Bandinel family papers

This collection of family papers consisting of a diary kept by Julia Marian Bandinel, a letter book containing extracts of letters and memoranda by her brother [James Julius] Frederick Bandinel and material relating to family history in particular the Le Mesurier family to which the Bandinel's were related.

Julia Marian Bandinel (1859-1950) and her brother James Julius Frederick Bandinel (1845-1912) were the children of Reverend James Bandinel (1814-1892), clergyman, author and poet. Frederick was born in Belstead, Suffolk and was educated at Westminster School and Oriel College Oxford. He became involved in the tea trade which took him and his wife, Jane Gill, to China. In 1875 he was appointed Consul for the Netherlands and Vice-Consul for the USA in Newchwang in Manchuria. Between 1882 and 1894 he took on further onerous diplomatic roles and by the beginning of the Sino-Japanese war in 1894, and the occupation of Newchwang in 1895, he and his family were at the centre of the conflict and frequently feared for their lives. The family lived through the Boxer rising in 1900 and the Russian occupation of Newchwang and the Russian war with Japan. Badinel retired from his diplomatic career in 1907 and was decorated by Germany and Japan in acknowledgement of his consular service during turbulent times.

Sources: http://bandinel.blogspot.com (accessed 28 Jan 2008); http://en.wikipedia.org (accessed 28 Jan 2008)

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Former location: MSS 7/iii/11
Acquisition reported in the University Librarian's Annual Report 1967/1968

Material relating to other members of the Bandinel family can be found at various repositories including the Bodleian Library, British Library and Duke University, North Carolina.