Richard Jago Butler
BIOGRAPHY
Richard Jago was born the first of two sons to Stephen and Jane Butler (nee Jago) in Plympton St Mary, Devon, on 11th December 1848.
At the time of Richard’s birth, his father was 29 years of age and his mother 33.
His younger brother, William James Jago, was born on 29th June 1850.
According to the 1851 Census, the family lived at 7 Cannon Street, Stoke Damerel, Devonport, only about a mile and a half from the Royal Naval Dockyards where Stephen was employed as a Shipwright. This census entry was the first indication I had that his father, Stephen, was born in Ireland and in Waterford in particular, in 1821.
From recent reading, I learned that Cannon Street was one of the earliest laid down near the Devonport dock when, in the early 1700s, residential buildings were first allowed to be built in the vicinity of the dockyard.
We have little knowledge of Richard’s early life, other than the Census entry for 1861 from which we learn that the family had moved to another property in Cannon Street, namely No 40. In this entry, he is described as a “scholar”.
The only information that I could find about his early education was in his British Civil Service Evidence of Age Certificate. In this Richard stated that he had been at the RC National School Stonehouse for about 6 years and a further period as an engineer student at the Dockyard School, in Keyham, Devonport.
His father Stephen passed away at home on 26th June 1863 at the age of 44. According to his Death Certificate, the cause of death was consumption, a condition he had suffered for twelve months. This left Jane a widow, possibly but not certainly with a pension, caring for the two boys, Richard aged 15 and William, 13.
Whatever the circumstances the family found itself in, Jane must have been instrumental in ensuring that Richard, at least, continues his education. My evidence for this belief is this item from the “Journal of the Society of Arts” dated 12th June 1868, where we learn that as an engineer student at the Devonport Mechanics Institute he won 1st Prize (valued at £5) for Conic Sections and 2nd Prize (valued at £3) for Principles of Mechanics.
In the unlikely event, that you want to know, “Conic Sections are the intersections of a right regular cone, by a cutting plane in different positions, relative to the axis of the cone”!! And, no, I don’t understand it either.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41323875
To what extent these awards were valuable qualifications for his entry into the Royal Navy, we will never know, but the first entry in his RN Service Record tells us that he was a student at the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in South Kensington in London for 3 years from 15th August 1868.
Also from this time I have a copy of his Certificate of Qualification as an Assistant Engineer of the Second Class which records his time as an Engineer Student at HM Dock Yard, Keyham, Devonport and at the Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in Kensington in London. It is perhaps of interest that the building in which the School was housed later became the Henry Cole Wing of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
A copy of this Certificate is included in the “Evidence” section.
As it happens, he may have been one of the very early entrants to the School which had opened only four years before. That such a school was needed is clear from this excerpt from Dr Denis Griffiths’ “Steam at Sea: Two centuries of Steam-powered Ships”, published by Conway Maritime Press, London, 1997 ISBN 0 85177 666 3:
“At the end of the Crimean War in 1856, it became difficult to find sufficient qualified engineers to man the fleet to a satisfactory level. There was a need for an improvement in manpower, status and training, and steps were taken to ensure that dockyard apprentices were given a better education and to recruit young men of quality.
In 1864 the Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering was opened in South Kensington to offer a more scientific training to naval engineers, and the year before boys receiving training in the Royal Dockyards became known as engineer students and became eligible to compete for places at the new school. Education in the sciences formed an essential part of the training of young men entering the Navy but the management of men was also an essential for a good officer aboard ship.”
Whether or not as a result of her widowhood, the Census for 1871 shows that his mother, Jane, had moved to 12 Albert Road, Devonport, where her occupation is listed as Housekeeper. Her second son William, who by this time is aged 21, is shown as a carpenter. Perhaps he was thus able to provide her with the economic support she needed. In fact, as far as I can gather, she lived with him for the rest of her life.
In the same Census, we find that Richard is now a lodger at 21 Margaretta Terrace in Chelsea, London, where his occupation is given as School of Naval Architecture. Whether Richard lodged here until the completion of his studies is not clear but according to his Record of Service he was promoted, presumably while still at college, from Assistant Engineer to Assistant Engineer 2nd Class on 7th June 1872 and Assistant Engineer 1st Class on 14th October of the same year.
His sea-going career started with his appointment, still as Engineer 1st Class, to HMS Euphrates on 1st January 1873 and then, HMS Indus on 3rd May and HMS Jumna on 15th July in that year. His earned his promotion to Engineer on 15th September 1874, a rank he held until 13th April 1875 while serving on one or other of the above ships as well as HMS Royal Adelaide and HMS Asia.
By Illustrated London News [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Having made what appeared to be an encouraging start to his Royal Naval career he “came ashore” on 13th April 1875. According to his Service Record, he was on that date appointed a Draughtsman 3rd Class in the Controllers Department of the Admiralty and “his name removed from the List of Engineers RN.” Why he made that decision – or had it made for him – I doubt we’ll ever know. On the surface, at least, it does not seem to have advanced his career, not least because he is now employed as a Civil Servant rather than a commissioned officer.
From some of what I’ve read, engineering officers were still not fully accepted as proper officers (or indeed Gentlemen) in the Royal Navy of the mid-late 1800s and this was reflected as much in poor pay scales as the lack of formal titles such as Lieutenant.
Whatever the reason for his move, he didn’t remain a draughtsman for too long being appointed an Instructor in Marine Engineering at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London in 1877. He held this position until 1879 when he returned to what appears to have been a more “hands-on” marine engineering role within the Admiralty as an Assistant Engineer Inspector.
A yet more important event in Richard’s life in that year was his marriage to Elizabeth Ann Greetham at the Parish Church of St John, Battersea, London, on 13th December. Elizabeth was the only daughter and eldest child of Peter and Rosina Greetham. Richard was 31 years of age and Elizabeth 20.
Peter had also served in the Royal Navy as an engineering officer having served over 14 years before his retirement in July 1873 with the rank of Chief Engineer.
One of Elizabeth’s brothers, Charles, also served as an engineering officer in the Navy for over forty years – retiring in 1918 having attained the quite senior rank of Engineer Captain in 1918. Although I can find no records to support the fact that they ever held appointments on the same ships, the probability is that Richard and Charles could well be described as “brother officers” and perhaps that’s how Richard met Elizabeth.
Richard and Elizabeth had their first child, a son also named Richard Jago, on 16th February 1880 and second, a daughter, Rose Greetham, on 15 April 1881.
According to the 1881 Census, the family lived at 26 Cologne Road, Battersea. As best I can tell it was a quite substantial property, long since converted into what look like flats. They employed two domestic servants, Sarah Gower and Esther Wood, aged 20 and 16 years respectively.
From 1884, the upward path of Richard’s career really seems to have accelerated with his appointment as Engineer Inspector in that year, elevation to Chief Engineer (Gun Mountings) in 1888 and to Chief Engineer Inspector of Machinery in 1890.
Edward, Richard and Elizabeth’s second son was born on 6th April 1888.
According to the 1891 Census, the family had moved to 17 Vardens Road, still in Battersea but which from Google Street View, looks to have been a highly desirable property. And perhaps indicative of how well Richard was doing, they added another servant, Mary Ann May, to their staff.
Richard and Elizabeth’s third son, Wilfred Joseph, was born on 12th February 1895.
From Wilfred’s Birth Certificate, we find that the family has moved again – on this occasion to 10 Barclay Road, Croydon, Surrey. The property still exists but, again, seems to have been converted into flats.
Richard and Elizabeth’s last child was my father, Cuthbert “Peter”, who was born on 24th March 1897. The family was still living at Barclay Road in Croydon at this time.
By the time of the 1901 Census, the family had moved once again to what must have been a larger house named “Brinscall” at 91 Mayow Road, Sydenham. On the day of the census, Richard’s brother, William’s daughter, Mary, was either living or staying with them, so with 10 in the house at the time it would need to have been a sizeable one.
Regrettably, Elizabeth did not live long to enjoy her new home, passing away on 19th August 1902. The cause of death was given as “Granular kidney 10 years, Uraemia 7 days”.
She and Richard had been married for 22 years.
Later in the same year, Richard’s mother died aged 93. She was, at the time, living with Richard’s younger brother, William’s family in Devonport.
There is considerable evidence of what Richard’s responsibilities were with the Admiralty from a number of articles in “The Times” from as early as 1882 until 1898. They mainly had to do with his participation in the sea-trials of new ships, but also when he gave evidence at a coroner’s enquiry into the death of a stoker.
One thing that did surprise me was the level of technical detail published both about the tests themselves and the results achieved. I doubt it would be reported in that sort of detail today.
Richard reached the peak of his Admiralty career with his appointment as Assistant Engineer-in-Chief in February 1903 – a position he held until his retirement in 1909 – although, possibly to give effect to the Admiralty’s succession plan, the appointment was held jointly with Engineer Rear-Admiral R.Mayston from 1905.
If this appointment marked the peak of his career, his award of a C.B. (Companion of the Order of the Bath, to the uninitiated) in 1902 must have been the pinnacle.
His Investiture was held on HMY Victoria & Albert at Cowes on 15th August 1902 and reported in “The Times” on the following day. As Elizabeth was very ill and died only 4 days later, I wonder did he actually attend the Investiture?
Richard married again at the Church of Our Lady and St Philip Neri, in Sydenham, on 9th July 1907. His bride was Ethel Emily Northcott Cottel who, according to the 1901 Census was a Mayow Road neighbour of Richard and Elizabeth’s.
While there is no record of a Retirement date in his Record of Service, the following entry suggests that he may have retired effective 18th October 1909:
“Awarded civil pension in respect of Naval service, O in C, 18-10-09”.
The most recent Census for which information is available is that of 1911, which has Richard, Ethel and my father Peter still living in Mayow Road – but now with only one servant, Louisa Worsley, who is mentioned in Peter’s post. Richard’s occupation is listed as “Retired Civil Servant Admiralty, now Director of Firm of Steel Makers”. The steelmaker in question was John Spencer & Sons of Newcastle-on-Tyne for which, courtesy “The Times”, a copy of the Company’s Advertisement announcing its Prospectus is included in the “Evidence” section below.
Also in the years prior to and after his retirement, he was a Councillor of the Royal Institute of Marine Architects and a regular contributor of articles to “Brassey’s Annual”, an Armed Forces (but primarily Naval) year-book which has been published since 1886. I hope later to add a copy of one of these articles under “Published Articles”. But, in the meantime, the following is a review of his entry in the 1932 Edition of Brassey’s entitled ” Mercantile Marine Machinery “,
“Although opening with the remark ‘ that it is not possible to ignore the fact that the industry was very seriously handicapped, if not entirely crippled, by the deplorable conditions of the world trade,’ yet gives a first-class and instructive review of this ever-developing science of mercantile marine engineering.
No summary of this article seems possible, so packed is it with vivid, up-to-date information. Its concluding paragraph, however, shall not be omitted: – ‘Generally speaking, the year proved one of the blackest in the annals of the industry not only In this, but in all maritime countries, and the outlook for the future could only be regarded with dismay were it not for the fact, that in spite of political and economical adversity, technical achievements are being steadily, if not spectacularly, extended and consolidated’.”
His brother, William died on 26th February 1919 aged 68 at home at 59 Pasley Street, East Stoke, Devon. Cause of death was given as Influenza (7 days), Broncho-pneumonia (3 days).
Perhaps William was a victim of the global Spanish Flu Pandemic from which the death toll was 228,000 people in Britain alone.
Richard passed away at 17 Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington South, London, England on 4th March 1931. He was 82 years old. Cause of death was given as Septicaemia, pyelonephritis, cystitis and an enlarged prostate. Despite persistent searches, I have been unable to uncover any record of his burial. Another mystery!
Given his relatively high profile, it is surprising that he didn’t rate an Obituary, if not in the national press at least in one of the journals of the engineering organisations of which he was a member. In fact, on my visit to the Royal Institute of Naval Architecture (of which he was at one time a Councillor), no record of him could be found. One is left to wonder as to what he did – or didn’t do – that resulted in his name apparently being expunged from the records!
In his Will, he appointed his wife Ethel as his executor and left to her “all the property which I may be possessed of at the date of my death”. The gross value of his Estate was valued at £5,530-8-9 (equivalent to about £350,000 at today’s values).
Richard’s wife, Ethel, survived him by another 9 years, passing away on 15th April 1940.
ANECDOTES & STORIES
We have yet another address to add to Richard Jago’s list of residences as evidenced by this cutting from the “Kentish Mercury” of 12th October 1900:
LOCATIONS
Census Data
Census Data – Richard Jago Butler Snr
Maps or photos
PICTURE GALLERY
“En promenade”
July 1924
The early 1920s
DOCUMENTATION
Published Articles
Still to come
Obituaries
His death was reported in “The Times” of 6th March 1931 as follows
“Mr. Richard Jago Butler, C.B., late of the Controller’s Department of the Admiralty died on Wednesday at his home in London at the age of 82.”
ANCESTORS
b: 11 Dec 1848
d: 4 Mar 1931
- 11 Dec 1848 - Birth - ; Plympton, St Mary, Devon, England
- 4 Mar 1931 - Death - ; 17 Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington South, London, England
| PARENT (M) Stephen Butler | |||
| Birth | Waterford, Ireland | ||
| Death | 26 Jun 1863 | 10 Cannon Street, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Marriage | 5 Mar 1848 | to Jane Jago at Chapel of East Stonehouse, Devon, England | |
| Father | James Butler | ||
| Mother | Mary Connery | ||
| PARENT (F) Jane Jago | |||
| Birth | 1809 | Plymstock, Devon, England | |
| Death | 18 Nov 1902 | 16 Pasley Terrace, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Marriage | 5 Mar 1848 | to Stephen Butler at Chapel of East Stonehouse, Devon, England | |
| Father | Richard Jago | ||
| Mother | Elizabeth Cross | ||
| CHILDREN | |||
| M | Richard Jago Butler | ||
| Birth | 11 Dec 1848 | Plympton, St Mary, Devon, England | |
| Death | 4 Mar 1931 | 17 Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington South, London, England | |
| Marriage | 9 Jul 1907 | to Ethel Emily Northcott Cottell at Church of Our Lady and St Philip Neri, Lower Sydenham, Lewisham, London, England | |
| Marriage | 13 Dec 1879 | to Elizabeth Ann Greetham at Parish Church Of St John, Battersea, Surrey, England | |
| M | William James Jago Butler | ||
| Birth | 29 Jun 1850 | 7 Cannon Street, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Death | 26 Feb 1919 | 59 Pasley Street East, Stoke, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Marriage | 26 Dec 1874 | to Mary Ann Gray at Church of St Mary & St Boniface, Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| PARENT (M) Richard Jago Butler | |||
| Birth | 11 Dec 1848 | Plympton, St Mary, Devon, England | |
| Death | 4 Mar 1931 | 17 Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington South, London, England | |
| Marriage | 9 Jul 1907 | to Ethel Emily Northcott Cottell at Church of Our Lady and St Philip Neri, Lower Sydenham, Lewisham, London, England | |
| Marriage | 13 Dec 1879 | to Elizabeth Ann Greetham at Parish Church Of St John, Battersea, Surrey, England | |
| Father | Stephen Butler | ||
| Mother | Jane Jago | ||
| PARENT (F) Ethel Emily Northcott Cottell | |||
| Birth | 23 Jan 1869 | Grove Lodge, High Road, Tottenham, Middlesex, England | |
| Death | 5 Apr 1940 | Kensington South, London, England | |
| Marriage | 9 Jul 1907 | to Richard Jago Butler at Church of Our Lady and St Philip Neri, Lower Sydenham, Lewisham, London, England | |
| Father | Charles George Cottell | ||
| Mother | Fanny Northcott | ||
| CHILDREN | |||
| PARENT (M) Richard Jago Butler | |||
| Birth | 11 Dec 1848 | Plympton, St Mary, Devon, England | |
| Death | 4 Mar 1931 | 17 Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington South, London, England | |
| Marriage | 9 Jul 1907 | to Ethel Emily Northcott Cottell at Church of Our Lady and St Philip Neri, Lower Sydenham, Lewisham, London, England | |
| Marriage | 13 Dec 1879 | to Elizabeth Ann Greetham at Parish Church Of St John, Battersea, Surrey, England | |
| Father | Stephen Butler | ||
| Mother | Jane Jago | ||
| PARENT (F) Elizabeth Ann Greetham | |||
| Birth | 1 Oct 1859 | 22 North Kent Terrace, Woolwich, Kent, England | |
| Death | 19 Aug 1902 | Brinscall, Mayow Road, Sydenham, London, England | |
| Marriage | 13 Dec 1879 | to Richard Jago Butler at Parish Church Of St John, Battersea, Surrey, England | |
| Father | Peter Greetham | ||
| Mother | Rosina ("Rose") Ann Nibbs | ||
| CHILDREN | |||
| F | Rose Greetham Butler | ||
| Birth | 15 Apr 1881 | 26 Cologne Road, Battersea, England | |
| Death | 23 Mar 1954 | Victoria Hospital, Deal, Kent, England | |
| Marriage | 18 Oct 1906 | to Reginald Francis Butler at ChristChurch Parish Church, Ealing, Middlesex, England | |
| M | Edward Butler | ||
| Birth | 6 Apr 1888 | Battersea, Surrey, England | |
| Death | |||
| M | Wilfred Joseph Butler | ||
| Birth | 12 Feb 1895 | 10 Bartley Road, Croydon, Surrey, England | |
| Death | |||
| M | Cuthbert "Peter" Butler | ||
| Birth | 24 Mar 1897 | Croydon, Surrey, England | |
| Death | 25 Jan 1972 | Public Hospital, Whangarei, New Zealand | |
| Marriage | 19 Apr 1927 | to Mary Somner at St Francis Xavier''s Church, Whangarei, New Zealand | |
| M | Richard Jago Butler | ||
| Birth | 16 Feb 1880 | 27 Cologne Road, Battersea, England | |
| Death | 5 Sep 1956 | Duart Avenue, Prestwick, Scotland | |
| Marriage | 4 Jun 1907 | to Christina Edith Whereat at The Church of the Sacred Heart, Norton Road, Hove, Sussex, England | |
EVIDENCE
Sources and citations
Richard Jago Butler: Navy List Entries – 1888 to 1908
Copy of Birth Certificate – Richard Jago Butler
