Frank Linsly James

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(21 April 1851 – 21 April 1890) was an English

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

. He was the son of American parents: Liverpool-based merchant Daniel James and Sophia Hall (Hitchcock) James. He was born and raised in Liverpool; the 1861 census shows him living at his parents' home of Oakwood House, Elmswood Road, Aigburth, Liverpool. The 1871 census shows him again living at his parents' home, but now at Beaconsfield House,

Woolton Woolton (; ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located southeast of the city and is bordered by Allerton, Gateacre, Halewood, and Hunt's Cross. At the 2011 Census, the population was 12,921. Overview Originally a standalone ...

, occupation "Under Graduate, Cambridge". In 1890 his home was 14 Great Stanhope Street in the county of Middlesex. James explored in Sudan, Somalia, India and Mexico often using his private yacht ''Lancashire Witch'', often accompanied by one or both of his brothers –

John Arthur James John Arthur James, MVO DL (1853–1917) was the son of a wealthy Liverpool merchant who became a friend of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), sharing his interest in horse racing. In 1885 he married Mary Venetia Cavendish-Bentinck (186 ...

and William (Willie) Dodge James. After Frank's death Willie James used the ''Lancashire Witch'' for a period. The yacht was formerly owned by Sir Thomas Hesketh. In 1894 the ''Lancashire Witch'' was purchased by the Admiralty and became the survey vessel HMS ''Waterwitch''. Frank James wrote ''Wild Tribes of the Sudan'' (1883) and ''The Unknown Horn of Africa'' (1888). He was killed in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

, West Africa by a wounded elephant. He was buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

, exhumed in 1917 and re-interred in the family plot at

West Dean, West Sussex West Dean is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parishes include the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove. The civ ...

HMS Waterwitch, formally Lancashire Witch

His writing was not without humour and in ''The Unknown Horn of Africa'' (p. 20), when seeking advice from British Agent Langton Prendergast Walsh on how best to procure camels and handlers for the expedition, he recalls: "Well, I felt I was nowhere and nohow.

Berbera Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...

is hot place, and the superior physique of Mr. Walsh was beginning to tell; his energy and emphasis were oppressing without impressing me, and seemed to increase, as though he were receiving all I was losing. Another minute and I might have abandoned hope; but he paused for breath and Dualla shot in to the rescue". Obviously not amused, forty-two years later Walsh devoted a chapter in his book ''Under the Flag - and Somali Coast Stories'' to the James expedition. He considers that he had been "held up to obloquy for my actions and attitude towards the James party". He is critical of the way the expedition was organised, and writes that he had to intervene to prevent the party being "wiped out and looted". Frank James is commemorated in the name of the three-streaked tchagra (''Tchagra jamesi'') and the Frank James Hospital,

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

, Isle of Wight. File:Frank James Plaque.jpg, Commemorative plaque St Andrew's Church; West Dean; West Sussex UK File:Frank James Memorial Hospital.jpg, Frank James Hospital in 1903 File:The Lancashire Witch.JPG, "Lancashire Witch" wind vane on Frank James Hospital, East Cowes, Isle of Wight File:Lancashire Witch Yacht.jpg, Lloyd's yacht register 1889–1890 File:Lancashire Witch yacht2.jpg, Lancashire Witch purchased by the Admiralty File:Grave of Frank Linsly James.jpg, Grave in West Dean Cemetery. The remains of F L James moved from Kensal Green Cemetery in 1917. File:Memorial to Frank Linsly James in Kensal Green Cemetery.jpg, Memorial to Frank Linsly James in

References

External links

James, Frank Linsly (1851-1890), explorer in Africa
by Thomas Seccombe rev. Elizabeth Baigent in Dictionary of National Biography {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Frank Linsly 1851 births 1890 deaths Deaths due to elephant attacks English explorers Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery People from Aigburth