WILLIAM ALFRED ROUSSAC
The third son of Etienne Auguste Roussac Jnr and Isabella Masson.
He was born on Sunday, 15th April 1866 at Ghazeepore, West Bengal, and was baptised jointly with his next younger brother and sister, John Augustus and Isabella Eleanor on the Sunday after Trinity 13th October 1867.
Aged 20, he joined the India Posts and Telegraphs Service on 17th May 1886; March 1889 appointed Inspector P.O. at Monywa, Burma; April 1893-1895 Superintendent Monywa. In April 1891 he was sent to visit each of the posts up to Forth White, Burma, ‘to give the whole postal arrangements a thorough overhauling.’
In 1909 he was initiated into the Fairclough Lodge (Masons) Mandalay.
In April 1910 he was appointed Deputy Postmaster General; December 1910 also appointed Inspector General, Railway Mail Service and Sorting. 20th June 1911 joined St George Lodge (Masons) Bombay and paid up to 1921;
The third son of Etienne Auguste Roussac Jnr and Isabella Masson.
He was born on Sunday, 15th April 1866 at Ghazeepore, West Bengal, and was baptised jointly with his next younger brother and sister, John Augustus and Isabella Eleanor on the Sunday after Trinity 13th October 1867.
Aged 20, he joined the India Posts and Telegraphs Service on 17th May 1886; March 1889 appointed Inspector P.O. at Monywa, Burma; April 1893-1895 Superintendent Monywa. In April 1891 he was sent to visit each of the posts up to Forth White, Burma, ‘to give the whole postal arrangements a thorough overhauling.’
In 1909 he was initiated into the Fairclough Lodge (Masons) Mandalay.
In April 1910 he was appointed Deputy Postmaster General; December 1910 also appointed Inspector General, Railway Mail Service and Sorting. 20th June 1911 joined St George Lodge (Masons) Bombay and paid up to 1921;
On 4th September 1911, The Times of India reported that:
The new Bombay General Post Office will be opened for business to-day, all the furnishings of the Church Gate Street, officer having been moved to the building in Fort Street, during the course of the week-end. The task of shifting from one place to the other was begun late on Saturday afternoon and it says much for the zeal and energy of Mr W. A. Roussac, Presidency Post Master, and his staff that all was completed at a late hour last night. Some time will elapse of course before the staff can settle down properly in their new quarters and in view of the approaching visit of their Majesties with the rush of postal traffic that this will entail the removal has not been made a day too soon.
On Wednesday 22nd March 1911, he attended the Delhi Durbar which celebrated the Coronation of King George V. 'Bill' Roussac is seen here in his ceremonial Post Office dress.
His career summary: 1913 Deputy Postmaster General, 3rd Grade; September 1918 Postmaster General Superintendent; 1919 was present during operations in Waziristan from May until January 1921; 1920 Postmaster General; 1928 Postmaster General Bihar and Orissa resident in Darjeeling; 1921 Postmaster General 3rd Grade.
The May 1921 edition of the Indian Post Office and Telegraph Magazine carried an interesting biography of 'Bill' Roussac to mark his impending retirement and noted the incredible 100 years of service by the Roussac family to the Indian Post Office.
The biography can be read as printed in the next two photos.
The first part of the article.
The concluding part of the article.
Peliti's photo
On Sunday, 29th March 1921, Mr Hutchinson, Director General, Mr Rogers, Deputy Director General, and Mr Roussac, Postmaster-General, Punjab, were guests of the officers of the Postal Department at Dinner at Peliti’s, Calcutta. After the loyal toast was proposed, the toast of the service was proposed by Mr P. N. Mukerji, who said that theirs was no mean duty in the cause of the King and country and that the members of the service, high or low, young or old, should always feel that they were bound together by the same silken tie and had the same common destiny to fulfil. Mr Roussac complimented the organisers and expressed the hope that it would be an annual affair. He retired in October that year.
On Sunday, 29th March 1921, Mr Hutchinson, Director General, Mr Rogers, Deputy Director General, and Mr Roussac, Postmaster-General, Punjab, were guests of the officers of the Postal Department at Dinner at Peliti’s, Calcutta. After the loyal toast was proposed, the toast of the service was proposed by Mr P. N. Mukerji, who said that theirs was no mean duty in the cause of the King and country and that the members of the service, high or low, young or old, should always feel that they were bound together by the same silken tie and had the same common destiny to fulfil. Mr Roussac complimented the organisers and expressed the hope that it would be an annual affair. He retired in October that year.
He married twice. Firstly, to Amelia 'Amy' Constance Smith on 27th October 1890 at Hazaribagh, West Bengal. She was the daughter of Herbert William Smith and was born on Thursday, 1st June 1865 and baptised on the 30th at Vizakhapatam.
In 1913 in Poona they were very involved in social life. He, his wife and a daughter (Phyllis ?) attended the wedding of Phyllis Rose Palin and Capt. Stuart Boyd RE which took place at St Mary’s Church, Poona on 21st July 1913. They gave a silver card tray as a wedding gift.
One of his daughters (either Isabella or Phyllis) dressed as ‘Pharaoh’s Daughter’ for a fancy dress party at the Gymkhana thrown by the then recently appointed Governor of Bombay Lord Willingdon and his wife. The Times of India in their report mentioned that ‘She wore a magnificent dress of bright green with a flowing green veil and a crown of snakes with a cobra’s head erect on her forehead.’ The band of the 117th Mahrattas, provided the music, and dancing was kept up till three in the morning.
One of his daughters also took part in various dramatic productions including The Quaker Girl which was staged at the Gymkhana, Poona, in the first week of October, 1913 and she played the part of Rachel Pym.
His wife died on 2nd April 1919 aged 51 of Pernicious Anaemia. They had four children.
He married secondly, his first wife’s twin sister, Emily ‘Lilla’ Fitzherbert Smith on 17th July 1920. She was born 1st June 1865 at Vizkhapatam.
On 15th December 1924 he left India for England on the SS Genova and the following year, on 29th April, his wife, Lilla, arrived at Tilbury having embarked at Calcutta on the SS City of Nagpur together with her by now married daughter, Isabella Annie Peters and her four children and they lived at 45 Hova Villas, Hove, East Sussex where his wife died on 13th November 1938 aged 73.
In 1913 in Poona they were very involved in social life. He, his wife and a daughter (Phyllis ?) attended the wedding of Phyllis Rose Palin and Capt. Stuart Boyd RE which took place at St Mary’s Church, Poona on 21st July 1913. They gave a silver card tray as a wedding gift.
One of his daughters (either Isabella or Phyllis) dressed as ‘Pharaoh’s Daughter’ for a fancy dress party at the Gymkhana thrown by the then recently appointed Governor of Bombay Lord Willingdon and his wife. The Times of India in their report mentioned that ‘She wore a magnificent dress of bright green with a flowing green veil and a crown of snakes with a cobra’s head erect on her forehead.’ The band of the 117th Mahrattas, provided the music, and dancing was kept up till three in the morning.
One of his daughters also took part in various dramatic productions including The Quaker Girl which was staged at the Gymkhana, Poona, in the first week of October, 1913 and she played the part of Rachel Pym.
His wife died on 2nd April 1919 aged 51 of Pernicious Anaemia. They had four children.
He married secondly, his first wife’s twin sister, Emily ‘Lilla’ Fitzherbert Smith on 17th July 1920. She was born 1st June 1865 at Vizkhapatam.
On 15th December 1924 he left India for England on the SS Genova and the following year, on 29th April, his wife, Lilla, arrived at Tilbury having embarked at Calcutta on the SS City of Nagpur together with her by now married daughter, Isabella Annie Peters and her four children and they lived at 45 Hova Villas, Hove, East Sussex where his wife died on 13th November 1938 aged 73.
He was awarded three medals.
From the left, the medal and clasp for his duties in connection with the Manipur Field Force on the North East Frontier 9th April-8th June, 1891.
Centre, the India General Service medal with one clasp for Waziristan 1919-1921.
Right, the 1911 Delhi Durbar medal.
Interestingly, on 20th November 2009 his set of medals were sold at Spink, London, for £400. The buyer and seller are unknown.
William Alfred Roussac died on Monday 29th January 1934 also at 45 Hova Villas.
There were three children:
1. Isabella Annie Roussac
The daughter of William Alfred Roussac and his first wife, Amelia ‘Amy’ Constance Smith.
She was born on Tuesday 25th August 1891 at Momjwa, Upper Burma and baptised 12th December 1891 at Christ Church, Mandalay.
In the pair of photos, below, she is seen, left, on 29th December 1921 and, right, on 29th September 1915.
It appears she sailed to England some time prior to 1908, the year she is recorded as attending Stratford Abbey College for Girls in Stroud, Gloucestershire, in 1908 having obtained an Honours in Class B.
She married Gerard Lovell PETERS on 29th September 1915 at St Mark’s Church, Bangalore. He was then aged 28, an Assistant Rail Traffic Superintendent.
They sailed to England six months after the wedding – in those days, the voyage took about one month and the normal routine was to return to England for six months once every third year.
He was first commissioned in 1907 to the India Defence Force and served with the Madras and Southern Mahrattra Railway Rifles. By 1931 he had been promoted to Lt. Colonel and was appointed Aide de Camp to His Excellency the Rt. Hon. Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Earl of Willingdon, Viceroy and Governor General of India.
He went on to serve with the Royal Engineers in India and retired there. By 1938 the family were living at Hove, East Sussex.
In the photo, left, my grandparents are dressed as Mr and Mrs William Pitt at the Pageant Ball, Government House, Madras, in 1920.
She died on 30th September 1961 at a nursing home in Hove. He died on 5th January 1976 at a nursing home in Putney, London.
There were three children.
2. Doris Evelyn Amy
She was born on Sunday 26th January 1896 at Momjwa, Upper Burma.
She died on Wednesday 17th October 1896 at Hazaribagh of convulsions
3. Phyllis Amy Roussac
She was born on Saturday 5th December 1903 at Shwebo, the daughter of Amelia Constance. She compiled a photo album, the contents of which have been digitised, though it is uncertain if she herself took all the photo
The photo from her album, left, shows Phyllis on board SS Shropshire though it is not known where she was sailing to or from, or with whom. She looks about 6-8 years old which suggests the voyage was 1909-1911.
She was born on Sunday 26th January 1896 at Momjwa, Upper Burma.
She died on Wednesday 17th October 1896 at Hazaribagh of convulsions
3. Phyllis Amy Roussac
She was born on Saturday 5th December 1903 at Shwebo, the daughter of Amelia Constance. She compiled a photo album, the contents of which have been digitised, though it is uncertain if she herself took all the photo
The photo from her album, left, shows Phyllis on board SS Shropshire though it is not known where she was sailing to or from, or with whom. She looks about 6-8 years old which suggests the voyage was 1909-1911.
This photo shows Phyllis Amy, right, with her eldest sister, Isabella Annie, my grandmother, left, with their mother Amy, centre, in June 1909 while they were staying in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Phyllis Amy Roussac died suddenly on 28th May 1917 at Bangalore of Malarial Fever and was buried at the Hosur Road Cemetery, Bangalore.
Her epitaph reads: Beloved daughter of William and Amy Roussac. She is not dead but liveth in the Lord.
