Blencowe Thomas H 1884

Thomas Horn Blencowe [4171]
1884

Father Nm: Arthur Benjamin Blencowe [3222] 1857 Camberwell died 1929 Brackley.

Mother Nm: Mary Horn born 1859 Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, died

Marriage Dt: 17 Apr 1915, Banfield, Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

K comments: Brother Frederick William was drafted and may have served with the US Army, Son Thomas Sidney Blencowe was a Coder, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, and resident of Argentina during World War II. mentioned on page 10, List of Volunteers registered by the Volunteers Committee, The British Community Council in the Argentine Republic, 31 January 1944.

Spouse comments: Maud Brown 1891-C1972 Montevideo, Uruguay.

Children: Thomas Sidney 1918,  .

1901 Census St Buryan Cornwall

Thomas Horn Blencoe, Age: 16, Boarder

Employment History as stated to Army 24 Aug 1915
1900-1903 – Eastern Telegraph Co – Operator

The Eastern Telegraph Company was laying Telegraph cables to South Africa in 1899 onwards. There was a Company location in St Helena in the Atlantic ocean amongst other places where cables under the sea were terminated and the signals repeated/amplified to overcome the loss in the long runs of cables We do not know where Thomas was stationed in this period. Given he was in Cornwall in 1901 it’s likely he was at the station at Portcuno.

History of Eastern Telegraph Company ”

On the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899 direct communication between the UK and South Africa became essential. The ETC contracted Telcon to manufacture and lay the cables. CS Anglia laid the 2065 nm first stage from Cape Town to St Helena, completing it by 26 November 1899. While CS Anglia returned to the UK for more cable CS Seine laid the section from St Helena to Ascension, a distance of 844 nm, completing it by 15 December 1899.

Eastern Telegraph Station, St. Helena

CS Anglia then laid 1975 nm of cable from Ascension to St Vincent, Cape Verde Islands, completing the task by 21 February 1900. At St Vincent the cable connected with the Western Telegraph Company’s cables to Carcavelos, Portugal, then via Eastern to Porthcurno, England.”

Sir William Thomson’s telegraphic syphon recorder, on display at Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, in January 2019.

There is a museum at Portcuno to the Telegraph Station there and many photos etc maybe one of Thomas exists there.  Hugh Barty-King, in his book Girdle Round the Earth: 1979 refers to it being young men stationed at Porthcuno who were both unruly and ill-disciplined.

In September 2023 Daphne Austin corresponded with the Porthcuno Museum and this is what we learnt about Thomas in the years 1901-1902

Daphne Austin

Wed, Sep 27, 11:44 PM (8 hours ago)
to me
Hi Roger,
I have just received a reply from Porthcurno giving the early details of Thomas.   I have thanked them and supplied the information we have to complete theirs.
Love
Daphne
—– Forwarded message —–
From: Alan Renton <alan.renton@pkporthcurno.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 27 September 2023 at 12:04:43 BST
Subject: Thomas Horn Blencowe

The records we have indicate that he started with the Eastern Telegraph Company Training School in London in 1900 and in 1901 was transferred to Porthcurno for further training.  He was promoted to the PK staff  in February 1902 and by April 1902 was appointed to the cable station in Gibraltar.  However, he returned to England after only a couple of weeks and was signed off work until June when he went back to Gibraltar.  The record says that despite the Doctor’s certificate saying he was fit he failed to return to work.  He was dismissed in August 1902.

After Aug 1902-1910 – West Coast of America Telegraph Co Ltd (Cable Operator)

It seems Thomas after being dismissed by the Porthcuno-based part of Eastern Cables, that he went on to successfully seek work from another branch of the company.

The Western Telegraph Co (originally Western and Brazilian Telegraph Co had a long history of cables to North and South America. I feel that Thomas wrote this nonexistent Company name because of its geographical cable links. From its history “In 1906 the Western had a cable laid from St. Vincent to Fayal, Azores, where it connected with the Europe and Azores Telegraph Company which provided another link to Porthcurno”

1910-1912 – Arica La Paz Railway Construction of Telegraph (sub contractor)

Note The Arica–La Paz railway or Ferrocarril de Arica–La Paz (FCALP) was built by the Chilean government under the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia. It was inaugurated on 6 March 1912 and is the shortest line from the Pacific Coast to the interior. This was most likely Thomas’s first overseas job.

1911

No census appearance because  in South America

1912-1913 Aporama Gold Fields Ltd

(for Messrs Merricks Crane and Co 56 Gr Winchester St London ) Sole Charge Phones and wire

1914
  • Telegraph Engineer with the Central Argentine Railway in Rosario, Sante Fe. Source the Anglo-Argentine Railwatmen who served in the Great War 1914-1918 website

    Rosario a bustling city before the was
1915

Married in Buenos Aires

Royal Engineers
Badge of the South American Volunteers
WW1

Blencowe Thomas Horn, 1884, Camberwell, Corporal, 73174, Royal Engineers.

1915
  • 28th Jul. Traveled to England with Maud on the SS Demarara and landed at Liverpool in order to volunteer.UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 about Thomas Horn Blencowe. Name: Thomas Horn Blencowe, Birth Date: abt 1884, Age: 31, Port of Departure: La Plata, Argentina, Arrival Date: 28 Jul 1915, Port of Arrival: Liverpool, England, Ports of Voyage: Rio de Janeiro, Ship Name: Demerara. Shipping Line: Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Ltd, Official Number: 132024.
  • 24th Aug. Enlisted age 30 years 11 months and Occupation: Telegraph Engineer, appointed Sapper in Signals Depot.
1916
  • 6th Dec 1916 promoted to L/Cpl Fenny Stratford, Signal Depot.
1917
  • 4th Apr. Posted to East Africa most likely with the Northern Signalling Company or possibly the No 1(East Africa) Special Signalling Company.Signals men in east africa 1917
  • 8th Apr. It seems most likely that Thomas went out as part of the East African Force on the SS Medic from Liverpool, changing in Durban South Africa to the Sutlej* and onto Dar es Salaam.
    HMS Sutlej the ship Thoms travelled on was one time in the war captained by Charle B Blencowe
    HMS Sutlej.

    There is mention in the link below that this journey took 82 days. This is from a contributor to the War Forum.

    • “8 April 1917 he sailed onboard the Medic from Keyham Dock in Devonport. The ship was part of a convoy and he notes various occasions when the escorts went to intercept unknown ships in the vicinity of the convoy.
    • They arrived in Sierra Leone on Friday 20 April 1917 and departed at 08:45 on Monday 23 April 1917.
    • They arrived in Cape Town at 11:00 on Wednesday 9 May 1917 and, although he went ashore a couple of times, there is no suggestion that he changed ships there.
    • They left Cape Town at 16:10 on Friday 11 May 1917 and ….They arrived in Durban at about 09:00 on Wednesday 16 May”
    • It seems the rest of the journey was on the SS Sutlej.

* Note: In one of the coincidences of this project HMS Sutlej was captained by Charles B Blencowe in 1900-1906 and he himself was serving in East Africa at this time.

  • 28th Jun. Promoted to Corporal.
  • A series of fine photos from the blog of Robert Bell Smart the Royal Engineers Signals Unit in East Africa give up some idea of the environment of the Engineers’ time in Africa during 1916.geaaruschajune1916 tanga2 tanga1 staff-car

    signals-nr-dodoma
    This is from Eleanor Smart’s daughter. My father started his working life as a telegraph boy in the Post Office in Glasgow. In 1915 he enlisted in the Royal Signals, or The Royal Engineers Signals Unit, as Sapper R B Smart. Not sure exactly. He was sent to France. …He couldn’t have been in France long. He was invalided home having suffered from gas attacks and had trench feet and by 1916 was in East Africa. He seems to have started in Nairobi and over the next 3 years, he made his way with the regiment down to the Cape.
1918
  • 27th Nov. Returned to the UK.
1919
  • 2nd Apr.Demobilised.
  • 19th Mar. Thomas made a claim for repatriation to Argentina for himself, his wife Maud, and his son Thomas Sydney. In the claim, he stated married in England (which the Army disproved of course ) Whether this meant that he had to pay Maud and Thomas Sydney’s fare to Argentina we don’t know.
Sources
  1. Long Long Trail
  2. Robert Bell Smart the Royal Engineers Signals Unit
  3. War Diary Blog- Ernest J Dockray RE Signals East Africa
  4. Hugh Barty-King, Girdle Round the Earth: The story of Cable and Wireless, 1979, p 36
  5. History of Cable and Wireless Companies https://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/CandW/Eastern/index.htm
Medals

Awarded the British and Victory Medals.

After the War

Note: Because Argentian records are hard to access, little is known at this point about Thomas and his wife Maud and family when they returned to South America, Maud it appears died in Montevideo, Uruguay about 1972. Thomas earlier in abt 1946 in Buenos Aires Argentina. Son Thomas was born in the USA but appears to have also lived in Uruguay his son Roberto Blencowe in 2022 joined the Blencowes that served Facebook Group. Roberto was able to tell me his father had served with the Royal Navy in WW2 as a coder.

One strange fact found is Thomas published in the August 21, 1937 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.” Christian Science was first brought to my notice in the…”

Death About 1946