Merran White, writing in August 2003, states: "My grandmother was Ruby Jullion and her daughter, Chloe Ruby Crabbe, is my mother. I am absolutely fascinated by the information  ... and my mother (who is 93) has several documents in her possession with regard to the Jullion family.  She too is intrigued by all the information available."

The film industry was an incidental background story in this series and there was, of course, an Art Director/Production//Set Designer, named Albert Jullion - best known for his production design on Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1935 film of John Buchan's 1915 story, The 39 Steps. Other credits include The Secret Agent/Sabotage - Production Designer, Set Designer, 1936 - The Lady Vanishes - Set Designer, 1938 and Idol of Paris - Art Director, 1948.

These two photographs of Claude Jullion in military uniform were taken when he was in a play called 'The Death and Glory Boys'.  Eleanor (his mother) and sister Ruby used to buy bladders of lard to make up a mixture for removing his make-up.

Claude used to own a pet jackdaw that talked and mother remembers the bird hopping around."

"The Death and Glory Boys" was the nickname of the 17th Lancers - who later adopted as their badge, the skull and crossbones. It was one of the regiments of the Light Brigade, whose cavalry charge at Balaclava, in 1854, became the subject of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's immortal poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade" written in October, 1864.

Taken on stage in front of the backdrop to his then current production, this photograph shows Claude with his two sons. "The eldest, Fred Jullion, went into the Navy and later the Fleet Air Arm. John Jullion was the son of the second marriage. Claude's first wife was Mabel Williams the mother of Fred Jullion. Mabel died as the result of a haemorrhage. His second wife was Mary Long - the mother of John Jullion."

John clearly has Jullion eyes. (See below)

The history of this Gardner line goes back to the time of Edward 1 (1239 - 1307).  I have miniature paintings of Capt. Francis Geary Gardner and his wife, Elizabeth Ann Wells.  This is Francis in Royal Marine uniform."

Site Notes

The high forehead, hair-line and bright (deep) set eyes would suggest that the portrait on the right is Francis Geary Gardner as a child rather than a Jullion family member. The setting of "Jullion" eyes, broadly speaking, tends to be quite distinctive. Additionally, the style of the portrait - particularly the landscape - and the fashion, is probably more in keeping with an eighteenth century work.

Merran has subsequently added: "Something my mother has told me that Ruby said to her about Henry Tragenza Jullion is that he was Bishop of Antigua Cathedral in St. Kitts - although we are not certain about this."

The small colour images (below) are vignettes taken from a 19th century Jullion family Dance Card and Programme. Two of these exist, the earlier being the one shown below which belonged to Eleanor (Clarke) Jullion and upon which, as Merran points out, " ... there aren't that many names filled in since her husband, Frederick Henry Jullion, was Master of Ceremonies on this occasion."

This earlier card - dated the day after St. Valentine's Day, 1884 - also demonstrates that Frederick Henry Jullion was involved with The First Gloucestershire Volunteer Artillery Corps, being ranked as Orderly Room Sergeant. According to a later (1894) Bristol Kingswood Directory, Frederick H. Jullion was also an Auctioneer - which profession would have made him ideally suited to the role of Master of Ceremonies for the evening, whilst Eleanor was more than occupied with her duties as his partner!

The 1890 programme from which the vignettes are taken belonged to Frederick Henry Jullion himself - and the Artillery Corps function was held on the exact day of St. Valantine's Day, 14th February of this year. Frederick was not "on duty" on this occasion. Merran notes that " ... he danced all twenty-two dances! Although the pencilling is now very faded, I can still make out some of the names on the card: Mrs. J. (his wife), a partner named Florence and a Mrs. Aldersley."

The "Promenade" was scheduled for 8.30pm and the first dance listed was "The Outpost" - a Polka - the dance genre popularised in England by the conductor and impresario, Louis-Antoine Jullien (qv link esp. Note 2). Supper was scheduled for about 11.30pm with dancing recommencing at 12.50am. In true tradition, there was a 'last waltz" - "Bid me good-bye" - at 3.40am. The music was provided by the String Band of the Artillery Corps and, with military precision, each of the twenty-two dances was scheduled to the minute under the baton of the same conductor, Mr. F. Watts. As Merran concludes, " ... they must have been much fitter in those days as there didn't appear to be much time for resting!"

By way of a punctuation mark in time, this was the era of the Sudan Wars and Egypt Campaigns of 1882-1898. The Sudan Wars witnessed the death of General Gordon at Khartoum, on 26th January, 1885 while, shortly before this, the Zulu War in South Africa had taken place. Soon after Sudan and Egypt came yet another conflict in South Africa - the Boer War. The Volunteer companies were then, as they are now, the next line of call in the event of escalation. As a result, the atmosphere in Bristol - and Britain - would probably have been one of gaiety and of living for the immediate. The social divide between rich and poor was partially screened in a military context. Britain was powerful, the fruits of the Industrial Revolution were ripening, new money was being made and life was powerful too.

In the wider context, it should be remembered that an Empire-building Britain had been involved in several different wars and campaigns throughout the century in which Henry Hamlet Jullion and his children flourished. Born a short time after the victories of Trafalgar and of Waterloo, Henry Hamlet Jullion married Charlotte Hayward and their first son Frederick Henry Jullion, was born in September 1848. The mid-century Crimean War and the Mutiny in India would have been backdrops to Frederick's early childhood. When he died, in 1872, the European Franco-Prussian War (1871-72) was ending. This war established both the Third French Republic and the German Empire. It had other far-reaching effects too: a desire for revenge which guided French policy for the following half-century and a Prussian militarism which laid the groundwork for later German imperialistic ventures. In addition, the Papal States no longer enjoyed the protection of Napoleon III and were annexed by Italy, thus completing its unification. These events were to be links in a chain of causes that set off "the Great War" - World War I - a period of tragedy and death that would see the flowers of an international generation sucked into the sands of Gallipoli or beneath the mud of France and Belgium - a time through which Merran's mother, the young Chloe Ruby Mansfield, spent her early childhood, turning nine years old just a few days after the Armistice of 1918.

Given this information, it is more than likely that Henry James Drew Smythe (born 1891) would have known Claude Jullion as a result of his various theatrical exploits as a medical student in Bristol (about 1912) and would, no doubt, have met him through Enid - his future wife - as well.

See Dearest Blue Eyes to read a series of letters from Jimmy to Enid, written in 1919. At this time, he was with the International Commission for the Repatriation of Prisoners of War in Bavaria and she was at the Hotel Crystal, Boulogne, serving as a V.A.D.

They had been married in November 1914, soon after the outbreak of World War 1 and saw each other only on infrequent Leave opportunities. This is the portrait of a relationship as much as an observation, with anecdotes, contained within a complete personal report of a few weeks of his work and travels in Germany and Austria less than two months after the Armistice that ended The Great War.

It involves the family Coat of Arms and a "missing" Dukedom in France.

Follow the Jullion generations back in time via the top of each page or click here (or on the coat of arms) to jump a few generations and access the new (September 2003) material and subsequent research pages.