An Autobiography by Richard Timperley
Timperley, Richard (1996) ISBN 1-875401-50-4
AUTHORS NOTE
Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays, And one by one back in the Closet lays. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
An overwhelming compulsion to unlock the family closet and confront its cryptic contents has driven me to write this book. Now a septuagenarian I have come to the realisation that virtually all my life I have been almost completely ignorant of my background and that if I am to redress this situation I must act now. My parents seldom spoke of their families when I was growing up, and those few relations who came to our home in Cottesloe, Western Australia, flitted through my consciousness like out-of-focus phantoms, often nameless, generally unintelligible and, occasionally, frightening. As an only child infant I was very observant of the relationship my friends had within their families. Most of them had brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles and perhaps even a great-uncle. Why didn't I have such relations? Envy, loneliness and an uncomfortable feeling of inferiority enveloped me. As the years slipped by with most of my questions to my parents unanswered or dismissed by them with the weak assurance: I'll tell you one day', my curiosity about antecedents waned and finally dried up. I told myself I couldn't care less about 'tribal' matters I was a loner. Today I repent this juvenile attitude, especially as I have discovered in my genealogy heroes galore. My approach to the compilation of this history has been journalistic. I have simply attempted to report as fairly and accurately as I can the Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? of my forebears as Bishops, Knights or lowly Pawns in the great chess game of Life. I have used my own story as a link with the past and, in so doing, have paid my respects to several heroes of my own. Some names have been changed but, otherwise, my tale is true.
R H Timperley
Buderim Mountain
Queensland 1996
Excerpt from p. 37 of Heroes Galore (by permission of the Author)
As a boy, I noticed that once a year a long brown envelope bearing a red coronet and the word 'Debrett' would arrive from England addressed formally to: Mrs Lewis C Timperley RRC. Mum would take this and lock it away in her writing desk. I was curious; it was something like the 'black tin trunk' situation. Rather than risk reprimand or the usual answer to difficult questions: 'I'll tell you one day', I said nothing.
When I was about fourteen I found my mother again at her desk with another Debrett envelope. Unaware of my presence she slit the envelope open with her Pharaoh's head paper knife and took out several long strips of white paper covered with lines of fine print.
Sensing my approach she looked up and pre-empted my question by saying: 'These are galley proofs from Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, the directory which records the history of noble families. We, the Cookes that is, are listed and so are you as my son'. I had no idea that my mother had so many ancestors and asked if I could take the proofs to my room and read them slowly. 'No, you can't do that. The Editor wants them returned as soon as possible so that he can proceed with the printing ... you'll see them again one day', she promised.
Years later amongst some old papers I found three faded sets of proofs and a typewritten maternal family tree covering five foolscap pages. The proof in best condition was of the Cooke entry for the 1966 edition of Burke's Peerage. This ran for one and a half metres. At the head of the first column was a reproduction of the Cooke armorial bearings and family crest described in the terminology of the College of Arms as:
Arms: Or, a chevron gules between two lions passant-guardant sable. Crest: Out of a mural crown argent, a demi-lion guardant issuant as in the arms gorged with ducal coronet.
This, I felt, was real King Arthur stuff. The lead entry read:
Sir Charles Arthur John Cooke, 11th Bt. of Wheatley, co. York, educ. Wellington, and R. M. C. Sandhurst, late Major 4/7th Dragoon Guards, served in World War II 1939-40 (prisoner), b. 12 Nov. 1905, s. his father 1964, m. 12 July 1932, Diana, only dau. of Major Gen. Sir Edward Maxwell Perceval, K.C.B., D.S.O., J.P. of The Grange, Farnham, Surrey (see Burke's L.G. of Ireland), and has issue.
Following the heading Lineage:
Edward Cooke, of Arksey, Mayor of Doncaster in 1504, 1505 (the year when shillings were first coined in England), 1506, 1507 and 1508, had two sons: 1. Lawrence, Prior of Doncaster 1536-38, who taking part in the Pilgrimage of Grace was committed to the Tower in 1539 and was executed at Tyburn in 1540 for denying the King's Supremacy,
Another paragraph advised;
Sir George Cooke, the 1st Bt. who, in consideration of his own, and his father's loyalty and sufferings during the Civil War, was created a Baronet, 10 May 1661, with remainder in default of male issue, to his next brother. Sir George d. unm. 16 Oct. 1683 and was s. by his brother.
The roll made my head swim—hundreds of names of men and women, some born titled into the Establishment, some commoners but, with few exceptions, all 'movers and shakers' in their particular field.
Excerpt from p. 142-143 of Heroes Galore (by permission of the Author)
In 1905 my grandfather was made a Companion of the Imperial Service Order. A telegram arrived from the Federal House of Parliament, then situated in Melbourne, offering: Heartiest congratulations from us both. Delighted recognition long and honourable service. John Forrest. Soon after W H Timperley was invested at Government House, Perth, by the Governor General, Lord Northcote, and, in due course, my grandfather had his portrait painted in oils depicting him in evening dress wearing the star and ribbon of the Imperial Service Order.
 |
Grandfather filled his retirement years very pleasantly. Often he would
lunch at his club, The Weld, said by author Phillip Mennell to be 'unique as a
centre of sociability and once admitted to its somewhat exclusive portals you are admitted
into pleasant contact with everybody who is anybody in the small capital of the largest
colony'. There he would discuss music, art, the sciences and politics with friends
including newspaperman Winthrop Hackett, librarian J S Battye, artist George Pitt Morison,
and Colonel Le Souef the first director of the Perth Zoological Gardens who, in time,
would buy the Timperley's house Treverton. In 1908 the Perth Museum organised a series of eight free winter time public lectures and W H Timperley was invited to speak. He chose as his subject The Customs and Characteristics of the Aborigines, making particular reference to the people of the Swan River district. Lantern slides illustrated the talk. |
In demand as a guest speaker at Mechanics' Institutes the length and breadth of the colony, grandfather was seldom home for long. What Rebecca thought about this is not known but she must have worried about his health. On 30 July 1909 he delivered a lecture to the Swan River Mechanics' Institute. A few days later he suffered a 'paralytic stroke', followed by a second and more serious one and, on 12 August 1909, The West Australian carried the story:
DEATH OF MR W H TIMPERLEY
An Interesting Career Resident of Australia for 58 years
The news of the death of Mr W H Timperley ISO, which occurred at his residence in South Perth yesterday afternoon will be received with widespread regret ...
A sombre detailed account of the progress of his illness followed, the last paragraph advising: He gradually sank, and expired peacefully in the presence of most members of his family. He was aged 76. On 22 February 1910, just six months after her husband's death, Rebecca also suffered a stroke and died at the age of 68. Today my grandfather is commemorated in Lake Timperley and Timperley Cottage on Rottnest Island, Mount Timperley near Old Halls Creek, named by Surveyor H F Johnston in 1883, Timperley Range named by Sir John Forrest, and Timperley Road in Bunbury.
List of IllustrationsLewis Clayton Timperley Memorial Photo
.................................. xii
New Zealand Nurses Group ..............................................................22
My Mother—Sister E M E Cooke ARRC ....................................... 23
Great grandparents Dr & Mrs Arthur Purchas............................ 25
My parents' first home— Geraldton.................................................40
Wearing Uncle Forrest's Volunteers' gear ....................................46
Winners of the Guildford Grammar School inter-house
boxing
competition............................................................. 52
Mother in the uniform of Commandant of VAD 509, 1943 .....62
Clock tower, Victoria Town, Labuan ............................................100
A briefing outside S8's command post.........................................105
Japanese banzai
casualties.................................................................105
Gunner Kite polishes the Glass of our 120cm Sperry
searchlight............................................................................
106
Author—aged 20—before leaving for Milne Bay...................... 106
A Japanese booby trap
.......................................................................106
The Old and Bold—ANZAC Day circa 1989 ...............................112
Japanese Invasion Money $5............................................................116
Lewis Clayton Timperley..................................................................
125
John
Timperley....................................................................................
128
William Thomas Postles Timperley............................................... 128
The Timperley family and friends picnic, Bunbury WA ........141
William Henry Timperley wearing Imperial Service Order .142
Daily News beer keg
party.................................................................146
Hazel Mary
Houlden.......................................................................... 152
An oil search vehicle tracks through Great Sandy Desert .....251
Covering a gas flow test near Dongara as Deputy Director
of Petroleum Information Bureau ................................251
One of the concrete bunkers blasted in the Monte Bello
atomic tests in
1952...........................................................251
Our good old wooden schooner Muritonga................................. 274
A corner of our back verandah early Christmas morning .....283
Part of suburban Darwin immediately after the
passage of Cyclone
Tracy................................................286
The 'dance floors'
................................................................................286
Letter from Channel 9
......................................................................... 294
Letter from The Canberra Times
.......................................................295
Aboriginal leader, Nandjiwarra Amagula, arrives ..................298
Aboriginal ceremonial dance at Groote Eylandt....................... 300
Maureen the model at Richard's ....................................................318
The Church of St Nicholas at Hintlesham, Suffolk ..................331
Hintlesham Hall, Hintlesham, Suffolk .........................................335
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following references were studied by the author:
Air Force: RAAF Historical Records and Information Services: Reports on the Japanese
air raid on Milne Bay, Papua, 14 April 1943.
Australian Army: Personal service records of Maj L C Timperley, Sister E M E Cooke arrc,
Sgt T Houlden mm and Bar, mbe, Maj R H Timperley.
Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra: Report by Director-General Natural
Disasters Organisation on the Darwin Relief Operations 25 December 1974—3 January
1975.
Baker, Clive and Knight, Greg: Milne Bay 1942: The story of Milne Force.
Baker-Knight Publications, Loftus NSW, 1991.
Baker, Ken and Marjorie: St Nicholas Church, Hintlesham, 1988, Guide Book
Barker, A J LaurieM: Excellent Connections, Bunbury 1836-1990. City of
Bunbury,1992.
Barrett, John: We Were There. Australian Soldiers in World War II Tell Their Stories.Viking,
1987.
Bartlett, Norman: With the Australians in Korea. Australian War Memorial. Bentley,
Mollie: Grandfather was a Policeman. Hesperian Press, Perth, 1993.
Burke's Peerage: Extract from 1966 Edition, lineage of the Cooke family.
Firkins, Peter: From Hell to Eternity. Westward Ho Publishing Company, 1979.
Henderson, James: Onward Boy Soldiers. University of WA Press, 1992.
Hill, Noel: Expose! A History of Searchlights in World War II. Boolarong
Publications,Brisbane, 1993. Kendall.Sherayl and Corbett, David: New Zealand Military
Nursing—A History of the RNZNC Boer War to the Present Day. Published by the
authors 1990.
Mitchell, Elyne: Light Horse; The Story of Australia's Mounted Troops. The
Macmillan Co. of Australia, 1978. Olden, A CN (Lt Col): Westralian Cavalry in the
War—10th Light Horse AIF. Alexander McCubbin, limited edition 1931.
Roche, E H: Paper on Life of Dr Arthur Guyon Purchas, Devine and Doctor of Medicine. Delivered
to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Auckland, NZ, 1954.
Sinclair, James: Kiap; Australian Patrol Officers in Papua-New Guinea.Pacific
Publications (Aust.) Pty Ltd, 1981. Timperley, William Henry: Personal Journals.
Timperley, Lewis Clayton: Rottnest recollections (notes and article) and World War
I personal letters written in the field with the 10th Light Horse Regiment.
Watson, E J: Rottnest: Its Tragedy and its Glory (Unpublished Notes).
Wollaston, James Ramsden, Archdeacon: Albany Journal 1848-1856.
This book is available from the author, who may be contacted at:
Mr. Richard H. Timperley
183 Karawatha Drive
Buderim
Queensland
Australia 4556
or through CopyRight Publishing at http://www.copyright.net.au/back.html