TOPIC:

“It is an ill wind ……….”

As a general rule, war brings misery to many, while it results in fame and fortune for only a few. The Boer War was no exception. While the cost in lives and property was enormous, it also had its success stories, and this is one of them. It tells of a retired Royal Navy non-commissioned officer, who was in the right place at the right time to benefit from the War, both materially and in social status. Since his fame and fortune were limited to the community where he lived, his story has not been told before.

James Howells was born in Llandenny, Wales, on 20 April 1854. After he left school, he qualified as a Fitter and was employed at an iron works near Pontypridd. On 15 May 1878, he signed on at Portsmouth for 10 years’ service with the Royal Navy. He was posted to HMS Asia as an Acting Engine Room Artificer. He spent most of the next five years either on HMS Asia, which was the depot ship for ERA’s in Portsmouth, or on HMS Jumna, a troopship that sailed to and from the East. He was promoted to ERA on 15 May 1881.

Howells’ first active service came in the Egyptian campaign of the early 1880’s. He was awarded the Egypt Medal (Suakin 1884) and Khedive’s Star (1882), the former medal being named to HMS Orion.

During the second half of the 1880’s, Howells served on HMS Devastation in the Firth of Forth, and HMS Fearless at Port Said in Egypt. While serving on HMS Fearless, he was promoted to Chief ERA. The letter from the ship’s Captain recommending his promotion was addressed to the Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Alfred, who was then titled Admiral H R H The Duke of Edinburgh.

While serving on HMS Fearless, Howells’ was awarded the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

After serving at several shore bases in Britain, Howells next saw active service in West Africa on HMS St George. He took part in the Brass River campaign of 1895 and was awarded the East & West Africa Medal with the relevant clasp.

From West Africa, Howells was posted to Simon’s Town, the British naval base in South Africa. He served first on HMS Penelope, a tender to HMS Monarch, the Flagship at Simon’s Town. HMS Penelope was later used as a prison and in 1899 it was temporarily occupied by Boers captured during the Battle of Elandslaagte while they were in transit to camps overseas. Howells ended his service in South Africa by spending a year on HMS Monarch (May 1897 to May 1898). He then returned to England, where he signed off on 6 July 1898 after 20 years in the uniform of the Royal Navy.

Howells’ first wife had died in 1891, and while in South Africa he married Mary Maria Parry in St John’s Church, Cape Town. The Parry’s were an old Simon’s Town family with links to other such families in the town, so Howells was no doubt welcomed into the community when he returned to Simon’s Town to settle there. By then, war with the Boer Republics was threatening and it must have been evident that Simon’s Town would have an important role to play in such a war.

Howells took advantage of this role by opening a general store, which was well sited close to the docks on the corner of St George’s Street and Alfred Lane in central Simon’s Town. After the Boer War started in 1899, the Royal Navy’s presence in Simon’s Town increased significantly, while the building of the East Dockyard in 1900 brought an increase in the number of workmen in the town. Howells’ connection with the Royal Navy would have stood him in good stead in a naval base town such as Simon’s Town, while as a recently arrived citizen of the town he would also have been looked upon favourably by the local residents.

The increased activity in Simon’s Town led to the development of housing at Seaforth on its eastern outskirts. Anticipating increased trade in Seaforth, Howells moved to a new shop there. It was a kilometre away from the first shop and much larger. It was located on the corner of Belmont Road and Queen’s Road, the latter being the easterly extension of St George’s Street, the main road through Simon’s Town. The new building had a very commodious flat above the shop, which must have been luxurious compared with Howells’ naval accommodation of the previous two decades. Howells lived there with his wife and four children until his death in 1934, while his wife remained there until she died in 1944. The building still stands and it has been well maintained. It accommodates two shops on the ground floor and a flat, or flats above.

In addition to his commercial success, Howells made his mark on Simon’s Town in other ways. He was soon serving on the Town Council and was elected Mayor in 1907, a position he held until 1909. He was one of a delegation of notables that travelled by train via Kimberley to visit Cecil Rhodes’ grave in the Matopos in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He was a member of the Royal Albert Lodge of Freemasons and served as Master on several occasions. He was also a founder member of the Claremont Masonic Lodge. He was a member of the committee of Simon’s Town School, and he was actively interested in the work of the False Bay Hospital, which was then located in Simon’s Town.

The 35 years that Howells spent in Simon’s Town must have been fulfilling ones for him and his family. They were comfortably off in an essentially British naval town, and in picturesque surroundings with a far better climate than that in Britain. Their contentment was, however, briefly interrupted by the death of the eldest son, Ivor James, who died aged 12 in 1910. The other children were Daphne Gwendoline Mary Willett (nee Howells) (1899-1995), Brinley (‘Brin’) John Caradoc (1903-1951), who married Gladys Cole, and Evan Robert Austin (1905-1991), who married Dorothy Lee. Howells’ grandchildren have all moved away from Simon’s Town, some far afield, and he is now largely forgotten there.

According to a death notice in a Cape Town newspaper, James Howells passed away peacefully in 1 February 1934 at his residence, Tycrata, in Seaforth, aged 79 years. He was buried in the Dido Valley Cemetery. His interment was attended by a large number of family and friends, as well as Civic and Masonic dignitaries. His pall-bearers were the Mayor of Simon’s Town, three former Mayors, and two representatives of the Masonic order

Howells may well have made a success of his life in Simon’s Town whatever the time and prevailing circumstances, but his commercial success, which began during the Boer War, must have contributed much to it




My thanks to Audrey Read of the Simon's Town Historical Society for her important contributions to this story.

Brett

Brett
That is a great group of medals! Thanks for showing them and the remarkably complete account of James Howells' RN (and later) career. I have to say that I am a bit of a RN "groups" fancier. The combination of E@W Africa and QSA always looks great!
Kind regards
IL.

Stunning group Brett and great story.

That combination, with a South African connection, is seldom if ever seen.

Well done on its acquisition.

Regards

Rory

Wonderful group and an excellent story with great research! Thank you!

Fantastic group of medals and research......

Well done Brett.....

Mike

Brett

Amazing story. I wonder if this has much to do with the Seaforth in Livepool, England and Belmont Road, Anfield, where I actually grew up? It is also interesting that my father, who served in the RN during WW2, was also stationed in Simonstown for a while. He told me of a story about a dog that used to wake the men up on the train as it came in from Cape Town, so they got off at the right place. I have seen a statue of the dog in Simonstown, really interesting, just can't remember his name, the dog not my dad's!

Doug.