Sullivan James Becher
(1812-1877)
SULLIVAN JAMES BECHER, the 4th son of George Becher and Harriet Geldart Barclay, was born 17th May 1812 at Colombo, Ceylon.
In September 1813 he and his parents and his brothers embarked at Calcutta and sailed to The Cape aboard the Mornington.
He entered Haileybury in 1828 aged 16 and left in 1831 and went out to India in late 1832 and was appointed a Deputy Collector in Calcutta.
Six months later, in 1833, he had a midnight dispute with another English resident, Mr Wight, a solicitor, who was subsequently charged with assault. Sullivan's court statement, quoted in full here, well illustrates the societal norms of the period. 'I am in the Civil Service; and have been six months in this country. On the evening of the 21st March I passed through Wellesley Street, at about 12 o'clock at night, but I thought I was in Durumtollah. I stopped at a gate where I saw a light, and desired my syce (groom) to ask whose house it was. I had no previous knowledge of the house. The syce made the enquiry, when a person came out, then returned; and then rushed out with a number of people, among whom were some chokeydars (watchmen). They were ordered by Mr Wight to seize my horse's head, which they did, and Mr Wight immediately came up to the side of my buggy, and asked me my name. I refused to give it him, and asked what he meant by seizing my buggy, as I had given him no cause of offence. He said he knew who I was, and, mentioning a gentleman's name, again asked me for mine. He then took the light out of the buggy, and said he would find out who I was. He put the light up to my face, and after looking at me, said he did not know me. I replied that I knew who he was, and asked why he had seized my horse's head ? He told the people to let go the horse, but immediately countermanded his order, and, seizing my whip, struck me with it once or twice. I immediately jumped out of the buggy, when Mr Wight retreated towards the house, and I was surrounded with chokeydars. I then got into my buggy again, and drove off.'
When cross-examined, he said: 'I will not swear there were chokeydars there, but I am almost certain that some of the people were chokeydars. There were three of four persons besides myself, Mr Wight, and my syce; two of them were chokeydars: I knew them by their dark-coloured turbans. I was in perfect possession of my faculties that night. I reside at the College and was proceeding homewards from Garden Reach. My intention was to go home, but when I saw the house lighted-up, I stopped there. I do go to houses where I see light sometimes, and sometimes at twelve o'clock at night, on my way homewards. I did not consult anyone on the occurrence that night or the next morning; on the following day I consulted my father, who took me to the police. I consulted no person until I consulted my father. I did tell Mr Wight it was a cowardly assault, and that I would have recourse to the police. On the 26th, when I saw an infamous article in the paper, I consulted Mr Graham, but not on the subject of the assault itself. I did not consider it as a gentlemanly insult. A gentlemanly insult should be resented in a gentlemanly manner. The injury was not considerable. It was struck on my cap and my shoulder. I did not move over to the other side of the buggy when Mr Wight put the light in my face, I was within reach of the whip when it was taken; I did not swear at the police that I was not. I did write that letter to the John Bull. The horse's head was towards the church-yard when I first saw the house. That is not the way to the buildings; but I thought I was in the Durumtollah. I was then in search of a house in the neighbourhood where I had been a few nights before. I had been in search of it that night, but was not so when I fell in with the lighted house. I did state at the police station, that evidently Mr Wight was expecting an attack on his house. I was not aware of whose house it was, and went without invitation from anyone. Mr Wight said he believed that I was Mr Ryan; and I suppose he was there to defend his house against any one. My horse was not trotting on when his head was seized; I did not drive away then; I pulled up a little beyond the house. This did not take place twenty or thirty yards from the door, but at a very little distance. The people who stopped the buggy came out of the house, and did not come from an opposite direction. After I had driven away, I returned and re-passed the door. The syce did not knock violently at the door. I have heard of the Culloden Case (A report published in the John Bull newspaper on 26th March 1833, headed “Another Culloden Case”) but I did not know to what house it had reference. I did not know of any other attacks having been made on that house. I might have said to some of my friends that I might have been flushed with wine, but that I was not. I came straight from Garden Reach' (a suburb located on the Hooghly river) to Calcutta without deviation.
'I have been residing in Writer's Buildings since January last. My syce had not been long in my service, and had never attended me to Garden Reach before. I had been dining at Mr McNaughten's and was not flushed with wine. I am quite certain that I was never in that house before. The letter I have spoken of was written in reply to an infamous article that appeared in the paper. My father is a colonel in the military service, and was the first person I consulted in this matter. This is the article I have called an infamous libel. (The witness was here requested to read over the article, which he did, and declared the whole to be libel from beginning to end.) I had a stick in my hand when Mr Wight struck me. The stick was close to Mr Wight's head; but I did not strike him.'
Various witnesses were called and then, after deliberating for three hours, the jury found 'Mr Wight guilty of an assault on the person of Mr Becher to the extent of having slightly struck Mr Becher with a whip, but under circumstances which induce the jury to attribute no moral blame to Mr Wight, whom they beg to recommend in the strongest manner to the gracious consideration of the court.' The verdict was: Guilty and Mr Wight was fined one sicca (one newly minted coin) rupee.
A condition of his job as a Collector was that he become proficient in at least two of the native languages which he studied at Fort William. On 24th February 1834 he was ordered to return to England having exceeded the period within which he ought to have qualified in two of the languages. However, five weeks later it was discovered there had been a mix-up and on 1st April it was declared that he had in fact passed the proficiency examination and the order was revoked.
From 22nd October 1838 to 22nd September 1840 he was a Collector in Futtepore and from 1842 he was Joint Magistrate in Juanpore. He married Mary Maria Sarah Nash on 25th June 1838 at Cawnpore. She was born 1822 at Agra the daughter of General Joseph Nash CB and Dina Margaretha Leibbrandt. She died 27th January 1887 at 19 The Leas, Folkestone late of 36 Manor Road, Folkestone.
In 1839 his portrait was painted and shown at the Royal Academy Exhibition that year. It is not known what became of the portrait.
In April 1844 he and his wife and their three children sailed to the Cape aboard the Vernon. Their fourth child was born at Rondebosch and baptized at Cape Town that August. It is not known how long they stayed at the Cape but by 1853 he was the Officiating Judge at Azimgurh.
In 1855 he proceeded to Europe on a Medical Certificate on the steamer Bentinck under leave granted by the madras government and the following year it was extended by six months.
At some point the family sailed to England since in the 1871 Census they were living at Richmond Villa, Weston Park, Weston near Bath by which time he was on an annuity. He died on 21st November 1877 at Richmond Villa and was buried at Smallcombe Cemetery, Bath. The memorial inscription reads: In affectionate memory of Sullivan James Becher who died Novr 21st 1877, aged 65. ― in life dearly loved in death deeply mourned; Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
There were seven children:
1. GEORGINA HARRIET BECHER was born 15th June 1839 at Cawnpore and by 1851 she was at school at 6 Cavendish Street, Bath. She married Col. Thomas Reid Davidson on 22nd August 1861 at Mussoorie, Bengal. He was born about 1839 in India the son of Thomas Reid Davidson and Helen Eliza Paton and died 24th November 1885 at Meerut. She died 23rd June 1931 at Bath, Somerset. There were four children.
2. Col. SULLIVAN EDWARD BECHER was born 15th December 1840 at Juanpore, Bengal. He entered Addiscombe Military Seminary near Croydon as a Cadet and duly went out to India. He was appointed Ensign in the Bengal Infantry General List on 7th July 1860; Lieutenant - 1st January 1861; Captain and Adjutant 2nd Goorka Regiment - 29th April 1869; Major - 7th July 1880. He was later Lt. Col. of the 2nd Battalion 2nd Prince of Wales' Ghurkha Rifles, the regiment he had helped to raise at Dehra Dun in 1886.
In 1874 he went on furlough to Europe where he married Constantia Ann Becher on 14th October 1874 at Holy Trinity Church, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. She was born 1851 in Canada the daughter of Henry Cory Rowley Becher QC and Sarah Evanson of 'Thornwood', London, Ontario – Thornwood is one of the second oldest surviving historic houses in Canada and was constructed by Henry C.R. Becher in 1852. Henry Cory Rowley Becher was a member of the Irish branch of the Becher family tree and this marriage represents the only time members of the two distinct but ancestrally connected branches intermarried.
To find out more about the Becher's Irish branch click here.
He died at Mussorie on 5th August 1887 of cholera and was initially buried there but his wife was distressed by the unsuitability and crowded situation of his grave and in January 1888 wrote to Lord Dufferin, then Viceroy of India, to seek his help getting permission for her husband's body to be exhumed and re-buried. Permission was eventually granted with the provisos that a certificate be obtained from the Civil Surgeon at Mussorie that there would be no risk to the public; that disinfectants certified by him be used during the exhumation; and that the body during removal be enclosed in an airtight zinc coffin which is not taken off until the reburial takes place. Thus he was buried at Dehra Dun where his grave was inscribed: 'Colonel Sullivan Edward Becher Commandant 2nd Battalion 2nd POW Gurkhas.'
On 8th August 1887 The Times of India published an obituary:
THE LATE COLONEL BECHER
Recognising as we all must needs do that the summons to pass from life to death may reach us at any time, it is not unusual to say of one who has passed away to say, simply and briefly, that he was, and is not. But the circumstances under which Col. S.E. Becher has just lost his life, and the esteem in which he was widely held, claim more than such passing notice. It may safely be affirming that during more than one past decade there have been few considerable wars in India where the Bechers have not had one or more representative: and descended from leading men, civil and military Colonel Becher was a worthy cadet of a well-known Indian family. It is, however, not intended to dwell here on his war services. Briefly, they were rendered with one of the most gallant battalions in H.M.'s Army the 2nd P.O.W. Gurkhas, and they concluded, for the time being, with the attack around Pir Paimal, at the battle of Kandahar; where Major Becher with his wing of little Gurkhas fought their way side by side with Major White and his sturdy Highlanders. Such services are given as usual in the Army Lists, and it is well so, for in the presence of others Colonel Becher rarely made any allusion to them, unless in some anecdote in what had marked gallantry in others or had touched his own sympathies. “We were attacking a village held by the enemy” (Afghans) he once related, “when suddenly a horseman charged through our extended line, and though fired at repeatedly, rode resolutely on. But while passing through, he lost his hold on a bundle and, dropped it. We soon found it in the bright moonlight. It contained a pretty little girl, some three or four years old; probably the daughter of a man who had escaped. I made her over for the time to a Highlander who happened to be near. There was plenty of firing going on; the enemy were shouting vigorously; and in all this din, it was such a strange sight, (here the Colonel's blue eyes softened with kindly sympathy and a sense of quiet humour) “to see this sturdy Highlander nursing this delicate little girl and trying to sooth her terrors all in Gaelic.” Of course, the little prisoner was eventually handed to her friends.
Taking up events within the last eighteen months or so, Colonel Becher commenced the formation of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkhas by enlisting recruits at Darjeeling and elsewhere on the Nepal frontier. In due course his numbers were completed. There followed the painstaking task of converting unusually raw recruits into a disciplined battalion; but so well did he and his officers succeed in this than they earned the approval of the General when he was inspecting the two battalions last winter.
Last summer began with nothing to mar the happiness and prosperity of the combined new and old cantonments which Colonel Becher, as senior officer, commanded at Dehra Dun; and it was only some six or eight weeks ago that the invisible and silent enemy, cholera, entered the barracks. Every possible effort was made to protect the men, and though in all the percentage of deaths on seizures has been considerable, the total number of the latter on the strength of the force has not been excessive. But the epidemic more than made for this by persistence; cases occurred, now daily, then at intervals; now the recoveries were many; again the majority succumbed; and so on, life and death succeeded in recurring alternation, which seemed to have no end.
None but those who have endured the experiences of a cholera camp, where the disease has persistently returned again and again, can have any idea of the depression which such a state may engender, especially in one, who, like Colonel Becher, had many hundreds of lives entrusted to his care. Nor was he an exception; he had only one anxiety, and that was for his men; this one occupied his thoughts incessantly. Little wonder then that he was unable for weeks to take sufficient food or even sleep, or that he was worn and exhausted by the continual strain.
His brother officers became anxious; they urged that the epidemic was easing, and that he should seek at least temporary respite at Mussorie. But their endeavours were too long in vain. At last, he rode uphill reluctantly, cheery and uncomplaining, but work, and with a look in which coming disaster might easily be read; in fact, he was saturated with cholera. Only forty-eight hours after arrival at Mussorie came the seizure, and thirty-one hours later, he was no more. Warm-hearted and unselfish, a gentleman in every act, a staunch friend and a generous antagonist, he died in the prime of life, and truly in the execution of a soldier's duty as if he had fallen in earning the Victoria Cross.
Three days later on 11th August 1877 The Times of India reported that:
Our correspondent writing on the 6th inst, says: I am sorry to have to announce the death yesterday, from cholera, of Colonel Becher, Commanding the 2nd P.O.W. Gurkhas. The regiment has been suffering from a severe attack of cholera for some time past. Colonel Becher was indefatigable in his attendance, cheering and comforting his men. He came up to Mussorie last Wednesday apparently in perfect health, and never complained of feeling unwell. He was seized the following morning and died yesterday about 1pm. Baffling all medical skill. His remains were interred this day at 10am in the Mussorie cemetery. The Band of H.M. Lancashire Regiment was in attendance, as well as a large party of soldiers from the convalescent depot. The volunteers also followed his remains to the grave. The Major General and Staff, a host of officers, all in uniform, as well as a number of civilians and private friends, were in attendance. Three volleys were fired over his remains. Colonel Becher leaves a wife and three children to lament his loss. Colonel Becher was a very popular officer, and was much respected and esteemed by all who knew him.'
In 1957 there was a commemorative service at the Green Jackets barracks in Winchester to celebrate 120 years of friendship between the Gurkhas and the Guides which began at the Ridge in Delhi during the Indian Mutiny. Part of this commemoration was a church service held in the Garrison church at Winchester Barracks during which a tablet which had been removed from Dehra Dun at the time of Partition in 1947 was rededicated. Three names are on the tablet which was originally erected by their fellow officers, the first of which is Lt. Col. S.E. Becher, died 5th August 1887.
HIs wife left India in February 1888 and lived variously at Hove, Sussex and Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. She died on 13th August 1931 at Crowthorne, Berkshire.
There were three children:
1. GEORGINA HARRIET BECHER was born 15th June 1839 at Cawnpore and by 1851 she was at school at 6 Cavendish Street, Bath. She married Col. Thomas Reid Davidson on 22nd August 1861 at Mussoorie, Bengal. He was born about 1839 in India the son of Thomas Reid Davidson and Helen Eliza Paton and died 24th November 1885 at Meerut. She died 23rd June 1931 at Bath, Somerset. There were four children.
2. Col. SULLIVAN EDWARD BECHER was born 15th December 1840 at Juanpore, Bengal. He entered Addiscombe Military Seminary near Croydon as a Cadet and duly went out to India. He was appointed Ensign in the Bengal Infantry General List on 7th July 1860; Lieutenant - 1st January 1861; Captain and Adjutant 2nd Goorka Regiment - 29th April 1869; Major - 7th July 1880. He was later Lt. Col. of the 2nd Battalion 2nd Prince of Wales' Ghurkha Rifles, the regiment he had helped to raise at Dehra Dun in 1886.
In 1874 he went on furlough to Europe where he married Constantia Ann Becher on 14th October 1874 at Holy Trinity Church, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. She was born 1851 in Canada the daughter of Henry Cory Rowley Becher QC and Sarah Evanson of 'Thornwood', London, Ontario – Thornwood is one of the second oldest surviving historic houses in Canada and was constructed by Henry C.R. Becher in 1852. Henry Cory Rowley Becher was a member of the Irish branch of the Becher family tree and this marriage represents the only time members of the two distinct but ancestrally connected branches intermarried.
To find out more about the Becher's Irish branch click here.
He died at Mussorie on 5th August 1887 of cholera and was initially buried there but his wife was distressed by the unsuitability and crowded situation of his grave and in January 1888 wrote to Lord Dufferin, then Viceroy of India, to seek his help getting permission for her husband's body to be exhumed and re-buried. Permission was eventually granted with the provisos that a certificate be obtained from the Civil Surgeon at Mussorie that there would be no risk to the public; that disinfectants certified by him be used during the exhumation; and that the body during removal be enclosed in an airtight zinc coffin which is not taken off until the reburial takes place. Thus he was buried at Dehra Dun where his grave was inscribed: 'Colonel Sullivan Edward Becher Commandant 2nd Battalion 2nd POW Gurkhas.'
On 8th August 1887 The Times of India published an obituary:
THE LATE COLONEL BECHER
Recognising as we all must needs do that the summons to pass from life to death may reach us at any time, it is not unusual to say of one who has passed away to say, simply and briefly, that he was, and is not. But the circumstances under which Col. S.E. Becher has just lost his life, and the esteem in which he was widely held, claim more than such passing notice. It may safely be affirming that during more than one past decade there have been few considerable wars in India where the Bechers have not had one or more representative: and descended from leading men, civil and military Colonel Becher was a worthy cadet of a well-known Indian family. It is, however, not intended to dwell here on his war services. Briefly, they were rendered with one of the most gallant battalions in H.M.'s Army the 2nd P.O.W. Gurkhas, and they concluded, for the time being, with the attack around Pir Paimal, at the battle of Kandahar; where Major Becher with his wing of little Gurkhas fought their way side by side with Major White and his sturdy Highlanders. Such services are given as usual in the Army Lists, and it is well so, for in the presence of others Colonel Becher rarely made any allusion to them, unless in some anecdote in what had marked gallantry in others or had touched his own sympathies. “We were attacking a village held by the enemy” (Afghans) he once related, “when suddenly a horseman charged through our extended line, and though fired at repeatedly, rode resolutely on. But while passing through, he lost his hold on a bundle and, dropped it. We soon found it in the bright moonlight. It contained a pretty little girl, some three or four years old; probably the daughter of a man who had escaped. I made her over for the time to a Highlander who happened to be near. There was plenty of firing going on; the enemy were shouting vigorously; and in all this din, it was such a strange sight, (here the Colonel's blue eyes softened with kindly sympathy and a sense of quiet humour) “to see this sturdy Highlander nursing this delicate little girl and trying to sooth her terrors all in Gaelic.” Of course, the little prisoner was eventually handed to her friends.
Taking up events within the last eighteen months or so, Colonel Becher commenced the formation of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkhas by enlisting recruits at Darjeeling and elsewhere on the Nepal frontier. In due course his numbers were completed. There followed the painstaking task of converting unusually raw recruits into a disciplined battalion; but so well did he and his officers succeed in this than they earned the approval of the General when he was inspecting the two battalions last winter.
Last summer began with nothing to mar the happiness and prosperity of the combined new and old cantonments which Colonel Becher, as senior officer, commanded at Dehra Dun; and it was only some six or eight weeks ago that the invisible and silent enemy, cholera, entered the barracks. Every possible effort was made to protect the men, and though in all the percentage of deaths on seizures has been considerable, the total number of the latter on the strength of the force has not been excessive. But the epidemic more than made for this by persistence; cases occurred, now daily, then at intervals; now the recoveries were many; again the majority succumbed; and so on, life and death succeeded in recurring alternation, which seemed to have no end.
None but those who have endured the experiences of a cholera camp, where the disease has persistently returned again and again, can have any idea of the depression which such a state may engender, especially in one, who, like Colonel Becher, had many hundreds of lives entrusted to his care. Nor was he an exception; he had only one anxiety, and that was for his men; this one occupied his thoughts incessantly. Little wonder then that he was unable for weeks to take sufficient food or even sleep, or that he was worn and exhausted by the continual strain.
His brother officers became anxious; they urged that the epidemic was easing, and that he should seek at least temporary respite at Mussorie. But their endeavours were too long in vain. At last, he rode uphill reluctantly, cheery and uncomplaining, but work, and with a look in which coming disaster might easily be read; in fact, he was saturated with cholera. Only forty-eight hours after arrival at Mussorie came the seizure, and thirty-one hours later, he was no more. Warm-hearted and unselfish, a gentleman in every act, a staunch friend and a generous antagonist, he died in the prime of life, and truly in the execution of a soldier's duty as if he had fallen in earning the Victoria Cross.
Three days later on 11th August 1877 The Times of India reported that:
Our correspondent writing on the 6th inst, says: I am sorry to have to announce the death yesterday, from cholera, of Colonel Becher, Commanding the 2nd P.O.W. Gurkhas. The regiment has been suffering from a severe attack of cholera for some time past. Colonel Becher was indefatigable in his attendance, cheering and comforting his men. He came up to Mussorie last Wednesday apparently in perfect health, and never complained of feeling unwell. He was seized the following morning and died yesterday about 1pm. Baffling all medical skill. His remains were interred this day at 10am in the Mussorie cemetery. The Band of H.M. Lancashire Regiment was in attendance, as well as a large party of soldiers from the convalescent depot. The volunteers also followed his remains to the grave. The Major General and Staff, a host of officers, all in uniform, as well as a number of civilians and private friends, were in attendance. Three volleys were fired over his remains. Colonel Becher leaves a wife and three children to lament his loss. Colonel Becher was a very popular officer, and was much respected and esteemed by all who knew him.'
In 1957 there was a commemorative service at the Green Jackets barracks in Winchester to celebrate 120 years of friendship between the Gurkhas and the Guides which began at the Ridge in Delhi during the Indian Mutiny. Part of this commemoration was a church service held in the Garrison church at Winchester Barracks during which a tablet which had been removed from Dehra Dun at the time of Partition in 1947 was rededicated. Three names are on the tablet which was originally erected by their fellow officers, the first of which is Lt. Col. S.E. Becher, died 5th August 1887.
HIs wife left India in February 1888 and lived variously at Hove, Sussex and Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. She died on 13th August 1931 at Crowthorne, Berkshire.
There were three children:
1. HENRY SULLIVAN BECHER was born on 9th April 1876 Mussorie, Bengal. He entered Marlborough College in September 1888 at which time he was living with his mother at Portways, Warninglid, Cuckfield, Sussex and left at Easter 1892. He continued is education before entering the Military College at Sandhurst. He was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant on 22nd January 1896 and went out to India where he was attached to the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 4th April. The following year, on 9th August 1897, he transferred to the Indian Army joining the 2nd Battalion Goorkha Regiment, the regiment which his father raised at Dehra Dun in 1884. He was promoted Lieutenant 22nd January 1898; Captain 22nd January 1905 and Major on 22nd January 1914.
He served in operations in the Samana on the N.W. Frontier in 1897, receiving the medal with two clasps. He also took part in the Tirah Expedition in 1897-98 and was present at the actions of Chagra Kotal and Dargai, the capture of Sampagha and Arthanga Passes, at operations in the Waran and Bara valleys and action of the 16th November 1897, actions and operations around Dwatoi and action of the 24th November 1897, also operations against the Khani Khel Chamkanis, and in the Bara valley in December 1897, receiving a clasp to his medal. He took part in the Waziristan Expedition, N.W. Frontier, 1901-02, receiving an additional clasp. In an interesting aside, it was at this time that he introduced the Kashmir Hat to his regiment which was adopted by the regiment as the field service headdress in place of the puggaree.
From November 1909 to September 1911, he was ADC to the Commander in Chief, India, an appointment he gave up to rejoin his regiment in 1912 to take part in the Expedition to the Abor Country, for which campaign he received the medal and was Mentioned in Despatches. He was promoted Major in January 1914 and in The Times of 11th November that year a letter was published from someone who knew him well. 'Sullivan Becher's was a personality widely known and universally beloved. He lived in and for, and has died, as he would have wished, leading the gallant Gurkhas of the regiment which his father, Col Sullivan Becher (who was recommended for the Victoria Cross for his gallantry at the battle of Kandahar) raised in 1884.' He was killed in action between Béthune and Armentières, in the Neuve Chapelle area of the Western Front, on 2nd November 1914 covering a portion of the retiring line.
Merewether and Smith in their 1918 book The Indian Corps in France describe the action thus: ‘One shell blew four men into the air with the debris of the parapet, rifle and a machine gun and killed Lieut. Lucas while rallying his men. At the same time Major Becher was killed while trying to get his men back to the cover of an old trench.’ He is commemorated on the Neuve Chapelle Indian Memorial, France and on the WW1 Memorial at Wootton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire.
2. PHYLLIS ETHEL ENGLAND BECHER was born 19th May 1884 at Dehra Dun, N.W. Frontier. She married Major James Hugh Christie on 10th July 1907 at Marylebone, London. He was born in 1880 the son of Hugh Christie and Constance M. Christie. He served in the South African War and received both the King's and Queen's Medals. He was recommended for the Victoria Cross, but his commanding officer was shot in the same action before his intentions could be carried out. He was killed in action in France with the 4th Battalion Royal Irish Regiment on 4th May 1915. She died 20th July 1956 in Malta. There was one son.
3. RUTH ALICE MARY BECHER was born 22nd November 1886 in the North West Provinces and baptised on 6th February 1887 at Dehra Dun. She returned to England with her mother and at the 1891 Census was at home at 67 Cromwell Road, Hove, Sussex. She married 1st, Major Robert Cecil Lord MC RE on 6th February 1912 at Castle Lyons Church, Fermoy, Cork. He was born c. 1885, the son of Robert Lord. He was severely wounded in Mesopotamia in 1915 and ceased to be Deputy Assistant Director of Military Works, India, on 1st August 1922. It appears they divorced prior to 1929 when he remarried in Rangoon and he died in 1933.
She married 2nd, Captain Patrick Joseph Malone RA on 25th January 1929 at St Martin’s, London. He was born 21st April 1887 in Dublin the son of Edward Malone JP of Lucan, Ireland and died 11th December 1939.
They later moved to Warren Hill Cottage, Moulton, Newmarket, Suffolk where she died on 19th July.
* * *
3. PERCY CHESTER BECHER was born 1st June 1842 at Juanpore, Bengal. He was educated at Sydney College, Bath (now the Holburne Museum). At the time of death his address was given as Johnstone Street, Bath. He died on 5th June 1857 aged just 15 and was buried at Smallcombe Cemetery, Bath where the inscription on his headstone mistakenly states he is the son of George Becher. The inscription reads: TO THE MEMORY OF PERCY CHESTER BECHER. SECOND SON OF GEORGE BECHER ESQR BENGAL CIVIL SERVICE, WHO DIED A PUPIL OF SYDNEY COLLEGE ON THE 5 OF JUNE 1857, AGED 15 YEARS. OUR DAYS ARE AS THE GRASS OR LIKE THE MORNING FLOWR IF ONE SHARP BLAST SWEEP OE’R THE FIELD IT WITHERS IN AN HOUR BUT THY COMPASSIONS LORD TO ENDLESS YEARS ENDURE AND CHILDREN’S CHILDREN EVER FIND THY WORDS OF PROMISE SURE.
4. CECIL LEYCESTER BECHER was born 11th August 1844 at the Cape of Good Hope and baptized on 8th April 1845 at St John's Church, Wynberg, Cape Town. His parents brought him back to India with them. At some point he sailed to England where in 1861 he was staying with his uncle Henry Murray Becher and family at Westbury, Bristol. He was commissioned into the 7th Dragoon Guards as a Cornet on 14th September 1866 and his following commissions were: Lieutenant 17th April 1869; Captain 23rd January 1878; Major 11th August 1884. He became Regimental Paymaster on 18th July 1884. He took part in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 against Sudanese Forces including the actions of El Magfar, Masameh, Kassessin, and the battle of Tel-el-Kebir; and took part in the forced march to Cairo. He was awarded the Medal with clasp and the bronze star.
He married, firstly, Elizabeth 'Bessie' Coghlan Broadmead on 11th August 1887 at the Parish Church of Enmore, Somerset. She was born 1855 in Kensington the daughter of Thomas Palfry Broadmead and Harriet Bucknall. She died 11th January 1895 at Dover, Kent.
He married, secondly, Emily Sophia May Grove on 9th February 1898 at St Bartholomew's, Dover. She was born 6th February 1869 at Kamptee, India the second daughter of Col. William George Grove and Sarah; she died in 1954 at Bedford. He died on 23rd October 1933 and it was reported in The Times the following day that 'Major Cecil Leycester Becher was knocked down by a motor-car at Colchester on Sunday night and died yesterday at Essex County Hospital, Colchester of which he was at one time secretary.'
There was one son:
Edward Cecil Becher was born in 1899 at Colchester. He was educated at Wellington College between 1912 and 1916 and the following year was commissioned into the West Yorkshire Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was promoted Lieutenant in 1920 and became Adjutant in 1927 and Captain in 1929. In 1920 he became Treasurer and Honorary Secretary of the Essex Branch of the SSAFA.
He married, firstly, Frances Pepita Sutton in 1929 at Kensington though they divorced in 1933. She was born 11th February 1911 the daughter of Carina Descou Chester and General Francis Arthur Sutton (1884-1944) who, as a young engineer, built railways in Argentina and in Mexico prior to WW1. He lost his right hand at Gallipoli in an action that earned him the Military Cross. He became an overnight hero, “One Arm Sutton,” and more famous later as an inventor of a better fuse for the Stokes Mortar. After searching for gold in Siberia (1919-20) he accepted an offer by the warlord of Manchuria, Zhang Zuolin, to build a plant to manufacture mortars and projectiles and he was given the rank of General in the Chinese Army. In 1927 he arrived in Canada and proposed the opening of the Peace River Country by building a railway linking it with Vancouver and Edmonton. The scheme ignited a period of speculation during which he became the centre of publicity. His plans failed to materialise and his own heavy investment in Vancouver was lost in the fallout from the 1929 Great Crash. He returned to China in 1931 as a war correspondent, moving later to Korea to engage in mining. He was expelled by the Japanese in 1941 and moved to Hong Kong where he died a prisoner of war on 22nd October 1944. A champion golfer, he took his clubs everywhere – even to Gallipoli – marked as 'Theodolite, Legs of.'
Edward and Frances had one son and one daughter:
1. Derry Becher was born 15th May 1930 at Strensall Army Camp near York. On 26th July 1952 she embarked at Southampton on the Canberra bound for Montreal and was listed as a Kennel Worker. She married Arthur ‘Art’ S. Krause, the son of Frederick Krause and Marie Glum. For 30-40 years he was a thoroughbred racehorse trainer and owner. He was born 9th September 1911 and died 22nd April 1972 at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. She died 11th June 2019 in Pennsylvania. There were three children.
2. Mary "Molly" Georgina Becher was born 3rd November 1900 in Colchester, Essex. From November 1918 until March 1919 she did kitchen work on behalf of the British Red Cross in Colchester, Essex. She married Lt Col John Fowler Guyon Hislop on 6th April 1929 at St Andrew’s, Haputale, Ceylon. He was born 1893 in Okehampton, Devon, the son of Dr F.W. Hislop and Geraldine of New Zealand. He served in the South Lancashire Regiment 1914-1920 in WW1 and in India and retired in 1948. He died in 1968 at Colchester. She died in 1999 at Oxford. There were two sons.
Edward Cecil Becher married, secondly, Violet May McCausland, née Mumford, on 14th December 1934 at Westminster. She was born 1899 at Colchester the daughter of Arthur George Mumford and Beatrice and the widow of Major F.M. McCausland. After her husband's death she married Andrew McDonald Paul on 25th April 1963 in London. In 1968, according to the London Gazette, she reverted back to the name Becher and a widow for the second time living at 22 Queen's Gate Gardens, London. She died in 1974 at Chelsea; he died on 3rd July 1952 at St James Hospital, Balham.
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5. FRANK GEORGE BECHER was born 15th February 1850 at Azimgurgh, Bengal. At some point he sailed to Canada whether directly from India or not is not known but it was probably around 1869. In 1870 he was appointed Probationary Clerk in the office of the Postmaster General on Ottawa. HIs pay was $300 per month but it rose later to $500. He left Ottawa on being appointed the first and only Clerk of the Council in newly founded Sandy Bay, Keewatin District, on the shore of Manitoba Bay. Sandy Bay was hit by a severe outbreak of smallpox brought by Icelandic settlers at Gimli. By 1874 he was back in Ottawa as Private Secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor, Alexander Morris.
He married, firstly, Mary Mildenstein Caldwell Robertson on 12th November 1879 at St Paul's Church, London, Ontario. She was born about 1859 the daughter of Rev. William Henry Caldwell Robertson (who was also the father of Henry Cory Rowley Becher's second wife in the Bechers of Ireland line) and Mary Mildenstein. In the 1881 Canadian Census Frank and Mary were living at Carleton, Ottawa, Ontario. Sadly their marriage was not a long one for she died on 27th February 1887 at Christchurch, Bournemouth and was buried at Smallcombe Cemetery, Bath, England.
There were two children:
1. Maud Mary Mildenstein Becher was born 9th May 1881 at Carleton, Ontario, Canada but by 1901 she was living at home with her parents at St Margarets, Ipswich, England. She married Rev. Charles William Salter Millard on 23rd October 1917 at the Holy Trinity Church, Brompton. He was born 1874 in Depwade, Norfolk the son of Rev. Jeffrey Watson Millard and Sarah Elizabeth Shaw and died in 1943 at Oakley, Suffolk. She died in 1959 at Acle, Norfolk. There was one daughter.
He married, firstly, Frances Pepita Sutton in 1929 at Kensington though they divorced in 1933. She was born 11th February 1911 the daughter of Carina Descou Chester and General Francis Arthur Sutton (1884-1944) who, as a young engineer, built railways in Argentina and in Mexico prior to WW1. He lost his right hand at Gallipoli in an action that earned him the Military Cross. He became an overnight hero, “One Arm Sutton,” and more famous later as an inventor of a better fuse for the Stokes Mortar. After searching for gold in Siberia (1919-20) he accepted an offer by the warlord of Manchuria, Zhang Zuolin, to build a plant to manufacture mortars and projectiles and he was given the rank of General in the Chinese Army. In 1927 he arrived in Canada and proposed the opening of the Peace River Country by building a railway linking it with Vancouver and Edmonton. The scheme ignited a period of speculation during which he became the centre of publicity. His plans failed to materialise and his own heavy investment in Vancouver was lost in the fallout from the 1929 Great Crash. He returned to China in 1931 as a war correspondent, moving later to Korea to engage in mining. He was expelled by the Japanese in 1941 and moved to Hong Kong where he died a prisoner of war on 22nd October 1944. A champion golfer, he took his clubs everywhere – even to Gallipoli – marked as 'Theodolite, Legs of.'
Edward and Frances had one son and one daughter:
1. Derry Becher was born 15th May 1930 at Strensall Army Camp near York. On 26th July 1952 she embarked at Southampton on the Canberra bound for Montreal and was listed as a Kennel Worker. She married Arthur ‘Art’ S. Krause, the son of Frederick Krause and Marie Glum. For 30-40 years he was a thoroughbred racehorse trainer and owner. He was born 9th September 1911 and died 22nd April 1972 at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. She died 11th June 2019 in Pennsylvania. There were three children.
2. Mary "Molly" Georgina Becher was born 3rd November 1900 in Colchester, Essex. From November 1918 until March 1919 she did kitchen work on behalf of the British Red Cross in Colchester, Essex. She married Lt Col John Fowler Guyon Hislop on 6th April 1929 at St Andrew’s, Haputale, Ceylon. He was born 1893 in Okehampton, Devon, the son of Dr F.W. Hislop and Geraldine of New Zealand. He served in the South Lancashire Regiment 1914-1920 in WW1 and in India and retired in 1948. He died in 1968 at Colchester. She died in 1999 at Oxford. There were two sons.
Edward Cecil Becher married, secondly, Violet May McCausland, née Mumford, on 14th December 1934 at Westminster. She was born 1899 at Colchester the daughter of Arthur George Mumford and Beatrice and the widow of Major F.M. McCausland. After her husband's death she married Andrew McDonald Paul on 25th April 1963 in London. In 1968, according to the London Gazette, she reverted back to the name Becher and a widow for the second time living at 22 Queen's Gate Gardens, London. She died in 1974 at Chelsea; he died on 3rd July 1952 at St James Hospital, Balham.
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5. FRANK GEORGE BECHER was born 15th February 1850 at Azimgurgh, Bengal. At some point he sailed to Canada whether directly from India or not is not known but it was probably around 1869. In 1870 he was appointed Probationary Clerk in the office of the Postmaster General on Ottawa. HIs pay was $300 per month but it rose later to $500. He left Ottawa on being appointed the first and only Clerk of the Council in newly founded Sandy Bay, Keewatin District, on the shore of Manitoba Bay. Sandy Bay was hit by a severe outbreak of smallpox brought by Icelandic settlers at Gimli. By 1874 he was back in Ottawa as Private Secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor, Alexander Morris.
He married, firstly, Mary Mildenstein Caldwell Robertson on 12th November 1879 at St Paul's Church, London, Ontario. She was born about 1859 the daughter of Rev. William Henry Caldwell Robertson (who was also the father of Henry Cory Rowley Becher's second wife in the Bechers of Ireland line) and Mary Mildenstein. In the 1881 Canadian Census Frank and Mary were living at Carleton, Ottawa, Ontario. Sadly their marriage was not a long one for she died on 27th February 1887 at Christchurch, Bournemouth and was buried at Smallcombe Cemetery, Bath, England.
There were two children:
1. Maud Mary Mildenstein Becher was born 9th May 1881 at Carleton, Ontario, Canada but by 1901 she was living at home with her parents at St Margarets, Ipswich, England. She married Rev. Charles William Salter Millard on 23rd October 1917 at the Holy Trinity Church, Brompton. He was born 1874 in Depwade, Norfolk the son of Rev. Jeffrey Watson Millard and Sarah Elizabeth Shaw and died in 1943 at Oakley, Suffolk. She died in 1959 at Acle, Norfolk. There was one daughter.
2. Frank Frederick Sullivan Leycester Becher was born in 1883 in Canada and sailed to England with his parents and he appears in the 1891 Census with his parents at The Grange, Thelveton, Norfolk. He entered Ipswich School in 1897 but it is not known when he left. On 31st March 1901, the day of the Census, he was at home with his parents, but soon afterwards he sailed to the Cape and enlisted as a Trooper with the South African Mounted Rifles on 31st July as simply Frank Sullivan Becher. On 22nd June 1908, according to Masonry records, he was
initiated into the Anglo-Colonial Lodge.
By 1915 he had attained the rank of Sergeant and on 4th October that year he went to Windhoek Hospital complaining of appendicitis. His headquarters were cabled on the 15th to say he was in a critical condition following complications and he died on the 20th aged 32 and was buried at the Old Municipal Cemetery, Windhoek.
initiated into the Anglo-Colonial Lodge.
By 1915 he had attained the rank of Sergeant and on 4th October that year he went to Windhoek Hospital complaining of appendicitis. His headquarters were cabled on the 15th to say he was in a critical condition following complications and he died on the 20th aged 32 and was buried at the Old Municipal Cemetery, Windhoek.
3. Arthur Nash Becher MM was born 15th November 1884 in Ottawa and like his older brother sailed back to England with his parents and entered Ipswich School in 1897 though it is not known when he left. He worked as a Housekeeper at Paddington House, which presumably was connected to the Great Western Railway which ran out of Paddington Station, from 16th April 1906 until 14th October 1909 and afterwards sailed to Canada and claims on the Passenger Manifest – which then had to include immigration details – that he had stayed in British Columbia for seven years. He married Ann Mary Josephine Power on 17th April 1912 at the Holy Rosary Church, Vancouver. She was born in 1890 in Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of William Power and Catherine Mary Chastey but nothing else is known about her.
At some point he went to the Cape where, as he would later state on his Attestation Form, he spent 1913-15 with the South African Mounted Rifles and presumably his wife accompanied him to the Cape but it is not certain. On 21st September 1915 at Vancouver he enlisted in the 72nd Battalion Canadian Infantry, part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He gave his wife as his next of kin and stated that his previous occupation was Surveyor. His unit would have sailed to England and undergone further three months training at Bramshott Camp, near Liphook, Hampshire, before heading to the trenches of France which he did on 13th August 1916. He took part in various actions and was awarded the Military Medal for his actions at Vimy Ridge in March-April 1917. According to the records, and it is not clear, he was either sick or wounded on 20th May 1917 and it is not known when or if he returned to Canada to be demobilized; nor is it known what he did for the next few years.
He appears in the 1921 Canada Census of 1st June as a Municipal Surveyor with his wife living in Vancouver. He arrived in Quebec City on 21st June 1921 aboard the Empress of Britain with his wife Ann Mary and their daughter having left Liverpool on 25th May 1921 and on the Passenger List stated he was an Engineer. However, on 16th September 1932 he arrived at Montreal having sailed from Liverpool with his daughter but this time his wife appears to be Nancy Josephine Becher aged 47; what happened to Ann Mary is not known. Arthur Nash Becher died in 1964 in Maldon, Essex. There was one daughter: Catherine Mary Becher born about 1913 in Canada though nothing else is known about her.
Frank George Becher married, secondly, Dina Harsent on 6th June 1889 at St Mary's Church, East Soham, Suffolk. She was born in 1857 the daughter of Martin Harsant and Mary Bigsby of Cretingham LOdge, Suffolk and she died on 27th December 1935 at Depwade, Norfolk. Frank died 21st April 1932 at Depwade.
There were two children:
1. Judith Constantia Monica Becher was born 28th April 1892 at Thelverton, Norfolk. She attended the wedding of her half-sister Maud in 1917. She married Major Thomas Robert Harvey Keppel on 1st September 1936 at Hampstead, London. He was born 27th September 1881 the son of Thomas Keppel and Isa Harvey and died 26th July 1943. She died in 1979 at Depwade, Norfolk.
2. Edward John Sullivan Becher was born on 4th December 1896 at Ipswich. He attended the wedding of his half-sister Maud in 1917. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 4th January 1916 as an Ordinary Seaman and served on Pembroke I, Titania, Leander, Woolwich and Pembroke I again on which he finished his service on 4th September 1918. He married Gladys May Rant in 1926 at Blything, Suffolk. She was born 22nd August 1894 at Harwich the daughter of Edward John Rant and Ann Maria Simonds and died in 1974 at Blyth, Suffolk. He died in 1978 at Gipping, Suffolk. There was one son and one daughter.
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6. MAJOR FREDERICK WILLIAM BECHER was born 7th June 1851 at Naini Tal, India. He obtained a commission into the 16th Foot, Bedfordshire Regiment, as a Sub-Lieutenant on 21st September 1872. He was promoted Captain on 10th October 1879 and the following year was appointed Adjutant. By 1890 he was the Regimental Paymaster then promoted Major on 10th October 1892. He served with the Isazai Expedition in 1892 and served in the Chitral Relief Force under Sir Robert Low in 1895 with the 1st Bn Bedfordshire Regt for which he received the Medal and Clasp. He retired in 1899 and by the time of the 1901 England Census he was living with his wife at Walmgate, Yorkshire. He married Martha Frances Rayne on 16th April 1891 at Rawalpindi. She was born in 1861 at Whitby, Yorkshire the daughter of Peter George Rayne and Hannah Brown. She died on 17th December 1939 and was then of 12 Abbey Terrace, Whitby. He died on 12th June 1930. The Times reported the next day that 'Major Frederick William Becher, late Bedfordshire Regt, was knocked down and killed by an omnibus shortly before midnight last night in Russell Square, London. He was 79.' There were no children.
At some point he went to the Cape where, as he would later state on his Attestation Form, he spent 1913-15 with the South African Mounted Rifles and presumably his wife accompanied him to the Cape but it is not certain. On 21st September 1915 at Vancouver he enlisted in the 72nd Battalion Canadian Infantry, part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He gave his wife as his next of kin and stated that his previous occupation was Surveyor. His unit would have sailed to England and undergone further three months training at Bramshott Camp, near Liphook, Hampshire, before heading to the trenches of France which he did on 13th August 1916. He took part in various actions and was awarded the Military Medal for his actions at Vimy Ridge in March-April 1917. According to the records, and it is not clear, he was either sick or wounded on 20th May 1917 and it is not known when or if he returned to Canada to be demobilized; nor is it known what he did for the next few years.
He appears in the 1921 Canada Census of 1st June as a Municipal Surveyor with his wife living in Vancouver. He arrived in Quebec City on 21st June 1921 aboard the Empress of Britain with his wife Ann Mary and their daughter having left Liverpool on 25th May 1921 and on the Passenger List stated he was an Engineer. However, on 16th September 1932 he arrived at Montreal having sailed from Liverpool with his daughter but this time his wife appears to be Nancy Josephine Becher aged 47; what happened to Ann Mary is not known. Arthur Nash Becher died in 1964 in Maldon, Essex. There was one daughter: Catherine Mary Becher born about 1913 in Canada though nothing else is known about her.
Frank George Becher married, secondly, Dina Harsent on 6th June 1889 at St Mary's Church, East Soham, Suffolk. She was born in 1857 the daughter of Martin Harsant and Mary Bigsby of Cretingham LOdge, Suffolk and she died on 27th December 1935 at Depwade, Norfolk. Frank died 21st April 1932 at Depwade.
There were two children:
1. Judith Constantia Monica Becher was born 28th April 1892 at Thelverton, Norfolk. She attended the wedding of her half-sister Maud in 1917. She married Major Thomas Robert Harvey Keppel on 1st September 1936 at Hampstead, London. He was born 27th September 1881 the son of Thomas Keppel and Isa Harvey and died 26th July 1943. She died in 1979 at Depwade, Norfolk.
2. Edward John Sullivan Becher was born on 4th December 1896 at Ipswich. He attended the wedding of his half-sister Maud in 1917. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 4th January 1916 as an Ordinary Seaman and served on Pembroke I, Titania, Leander, Woolwich and Pembroke I again on which he finished his service on 4th September 1918. He married Gladys May Rant in 1926 at Blything, Suffolk. She was born 22nd August 1894 at Harwich the daughter of Edward John Rant and Ann Maria Simonds and died in 1974 at Blyth, Suffolk. He died in 1978 at Gipping, Suffolk. There was one son and one daughter.
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6. MAJOR FREDERICK WILLIAM BECHER was born 7th June 1851 at Naini Tal, India. He obtained a commission into the 16th Foot, Bedfordshire Regiment, as a Sub-Lieutenant on 21st September 1872. He was promoted Captain on 10th October 1879 and the following year was appointed Adjutant. By 1890 he was the Regimental Paymaster then promoted Major on 10th October 1892. He served with the Isazai Expedition in 1892 and served in the Chitral Relief Force under Sir Robert Low in 1895 with the 1st Bn Bedfordshire Regt for which he received the Medal and Clasp. He retired in 1899 and by the time of the 1901 England Census he was living with his wife at Walmgate, Yorkshire. He married Martha Frances Rayne on 16th April 1891 at Rawalpindi. She was born in 1861 at Whitby, Yorkshire the daughter of Peter George Rayne and Hannah Brown. She died on 17th December 1939 and was then of 12 Abbey Terrace, Whitby. He died on 12th June 1930. The Times reported the next day that 'Major Frederick William Becher, late Bedfordshire Regt, was knocked down and killed by an omnibus shortly before midnight last night in Russell Square, London. He was 79.' There were no children.
7. MARY MCCHLERY BECHER was born in 1857 at Azimghur, India.
She married Captain George Herbert Taylor Swinton - photo left - on 23rd July 1885 at Christchurch, Folkestone, Kent. He was born 25th December 1852, the son of Archibald Adam Swinton and Isabella Reid Normand.
In 1912, after a lapse of 22 years, the new Laird of Swinton returned to his estate. He served 22 years in the army, principally in the Bedfordshire Regiment. Since 1863 they lived principally at Upminster Hall, Romford, Essex and he was a keen angler and shot and was also a J.P. He died 16th September 1924 at Duns, Scotland.
She died 27th September 1894 in Surrey, England. There were two children.