Richard B. Rushall | |
|---|---|
 Rushall in September 1930 | |
| Born | 6 March 1865 |
| Died | 3 February 1953(1953-02-03) (aged 87) Rangoon, Burma |
| Occupation(s) | Ship's captain, businessman, mayor |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 8 |
| Relatives | Helen Rushall (daughter-in-law) |
CaptainRichard Boswell RushallMBE (6 March 1865 – 3 February 1953) was a British sea captain and businessman who served as mayor ofRangoon, Burma, during the 1930s. He was the first Englishman to hold this position. Born inBraunston,Northamptonshire, Rushall was the eldest of eight children. After finishing school he left for sea, joined the UK'sMerchant Navy, and became a ship's captain. He spent 20 years with theIrrawaddy Flotilla Company, of which 17 were in command ofsteamships belonging to the company. In 1908 he settled in Rangoon with his family, resigned from the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and founded Rushall & Co. Ltd., astevedoring and contracting business that employed between 3,000 and 4,000 men.
In December 1922 Rushall was elected as an Honorary Magistrate, and was subsequently made aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his distinguished service during theFirst World War. He was elected as mayor of Rangoon in January 1930, in an election that was described by Singapore'sThe Straits Times as having given "universal satisfaction". During his time as mayor, he sought to improve the accommodation and quality of care in the city hospital and to ensure that a fair share of stevedoring jobs in Rangoon were allotted to native dock labourers. During theSecond World War Rushall evacuated toBombay; he died at the age of 87 in Rangoon, where he was commended byKyaw Tha for his work and character as mayor.
Richard Boswell Rushall was born on 6 March 1865 in Braunston, Northamptonshire,[1] and was the eldest of eight children.[nb 1][2] His father, Benjamin Rushall (1825–1900), was asaddler; his mother was Mary Boswell (1843–1918).[3] After finishing school as a young man, Rushall left for sea and joined the Merchant Navy; he served asthird officer on one of theBritish-India Steam Navigation Company's coasting steamers.[4]
Rushall first began to reside permanently in Rangoon at the age of 20. He served an apprenticeship toSandbach, Tinne & Co. that terminated in 1886, and that same year he joined the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company. He stayed with the company for 20 years, of which 17 were spent in command of their steamships.[5] Despite failing three times in the subject of Navigation in 1887, he eventually earned his certificate of competency assecond mate from theLords of Trade on 8 March 1888, and subsequently rose to the rank of ship's captain – he was aboard one of the final ships to travelunder sail aroundCape Horn. He married his first wife, Jane Amelia Graham (1872–1899), on 10 September 1892 in Burma, at the age of 27. He and Jane had two children together: Nancy (born 1897) and Benjamin Thomas (1898–1980).[6] Jane died on 19 June 1899.
While in Rangoon, Rushall met and married Charlotte Sarah Trype (1882–1933)—the daughter of the localstation manager[7]—and settled in the city in 1908 with his second wife and their three daughters: Ella Irene (born 1905), Charlotte Mary (1907–1963), and Cecelia.[2] Whilst there, he resigned from the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and, in 1906, founded Rushall & Co. Ltd., a stevedoring and contracting business located at 121 Judah Ezekiel Street (now Thein Phyu Road[8]) next to the docks of the city.[9][10] The company employed between 3,000 and 4,000 men.[11]
Over the following years, Rushall and Charlotte had three further children: Edna Helen (1909–1910), Richard Boswell (1911–2002) and Edgar Boswell (1916–2002). Charlotte left with the family in 1913 forRugby, Warwickshire, where she set up and managed two businesses: a brick factory and Rugby Motor Transport Co., a haulage contracting business dealing in lorries andcharabancs.[12][13] Rushall remained in Rangoon to tend to his own company. Charlotte died in Rugby on 30 April 1933, with the Rugby Motor Transport Co. beingwound-up two months later.[14]
During the First World War, Rushall worked asharbourmaster at Rangoon's harbour, and in December 1922 he was elected as an Honorary Magistrate in the Rangoon Municipal Elections,[15][16] whereupon he devoted himself to the improvement of the city's public parks and war memorial.[17] He worked for eight years as a Councillor of the Corporation of Rangoon,[1] and was subsequently made an MBE for his distinguished service during the war.[18] He served as Chairman of the Roads and Buildings Committee, and also sat on the committees for public health and markets, playgrounds, and the protection ofwaifs and strays. From 1928 he was vice president of the hospital and governor ofRangoon University.[1] Other public offices that he held included governor of thegaol and member of the Reformatory School Board.[5]
As a result of his public service in Rangoon, Rushall became known toThibaw Min, the last king of Burma'sKonbaung dynasty, and in 1925 he attended the funeral ofSupayalat, the king's favourite wife. On 6 January 1930, Rushall became the first Englishman to be elected mayor of Rangoon,[1] and was seen as a popular choice for the position – at the time, Singapore's paperThe Straits Times described his election as having given "universal satisfaction".[17] According to theRugby Advertiser, Rushall was "extremely popular both among the European and the native population of the city", and was "well known for his numerous acts of kindliness and charity".[1]
Rushall's first year as mayor proved to be challenging: in March he was compelled to give evidence at the trial ofJatindra Mohan Sengupta, the mayor ofCalcutta, who was accused of sedition in speeches he had made during a visit to Rangoon.[19] During the trial a riot erupted outside the courthouse.[20] Sengupta was subsequently acquitted.[21] In May, further riots—this time of anti-Burmese Indian sentiment—sprung up in Rangoon and across the rest of the country following a strike by Indiancoolies. One such riot lasted throughout the night of 26 May, and resulted in the deaths of 120 Indians and more than 900 injuries.[22] When Rushall's son Richard came to visit him during this time, Rushall immediately sent him up theRangoon River and away from the civil disorder for 2–3 months.
Also in 1930, Rushall gave a banquet for which he commissioned the Burmese painterBa Nyan to make individual paintings for each of the 80 guests' menu cards.[23] Ba Nyan submittedgouaches of street signs and sailing ships.[24] In November, Rushall supported a resolution to improve the accommodation and quality of care in the city hospital,[25] and the following year, he sat on a committee to ensure that a fair share of stevedoring jobs in Rangoon were allotted to native dock labourers.[26]
Following theJapanese invasion of Burma in early 1942, Rushall evacuated from the country with his daughter Nancy.[27] He stayed out the Second World War in Bombay, but eventually returned to Rangoon, where he died on 3 February 1953, at the age of 87.[2] Upon his death, Kyaw Tha—chairman of the Commissioners of the Port of Rangoon[28]—commended him as a "born gentleman", and praised his work at the city's hospital and his "kindliness and infectious friendliness".
