2.5.3. Ethel Brabazon Moore was born in India in 1868
“I think that the honour of England is as dear to us women as it is to the men; and though it is not our vocation in life to be soldiers, and to fight for our country, yet, when occasion offers, I have little doubt that the women of England have in them which would enable them to come out of any dilemma as nobly and honourably as the men, and with just as much disregard for their own lives as the bravest soldier concerned.”
My Three Years In Manipur And Escape From The Recent Mutiny
She married in 1887 Frank St
Clair Grimwood, and he died in 1891 Killed in a Mutiny in India
The Fantastic story of the “Heroine of Manipur” who led to bloody, battered survivors of the Manipur Mutiny to safety over some of the roughest roads in all of India. Includes 9 illustrations.
“Manipur, Rebellion in (1891). This small state in north-eastern India southeast of Assam was a quasi-independent British protectorate ruled from 1834 by Chandra Kirti Singh (1832-1866). On his death his sons and other relatives formed numerous parties, each contending for the throne. In the midst of general unrest, on 24 March 1891 the British political agent and other resident British officials were murdered, and the residency in Manipur was attacked. The small surviving band of loyal sepoys was led to safety in India by Ethel St Clair Grimwood, the wife of the slain Political Resident. The British sent troops into the country and, after several encounters with the 3000-man Manipuri army, finally restored order. The offending princes were hanged or transported to the Andaman Islands. Mrs Grimwood was awarded the Royal Red Cross.”-Farwell - Encyc. of Nineteenth Century Wars.
After luncheon on 1st July 1891, the Queen met Ethel Grimwood at Windsor Castle, an event that had a lasting effect on both of them. Ethel looked “a mixture of beauty, sadness, sweeness and grace” (as someon once said of the Princess of Wales) and just like the Queen’s daughter-in-law she knew how to look stunning in a dress of severe simplicity, the perfection of the line embracing her fine figure.
The Queen wrote later in her journal of Ethel:
“Lady Cross brought her in and presented her, leaving her with me afterwards. She is striking-looking with a fine figure and a pretty, sad face, but looks much worn and weather-beaten. She was a little shy at first, but got over it by degrees, and answered all I asked her, telling me a great deal of what she went through, which is really more than any woman, and above all, a lady, has ever done! She was nine days on the horrible march, and almost all the time followed and pursued. She was lame from having fallen, when she ran the last stockade on leaving Manipur. There were 9 officers and 200 men, who however were reduced to 40 at the last. She was continually aimed at and had to lie down and hide in the long grass. She had no clothes but those she was wearing. Once she saw herself being aimed at, and the man close behind her, who was already wounded, was killed, knocking her over an covering her with blood. In this condition she had to go on her way. She was thankful that her poor husband was killed on the spot, speared she thinks by someone who might have owed him a grudge, and this she thinks may have led to the murder of the others. She knew the Senapati well and liked him very much, as she did all the Princes, with whom she used to ride about a great deal. She said she could not, and would not, believe he intended to kill the prisoners. But the Tongal, who commanded the troops, was a horrible blood-thirsty old man of eighy-six, who had killed no end of men, women and children when he went out to punish the tribes. Poor Mrs Grimwood...still cannot sleep or bear to be alone. She was a good deal overcome once or twice in speaking. I gave her the Royal Red Cross, which pleased her very much, and pressed her hand and kissed her when she left. Poor thing, I pity her so much.”
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| Illustrated London News 28 November 1891 |
Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser 08 June 1891
The public will learn with satisfaction that the Queen has been pleased to bestow upon Mrs Grimwood the distinction of the Royal Red Cross in recognition of her devotion to the wounded during the attack at Manipur. Though “devotion to the wounded under most trying circumstances” is not rare among English women, Mrs Grimwood well deserves the honour that has been conferred upon her. So long as the Indian troops were able to defend the Residency she comforted the dying and attended the wound, “though shells were bursting in every direction, and the walls and roof of the house were being riddled with bullets.
When all the soldiers were preparing to retreat she was the last to leave the hospital. Lieutenant Brackenbury, who had been dreadfully wounded, whose arms and legs had been broken died when the men were about to carry him away. They had him in the cellar, and Mrs Grimwood went back to cover him with a cloak.
She herself was wounded in the arm by a bullet, but in spite of this she was not less active in bathing and bandaging the wounds of the soldiers. Her sufferings during the retreat were terrible. During three days she and the others had taken very little food, and on the third day they were reduced to eating grass and leaves. She had lost her shoes, her feet were “cut to pieces,” as she said, the wound in her arm became worse, and bled a great deal during the retreat. The night after leaving the Residency she had to lay down in ditches about 20 times will the enemy were firing. Once, when she had sprained her ankle, she gave herself up for lost; but happily assistance was at hand.
The men for Cachar came up at a moment of great danger, but there was still eight days march before them, and the enemy kept up a constant fire until they neared British territory. During that unhappy affair at Manipur, Mrs Grimwood acted bravely and nobly, and all British subjects will be pleased that the distinction of the Royal Red Cross has been conferred upon her by the Queen.
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 15 June 1891, page 7
THE MANIPUR REBELLION.
THE JUBRAJ SENTENCED TO DEATH. [BY CABLE) From our Correspondent
LONDON, June 14.
The Jubraj, or usurpor of the throne at Manipur, has been sentenced to death for his complicity in the massacre of Mr. J. W. Quinton, the British Commissioner in Assam, and the other British officers, during the late rebellion in Manipur.
The European Mail of May 8 says :-" The British Government has promised to produce all the necessary papers on the Manipur affair-not only the instructions given to Mr. Quinton as to the expedition, but the communications between tho Secretary of State and the Viceroy. They will be wanted, for the public are determined to find out who is to blame in this matter.
The Englishman, of Calcutta, publishes an account of the disaster which fully confirms previous statements as to the secrecy observed from the outset in regard to Mr. Quinton's mission, and tho unusual mode of procedure adopted. Warm praise is given to Mrs. Grimwood for the splendid heroism she displayed daring the attack on the Residency. The lady herself had a narrow escape from death.
A sepoy standing next to her was struck by a bullet, which scattered the poor fellow's brains over her dress. Yet, notwithstanding all the horrors of the scene, and her terrible anxiety as to the fate of her husband, she was unflinching in her attendance upon the wounded, soothing Lieutenant Brackenbury's last moments, and, by her cool presence of mind, greatly helping the retreat. A eulogy is also passed upon Captain Butcher's decision of character, and Lieutenant Wood's pluck and efforts to lighten the anxiety of the retreat-the danger and hardships of which have, it is declared, been altogether underestimated."
Charles Brackenbury obtained a cadetship at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, on 8 July 1847, was commissioned as second lieutenant in the royal artillery on 19 Dec. 1850, and promoted lieutenant on 27 Sept. 1852. He served in the Crimea in 1855–6 with the chestnut troop of the horse artillery. He received the medal with clasp for the siege and fall of Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal. He was promoted second captain on 17 Nov. 1857, and was sent to Malta. In March 1860 he was appointed assistant-instructor in artillery at the Royal Military Academy, and in February 1864 assistant-director of artillery studies at Woolwich. He became first captain on 9 Feb. 1865, and was one of the boundary commissioners under the Reform Act of 1867.
During the war of 1866 in Germany he was military correspondent of the ‘Times’ with the Austrian army, and was present at the battle of Königgratz. He was again ‘Times’ correspondent in the war of 1870–1, when he accompanied Prince Frederick Charles in the campaign of Le Mans; and in the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, when he crossed the Balkans with Gourko.
He became regimental major on 5 July 1872, and lieutenant-colonel on 15 Jan. 1876. He joined the intelligence branch of the war office on 1 April 1874, and translated the second part of ‘Reforms in the French Army,’ officially published in that year. On 1 April 1876 he was appointed superintending officer of garrison instruction at Aldershot, and on 1 July 1880 superintendent of the gunpowder factory at Waltham Abbey. He was promoted colonel in the army on 15 Jan. 1881, and in the regiment on 1 Oct. 1882. He commanded the artillery in the south-eastern district, as colonel on the staff, from 8 May 1886 till 2 June 1887, when he was appointed director of artillery studies at Woolwich. His title was changed on 1 Oct. 1889 to ‘director of the artillery college,’ and he was given the temporary rank of major-general.
He died suddenly on 20 June 1890 from failure of the heart, when travelling by rail, and was buried with military honours at Plumstead cemetery. On 6 April 1854 he married Hilda Eliza, daughter of Archibald Campbell of Quebec, her majesty's notary, and he had six sons and three daughters. Two of his sons joined the Indian staff corps, and died in India—one, Charles Herbert, of typhoid fever contracted in the Bolan Pass in 1885; the other, Lionel Wilhelm, killed at Manipur in 1891.
Charles Brackenbury’s brother was Lieut-General Sir Charles Brackenbury.
Lieutenant Lionel Wilhelm was his nephew.
She
married in 1895 Andrew Cornwall Miller, in London. He served with the Royal Fusiliers in WW1,
and died 1942.
He was
the son of Colonel James Cornwall Miller of the 11th Fusiliers of
Shotover Park who died 1914.
Photograph of Ethel St.Claire Grimwood facing three-quarters
left. She wears a dress that is gathered at the front into a small knot or
bundle, and also the Royal Red Cross awarded for her part in nursing the
casulaties of the Manipur Mutiny.
Provenance Acquired by Queen Victoria
The Royal Red Cross medal (or more accurately
decoration) was introduced to Military Nursing by Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria
on 27 April in 1883 which was St George's Day. The decoration is awarded to
army nurses for exceptional services, devotion to duty and professional
competence in British military nursing. Queen Victoria wanted a special award
for the distinguished service by women nursing sisters in South Africa.
The Royal Warrant said that it be given:
upon any ladies, whether subjects or foreign
persons, who may be recommended by Our Secretary of State for War for special
exertions in providing for the nursing of sick and wounded soldiers and sailors
of Our Army and Navy.
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 15 June 1891,
page 7
THE MANIPUR REBELLION.
THE JUBRAJ SENTENCED TO DEATH.
[BY CABLE) From our Correspondent
LONDON, June 14.
The Jubraj, or usurpor of the
throne at Manipur, has been sentenced to death for his complicity in the
massacre of Mr. J. W. Quinton, the British Commissioner in Assam, and the other
British officers, during the late rebellion in Manipur.
The European Mail of May 8 says :-"
The British Government has promised to produce all the necessary papers on the
Manipur affair-not only the instructions given to Mr. Quinton as to the
expedition, but the communications between tho Secretary of State and the
Viceroy. They will be wanted, for the public are determined to find out who is
to blame in this matter. The Englishman,
of Calcutta, publishes an account of the disaster which fully confirms previous
statements as to the secrecy observed from the outset in regard to Mr. Quinton's
mission, and tho unusual mode of procedure adopted. Warm praise is given to
Mrs. Grimwood for the splendid heroism she displayed daring the attack on the
Residency. The lady herself had a narrow escape from death.
A sepoy standing next to her was
struck by a bullet, which scattered the poor fellow's brains over her dress. Yet,
notwithstanding all the horrors of the scene, and her terrible anxiety as to
the fate of her husband, she was unflinching in her attendance upon the
wounded, soothing Lieutenant Brackenbury's last moments, and, by her cool
presence of mind, greatly helping the retreat. A eulogy is also passed upon
Captain Butcher's decision of character, and Lieutenant Wood's pluck and
efforts to lighten the anxiety of the retreat-the danger and hardships of which
have, it is declared, been altogether underestimated."
Charles Brackenbury obtained a cadetship at the Royal Military
Academy, Woolwich, on 8 July 1847, was commissioned as second lieutenant in the
royal artillery on 19 Dec. 1850, and promoted lieutenant on 27 Sept. 1852. He
served in the Crimea in 1855–6 with the chestnut troop of the horse artillery.
He received the medal with clasp for the siege and fall of Sebastopol, and the
Turkish medal. He was promoted second captain on 17 Nov. 1857, and was sent to
Malta. In March 1860 he was appointed assistant-instructor in artillery at the
Royal Military Academy, and in February 1864 assistant-director of artillery
studies at Woolwich. He became first captain on 9 Feb. 1865, and was one of the
boundary commissioners under the Reform Act of 1867.
During the war of 1866 in Germany he was military correspondent
of the ‘Times’ with the Austrian army, and was present at the battle of
Königgratz. He was again ‘Times’ correspondent in the war of 1870–1, when he
accompanied Prince Frederick Charles in the campaign of Le Mans; and in the
Russo-Turkish war of 1877, when he crossed the Balkans with Gourko.
He became regimental major on 5 July 1872, and
lieutenant-colonel on 15 Jan. 1876. He joined the intelligence branch of the
war office on 1 April 1874, and translated the second part of ‘Reforms in the
French Army,’ officially published in that year. On 1 April 1876 he was
appointed superintending officer of garrison instruction at Aldershot, and on 1
July 1880 superintendent of the gunpowder factory at Waltham Abbey. He was
promoted colonel in the army on 15 Jan. 1881, and in the regiment on 1 Oct.
1882. He commanded the artillery in the south-eastern district, as colonel on
the staff, from 8 May 1886 till 2 June 1887, when he was appointed director of
artillery studies at Woolwich. His title was changed on 1 Oct. 1889 to
‘director of the artillery college,’ and he was given the temporary rank of
major-general.
He died suddenly on 20 June 1890 from failure of the heart, when
travelling by rail, and was buried with military honours at Plumstead cemetery.
On 6 April 1854 he married Hilda Eliza, daughter of Archibald Campbell of
Quebec, her majesty's notary, and he had six sons and three daughters. Two of
his sons joined the Indian staff corps, and died in India—one, Charles Herbert,
of typhoid fever contracted in the Bolan Pass in 1885; the other, Lionel
Wilhelm, killed at Manipur in 1891.
Charles Brackenbury’s brother was
Lieut-General Sir Charles Brackenbury.
Lieutenant Lionel Wilhelm was his
nephew.
London Daily News 10 June 1904
Solicitors
Sued
In the
King’s Bench Division yesterday – before Mr. Justice Grantham – Mrs. E. B.
Miller sued Mr. C.E. Bloomer and other solicitors of Doughty Street, W.C. for alleged
negligence in giving advice in regard to the investment by her of £600.
In his
opening speech, Mr. Lawson Walton recalled an historic story. Plaintiff, he aid, was formerly the wife of
the late Mr Grimwood, who in 1891 was the British Resident at Manipur,
Assam. The mission there as massacred
while the chief members of it were attending a durbar in the Court of the
native city.
Mrs.
Grimwood was in charge of the British Residency at the time, and that place was
besieged. She did most heroic work, and
when the fate of the British Residency was sealed, and it was just possible
that some of the British and others might be rescued, she escaped in the middle
of the night, and after a terrible journey through the jungle for some days,
managed to reach a British fort. There
assistance was obtained and punishment was duly meted out to the murderers of
the mission.
Later
on, Mrs. Grimwood, then a widow, came home to this country. She was received by Queen Victoria, who
decorated her with the Royal Red Cross, in recognition of her services, and,
moreover, she received a pension amounting to £275 per annum.
In 1902
she again married, her husband being Mr Andrew Cornwall Miller. That gentleman had employed the defendants to
act for him, and as plaintiff – a “very energetic woman with independent
character”, said Mr Walton – was desirous of increasing her income, they were
consulted with the view of her making an
investment and finding some occupation.
The
defendants, plaintiff alleged, at once introduced her to a lady in Bond Street,
who desired a partner in her dressmaking business and she invested
£600.00. In the end the business ended
disastrously for plaintiff, and she alleged that the defendants must have known
that the business was in a critical condition at the time she was introduced to
it.
Plaintiff
gave evidence, and was cross examined by Mr. Dickens, K.C.
Counsel
handed her a document in which it was stated that the defendants were entirely
exonerated from any blame in the matter of the failure of the business, and
which purported to be signed by her. The
witness emphatically swore that the signature was not hers.
His
Lordship: Look at the document again. Anyone looking at it would naturally say
it was your signature.
Witness:
It is very like it, but it is not mine.
It is not so firm as mine. I am
perfectly certain it is not my signature.
Case adjourned.
Ethel died in 1928, in Montana USA, no doubt visiting her brother John.
However, perhaps her marriage to Andrew Miller did not last, or he used a different names, as Evelyn and her husband Arthur arrived in the US in 1901, and lived in Portland Oregon, according to the 1910 census.
In 1920, she was a teacher of music, according to the Census, and arrived in US in 1909
In 1911, census in England, Andrew, known as Cornwall Miller was living alone.
Manipur Mischief: Rebellion,
Scandal, and the Dark Side of the Raj, 1891 By William Wright
Her headstone reflects the strong ties she had to her Durnford
heritage. The Durnford Coat of Arms
contains the Ramshead. 
