Work in Progress

"People who brag about their ancestors talk as if they had selected them themselves." (Anonymous)

Great great grandfather Denis Mordaunt (abt. 1788 - 1865)

• Denis Mordaunt (abt. 1788 - 1865). At the Griffiths valuation of around 1853, a Denis Mordaunt held land at Ballintlea, Kilnahue, and a Denis Mordaunt held land at Clone, Monamolin. With the closely related Mordaunt families of Wexford all using the same few Christian names, it is possible that there were two Denis Mordaunt's about this time but, while bearing that possibility in mind, I think the few available clues point to there being only one. In the Griffiths valuation he was shown as joint tenant with Catherine Mordaunt (Patk). (which I assume means daughter of Patrick, rather than widow), of 8 acres in Ballintlea occupied by Catherine Mordaunt (Geo), (again, daughter of George Mordaunt?). The whole townland of Ballintea, all 237 acres, was held by Mordaunts, even if sublet to others (Griffiths valuation page 34 and page 35). Denis, Ellen (abt. 1791 - 1886), widow of Edward Mordaunt (abt. 1784 - 1852/3), the two Catherine Mordaunts (abt. 1790 - 1866 and abt. 1791 - 1871) and a Michael Mordaunt, suggesting a very close relationship between them all, brothers/sisters, cousins. That joint responsibility between Denis and Catherine (Patk) leads me to speculate that Denis's father may have been a Patrick.
  Denis would have been about ten years old when the 1798 rebellion swept through North Wexford in a surprisingly short space of time. On May 26th, the first armed encounter in the county occured at The Harrow, only two miles west of Clone, where Denis's landholdings were later recorded. On the following day, the battle of Oulart between insurgents and yeomanry, was fought only three miles south of Clone. Within days, Enniscorthy and Wexford had fallen. First the rebels, advanced north, committing atrocities against Protestants and loyalists and scavaging for food as they went and then the militia pushed them back south also committing atrocities and scavaging for food as they went. The remnants took refuge on Vinegar Hill outside Enniscorthy where they were finally overrun on 21st June. The final insurgents in south County Wexford were defeated on 4th/5th July. All this passed through whatever landholdings the Mordaunts held at the time. They seem to have come through it relatively unscathed, probably spared on the one side because they were Catholics and by the other because they were Anglo-Irish.

  For an brief guide to the 1798 rebellion visit this link

  Denis was married to Mary (abt.1791 - 1852). While subleasing his holdings in Ballintlea, he is listed in the Griffiths Valuation as farming 105 acres in Clone West and Clone East, Monamolin, some 15 miles south. See this map of County Wexford. He is buried in Boolavogue(Boleyvogue) cemetery, between Gorey and Enniscorthy.

  Denis had a number of children, not necessarily listed here in total or in the correct order because of some vagueness over dates. Because of a lack of certainty over ages at death, I am still not sure who was the oldest son, Michael or Myles, so I have relied on my father's memory and placed Michael first:

  • Michael Mordaunt (abt. 1819 - 1894) took over the land holdings of Denis in Clone East and West. Although Denis died in 1865, the rating valuation was not amended until about 1877. This is rather bad record keeping or there was another Denis. A Michael Mordaunt, described as a farmer from Clone, of full age, son of Denis Mordaunt, farmer, married Anne/Anna Murphy (abt. 1830 - 1904) on 12th November 1869. A Michael Mordaunt, a farmer from Clone, died 31st March 1894, aged 75 years old and so born around 1818/19.
    The rating valuation lists shows the farm in the name of Anne Mordaunt from about 1885, perhaps another example of tardy record keeping. In the 1901 census, a 70 year old Anna, with two servants, still lived on the farm. Her death was registered in Enniscorthy.
    

  • Myles Mordaunt (abt. 1817 - 21st June 1895). The death certificate of Myles Mordaunt, a farmer from Ballantlea, wife Mary, aged 78 is dated 21st June 1895. His tombstone gives his age as 76 years old, so he was born anywhere between 1816 and 1819. They were so vague about ages and dates then. He seems to have taken over his father's holdings in Ballintlea and farmed them himself. He was also in possession of the land in Ballintlea occupied previously by Cath(Patk) Mordaunt). Myles is a further clue that Denis Mordaunt, above, of Clone, may be the same Denis Mordaunt of Ballintlea. In the rating valuation lists, land leased by Denis in Ballintlea from Francis Hatton was taken over by a Myles, He also took over land occupied previously by Cath(Patk) Mordaunt) also in the 1853 list. This change occured sometime before 1867 which ties in with the death of Denis in Clone.
    1. Myles is buried at Boolavogue cemetery, next to Denis. This is 16 miles from his home in days when travel was difficult. Other Mordaunts of Ballintlea are buried in a cemetery close to their homes.
    2. In 1982, Patrick Mordaunt, farming in Ballymurragh, described the Myles in Boolavogue cemetery as his uncle. This is impossible but it would fit in nicely if he was his father’s uncle.
    At the 1901 census, Mary, a widow, is listed at the farm with a nephew, Arthur Gahan. At sometime in the early 1900s the farm was occuped by her husband's nephew, Myles, son of Patrick Mordaunt. The 1911 census has an 80 year-old Mary Mordaunt living in Mullaunreagh, Monamolin, with her 86 year old brother Patrick Gahan.
    Buried with Myles is his wife, Mary, and a niece Esther, given as aged 25 years old and intered 1912. Whose daughter she was I have no idea. They do not seem to have had any surviving children of their own.

  • Margaret Mordaunt married Mogue (or Moses or Moyses) Murphy. They had a farm at Mount Howard. My father passed down that she was headmistress of the local school. He descibed how the school was sited on the approach roads and when soldiers, or whoever, went past on the way to evict a farmer, the children would be sent scampering over the fields to raise the alarm. Regretably it is difficult to credit this colourful oral tradition since she was a farmer’s wife with lots of children, born 1852,53,55,59,63,64 and maybe more, and would hardly have had much time to be the local teacher.

  • Mary Mordaunt married a Peter Laffin. These two sisters, Margaret and Mary, were particularly useful to my research as between them they had a stream of children baptised in the local church for whom their brothers and sisters acted as godparents.

  • Catherine Mordaunt was godmother to a sister’s baby in 1849. I know nothing more about her.

  • Charles Mordaunt I have very little information on Charles. He was godfather to a sister’s baby in 1852. According to family oral tradition passed to me by my father, Charles went to the USA where he was popularly believed to have made his fortune. A Charles Mordaunt, born in Ireland in about 1830, is shown in the 1870 US Census as living in New York with his wife Jane, aged 38, also from Ireland. They do not reappear in later censuses. (There need be nothing ominous in this; the census records I have found on the Internet are very incomplete.) A surviving passenger list of the SS Etruria in 1888 shows a Irish passenger Charles Mordaunt travelling to New York. He was given as 62 years old and so born in 1826. He too does not appear in later censuses. Could either of them "our" Charles?

  • Edward Mordaunt (abt. 1831 - 1917), my great grandfather, was godfather to be a sister’s baby’s in 1855.

  • Hester Mordaunt was born in 1832 and married Francis Rath. The marriage of a Hester Mordaunt was registered in Enniscorthy district in 1869

  • Patrick Mordaunt (abt. 1834 – 1892) was a godfather to a sister’s baby in 1854. His wife was Ellen Crowe (1838-1899). At some time, Patrick occupied the farm at Ballymurragh and had, among any other children:
    • Mary Mordaunt, (18th January 1864 - ?). Either she died young and a later daughter was also called Mary or the date given in the English census records for Mary, Sister of Charity, below, is well out.
    • Michael Mordaunt (b. 1866 - ?). Curiously, in the 1901 census, he was named head of the family over his older brother, Denis. Johanna and Myles were also in the house. He was in possession of the farm at the 1911 census with his wife Mary. His brothers and sisters had moved on.
      • Patrick Mordaunt (1915 - ?). I visited Patrick at Ballymurrugh in 1982 and met his children:
        • Michael Mordaunt (b. 1958)
        • Charles Mordaunt (b. 1959)
        • Mary Mordaunt (b. 1961)
        • Olive Mordaunt (b. 1964)
    • Elizabeth Mordaunt, (15th February 1867 - ?) was a Sister of Charity teaching St Paul the Apostle, 2 Monkgate, York, at the 1901 England census. She was still there at the 1911 census
    • Margaret Mordaunt, (24th February 1869 - ?). She presumably died young as another Margaret was registered in 1879
    • Ellen Mordaunt, (27th January 1871 - ?)
    • Johanna Mordaunt, (25th April 1873 - ?)
    • Myles Mordaunt, (25th August 1874 - 29th June 1946). I am grateful to his grandson, Myles Mordaunt who kindly contacted me to confirm that this was the Myles Mordaunt listed in the 1911 census, farming in Ballintlea. He seems to have taken over the farm, formerly held by his his grandfather Denis and then his uncle Myles, from Myles's widow, Mary, sometime after 1900. Anyway, his wife was Maggie (abt. 1885 - 8th May 1951) and they had children
      • Patrick Mordaunt (abt. 1904 - 27th October 1967). He inherited his father's farm but, being a batchelor, it was finally passed on to a son of his sister, Ellen. He is buried with his parents in Craanford Cemetery
      • Ellen Mordaunt (abt. 1906 - ). One of her son's was to inherit the farm at Ballintlea.
      • Bridget Mordaunt (abt. 1907 - 25th November 1928). Her nephew, Myles, told me that she died of TB. The tombstone apparently gives her age as 17 years (d.o.b. abt. 1911) which does not fit with the 1911 census (d.o.b. abt. 1907).
      • Mary Mordaunt (abt. 1910 - 7th July 1929). Her nephew, Myles, told me that she died of TB. The tombstone apparently gives her age as 15 years (d.o.b. abt. 1914) which does not fit with the 1911 census (d.o.b. abt. 1910).
      • Myles Mordaunt (1914 - 1855). In 1943 he and his family moved to Rosslare Strand. Among any other children he may have had was
        • Myles Mordaunt (b. ?) who moved to west London and married Rosalyn MacEntee in Ealing in 1964. They lived in Hayes, Middlesex, before returning to Ireland on his retirement in 2002.
          • daughter Mordaunt (name withheld on request) (b. 1967) Her birth was registered in Hillingdon.
          • daughter Mordaunt (name withheld on request) (b. 1975). Her birth was registered in Hillingdon.
          I am very grateful to Myles who kindly contacted me to inform me that it was his grandfather Myles who took over Denis Mordaunt's land holdings in Ballintlea and to give me a great deal more information about the family, especially those buried in Craanford and Monaseed, taken from records prepared by those parishes..
      • A Denis Mordaunt, who "died young" is buried with his parents. He is presumably the son that his nephew Myles told me died in a farming accident
    • daughter Mordaunt, (12th June 1876 - ?), whose birth was registered.
    • Margaret Mordaunt, (26th July 1879 - ?) who was a Sister of Charity teaching at St Patrick's convent, York Road, Leeds, according to the 1911 England census list
    • Mary Mordaunt, (abt. 1880 - ?) was a Sister of Charity of St Paul in St Paul's Convent, Kings Norton, Worcestershire, at the 1901 England census. She was not listed in the transcripts of the 1911 census.

  • Johanna Mordaunt and

  • Rose Mordaunt were godparents in 1859. I know nothing more about them.

The family would have lived through The Great Famine (1846/49). Caused by the failure of the potato crop, those who were tenant farmers of a reasonable sized plot would have been cushioned from the worst effects of the calamity. Denis's holdings of 105 acres and Stephen's of 126 acres would have been large for the time and indicate their families comparatively comfortably off. In 1845, for example, 24% of all Irish tenant farms were of one to five acres (0.4 to 2 hectares) in size, while 40% were of five to fifteen acres (2 to 6 hectares). A British Government report carried out shortly before the Great Hunger noted that the scale of the poverty was such that one third of all small holdings in Ireland were presumed to be unable to support their families, after paying their rent, other than through the earnings of seasonal migrant labour in England and Scotland. (Thanks to Wikipedia for that bit.)

Great grandfather Edward Mordaunt (abt. 1831 - 1917)

• Edward Mordaunt (abt. 1831/32 - 6th February 1917). He died in February 1917, believed to be 85 and so was born about 1831. He is listed in Litter parish register as marrying Bridget Crowe (abt.1841 - 2nd February 1921) on 15th November 1863. By 1864 he was in occupation of 86 acres at Cullentra.
  Edward ceased occupation of Cullentra for non-payment of rent in 1889 during the "land war." At the time of his eviction, Edward had ten surviving children, aged from 5 or 6 to 24 years old. The farm was allocated to a Johnson family
  
  land war - period of agrarian agitation from 1879 - 1903. The land war began in 1879 with a meeting in Irishtown, Co. Mayo, and ended with the passing of the Land Act 1903, the 'Wyndom's Act.' This was the culmination of a series of acts designed to bring about the transfer of ownership of tenanted lands from landlord to tenant - the principal goal of the agitation. The land war went through three periods, each associated with national organisations that mobilised the discontent in the Irish countryside; 1879 - 81, Irish National Land League; 1882 - 1991, Irish National League and 1898 - 1903, United Irish League.
  (Donald Jordan, Professor of History at Menlo College, Californa, for 'The Encyclopaedia of Ireland,' General Editor Brian Lalor, Gill & MacMillan 2003)
  When the reform finally came the beneficiaries were not the casualties of the war, those who had been evicted from their farms, but those occupied the farm at the time who were granted tenancy of the land afterwards. This may explain the resentment that still existed towards the Johnson family that was still apparent on my visits to the area in the 1950s and in 1982. The original house was destroyed by fire in the 1970s and I was told it was popularly believed to be a revenge attack!
  The following extracts are courtesy of, of all places, the New Zealand National Library, whose Internet archives include copies of past editions of "The New Zealand Tablet" which carried news items from the UK for the benefit of its homesick readers:
  25th October, 1889:
  
  At Grey,Gorey, before Messrs. McLeod and Millar, John J. Malone, William P. Doyle, and Gregory Kavanagh were charged at the prosecution of District-Inspector Holmes with the intimidation of Lord Courtown's steward by preventing him from selling pigs in the fair of Gorey on July 12. The cases had been adjourned. Doctor Falconer, instructed by John R. Cooper, Wexford, appeared for the Crown. Doctor Counsel, instructed by J. A, Scott, Gorey, appeared for the defendants. The court was densely crowded, and great interest was manifested in the proceedings. William P. Doyle, Coolgreany(?), and Edward Mordaunt, Monamolin, were charged that they, on June 22, at Gorey, did take part in a criminal conspiracy to prevent certain persons from buying sheep from one John Johnson. And in a second count they were charged that they did, at Gorey, on the same day, try to induce the said John Johnson not to use a certain farm at Cullentra, which was formerly in the possession of Edward Mordaunt. Dr Falconer (instructed by Mr. Cooper) appeared for the Crown, and Dr. Counsel (instructed by Mr. Scott) appeared for the defendants. Samuel Johnson, Kilcorkey, stated be was the brother of John Johnson, and remembered the 22nd June. His brother had a cart with sheep in it. Mordaunt was at the cart all day. Doyle was at the cart, but he was not there all day. Witness saw the police close by the cart. In cross-examination by Dr Counsel witness stated he had sold that day a heifer to John Johnson, Coolgreany, and bought cattle on his own account. Constable McCormack, Gorey, stated that he was in the fair on the 22nd of June last. He saw Mordauut there also, and saw him stand in front of Johnson's cart. He saw Doyle take Mordaunt's place, getting in front of the cart where Mordaunt had been. He heard buyers ask Johnson what price he wanted for the sheep, Mordaunt drew close to the buyer and pointed his fingers at the sheep in the cart, and touching the buyer with a switch on the leg. The buyer looked at him and Mordaunt shook hi s head towards the sheep, when the buyer went away. The court adjourned.
  11th July, 1890:
  In the history of Coercion, there has been no more outragious decision than that of Removables (i.e. non-permanent resident magistrates, who could be removed from office - they only existed in Ireland) Bodkin and Miller the other day in Gorey, when - "For the alleged boycotting of John Morris's cattle in the fair of March 15th last, Messrs. Kennedy, P.L.G., W. P. Doyle, Patrick Grannell, M. Mulligan, Gregory Cavanagh, and Edward Mordaunt were each sentenced to three months imprisonment with hard labour. For the alleged boycotting of the sheep of the obnoxious persons Langrell and Johnson in the fair of April 5th, Messrs. Edward Mordaunt and Gregory Cavanagh were each sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour." The offence sought to be proved was that the accused "stood in the neighbourhood of the obnoxious cattle and looked in their direction." By what process of reasoning the Removables make proximity to sheep just twice as criminal as proximity to cattle, it would require an intelligence equal to their own to discover. The thing has its ludicrous side certainly. But it is no laughing matter for the undaunted prisoners, who were dragged handcuffed through a wildly cheering crowd.
  Clearly, the harrasment of those occupying the land of tenants who had been evicted was sustained; three separate occasions are mentioned in the above reports (March 15th, April 5th, June 22nd).
  15th August, 1890 reports on a meeting of the Monamolin National league when it was recorded that "Things are much the same as usual in this district....The Johnsons are still in possession of Mordaunt's farm in Cullentra"
  16th January 1891:
  
  "Edward Mordaunt and G. Kavanagh, the two well known Campaigners, have been released from Dundalk Gaol. Both men looked well, and had nothing to complain of. At Arklow the Campaigners of the Coolgreany estate turned out en masse and accorded Mr Mordaunt a magnificent reception. At Gorey he was welcomed to liberty by a great number of his compatriots."
  
  Edward ended his days as keeper of a small shop in Monamolin which my father once told me had been bought for him by public subscription. In the 1901 census, Edward, Brigid and Esther (Essie) were living at house 3 in Court Ballyedmond, Monamolin. Denis, Michael and Charles were in Dublin. Patrick was in the army and Margaret was working as a seamstress, both in Canterbury, England. The Johnson family are not recorded at Cullentra in the 1901 census; the enumerator did not acknowledge their existence. The enumerator for the 1911 census went even further. Again, the Johnson family in Cullentra are not recorded. Edward's profession was given as "farmer & shopkeeper" and, although the address given is the shop, the premises described are clearly also those of the farm, with a stable, a cow house, a piggery, a fowl house and a shed. There are no Johnsons listed in Cullentra; Edward is still given as the occupier of the farm, twenty two years after his eviction!
  Living 'at home' at the 1911 census were Michael, whose profession was described as "farmer's son"(!) and Essie.
  

  On Edward's death, his son Denis had a memorial erected in Boolavogue cemetery
  "In memory of Edward Mordaunt, Monamolin, of Land League fame, who was a fearless soldier in the Land War of the 1880s. After suffering terms of imprisonment died Feb. 6th, 1917. Aged 85."
  

  The baptisms of their children are recorded in Monamolin parish records. The 1911 census records that Edward and Bridget had had a total of 13 children of whom 8 had survived. I have only been able to find evidence of 12 of them:

  • Denis Mordaunt (18th March 1865 - 1941). His birth was recorded in Killenagh and Wells. In the 1901 census he was an assistant grocer, living with his employer, Henry Butler, in Portobello Road, Wood Quay. He is described in the 1911 census was now grocer's manager, Henry Butler having apparently died. My father told me Denis ended up with two shops in Dublin. A photograph I was told was of Denis showed him as a properous man, well fed, well clothed with two gorgeous setters at his feet. I do not know what happened to that photo. He erected the monument to his father in Boolavogue Cemetery. His death was registered in Dublin South district.
  • Mary Mordaunt (12th June 1866 - abt.1901). Her birth was recorded in Killenagh and Wells. She does not seem to have married and is interred in her parent's grave in Boolavogue cemetery. Otherwise, I have found out nothing more about her. I have not found her in the 1901 census.
  • Catherine Mordaunt (abt.1867 - ?) I have found out nothing more about her
  • James Mordaunt (27th October 1869 - 1943?) I had heard nothing about him from my father or any other source and so I had presumed he died young. However, there is a record of the death of a James Mordaunt, born about 1869, in Dublin South district in 1943.
  • Myles Mordaunt (9th June 1871 - 1875) died when he was 4 years old.
  • Michael Mordaunt (11th December 1872 - 1875).
  • Patrick Mordaunt (10th March 1874 - 1914), my grandfather
  • Michael Mordaunt ( 21st August 1875- ?). In the 1901 census he was recorded with his brother, Charles, as a vintner's assistant working for and boarding with Thos.H. Hickery at Ballsbridge Terrace, Pembroke West. At the 1911 census he was living at home with his parents. He died a bachelor after continuing to mind the Monamolin shop for a few years after the death of his father. My father's memory of him from that period was that he drank too much.
  • Johanna Mordaunt (7th April 1877 - 1892) died, aged 14 or 15, in Enniscorthy Lunatic Asylum. The hospital still exists, or at least it did when I was in the area in 1982, though under a new name kinder to our modern ears. In this overwhelmingly rural area, there were over 400 patients there in the 1890s according to a contemporary newspaper report, a remarkable number by today's considerations, although, possibly, it double up as a local general hospital.
  • Margaret Mordaunt (20th May 1879 - ?) was working as a seamstress living in Canterbury with her brother Patrick in the 1901 UK census (page 1 continued on page 2) at the time of my father's birth. She is probably the adult sitting in the centre of the photograph below. She married Tom McConneloge.
  • Esther (Essy) Theresa Mordaunt (abt.1881 - abt.1905) was living with her parents at the 1901 census, helping in the shop. Her age was given as 27 years old which does not fit in with the baptismal records. She is described as aged 25 on the shared tombstone shared with her parents at Boolavogue cemetery.
  • Charles Mordaunt, (24th May 1883 - June 9th 1835?). In the 1901 census he was recorded with his brother, Michael, as a vintner's assistant working for and boarding with Thos.H. Hickery at Ballsbridge Terrace, Pembroke West. He joined the 5th Royal Royal Irish Lancers on 2nd September 1902 (I served two years attached to their successor regiment, the 16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers 1969/71; I wish I had known this fact at the time) but only lasted for some 21 days and bought himself out. He then joined the Royal Irish Rifles as 7063 Pte. C. Mordaunt. (For his British Army service here I am very grateful to Doug Vaugh who kindly wrote to me with the information). He then seems to disappear from the UK records but my father knew he had gone to the US and a Charles Mordaunt arrived on Ellis Island on 30th May 1912, aged 27 and described as English-Irish. This is probably he although the age would be two years out. His US draft WW I registration (resident in Manhatton, previous occupation bar keeper) is dated 12th September 1918, making his actual participation in the war unlikely. However, my father passed on the family belief that he fought in WWI as an officer in the US 59th Infantry Regiment. Perhaps he spun a few yarns to his family. A Charles Mordaunt passed through Ellis Island again from Londonderry in February 1920. He is quite possibly the same Charles visiting home with his tall stories. I hope I am not being too hard on him! I haven't found any Charles Mordaunt in the US Census records for 1920 and 1930. He is possibly the Charles Mordaunt whose death was listed in Manhattan in 1935, age given as 51 years.

  ---

  Grandfather Patrick Mordaunt (abt. 1874 - 1914)

  He joined a cavalry regiment of the British Army (18th Hussars) and rose to the rank of Warrant Officer. As far as I know, he spent much of his service life in England; my father, for example, was born in barracks in Canterbury, one of his brothers in York. He clearly avoided the Boer War fought in that period as at the time of my father's birth the regiment was holed up in Ladysmith during the famous seige. In his service he won more awards for mounted swordsmanship that any other non-commissioned officer in the Army. He married Bridget (var. Brigid) Plunket (May 1873 - December 1957) in 1898 in Wexford and they had seven children. In the 1901 UK census (page 1 continued on page 2) he was stationed in Canterbury, where my father was born. Soon after 1905 he was transferred or seconded to the South Irish Horse militia regiment, probably in Co. Kildare, where the later children were born, and Dublin (again thanks to Doug Vaugh for this bit of information). He was recommended for the award of the Long Service and Good Conduct medal on 1st July 1909. In the 1911 census he was recorded living at Beggarsbush Barracks, Pembroke West, with Bridget and the first five of their surviving children. He died of an illness aged only 39 or 40.
  
  Family group after the death of father, Patrick, and after the funeral of baby Denis.
  From the left to right: Patrick, Aunt Margaret, Molly, Michael, mother (Bridget), Brigid, Edward and Myles

My sister Mary remembers my grandmother Bridget as a distant, austere grandmother more given to prayer than cuddling her grandchildren. However, as a young widow with six surviving children she worked, used her pensions and help from the family to ensure a good education for her children which ensured them all success and security in their later lives. I only knew her late in her life when she was already a victim of dementia. She died in a nursing home near her daughter Brigid in Basingstoke and was buried in Waterlooville, Hampshire, where my parents lived for the last forty and more years of their lives, next to the plot my father reserved for himself.

Patrick Mordaunt

Bridget Mordaunt

Patrick and Edward

Patrick and Bridget, Edward, Myles and Michael




• Edward (Ned) Patrick Mordaunt (1900 - 1982), the eldest son, was my father, born at North Gate Street, Canterbury. He appeared the following year in the 1901 UK census (page 2 following on from page 1). He went to the Christian Brothers School in Dublin (1910 - 1914) and Mungret College in Limerick (1914 - 1918)
  "As a student aged 17 years ten months, who had, as the son of a regular Cavalry soldier, been encouraged to ride and shoot from the age of ten, I reported to the Dublin recruiting office on May 9, 1918, advancing my age to 19 years four months, and was accepted as a trooper in the South Irish Horse. My father had died in 1914 while seconded to the S.I.H. from the 18th Hussars, so I was able to claim a family connection. After a brief stay at the Depot in Cahir, Co. Tipperary, I was in action, in France, by early August 1918, and rode in the "Pursuit to Mons."
  In 1919 he was 131279 Pte. Mordaunt with the 45th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers, acting as mounted infantry, in the expeditionary force that attempted intervention in the Russian civil war, May to October 1919, where he won the Military Medal for "bravery in the field." Record of the citation was lost to enemy bombing in World War II but my father once gave my brother, John, a rather dismissive account of the event. His unit was crossing a river, making use of a locally operated form of ferry, a raft with ropes at both ends which were used to pull the raft back and forth over the river. They came under attack from Red Guard soldiers and the ferry handlers ran away, leaving the raft midstream, full of equipment, to float off down the river. On the raft was a Lewis gun for which my father was responsible. All this 18 or 19 year-old corporal could think of was that he had signed for that gun and he would be in trouble if it was lost. So, ignoring the flying bullets, he dived into the river and swam or waded to the raft to recover it.
  At the age of 19 he was made temporary sergeant. He would have been among the last British soldiers to ride a horse into war. He demobilized in December 1919 and returned to Ireland. In the Civil War his sympathies were with the Republicans and he was interned for refusing to join the Free State army when all former soldiers were conscripted. Sharing his imprisonment was a future Senator who told me in 1962 that my father was so uncooperative he was surprised he was not among the hostages selected to be shot. After his release, in a characteristically Irish topsy-turvy way, he rejoined the British Army in January 1924 in the 10th Hussars. Because of his education he was soon involved in the education of soldiers as a Segeant Instructor.
  In 1929 he married Lilian (Lily) Milnes (1907-1994) from Pinner, North London. She was game for her time, having left home to work in the NAAFI and was even sent to work in support of the post war occupation forces in Germany. He was posted to the North West Frontier region of India (now in Pakistan) at the end of 1930. Lilian joined him after the birth of their second daughter. This London city-girl had several days riding on horseback into the mountains in the hot sun with her two baby daughters Brigid (Mary) (b.1930) and Clare (b.1931) to reach their station! They returned to the UK in December 1936 and with the outbreak of World War 2 he was commissioned into the Royal Sussex Regiment (infantry) in November 1940 and had a number of war time training and staff duties. At the end of the war he joined what was then the Army Education Corps and served in East Africa, the Suez Canal Zone, England and Cyprus, being promoted to the rank of temporary major in 1949. He left the army in 1955 and became Head of Geography at Hart Plain Secondary School, Cowplain, and a local government councillor.
  
  Ned and Lily's wedding.
  On the left are my mother's family, to be identified later. Paddy is standing on the right, Myles is sitting in front of him.
  
  
  
  

  Edward and Michael	The boy soldier	Taken in Russia?	The young soldier 1	The young soldier 2	The old soldier
  Edward and Lilian	Edward and his mother	Edward and Lilian

  Edward and Lilian had children:

  • Brigid Mary Genevieve Mordaunt (1930 - 2011), more usually called Mary, attended Purbrook High School near Portsmouth until 1948 and then took a Pitman's typing course, obtaining a job in the Cabinet Office (July 1949 - April 1950) in London. Deciding that was insufficiently fulfilling, she trained as a nurse at Hammersmith Hospital (April - October 1950) but was required to stop on medical grounds. She then joined the Women's Royal Army Corps (October 1950 - October 1955) where she qualified as an Education Instructor with the rank of sergeant. She served in the Suez Canal Zone and Singapore before leaving and visiting her Aunt Molly in Australia for six months. On her return to the UK she trained as a teacher at Portsmouth Teachers' Training College (1957 - 1959) and the rest of her career was spent in education. She married Dezso Pinter, a refugee from the Hungarian uprising of 1956, in late 1959 and they moved to Canberra, Australia. Her children also live in Australia. She died shortly after her 81st birthday, weakened by Parkinson's disease.
    • Andrew Pinter (b. 1964)
    • Brigid Amelia Pinter (b.1967)
  • Clare Rowena Mordaunt (b. 1931) attended Purbrook High School near Portsmouth and joined the Women's Royal Army Corps, obtaining a commission after training at the WRAC school at Hindhead. In the Army she met and in December 1953 married Arthur Edwards (d. 1984) a National Service officer who transferred to the Royal Army Education Corps, retiring as a Colonel and becoming Principal of a College of Further Education in south London. As was customary, Clare settled in becoming an army wife and accompanied her husband in postings around England, Malaya and Hong Kong. She now lives near Salisbury.
    • David Edwards (b. 1955) married Susy Cormack
      • Catriona Edwards (b. 1980)
      • John Edwards (b. 1982)
      • Huw Edwards (b. 1983)
      • Rhodri Edwards (b. 1985)
    • Richard Edwards (b. 1957) married Lynn in 1996
      • Hugo Edwards (b. 1997)
      • Nicholas Edwards (b. 1998)
    • Robin Edwards (b. 1958) married Emma Clark
      • Alice Edwards (b. 1990)
      • Arthur Edwards (b. 1992)
  • John Edward Patrick Mordaunt (b. 1939). He went to Hart Plain Secondary Modern School and then St John's College, a Catholic scondary school in Portsmouth. He spent three years in The Parachute Regiment, then trained as a teacher at Carnegie College, Leeds, and spent the rest of his career in education. He married 1. Jennifer Snowden from Bradford in 1965 and had three children. As a widower, he married 2. Sylvia Wickens. They live near Portsmouth
    • Penny Mordaunt (b. 1973) was elected to Parliament for the Portsmouth North constituency in 2010
    • James Mordaunt (b. 1973) is a senior cabin-crew member with Virgin Airlines
    • Edward Mordaunt (b. 1978)
  • Henry Charles Mordaunt (Me - b. 1943) attended St. John's College in Portsmouth and Welbeck College in Nottinghamshire. I went to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, (1961 - 1963) and was commissioned into the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. I attended the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, (1964 - 1967) obtaining a BSc (Engineering). After service in Germany and Headquarters, Northern Ireland, I retired from the army in 1974. I was a trainee Inspector of Taxes but left to buy a seasonal holiday hotel in Port Erin, on the Isle of Man. I left the Isle of Man in 1992 to be a bursar of a grammar school in Gloucester. Before retirement I taught English in Japan for two years and worked for Gloucester City Council. I married 1. 1972 Helen Caulfield (b.1948)
    • Sarah Elizabeth Mordaunt (b. 1975), married 1. Alfred Stangl and married 2. Tony Elder
    • Christine Jennifer Mordaunt (b. 1977)
      • Maximus (Max) Alexander Smith (b. 2008)
      • William Luther Smith (b. 2010)
    married 2. 1987 Alison Hearsey (b.1944)
    married 3. 2002 Leonida Edwards (b. 1955)
    • Rhianne Elaine Mordaunt (b. 1988)
    • Ruby Tuesday Mordaunt (b. 1991)
      • Elasia Leonida Humphries-Cuff(b. 2010)
  • Michael Mordaunt (1945 - 1945) is buried near the house in Steep, near Petersfield, commandeered in the war for a maternity hospital, well away from the bombs falling on Portsmouth. I, too, had been born there.

• Bridget Mordaunt (1902 in Canterbury - 1902).This was a surprise discovery for me as I looked through birth records but when I mentioned it to my brother and sister I learned I was, apparently, the only one in the family not to know about her.

• Michael Mordaunt (1903 also in Canterbury - 1920) died of typhoid, aged just 17 years

• Myles Mordaunt (1905 in York - 1960) was a writer and journalist. I believe he had a number of books published and short stories printed in magazines. He was active in the Socialist movement and he wrote one book in which, among other things, he argued that wars were started by politicians who sent large numbers of young men off to be killed. He proposed wars would be better fought by small assassination squads of the terminally ill targeting the politicians. The book was not a great seller and the idea did not catch on.

  The following is from an informal obituary published in 'Charon's' London Diary in The New Stateman on 6th January 1961 Among the unwritten obituary notices of last year was one of Myles Mordaunt who died in November aged 54. Myles Francis Plunket Mordaunt, an Irish journalist who hadn’t written anything for rather a long time because of illness. I wish I could catch the essence of this unusual eccentric personality in a paragraph. He looked, during the last few years of his life, after he had made a remarkable recovery from a stroke that had laid him unconscious for many weeks, like a combination of Trotsky, James Joyce and a Kentucky colonel. Until then he had been almost too young for his age, loose-limbed, bony, given to sudden simian leaps over chairs. His life was a curious sidelong crabwise procession of getting nowhere. His first job was as a boy cartoonist for an Irish Republican paper in Dublin during the civil war after the Treaty. Almost his last salaried occupation was mortuary attendant in Marylebone during the blitz, of which he later gave a most eloquent account in a broadcast. He never supported any but hopelessly lost causes, the last being Timothy Evans, the unfortunate tenant of Rillington Place, hanged for murders that may have been committed by Christie. When he was on his day, his conversation could be brilliantly entertaining and people who met him for ten minutes were sometimes spellbound. He was apt to become cantankerous and monomaniacal, though he preserved an underlying sweetness of disposition rather deeply buried. Once, when I remarked on some unusually spectacular feat of self-sabotage he had performed, he grinned and said: ‘It’s well known that every man is his own worst enemy but I always put my best side to the field.’ He always reminded me of the passage in Lange-Eichbaum’s sociological study of Genius, comparing the perpetual students and eccentrics to shoots growing round some main stem: what this stem was in Myles’ case I could never decide – some Dublin archetype, I suppose. (With many thanks to Maggie Pinkney, who kindly forwarded to me a transcribed copy of this notice which was in her late mother's papers).

  He married 1. Mildred Carrothers, (1901 - 1st January 1983), a barrister. They had a son
  • Michael Mordaunt (b. 1930) was born in Hampstead. He married Mary Calvert and lives near Eastbourne
    • Delia Mordaunt (b. 1957) was born in Lambeth. She married James Reynolds in Penrith in December 1996.
      • Saskia Beresford Reynolds (b. 2000)
    • Christopher Mordaunt (b. 1960) was born in Surrey. He married Diedre Fox in 1997
      • Theodora Catherine V. Mordaunt (b. 1999)
      • Myles Joseph Mordaunt (b. 2001)
  • Ulic Mordaunt (1933 - 1933), a daughter, was born and died in Richmond, one day old. She was buried on 21st June, 1933, in a mass grave of 26 stillborn infants and others who died within a few months of birth. An unusual choice of name, I have not found its origins.
  Myles and Mildred separated at some time, I do not know when. I don't think they ever divorced. She moved to Liverpool at some time and, as my first wife was a Liverpool girl, my father made contact with her on our behalf and we visited her in her home several times before her death. She always received us warmly.
  Myles had a loving relationship with the mother of Maggie Pinkney, who kindly sent me the obituary notice above, and Jane Miller, who kindly sent additional information. Their mother and Myles had worked in the same publishing house in the 1930s and when she broke off their relationship in 1936, possibly because he was going through a very anti-English phase and was very pro-German at that time, she moved to Australia to "get over it" and later married over there. "She always kept a picture of him at the bottom of her jewellery box. I'm sure our father had no idea. A little piece of him remained in her heart always. He seems to have been a very sensitive expressive person. She had lots of treasured pieces of china and jewellery he had given her. She also had a fair few humorous stories about him. The picture she had was, according to my memory, more glamorous than that on your website."
  Myles later shared his life with Dora Marsh and they had a son
  • Timothy Mordaunt (1945 - 2009) lived in High Wycombe. He married 1. Valerie Beaver Romley (b. 16 October 1947) in July 1969 at St Peter's Chuch, Burnham, Bucks. They later divorced and Valerie married Geoffrey Hewgill in 1992.

    Caroline Helen Mordaunt (b. 1971) was born at the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital, Cliveden, (closed 1985). India Rose R. Mordaunt (b. 2002) born in Chiltern, Bucks. Chaya Rubt Mordaunt (b. 2003) born in Chiltern, Bucks. Nima Gaia Mordaunt (b. 200?) Myles Nicholas Mordaunt (b. 1973) was born at the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital, Cliveden, (closed 1985). Megan Irvine-Mordaunt (b. 2002) was born in Kensington and Chelsea Myles married Natalie Weston in September 2010 at the Villa D'Este, Lake Como. Morgan Mansell Mordaunt (b. June 2011) was born in Monaco

  Referring to Myles (senior)'s work in the mortuary in World War II and the radio broadcast, Valerie Hewgill wrote "I remember listening with Tim to the broadcast Myles did of the London blitz, Tim sitting in the corner of our lounge, head bowed. It was the first time he had heard his father´s voice since his death many years previously. He mentioned one account of friends of Myles´s that came back to the mortuary in black sacks, his job was to try and piece them together for identification, it must have been a horrendous job. Myles had speech therapy with an American after his stroke and had a slight American accent."
  Timothy married 2. Sarah Chambers in 1989 who has children
  • Elizabeth Jane Mordaunt (b. 1993) was born in High Wycombe
  • Edward Victor A. Mordaunt (b. 1996) was born in High Wycombe

• Mary (Molly) Mordaunt (1908-1995) was born in Co. Kildare. She obtained a post at a finishing school in Switzerland and then, apparently, a number of companion/governess posts. She did some nursing training in the late '40s and, looking for adventure, was accepted as a Bush Nurse and sent to the small town of Batlow in New South Wales, Australia, (November 1949 - December 1950). There she met and married Edward Pursell, an orchard grower. She died without having children of her own but did foster three troubled young brothers, two of whom died in their teens or early 20s. Accompanied by her great-nephew, Christopher, she celebrated her 80th birthday with a parachute jump!

• Patrick (Paddy) Michael Mordaunt (1910-1988) was also born in Co Kildare. He too joined the British Army, following his elder brother into the cavalry regiment, the 10th Hussars, where he was an army boxing champion, and he too received a wartime commission, in the Royal Hampshire Regiment. He was awarded the Military Cross (equivalent to his brother's Military Medal but awarded to officers only) on service in Italy. As was often the case, he belittled his achievement when questioned but the citation reads
  On the night of October 14th-15th, 1943, Captain Mordaunt’s company ( at the time he was a lieutenant, acting captain) was ordered to carry out an attack on a position some 800 yards north of the Volturno (just north of Naples). This attack was unopposed, and he was therefore ordered to advance to a line of the canal three miles farther on. His company carried out this advance and took a position the other side of the canal. At dawn they were heavily shelled and counter-attacked by infantry and a tank at very close quarters.
  A company was then sent up to support them and was so heavily mortared that it had to withdraw. A further company was unable to get within two miles of Captain Mordaunt’s position, so that he was left in complete isolation and in grave danger of envelopment by the enemy.
  In spite of this Captain Mordaunt held on to his position until the C.O. of his battalion was able to re-group at nightfall. During the night Captain Mordaunt’s company was again heavily counter-attacked, but he did not withdraw his company behind the canal until his position had become quite untenable and his Commanding Officer was satisfied that the remainder of the battalion (ie 5th Battalion, The Royal Hampshire Regiment) positions were secure. When he did eventually withdraw across the canal in the face of heavy enemy opposition, Captain Mordaunt personally supervised the withdrawal, which was carried out in excellent manner.
  Throughout this action Captain Mordaunt’s courage and complete disregard for his own safety were a stirring example to his men.
  He had married Gladys Clark in Portsmouth in 1940. On retirement from the army in the 1950s after further service at home and abroad, he managed the large sports facilities for the employees of a South Wales steel factory in Penarth. Paddy and Gladys both moved to Delta, BC, Canada, to live close to their son Patrick and their grandchildren and are both now buried there.
  
• Wedding Group
  Rear Row, Left to Right: Not known, Lilian Mordaunt, Edward Mordaunt, Paddy, Bill Clark (Gladys's brother), Not known, possibly Gladys's grandparents
  Front Row, Left to Right: Molly Mordaunt, Brigid Mordaunt, Mary Mordaunt (my sister), Gladys, Clare Mordaunt (my sister), Enid Clark (Gladys's sister), Mrs Clark (Gladys's mother)
  
  
  They had children
  • Desirée Mordaunt (1942 - 2009) was born in Drayton, Portsmouth. She went to The Convent of the Cross School, Purbrook (now the site of Oaklands Catholic comprehensive school) where she excelled in languages, sport and music. She became head girl. She had a the offer of a place to read French and English Literature at Exeter University (this at a time when university was only for the very few). However, soon after leaving school she met and "eloped" with Khaldoun El Solh, a Lebanese student in Portsmouth. They married at Kensington Registry Office in 1963 and moved to Beirut. She worked for IBM and taught English. She moved to London with her family in 1978 after enduring the 3 year Lebanese civil war. In London she assisted with her husband's publishing business. They divorced in 1986. After, she spent most of her life in central France where she immersed herself in her great passions of sport, outdoor pursuits and singing. She took an active part in local choirs. She died in France after a long struggle with cancer and was cremated there.
    Pictured: Desirée and her husband of 23 years, Khaldoun
    • Yanal El Solh (b. 1963) was born in Hammersmith, London. He married 1. Zöe and had daughter
      • Yasmine El Solh
      He married 2. Linnéa
    • Nayla El Solh (b. 1965) was born in Beirut
      

  • Patrick Mordaunt (1943 - 2004). Patrick was born in Portsmouth and attended Portsmouth Grammar School. He studied graphic design and worked for the AA in its publications and its direct mailing departments. He moved with them when the headquarters was moved from Leicester Square to Basingstoke. In 1970 he married Tania Horsford in London and they eventually moved to her native Canada. He joined a direct mailing company in Delta B.C. and eventually became the owner. He died suddenly in 2004. Tania and their children Natalie and Peter continue his successful business in Delta.
  • 
    • Natalie Mordaunt (b. 1974) was born in Basingstoke
    • Peter James L. Mordaunt (b. 1977) was born in Basingstoke
      
      Picture left
      Patrick and his father Paddy

• Brigid Mordaunt (1912 - 1993) too was a nurse and a midwife. In 1935 she married Bert Lewin, who ran a garage, petrol station and car showroom, and lived in Basingstoke. She had no children. I remember they were stalwart supporters of Basingstoke Cricket Club.

• Denis (1912 - 1914) died 18 months old, only two months after the death of his father.
  

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