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Elliot George Drake-Brockman and his wife lived at “Newington” in Upper Stoneborough Lane in the 1930s until his death in January 1940 in the Cottage Hospital. He was born in February 1867 in Cawnpore (1) one of the ten children of William Drake Brockman and his wife Louisa (nee Battie) and baptised in Lucknow. His father was an engineer with the Public Works Department. In 1884 Elliot sat his Higher Grade Oxford and Cambridge School Board Examinations at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, (which also educated several other Drake-Brockmans), and then went up to Trinity College Oxford (2). In 1886 he achieved the third highest mark in the examination for employment in the ICS (Civil Service of India) (3). He went to India two years later arriving in November 1888.

The India List & India Office List of 1905 records him holding the following posts in different parts of Bengal:- From 1888 Assistant Magistrate and Collector, from January 1895 Joint Magistrate and Deputy Collector, from October 1899 Magistrate and Collector , and from June 1900 District and Session Judge. The list unfortunately does not indicate in which parts of Bengal he served but this can be partially inferred from where his children were born and his list of publications.

In November 1894 he married Ethel May Hunter at Christ Church, Bankipur, Bihar, and their first child Margaret was born in Suri in October 1895 (4). Suri, is the administrative headquarter of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. His work would have been very peripatetic and earlier in the year he was in Gaya, Bihar, as Officiating Magistrate and Collector (5). A daughter, Silvia, was born in Monghyr (now Munger) in December 1898 and christened in February 1899 in Ranchi; both places are in the Bihar region. A third child, Rupert was born in September 1900 in Midnapore, West Bengal.

While Elliot was in post he wrote several short treaties on Indian law. The first of these appeared in 1898, “Notes on the early administration of the district of Birbhum”. His time in Midnapore furnished information for the publication of “Notes on the early judicial administration of the district of Midnapore” in 1904.

By 1912 Elliot had been on the move again and their fourth child, Humphrey, was born in February at Guwahati which is now the largest city in Assam & North East India. In 1914 he published “A commentary on the law of insolvency in British India”.

In April 1917 in Bhagalpur his eldest daughter Margaret married Colin R B Murray of the Indian Police. Colin became Inspector-General of Police, Orissa and received a New Years Honour in 1946 and later moved to Malaya before they returned to Kent.

Drake-Brockman’s career in India ended in April 1920 when he was granted leave for two years but he resigned his post in November 1921 (6). In 1920 he had been described as “District and Session Judge for Bhagalpur Bihar” (on the south bank of the River Ganges). Also in 1921 he published “A brief treatise on jurisdiction”.

On returning to England he probably lived in Winchester initially(7) but by 1925 or earlier Elliot & Ethel had moved to “Cheriton” in Stevenstone Road, Exmouth and stayed there till about 1930 (voters lists). Their son Rupert is also on the lists but he was away in the Royal Artillery. While in Exmouth Elliot was an enthusiastic supporter of the Exmouth Branch of the National Citizens’ Union and became a Vice-Chairman in January 1929 (8). He also made small contributions to the buildings & endowment fund of the University College of the South West in 1926 & 1928.  The 1931 voters list shows that they had moved to Budleigh Salterton to “Newington” in Upper Stoneborough Lane. He was a member of the croquet club and is mentioned in newspaper accounts as playing in tournaments in 1930, 1931 & 1932.

Elliot died in January 1940 and his wife appears to have sold their house shortly afterwards as a Mrs Cundall was advertising for a cook-general in October. Ethel moved initially to Saltwood in Hampshire (BT record) but by 1946 she was back in Budleigh at “Cheriton” in the cul-de-sac off South Parade (town directory). It seems likely that her youngest son Humphrey was staying with her as he is mentioned in newspaper accounts playing in tournaments at the East Devon Golf Club. He appears not to have married and had some medical problem because in the 1939 census he was in Posbury House in Crediton which was a convalescent home and he was referred to as being temporarily incapacitated. His mother had left Budleigh Salterton before 1957 as “Cheriton” was occupied by Mr & Mrs Dodds. Ethel died in Saltwood, Kent, in March 1955.

Researched and written by Roger Lendon, © June 2017

(1) Times of India
(2) Oxford University Alumni 1500-1886
(3) St. James Gazette 1886
(4) London Evening Standard 23 October 1895
(5) Letter to the Commissioner of the Patna Division dated Gaya 12th July 1894
(6) Pioneer Mail and Indian Weekly News - Volume 47 - Page 46 1920
(7) Express & Echo 1940
(8) Exeter & Plymouth Gazette 31 January 1929

BS-B-00079 Biography