Re: Hugh Hamilton Gregory.
I know this post was a long time ago, but if you're still interested in Hugh Hamilton Gregory please get in touch. He was my grandfather
2010-06-24 11:11:14
[We are almost certain that Hugh Hamilton Gregory (1881 – 1953) was the hitherto elusive "H H Gregory" who was employed as Midland Red motor engineer in November 1905. Here is a brief biography. As usual, corrections, additions and comments are welcome. It would be good to learn more about Hugh Gregory's career. And a picture would be good!]
Hugh Hamilton Gregory (HHG) was born at Poplar, London, on 27 June 1881. His parents were Alfred John Gregory (AJG) and Jennie Hamilton Gregory née James (JHG).
AJG (c 1860 – 14 July 1927) was born at Studley Park, Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was the son of engineer George Johnston Gregory (born c 1807) and Ann(ie) Gregory. AJG trained as a medical doctor (he was to acquire the qualifications MD, BS and DPH). In 1880 AJG married JHG at St Luke's church, Lower Norwood, Kent. JHG was born about 1859 in Chicago and later became a British subject. By 1881 they were living with AJG's parents (also older sister Florence A Gregory and younger brother photographer Frederick Gregory) at 13 Clifton Road, Deptford, Kent.
By census night (5 April) 1891, HHG and his parents were living at 184 Knights Hill, Norwood, London. Later that year the family moved to Cape Town, Cape Colony (Cape of Good Hope), South Africa. AJG was involved in the administration of the 1891 Cape Colony census, and was registered in Cape Colony as a doctor in 1892. In July 1895 George Turner MB MRCS LRCP (c 1845 - 12 March 1915) was appointed Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for Cape Colony, and soon afterwards AJG was appointed his assistant. After Turner became MOH for Transvaal in 1900, AJG was formally promoted to MOH for Cape Colony. By this time he had become very prominent in Cape Colony affairs. Van Heyningen (1989) describes him as "the most influential medical figure at the Cape until Union in 1910". He continued in his position until perhaps 1913, and moved back to Britain some time after retirement. He died at Metcalfe's Royal Hydro, Richmond, Surrey. Further information about AJG's work in Cape Colony can be found in the 1906 and 1989 references (see "Sources" below).
HHG attended South Africa College, Cape Town, and matriculated in 1899. On 9 October of that year he entered St Johns College, Cambridge University, where he remained for eight terms, leaving in 1902 apparently without a degree. He qualified as a mechanical engineer, and in November 1905 he was employed by the fledgling Midland Red as Engineer, replacing George Pollard who had moved on to the London Motor Omnibus Co Ltd as Second Engineer. By the end of 1907 Midland Red had decided to dispense with motor buses, and probably in the early part of 1908 HHG left Midland Red for a position with the Royal Automobile Club (RAC). By 1910 he was lodging at 29 Cleveland Road, Barnes, London. In the 1911 census HHG described himself as "Technical Advisor to the Secretary of RAC". In this role he registered several patents in 1910-1914 for "motor vehicle windscreens", "fuel consumption measuring device" and "motor vehicle trailers". By 1912 he was Head of the Technical Department of RAC, and was an associate member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. In the first quarter of 1913 he married Ruth Gladys Shoyer (born at Clapham Junction second quarter 1894) at Richmond, Surrey. His wife was the eldest child of Post Office telegraph operator Richard Howell Shoyer (born c 1871) and Ruth Alice Shoyer née Cowper (b c 1873). Possible offspring include: John H Gregory (born fourth quarter 1913 at Richmond, Surrey); Mary R Gregory (born third quarter 1915 at Richmond, Surrey); Barbara A Gregory (born first quarter 1920 at Lewes, East Sussex); Julian B Gregory (born second quarter 1921 at Reigate, Surrey). By 1914 the family were living at "Muizenberg", 20 (?) Gerard Road, Barnes. [Muizenberg, now a beach-side suburb of greater Cape Town, was a holiday town for the Cape Colony élite in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; AJG and JHG had owned a holiday home there.] Early in World War 1, HHG became involved in the technical organisation of Red Cross hospitals and ambulances. By January 1916 he was appointed advisory officer to the Board of Customs and Excise in relation to tariffs on motor car imports, though he remained Head of the RAC Technical Department. At this time it was said of him in the press: "Nobody has a more complete and thorough knowledge of the motor industry from the inside".
We hear nothing about HHG's later life and career until his death in the second quarter of 1953 at Winchester, Hampshire.
Sources:
Cape of Good Hope. Report of the Select Committee on the Contagious Diseases Act. Cape Town: Cape Times Ltd, 1906.
The Straits Times (4 January 1916).
[Peter Hardy]. Fleet History PD2. The Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited. Part I 1904-1933. London: PSV Circle and Omnibus Society, 1961.
E B van Heyningen. "Agents of Empire: The Medical Profession in the Cape Colony 1880-1910". Medical History. Volume 33 (pp 450-471). 1989.
Lloyd's research in British censuses, registers, etc. [Thanks Lloyd for that painstaking work!
Heather Vallance's research in Cape Town records and elsewhere. Her Sarah Ann Smith website is well worth a visit: it contains a page on AJG. It appears that Sarah Ann Smith's brother Hugh Smith (who was living in Poplar by 1882) was HHG's godfather. [Thanks Heather for your kind (and continuing) assistance!
I know this post was a long time ago, but if you're still interested in Hugh Hamilton Gregory please get in touch. He was my grandfather
