes ago, JoMH said:

Do you know when RWU arrived in Smyrna? Or when he eventually left? (The reports I have found date from September to November 1922) His work there after the fire was extraordinary and very delicate, to say the least. I'm sure that his actions led to many lives being protected or saved.

He was assigned to Smyrna as a Probationary Vice-Consul 23 August 1921, and from November 1922 to September 1923 ‘while acting as such’ he carried the title of temporary Consul-General.  Awarded an OBE in June 1923 for his service during the troubles.

MB

 

[JoMH]

7 minutes ago, KizmeRD said:

He was assigned to Smyrna as a Probationary Vice-Consul 23 August 1921, and from November 1922 to September 1923 ‘while acting as such’ he carried the title of temporary Consul-General.  Awarded an OBE in June 1923 for his service during the troubles.

MB

 

Thank you so much! The Smyrna dates are very useful for the chapter I am writing. J

[Victor]

31 minutes ago, KizmeRD said:

He was assigned to Smyrna as a Probationary Vice-Consul 23 August 1921, and from November 1922 to September 1923 ‘while acting as such’ he carried the title of temporary Consul-General.  Awarded an OBE in June 1923 for his service during the troubles.

MB

 

There was a story in the family that he was one of the youngest OBE’s, if not the youngest, before the Beatles. He would have been 27 y.o. In 1923. I’m not sure whether there is anything in it…

[JoMH]

10 minutes ago, Victor said:

There was a story in the family that he was one of the youngest OBE’s, if not the youngest, before the Beatles. He would have been 27 y.o. In 1923. I’m not sure whether there is anything in it…

He certainly was incredibly young - and I can imagine that this is perfectly true. Thinking of a twenty-six year old dealing with those months after the fire ... I'm realising that his journalism skills would have been invaluable for the reports which were, as I've said, very detailed and thorough. 

 

Edited 27 January , 2023 by JoMH
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