Pages

Monday 4 April 2011

Polemos: Is there a link between David Charles Ballinger Griffith and Captain G.J.R. Glünicke?

Whilst I have been unwell, my wife has done some further research into both David Charles Ballinger Griffith and Captain G.J.R. Glünicke.

What she has discovered is that:
  • David Charles Ballinger Griffith married Ellen Amy Smith in 1877 at St George's, Hanover Square. Ellen Smith's place of birth is recorded as both Mayfair (London) and the parish of St George's, Hanover Square (Middlesex)
  • George John Robert Glünicke married Annie W Smith in 1882 in Droitwich (which was also the town of her birth)
  • George John Robert Glünicke became a naturalise Briton on 9th June 1885
The most obvious line of enquiry would be to see if the two Miss Smith were in some way related ... but as Smith is the most common surname in England that would involve getting hold of both couple's marriage records, which is both time-consuming and incurs a cost.

I fear that this is about as far as the research can go at present ... but something may turn up that will provide further relevant information in the future.

8 comments:

  1. There are a number of old magazines such as Blackwood's and the Army Navy Quarterly that are available on line now, though I have not yet discovered a systematic way of finding them, rather I have struck on odd issues now and again. Perhaps a troll through some of these will turn up something. At very least I have just had an enjoyable read of cavalry and through an analysis of "modern" tactics in 1885 and some shocking accuracy tests of infantry vs gardener guns.
    http://books.google.ca/books?id=sHADAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=army+navy+quarterly&hl=en&ei=lgybTb2YMYq2twfonu29Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ross Mac,

    What an excellent suggestion!

    I will try to see if I can trace any mention of Polemos, Dr Griffith, or Captain Glunicke somewhere there.

    I might also give Project Guttenberg a once over as well.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  3. My compliments to your lady wife on her efforts. I hope you are recovering from your illness.

    I can't find it now, but did you (or someone) say that Richard Ballam actually has a set of Polemos? If he hasn't, then I imagine he knows whose set was photographed.

    Only extra stuff I found was to do with Griffith registering a partnership with another physician (Kelly?), who had previously practised in London, but nothing useful.

    Any contacts with Mr Ballam?

    Regards

    Tony

    ReplyDelete
  4. MSFoy,

    I am now on the mend; thanks for asking.

    As to the research ... well my wife loves doing genealogy so this was a labour of love for her.

    Nick Huband is trying to contact Richard Ballam, but with no luck to date. I understand that the set in the photographs is owned by Mr Ballam. If and when Nick Huband does get in touch with Richard Ballam, and can get a copy of the rules, it will fill in a lot of the missing links.

    I found a partnership agreement between Dr Griffith and Dr Albert Primrose Wells, but I do not know of any other partners.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  5. I guess this is a silly question, but have we tracked down a copy of the game? Someone had a picture of the box at least--perhaps they have a complete copy? It would be great to see the rules and components.

    Best regards,

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chris,

    Richard Ballam has a copy of both the game and the rules ... but all attempts to contact him have come to nothing as yet.

    We will continue to try to get hold of a copy.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't recall that anyone has mentioned this yet, but "Polemos", according to Wiki, was the god of war, father of Alala, goddess of the war-cry. He was one of a number of spirits who haunted battlefields. According to Aesop,
    Polemos married Hybris, female personification of arrogance and impertinence. [Origin of "Hubris", perhaps?]

    This isn't exactly vital information, but is interesting. I guess it reflects the level of education in the UK at the time--references to obscure Greek deities are not all that common...

    Best regards,

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  8. Chris,

    Thanks for this interesting information.

    You are right about the place of anything resembling 'Classics' in the English mainstream education system; it is rarely ever seen (with some noteworthy exceptions).

    I was lucky enough (and old enough) to have gone to a traditional Grammar school, and did Latin as well as Greek and Roman culture. Not much use in the modern world ... except when doing pub quizs and shouting out the answers whilst watching 'University Challenge'.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment. Please note that any comments that are spam or contain phishing messages or that come from Google Accounts that are 'Unknown' will be deleted.