Du Cane, Edmund Frederick – ROYAL SAPPERS AND MINERS in Western Australia

To read the highlights of Edmund Du Cane’s story, Click Here

PERSONAL DETAILS
Name/Alias	Edmund Frederick DU CANE, K.C.B.
Birth date and place	23 Mar 1830 Colchester, Essex, England.
Baptism date and place	19 Apr 1830 Colchester, Essex, England.
Civil Census Residences	Grammar School House, Dedham, Essex (1841). 3 Victoria Road, Kensington, London (1861). ‘Coombe Springs’, Kingston, Surrey (1871). Family only, E F Du Cane absent. ‘Coombe Springs’, Kingston, Surrey (1881). 40 Queen’s Gate Gardens, Kensington, London (1891).
Profession	Officer in the British Army, Corps of Royal Engineers. Assistant Secretary of Juries, Great Exhibition 1851. Director of Convict Prisons 1863. Chairman of Prison Directors 1869. Inspector-General of Military Prisons 1869. Surveyor-General of Prisons 1869.
Decorations	C.B. (Companion of the Bath). K.C.B. (Knight Commander of the Bath).
Marriage date and place	1st: 18 Jul 1855 St John’s Church, Fremantle, Western Australia. 2nd: 2 Jan 1883 St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, London.
Spouse	1st: Mary Dorothea MOLLOY. 2nd: Florence Victoria SAUNDERSON (widow formerly Grimston).
Children	Male child 1856, at sea on ‘Esmeralda’ en route to England from Western Australia. Richard Hale 1857, Kensington, London. Hubert John 1859, Dover, Kent. Alice Mary 1860, Kensington, London. Mary Louisa 1863, Kensington, London. Eliza Dorothea 1865, Kensington, London. Flora Sophia Georgia 1872, Kingston, Surrey. Edmund Arthur 1872, Kingston, Surrey. Wynfreda Vera Agnes 1874, Kingston, Surrey.
Death date and place	7 Jun 1903, 10 Portman Square, London, Middlesex. Cause of Death: Appendicitis.
Burial date and place	10 Jun 1903 All Saints Church, Great Braxted, Essex.
Will and Probate	24 Jun 1903 Probate, London Registry. Effects £24,883 17s. 2d.
Death Notices & Obituaries	Selections from over 20 newspaper items: London Times 8 Jun 1903. London Daily News 9 & 10 Jun 1903. Walsall Advertiser 13 Jun 1903. Shoreditch Observer 13 Jun 1903.
ARMY SERVICE DETAILS
Corps and Company	Royal Engineers.
Service No. and Rank	2nd Lieutenant, Cadet Company (entered Nov 1846).
Attestation date and place	19 Dec 1848 Woolwich, Kent.
Service at Home & Abroad	See WO25-3913 in sidebar.
Promotions	2nd Lieutenant 19 Dec 1848. 1st Lieutenant 17 Feb 1854. 2nd Captain 16 Apr 1858. 1st Captain 5 Feb 1864. Major 5 Jul 1872. Lieutenant Colonel 11 Dec 1873. Colonel Brevet 11 Dec 1878. Colonel 1 Mar 1885. Major General (Hon) 31 Dec 1887.
Courts Martial (and type)	None.
Discharge date and place	31 Dec 1887.
Length of Service	39 years 12 days. Retirement Pay: £600 per annum.
Statement of Services Reference	WO25-3913-221.
Post Discharge Residence	Portman Square, London.
ARRIVAL IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Ship	Anna Robertson.
Departure and Arrival dates	Dep. Woolwich 10 Sep 1851. Arr. Fremantle 18 Dec 1851.
Occupations post-arrival in WA	Supervisor of convicts on public works (Eastern Division). Magistrate of the Colony. Visiting Magistrate of Convict Stations.
Subscriptions to Funds	None.
Land Acquisition	Guildford.
Ship ex-WA	Esmeralda. See Crimean War Connection.
Departure date and destination	Dep. Fremantle 25 Feb 1856, via Cape of Good Hope and St Helena to London.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Many of Sir Edmund Du Cane’s letters home to his family have survived and are available on AJCP Reel M835 in microfilm format and online. Click here for a summary of these letters which cover the voyage to Western Australia on Anna Robertson in 1851, his life in Guildford WA and his departure on Esmeralda in 1856. The online letters can be sourced on the NLA Australian Joint Copying Project here.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Many of Sir Edmund Du Cane’s letters home to his family have survived and are available on AJCP Reel M835 in microfilm format and online. Click here for a summary of these letters which cover the voyage to Western Australia on Anna Robertson in 1851, his life in Guildford WA and his departure on Esmeralda in 1856. The online letters can be sourced on the NLA Australian Joint Copying Project here.