The Union Castle Connection
Why call a whole branch of the Inkson family the 'Union Castle' Inksons? The answer is simple. From the founder George Harborow onwards, many of the family had strong or weak connections with what was, in its day, one of Britain's most important shipping lines. The story of Union Castle can be found at its web domain. This page gives some of the connections between the family and the company. In case you are wondering, the background colour approximates to 'Union Castle Lavender' with which the ships' hulls were painted and Pursers' crew uniforms trimmed.
All of the thumbnail ships' pictures below are active links : click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture. The larger picture will open in a new tab on your browser, just close it to return here.
George Harborow Inkson spent virtually all his working life at sea with the Castle and then the Union Castle line. His first two voyages were as a Saloon Boy and then he became the Captain's 'Tiger' [his personal manservant]. Over the years he then worked his way up through the ranks to become Chief Steward in which capacity he served on many ships until retiring from ill health after 40 years service. The family still have the full set of his discharge papers so we are able to set out that service in full. Clicking on the small pictures in the table below will show you the full size picture, many of which are taken from company postcards :
At this point there is a gap in service as he prepares to marry Bridget Mary. They married in October 1908 but he stays ashore until early the following year when he rejoins Union Castle.
All three of George Harborow's sons followed him into Union Castle, not necessarily throughout their careers.
Cyril George Inkson did spend all his career with the company, except for his army service during WW2. Unlike his father, he worked on the office staff in Southampton in the Outward Freight department where he was known as 'Pat' because of his Irish descent. There was a short time when he was posted to Liverpool at the start of WW2 because Southampton became unsafe.
He played cricket for the Southampton office in the annual match against the London Office.
John Cherry Inkson went to sea as a librarian but then joined the RAF when WW2 started and stayed in after the war, never returning to Union Castle.
James Inkson was also in the RAF during WW2. After the war he served on the Union Castle shore staff in Southampton, ultimately responsible for the administration of all Southampton based sea-going officers. His service was interrupted during the Suez crisis when he was taken back into the RAF for a while.
He played tennis for the Southampton office in the annual match against the London Office.
Several of George Harborow's grandsons also worked for Union Castle but never as a long term career.
Michael Brian Inkson served as a 'Bridge Boy' on the Pretoria Castle for a mail run to South Africa in 1964 ...
... and again as a Deckhand on the SA Vaal [Transvaal Castle transferred to Safmarine] for two mail runs in 1968.
Graham Martin Inkson served as a 'Bridge Boy' on the Windsor Castle for a mail run to South Africa in 1967. He then joined Union Castle on the office staff in Southampton for a short while but then moved on to better things.
Timothy Richard Inkson served as a 'Bridge Boy' too.