Of some influence in Kenya during the mid-20th century, the Versturme-Bunbury family descend from the marriage of 3rd February 1829 between Anne Elizabeth Bunbury, only daughter of Major Benjamin Bunbury of Marlstone House, Newbury, and Captain Louis Robert James Versturme, KH, of Walcot, Berkshire. (1) Anne's father, a descendent of the Bunburys of Cranavonane, died in a horse accident in 1827, leaving Marlstone to her brother, Henry Mill Bunbury. Anne's elder brother Major Thomas Bunbury, an illegitimate son, would become one of the more charismatic officers of the British Army over the ensuing decades, playing a pivotal role in negotiating the Treaty of Waitangi with the Maori chieftains in New Zealand.
Anne was born on 27th August 1803 and educated in England. In his 'Recollections' her brother Thomas recalls visiting her boarding school while on leave circa 1813/14 and boasted that he made quite an impression on the school girls with his military uniform. Anne's marriage to Louis took place at Chieveley or Buckleberry (ie: beside Marlstone House) with the Rev. Henry Hodgkinson officiating. The Versturmes were a French family of Huguenot origin; Louis was the only surviving son of Sir Louis Versturme, KH, of Bath, sometime Inspector General of Hospitals. (2) Louis became a Military Knight of Windsor and a Major in the Hanoverian Army. Anne and Louis had two sons, Commander Louis Versturme and Colonel Adolphus Versturme, and a daughter, Gertrude, who married North North. Major Louis Versturme died in Cheltenham on 4th December 1881, leaving £163. His widow, Anne Versturme died at Newton Hall, Whittington, Lancashire on the 24th February 1896 aged 92. She left just £96 in her will. (3)
When Anne's brother Henry Mill Bunbury died without heir in 1886, he left the family seat in Ireland at Cranavonane to his young cousin, Hamilton Joseph Bunbury (1866 - 1949). Under the terms of the Will of Henry Mill Bunbury of Marlstone House, who had no children from his two marriages, he left Marlstone House to his nephew Louis Hutton Versturme on the condition that he and his heirs take the name of Bunbury.
Ann and Louis Versturme's eldest son, Louis Hutton Versturme, enjoyed a successful career in the Royal Navy, in command of the Rosario in 1866, and is referred to in The Times. He succeeded to Marlstone House in 1886 and, in turn, left it to his nephew, Harry Verstrum-Bunbury.
Ann and Louis Versturme's only daughter (Alicia) Gertrude Versturme was married on 15th May 1856 to the improbably named North North (April 1824 - 1810). Born in Madras, his original name was actually North Burton but he assumed the surname and arms of North only by Royal License, dated 14 April 1866, on succeeding to the estates of his great-uncle Richard Toulmin North. By the time of the 1881 Census, Major North North was living at Thurland Castle in Tunstall, Lancashire, with his wife, Gertrude, and three younger children Alice Helen (aged 20), Oliver Henry (aged 6) and Albert Kingsley (aged 4). North North was described as a retired Indian Army Major aged 57, whilst his wife was aged 46. The family also had seven servants listed including a governess, nurse, footmen, and maids. (4) Thurland Castle is said to have inspired Charlotte Bronte to write the opening scenes of 'Jane Eyre', first published in 1847.
North and Gertrude's firstborn child, Alice Helen North, was born
in 1861. Their eldest son was Bordrigge North North (1862 - 1936)
who later married Maud Mabella Coulthurst.
North and Gertrude's second son Captain Louis Aylmer North, Manchester
Regt, was born in April 1866 and educated at St Bee's School. He entered
the Royal Scots Fusiliers from the 4th Battalion Royal Lancaster Regiment,
December 14th, 1887, being promoted Lieutenant November 1st, 1890, and Captain
June 1899. He served in the operations of the North-West Frontier of India,
1897-98, with the Kohat and Kurram Valley Force. At the action of the Uhlan
Pass, August 27th, he was severely wounded. He also served with the Tirah
Expedition. Captain North was placed on half pay in June 1899, owing to
his wounds and on recovering joined the Manchester Regiment January 1901.
He served in South Africa with the Manchesters in Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal
and ORC until struck down with enteric. He died at Kroonstad, after
two days illness, on 3rd December 1901. At the time of his death he was
in command of the 3rd Shorncliffe Mounted Infantry Company, and a tablet
was erected in Shorncliffe Garrison Church to his memory and that of the
men of the company who lost their lives during the war.
North and Gertrude's third son Edward Bunbury North married Margaret
Dundas and was father to the Marjorie North who married Evelyn
James Bunbury.
Another son Oliver Henry North was born in 1875, and the youngest
boy, Albert Kingsley North, in 1877.
For more details, see the Toulimn
Page.
The Versturme-Bunbury family descend from Ann and Louis's second son, Colonel Adolphus Halkett Versturme, who was born in Bath in about 1837. In 1863 Adolphus married 19-year-old Mary Ann Palairet, the eldest of seven children born to Septimus Henry Palairet (1807 - 1854). (5)
Mary Ann was born at Harrow Weald. Her father, Septimus Palairet was a Captain in the 29th Regiment and lived for a time at The Grange in Stratford-upon-Avon although he died in Edinburgh. (6) Septimus married Mary Ann Hamilton, born in London in 1822, died in Philadelphia in 1851, implying the family spent some time in America. One wonders is this the link to the crude Limerick author, the Rev. Septimus Bunbury.
Adolphus and Mary Ann had a large family. In the 1871 census, 34-year-old Captain Adolphus Halkett Versturme, Royal Bucks Militia (retired) and his 27-year-old Mary Ann were living at Castle Mead, Manorbier, Pembrokeshire, with five children - Harry Palairet, aged 7, born at Aldershot (Hants); Eleanor Mary, aged 5, born Ayr (Scotland); Charles Humbleton (sic, should be Hamilton), aged 3, born at Erlegh (Berks); (entry for Richard Wagner crossed out), Edith Maud, aged 2, born at Erlegh, and Richard Wagner, aged 1 month, born at Manorbier, and five servants.
By the time of the 1881 Census, they were living at 13 Miles Road, Clifton, and 45-year-old Adolphus H Versturme was by then a Lt Colonel, 1st G A. Harry 'Strum'
Palairet and Eleanor were elsewhere but their other children were listed as follows: Charles H, aged 13, born at Reading, Edith M, aged 12, born at Erlegh, Reading, Richard W, aged 10, born at Manorbier (Pembs), Katherine Elizabeth, aged 6, born at Clifton, Agnes Veronica, aged 4, born at Clifton, James K N, aged 2, born at St Peter Port, Guernsey, and Angela Dorothea, aged 10 months, born at Clifton, and five servants. I believe there was also a John Clement Versturme Bunbury and a daughter Honora Frances who was born in Clifton in 1874.
Adolphus died in Glastonbury on 17th April 1910. (7)
At any rate, Adolphus's firstborn son was Harry Palairet Versturme-Bunbury, a man who may well be part of the "White Mischief" crew in Kenya. He was born at Aldershot in 1864, educated at Charterhouse and became a Lieutenant Colonel with the Royal Scots. In 1909, The Times noted how Lieutenant Colonel H Versturme Bunbury was in command of the Scots stationed at Edinburgh Castle when a memorial window was erected to the memory of Sir William Lockhart, a former Commander-in-Chief of the Army in India. (8)
In 1922 Harry married Margaretta, daughter of Captain Pennefather of Knockinglass, Ireland, and widow of Major WT Holland. Margaretta had at least one son by her first marriage to Major Holland, as evidenced by a poignant obituary in The Times of 1931 which reads: 'In scared memory of WILLIAM PENNEFATHER HOLLAND, Captain, King's African Rifles, and Sudan Political Service, and His Britannic Majesty's Consul. Maji. South-west Abbysinnia, champion and friend of British subjects in that land. He died on duty August 3rd 1930 upholding the traditions of England to the last. His life was one of such romance and heroism as are seldom known in modern times. The beloved son of Mrs. H. P Versturme- Bunbury, Belfield, Wyke Regis, Dorset'. (9)
Harry and Margaretta lived at Belfield Park in Weymouth. Harry worked
with Lloyds Bank Ltd, 6 Pall Mall in London. He was a member of the Army
& Navy Clubs and of the Royal Dorset Yacht club. Harry died in Nairobi on August 3rd 1943. (10) He was a close friend of Captain Henry "Pants"
McCance (1867-1937), 1st Battalion Royal Scots, whose father-in-law
Dr. Joseph Bell taught Arthur Conan-Doyle's literature. In an obituary
to McCance the author states: 'Pants had a large mail, for he maintained
correspondence constantly with old officers - naming just three, "Besom"
(Capt. O. R. Brush, living in Switzerland), "Strum" (Lt.Col.
H. P. Versturme-Bunbury, generally to be found sitting in Kenya) and "F.J."
(Maj.Gen. F. J. Duncan)…
At some point Harry and Magaretta moved to Kenya. Indeed, there seems to have been a strong Kenyan connection and, while I don't yet know who their children were, I imagine Richard Versturme-Bunbury referred to below was one of their sons.
The birth of Adolphus and Mary Ann’s second son Charles Hamilton Versturme was registered in Wokingham, Berkshire, in 1867. The 1891 census noted 23-year-old, unmarried Lieutenant Charles Versturme, Royal Engineers, at the Royal Engineers Department, Aldershot.
The American Family Immigration History Center lists 46 Bunburys who passed through New York's Elllis Island between 1890 and 1924. In the 1910 lists we find numbers 9 and 20 referring to Charles Hamilton Verstume Bunbury (aged 43) and his wife Francis Fuller Verstume Bunbury (aged 40). It is thought that they were headed for Vancouver, Canada initially, but later moved on to Bermuda.
Charles (aged 62) and Frances (aged 56) were also listed as passengers on the SS Avon which sailed from Bermuda to Southampton, arriving on 15 May 1929. Their proposed UK address was c/o Brown, Shipley and Co, Pall Mall, London, and the country of their last permanent residence was Bermuda.
According to St Swithin’s burial register in Bath, Frances Fuller Versturme-Bunbury of 19 Gay Street died aged 72 and was buried on 27th June 1938.
C.H. Versturme Bunburywho became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Engineers and was present at the funeral of Major General Stanley van Donop according to The Times of October 21st 1941. On April 2nd 1942, The Times notes 'a marriage has been arranged' between Lt Col Charles Hamilton Versturme-Bunbury (late RE) and Edith Mary Sybil Langworthy (nee Marshall), widow of J.L. Langworthy. This was presumably his second marriage.
Charles Versturm-Bunbury of 8 Queen's Parade, Bath died aged 79 and was buried on 17 Feb 1947. He was e buried with his wife Frances in Lansdown cemetery (Section 6 Row F Plot 5A) beneath a rough granite slab, possibly a headstone that has been laid flat face down. Also buried here is Cornelia Devens (1869-1935) whose connection is as yet unknown.
Colonel Versturme-Bunbury's daughter Maud married Canon Anthony Charles Deane (d. 1946), Chaplain to the King.
One of Adolphus and Mary Ann Versturme's younger sons John Clement Paillet Versturme-Bunbury
was born in the Barton Regis (Clifton?) district of Gloucestershire in 1889.
In April 1909, a Lieutenant J. C. P. Versturme-Bunbury disembarked
at Cape Town (10a). On 17 October 1912 he married Irish-born Dorothy
Going at the Parish Church of Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire. His residence
was given as Highfield-Hartley, Plymouth, Devon, and he was described as
a Gentleman, aged 23. Dorothy Going was the adopted daughter of Col.
George Nuttall Going (1861-1943) and his wife Leila Mary (1860-1938),
nee Ellis, a first cousin, twice removed of Richard Ellis. Family papers
suggest that Dorothy was born in Rugby on 11 October 1890, but the identity
of her natural parents is unknown. Dorothy's marriage certificate gives
her residence as Poyle Close, Colnbrook, her age as 21 and her father's
name and profession are those of her adoptive father.
George and Dorothy had one son, John Going Versturme-Bunbury, born
in Victoria, British Columbia, on 12th August 1918. John served as a student
pilot with the RAF, moving to a training school in Arizona in July 1943.
On the afternoon of 17 August 1943, J.G. Versturme-Bunbury, Leading Aircraftsman,
RAF Volunteer Reserve (Service No: 1809485), was killed when his
airplane collided with another place mid-air over Falcon Field, Mesa
City, Maricopa County, Arizona. The coroner's report established
that he suffered multiple fractures of the head, arms and legs, causing
instant death. His death was not reported in The Times until October
15th 1943. (11) He was buried at Lot 4, Block 528, Grave 4, Mesa City Cemetery.
The Debt of Honour register gives his age as 25, and states that he also
served in the Merchant Navy and that his parents were living in San Francsico.
John's address was given as Apt 2, 1335 Washington Street, San Francisco.
John Clement Paillet Versturme-Bunbury was buried close to his son in 1937.
His memorial says he was born Clifton, England 1889 and died in San Francisco
in 1937. Although he died in 1937, he was buried with the fallen men from
the Royal Air Force. Thus, he must have been re-buried there after the death
of his son. Images of both gravestones are to be found on www.arizonagravestones.org.
On May 5th 1947, The Times dedicates a short obituary to Richard Versturme-Bunbury, another of Adolphus and Mary Ann's sons. 'By [his] death last month, Kenya Colonly lost one of the diminishing band of those who may still be called pioneers. In 1904 he visited the colony and stayed there ever since, becoming the first ever Justice of the Peace, and an active members of the Convention of Associations when it was a power in the land. A keen sportsman and a fine shot. He was fortunate in his first home, Kiboko Flats, for the country teemed with game in those early days. In 1927, he married Eva, daughter of Sir Kenneth Kemp, and ten years later they settled on the shores of Lake Naivasha, where he did much sailing and boating. An active member of the Naivasha Yacht Club, he gave much time during the war to entertaining convalescent service men who spent happy days on the lake and its shores with him. A keen freemason, he achieved high rank in his craft. "His charm, gentleness, wisdom and knowledge won him many friends in many communities, and the world is a sweeter place for his having passed through it"'. (13)
With thanks to Anthony Bunbury, Peter Bunbury, Phil Bendall, Bruce Trewin, Ken Baker, Caryn Aston and Richard Ellis.
1. The Times, Saturday, Feb 07, 1829; pg. 4; Issue 13823; col D
2. Charles E. Lart., Huguenot Pedigrees vol. 2, Baltimore: Clearfield
Company, 1989. page 68
3. Peter Bunbury has a copy the certificate registered by her son-in-law
North North. Her will, drawn up in 1886, gives her worth as 96 pounds, whilst
her husband, who died in 1882, left 163 pounds. Peter suggests they were
avoiding death duty avoidance.
4. Who then is Henry Bunbury North (b 28 March 1869)? See also 'The
parish of Tunstall', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8 (1914),
pp. 225-230. Date accessed: 13 December 2007.
5. According to Ken Baker, "Palairet is not the original spelling
of the name which I believe was probably of French origin and would be "Paillet",
Indeed if you look at the IGI under Versturme you will pick up a whole Paillet-Versturme
family - they were clearly of German origin". The 1871 census of
Wales mentions Adolphus Halkett Versturme age 34 born Bath and Mary Ann
Versturme age 27 born Harrow, Middlesex.
6. Could the name Septimus mean that the Rev. Septimus Bunbury, "author"
of the crudest book of Limericks I have ever had the fortune to read is
in fact a real person?!
7. The Times, Monday, Aug 21, 1950.
8. The Times, Monday, May 10, 1909; pg. 11; Issue 38955; col C
9. The Times, Monday, Aug 03, 1931; pg. 1; Issue 45891; col A
10. The Times, Monday, Aug 16, 1943; pg. 1; Issue 49625; col A
11. The Times Roll of Honour on Friday, Oct 15, 1943; pg. 7; Issue
49677; col C.
12. The Times, Friday, Mar 06, 1953
13. The Times, Monday, May 05, 1947; pg. 7; Issue 50752; col E