Canadian woman’s delight at learning of intrepid ancestor

Despite living just an hour’s drive from the city of Sarnia, which was founded by former Guernsey Governor Sir John Colborne in 1829, Caroline Allen, 61, knew little about the island before she made her discovery.

Her great-great-great-grandfather was Captain Henry Beckford Harvey, who saved one ship from certain destruction and died en route from Guernsey to Southampton in another in 1870.

With only vague memories of stories about a sea captain in the family, it was not until July, when a relative sent Mrs Allen a family tree naming her ancestor, that she looked into his history.

‘Naturally, that evening I Googled his name to find out more. It was limited what I could find out, but on the bottom of the first Google page, under Clevedon Salerooms, noted a commemorative tea service set,’ she said.

The three-piece silver tea set Mrs Allen found online was awarded to Captain Harvey in 1862 for saving his ship, the Courier, and its crew from a hurricane in the Channel.

The event was picked up by the national press and a report in the Jersey Independent that year shows the significance of the storm. ‘At six in the morning it began to blow hard, continuing to increase in violence, with a mountainous sea running till about half-past 11, when a heavy sea struck the ship with a fearful crash.

‘Captain Harvey and others who have been on the passage for many years, state that they never knew it to blow harder or witness so heavy a sea in the Channel,’ it read.

Mrs Allen said she has been moved to tears by the discovery of the extent of her relative’s bravery.

‘I was overwhelmed, of course, because of seeing the memorial on Jersey and then the tea service set. This was all unbelievable to me, it’s surreal,’ she said.

Although Mrs Allen had found the tea service commemorating Captain Harvey’s mission with the Courier, it had been sold a month earlier. ‘My heart sank, all I could think about if I had only known sooner, but then maybe I wouldn’t have seen that particular website,’ she said.

However Mrs Allen decided to contact the auction house, which put her in touch with the Guernsey-based buyers, Andy Eborall and his partner Teresa Brouard.

‘Teresa contacted me right away and was so very kind and thoughtful and started to share with me pictures of the tea service set, which is exquisite, and all the information they had researched.

‘I was particularly thrilled to learn that Victor Hugo and Captain Harvey knew each other and that he said he was sad when Captain Harvey died and noted how brave he was.

‘If I ever come to England, I would definitely go to see the memorial. I want to give it a hug. I didn’t know much about the Channel Islands, all I knew was that Lillie Langtry was from Jersey.

‘All I can think of is how proud my father would be if he had all this information,’ she said.

Mr Eborall said the whole story had been like something out of a film.

‘We’re over the moon that Caroline got in touch and was able to find out more about the history of her relatives.

‘It’s definitely the most interesting piece I have bought, especially because of the Channel Islands connection.

‘All the newspaper articles we found up to the coincidence with Caroline getting in touch were thanks to Dinah Bott, of the Priaulx Library, and British Newspaper Archive. It’s cinematic,’ he said.