The Finch Family

Arthur Edward Finch

Birth: 9 December 1856, in Tulse Hill, Lambeth district, Surrey, England

Father: Arthur Finch

Mother: Helen (Field) Finch

Education: Marlborough College, Wiltshire. Arthur attended Marlborough at the same time (and was on the Rifle Corps XI at the same time) as Robert Walter Doyne, the brother of his future wife, Charlotte Doyne.
Marlborough College register p247 (1905)
Finch, Arthur Edward, s. of A. Finch Esq., Christ Church Road, Roupel Park, S.W., b. Dec. 9, 1856; l. Xmas 1874. C 3
  R.C. XI., 1873-4; Wine Merchant, Madras

Married: Charlotte Sophia Mary Doyne on 15 June 1881 in Farnham district, Hampshire or Surrey, England

Children:
Occupation: Merchant. In 1881, Arthur is described as a Spanish merchant and in 1901 as a retired East India merchant. A legal notice in the London Gazette 10 January 1902 p249 describes him as an East India Merchant (no mention of retired) in 1902 and the Marlborough College register p247 (1905) lists Arthur as a Wine Merchant, Madras.

Death: 1939, in Greenwich district, London, England, aged 82

Census & Addresses:
1871: Marlborough College, Marlborough, Wiltshire
1881: 59 Lincoln Inn Fds, London, Middlesex
1901: 2 Pinfield Road, Streatham, London, the home of his parents. He was aged 44, a Retired E.India Merchant, born in Tulse Hill.
1902: 2 Pinfield Road, Streatham, London (London Gazette 10 January 1902 p249)
1914: Abbey Cottage, Well End, Buckinghamshire (Little Marlow on-line)
1923: Abbey Cottage, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire (Radley College Register p346)

Sources:

Edward Terence Doyne Finch

Birth: 6 November 1887

Father: Arthur Edward Finch

Mother: Charlotte Sophia Mary (Doyne) Finch

Occupation: Officer in the Royal Navy. On 15 October 1903 Edward was a midshipman in the Royal Navy and joined HMS Hannibal on 15 September of the same year.  He joined HMS Prince George on 22 February 1905, was promoted to acting Sub Lieutenant which was confirmed on 15 December 1906 (London Gazette 30 July 1907 p5206) and was based in Portsmouth under training. On 28 April 1908 he joined HMS Suffolk and was promoted to Lieutenant on 15 June 1908 (London Gazette 24 November 1908 p8700).  He then joined TB078 (a torpedo boat), in command, on 7 February 1911 and subsequently took command of HMS Brazen, joining her on 31 October. Training for torpedo duties on HMS Vernon followed and he joined HMS Bulwark on 29 August 1913 as Torpedo Officer. HMS Bulwark was a 1st Class battleship of 15,000 tons, built at the Devonport Dockyard.  She was serving in the 5th Battle Squadron under Captain G. L. Sclater when on 15 November she arrived at Sheerness to provision. Eleven days later, while taking on ammunition, she blew up without warning. Practically all her complement of 750 officers and men were on board, only 12 survived. It was the worst naval accident of the war, and the Admiralty "could not account for the cause on the meagre evidence placed before it". Among those unaccounted for was Edward Finch.

HMS Bulwark explodes
Explosion of the HMS Bulwark in which Edward Finch died
photo from Wikipedia
Portsmouth Naval Memorial
Portsmouth Naval Memorial where Edward Finch is memorialised
photo from Commonwelth War Graves Commission
Death: 26 November 1914, aboard HMS Bulwark when it exploded off Sheerness, Kent, England, while loading ammunition. Edward is memorialised at the Portsmouth War Memorial. The entry on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial register reads:
FINCH, Lieut. Edward Terence Doyne. R.N. H.M.S. "Bulwark". Killed by internal explosion of vessel off Sheerness 26th November 1914.

A year after Edward’s death a memorial window at Little Marlow Parish Church, Buckinghamshire, was dedicated to his memory.  The wording at the base of the window reads "To the Glory of God and to the dearly loved and honoured memory of Edward Terence Doyne Finch, Lieut. Royal Navy, born 6th Nov 1887. Lost with the officers and men of HMS Bulwark whilst serving their country, 26 Nov 1914, aged 27 years RIP".

Sources:

Eila Winifred Doyne (Finch) Nevile

Birth: 1 December 1886

Father: Arthur Edward Finch

Mother: Charlotte Sophia Mary (Doyne) Finch

Married: Gerard Ogilvy Nevile in 1907, in Poole district, Dorset, England. Gerard was born in 1879, in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire, the son of Henry William Nevile and Lucy Maria Roberts. Gerard was an electrical engineer, and worked a the resident engineer for the United Electric Tramways of Montevideo, Uruguay in 1912. He died in 1933.
1881: 2 Moor Lane, Broughton in  Salford, Lancashire

Death: 16 March 1966, at Flat 3, Highfield, Mimbridge, Chobham, Surrey, England

Sources:

John Philip Gordon Finch

Birth: 27 July 1898, in Wyke Regis, Dorset, England

Father: Arthur Edward Finch

Mother: Charlotte Sophia Mary (Doyne) Finch

Education: Radley College and Merton College, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1922 with a 1st in History. Following his entrance to the consular service, John took a course in Arabic, Persian and Turkish at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1923-5.

Occupation: Foreign Office Official. John passed foreign service examinations on 12 October 1923, and was appointed to the Levant Consular Service (London Gazette 6 November 1923 p7560), and on 10 December 1927 he was appointed Vice-Consul in the Levant service (London Gazette 9 March 1928 p1676). On 31 May 1928, John was appointed Vice-Consul at Resht (now Rasht, a port on the Caspian Sea in northern Iran) (London Gazette 31 July 1928 p5133) and on 2 February 1932, he was appointed Vice-Consul in Cairo (London Gazette 17 June 1932 p3947). On 4 November 1933, John was posted as Vice-Consul to Diana-Rowanduz in what is now Iraq (London Gazette 30 January 1934 p675). On 18 March 1841, John was appointed as Consul for the liwas of Mosul and Arbil, to reside in Mosul, also in what is now Iraq (London Gazette 23 May 1941 p2940). John received the O.B.E., and was appointed Officer of the Seventh on 1 August 1945 (London Gazette 30 January 1948 p743) and Officer of the Sixth Grade of Branch A of His Majesty's Foreign Service, with effect from 15 May 1949 (London Gazette 29 January 1952 p579).

Notes: Served in World War I in 1917-9, in the Royal Garrison Artillery, reaching the rank of Lieutenant.

Death: 22 January 1965, at 109 Cranmer Court, Sloane Avenue, London, England

Census & Addresses:
1901: All Saints Vicarage, Western Road, Parkstone, Dorset
1965: 109 Cranmer Court, Sloane Avenue, London (London Gazette 12 February 1965 p1586)

Sources:

Marjorie Isobel Finch

Birth: 8 July 1883, in Fulham, Middlesex, England

Father: Arthur Edward Finch

Mother: Charlotte Sophia Mary (Doyne) Finch

Death: 1934, in Kensington district, London, England, aged 51

Census:
1901: All Saints Vicarage, Western Road, Parkstone, Dorset

Sources:
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