Our Family History
The Genealogy of the Story Family
Lt. Col. Robert Story
1854 - 1924 (70 years)
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Lt. Col. Robert Story - Diary notes 1894
Notes from Robert's diary by MN D-W. Return from New Zealand
January & February 1894
Instead of his Lett's Rough Diary Robert has a similar one called Desk Diary from Simpson & Williams in Christchurch. This is an Australian publication with pages giving tables of customs duties, codes for telegrams. and a trade directory in which all the firms are English ones!
"The New Year finds me in New Zealand, where I have been travelling since last February having seen the principal places along the East Coast from Bluff to Auckland on board HMS Katoomba and also the famous Sounds. I have also seen much of the lake district of the North Island and a good deal of station life at Tuna Nui, Erewhon and Rua Nui. My headquarters are at present are at Akaroa. I am in much better health than when I left England. Vida appears to be still doing very well at the Norwood High School, & growing up a very fine child."
Peel Forest, Canterbury (Russell's)
Jan 1st. " Walked down to the Rangitata morn. and saw where the Salvation Army were having a picnic and some visitors were camping out. Practised with Miss Russell."
Jan 5th. "Practised my cornet in the woods morn. The Aclands drove over before lunch with Miss Griffiths from Harrow who stayed to lunch. After lunch we (Denniston, Rolleston & his sister, Miss Russell, Richmond & self) drove to Mt. Peel and spent the afternoon with the Aclands - saw the latter's garden etc. & drove back about 6.30pm. I played my cornet going and cominf."
On the 11th he took the coach for Christchurch and back to Akaroa.
Jan 15th. "Very hot day.Thermometer 82 to 86 in the passage of the hotel. Went across to Tekao with Mr. Smyth & a party of ladies in the boat & played tennis at the Knights. Went to Atterbury's rooms after dinner for a musical chat." He then had several days feeling rather seedy.
Jan 25th. "Still rather seedy. Saw Atterbury about 9am. He said he might ventrue on my picnic if careful of diet. Sailed across to Tekao and picked up Hankinson, Lionel Knight, Gertrude, Elsie & Helen. Sailed to the caves below Wainui and then over to our former picnic place where we lunched as before, & sailed back about 6pm. A cool pleasant day." trips to Tekoa were quite frequent, also tennis at the Bank and music at the Clarkes. He booked his passage back to England on the Shire Line steamer Morayshire.
Feb 8th. He notes Vida's 13th birthday and during the rest of the month complains of awful heat and fierce gales.
March & April 1894
March 7th. "Breakfast at 7.30am & sailed in Poole's boat to Mat White's bay where I explored the large cave and had a bad time in so doing." (Is anything known about this?)
March 9th. "Finding there was a heavy swell from the south, started after dinner in Poole's boat to tell the Knights that we could not have our expedition to caves tomorrow. There was no wind so we came back after being out about ½ hour during which I played my cornet and tried some red & green fires I had ordered for illuminating the caves in Mat White's Bay." As light relief he was working on some indeterminate equations for the school master.
March 14th. "Sailed in Poole's boat 11am and picked up the Knights. Took them to the cave in Mat White's Bay where the Smythes party joined us. Explored the cave, lunch on the rocks. Sailed for Tekao 4.30pm. Robert heard that the Morayshire was not sailing until May 14th so he cancelled that and booked on the Doric instead.
March 23rd Good Friday. "Went for a sail with Scott morn. and again aft. with Mrs. Banks, her son and little girl - picked up Von Haast at Duvanchelles - got in at 5.30pm. Crocketh came in the evening and told me he had seen in the paper That James Story had been burnt to death at Errington."
He left Akaroa on April 14th. "Left Akaroa on board the Jane Douglas at 9.30am. Called at Wainui for cheese and Onuku for grass seed. Got away from the heads at noon, calm sea and moderate swell. Got to Lyttelton at 6pm and put up in Coker's Hotel. Big fire in a hotel near." At this point the electric lights went out and Robert went out too (usual script). He sailed on the S.S. Doric next day. Because of the date-line they had the next day twice.
April 6th (?). "Crossing the 180th meridian the day is 48 hours. 1st run 230m. Made the acquaintence of some passengers. Peyton, late 60th Rifles, & his son, and Hindson who knew Fran at Weisbaden. Heavy sea got up at night and splashed me in my bed at 4am. 2nd run 319m. Cold day & heavy sea, ship under sail. Took photos."
April 7th (?). "Cold unpleasant day with rain and hail. Engines broke down at 4pm & we went on under sail about 5 knots. Engines atarted again at 6pm."
Next day was too rough for a church service and the engines stopped from 4-10pm. Robert was in the (Social?) Committee and played in a concert when only one week out. He felt seedy with dyspepsia, the engines were unreliable and kept stopping. Besides music he amused himself practising semaphore amd morse with some of the other passengers.
April 27th. "Entered the heads of Rio de Janeiro about 7 am, passed the ruins of the rebel fort & the govt. ones. Anchored above the quarantine ground. Not being allowed to land owing to martial law being in force we went for a run in a launch past the Customs Ho. & then across the harbour to a ship building yard on an island landed, saw the effects of the bombardment on some houses, chapels etc. Got some flowers and plants. On board 6pm, coaling going on, ports closed. fearfully hot below."
April 30th. Run 308m Thermometer 80 at 7.30am in the shade on deck. "Practice for concert at 10.30am after committee meeting at 9.30am. Concert at 8.15pm. I had to sing and play 5 times and fairly broke down in my cornet solo. 'Mrs. Jarley's Waxworks' after very fair."
May 1894
On May 1st it was even hotter - 81 in the shade at 7.30am.
May 7th. run 202m. "Engines stopped at 6.30am owing to the spindle of the after slide valve being broken. The engineers repaired the damage in 8½ hours, during which we drifted towards the S.W. Some of the men caught a quantity of Portugese Men of War of which Miss Ashwell made drawings. Jacky Poto & I got stung by them. Started steaming about 3pm. Dance on deck even. but I did not dance."
On May 8th there we sports, Robert went in for the cock fighting and putting the weight & took photos.
May 9th. "Engines broke down and stopped at 4am owing to the breaking of the mended valve spindle. The valve was disconnected and the cylinder cut off & we went on again under 3 cylinders at 5am."
May 10th. "Valve of after cylinder reoplaced at 3pm, when we went on at full speed. Concert and play 'Cool as a Cucumber' in our saloon even, I was appointed chairman." There is a duplicate program of this entertainment, Major Story sang "Widow Machree" and played the cornet solo "L'eloge de Larmes! and Miss Jollie (of whom more anon.) sand "When the swallows homeward fly" and had a part in the play.
May 11th. "Committee meeting morn. to reprimand one Meredith by name for abnoxious behaviour at the sports - he sent me an appology. Sighted Teneriffe about noon, anchored in Santa Cruz roadstead at 5pm. Hoisted "Yellow Jack" no one allowed on board or to land. Our skylight taken off and the hatch opened to take in 120 tons of fruit etc. Colaing going on all night." They left Teneriffe next morning.
The weather was getting colder now, the passengers all signed a letter of thanks to the Captain & crew for the good passage. They sighted steamers, sailing ships and whales. During a race "Diogenese" Hindson "took a wonderful involuntary header over the railing between first and 2nd class", They called in at Plymouth on the afternoon of 17th and many passengers disembarked.
May 18th. "Steamed up channel against strong headwind, fine day and good view of the coast especially Dover. Anchored at Gravesend 6pm, took Customs, Baggage agents etc. on board. Telegraphed to Mrs. Pye (Vida's headmistress). Got into Albert Dock about midnight, very cold." Vida came to meet him next morning (Saturday) and they spent the weekend shopping and visiting, including morning service at Westminster Abbey.
Robert return to Highfield, Winchester on 23rd & immediately began to put the house in order - furniture, flowers, garden,servants, new cord on pictures. In one week he joined 7th Battn. in camp at Danger Hill, Aldershot where it was wet & cold. He dashed home now and then to engage servants, have flowers planted and order clothes. He had an operculum necklace made for Vida.
June & July 1894
On June 6th Robert had a great letter writing day - about 10 letters including one to Miss Jollie (The first time he mentions her) but he was still writing to Miss Helen Knight. He spent the whole of June in camp and wrote to Miss Jollie again on the 23rd. It was cold and wet nearly all the time.
July began very hot and very busy with parades, manouvres and a sports day "I joined in the tug of war - we won". "General's Inspection my busby gave me a very bad headache."
July 4th. "Wrote to Miss Jollie."
July 5th. "H.R.H. Duke of Connaught visited - march past on Laffan's Plain."
July 7th. "Got up 5.30am. Struck camp, marched to Farnborough station, left for Barnet by special train at 9.30am. Paid off as usual. Called on Miss Jollie whom I found in on her return from the Albert Hall. Dined at my club. Missed the last train and slept at Jermyn St."
July 9th. "Got my boar's head from Chalkley & my shield of tusks from Jacob & Ross & put them up." (We had this shield but the wood worm got to it so we just have the tusks.) He sent away the drawing room pictures (portraits?) to have the frames repaired, wrote to Miss Jollie, and went to Lou's place at Highgate on the 11th for his 40th birthday.
Poor Robert, at home alone at Highfield with nothing to do, he often stayed in bet or sat at home most of the day. He spent two days tidying the diningroom cupboard! He watched cricket & tennis and got his silver out of the bank and unpacked it. He spent another two days hunting through packing cases for Floré's jewelry and his glazier's diamond. On the 27th Vida arrived home for the holidays but minus her luggage.
August 1894
Aug 1st. "Went to the cemetary & saw Floré's grave and Winnal House from the outside." Robert had her tombstone made and put up. Vida seems to have been a popular child and was out a lot - a circus, tea and often a stroll or to a cricket or tennis match with her father.
Aug 5th. "Went for a stroll with Rawlinson who pointed out the boundaries of his shooting. " (It sounds as if Robert had been doing a bit of poaching!) Old Mrs. Bush died on the 6th - Vida wrote a letter of condolence to Louie & Mrs Bush, Robert wrote to Helen Knight! He had some men in to paint the house.
On Aug 20th Vida went to stay in Bath and Robert went to Portsmouth to meet Os's ship HMS Gibralter, he dined with him and Olave at her lodgings. He had several meals with them, and saw over the docks which contained the Royal Sovereign and and a great many other ships. He wrote to Miss Jollie about all this. He went home on the 24th and had a reply from Miss J. on 28th.
Aug 31st. "Painting finished at last."
September 1894
Robert got a game licence and from then on went out shooting frequently while Vida spent the day with friends. She had a tooth out as hers were too crowded and the Maid Mary fainted when Robert asked her to hold a candle and let him see the gap.
Sept 12th. Robert & Vida took the train to Clifton to stay with Caroline. Also there were Os, Olave & young Peter (daughter I think? about 2 years old now called Nevile) and Mardie Field (Lou's sister in law?). While there he received a photo from Helen Knight and wrote to thank her. He and Vida also unpacked the jewelry which used to belong to her mother.
Sept 20th. "Called on Col. Graham who is very ill morn. and took him for a long walk." After a great round of visiting and walking mostly with Florie he went home on the 29th.
October 1894
Oct 8th. "Got up at 6am after a fearful night of pain - got Smith the dentist to see me at 7.30am - he put some dressing into my tooth but the pain was so great that I had to get him to extract it at 8.30am. Took an early train to Fratton and spent the day with Cookes. Home about 8pm. Dined at the George Hotel." Next day he felt "very seedy."
Oct 20th. "The water arrangements connected to the W.C. cistern all went wrong and we had to take down the cistern and connect fresh pipes after a burst." The men stayed in the house working on the plumbing all week. Robert was feeling unwell and it rained a lot of the time.
November 1894
On Nov 4th, having stayed in for two weeks feeling ill, he went out for two long walks to see if that would do any good. However it was a bottle of champagne that helped him in the end.
6th "The drink seems to have done me good."
7th. "Eat (sic) meat for the first time for many days."
Nov 8th. "Took the 9.22am train for London, and spent the day with Vida. 14th. Brigade dinner at the Metropole Hotel. Introduced to Lord Methuen & Sir F. Grenfell by Hartopp. Sir G. promised to put me up for the 'Senior'. Smoked with Heathecote and the Junior Carlton - bed at 2am (script)."
On the 9th he received Miss Jollie's photo for which he duly thanked her, but still he was not well.
On Nov 19th Robert set out for Ireland via London (Euston) and crossed to Dublin on the Irish mail that night. After a day in the town visiting he took the train to Crosdoney and walked out to Bingfield where he was given lunch (by Lord's?) and later Mr Moore (of Lisnamandra I suppose) drove him into Cavan. He stayed at the Farnham Arms.
Nov 22nd. "Took some photos in the town morn. Called on Franch at Dromkeen aft, he asked me to stay on Monday. Called on Sandys - Adjt of Cavan Militia & asked him to shoot with me tomorrow."
23rd. "Drove with Sandys & 'Blind Charlie' over my old beat on the Cootehill Road - dense fog nearly all day - poor sport. Shot R.S. 4 snipe & 1 rail; Sandys 2 snipe. The whole country under water. Called at Corravahan, saw Allen about the use of his ferrets. Sandys put me up for the Club! (Cavan Club)."
Nov 24th. "Drove with Sandys to Bingfield and ferreted rabbits, the ferrets worked badly, & we got nothing until after lunch when we got an old ferret and I shot 5 rabbits running and wounded one tree very badly thus letting a sixth rabbit escape - Sandys shot one rabbit and missed several more."
25th Sunday. "Morn service at Kilmore. Saw the family vaults. Lunch at Danesfort. Saw the old Parish Register with the entry of Aunt Emily's & my Father's baptism. Dined with Sandys."
26th. "Strolled down the town, lunched at the Table D'Hote. Packed up and drove to Dromkeen to stay. Had a long chat with French about Bingfield and heard from Mother and Vida."
27th. "Got a car from Cavan and drove to Bingfield where I ferreted. Poor sport. Moore joined me just before lunch. I shot 3 and Moore shot 3 and the ferret caught one rabbit - total 7."
28th. "Got a car from Cavan & drove to Stradone where French had arranged for me to have a day's shooting with the Keeper. We shot 8 pheasants, 2 woodcock and 40 rabbits in about 5 hours - my bag 5 pheasants, 1 woodcock & about 25 rabbits. Home 4.30pm. French went off the Lisnaskea and was not home till late."
29th. "Walked along the line to Cavan with French & took the 10.45am train for Killeshandra - took 6 photos. Lunch at Castle Hamilton. Claude came over from Dromany. Mrs. Hamilton is very inferm. Home by the 5.20 to Crosdoney where French's car met me."
30th. "Drove into Cavan morn. with French & heard some land appeal cases decided in the Court House. Packed up and came here (Coravahn) after lunch. Hard frost and very cold drive. Charles and Cecil Lesley are here & Mrs. Henry Lesley staying the night."
December 1894
1st. "Drove to Stradone morn where I wrote a short note to Mr. Moore about his leaving Bingfield. Shot with the Keeper over some of the same ground as on Wednesday and some fresh ground - I shot 15 rabbits, 3 pheasants and the Keeper got 9 rabbits. Hard frost at night."
2nd. "Rather seedy. Walked morn. to Drung church where I arrived very late for the service. Heard from Miss Jollie. Strolled about the place aft. & wrote to Miss Jollie." Robert stayed on at Coravahn for a fortnight but the fun seems to have gone - he was not very well , there were few birds about and he shot badly, very unusual for him. He did a lot of strolling about and letter writing. He went with the agent Tatlow to Bingfield and saw the new caretaker Mrs. Morrison. On one of his unsuccessful shoots he fell into rathkenny bog & got very wet. On 15th he went back to the Farnham Arms for two nights.
17th. "Took the 1.45pm train to Float, and came on here (New Pass) to stay a few days."
18th. "Went out shooting with Featherstone morn. and I got 1 woodcock, 2 wild ducks (left & right) and a partridge. Featherstone got 1 woodcock. Saw no snipe."
19th. "Shot with Featherstone over Tonamuck & I got 1 wood pigeon, 1 teal & 2 snipe. Snipe very scarce, F. shot nothing. Had a little rifle practise."
20th. "Packed up and drove to Multifarnham & took the train for Leixlip where I got a car (sent by Uncle W.) & drove to Onnavarra. Found the 2 girls & the Uncle and Aunt the only ones at home. Musical evening."
21st. "Went to Dublin by steam train. Lunch at Maples Hotel. Sailed on board the Argo for Bristol at 2.30pm. Very heavy sea and strong gale after we got clear of the land. Sleepless night owing to the noise of all sorts of things adrift about the ship. The Captain was in the act of turning the ship round to run for Wexford Roads when he sighted the Bishop's Light & so kept on his course,"
22nd. "Late breakfast on board the Argo after last night's experience. Got to Clifton about 5pm, found Vida, Mother, Florie and Evie (just home from America) forming the family party."
23rd. "Morn. service at the new church over the bridge."
25th. "Morn service over the bridge. On our return from church we founc a letter announcing Arthur's death in India on Nov 27th last. Mother and all of us naturally felt it very much. Evie and I wrote letters to various people all afternoon announcing the death."
What a dreadful end to their Christmas. For the rest of the week they did jobs about the house and the shopping and wrote letters including one to the Commissioner of Darjeeling about Arthur's affairs. They did take Vida out a few times, once to the zoo and once for a walk among the shipping where they saw a small steamer sunk in the floating harbour. Robert & Evie went for a walk at 6.30 one evening (pitch dark!)
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