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Henry George Arnold, M.B.E.

Deputy Victualling Store Officer, Cape of Good Hope – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal (Cape Colony) to H.G. ARNOLD, DEPUTY VICTG STORE OFFICER, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

Henry Arnold’s father was a Solicitor and the son of a Gentleman when he married Marian Craven at St. Pancras in London on 16 July 1864. Also married in the same church on that day, proving that the great rubbed shoulders with the lowly, even in Victorian times, was John Hiley Mundy, a Cow Keeper.

Born on 3 October 1870, Henry was baptised in St. James, Fulham on 6 November of that year whilst his parents were living at 11 Cedar Road. The 1871 England census, six months later, found the family at the same address with Henry, at that stage an only child. The family’s needs were catered for by Elizabeth Marrott, a young General Servant.

Of Henry in the 1881 England census there is no sign and it can be assumed that he was away at Boarding School when the enumerator called round. His father had passed away at the age of 41 on 22 June 1877 leaving his mother to fend for her brood of four sons of whom Henry would have been the oldest.

He would appear to have made something of himself with the London Gazette of 23 November 1886 containing an item from the Civil Service Commission stating that, “The following candidates have been certified by the Civil Service Commissioners as qualified for the appointments set against their respective names.” – For Registration as Temporary Copyist (Boy Copyier) appeared Henry George Arnold – he was on the first rung of a very long ladder.

The London Gazette, that organ of all officialdom in Victorian England was to be relied upon to track Arnolds career as it matured and evolved. The 2 September 1887 edition contained the news that, “in an Open Competitive Examination for Boy Clerkships in the Lower Division of the Civil Service held on 14 and 15th July 1887 the undermentioned candidates obtained the First sixty-three places” – Coming in at number 47 Arnold didn’t exactly cover himself in glory but he did enough to satisfy the Commissioners that his services were worth retaining.

This was confirmed by an entry in the ubiquitous London Gazette of 1 August 1890 wherein Arnold’s appointment as Clerk of the Second Division was announced, with effect from 1 July 1890.

Not very months after this milestone in his career the 1891 England census came round. This census saw the remnants of the family united under one roof once more. Mrs Arnold was Living on her own Means at 9 Victoria Grove, Kensington. In what must have been an enormous relief to her, all of her sons were gainfully employed by the establishment – Henry was a Second Division Clerk with the Admiralty; William was a Boy Clerk; Ernest was a Telegraphist while Charles was a Boy Copyist – these last with the General Post Office.

Henry Arnold’s rise in fortune, whilst not meteoric, continued. He was mentioned as an Acting Assistant Storekeeper at the Admiralty in the October 1896 Navy List. Advancement to Assistant Victualling Store Officer came on transfer to Malta on 10 April 1898 when he was 28 years old. The London Gazette of 26 August 1898 carrying the news that, “upon special recommendation from the Lords of the Admiralty, Mr Henry George Arnold, having served as a Clerk of the Second Division for upwards of eight years , has been promoted to the appointment of Assistant Victualling Storekeeper, with a special certificate granted exceptionally by the Civil Service Commissioners.”



In what was to be a watershed moment in his career, on 19 November 1898 Arnold was posted to Simonstown as Assistant Victualling Store Officer in Charge at the Cape of Good Hope. This was just over a year before hostilities broke out between the two Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State and Great Britain on 11 October 1899. On 3 August 1900 he was appointed Deputy Victualling Store Officer and, as the de facto second in command and man responsible for the victualling of all the Naval vessels that started to dock with monotonous regularity at the Cape – disgorging their contents of soldiers, horses and equipment – his responsibility was enormous. His position would have made him the friend of many a contractor and supplier of fresh produce and meat, all vying for the lucrative Admiralty business.

For his effort on behalf of the Empire he was awarded the Queens Medal with Cape Colony clasp issued off the H.M.S. Cappe Victualling Yard roll (Page 220 Adm.171/53).

The war over on 31 May 1902 Arnold’s task was done. He was posted, without promotion, back to Malta on 20 January 1904 and then to Gibraltar on 16 February 1905. After many years away from home soil he was posted to the main Admiralty Victualling Yard at Deptford – the Royal Victoria Yard. In 1908 he was at the Admiralty as a Deputy Store Officer. This was followed by two appointments as a Victualling Store Officer; firstly back to “The Rock” (Gibraltar) on 1 January 1909 and then, on 31 March 1911 once more to the Royal Victualling Yard, Deptford where he was to remain for most of the Great War which erupted on 4 August 1914 and continued until 11 November 1918. He appears on the 1911 Gibraltar census as a 40 year old in the employ of the Admiralty.



Deptford's proximity to the food markets of London made it especially convenient for victualling, and it served the requirements not only of its own neighbouring Dockyard but also those of Woolwich, Sheerness and Chatham, as well as of the fleet and vessels based in the Nore (which was one of the Navy's principal anchorages). In addition, it routinely supplied the other naval victualling yards, both at home and abroad, with items of stock (to supplement those sourced or produced locally) ranging from rum, food and tobacco to clothing and medical supplies.

The award to him of the Member of the said Most Excellent Order (M.B.E.), was Gazetted on 7 June 1918 for his services at Deptford during the war (Civil Member). The sheer volume of victuals that had to be ordered, provisioned, and supplied during the 5 years of the war defy the imagination and must have taken those with a special skill-set to accomplish. He indubitably possessed these skills.

Shortly after the conferment of this honour, Arnold was appointed in 1918 as Acting Superintending Clerk and he remained at the Admiralty for the remainder of his working life. He ceased to be “Acting” in 1921 and in 1924 was retitled “Victualling Store Officer”

His last mention in the Navy Lists was in 1930 whereafter it is presumed that he had retired.

Henry George Arnold never married and, according to the 1939 Register, was living in the “Wyncholme” a Coastguard Private Hotel in Lymington. He passed away twenty years later, on 30 January 1859 at the age of 79, whilst living at 81 Foxley Lane, Purley, Surrey. He bequeathed £825 to his nephew, Cyril Henry Arnold. His was a lonely life dedicated to service.

Acknowledgements:
-Navy Lists (various)
- London Gazettes (various)
-Ancestry and FMP for census, birth & probate

A tight squeeze to fit all of that naming to the rim!
A fascinating life, thanks for sharing.
Cheers Steve