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Kathy,

I think what Eringobragh 1916 was saying in a nice way on 29 November was that I was jumping the gun. I saw the name Jan Vink and the place Darien and added 2 and 2 without checking. The architect may be some relation to the person Kathleen was visiting but we don't know yet. Sorry

For the information of others eg Potty on 23 November 14;49 I obtained a copy of the Marriage Cerificate for the Gerald McColgan and Mabel Townsend. On this his full name was Gerald Andrew Edward O'Neil McColgan with age 31 and although the extra name Andrew and the age don't match his father is shown as William McColgan and I'm sure we have the right man. Similarly the death certificate for Gerald Edward O'Neill McColgan on 27/04/1960 shows age as 64 but I am pretty certain those forenames show he is our man

Yes John, I saw the reference at the end too. Perhaps builder was how he described himself but they could not have put that after all those stylish exteriors and palatial interiors. Whoever he was, he did a fine job. But rather strange to see he was just the lodger!

Eringobragh 1916

It was just a mention of him at the bottom of the page on the following website and with the association of the name Jan Vink and Darien I assumed a connection with Kathleen's visit
http://www.realindarien.com/tag/3-nolan-lane/

I couldn't find a Mrs Jan Vink..1940 Census..he is listed as a Builder (own Co.) living as a Lodger.????

Kathy,
For information only - Margee's posting of 26 November said your Aunt Kathleen was going to visit a friend Mrs Jan Vink at Nolen Lane, Darien.I googled the name and address and got a hit for 3 Nolan Lane Darien and at the bottom it mentions
" The architect Jan Vink built three or four of the quintessential Connecticut colonials on this street."
If the picture of the houses are an indicator he must have been a very rich man.

John Anthony, Eringobragh - ref Patrick McColgan (b 8.4.1904)

Potty has found the attestation sheet showing Patrick signing up to the Tanks Corps in 1920 (saying he was 19). The others on the page have transferred from the Dragoon Guards.

Potty says
“The records cover men who enlisted between 1919 and 1934. The enlistments are either: Transfers from the Dragoons, Hussars, Lancers or Machine Gun Corps Direct enlistments Re-enlistments
So I would think Patrick and the others on the page transferred from the Dragoons. His record would be at the MOD but you would need proof of death and only direct descendants can apply.”

However the sheet seems to show 14/20 Hus in the remarks column for Patrick (although it has no discharge notes). But as he lied about his age, who knows?

The MOD site requires proof of death, a death certificate, unless the dob is more than 116 years ago. If there are any more clues about Patrick, and possible where and when he died, then it would be really helpful
Thank you.

Eringobragh, AustinQ, thank you. Isn’t it amazing what you can find on the web? The reference to Downshire Hill, yes, I had heard she knew some interesting people!

When I heard about Oxford I looked up a Roedean connection that I vaguely remembered and found that Kathleen had been to Hillcroft College in Surbiton and left at 21 in 1934, one of the younger students. It was set up to educate women following the changes brought about by the first World War. In Hillcroft Archives there is a Student Archive 1920-40 and she is shown there in 1934, funded by the Bradford Education Committee and her father, with a bursary from Roedean. http://www.hillcroft.ac.uk/charity/section/4/faq/

Clearly the college helped her greatly. And somewhere I read that a number of the women went on to do voluntary work afterwards. Perhaps I can find her at one of the Oxford colleges.

It seems that the reference in the book, Letters between a father and son, is a letter written to V S Naipul from his father. I do not know who her uncle at Oxford would be. Perhaps John Anthony or Eringobragh can help as they know more about the previous generation?

I will try and investigate more. I need time on this but don’t have enough available. Apart from being so slow at it and not knowing where to look of course!!

I suspect this is a reference (found on Googlebooks) to the same Kathleen- do you know who the Uncle that lived at Oxford was?

Letters Between a Father and Son

May 1st 1951
"Kathleen McColgan has returned to England. She tells me she has an Uncle at Oxford- not in the University- and that on visiting him she'd look you up. She is a good woman, in that she is not like Barker and company"

Have found the following piece re Kathleen ..



"only confirmed Irish woman to go to Spain to assist in medical aid was Ruth Ormesby from Co. Sligo but she died in a fire in Barcelona. In an article I wrote for the 2010 edition of Saothar,
I also included Kathleen McColgan. Although she spent time in Belfast, I have since discovered she was actually born in Bradford."

https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/frank-ryan-and-doctor-lynch/

Kathleen...From Ham & High (News) July 6 2013...

"Penrose and Miller were famous for their hospitality and Downshire Hill became a focal gathering point for artists, politicians, journalists and the Cambridge spies. Artists and poets André Breton, Man Ray, Éluard and Ernst were frequent visitors. During the war, Belgian poet E.L.T. Mesens, Freddy Mayor, of the Mayor Gallery, David E. Scherman, the Time Life photographer, and the Irish journalist Kathleen McColgan, all lived there for a while."

Kathleen There are other ref.to K.McC. and the Civil War...

She may well have went to report on the War but did some nursing whilst she was there.....she may not have been a "Qualified Nurse" per se.

Another young woman who went to Spain was Kathleen McColgan she was a BA graduate of Oxford. She joined London University Ambulance Unit in February 1937. She served in the Murcia hospital, near Malaga. Kathleen and Frida Stewart, daughter of the Dean of Trinity College Cambridge arrived with an ambulance, donated by miners at Cambuslang. Kathleen Mc Colgan spoke at meetings in Belfast on March 23rd, 1938 and later in April as a member of the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief. She spoke of “her experiences in Spain and the problem of Spanish refugees." The Belfast Weekly News reported “Miss Kathleen McColgan spoke at the Presbyterian War Memorial Hostel yesterday… emphasizing the horrors of the Spanish war by referring to the blockade of Government territory and explaining that Franco had the food producing parts of the country”

Yes I see references for Roland Penrose and others at 21 Downshire Hill in 1936 and 36 Downshire Hill in 1947 and then he sells this in 1949. The passenger list for New York in 1947 has Kathleen at 36 Devonshire Hill NW. But did you find another connection?

Eringobragh, amazing. And yes I do believe this is Kathleen, as my mother once said that my father had stayed with the Penroses at some point when he came back from abroad, arranged through his sister. But where have you found a reference to K McG and to Downshire Hill? Is there by chance any reference to a Paul Willetts as he was mentioned as a friend of hers?

This is the certainly the first I have heard of nurse and Oxford graduate. I had always assumed that the Spanish connection was for reporting the war. But it seems she too served as did her brothers. Incredible, where do you find all this?

Kathleen...Whether this is your Kathleen or not I haven't be able to determine yet...Interestingly though this K McG. did live/visit Downshire Hill ..(check out Ronald Penrose and Lee Millar)

•Kathleen McColgan – Irish nurse and Oxford graduate. Went to Spain in February 1937 with the London University Ambulance Unit. Served in hospitals in Murcia and later in the International Brigades medical section. Remained in Spain until February 1939.

Potty
So Patrick joined the Dragoons (D35618) which became the Tanks (39335) and that was his first posting. Yes that seems more likely and aligns with his attestation sheet with no discharge details for previous service. And with the description in Wikipedia for the GSM Iraq for 1920.

Kathleen, I don't think Patrick served during WW1 as his medal card does not have any of the 3 WW1 medals and the 7th Dragoons served in France all through the war (according to the Regt's website: http://www.rdgmuseum.org.uk/history-and-research/). Also, there is a column on the Attestation sheet for previous service and that column is blank for him.

All the other men on the page have a date and place of discharge but not Patrick!

AustinQ, Potty – So Patrick was actually only 16 when he joined the Tanks Corps and had already been in Iraq before that. Sounds incredible but the GS medal confirms and the regimental numbers correlate. Seems he was in the Dragoon Guards in Iraq D/35618 (at 15?) and then the Tank Corps 393335 from 1920? Although Potty, you seem to say he does not have the Dragoon reference on the Tanks enlistment? It is certainly an achievement to have found him. Is there anything after this? I am pleased to see he is still there in 1925.

AustinQ, Margee - And here is Kathleen and yes WJ in Jerusalem as next of kin. They were close I think and I know that WJ admired her. I thought that she might have been a journalist as he said he had seen her with Beaverbrook and something about the Spanish Civil war, but what I cannot remember. Why she would go to Jamaica in 1952 as country of permanent residence is not clear, although WJ went to Trinidad (with my mother Florence Nora) in 1953 with the police so who knows. I thought he said that she had tried to emigrate to Canada but came back. It is interesting to see the trip to NY in 1947 and the visit to Mrs Jan Vink in Connecticut. Seems like a good life! The last UK address of Devonshire Hill NW does not exist so I am wondering if it is Downshire Hill NW3. Her death is registered in Hampstead and I have ordered the certificate to see if it shows this.

AustinQ - The last two references to WJ in Palestine are correct. I have a small box with medals and on the front is the number 1456 Pal Police and 1945-48. I have four service medals, South West Frontier 1930-31, Palestine 1945-48, Defence, War 1939-45. And all sorts of buttons and badges. My mother said it took him all morning to get dressed for parade!

It seems WJ was in Palestine (twice), Aden, Asmara, Tripoli and West Indies. I thought also India earlier on but there is as yet no evidence of this. Why do we not ask the questions when we can? Thank you all again.

Absolutely amazing that you have found all this.As John says it will take a while to look through it all and understand it. But I look forward to it.

AustinQ, Potty, Margee thank you so much

Potty, AustinQ, Eringobragh 1916, Margee. I have to say I'm amazed at all that you have come up with and it'll take a while for me and probably Kathleen to sort it all out. I knew I was an amateur but you have all shown how amateurish I am

Eringobragh 1916 - you are spot on with William T's family in Iskaheen. I know who William T's parents were ( his dad was known as William the Gate) and his grandfather was a Peter McColgan. but I don't yet know Peter's wife's name. His grandfather on the other side was a John Arbuckle but no details of his wife either. To be honest I'm not fully aware of what records exist for those days (State and/or Church) and it's an area I need to investigate.

Thank you all

Well spotted Margee- I didn't notice the second page. So, is J McColgan William J?

Don't think this is correct for William- but putting up in case related:

Name: John Mccolgan
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Birth Date: abt 1909
Departure Date: 1 Oct 1938
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Destination Port: Port Said, Egypt
Ship Name: California
Shipping line: Anchor Line Limited
Official Number: 147871
Master: R W Smart
Last UK Address: 74 Empress Road, Durley
Occ: Salesman
Intended Permanent Residence: Palestine
---------------------------------------------------

IS this correct William?
UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949

Name: W J Mccolgan
Campaign or Service: Palestine
Service Date: 1936-1939
Service Location: Palestine
Regimental Number: 1456

and this?

UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949

Name: W J Mccolgan
Campaign or Service: Palestine
Service Date: 1945-1948
Service Location: Palestine
Appointment held during qualifying period: Assistant Cypher Officer