Tuesday 13 April 2010

Charles Archibalds Malayan years.

Today(april 2010) we received a lot of information about Charles Archibald in the Malayan years.We decided to make a seperate article about it..
C.A.Vlieland was educated at Exeter School and Balliol College, Oxford; held various appointments in the Malayan Civil Service, 1915-1926; appointed as District Officer, Batang Padang, 1927, and Kuala Selangor, 1929; Superintendent of Census, Malaya, 1930-1932; Economy Officer, Federated Malay States and Straits Settlements, Under Secretary, Straits Settlements and Financial Commissioner and Auditor General, Johore; Secretary for Defence, Malaya, 1938-1941; died in 1974
Completeing a Stewardship describes the process of British disengagement from Malaya and Singapore during the era of Asian nationalism. Heussler adds to previous studies of decolonization and disengagement a new and important perspective: the views and daily work of the members of the Malayan Civil Service who were at the center of affairs until the end of British rule. The book concentrates on the people and events that influenced administrative preparations for independence. The importance of Completing A Stewardship lies in its attention to the British management of preparations for self-government. By combining official records with diaries, letters, personal papers, and interviews with many important participants, Heussler offers a full and balanced view of the end of the British Empire in Southeast Asia.
Completing a Stewardship: The Malayan Civil Service, 1942-1957 - Pagina 233
door Robert Heussler - Political Science - 1983 [ISBN 0313239304]
Here his signature.

There are 243 articles about him in Singapore newspapers.
Charles Archibald's great-niece tells us
Charles Archibald rose very fast in the Malayan Service and wrote the Malayan Census of 1932, but seems to have made few friends and, more important, allies on the way up (his nickname, sadly, was 'Starchy Archie'). He was a brilliant linguist and spoke several native dialects of Penang, Perak and Selangor and went hunting with the local rajahs. They told him that the Japanese would come by land down the Malay peninsula but when he put this to a military strategy meeting early in the war no one supported him: 'rubbish', said the military, 'the Japanese will come by sea and be smashed by impregnable Fortress Singapore'. (I think he may have also encountered some prejudice as not being 'quite British', i.e. a quarter Dutch, and this told against him as well, and he was a civilian who knew as much about strategy as the military themselves, which would have caused some ripples.) He returned to Britain, and was proved only too right in late 1941 and early 1942 when the Japanese rolled up the peninsula in eight weeks and took Singapore. Naively, he seems to have thought that even after having poured egg on the faces of the top brass they would welcome him back in 1945, but he was pensioned off to write the stack of memoirs now held in the Imperial War Museum, mentioned in the blog, trying to justify his position.
Of course, this story is told from Charles Archibald's point of view; the British genuinely, if complacently, thought that the defences of Singapore constructed in 1938 would repel any attack and saw no need to take advice from a civilian member of the administration with somewhat dubious native contacts.
Vlieland, C.A. 1934.
The population of the Malay Peninsula: A study in human migration. Geographical Review,
24 (1).
Vlieland, C.A. British Malaya: A Report on the 1931 Census (Lon-. don: H.M.S.O., 1932), p. ...
and, Mayor, Rev. Young, Mint Chapel, retiring Mayor's Chaplin, Alderman Hodson, ... Whip
Did It Really Help to be a Japanese Colony? East Asian Economic Performance in Historical Perspective [1]
Demographic indicators are probably a more reliable guide to changes in living standards over time than wage data. We do not have long time series on, for example, infant mortality rates for all parts of East and South East Asia for the early part of the twentieth century, but we do have figures for most countries by the 1930s. It seems clear that infant mortality rates were lower in Taiwan, the Philippines and British Malaya than in Indonesia, Indochina and Burma (Table 14). The data on crude death rates (which are probably less reliable, as they are derived from registration data) tell a similar story. There can be little doubt that infant mortality rates and crude death rates fell in Taiwan over the Japanese period, and life expectancy increased (Barclay 1954: Tables 36, 37 and 39). Kimura (1993: 643) argues that there was also a decline in death rates in Korea after 1920. In the Philippines there was also some decline in both indicators over the American period (Zablan 1978: Tables 79 and 90). Banens (2000: Table 7) shows a decline in infant mortality rates among the Vietnamese population in Hanoi between 1925 and 1938, admittedly from a very high level, while in British Malaya, Vlieland (1932: 110) estimates a fall of around a third in the Straits Settlements between 1911 and 1931. No doubt in all cases, colonial governments would have attributed these declines to better access to modern health facilities, and especially in urban areas, to better provision of sanitation and clean drinking water[9].
Infant mortality rates were often higher in urban than rural areas, probably due to lack of clean water, and poor sanitation. Gooszen (1999: 192-3) cites Dutch research which found very high infant mortality of more than 400 per thousand in parts of Batavia (Jakarta) in 1917-19, which were similar to those reported by Banens (2000: 36) for Hanoi. Vlieland (1932:110) found that infant mortality rates in urban Singapore were higher than in the more rural Federated Malay States.

Vlieland, C.A. 1934.
The population of the Malay Peninsula: A study in human migration. Geographical Review,
24 (1).

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London: home page
VLIELAND, Charles Archibald ([1890]-1974)
IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0099 KCLMA Vlieland
Held at: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London
Title: VLIELAND, Charles Archibald ([1890]-1974)
Date(s): Created 1911, 1938, [1960-1965], 1967
Level of description: Collection (fonds)
Extent: 1 volume and 1 file
Name of creator(s):
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Born in [1890]; educated at Exeter School and Balliol College, Oxford; held various appointments in the Malayan Civil Service, 1915-1926; appointed as District Officer, Batang Padang, 1927, and Kuala Selangor, 1929; Superintendent of Census, Malaya, 1930-1932; Economy Officer, Federated Malay States and Straits Settlements, Under Secretary, Straits Settlements and Financial Commissioner and Auditor General, Johore; Secretary for Defence, Malaya, 1938-1941; died in 1974.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Papers relating to his life and career, 1911-1942, dated 1911, 1938, [1960-1965], 1967, principally comprising bound typescript entitled 'Disaster in the Far East, 1941-1942', an account of his work as Secretary for Defence, Malaya, 1938-1941, and his assessment of the events leading up to the fall of Singapore, 1942, written in [1960-1965], including a copy of his unofficial report on the defence of Malaya, 1940, and a census map of Malaya, 1931, with covering letter to the Centre and cutting of his article on 'Singapore: the legend and the facts' from the The Daily Telegraph, 1967.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English.
System of arrangement:
1 volume and 1 file
Conditions governing access:
Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.
Finding aids:
Summary guide available on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/top.htm, and in hard copy in the Centre's reading room.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Memoir and associated items presented to the Centre by Vlieland in 1965. Other papers presented to the Centre by Peter Elphick in 1994.
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Date(s) of descriptions: Oct 1996


In Kew gardens you can find the report of charles Archibald Vlieland .


Saturday 10 April 2010

The letter

The whole blog of Jerome Nicholas Vlieland started with this letter.
Found in the Rijksarchief in Den Haag Netherlands.
Now we know Jerome Nicholas was born in Rotterdam in 1796.
We know his father and mother and his brothers ans sisters.
We know his children and grandchildren ,greatgrandchildren ad even his greatgreat grandchildren.
We know his work,his books,the places he lived.
And still we learn more about this family.
So everytime we learn something new about a familymember we update and add that part.
De brief


Otterden
Barnfieldroad
Exeter
June 11 1905

Dear Sir
In November 1902 you wrote me in answer of an advert, I put in a Dutch Newspaper
I have, owing to certain circumstances let the matter drop .for the time.
I am now desirious of getting certain information if possible.
A certificate of the birth of my grandfather which would I suppose give the name ,social position place of residence of his father also whether there was a family crest
Certain of my relatives think it was a stork with a snake in its bill.
The following details are all I can give you.
If you consider that with them it is useless to proceed please say so
I state you for giving such advice
If you think it is worthwhile kindly let me now what your charges will be ( inclusive)
I will tell you what I am prepared to do.
My Grandfather was born June 27 1796 his name was Jerome Nicholas Vlieland.
(like the island in the Zuijderzee) shown in maps of Holland
His ancestors supposed to have been de Vlielands
One of his grandchildren , a cousin of mine was christened Janson de Vlieland Vlieland
I do not know where in Holland he was born probably at or in near the Hague or Amsterdam
He came to this country with some other members of his family when probably about 25 years old.
He is said to have come as a “refuge” but why I do not know. personally he seems to have had some kind of hatred of the French
He is said to have had an uncle an officer in the Dutch Navy John Vlieland who was killed fighting by the French.
My Grandfather would have been a well educated man ,as he made his living as a professor of languages and wrote volumes in French German and Italian
I should say he was certainly not a Roman Catholic
I am
Yours faithfully
C.J.Vlieland

Monday 5 April 2010

Sarah Ann Johnson

Sarah Ann Johnson was baptised 18 September 1822 Swaffham as daughter of Edward Amond Johnson (2-12-1794) and Elisabeth Mary Heath.



Sarah Ann Johnson  died December 1902 Blean.

Edward and Elisabeth married 23 Nov 1819 in the Virgin Mary and St Thomas a Beckett Wymondham Norfolk.
Witnesses on their wedding were Thomas Kemball, John Johnson Other Witnesses were Louisa Johnson, Eliza Johnson and Mary Norman Johnson
Sarah was born on 17 Aug 1822 and baptised 18 Sep 1822.St Peter & St Paul Swaffham County Norfolk.
Her fathers occupation at her birth was Gaoler and later governor of the Brideswell.
Sarah Ann Johnson married Jerome Nicholas Vlieland in 1866 In Norwich.

Kentish Chronicle - Saturday 27 January 1866



Sarah Ann Johnson had a lot of brothers and sisters as we find in the Parish register.
Baptisms 23 Jan 1821 JOHNSON Elizabeth Mary Norfolk Heigham.
Baptisms 18 Sep 1822 JOHNSON Sarah Ann Norfolk Swaffham.
Baptisms 07 Jan 1825 JOHNSON Edward Amond Norfolk Swaffham.
Baptisms 28 Jun 1826 JOHNSON John Kerrison Norfolk Swaffham.
Baptisms 09 Jul 1828 JOHNSON John Kerrison Norfolk Swaffham.
Baptisms 29 Jan 1830 JOHNSON Lucy Grice Norfolk Swaffham.
Baptisms 26 Nov 1831 JOHNSON Henry Godwin Norfolk Swaffham
Baptisms 19 Mar 1833 JOHNSON Fanny Norfolk Swaffham
Baptisms 12 Nov 1834 JOHNSON Charles Walter Norfolk Swaffham
Baptisms 25 Feb 1836 JOHNSON Frederic William Norfolk Swaffham
Baptisms 07 May 1837 JOHNSON Harriett Anna Norfolk Swaffham
Baptisms 22 Apr 1839 JOHNSON Lewis Heath Norfolk Swaffham
Baptisms 25 Oct 1843 JOHNSON Horace Amond Norfolk Swaffham he died at the age of 12.
Her father was keeper of the brideswell in Swaffham.









census 1871

Swaffham Bridewell
Description of the Bridewell in 1868: ‘The County Prison, which was erected in 1787, and considerably enlarged in 1844 at a cost of £1,500. It has a residence for the governor, and contains 67 cells and 3 hospital rooms. The prisoners are employed in mat making, sacking weaving, tailoring, shoemaking, oakum picking, and pumping water from a well 150 feet deep.’
(J.G.Harrod and Co., Directory of Norfolk and Norwich, (London and Norwich, 1868) pp.610-611).
White’s History, Gazetteer and Directory of Norfolk (Sheffield,1883) p. 711 records: ‘The County Prison at Swaffham has been discontinued under the Prisons Act, and was pulled down in 1881.’
In 1822 the time Sarah is born we read:
Swaffham. County Bridewell. — Dietary. Two pounds and a half of bread, made of good household flour, and half a pound of cheese per week; the prisoners are also permitted to purchase a pint of milk per day : hot water and salt are also allowed them.
The governor observes that a surprising difference has taken place with regard to the number of offences and committals since the erection of the tread-mill, and the number of recommittals has also very greatly decreased. The mill has been completed nearly twelve months. The effect of this labour upon the health of the prisoners, is very beneficial.

Saturday 3 April 2010

Frances Elisabeth Vlieland

Francis Elisabeth Vlieland is the daughter of Herbert Bloomfield Vlieland and Jenny Amelia Ford She was born 2 Jul 1890 in the USA
She married Albert Oliver Fillbach 13 Aug 1908 Rockford, Illinois
their children
Albert Fillbach
Arthur Fillbach
Bernice Fillbach
Dale Fillbach
Francis Fillbach
Oliver Fillbach
And she died 30 july 1939.
Francis and Albert had a daughter called Bernice Marie Fillbach.She was born on Aug. 29, 1913, in Hudson
Her obituary
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Bernice Marie (Fillbach) Gray, 91, of Platteville, passed away on Monday, May 30, 2005, at Southwest Health Center Hospital, Platteville, following a short illness.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Lutheran Church of Peace, Platteville. Burial will be in the Hazel Green (Wis.) Cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Bendorf Funeral Home, Platteville. Friends also may call after 10 a.m. Thursday at the church.
Mrs. Gray led a very active life, and was currently still the administrator of Gray's Nursing Home in Platteville.
She was 91 at that time !

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Bernice Marie (Fillbach) Gray, 91, of Platteville, passed away on Monday, May 30, 2005, at Southwest Health Center Hospital, Platteville, following a short illness.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Lutheran Church of Peace, Platteville. Burial will be in the Hazel Green (Wis.) Cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Bendorf Funeral Home, Platteville. Friends also may call after 10 a.m. Thursday at the church.
She was born on Aug. 29, 1913, in Hudson, daughter of Albert O. and Frances E. (Vlieland) Fillbach.
Mrs. Gray led a very active life, and was currently still the administrator of Gray's Nursing Home in Platteville.
Bernice moved from Roberts when she was 15 years old to live with her uncle, Dr. Harold Fillbach, founder of the Fillbach Hospital in Hazel Green.
She graduated from Hazel Green High School in 1931, and went to Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Madison, and graduated in 1935. The day she graduated from training, she took a bus back to Hazel Green and started working that night for Dr. Harold Fillbach.
She married Eldon W. Gray on Jan. 18, 1936. After her marriage, they lived in the Madison and Milwaukee area for several years, where she was a nurse.
She returned to become director of nurses at Hazel Green Hospital from 1958 to 1964.

Frances Elizabeth <i>Vlieland</i> Fillbach

Family links: 
 Spouse:
  Albert Oliver Fillbach (1883 - 1956)
 
 Children:
  Oliver Elmer Fillbach (1909 - 1980)*
  Arthur R. Fillbach (1910 - 1959)*
  Bernice M Fillbach Gray (1913 - 2005)*
  Francis E. Fillbach (1922 - 1975)*