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John Morton, Park Farm, 175 Brent Street, Brent Knoll, Highbridge, Somerset. TA94BE
Cheques payable to Mr John Morton
Email: johnmorton2015@outlook.com
This
is more than just a book about a family. It captures the history of the origins
of the dispossessed O'Kinealy family from County Limerick in Ireland to Cavan
against the background of what was one of the greatest emigration stories of
the 19th century, when over a period of fifty years, the Irish
population dropped from an estimated 8 million to just 3 million towards the
end of the century. Many emigrated to the new founded British colonies, amongst
them James O'Kinealy the authors great-grandfather and his younger brother
Peter. Both obtained degrees from Galway University and passed the Indian civil
service exams. They both later became high court judges in the Bengal
judiciary.
The book explores James achievements in his summary of
the evidence in the notorious Wahhabi Conspiracy case in 1871, his work on the
transfer of the civil service pension funds across to the British government,
and the root and branch changes introduced in the 1885 Bengal Land Tenancy Act,
in which he was significant player.
A major section is devoted to the career of his eldest
son Colonel Frederick O'Kinealy the author's grandfather, and a surgeon in the
Indian Medical Service. He saw service on the North West Frontier in the last
years of the 19th century, and became surgeon to Lord Hardinge, the
Viceroy, in 1910, attending the Delhi Durbar in 1911, before becoming surgeon
superintendent of the Presidency General Hospital in Calcutta. He was a
significant contributor to the medical development and research of both
ophthalmic and ear nose and throat surgery and treatment. He became surgeon
general within the Bengal Province, and ended his career in India as chief medical
officer to HRH Edward Prince of Wales during his tour of India and Burma across
the winter of 1921-22. His complete diaries of the tour are being published in
full for the first time in this book.
Interleaved with this historical account is the author’s
own experiences as a child in wartime India from 1936-45, and later
reminiscences on return to India 1961-64 as an employee of the Indian Tube
Company, a subsidiary of the Tata organisation.
The book is lavishly illustrated with photos and
paintings of the period.
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