Hart, Edward Aubrey

The son of Thomas Gray Hart, artist, was born, March 1 2, 1842, at Southampton, and was educated at the Reverend Eldred Woodland's School at Southampton. He joined the Union Steamship Company, Ltd, in Sep, 1857, when the first mail steamer sailed for Cape Town, and was appointed Secretary, of the Company on January 1, 1870, and Manager and Secretary, in 1893. This position he retained until the amalgamation of the Union with the Castle SS Company, in 1900; and he retired from the Company in 1903. During these thirty years he was frequently consulted by the various Government Depts., especially by the Transport Department of the Admiralty, for whom he arranged the conveyance of many thousands of troops in Boer War. In 1884 he was instrumental in providing Her Majesty's Govt, with two of the then fastest steamers, the Moor and Mexican, as armed cruisers. The former was the only merchant ship at that time which flew the pennant; she was commanded by Royal Naval officers, carried a naval crew, and was armed with heavy guns. It was likewise his good fortune to he called upon to make all arrangements for the journey to Africa of the ill-fated Prince Imperial at the time of the Zulu War, and when the body of the dead Prince was interred at Chislehurst Mr Hart was one of the very few Englishmen, outside the Royal family, who were invited into the chapel. Subsequently Mr Hart was requested to carry through all the arrangements for the journey out and home to Natal of the Empress Eugenie, and on her return to England he was specially thanked by Her Majesty. Mr Hart married, Oct, 1868, Harriette Steele, daughter of John Dotterill, of Gosport.

From angloboerwar.com