Person:Geoffrey Askew (1)

xxxxCommander Geoffrey Hugh Cary Askew R.N. (12 April, 1901—24 October, 1962) was a Royal Navy officer, who served in both World Wars. He was only thirteen years old when the First World War (28 July, 1914—11 November, 1918) began. But just five months into the war, he was already destined for a career in the Navy. The British newspaper The Times, in its edition dated, Saturday, 26 December, 1914, has Geoffrey Askew listed as one of the candidates “declared to have passed the Qualifying Literary Examination for Naval Cadetships and will enter the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in January next.” ^[13] And his Royal Navy officer’s service record shows that he entered the service on 15 January, 1915. ^[17] By which time the ongoing war was already being called the ‘Great War.’
xxxxUnder its headline: “GERMANY DECLARES WAR ON RUSSIA,” The Pittsburg Press of Sunday, August 2, 1914, declared: “The great war is on. ….” Followed a little lower down the same front page, with another headline: “FIRST SHOTS FIRED IN WORLD’S GREATEST WAR” – datelined, Berlin, Aug. 1. ^[21] And it remained referred to as such, along with that other—at first hopeful—catchphrase: “the war to end all wars.” Until, that is, it was followed by another and second ‘world war’ – when it would acquire its new and lasting name: the ‘First World War’ or just WWI. Although his time as a naval cadet at Osborne, on the Isle of Wight, must have been increasingly overshadowed with thoughts of the inevitability of his being thrust into active service in the war, he no doubt found some relief in the camaraderie of his fellow cadets. One of whom wrote in his diary on Friday, 14 January, 1916:

« Term begins. Travelled down with Mudgards, Price, Moultree. Had an awful shock when I first went into the dormie because the first thing I noticed was the Ox (Askew) sitting up in bed grinning all over his face. I am now in Rodney, No 5. » ^[15]

xxxxThis would have been the beginning of his—and the diarist Stuart Brown’s—4th term at Osborne. Cadets at Osborne would usually be admitted at around the age of thirteen to follow a course of six terms; before graduating to another naval college, the ‘Britannia Royal Naval College’ (BRNC) at Dartmouth.^[16] Cadet Askew—delightfully nicknamed ‘Ox’—did indeed go on to Dartmouth, where he must have continued his studies and naval training until his passing-out from there in 1917, with the most junior officer’s rank of ‘Midshipman.’ This in time to be posted on September 16th of that year to the battleship HMS Agamemnon, which was then deployed as part of the Aegean Squadron, on active duty in that sea between the ports of Mudros and Salonika (as Thessaloniki was then called in English). ^{[17] [18] [19]}
insMidshipman Geoffrey Askew, R.N. was then just five months past his sixteenth birthday.

BIRTH & EARLY LIFE
xxxxGeoffrey Askew was born on 12 April, 1901 at No. 4d Hyde Park Mansions on Transept Street just off Old Marylebone Road in Central London – the eldest child and only son of Claude Arthur Cary Askew (1865-1917) and his wife, Alice Jane de Courcy née Leake (1874-1917). ^[1] He was christened two months later at Christ Church, Paddington on June 3rd. with the names Geoffrey Cary. ^[2] However, he would later add or assume a third Christian name ‘Hugh’, which was almost certainly after his uncle Hugh, his father’s elder brother, who would become a parental substitute for both of his parents – following their untimely and tragic deaths in early October of 1917. ^[20] [See below: 'a note about his names - both the given and the taken'] ^[25] His christening was conducted by his great uncle – the Rev. John George Cotton Browne (1834-1903), a younger brother of his father’s mother, Fanny, who had died just one year before on 22 April, 1900.
xxxxBy the time of the birth of his sister Joan two years later, on 5 July, 1903, his parents had moved just across the street to another flat in another very similar building: No. 11b Oxford and Cambridge Mansions. Really these two blocks of buildings are practically identical in style. So it is no surprise to learn that the 'Oxford and Cambridge Mansions' (1883) and the 'Hyde Park Mansions' (1885) were both designed by the same firm of architects: Messrs. C. Eales & Son, architects, of Welbeck-street. ^{[22] [23]} And with their striking combination of red brick and red Mansfield stone, both highlighted with white facings, Transept Street has even come to be called: “London’s Reddest Street.” ^[24]

...to be continued

'Joan and Geoffrey
holding a croquet ball'
by Lafayette —edited copy of an original hand-coloured matte bromide photograph (340 mm x 200 mm) of two children holding a croquet ball, c.1911, signed: Lafayette London
Here placed within a black frame

'Lt Cdr Geoffrey Carey Askew, R.N.'
—edited copy of an original postcard photograph
~ photographer and date unknown; but postcard having the name and address: 'J.C. Lawrence & Sons, 22, Elmhurst Road, Gosport' printed on its back. Note: Geoffrey Askew was promoted Lieutenant Commander on 15 May, 1931.

'Lt Cdr Geoffrey Hugh Carey Askew R.N. and Joyce Mary née Moore'
—edited copy of an original photograph taken at their wedding on 20 Oct 1932 at St George Hanover Square, London
~ photographer unknown; but original copy stamped on the back: "Portman Press Bureau, 17 Thayer Street, Manchester Sq. W.1. Folio 13787"

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Geoffrey Cary Askew - Birth, in 'Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth' - Given at the General Register Office.

   Registration District: Marylebone / 1901 Birth in the Sub-district of Christ Church in the County of London.
   « No: 193 | When and where born: Twelfth April 1901 4D Hyde Park Mansions | Name, if any: Geoffrey Cary | Sex: Boy | Name and surname of father: Claude Arthur Cary Askew | Name, surname and maiden surname of mother: Alice Jane De Courcey Askew formerly Leake | Occupation of father: Of Independent Means | Signature, description and residence of informant: Claude A. C. Askew Father 4D Hyde Park Mansions Marylebone | When registered: Twenty third April 1901 | Signature of registrar: Hugh Stokes Deputy Registrar »
   Accessed on: a 'Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth' - Given at the General Register Office (GRO) under the Seal of the said Office, the 31st day of August 2004.

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Geoffrey Cary Askew - Baptism, in Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917 [database on-line].

   « Name: Geoffrey Cary Askew / Gender: Male / Record Type: Baptism / Baptism Date: 3 Jun 1901 / Baptism Place: Lancaster Gate Christ Church, Westminster, England / Father: Claude Askew / Mother: Alice Askew / Register Type: Parish Registers  »
   Note: I have corrected this Ancestry transcription, which has misspelled the surname 'Askew' as "Asker"
   From the image:
   « Page 79 / BAPTISMS solemnised in the Parish of Christ Church Paddington in the County of London in the Year One thousand Nine eight hundred and One 1901
   « When Baptised: 18901 June 3rd, Born April 12. | Child's Christian Name: Geoffrey Cary | Parents' Names / Christian: Claude and Alice | Surname: Askew | Abode: 4D. Hyde Park Mansions N.W. | Quality, Trade or Profession: Gentleman | By whom the Ceremony was performed: J.G.Cotton Browne »
   Note: The Rev. John George Cotton Browne was an uncle of Claude Askew.
   Accessed on 08/07/2019 at: ancestry.co.uk
   Source Citation: London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: p87/ctc/002 / Source Information: Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. / Original data: Board of Guardian Records and Church of England Parish Registers. London Metropolitan Archives, London.

3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Geoffrey Hugh Carey Askew - Death, in 'Certified Copy of an Entry of Death' - Given at the General Register Office.

   Registration District: Wokingham / 1962 Death in the Sub-district of Wokingham in the County of Berkshire.
   « No: 381 | When and where died: Twenty fourth October 1962 Hill House Spencers Wood | Name and surname: Geoffrey Hugh Carey Askew | Sex Male | Age: 61 years | Occupation: Retired Commander Royal Navy | Cause of death: 1a Carcinomatosis b Carcinoma Rectum Certified by D.M. Fraser M.B. | Signature, description and residence of informant: Joyce Askew Widow of deceased Hill House Spencers Wood Nr. Reading | When registered: Twenty fifth October 1962 | Signature of registrar: K Pointow Registrar »
   Accessed on: a 'Certified Copy of An Entry of Death' - Given at the General Register Office (GRO) under the Seal of the said Office, the 24th day of July 2006.

4. ↑ Geoffrey's soon-to-be parents, Claude Askew and wife Alice, in Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census [database on-line].

   « Postal Address: No. 3 Westbourne Street  »
   Source Citation: Class: RG13; Piece: 15; Folio: 78; Page: 21.
   Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. / Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901.
   NOTE: This mistakenly gives Claude Askew's place of birth as "Pembroke, Wales" - when actually he was born at: No. 4 Holland Park in Notting Hill, London.
   > Accessed on 08/07/2019 at: search.ancestry.co.uk/

5. ↑ Claude Askew - residence in 1902, in Ancestry.com. UK, City and County Directories, 1766 - 1946 [database on-line].

   Image: 1902 Post Office Directory > POST OFFICE LONDON - ASH-ATT p. 2684
   « AskewClaude,4Hyde pk.mans.Myrlbn.rdNW »
   [No. 4(probably still 'D') Hyde Park Mansions, Marylebone Road, London N.W.
   Interestingly, two lines down, is the listing for his uncle Hugh Askew]
   « Askew Hugh, 3 Hans Crescent, Chelsea SW »
   Accessed on 09/07/2019 at: ancestry.co.uk
   Source Citation
   UK, City and County Directories, 1600s-1900s
   Source Information
   Ancestry.com. UK, City and County Directories, 1766 - 1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

6. ↑ Birth of Joan Askew (Geoffrey's sister), in London Daily Mail Newspaper Archives, Jul 10, 1903.

   Daily Mail, Friday, July 10, 1903 - front page - Births:
   « ASKEW.—On July 5, at 11b. Oxford and Cambridge mansions, the wife of Claude Cary Askew, of a daughter. »
   Accessed on 08/07/2019 at: newspaperarchive.com

7.   Oxford and Cambridge mansions, in Website > marble-arch.london/culture-blog — 'The Mansions near the Marylebone Flyover'.

   « Have you ever seen the striking red and white mansions flats on Cabbell Street and Old Marylebone Road in the Marble Arch district? Built in 1885, the Hyde Park, Oxford and Cambridge mansions are some of the capital’s most enduring examples of Victorian architecture. The buildings highlight a unique period in the nation’s history when the upper-middle class longed for expansive flats and substantial leases, but without the responsibilities of a house and access to porters to service the property. »
   Accessed on 08/07/2019 at marble-arch.london/culture-blog

8. ↑ Claude Askew - residence in 1905, in Ancestry.com. London, England, City Directories, 1736-1943 [database on-line].

   Post Office London Directory > 1905 Street Directory, p. 591
   « OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE MANSIONS:— ... / 11 / ... / B Askew, Claude / .... »
   Accessed on 08/07/2019 at: ancestry.co.uk

9.   Oxford and Cambridge mansions, in John Spiers, ed.: Gissing and The City - Cultural Crisis and the Making of Books in Late Victorian England, Macmillan, 2006> Chapter 2: Buildings, Residences, and Mansions: George Gissing's 'prejudice against flats' by Richard Dennis, p.53.

   « 'Aristocratic flats'
   Oxford and Cambridge Mansions also attracted some notable illustrations. The flats were erected in stages between 1879 and 1882, to be followed during 1883 and 1884 by the even more luxurious Hyde Park Mansions. (9) The Builder (44, 1883, p. 144) ... But The Builder certainly, if unintentionally, captured the pretentiousness and fussiness of decorative detail which made Oxford and Cambridge Mansions an appropriate home for the Carnabys. The 'workings' of the flats are best illustrated by some later plans, produced in the 1930s, which differentiate between 'drawing room', 'best bedroom' and what, by then, was a 'morning room' beyond the kitchen but which, in the 1880s, would have been the maid's bedroom (Figure 2.4). (11) In this way Eales had attempted to implement his ideas about segregating different activities and different classes, though he thought it preferable to exclude some people, such as children, altogether: "It was most disagreeable to be always meeting them on the stairs" (The Builder 46, 1884, p. 386). Fortunately, most residents of Oxford and Cambridge Mansions were childless, just like the Carnabys. Only 5 per cent of the Mansions' population were aged 0-9 in 1891, compared to 28 per cent of inhabitants in Farringdon Road Buildings. .... »
   Accessed on 08/07/2019 at: books.google.ca

10. ↑ Claude Askew - residence in 1910, in Ancestry.com. London, England, City Directories, 1736-1943 [database on-line].

    Post Office London Directory > 1910 Street Directory, p. 473
    « PORTNAM MANSIONS (W. Postal District):— ... / 2 / ... / H, Askew, Claude / .... »
    Accessed on 08/07/2019 at: ancestry.co.uk
    Source Citation
    London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London City Directories
    Source Information
    Ancestry.com. London, England, City Directories, 1736-1943 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
    Original data: London Directories held by the London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library, London, England. Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation.

11.   Portman Mansions, in Website > ornamentalpassions.blogspot.com — "Devoted to the unexpected details that help to make life in the city worth living".

    « Few buildings are more pompous and humourless than the average block of Victorian mansion flats, and at ground level Portman Mansions in Marylebone look just as dull, redbrick and deadening as any. They were built between 1890 and 1900 by Henry Saxon Snell, an architect who usually specialised in workhouses and hospitals.
    But look at the skyline and see the lively little monkey that Saxon Snell has placed on the corner of Chiltern Street and Porter Street, gibbering at the dignified line of dragons on the gables over the road.
    And at the end of the block, who should be crouching on the party wall but Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, clutching to the parapet with both hands and feet, shouting incomprehensible defiance at the crowd below, who never so much as notice. »
    Accessed on 08/07/2019 at: ornamentalpassions.blogspot.com

12. ↑ Geoffrey Askew & family in 1911 Census, in Ancestry.com: 1911 England Census [database on-line].

    « Name: Geoffrey Askew / Age in 1911: 9 / Estimated birth year: abt 1902 / Relation to Head: Son / Gender: Male / Birth Place: Marylebone, London, England / Civil Parish: Elstead / County/Island: Surrey / Country: England / Street address: Bridge House, Elstead Godalming, Surrey / Occupation: School Part Time / Registration District: Hambledon / Registration District Number: 35 / Sub-registration district: Witley / ED, institution, or vessel: 7 / Household schedule number: 95 / Piece: 3148 »
    From image:
    | Name and Surname | Relationship to Head of Family | Age | Marriage | Profession or Occupation | Birthplace
    « Claude Askew | Head | 45 | Married | Author | London Notting Hill
    « Alice Askew | Wife | 36 | ditto | (*should also have put Author*) | London Paddington
    « Geoffrey Askew | Son | 9 | | School Part Time | London Marylebone
    « Joan Askew | Daughter | 7 | | | London Marylebone
    « Jane Leake | Mother in Law | 66 | Widow | | London Marylebone
    [Plus one visitor: Francis Alfred Lyall; and four servants]
    / Postal Address: Bridge House, Elstead, Godalming, Surrey »
    Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 3148; Schedule Number: 95.
    Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. / Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA), 1911.
    Accessed on 09/07/2019 at: ancestry.co.uk/

13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3} Askew, G. C. - Naval Cadetship qualification, in The Times - Saturday, 26 December, 1914.

    Column headed: ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE, OSBORNE. THE NEW CADETS.
    « The following Candidates are declared to have passed the Qualifying Literary Examination for Naval Cadetships and will enter the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in January next:--
    Name | School
    ... | ...
    Askew, G.C... | Mr. Hawtrey, St. Michaels, Westgate-on-Sea
    .... »

14.   Edward Montague Hawtrey - Geoffrey Askew's headmaster at school, in Ancestry.com. Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900 [database on-line].

    Original data: Venn, J. A., comp.. Alumni Cantabrigienses. London, England: Cambridge University Press, 1922-1954.
    « Name: Edward Montague. Hawtrey
    College: ST JOHN'S / Entered: Michs. 1869 / Died: 14 Aug 1916
    More Information: Adm. pens. at ST JOHN'S, Aug. 24, 1869. Of Berkshire. [2nd] s. of the Rev. J[ohn] W[illiam] (1837) [and Frances Mary Anne]. B. at Windsor, Berks. Bapt. Oct. 10, 1847. [School, Eton.] Matric. Michs. 1869; B.A. 1873. Athletics ‘blue,’ 1870, 1871, 1872 (3 miles); President, C.U.A.C., 1872. Head Master of St Michael's Preparatory School, Westgate-on-Sea, 1873-1916. Died there Aug. 14, 1916. (Scott, MSS.; Eton Sch. Lists; Schoolmasters' Directories; Book of Blues; The Times, Aug. 17, 1916.)  »
    Accessed at: ancestry.co.uk

15. ↑ ^15.0 15.1 Royal Navy Cadet G. C. Askew (nicknamed the 'Ox'), in A Facebook blog by Jane Cavell: 'Stuart Brown's Diary'.

    « Friday 14 January 1916
    "Term begins. Travelled down with Mudgards, Price, Moultree. Had an awful shock when I first went into the dormie because the first thing I noticed was the Ox (Askew) sitting up in bed grinning all over his face. I am now in Rodney, No 5."
    Notes:
    This was Stuart’s fourth term at the Royal Naval College, Osborne. He is on a list, published in ‘The Times’ on 26 December 1914, of boys who had passed the ‘Qualifying Literary Examination for Naval Cadetships’ and would be starting at the Osborne, in January 1915 (the full list will be posted later). Three of the boys he mentions in his diary today are on that list too: H. P. Price, L. G. F. Moultrie and G.C. Askew. The fourth, ‘Mudgards’, has yet to be identified.
    They probably travelled by rail via London to Portsmouth. (In their first term, cadets were met at Portsmouth Harbour Station and escorted across to the Isle of Wight, but more senior boys were expected to get themselves to Osborne.)
    ‘Rodney, No 5’ – one of the dormitories. »
    This was posted on the blog on January 14, 2016 - exactly one hundred years later. Quoted here courtesy of Jane Cavell.
    Accessed at: facebook.com/Stuart-Browns-diary

16. ↑ Osborne & Dartmouth, in Wikipedia > two entries: 1. 'Royal Naval College, Osborne' & 2. 'Britannia Royal Naval College'.

    « The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921.
    Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting for six academic terms before proceeding to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth .... »
    Accessed at: Royal Naval College, Osborne
    « Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the British Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, England. ...
    The college was originally known as the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth (BRNC). As a Royal Naval shore establishment, it was later known also by the ship name HMS Britannia (a battleship called Britannia operated from 1904 to 1918). .... »
    Accessed at: Britannia Royal Naval College

17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4} Geoffrey Carey Askew, in The National Archives > Royal Navy officers’ service records 1756-1931.

    Catalogue Reference:ADM/196/148 / Image Reference:336
    « Name Geoffrey Carey Askew
    Date of Birth 12 April 1901 Entered Service 15 January 1915
    Seniority as { Acting Sub-Lieutenant 15 September 1920 / Sub-Lieutenant 15 May 1921 / Lieutenant (Act) 15 May 1923 / Lieutenant 15 May 1923 / Lieut Commander 15 May 1931 »
    Below which is a more detailed record giving the names of the ships he served on and the dates of those assignments - including his progression through the ranks. As well as additional remarks. I will paraphrase a part of this section into a brief summary of as follows:-
    With the rank of midshipman, Geoffrey Carey Askew served on: Agamemnon from 16 Sep 1917 to 14 Apr 1919; then on King George V to 1 Jun 1919; then "Woolwich for Valkyre" to 24 Nov 1919; then Marlborough to 15 Sep 1920, when he was promoted to the acting rank of Sub-Lieutenant.
    With the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant he continued on Marlborough from 15 Sep 1920 to 9 Oct 1920; then on Orion to 15 Jan 1921, when he was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant.
    With the rank of Sub-Lieutenant he served on Seawolf from 15 Jan 1921 to 31 Aug 1922; he then took courses at Cambridge until 15 Mar 1923, when he was promoted to Lieutenant.
    With the rank of Lieutenant he now served on the 'shore establishment' Victory from 15 July 1923 "for observer's course" as well as on Furious, Argus, Vindictive and Hermes "for observer duties" until 15 May 1931, when he was promoted to Lieut-Commander.
    Accessed on 16/04/2015 at: The National Archives > Royal Navy officers’ service records 1756-1931 > nationalarchives.gov.uk. Pdf file downloaded (via email) from The National Archives.
    NOTE: Not mentioned in this service record are the following details (all gleaned from their respective Wikipedia pages): HMS Vindictive was sent to the 'China Station' in 1926, where HMS Hermes was also stationed from January 1930 until 1937. HMS Argus was also at the China Station, where she relieved Hermes from 1 September to 20 March 1928. All three of these ships were either built or modified as aircraft carriers. Also not mentioned in this copy of his Royal Navy officers service record is the fact that Lt. Geoffrey Carey Askew, RN (later Lt-Commander) served as an 'observer' with the newly formed 'Fleet Air Arm'. It was formed in 1924 - succeeding the previous 'Royal Naval Air Service' (1914-1918), which "was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force."

18. ↑ HMS Agamemnon, in Wikipedia > 'HMS Agamemnon (1906)'.

    « ... Mediterranean operations, 1916–18
    With the end of the Dardanelles Campaign in January 1916, British naval forces in the area were reorganized, and Agamemnon became part of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, which was re-designated the Aegean Squadron in August 1917. Under both names, the squadron was dispersed throughout the area to protect Allied-held islands, support the British Army at Salonika, and guard against any attempted breakout from the Dardanelles by the German battlecruiser Goeben and light cruiser Breslau. Agamemnon spent the remainder of the war based at Salonika and Mudros, alternating between the two bases with her sister Lord Nelson; Agamemnon was based mostly at Mudros, Lord Nelson mostly at Salonika. .... »
    Accessed on 09/07/2019 at HMS Agamemnon (1906)

19. ↑ Moudros, in Wikipedia > 'Moudros'.

    « Moudros (Greek: Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. ...
    During the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War, the town and its harbour were used as an Allied base, commanded by Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss. The British Empire troops used the form Mudros. .... »
    Accessed on 09/07/2019 at Moudros

20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2} Alice and Claude Askew - plus their son Geoffrey , in Daily Express - Tuesday, October 16, 1917 p. 3, col. 4.

    « ALICE AND CLAUDE ASKEW. TRAGIC DEATH OF FAMOUS NOVELISTS. IN A TORPEDOED SHIP.
    Many people will feel a sense of personal loss on learning of the tragic fate of Major and Mrs. Claude Askew, who are reported to have been drowned in a torpedoed vessel in the Mediterranean on October 5.
    Everybody knew the Askews as novelists whose collaboration resulted in a tremendous popularity for their work, and readers of the Daily Express will remember also their recent vivid accounts of events in Serbia, and their record of the heroism of the Serbian army.
    Mr. and Mrs. Askew were in an Italian ship on their way to Corfu, the headquarters of their relief work among the Serbians, when the steamer was torpedoed.
    The first news of the tragedy came in a telegram to their son Geoffrey, who until a few weeks ago was a naval cadet at Dartmouth College. He had left Dartmouth, however, and may not have heard the news yet, as his ship is believed to be cruising somewhere in the Mediterranean, possibly near the scene of his parents’ death. .... »
    From a 'clipping' - previously in the possession of Miss Gilian (Jill) Askew, youngest daughter of Alice Askew - and now in my possession, since my aunt Jill's death in 2013.
    Also available to be accessed on ukpressonline.co.uk, by registering on the site. And with a subscription, it may be downloaded as a pdf file.

21. ↑ The Pittsburg Press (Pittsburgh, Pennysylvania) 02 Aug 1914, Sun. Page 1.

    Accessed (via Ancestry subscription) on 11/04/2021 at: The Pittsburg Press of Sunday, August 2, 1914

22. ↑ Oxford and Cambridge Mansions, Marylebone, in The Builder - an Illustrated Weekly Magazine for the Architect, Engineer, Archaeologist, Constructor Sanitary Reformer, and Art-Lover. Conducted by George Godwin, F.R.S., F.S.A. Vol XLIV. January to June 1883, [Feb. 3, 1883] p.140 a pair of illustrations on two pages closely following. .

    OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE MANSIONS.
    « The buildings, arranged as residential flats, have been erected, during the last three years upon land which has stood vacant for many years past, facing the Marylebone-road and Lisson-street, upon the Bond-Cabell Estate, St. Marylebone.
    In the arrangements of plan carried out, it has been thought advisable to limit the number of suites to six in each block using one common staircase. The site being rather confined and of a peculiar shape, some blocks are smaller than others; the smallest, however, contain six rooms and the largest nine rooms in each suite. All the usual accessories have been provided in making the different suites compact and self-contained. The elevations are finished in red bricks, with red Mansfield dressings; the staircases, in concrete, were formed by the Eureka Concrete Company.
    In the rear is an open space, laid out as a garden, and common to the whole of the tenants, who have access to it from their respective blocks. The total cost of the buildings was 62,000l., working at about 10d. per foot cube.
    The whole of the works have been carried out by Messrs. Mack & Humphreys builders, under the direction of Messrs. C. Eales & Son, architects, of Welbeck-street. »
    Accessed 17/04/2021 at The Builder Vol. 44, Jan-Jun 1883 on 'Google Books'

23. ↑ Hyde Park Mansions, Marylebone, in The Builder - an Illustrated Weekly Magazine for the Architect, Engineer, Archaeologist, Constructor Sanitary Reformer, and Art-Lover. Conducted by H.H. Statham, Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Vol XLIX. July to December 1885, p.532 (text) & p.535 (“VIEW OF HYDE PARK MANSIONS – Messrs. C. Eales & Son, Architects”).

    Illustrations. / No. 6, HYDE PARK MANSIONS, EDGWARE-ROAD.
    « This mansion erected by Messrs. Wheeler & Warren, from the designs of Messrs. C. Eales & son, architects, forms one of a series, arranged in suites of residential flats, and is finished with all the latest improvements for self-contained residences.
    There are fireproof floors throughout concrete staircase, and a hydraulic elevator working in the well-hole of the same. The exterior is finished with red facing bricks and Corsehill stone dressings, the roofs being covered with Broseley tiles. »
    Accessed 17/04/2021 at The Builder Vol. 49, Jul-Dec 1885 on 'Google Books'

24. ↑ Transept Street between both Hyde Park & Oxford and Cambridge Mansions, in "Hyde Park Mansions - London's Reddest Street".

    « Hyde Park Mansions is a large Victorian block of flats/apartments in the Marylebone district of central London. It is adjoined by another block named Oxford & Cambridge Mansions. The main street is Cabbell St (NW1) and is just off the Edgware Road, about 7 blocks or so north of Marble Arch. The other street is Transept St which runs parallel. These beautiful flats/apartments are probably the reddest buildings in all of London. .... »
    Accessed 03/04/2021 at: YouTube video posted by Nick of London (16 March, 2012)

25. ↑ ^{25.0 25.1 25.2} 'Geoffrey Hugh Car^ey Askew'
    —a note about his names - both the given and the taken—
    by Robin Cary Askew
    My father, Geoffrey Askew was baptised "Geoffrey Cary" - his name being so registered on his birth certificate. The middle name 'Cary' had already become a frequent 'family name' ever since Geoffrey's great grandfather, Major Thomas Askew married Lucy Elizabeth, youngest daughter of Robert Cary, a London and Virginia merchant, of Watling Street, London and Hampstead, Middlesex. The eldest brother of Thomas, Adam Askew, had also married a daughter (the eldest of three) of Robert Cary - Amy Anne.
    The family custom of adding the name 'Cary' began when Major Thomas Askew and his wife Lucy née Cary named their eldest son 'Thomas Cary'. This 'Thomas Cary Askew' died both young and unmarried. But the nascent 'tradition' was then carried on by his only brother John Askew. The Rev. John Askew did not himself enjoy the addition of 'Cary' as a middle name. He was just 'John'. But he did give the additional middle name 'Cary' to three of his five children: his eldest child and daughter, Amy Ellen Cary, as well as his two sons, Hugh Henry John Percy Cary and Claude Arthur Cary.
    Actually great uncle Hugh, who must have had the largest number of middle names ever in our family history, was not initially registered with the first name 'Hugh'. That appears to have been added later. Unless it was left out by mistake, when his birth was registered on 22nd October 1862. He was born on 18th September of that year. But he was only baptised the following year on April 10th. And that is when his first name was recorded as 'Hugh'. His date of birth being written in the margin of the church register.
    And it appears, as already stated, that Claude Arthur Cary Askew named his only son Geoffrey with the single middle name 'Cary'. But at some point the extra middle name 'Hugh' was added. It seems that 'Hugh' being added later was becoming a bit of a habit in this family! At least in the various registers - if not as an afterthought on the part of the parents. Or in Geoffrey's case, it may have been his own idea. And presumably to honour his uncle Hugh, who must have in some way taken the place of his father, after the death of both his parents on October 6th 1917, when he was just sixteen years old - albeit already serving as a Royal Navy midshipman and at sea during the first world war. His navy record does not record him with the additional name 'Hugh'.
    His uncle was not necessarily the first 'Hugh' in our family history. But that original 'Hugh' may have not been related at all. He may have been one of those not infrequent aspirational additions to a family's lineage. But without any true substance in fact. Even the venerable College of Arms could not definitively link that 'Hugh Askew' to the line of Adam Askew, for whom they awarded arms and drew up a pedigree in 1760: 'The Pedigree of Adam Askew, Esquire, of Newcastle upon Tyne'. Where there ought to be a connecting red line in this pedigree there is none. Just a significant empty space between that "Hugon : Ayscough de Lekelay als Lacra in Com Cumb : afterwards Sir Hugh Askew of Seaton Kn^t He was High Sheriff for the County of Cumb : a.^o 1561" to "Askew of Graymains in Co : Cumbria" – who was the father and grandfather of two more 'Hugh' Askews, both of Graymains. Perhaps this repetition of the name 'Hugh' lent credence to the idea of an actual connection. And even this 'Askew of Graymains' connection has been put into question. See the page for John Askew, of Kirkby in Furness, Lancashire, who was the grandfather of that Adam Askew of the 1760 College of Arms pedigree. And is really the earliest Askew for whom there is no doubt of a connection.
    But all of this is rather aside from the curiosity of these two much more recent members of this Askew family, who acquired the name Hugh - either as a first one or a middle one - some little or longer time after they were first registered.
    And getting back specifically to our Geoffrey Cary Askew (my father) – later Geoffrey Hugh Cary Askew – or rather "Geoffrey Hugh Carey Askew", as his name 'Cary' has now mysteriously also acquired the addition of a letter 'e'! And his Royal Navy record does record his solitary middle name 'Carey' there with that additional 'e'. Meaning that must have happened before 'Hugh' was also added. However, since I began researching my family history, I have decided to drop the 'e' in my own middle name and revert to its original spelling of 'Cary' - without that intrusive 'e'. Of course the spelling of names has not been so consistent historically as it usually is today. We only have to look at Shakespeare for that! And perhaps in my father's day, it was also not as important as it clearly is nowadays. And in this day and age, it would be quite the hassle to officially drop that 'e' in my name. Much easier to just use 'Cary' without the 'e' as a 'pen name'. And especially as I only use it to sign articles and things like this that I have written!
    —Robin Cary Askew (Robinca) – 11 July 2019.
    P.S. I should mention that there were members of the Cary family of Devon (who may or may not be connected to my certain ancestor Robert Cary and his certain grandfather James Cary), who also were known to have spelled their name with an 'e'. Such as Sir William Carey, husband of Mary, sister of Anne Boleyn. But — and despite the 'wishful thinking' of that Adam Askew, who married Amy Cary and commissioned a painting of a family tree purporting to show that Sir William Carey was an ancestor of his wife's Cary line — he was not! If there is a connection between the family of James Cary, 'Citizen & Salter' – merchant and tobacconist of Watling Street, London and the family of Sir William Carey, courtier, it could just possibly have been via an older brother of Sir William's father. See the 'Possible Origins of James Cary' notes on his page: James Cary. So, at the very best I suppose, a pretty distant 'cousinship' might be a possibility.
    And my father did have that rather pretentious family tree painting hanging on the wall of the second floor landing of the house, where I spent my childhood. He most likely inherited that painting from his childless uncle Hugh, to whom it would have descended from his equally childless great uncle Adam Askew. And, just speculating here - but he might have been inspired to add en 'e' to his originally 'e'-less middle name of 'Cary' by this notion of a connection to that long ago Sir William Carey - with an 'e'. —R.C.A. (still 11/07/2019)