Charles Ansell remembers his time in Darjeeling

In February 1925, Charles Ansell wrote an account of his life which is transcribed below. Charles and my great-grandfather Claud Bald were good friends and Charles’ son Arthur became friends with Claud’s son-in-law, my grandfather, Fred Marsh. Explanations in the text and are shown in [square brackets].

Leon J Lyell

Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Ansell

Charles William O'Brien Ansell’s memoir

I was born November 1846, at Poplar, London; attended local Schools and I joined the Blackwell Iron Works as an apprentice on 1st January 1861. My work started at 6 A.M. which involved my getting up at 5:20 for I walked to my work a good mile and half away and, as in the evenings, I attended evening classes, my days were pretty occupied. Later I joined Mr Thomas Hyde of Fenchurch Street where I picked up a good knowledge of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, which was becoming prominent at that time owing to Sir William Armstrong. Afterwards, I was in charge of the machinery of "The Hercules", a dredger belonging to the Trinity Corporation of which the Duke of Edinburgh was Chairman of the Committee. 

When I joined the S. S. "Far East" for India. We came round the Cape and she was full up with passengers including my future wife [Ellen Mary Molloy, 1852-1923] who was returning from St. George's Convent Dublin accompanied by her mother and sister. This was an auxiliary screw steamer.  We left London 26th of April 1867 going round the Cape and stopping at Point-de-Galle [in Sri Lanka] and Madras [now Chennai]. We finally reached Calcutta [now Kolkata] on the 17th of September 1867. I have remained in this country ever since. The above steamer was chartered in Calcutta and the breaking out of the Abyssinian War (1867) and thus my engagement was broken; so I looked, for another berth and got a billet under Mr Thomas Watson, Superintending Engineer, Boradale Shiller & Co., as extra hand, but soon afterwards I was made 2nd Engineer. I went to Annesley Bay [in Eritrea]. The Chief Engineer committed himself by getting liquor which, he obtained easily on account of his position and giving same to some European Sergeants. These got drunk and misbehaved themselves. They were tried and heavily punished, while the Chief Engineer was court-marshalled and subsequently deported to Suez [in Egypt], and I was ordered to assume the duties of Chief Engineer by the Port Officer. On my return from Abyssinia [Ethiopia], I had to resume the grade of 2nd Engineer; another man being appointed first. 

At Calcutta, I got a shore job from Messrs Jessop, & Co. I was put in charge of their Garden Reach [a neighbourhood of the city of Kolkata] Branch. There were 2 European Boilermakers there at the time: Newman and Gallacher. I left there owing to the bad temper of one of the partners who abused me and with whom I quarrelled. About that time, I met Mr Watson who gave me back my old job. There was a new Chief Engineer named Todd who was said to drink a bottle-and-a-half or so of Exshaw's brandy per day. On the 9th of March 1869 on returning from Saugor, we anchored and the Chief gave an order that caused an accident and I was badly scalded. The next day at about 1 o'clock I was taken to General Hospital where I remained till the end of May. Meanwhile, a man named Thomas Udell I was appointed to carry on in my place, but they only succeeded in going as far as Achipure, when they burnt the port after boiler firebox; they returned to Calcutta and went under repairs. The new Engineers both got the sack. Captain Milner came to the Hospital the next day and told me all about it. Meanwhile a man named Hamilton was appointed. to carry on the repairs. While in hospital, I was permitted to go up for my examinations and passed, as Chief Engineer. My certificate being the 23rd for Bengal. The next day the owners sent me a letter appointing me Chief Engineer. At the end of May, I received my discharge from Hospital, and I took up my appointment to serve on the "Paris." Later I joined the "Alexandra". 

About that time, I learned that the Tukvar Co. were intending to adopt tea machinery of which there was very little in use. I applied and obtained the appointment 1st of October 1871 and so my connection with tea began. I left Calcutta with, my wife and 2 children on the 18th of December arriving in old Siliguri 1st January 1872, Kurseong on the 5th and Darjeeling (Tukvar) on the 11th. There I erected and worked the machinery and I might mention that I was put in charge of the cinchona plantation. In 1873 Mr Robert Graham, the Superintendent went home on leave, and during his absence, the factory was burnt down (January 11th 1873) but I rebuilt the factory and repaired the machinery in time to get to work for the season 1873. In 1874 it was decided to pull down the old factory and rebuilt a pucca [Indian word for 'good quality'] one. I rebuilt it to my own plan (with the old machinery) and it was the admiration of the whole district and the Company gave me a bonus of Rs. 500/- which was better than all the admiration. It had been arranged in my appointment that if I learned the work thoroughly, I should succeed Mr Graham. In 1875 Mr Graham was allowed to resign and I applied for the management, but in the meantime, the Directors had all been changed and the new ones thought Tukvar required an infusion of new blood as manager and they appointed Mr Thomas B. Curtis, but wrote to me that they had no wish to dispense with my services. I at once resigned because as I wrote and told them, they had broken faith with me. 

I then took up a billet as Engineer to Dr Brougham's [Tea] Estates, namely Dooteriah, Kaleg and Gazailidonbah [Guzlidubah] in the Dooars (of which Dick Haughton was the original Pioneer) and his Banstead property in Darjeeling. On my way to Gazilidonbah for water power, I met Mr & Mrs Pillans of Phoolparrie, [Phoolbarry] one of the Pioneers of the Dooars. While I was at Gazilidonbah, one of my Syces [man employed to look after horses] died with Malaria fever. I left with one Syce and two ponies and returned to Dooteriah. Malaria broke out in my Syce and myself. Mine lasted several months and the Syce's nearly two years. I remained in Dooteriah till May 1878 and intended becoming a planter altogether but machinery being introduced I was constantly asked to do Engineering here and there and so I eventually established an Engineering business which I called the "Darjeeling Engineering Works", and in 1880 I started the present business of "Ansell and Son" at Toong, now the property of my youngest son Arthur Molloy Ansell. 

Among other things I won the Gold Medal at the Calcutta Exhibition 1883-1884 and in 1886 I designed the hydraulic portion of the Darjeeling Electric light and most of the Water power of this district is due to me. I might mention that in 1872 I first tried drying tea without charcoal successfully. Sir Richard Temple, Lieutenant Governor of Bengal gave me two interviews at Government House in connection with this and at his Honour's request, I met Dr [Sir William] Schlich, Conservator of the Forests for Bengal. I patented the idea of the first endless tea drying machine in 1876. 

I have been a very keen volunteer. I served nearly 2 years in the Royal Naval Reserve at home, and out here I was an original member of the Darjeeling Volunteer Rifles in 1873 now called the North Bengal Mounted Rifles. I rose to the rank of Major. After nearly 43 years’ service, I was permitted to retire as Honorary Lieutenant Colonel, V. D [abbreviation for “Volunteer Officers' Decoration”], I hold the long service medal granted in Queen Victoria's time. The Volunteer Officers' Decoration of King Edward's time and the Delhi Durbar Jubilee medal of the present King's reign. During that long term of service, I never took leave of absence and was always found efficient at examinations. I am a first-class Magistrate of nearly 30 years’ service. I have always tried to do my duty to my country. 

The death of my dear and devoted wife, who after 53 years was taken from me was a great blow. She was a child in Lucknow right through the terrible [1857] siege, and she was returning to India from School at home when I met her. She was loved universally. Unfortunately, I have myself lately suffered a stroke which has left me partly paralysed, but I am slowly recovering. My life has been full of incidents and the foregone is only a summary of some of them. At a future date if possible, I shall try and write out some of the details. This has been written to dictation at the request of my old friend Mrs A. M. Lennox and many other kind friends. 

Just now I see the announcement (by cable) of the death of George Nash [1843-1924] of Mineral Springs and for many years’ manager at Soom [Tea Estate]. I met him unknowingly in 1871, the circumstances of which I will relate later. 

Since writing the above my old friend G. W. Christison [1837-1924 who was also at Tukvar] has passed away aged 86 and another dear old friend, Claud Bald [1853-1924] has been taken too. 

CW Ansell, V.D.
Toong, 1st February 1925


Charles Ansell died 25 May 1927 at Toong, Bengal, India, and is buried at the Pankhabari Road Cemetery, Kurseong, in what is now West Bengal, India. You can see his FindAGrave entry. As yet I don’t have a picture of his gravestone.

The Delhi Durbar of 1911, with King George V and Queen Mary seated on the dais.