Genealogical Research of the "LEE" Family of White Roothing - Essex, England; and Hyderabad, India - By Air Marshal Douglas G. King-Lee <PVSM, AVSM, IAF (Retd).

I am carrying out genealogical reserch on the "LEE" family of White Roothing, Essex, England; and Hyderabad, India, and shall be extremely grateful for any information in respect of this famly, particularly wirh regards to SAMUELl LEE and his father JAMES LEE. I will gladly make good postal expenses with IRC's.

Known facts are as follows:

SAMUEL LEE, as per British Army Records, was born at White Roothing, Essex, England. On calculation of his date of birth from his age as given in various army and other documents, he was probably born in 1796 (October?) though one document seems to indicate that he could have been born as late as 1804. His father was JAMES LEE but his mother's name is not known. No information available on JAMES LEE. He might have been a farmer.

SAMUEL enlisted in the 69th Regiment of Foot at Canterbury on the 12th December 1818. On the 12th April 1820, enroute to join his Regiment in India, he embarked as an army guard on a convict ship transporting deportees to Australia, via the Cape of Good Hope. After delivering the convicts to New South wales and Van Dieman's Land, he arrived at Madras in 1821 on the ship AGAMAMNOTT in order to join the fighting echelon of his Regiment at CANNANORE. In October 1824 he was promoted to the rank of School Master Sergeant, and on the 30th May 1824, at POONAMALLE, he married CAROLINE HALL, the widow of Sergeant WRAY, and probably the daughter of CORPORAL HALL of the British Army located at HUBLI. On the eve of the return of the 69th Regiment to England he transferred to the 48th Regiment of Foot in July 1825, and was discharged in September 1825, probably in order to join the newly formed HYDERABAD CONTINGENT of the British East India Company's Army. While subsequently continuing to serve in the army, he also was employed as a school master to the Nizam of Hyderabad's family.

On the 9th October 1826, a son (SAMUEL II) was born to SAMUEL and CAROLINE, at Hyderabad, and a daughter, (REBECCA) in 1830, They possibly also had another son, WILLIAM, who was killed at MHOW in 1857, during the Indian Mutiny, while serving with the British Army. CAROLINE died at SECUNDERABAD on the 3rd March 1848 and SAMUEL married ANNE, the daughter of JAMES DANIEL and widow of Mr. GOODE on 22nd. January 1849. From this marriage three children were born, i.e. JAMES EBENEZER, EMILY MARION and AGNES CAROLINE. He retired from the Army in 1855 with the Rank of Conductor (RSM), drew a British Army Pension for 20 years, volunteered for active general service again in 1861 (at the age of 64 years!) and died at BANGALORE on the 4th February 1875, at the age of 78 years 4 Months as per the inscription on his tombstone.(There are two alphabets "O.D." written against his name on the burial details from the register, and could he have been an "Odained Deacon" after retirement from the Army? Any suggestions what "O.D." means please?))

REBECCA LEE, the daughter of SAMUEL LEE Senior, married CHARLES PRAYERO - of the British Military Secretary's Office, HYDERABAD, on the 30th June 1847, at which time she was 17 years of age and CHARLES was 22 years old.

SAMUEL LEE (II) married REBEKAH (aged 17 years) daughter of GEORGE MURRAY at SECUNDERABAD on 25th June 1847, at which time he was a writer (Rank equivalent to Ensign) in the Office of the British Military Secretary to the British Resident in Hyderabad. A son, GEORGE ALEXENDER was born on 12th July 1856. SAMUEL LEE (II) died at Secunderabad on the 25th April 1866 aged 39 years and 6 months.

GEORGE LEE was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Nizam of Hyderabad's army, on the 12th February 1877, at the age of 20 years 6 months. He married EVA FLORENCE (aged 18 years), the daughter of HENRY WILLIAM KING in HYDERABAD. They had eight children; the youngest, born on the 19th May 1896 was named CARLTON DESMOND KING-LEE. EVA died on the 22nd November 1908 and in 1910 GEORGE married LILLIAN FLANNIGAN; they had two daughters RINA and BONNY. GEORGE LEE died at HYDERABAD on the 13th Septemer 1931 (Profession listed "Landed Proprietor").

CARLTON DESMOND KING-LEE joined the British Army - Royal Engineers (L of C) and during World War I , he fought in Mesopotamia and various other theatres in Africa and the Middle East. He later served on the Great Indian Peninsular Railway. On the 27th June 1923 he married IRENE RUBY COLLINS-NUTTALL, the daughter of WILLIAM JAMES and MARY ADA NUTTALL, at NAGPUR. They had five sons and one daughter, the eldest DOUGLAS GEORGE was born at NAGPUR on the 9th November 1925. IRENE RUBY died in the 15th June 1938 at the age of 34 years and 11 months, and on the 29th May 1940 CARLTON married her sister SYBIL ADA. CARLTON died in 1948 in NAGPUR and SYBIL ADA died at ST. NEOTS, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, ENGLAND in 1976. The whole family, except DOUGLAS, moved to England in 1950.

DOUGLAS GEORGE married HAZEL ESMEE GODFREY, the daughter of STANLEY and BELINDA GODFREY at NAGPUR on the 3rd May 1950; they have two children, CARLTON DERYCK and HEATHER IRENE. DOUGLAS served in the Royal Indian Air Force / Indian Air Force for 40 years. He flew Spitfire fighters in Burma during World War II, and, having served from 1943 to December 1983 retired with the Rank of Air Marshal - Air Officer Commanding in Chief Eastern Air Command.

Correspondence may please be directly addressed to: Air Marshal D.G. KING-LEE, PVSM, AVSM (Retd); Apt: 2031, Highpoint 2, 45 Palace Road, Bangalore 560 001, India. Telephone: 091 80 22268719.
Email: douglaslee@sify.com  and kinglee@yahoo.com

Return to the Anglo-Indian Home Page"

Photographs of Bangalore

Return to Home Page : India Hello, Bangalore Walla, Namaskara!

Thought for the Day:" Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, Fon in the manner their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did they fathers to the false prophets." Holy Bible: Luke 6:20-26