Brevet Major. Henry Spalding of Rorke's Drift and Information for Columns

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(Isandula Collection)
Spalding is seating on ground first on left

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(Isandula Collection)
Information for Columns document of March 3, 1879 signed by Spalding as D.A.Q.M.G. on the Headquarter's Staff

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H. Spalding Major DAQMG

What is this the abbreviation of. "D.A.Q.M.G."

He was actually: D.A.A.Q.M.G. or Deputy Acting Adjutant and Quartermaster-General.

That's good!

Do we know where Spalding is buried.

Excellent work Steve , much appreciated .
90th

Ulundi wrote:

Do we know where Spalding is buried.

Can't find much on Spalding. After the Zulu War. .?

Born 27.9.1840
Commitioned Ensign 20.2.1858
Commitioned Lieut 9.10.1859
Commitioned Capt 9.2.1868
Brevet of Major 1879
Substantive Major 16.10.1880
Honorary Lieut Col 22.12.1880
Regimental Instructor of Musketry 1865-1868
Retired 22.12.1880
Kaffir Campaign operation against Galekas Zulu Campaign
Mentioned in Dispatches L.G. 15.3.79
Acted as marshal at funeral of the prince Imperial.

I have seen it somewhere that I can't find at present--that he was quite the scholar and a writer of some repute.  Anyone know his middle initial?

Here's a book he translated in 1874.

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Steve

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EUGENE ONEGUINE
A ROMANCE OF RUSSIAN LIFE
IN VERSE
by
ALEXANDER PUSHKIN

TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN
by

LIEUT.-COL. SPALDING

LONDON

MACMILLAN AND CO.

1881

So now we know what the now retired from regular duty Lt. Col. Henry Spalding spent his time doing---first English translation from Russian of Alexander Pushkin's pioneering novel. Isandula

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Just to Echo Ulundi's words. " Do we know where Spalding is buried?

Graves1879, TIm, LH any chance you could help.?

Hi All

Unknown to me

Been doing a little research on Henry Spalding and its a little intriguing.

He was born in St Pancras, his father Thomas Spalding was a Wholesale Stationer (the Spaldings are major players in the book and paper trade in London from the 18th century).
In 1871 he is a Captain with the 104th in Aldershot. We then know about his Zulu War exploits.
He leaves the Army in 1880, at the early age of 40, and in the 1881 census he is living at 209 Albany St. St Pancras with his wife Ruby who is then 18 years old. I can find no record of a marriage and Ruby is said to have been born at sea. Is there perhaps a little whiff of scandal ?
We next find him in the 1891 census at a house called Ryde Vale in Streatham, South London, he is 50 and Ruby is now 28, no children and he is described as a Retired Lt. Colonel. No obvious source of income but perhaps family money?  
In 1901 Henry is living at 29 Bury St, St James, Westminster, now aged 60 and a widow - so poor Ruby has died, but no sign of that in the records. He died at 24 Chapel St, Belgrave Square on 22 May 1907 leaving effects of £602. 0. 1d. to his brother John Howard Spalding (a Wholesale Stationer). Probably buried in one of the great North London Cemeteries but no clue about which one.

But who was Ruby, where did she come from, what happened to her? - more detective work required.

Steve

Interesting post Steve. Some good information. Let's Find Spaldings Grave

"Come along Watson, the game is afoot". (Sherlock Holmes).

Surely they got it wrong in 1901 saying that he was a 'widow', a widow is a woman, should they not have said 'widower'?

I wonder who Ruby was? And your right Steve, there is a whiff, and it's certainly not a 'Will's whiff'

'Ruby' might have 'taken her love to town', and then did a runner with a younger bloke, and to save face Spalding said she was dead, hummmm!

With a name like Spalding you would have thought that he might have been related to the plant and seed firm

I can see we are going to have to call on Poirot, Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon for this one

Martin

Your quite right about widower, the original entry actually says "Wdr". My mistake.

Steve

08 July 1896 - Kirkintilloch Herald
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Wow, great find Graves. Love the report that she punched the Chief Constable in the face before being manhandled down to the cells. There must be so much more to this than we know about. Where was the son in the census? Did she really die before 1901 or did Spalding quietly get rid of her? How did all this rebound on the life of a Colonel in Victorian Society? I want to know more!

Steve

Steve

Yes what a story.

I think the son (Walter) is on the 1891 census but as a Visitor? but I could be incorrect.

I need to find more now

The following research comes from Graham Mason and Denise Neufeld.

"And so the story continues re Maj Spalding ::::::::::::::::::::. When he left the army on the 22 Dec 1880 , Spalding was given the rank of Lt Col, by the census of 1881 Spalding was living with his , " wife " Ruby , at least they were living together as such . Ruby is shown as 18 and Spalding as 40. I decided to look further as to the date of marriage , , despite much head scratching no marriage was found of a RUBY to Henry Spalding . However i carried on . Then on the 2nd March 1884 a son , WALTER HENRY SPALDING WAS BORN IN LONDON. Then a breakthrough , i found the marriage and also the DEATH of " Ruby " but this was the name she used , not her birth name which was RUBINA FREDERICA C NAGHTEN bc 1863, she is shown as being , " BORN AT SEA " and also in Southampton! . The marriage took place in 1888 some 4 years after the birth of WALTER , thier son. The marriage took place , June Qtr 1888 Wandsworth London Vol 1d - 1031. At what point the abuse / bad treatment of WALTER started we can only speculate , suffice to say that by 1896 , " Ruby " had been arrested and put on trial , as seen by earlier data. A short time after her trial , Rubina SPALDING died , aged just 33 , i am going to get her death certificate ( 1896 ) to see what the cause of her death was . Why WALTER was shown as a , " visitor " on the census can only be guessed at. Walter as has been indicated left his parents and in 1900 aged 16 he went to live with his Uncle ( ARTHUR REED SPALDING ) who had emigrated to Canada in 1886.Walter can be found on the 1901 Canadian census and other census of CANADA / USA. By 1940 he is in SAN CARLOS SAN MATEO CALIFORNIA aged 56 , with his wife Jessie Maria SPALDING. He is an owner of a lunch bar with Jessie as his assistant. In 1942 aged 58 , Walter SPALDING is shown on a draft card as living at 612 EL-COMINO San Carlos , CALIFORNIA. The last we hear of WALTER was his death on the 20th FEB 1964 at ALAMEDA : CALIFORNIA. My thanks go to Denise who has contributed greatly to this fascinating and somewhat sad story of the man designated as Commanding Officer RORKES DRIFT Jan 1879 , Denise and i are still looking into matters on this subject matter . In a rorkesdrift forum , it was stated that Maj SPALDING ( HENRY JOSEPH SPALDING ) was born , 14th July 1840 in London and baptised , 15th Aug 1841 at Old Church St Pancras . Howerver , the parents indicated are HENRY & MATILDA SPALDING !!! , these are NOT the parents of Maj Spalding whose parents were THOMAS SPALDING & ELIZA HALTON , Thomas married again after ELIZA died in 1851 to ELIZABETH REED in 1853 HACKNEY LONDON. Thomas & ELIZABETH had a number of children and so Maj ( Lt Col ) Henry SPALDING had a number of HALF BROTHERS & SISTERS and so further investigations are due."

Good stuff. I note that in the 1891 census, where Walter appears as a visitor age 7, his name is given as Walter Eaton (looks like). Was he actually their son I wonder?

Henry Spalding also allegedly spent some time as an officer at the British Embassy in St Petersberg where he learnt Russian. Could it be that his rather odd career and history indicates some involvement in "the great game". Wouldn't surprise me at all if he had been a budding James Bond! But sheer speculation.

Steve

Hello Isandula and Co.
I would like to write a small biography on Henry Spaling and post it on Wikipedia.
Is it OK for me to uses information from the forum and posted images?
Let me know, please, before I begin my writing.
Thank you

Hi Olddisco

Welcome to the forum.

Yes you can use anything that I have posted but would need permission re the post form "The following research comes from Graham Mason and Denise Neufeld."

Yes, if you are going to use my two photos, just credit (Ron Sheeley Collection)

Thank you.
I`ll keep you posted of my progress.

Link to unapproved draft
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For info the 1881 census was conducted on 3rd April 1881.
Excellent and interesting research.

First bump during article review. We need explicit permission from Ron Sheeley Collection.
How do I find Ron Sheeley?
Any ideas?
See below:
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Hi Olddisco

Send Isandula a PM on the forum, he is on most days.

Olddisco,

A few things ref your draft entry:

1. The spelling of Rorke's (as in Rorke's Drift) is incorrect in one instance.

2. I don't quite understand this sentence, which seems to suggest that Spalding's departure somehow contributed towards the successful defence of the post:

'Henry's decision to abandon his post in search of a missing regiment and to leave Lieutenant John Chard in charge of the post was a key component of British victory of Battle of Rorke's Drift.'

3. Also, in relation to the above sentence; Spalding went to Helpmekaar to chase up an overdue company, not a 'regiment'.


Hope this helps.

Neil

Olddisco
With respect, on reading your draft, I wonder whether English is in fact not your first language. Certain un-English turns of phrase and uncertainty over definite/indefinite articles, quite apart from Neil's comments, point in this direction. If so, I suggest you ask a native speaker to run his eye over it and make the necessary corrections.

Not just this topic but most, generally jar the nerves when the 'Battle' is refered to. Although strictly correct I have always prefered the term 'Defence'. Just me being pedantic. Blame it on the lock down.

Having just spent hours trying to untangle my first cousin 4 times removed, I find you guys have done almost all of it for me. At least with data sets are aligned!
I would love the read the draft Wiki page Olddisco mention, but appears not to be accepted yet. They can we a pain about many things, so I an thinking to publish biographies on my own (very immature) webpage (thespaldings.net) if that helps. I did start the Spalding and Hodge wiki one.
Insandula how can I get a higher resolution copy of the fabulous pictures you posted?
Did anybody find the grave of Henry? Or the birth of his wife?
Her father from the 1888 marriage cert is Arthur Robert Naghten (deceased), Gentleman. I do find an 1871 census in Millbrook in Hampshire with that person – occupation Landowner and Capt Hampshire Artillery. Is there a link to Henry’s military service? Though of course getting pregnant before marriage must be hard and then the court case and early death are strange (I am waiting for the death cert from the GRO).
I am still struggling to find the son's birth record in FreeBMD, Ancestry, Find My Past or GRO index. Help!

Best wishes

Richard Spalding

Thanks Richard, and well come to the forum. A lot of food for thought there. Let’s hope we good a good response.

Hi Richard
Firstly welcome to the Forum , are you aware Henry wrote a book ? , the title escapes me , but from what I know Rorke's Drift is only covered in a couple of sentences ! . I haven't checked the other posts to see if it's mentioned .
90th

They are named in the posts of 14 and 15 Oct 2014 et seq. The Khiva one is very interesting.
Julian

Thanks for the welcome! I now received the death certificates for Ruby (died of Pnuenmonia after 14 days) on 7 Nov 1896. The informant was NOT Henry but Ann Hemesley. Address is 32 Merrick Square in London - looks a nice address but guess could have been a nursinghome/hospital.

I also got Herny's death cert for good measure (22 May 1907 of Sarcoma of posterior Mediastinum and heart failure).

Still struglging to find the birth registrations for the wife and son.

I am also in touch with the family in Canada who the son moved to (and then he went on to USA), but I guess this no so important for this group. It is all rather strange.

I also joined the RorkesDriftVC.com forum - but they seem less active. There is a mention there by AndyR (in 2005!) had purchased Henry's medals. Does anybody know AndyR - or are you in this group?

Richard

You can send him a private message - see members' list on RD forum.

Hi All,
As there seems to be a lot of interest in Henry Spalding, he was Buried on 25 may 1907 in Brookwood Cemetery Surrey, his wife Rubina Frederica was Buried 12 Nov 1896, they are both in the same Grave, Book Ref Grave Number -159723, the actual grave reference is Section F Grave 131908, he was 66 years of age.
Rai KLH.

Hi All

Just to add a little more information on what Rai has stated.

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It looks like Henry was cremated and his ashes were put into his wife's grave.

Andy

Fantastic - I have found AndyR and he still has the Henry Spalding medals, so now have pictures.

Richard