In today's paper
Married to the military
Both of Eleanor Burmester’s husbands won Britain’s highest military award - the Victoria Cross
By LORNA INNESS
DRESSED for her wedding at St. Paul’s in 1870, Eleanor Anne Burmester gazes confidently past the camera into a serene future with the handsome young military man she loves. What she does not know is that the marriage will be tragically short, barely two years, that she will remarry, have a total of eight children and die at 45 years of age. Both her husbands will be doctors who have chosen careers in the British army.
Both will have something else, rare indeed, in common. In daring displays of courage and resourcefulness, each will have earned the Victoria Cross.
The photograph is among thousands of pictures filed away in the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management building in Halifax. Like all pictures, a story goes with it.
Eleanor Anne Burmester was born in Halifax on May 31, 1849. To use the current phrase, she was well-connected. Her mother, Eleanor Belcher, was the granddaughter of Sir Edward Belcher, and sister of Admiral Sir Edward Belcher. She married Rev. William Cogs-well, son of Henry Cogswell, a prominent businessman in the city.
The elder Eleanor had three children from her first marriage: Mary Kate, William Henry Lawrence and Emily, before Rev. Cogswell died in 1840.
In 1848, Eleanor Cogswell married Lt.-Col. John Burmester, who had been sent to Nova Scotia with the 24th Regiment (South Wales Borderers) from England. The couple had three children, the first of them being Eleanor Anne. She had a brother, John, and a sister, Daisey. Unfortunately, Lt.-Col. Burmester died in 1856 while en route to Malta with his wife and at least one child.
Little is known of Eleanor Anne’s early years but on June 23, 1870, in St. Paul’s Church, Halifax, she married her first husband, an army surgeon, Valentine Munbee McMaster.
Born May 16, 1834, to British parents in Trichinopoly, India, Surg. Lt. McMaster obtained his medical education in Edinburgh and was a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He chose a career in the army.
In September 1857, McMaster was at the siege of Lucknow with the 78th Regiment. He assisted surgeon Joseph Jee in rescuing and tending to the wounded, braving heavy enemy fire. Both Jee and the regiment received the Victoria Cross.
In an unusual move, the members of the regiment were asked to elect one of their number to wear the medal and they chose McMaster.
In June 1858, The London Gazette announced that the award was given to him for "the intrepidity with which he exposed himself to the fire of the enemy, in bringing in and attending to the wounded on September 25, 1857." McMaster’s Victoria Cross is in the National War Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle.
In May 1869, McMaster arrived at Halifax with his regiment. On June 23, 1870, in St. Paul’s Church, Halifax, he was married to Eleanor Anne Burmester. Their first child, Bruce Belcher McMaster, was born on May 10, 1871. A daughter, Mary Eleanor, was born on Aug. 14, 1872.
The marriage lasted barely two years. On Nov. 26, 1871, McMaster was sent with his regiment to Ireland where, due to a heart condition, he died suddenly on June 22, 1872.
Eleanor Anne was left with two small children but there were family members to sustain her and, in the event, she did not remain a widow long. Like her mother, she remarried, this time on Aug. 10, 1874, again in St. Paul’s, to Campbell Mellis Douglas, who had been awarded a Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery in an entirely different venture.
Born Aug. 5, 1840, in Quebec City, Douglas attended Laval University and then went to Edinburgh where he studied medicine. In 1862 Douglas joined the British army medical service.
In 1867, the ship Assam Valley was on an expedition in the Bay of Bengal. The captain and a party of soldiers went ashore on Little Andaman Island and were never heard from again.
The incident was reported to local authorities and in due course the Assam Valley returned to the island, this time with soldiers from the 24th Regiment aboard, including Surg. Lt. Douglas. Attempts were made to land more men on the island but almost immediately they ran into hostilities from the inhabitants and were stranded on the beach.
A party of five men from the Assam Valley, with Douglas in command, took a gig, an open boat, to attempt a rescue but stormy weather and heavy seas made it impossible. On a subsequent venture, while the weather was not much better, they were successful and in two trips succeeded in removing all 17 men and one officer of the search party.
In his account of Canada’s Victoria Cross winners, Lt.-Col. George C. Machum states that all five men were awarded the illustrious medal "for the gallant and daring manner in which, on the 7th of May, 1867, they risked their lives by manning a boat and proceeding through a dangerous surf to the rescue of their comrades."
The citation to Douglas praises his "intrepid and seamanlike manner." His Victoria Cross is in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Douglas’s path eventually took him to Halifax with his regiment and there, in August 1874, in St. Paul’s Church, he married Eleanor McMaster.
The first child born to Eleanor and Campbell Douglas was George M., on Dec. 9, 1875. He became an explorer, searching for copper deposits in the Arctic, especially in the Coppermine River area, and wrote about his travels. He died in 1963 and his papers are at Trent University, Peterborough, Ont.
Another son, Charles Francis, was born Feb. 27, 1877, while the family was living on Tower Road, Halifax.
The next son, Lionel Dale, was born in 1879 and during his career served for many years as captain of various Canadian Pacific Empress liners. He died in 1962.
Campbell was born Oct. 1, 1882, the year before the family moved to Lakefield, Ont., where Douglas, having left the army, set up in private practice. A daughter, Muriel C., was born in 1886 and the last child, Evan C., was born in 1890 and died in 1971.
During the Northwest Rebellion in 1882, Douglas was called back to service with the 2nd Field Hospital and what has been described as "Canada’s first hospital train."
Again, he distinguished himself in treating the wounded under difficult conditions.
He was adventurous outside the service, as well.
In a flashback to 1877 in The Halifax Herald of May 11, 1897, he was described as "the first man to ride a bicycle in the city."
On Feb. 13, 1894, four years after the birth of her last child, Eleanor Douglas died, leaving her husband with a young family. She was buried in Hillside Cemetery, near Peterborough. Douglas continued to live at Lakefield but spent considerable time in England in retirement, and was in Wells, Somerset, when he died on Dec. 31, 1909.
Eleanor Burmester outlived her daughter. The Acadian Recorder noted that in 1894 the mother was living on Bland Street with her other daughter, Daisey.
Lorna Inness is a former senior editor for The Chronicle-Herald.
© 2008 The Halifax Herald Limited
Both of Eleanor Burmester’s husbands won Britain’s highest military award - the Victoria Cross
By LORNA INNESS
DRESSED for her wedding at St. Paul’s in 1870, Eleanor Anne Burmester gazes confidently past the camera into a serene future with the handsome young military man she loves. What she does not know is that the marriage will be tragically short, barely two years, that she will remarry, have a total of eight children and die at 45 years of age. Both her husbands will be doctors who have chosen careers in the British army.
Both will have something else, rare indeed, in common. In daring displays of courage and resourcefulness, each will have earned the Victoria Cross.
The photograph is among thousands of pictures filed away in the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management building in Halifax. Like all pictures, a story goes with it.
Eleanor Anne Burmester was born in Halifax on May 31, 1849. To use the current phrase, she was well-connected. Her mother, Eleanor Belcher, was the granddaughter of Sir Edward Belcher, and sister of Admiral Sir Edward Belcher. She married Rev. William Cogs-well, son of Henry Cogswell, a prominent businessman in the city.
The elder Eleanor had three children from her first marriage: Mary Kate, William Henry Lawrence and Emily, before Rev. Cogswell died in 1840.
In 1848, Eleanor Cogswell married Lt.-Col. John Burmester, who had been sent to Nova Scotia with the 24th Regiment (South Wales Borderers) from England. The couple had three children, the first of them being Eleanor Anne. She had a brother, John, and a sister, Daisey. Unfortunately, Lt.-Col. Burmester died in 1856 while en route to Malta with his wife and at least one child.
Little is known of Eleanor Anne’s early years but on June 23, 1870, in St. Paul’s Church, Halifax, she married her first husband, an army surgeon, Valentine Munbee McMaster.
Born May 16, 1834, to British parents in Trichinopoly, India, Surg. Lt. McMaster obtained his medical education in Edinburgh and was a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He chose a career in the army.
In September 1857, McMaster was at the siege of Lucknow with the 78th Regiment. He assisted surgeon Joseph Jee in rescuing and tending to the wounded, braving heavy enemy fire. Both Jee and the regiment received the Victoria Cross.
In an unusual move, the members of the regiment were asked to elect one of their number to wear the medal and they chose McMaster.
In June 1858, The London Gazette announced that the award was given to him for "the intrepidity with which he exposed himself to the fire of the enemy, in bringing in and attending to the wounded on September 25, 1857." McMaster’s Victoria Cross is in the National War Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle.
In May 1869, McMaster arrived at Halifax with his regiment. On June 23, 1870, in St. Paul’s Church, Halifax, he was married to Eleanor Anne Burmester. Their first child, Bruce Belcher McMaster, was born on May 10, 1871. A daughter, Mary Eleanor, was born on Aug. 14, 1872.
The marriage lasted barely two years. On Nov. 26, 1871, McMaster was sent with his regiment to Ireland where, due to a heart condition, he died suddenly on June 22, 1872.
Eleanor Anne was left with two small children but there were family members to sustain her and, in the event, she did not remain a widow long. Like her mother, she remarried, this time on Aug. 10, 1874, again in St. Paul’s, to Campbell Mellis Douglas, who had been awarded a Victoria Cross for outstanding bravery in an entirely different venture.
Born Aug. 5, 1840, in Quebec City, Douglas attended Laval University and then went to Edinburgh where he studied medicine. In 1862 Douglas joined the British army medical service.
In 1867, the ship Assam Valley was on an expedition in the Bay of Bengal. The captain and a party of soldiers went ashore on Little Andaman Island and were never heard from again.
The incident was reported to local authorities and in due course the Assam Valley returned to the island, this time with soldiers from the 24th Regiment aboard, including Surg. Lt. Douglas. Attempts were made to land more men on the island but almost immediately they ran into hostilities from the inhabitants and were stranded on the beach.
A party of five men from the Assam Valley, with Douglas in command, took a gig, an open boat, to attempt a rescue but stormy weather and heavy seas made it impossible. On a subsequent venture, while the weather was not much better, they were successful and in two trips succeeded in removing all 17 men and one officer of the search party.
In his account of Canada’s Victoria Cross winners, Lt.-Col. George C. Machum states that all five men were awarded the illustrious medal "for the gallant and daring manner in which, on the 7th of May, 1867, they risked their lives by manning a boat and proceeding through a dangerous surf to the rescue of their comrades."
The citation to Douglas praises his "intrepid and seamanlike manner." His Victoria Cross is in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Douglas’s path eventually took him to Halifax with his regiment and there, in August 1874, in St. Paul’s Church, he married Eleanor McMaster.
The first child born to Eleanor and Campbell Douglas was George M., on Dec. 9, 1875. He became an explorer, searching for copper deposits in the Arctic, especially in the Coppermine River area, and wrote about his travels. He died in 1963 and his papers are at Trent University, Peterborough, Ont.
Another son, Charles Francis, was born Feb. 27, 1877, while the family was living on Tower Road, Halifax.
The next son, Lionel Dale, was born in 1879 and during his career served for many years as captain of various Canadian Pacific Empress liners. He died in 1962.
Campbell was born Oct. 1, 1882, the year before the family moved to Lakefield, Ont., where Douglas, having left the army, set up in private practice. A daughter, Muriel C., was born in 1886 and the last child, Evan C., was born in 1890 and died in 1971.
During the Northwest Rebellion in 1882, Douglas was called back to service with the 2nd Field Hospital and what has been described as "Canada’s first hospital train."
Again, he distinguished himself in treating the wounded under difficult conditions.
He was adventurous outside the service, as well.
In a flashback to 1877 in The Halifax Herald of May 11, 1897, he was described as "the first man to ride a bicycle in the city."
On Feb. 13, 1894, four years after the birth of her last child, Eleanor Douglas died, leaving her husband with a young family. She was buried in Hillside Cemetery, near Peterborough. Douglas continued to live at Lakefield but spent considerable time in England in retirement, and was in Wells, Somerset, when he died on Dec. 31, 1909.
Eleanor Burmester outlived her daughter. The Acadian Recorder noted that in 1894 the mother was living on Bland Street with her other daughter, Daisey.
Lorna Inness is a former senior editor for The Chronicle-Herald.
© 2008 The Halifax Herald Limited