TOPIC:

Twenty years ago I purchased an ebony box, carved by a P.O.W. at Diyatalawa, Ceylon. On its lid are the arms of the Cope family (of Drummilly, Ireland), and inside the monogram JMC or MJC.

Despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to find any record of a Cope being in Ceylon at this time.

The Cope coat-of-arms can also be seen on another piece, which Vicky Heunis illustrates in her book Krygsgevangenekuns in die Anglo-Boereoorlog (p. 79). This is a very impressive cabinet incorporating three large ebony panels, the central one of which is carved with the arms. This was clearly made for someone of standing, perhaps an officer or a member of the British Administration. But no J. or M. Copes are listed in the Official Army Lists of the period, and, as yet, I have been unable to find any mention of a gentleman with this name connected with Diyatalawa in the newspapers.

The only man I have been able to find is a Colour Sergeant John Cope of the Wiltshire Regiment, but he was stationed there two years after the last Boers left Diyatalawa Camp (from June 1905 to September 1908).

Any ideas?

















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Have you considered the Copes of Bramshill in your search?

Neville, long shot: The Boers in Diyatalawa were apparently guarded by Devonshires and Gordon Highlanders. A quick scan gave only 4 troopers by the name of Cope listed in these 2 Regiments. I can imagine that one of these was a guard and looking for a nice present to give a family member when he went home, using his signet ring as base for the carving. Perhaps if you research these 4 further you find a link to J.M. or M.J. Cope.

Neville,

The Cope Family had several branches with the Irish branch appearing to be an inferior one. All the branches had similar coats of arms but with subtle variations and I would say there are subtle variations in all three examples you have shown. The link below takes you to a blog about Drummilly House and its inhabitants where a fourth subtly different coat of arms is shown. Using this blog and public family trees on Ancestry there does not seem to be any of the Irish Cope family who were involved in the South African War and definitely not one with the initials JMC or MJC. One of the daughters married an artist who took a great interest in military matters as shown by his paintings including scenes from the South African War. As nobody on this forum seems to have come across him I will in time generate a post about him. Final thought, could the monogram on the box refer to the maker rather than the commissioner?

lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.co.../drumilly-house.html

Regards, David.

PS based on the service records of one of my Smethwickians the 2nd Btn KRRC were involved in guarding PoW's in Ceylon but there is not a Cope on their medal roll.

Thank you everyone for your input.

David, I had similarly drawn a blank with regard to the Irish Copes. No JMC or MJC. If one goes back to the eighteenth century, there was a Sir John Mordaunt Cope on the Bramshill side. I also have a bookplate of similar date featuring a J.M. Cope's coat-of-arms, though these are quartered with those of an as yet unidentified family.




I don't think the monogram is that of the maker.


Everhard's idea that the box and cabinet were made as gifts for someone back home is certainly a possibility. I have another box which was commissioned by Captain Lionel Wallace Spiller, 3rd Bn. Wiltshire Regiment, as a gift for Georgiana Rolls, Baroness Llangattock (mother of Charles Stewart Rolls, co-founder of Rolls-Royce Ltd). Spiller had been Lord Llangattock's private secretary before the ABW, and in 1907 is recorded as living at "The Hendre", Monmouth, which was the Llangattock residence. This highlights the fact that the arms/crest on a P.O.W. carving can sometimes belong to a person who had no direct connection with the war at all.

However, even if an officer had commissioned a piece of the proportions of the cabinet (a very handsome gift indeed), there remains the question: who on earth was J.M. / M.J. Cope?











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Neville, a final thought on this matter. Your Baroness Llangattock box raises the possibility that the monogram and the crest have no connection and that the presence of a “C” in the monogram is purely coincidental. Given the unusually high quality of the box and its carving, it would seem not unimaginable that a maker would want to leave his mark one way or other. The Monogram could then be any combination of the letters C,M and J. This reasoning equally applies tor someone who commissioned the box and was not a Cope. In the first instance there is a possibility to find the maker or at least hone the list of potential candidates down to a few names. The second possibility would, of course, be much harder to research.