Norway family of South Hill House
Arthur Hamilton Norway married Mary Louisa Gadsden
born in 1859 28 Apr 1892 born 17 May 1861
at Bodmin, Cornwall, England. St John’s Ealing Berhampore, India
Arthur Hamilton (Hamilton) Norway baptised 7 Oct 1859 Egloshayle, Cornwall younger son of Arthur
Stanbury Norway and Georgina Shute entered the Civil Service in 1883. He was assistant secretary of
the General Post office when he married Mary Louisa (Louisa), eldest daughter of Maj Gen Frederick
Gadsden, Indian Staff Corps of Woodcote, Somerset Road, Ealing and Mary Cecil Warlow on
28 Apr 1892 at St John’s Church, Ealing. Arthur was a classical scholar and the author of a number of
travel books including Highways and Byways of Devon and Cornwall in 1898, Highways and byways in
Yorkshire published 1899 and Naples Past and Present published in 1901. His brother Harald was the
Producer/Director of the Playhouse Theatre in Belfast. Arthur married Louisa Gadsden, the daughter
of a Major General Gadsden of the Indian army, on 25th April 1892 in St John's Church, Northfields,
Ealing, London. In 1912, Arthur applied for and accepted the interim job of Secretary to the Post Office
in Ireland. He spent the next few years putting in place new systems and planning a restoration of the
GPO. The newly refurbished GPO opened to the public on the 6 Mar 1916. During their stay in Ireland
they lived at South Hill House at the top of Mount Merrion Avenue, a rambling mansion, on about 13
acres, with stables and a glass house. In 1915 they travelled to France as their son had been Fred
injured, he died in hospital shortly after they arrived. They took his possessions including his uniform
and sword back to Ireland. They left South Hill House and were due to stay with the Wheelers in
Greystones for the remainder of 1916 after a stay at the Royal Hibernian Hotel, Dawson Street, Dublin.
All their furniture was put in storage with the exceptions of Fred’s possessions, Louisa’s Jewellery and
the family silver which they didn’t trust to the furniture storage people, instead these prized
possessions were stored in the GPO. The were staying at the hotel when The Rising happened and
Louisa sewed flags and armbands for the Red Cross. When the GPO was being cleared only a few
brooches given by Fred to his mother were found in the rubble. Louisa published “The Sinn Fein Rising
as I saw it” in August 1916. A series of letters written to ‘G’ in England detailing what she saw and what
she gleaned from Lord Shaw and Dr William de Courcey Wheeler during the days of the Easter Rising.
Hamilton returned to his former position on 1st Jan 1917 and by 1918 they were living in Holland Park,
London and Hamilton was awarded a CB in the New Year Honours List. Hamilton retired in 1921 and
they lived at Montreux, Switzerland for a time. On their return to England Hamilton became a director of
his son’s Company Messes Airspeed Ltd. Louisa died 10 Jun 1932 in Dartmouth, Devon. Hamilton died
25 Dec 1938 at Southsea, Portsmouth and was buried at Long Cross Cemetery in Dartmouth. He left 3K
in personal estate.
1 Frederick Hamilton (Fred) Norway born 31 Oct 1895 at, Somerset Road, Ealing, Middlesex. He
was educated at Rugby School but moved to Trinity College, Dublin after his father’s transfer to
Dublin. Frederick enlisted, taking a commission in the Duke of Cornwall’s light Infantry. His unit
were occupying trenches beneath which German soldiers had tunnelled and packed with high
explosive. It was detonated on the 13 Jun 1915 and 27 soldiers from the regiment were buried
beneath the rubble. Frederick escaped the blast but was caught in the open by German shelling
as he sought to dig survivors from the trench. He suffered serious wounds and was taken to
Wimereux, on the French coast where there was a military hospital. His parents travelled from
Dublin to Wimereux Hospital where he died of wounds received in action, on 4 Jul 1915. 2nd
Lieut Norway was buried at the local cemetery with full military honours with his comrades.
2 Nevil Shute Norway born 17 Jan 1899 at 16 Somerset Road, Ealing, Brentford. He was in Dublin
during the rising and acted as a stretcher bearer for the Red Cross. He undertook training as an
officer in the Royal Flying Corps but didn’t receive a commission, possibly due to his stammer.
He then enlisted in the Army, attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and trained as a
gunner. He served as a soldier in the Suffolk Regiment, enlisting in the ranks in August 1918. He
guarded the Isle of Grain in the Thames Estuary, served in military funeral parties in Kent
during the 1918 flu pandemic and graduated from Oxford in 1922. He worked as an aeronautical
engineer at Vickers before setting up his own airship company. He used his full name in his
engineering career, and ‘Nevil Shute’ as his pen name. In his time, he was the most popular
novelist in the world, his output of 23 books included Trustee from the Tool Room, A town like Alice
and On the Beach. He married Frances Mary Heaton on 7 Mar 1931 daughter of Bernard Heaton
and they had two daughters. He enlisted again at the outbreak of WW2. His celebrity as a writer
caused the Ministry of Information to send him to the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944 and
later to Burma as a correspondent. He finished the war with the rank of Lieutenant Commander
in the RNVR. He died 12 Jan 1960 in Melbourne.
© June Bow & Karen Poff – January 2022
Arthur Hamilton Norway married Mary Louisa Gadsden
born in 1859 28 Apr 1892 born 17 May 1861
at Bodmin, Cornwall, England. St John’s Ealing Berhampore, India
Arthur Hamilton (Hamilton) Norway baptised 7 Oct 1859 Egloshayle, Cornwall younger son of Arthur
Stanbury Norway and Georgina Shute entered the Civil Service in 1883. He was assistant secretary of
the General Post office when he married Mary Louisa (Louisa), eldest daughter of Maj Gen Frederick
Gadsden, Indian Staff Corps of Woodcote, Somerset Road, Ealing and Mary Cecil Warlow on
28 Apr 1892 at St John’s Church, Ealing. Arthur was a classical scholar and the author of a number of
travel books including Highways and Byways of Devon and Cornwall in 1898, Highways and byways in
Yorkshire published 1899 and Naples Past and Present published in 1901. His brother Harald was the
Producer/Director of the Playhouse Theatre in Belfast. Arthur married Louisa Gadsden, the daughter
of a Major General Gadsden of the Indian army, on 25th April 1892 in St John's Church, Northfields,
Ealing, London. In 1912, Arthur applied for and accepted the interim job of Secretary to the Post Office
in Ireland. He spent the next few years putting in place new systems and planning a restoration of the
GPO. The newly refurbished GPO opened to the public on the 6 Mar 1916. During their stay in Ireland
they lived at South Hill House at the top of Mount Merrion Avenue, a rambling mansion, on about 13
acres, with stables and a glass house. In 1915 they travelled to France as their son had been Fred
injured, he died in hospital shortly after they arrived. They took his possessions including his uniform
and sword back to Ireland. They left South Hill House and were due to stay with the Wheelers in
Greystones for the remainder of 1916 after a stay at the Royal Hibernian Hotel, Dawson Street, Dublin.
All their furniture was put in storage with the exceptions of Fred’s possessions, Louisa’s Jewellery and
the family silver which they didn’t trust to the furniture storage people, instead these prized
possessions were stored in the GPO. The were staying at the hotel when The Rising happened and
Louisa sewed flags and armbands for the Red Cross. When the GPO was being cleared only a few
brooches given by Fred to his mother were found in the rubble. Louisa published “The Sinn Fein Rising
as I saw it” in August 1916. A series of letters written to ‘G’ in England detailing what she saw and what
she gleaned from Lord Shaw and Dr William de Courcey Wheeler during the days of the Easter Rising.
Hamilton returned to his former position on 1st Jan 1917 and by 1918 they were living in Holland Park,
London and Hamilton was awarded a CB in the New Year Honours List. Hamilton retired in 1921 and
they lived at Montreux, Switzerland for a time. On their return to England Hamilton became a director of
his son’s Company Messes Airspeed Ltd. Louisa died 10 Jun 1932 in Dartmouth, Devon. Hamilton died
25 Dec 1938 at Southsea, Portsmouth and was buried at Long Cross Cemetery in Dartmouth. He left 3K
in personal estate.
1 Frederick Hamilton (Fred) Norway born 31 Oct 1895 at, Somerset Road, Ealing, Middlesex. He
was educated at Rugby School but moved to Trinity College, Dublin after his father’s transfer to
Dublin. Frederick enlisted, taking a commission in the Duke of Cornwall’s light Infantry. His unit
were occupying trenches beneath which German soldiers had tunnelled and packed with high
explosive. It was detonated on the 13 Jun 1915 and 27 soldiers from the regiment were buried
beneath the rubble. Frederick escaped the blast but was caught in the open by German shelling
as he sought to dig survivors from the trench. He suffered serious wounds and was taken to
Wimereux, on the French coast where there was a military hospital. His parents travelled from
Dublin to Wimereux Hospital where he died of wounds received in action, on 4 Jul 1915. 2nd
Lieut Norway was buried at the local cemetery with full military honours with his comrades.
2 Nevil Shute Norway born 17 Jan 1899 at 16 Somerset Road, Ealing, Brentford. He was in Dublin
during the rising and acted as a stretcher bearer for the Red Cross. He undertook training as an
officer in the Royal Flying Corps but didn’t receive a commission, possibly due to his stammer.
He then enlisted in the Army, attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and trained as a
gunner. He served as a soldier in the Suffolk Regiment, enlisting in the ranks in August 1918. He
guarded the Isle of Grain in the Thames Estuary, served in military funeral parties in Kent
during the 1918 flu pandemic and graduated from Oxford in 1922. He worked as an aeronautical
engineer at Vickers before setting up his own airship company. He used his full name in his
engineering career, and ‘Nevil Shute’ as his pen name. In his time, he was the most popular
novelist in the world, his output of 23 books included Trustee from the Tool Room, A town like Alice
and On the Beach. He married Frances Mary Heaton on 7 Mar 1931 daughter of Bernard Heaton
and they had two daughters. He enlisted again at the outbreak of WW2. His celebrity as a writer
caused the Ministry of Information to send him to the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944 and
later to Burma as a correspondent. He finished the war with the rank of Lieutenant Commander
in the RNVR. He died 12 Jan 1960 in Melbourne.
© June Bow & Karen Poff – January 2022