Northey Silver Tankard Venetia Kelly January 2021
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Front and back of the Northey tankard (courtesy Venetia Kelly)
It’s a tragedy that Covid has caused such disruption to our lives but it’s also an ill-wind from which some good and some interesting things have emerged. One such was a curious phone call we received from Tam Balloch of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and further correspondence from Venetia in New Zealand – all about the Northey family of Box. Venetia wrote:
It is only because I had time on my hands due to Covid that I decided to do some investigating about a tankard in my family’s possession. My understanding was that the tankard was purchased by an English antique dealer who had an antique shop in Christchurch, New Zealand but we don't know the details of how it came here. The parents of my partner’s half-sister brought it from this antique shop and it has been in our possession since about 1965-66.
The tankard was presented to George Wilbraham Northey on the occasion of his promotion to Captain in the Cameronians on
21 February 1860. It is interesting that his eldest son, George Edward Northey, came to New Zealand at aged 18 in 1883 and returned home in 1885. I wondered why the son would want this tankard that belonged to his father who was still alive? Interestingly the antique dealer was in Christchurch which is the same area that George Edward came to.
Thanks to the vicar of Box Church, I have found surviving Northey relatives who told me that the family sold a lot of memorabilia to pay off George Edward’s business debts incurred in New Zealand. His father had to bail him out and this may be the reason the tankard got here. I did tell them of the war medals of Herbert Hamilton Northey which were auctioned two years ago. Sad that all these military memorabilia have been lost to the family. At least, I have managed to return the silver tankard to the family to keep in their rightful home.
It is only because I had time on my hands due to Covid that I decided to do some investigating about a tankard in my family’s possession. My understanding was that the tankard was purchased by an English antique dealer who had an antique shop in Christchurch, New Zealand but we don't know the details of how it came here. The parents of my partner’s half-sister brought it from this antique shop and it has been in our possession since about 1965-66.
The tankard was presented to George Wilbraham Northey on the occasion of his promotion to Captain in the Cameronians on
21 February 1860. It is interesting that his eldest son, George Edward Northey, came to New Zealand at aged 18 in 1883 and returned home in 1885. I wondered why the son would want this tankard that belonged to his father who was still alive? Interestingly the antique dealer was in Christchurch which is the same area that George Edward came to.
Thanks to the vicar of Box Church, I have found surviving Northey relatives who told me that the family sold a lot of memorabilia to pay off George Edward’s business debts incurred in New Zealand. His father had to bail him out and this may be the reason the tankard got here. I did tell them of the war medals of Herbert Hamilton Northey which were auctioned two years ago. Sad that all these military memorabilia have been lost to the family. At least, I have managed to return the silver tankard to the family to keep in their rightful home.