Talk:Okukor

George William Neville

The article had described the donor of the bronze to the college, George William Neville, as "a captain in the British Army during the 1897 Benin Exhibition [sic]" - this was wrong and has now been removed. However, it has been repeated elsewhere so here is a brief biog.

George William Neville (1852-1929) was a businessman and banker.

He was agent of shipping firm Elder Dempster, general agent of the African Steamship Company and British & African Steamship Company, 1875-1899, founder and director of the Bank of British West Africa and chairman of the British Colonial Petroleum Corporation, amongst other appointments.

He was appointed an Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) of the Colony of Lagos in 1895 and re-appointed in 1898.

After the Benin Expedition of 1897, the news agency Reuters reported from Lagos on 15 March 1897:-

"The Hon. G. W. Neville, arrived here yesterday from Benin City. The column with which he travelled took the Gwato route, the same as that taken by the late disastrous mission. They encamped on the first night at the town of Ogbini. Next morning, after two hours' marching, they came on the scene of the late massacre, finding at frequent intervals the headless bodies of the unfortunate victims. Here Captain Gallwey, who was in charge of the column, superintended the interment of the bodies, a brief service being held, which was most impressive, in the midst of the dense, silent forest. ... Mr. Neville brought to Lagos specimens of antique ivory, bronze, and other native ornaments."

Neville died at Weybridge on 23 November 1929. A photo of a fireplace in his house (Weylea, Weybridge) shows various Benin artefacts. His collection of Benin bronzes was sold by auction on 1 May 1930. Nedrutland (talk) 09:08, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

References

Thanks, Nedrutland. Unfortunately I had to try to make the most of the sources available to me three years ago and reconcile the various piece of information, including the BBC describing him as "Captain George William Neville" [1], and Varsity as "Captain George William Neville, a former British Army Officer" [2] Plainly that was wrong, although I wonder if he had some sort of office in the local forces. It would be interesting to know what the plaque in Jesus College hall used to say. Neville's role with the African Banking Corporation and the Bank of British West Africa were important.[3] I thought I had seen something suggesting Neville had attended the college too, but perhaps that was my misunderstanding, and that looks unlikely. Most of the rest of it seems to stand up reasonable well, but I'll let you decide what to throw away and what to keep.

For what it is worth, Neville seems to have presented the bronze to Jesus College in 1905, and then a bequest is recorded in 1930 (he died in 1929: there is a note in The Times, on 30 November 1929, Issue 45374, page 14, that "One of Neville's exploits was to accompany the punitive military exhibition to Benin in 1897, from which he returned with a remarkable collection of Benin curiosities."; and see this, page 64). Some of the other Benin objects that he took were exhibited before (for example, see the Court Circular in The Times on 1 July 1897, which reports loans to the Royal Colonial Institute, of "Some interesting bronzes from Benin City, the precise origin of which is at present unknown ... lent by the Hon. G.W. Neville, M.L.C., of Lagos").

We probably also need something explaining that the "bronzes" are typically brass.

Happy editing. Theramin (talk) 01:58, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Thank you, Theramin. It is hard to prove a negative but if Neville held a commission in the British Army, it would be recorded in the London Gazette; it is not. Using a Google search, the earliest mention of "Captain George William Neville" is from March 2016 so I think it is safe to discount the claim.

The college recorded the 'gift' in 1905 but, as far as I can see, only marked Neville's death in 1930 so I do not see evidence that the cock was bequeathed (i.e. given on his death). A search of 'A Cambridge Alumni Database' (which covers up to c 1900) does not show G.W. Neville as a student. His son at Jesus will be George John Ernest Neville (1886-1974).

I do find it interesting that as early as 1 July 1897 some of his collection from Benin was displayed on loan to the Royal Colonial Institute.

I accept that the broad 'copper alloy' is preferred by museums now but 'Benin Bronzes' is the familiar accepted term.

Nedrutland (talk) 10:59, 1 March 2021 (UTC)