Find Living Relatives

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?

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”

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."

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/

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"

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!!

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.

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.

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

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!

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

John Anthony...Not at all !! Your quite correct in what you wrote...I just couldn't find a Mrs Jan Vink...!!! He is lodging "HollowTree Ridge Road"but does state Married

I am surprised to see "Andrew"....haven't come across it before on any of the records..possibly after someone on either side of the family...not noticed it on the McColgans...will have a look at Catherines side....

John Anthony....Using your "Nolan Lane" found his Draft Reg. (WW2) Nolan Lane was His Business address..!! Wife named Ruth EJ Vink ..but he states he was born in Holland not NY and in 1888 and full name Joannes Marcus Vink....so the one who was b.NY and a Lodger does not appear to be the same person...Draft Reg.1942.

Eringobragh 1916

I took a closer look at the Death Certificate for Gerald and noticed in Column 7 for details of informant it has the name " M Coupland" with an address in Cookham Berkshire and a note " Causing body to be cremated" The name Coupland was familiar and I found it in AustinQ 's report of 25 November 07:58 . It was Gerald's ex-wife's new married name. So despite Gerald's additional name I think this points to us finding the right man
At the time of death in hospital in Isleworth Middlesex his residence was 7,St Stephen's Gardens Twickenham

On the Vinks I agree Jan Vink must have been a different person to the family Kathleen visited.

Just to update the thread following some more information from John Anthony

It would seem that we do have the right Gerald Edward, even though the dob does not always correlate
His real dob was 1901 on the 1911 Census. The entries by Potty on 23 Nov shows Gerald going out to Palestine in 1923 with dob 1901 and then coming back a year later with dob 1898. John obtained his marriage certificate and this shows age of 31 in 1929 so he has retained the 1898 dob. John also noticed that his death certificate included M Coupland as informant, noted by AustinQ on 25 Nov as Mabel's later married name. Along with the Twickenham addresses for both Gerald and Mabel this would seems to close the loop.

Attestation sheet for Patrick

Potty has explained on the thread that the attestation sheet shows where the men were transferred from when they went into the Tank Corps. Most of them on that page came from the Dragoons but Paricks entry seems to say 14/20 Hus which could indicate the Hussars, although he has no discharge notes.

Patrick has also added 4 years to his age making his dob 1900 and this should be the date on his service record. But also well spotted by Potty, was the possibility that he had used his dob as 8.4.1900 (instead of 8.4.1904) and that seems to correlate with his age given as 19 yrs 270/365 days on the sheet.

So, as records are available from the MOD after 116 yrs, and we have dob and service number, I should be able to request his service history after 8.4.2016 and we can see what this reveals.

John,

Ref AustinQ's entry on 29 Nov, I wondered if you had any idea who Kathleen might be referring to when she says she will visit an uncle in Oxford? Whether it is Edward, Patrick Hugh or John James?

Kathy,

The reference to visiting an uncle was in 1951. Edward would have been about 78 by then and unlikely to have travelled to Oxford and certainly didn't live there. John James died in 1923 so that just leaves Hugh. I have found out very little about him. The story I heard was that he had gone to America ,married a woman called Green from Inch, Donegal, and had no children. I got this from a lady named Margaret who provided me and my brother with lots of data on both sides of our family. I have not managed to trace anything on him so far.

Kathy,

By the way Hugh appeared in the 1901 Irish Census in his father's house but wasn't there for the 1911 Census. Of course he could have been anywhere else in Ireland or he might have travelled to the USA in between. We don't have any proof of his going there so it could even have been another country