ELIAS DURNFORD, JR., R.E.

Born in Ringwood on May 13, 1739 he was the eldest son of Elias Durnford, Sr. and grandson of Thomas Durnford.  He jointed the Royal Engineers and was made a Practitioner Engineer with rank of Ensign on March 17, 1759 and promoted Sub-Engineer and Lieutenant on Jan. 28 1762.  In the same year he was present at the siege and capture of Belleisle.  The next year he was in an expedition headed by the Earl of Albermarle to Havana, Cuba to cripple the Spaniard's West Indian colonies.  The force landed at Havana and attacked a fort called El Moro. This fort was strongly defended by a gigantic ditch and scarp, which could only be overcome by mining. The Engineers dug two mines.   A breach was made and the fort surrendered after being besieged for 42 days.   Shortly afterwards the whole island capitulated. Afterwards in London he produced a series of six engravings with views of the city of Havana, which - together with the series of 12 engravings of the siege operations by Canot and Mason, after Dominic Serres, from drawings by Orsbridge - form the earliest in situ representations of the Island of Cuba (thanks to Alfred Rau for information on Elias' engravings). Engraving for sale.

He was the first in the family to serve in North America. In 1764 Elias was appointed Commanding Engineer and Surveyor-General of West Florida, and in 1769 he was made Lieutenant-Governor of that Province.  He laid out the city of Pensacola in Seville Square district.  In 1770, he was promoted Engineer-Extraordinary and Captain-Lieutenant, and Engineer in Ordinary and Captain on March 26, 1779.  In 1780 he was in command at Mobile when it was besieged and was forced to surrender to the Spaniards.  He returned to England a prisoner of war under condition that he did not serve again either in Florida or Louisiana.  In 1784 he was Commanding Engineer at Newcastle (at the same time his brother Andrew was Chief Engineer at Chatham, with rank of Captain-Lieutenant) and was later appointed the chief Engineer at Plymouth.  At the beginning of 1794 an expedition was sent to attack the French West Indies colonies under General Sir Charles Grey, Durnford (now a Colonel) was appointed to command the Royal Engineers who accompanied the force.  His eldest son, Elias Walker Durnford, an ensign, was also with the expedition and served directly under his father.   The island of Martinique, St. Lucia and Guadeloupe were captured, however Guadeloupe was later recaptured by the French. He and his son, Elias Walker, a subaltern, were captured by the French. A few weeks after the capture by the English of Guadeloupe, Elias Durnford died of yellow fever at Tobago on June 21, 1794.   He served for 35 years in the Royal Engineers.

Elias Durnford was married on August 25, 1769 to Rebecca Walker.   He had 4 sons, Elias Walker (1774), Philip (1780), Thomas William (1784) and George (1788).  and 4 daughters, Charlotte, Caroline, Maria and Harriet.  Philip was a Lieutenant-Colonel and George a Lieutenant-General in the Royal Artillery.    

ELIAS WALKER DURNFORD, R.E.

Elias Walker Durnford, son of Elias Durnford, Jr., received his commission in the Royal Engineers on Oct. 17, 1793 and accompanied his father on the 1794 expedition.   In 1801 he was taken prisoner at the surrender of camp Berville with 66 other officers, and was exchanged 17 months later. 

In the summer of 1809, he and his family sailed for St. John's, Newfoundland on the HMS Britannia. He was Chief Engineer 1809 to 1815. While there he started a massage building program that lasted 22 years. Near the city at Signal Hill, the Queen's Battery and a large block house still stands.

In 1816 they moved to Quebec. From 1816 to 1831 he was the Commanding Engineer for Upper and Lower Canada. While stationed in Quebec he superintended the erection of the Citadel in Quebec City and fortifications at Quebec. Construction on the Citadel started in May 1820 and was not completed until 1831. Citadel Plaque. History of the Citadel.

Durnford was responsible for surveying many of the garrisons of Upper and Lower Canada and was responsible for the building of the Rideau Canal, Ft. Lennox (at Ile aux Noix on the Richelieu River), the Grenville-Carillon Canal on the Ottawa River.  In 1823 he surveyed the Garrison of York (Toronto), and provided plans of the military structures.  He was stationed in Portsmouth, England from 1830 to 1837 when he was promoted to Major-General.  He subsequently became a Lieutenant-General.  He died on Oct. 8, 1849. 

He married Jane Sophia Mann on Oct. 30, 1798.  He had 10 children, 6 sons and 4 daughters, Four of his children were born in Ireland while stationed there (his two brothers and mother, with her 2nd husband an R.A. officer, were also stationed there at the same time). Also, Four of their children died early between 1832 and 1836. Three children, Philip, John and Elizabeth married into the Sewell family from Quebec and settled in Canada.  Two of his sons were gazetted to the Royal Engineers. Letter. Maps.

His daughter Mary wrote a book about him: Family recollections of Lieut. General Elias Walker Durnford. It was printed in 1863. Publication: Montreal, Printed by J. Lovell.

GEORGE DURNFORD

Son of Elias Durnford, Jr., married Eliza Frazer Earle, a direct descendant of Captain Peregrine White, the first child born after the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, MA. He was in the Royal Artillery along with his brother Philip. He rose to Lt. General  White family tree.

ANDREW DURNFORD, R.E.

Son of Elias Durnford, Sr. and brother of Elias Durnford, Jr., he was born at the "Hundred Windowed House," Fordingham, Hants on April 4, 1744.  He obtained his commission in the Royal Engineers on July 28, 1769 and the next year he was appointed Assistant Commissary to superintend the demolition of the fortifications and canal of Dunkirk, according to the terms of the Treaty of 1763.   On leaving Dunkirk in 1774 he was next engaged for 2 years on the defenses at Plymouth, and in 1776 he sailed for America, where he served throughout the War of Independence as the Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General in Georgia and West Florida from 1780 to 1783. From 1784 to 1787 he was Chief Engineer at Chatham, with the rank of Captain-Lieutenant.  In 1788 he was selected to fortify the forts of Bermuda.  He was promoted to the rank of Captain and later to Major.  He remained at Bermuda till his death in 1798.   Andrew Durnford married Jemima Margaret Isaacson on July 8, 1772.  They had 2 sons, Andrew Montague Isaacson, born June 24, 1773 and Anthony William, born Jan. 24, 1775. He also had 5 children in Bermuda with Elizabeth Lucas. He was supposedly involved in a few "illegal" activities and died before the scandal caught up with him. Last Will and testament.

ANDREW MONTAGUE ISAACSON DURNFORD I

Son of Andrew Durnford, he was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the 3rd Foot Guards.  He married Barbara, daughter of Sir Patrick Blake.  He had 5 children Barbara.  He also had 5 children with a Mary Hadley who died in childbirth, and 6 with a woman named Harriet.  Apparently he "married" the other two women while still married to Barbara.  He retired as a Lieutenant. Last Will and Testament.

ANDREW MONTAGUE ISAACSON DURNFORD II

Son of Andrew M.I. Durnford and Barbara Shea, he entered the military around 1813/14 and served in the 60th Foot (now the Kings' Royal Rifle Corps) and in the 31st Regiment.  He was in South Africa in 1818, Chatham, UK in 1832 at the Royal Engineers HQ, and around 1834 he went to Canada.  He served as the Government Agent at Arthur, Ontario from 1840 until 1846 and was responsible or the construction of the Garafraxa Road (now Hwy 6 in Ontario).  There is a historical marker north of where he lived in Arthur which mentions his contribution to the road: "One of the province's earliest colonization roads.  It ran from Arthur through the Queen's Brush to the mouth of the Sydenham River. The original line was run by Charles Rankin in 1837, but was considerably altered by John McDonald in 1840.  In that year construction was commenced and completed in 1848.  supervised by Capt. A.M.I. Durnford in the southern section and John Telfer in the northern, free grants of land were made along its route subject to the performance of settlement duties.  It opened up Grey County and at its northern terminus the flourishing community of Sydenham (Owen Sound) was established." He married Susan Knott in the 1820's.   When they moved to Canada they brought along a maid by the name of Mary Ann White, whom he eventually married in 1850 while still married to Susan Knott and had numerous children by both women.  He retired as a Lieutenant. letters.

ANTHONY WILLIAM DURNFORD

Younger son of Andrew Durnford became an Ensign in the 1st Foot Guards (now the Grenadier Guards) in 1794.  He was promoted Lieutenant and Captain in 1796, Adjutant of the 1st Battalion and on Jan. 1, 1797 and Brigade-Major in 1805.  He embarked with General Wynyard's Brigade of Guards for Sicily in June, 1806, during the Napoleonic War, and served there until Oct. 1807 when the Brigade embarked as part of the force under General Sir John Moore, destined for Lisbon.  Owing to adverse circumstances the expedition proceeded to England.  Major Durnford was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1807.  He embarked in 1811, with the 3rd Battalion for Cadiz, where they were blockaded by the French.  He returned to England in 1811 and then sold out of the Army.  In 1814, he entered the Barrack Department, then under the Treasury, and was appointed Barrack Master at Norman Cross, in Hutingdonshire, a depot for French prisoners.  In 1815 he was removed to Hounslow and in 1920 to Chatham, where he remained until 1837 when he retired.  He married Barbara, daughter of the Hon. William Brabazon (2nd son of the 7th Earl of Meath).    

Commission dates:  Ensign, 1st Foot Guard Feb. 1794; Lieutenant & Captain, Sept. 23, 1796; Adjutant 1st Battalion, Jan. 1, 1797; Brigade Major, Aug. 1805, Captain and Lieut-Colonel, Nov. 26, 1807.

GEORGE ANTHONY DURNFORD

Second son of Anthony William Durnford, was born on Sept. 18, 1804.  He entered the army and became a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel of the 27th Regiment.  He died unmarried in 1856. more

GENERAL EDWARD WILLIAM DURNFORD, R.E.

Eldest son of Anthony William Durnford, was born Oct. 22, 1803.  In 1825 he was nominated a "Candidate for the Corps of Royal Engineers," and joined the Ordnance Survey at Cardiff.  In August 1826, he was posted to Chatham and was gazetted 2nd-Lieutenant in Sept. of the same year.  He joined the Ordnance Survey of Ireland in 1827 and served there until 1842 when he transferred to the English Survey in which he served until 1844.  He was promoted 2nd-Captain in 1841.  In 1845 he embarked for service in China.  In 1849 he served in Scotland until 1855 when he embarked for service in the Crimea.  He was however, detained at Malta and served there until 1856, when he embarked for Ireland where he was employed upon district duties until 1857, being appointed Assistant Adjutant-General to the Royal Engineers serving there.  In the meantime, he had been promoted to Brevet Major in July 1854 and Lieutenant-Colonel in December of the same year.   Shortly after his promotion to full Colonel in 1860 he was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer in Ireland, which he held until 1866 when he again embarked for Malta as Commanding Royal Engineer and Colonel on the Staff.  He remained at Malta until his promotion to the rank of Major-General in 1868.  He was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1874, and in the same year he was gazetted to the rank of Colonel Commandant in the Corps.  He was further promoted to the rank of General on Oct. 1, 1877.  He died a the age of 85 on Jan. 30 1889.  General Durnford was married on June 3, 1829 to Elizabeth Rebecca Langley.  They had 3 sons, Anthony William, Edward Congreve Langley and Arthur George and 3 daughters.  Anthony William and Arthur George served in the Royal Engineers and Edward served in the Royal Marine Artillery.

COL. ANTHONY WILLIAM DURNFORD, R.E.

Eldest son of General Edward William Durnford, Anthony William Durnford was born on May 24, 1830, and was educated chiefly in Germany.  He entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in 1846.  After Military Academy he became a 2nd-Lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers. He spent a few years in Scotland, England and Ceylon where he was chiefly engaged in the harbour defenses at Trincomalee.  He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1854. The next year he took up civil duties in addition to his military duties, being appointed Assistant Commissioner of Roads, and Civil Engineer to the Colony. He was known to be a heavy loser at the gaming tables. He went against Army tradition and married Frances Tranchell, daughter of Colonel Tranchell, Ceylon Rifles, while a junior officer, however the marriage was not happy; of 3 children born only 1 daughter survived past infancy.  His gambling became worse and eventually his wife sought solace elsewhere.  As an Army officer he could not divorce so his wife was quietly put aside and never mentioned again.  When the Crimean War broke out he volunteered for service there, and was eventually ordered to Malta with a view to being sent on to the Crimea, but he was kept at Malta where he served as Adjutant until 1858, when he returned to England.   He was promoted to 2nd-Captain in 1858 and in 1860 he was ordered to Gibraltar in command of the 27th Company, Royal Engineers.  He served there until August 1864 when he returned to England, having been promoted 1st-Captain in January of that year.   Towards the end of 1864 he was ordered to China, but landed in Ceylon suffering severely from heat apoplexy and a nervous breakdown.  He was nursed back to health by Colonel Gordon - afterwards the distinguished General and hero of Khartoum. He spent the next 5 years in England and Ireland. In 1871 at 41 years of age he arrived in Cape Town, and a year later to Natal.  A tall, balding man, with handsome features and a famous mustache that dangled below his collarbones, he soon attracted the attention of Fanny Colenso, the 25 year old frail daughter o the Bishop of Natal.

Although he was prone to rash decisions, he was considered a kind and considerate commander; his African troops were fiercely loyal to him.  This did not make him popular among his fellow officers. His superb troops of Mounted Basuto guides were soon know as "Durnford's Horse." He was sympathetic towards the native population, having served on the Boundary Commission that had found in favour of the Zululand claims versus those of the Boers. Shortly before the war he wrote of King Cetshwayo of the Zulus, "Poor devil! He is doing all he can to keep peach, but the white man wants his land, and alas for Cetshwayo!"

Towards the end of 1873 he was appointed Chief of Staff to a Field Force under the command of Colonel Miles which was sent as a reconnaissance to deal with a rumoured native rising under Chief Langalibalele.  Durnford was ordered to seize and hold the Bushman's River Pass to prevent the escape of Langalibalele. After a difficult march up the pass Durnford met with an accident by being dragged backwards over a precipice by his horse, sustaining a dislocated shoulder and 2 injured ribs. He succeeded in reaching his destination where he was surrounded by hostile natives.  Having been ordered by the Lieutenant-Governor "not to fire the first shot," he went forward attended by his native interpreter, and endeavored to pursued the natives to disperse peacefully which they refused to do.  The natives opened fire and they retreated.  The native interpreter's house was shot, and Durnford rode to his assistance. While helping him to mount behind them the interpreter was shot and two of the natives seized Durnford's bridle.  He was able to escape but received an assegai through his already helpless left arm.  In spite of his severe injuries, he led out a rescue party.  He permanently lost the use of his left arm the assegai wound.  In 1873 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.  He returned to England 1876 returning to South Africa in 1877.  He  was appointed one of the Commissioners to inquire into the disputed Natal-Zululand boundary.  On Dec. 11, 1878 he was promoted to Brevet Colonel.  On the outbreak of the Zulu War in 1879 he was placed in command of No. 2 Column of the expeditionary force. 

The record of the Zulu War is studded with tales of unparalleled drama: the Battle of Isandhlwana, where the Zulu wiped out the major British column (and where Durnford was killed) and Rorke's Drift, where a handful of troops beat off thousand of attacking warriors (and for which no fewer than 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded).   When the British suffered disastrous defeats at Isandhlwana Durnford, although an engineer, was the highest ranking officer there in Lt. Gen. Chelmsford's absence, became the scapegoat.  Chelmsford stated he did not follow orders to defend the fort, however the whole battle was a disaster, right down to the lack of bullets due bureaucracy.   Fanny Colenso spent years after his death trying to clear his name.  With his brother Edward's help, she published an accurate history of the war, and under the pseudonym on Atherton Wylde she published Durnford's eulogy.  In 1884 she wrote 2 volumes covering the story of the nation after 1871.  She died of tuberculosis in 1887.

The Rork's Drift Web Site has many articles on the Zulu War. John Young, Chairman, Anglo-Zulu War Research Society has written a nice article on Anthony Durnford.

Fort Durnford, South Africa web site. Grave of Anthony Durnford

South African Military History Society wrote an excellent article about Anthony Durnford.

Anthony Durnford
and the Zulu War:

• MOVIES

  • Zulu Dawn
    with Bert Lancaster
    as Anthony Durnford
    

   

• BOOKS

  • The Washing of the
    Spears
    Donald R. Morris

   

  • My Chief and I
    Frances Colenso

   

  • The Road to
    Isandhlwana
    R.W. Droogleever

   

  • By the Order of the
    Great White Queen
    Ian Knight

   

  • Rorke's Drift
    James W. Bancroft

   

  • The Lions They Fought
    Roger Edgerton

EDWARD CONGREVE LANGLEY DURNFORD

General Edward William Durnford's second son, he was born May 8, 1832.  He entered the Royal Marines in 1851 and appointed to the Royal Marine Artillery in 1852.  During the Crimean War he served on HMS James Wall in the Baltic and was present at the siege of Bomarsunt.  He served briefly with the 2nd Company of the Royal Sappers and Miners. He was later appointed to the command of mortar-boats and served during the bombardment of Sweaborg on August 9, 1855.  For this service he was mentioned in dispatches and received the Crimean War medal.  He subsequently served on HMS Forth until 1856.  In 1862 he was promoted to Captain.  From Sept. 1867 to May 1870 he was Staff Captain, Royal Marine Artillery and appointed to Superintendent of Artificers.  He was in charge of all public works in progress at Eastney Barracks and Fort Cumberland.  He was promoted to Brevet-Major in 1872 and promoted to (honorary) Lieutenant-Colonel on May 8, 1877 at his retirement.  He married Julia Penrice on March 3, 1859.  Four children, two sons and two daughters were born to them.  His eldest son and youngest daughter died in infancy.  He died in 1926 at the age of 94. His sword at the National Maritime Museum.

COL. ARTHUR GEORGE DURNFORD, R.E.

General Edward William Durnford's youngest son was born on Aug. 9, 1838.  He entered the Royal Engineers on June 21, 1856.  He served at Chatham until 1857, Ireland until May 1859 and then Gibraltar until 1864.  From 1860 to 1864 he was Adjutant at Gibraltar.   On his return to England he was with 40th Depot Company at Chatham and transferred to the 10th Co. at Shorncliffe in 1865 and then 33rd Co. at Malta.  He was promoted to Captain in 1866.  While in Malta he served under his father.  Between May 1870 to July 1882 he was posted at Aldershot, command of B Troup, command of the C Troop, Dover, Instructor at the School of Military Engineering, Chatham.  He was promoted to Major in 1873, Brevert Lieutenant- Colonel in 1881 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1882.   In July 1882 he was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer at Shorncliffe, and 1883 Assistant Director of Works at the War Office.  In Nov. 1884 he accompanied the Bechuanaland expedition.  He was promoted Colonel in July 1, 1885.  In 1889 he was appointed Colonel on the Staff and Commanding Royal Engineer of the North-Western District (England) and subsequently transferred in the same capacity to the Southern district where he served until Aug. 31, 1894 when he retired.  He was married to Victoria Devon and had two sons and two daughters.  He died in 1912.  

ARTHUR CECIL SOMERSET DURNFORD

Eldest son of Colonel Arthur George Durnford, he was born on Jan. 26, 1875 at New Brompton, Chatham.  He was baptized at Gillingham Church, Kent, on Mar. 19, 1875 by Rev. Fitz-Gerald.  Educated at Hill House School, Guildford from Nov. 1885 to midsummer 1887, Sandroyd House, Cobham, Surrey till Easter, 1889 and Uppingham May 1889 until Aug. 1891 after which he was tutored privately until he passed in to the Royal Military College in Sandhurst.  He was appointed 2nd Lieutenant, the West India Regiment on Mar. 25, 1896. He was attached to the 17th, the Leicestershire Regiment at Aldershot form April 25 1896 to Sep. 12, 1896.  On Oct. 17, 1896 he embarked for Sierra Leone.  He proceeded from Sierra Leone to Cape Coast Castle with two companies, West India Regiment, to which he was appointed Adjutant and Quarter-Master on May 5, 1897.  He arrived at Cape Coast Castle May 11, 1897 and died of malarial fever, May 23, 1897.     

GUY EDWARD JERVOISE DURNFORD, R.E.

The youngest son of Colonel Arthur George Durnford, he was born on May 29, 1876.  In 1895 he received his commission in the Royal Engineers.   From 1900 to 1905 he was Assistant Instructor of Submarine Mining  and Instructor (Workshops) from 1910 to 1914 at the School of Military Engineering.  He served in WWI from 1914 to 1918 as Staff Officer to the Chief Engineer of the 1st Army in France and Commanding Royal Engineer of the 61st Division 1916 to 1919.  He was awarded the D.S.O.  He was appointed Commanding royal Engineer of the Athlone, Ulster and Chatham Districts.  He retired as a Colonel in 1926. He was married to Bessie Muriel Ford.   They had one son and one daughter.

ANDREW DURNFORD

Andrew Durnford was a very successful black plantation owner in the South prior to the Civil War.  He was born around 1800 in New Orleans LA, the son of Thomas Durnford (1st cousin to Elias Durnford, Jr.) and Roselind Mercer, a "free women of colour".  It is not known if Thomas & Roselind were married.  He married Marie Charlotte Remy who was also free.  He became a planter in 1828 by purchasing land on the Mississippi and building or purchasing a plantation called St. Rosalie; he also inherited land from his mother.   He also purchased 14 slaves to run the plantation.  He had a child named Albert with a slave called Wainy.  He later sold Wainy & Albert to his 15 year old daughter Rosella.  His father Thomas had another son, Joseph, Andrew's half-brother.  Joseph was also born free.   Andrew's line died out with the death of grand-daughter Sarah Mary Jr., in 1954. 

BOOKS

• Andrew Durnford: A Black Sugar Planter in the Antebellum South
  by David O. Whitten

• Temptation of St. Rosalie (The Portrait of a Black Slave Owner)
  by Charles Daudert

ARABELLA & ELIZA DURNFORD
"THE ALPHINGTON PONIES"

They were the twin daughters of A.M.I. Durnford I and Barbara Ann Shea.

The following is an article written about them from Devon Characters and Strange Events by Sabine Gould, 1906:  During the forties of last century, ever visitor to Torquay noticed 2 young ladies of very singular appearance. Their residence was in one of the two thatched cottages on the left or Tor Abbey Ave., looking seaward, very near the Torgate of the avenue. Their chief places of promenade were the Strand and Victoria Parade, but they were often seen in other parts of the town. Bad weather was the only thing that kept them from frequenting their usual beat. They were two Misses Durnford, and their costume was peculiar. continued.....  

EDWARD PHILIP DURNFORD & PORT DURNFORD, NATAL

Edward Phillip Durnford was the youngest son of A.M.I. Durnford I & Barbara Ann Shea.  According to his father's will be died at sea on the HMS Leven off Madagascar:  "And whereas the said Edward Philip Durnford was born on the 15th day of February 1803 and died intestate on the 14th day of August 1824 on board her Majesty's ship Leven, then of the Island of Madagascar."   In 1822 there was an expedition from Cape Town to Delagoa Bay under the command of Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen, in the ships Leven and Baracouta (and possibly one other vessel) to undertake a survey of the southeast coast of Africa, charting the coastline.  Their journey was plagued by bad weather, and the ships were forced out to sea, which prevented Port Natal, later to be of great importance as a harbour, being charted. Malaria caused much sickness among the crews, and some deaths.  Port Durnford, Cape Vidal and Boteler Point were named in honour of the officers under Captain Owen's command who charted these areas. Durnford was serving as midshipman. The expedition returned to Cape Town where accounts of Captain Owen's adventures were received with interest and led to other voyages.  Among those who benefited by the information collected on the Leven journey were James Saunders King and Francis Farewell, who, together with Henry Francis Fynn, formed a trading company, made their own exploration along the coast, and in 1824 established the first white settlement at Port Natal.

Narrative of voyages to explore the shores of Africa, Arabia and Madagascar Performed in H.M. Ships Leven and Barracouta under the direction of Capt W F Owen RN By command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty .... in 2 vols New York published by J and J Harper US. the extract on the death of E P DURNFORD, chap iv vol 2 p 26/27 (in first edition)

"On the 13th, about half-past twelve at night, Mr Edward Philip Durnford, our principal hydrographer, who had long been suffering from a dysentery, breathed his last, to the sincere regret of all on board, to whom he had endeared himself by the kindness and excellence of his disposition. His body was the following morning consigned to the deep, when Captain Owen, anxious to render his testimony to the units of this deserving young officer, and at the same time to record the esteem in which he held him, gave his name to the bay off which the ocean received his remains, and which is thus marked in our charts; the two large islands near it being called Edward and Philip as a further memorial."

Note: This narrative seems to indicate that there is a spot in Africa, presumably near Madagascar where the expedition was operating at that time, named Durnford - plus a couple of islands after his forenames. We believe that this map shows this location. We know of three locations, Punta Durnford on the north west coast, Port Durnford in Natal and Port Durnford in Somalia. We do not know how Punta Durnford got it's name and as the area is presently in a long civil war we may never know. More to follow as we unravel this mystery!

Information provided by Rosemary Dixon-Smith. www.genealogyworld.net