The Elrington-Bisset Family

Janet Kathleen (Elrington-Bisset) Elrington Murray Bisset

Birth: 14 June 1886 in Dublin South district, county Dublin, Ireland

Baptism: 7 July 1886, in Christ Church, Leeson Park, county Dublin, Ireland

Father: Maurice Elrington-Bisset

Mother: Anna Isabella (Brinkley) Elrington-Bisset

Married: William Turner Murray in 1917, in St Marylebone district, London, England

William was born in 1889/90, in Gibraltar, the son of Col. Rev. Thomas Murray and Helen. William was an army officer serving in the Gordon Highlanders, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on 12 December 1914 (London Gazette 15 December 1914 p10699). William took the additional last name of Bisset on his marriage and was appointed a temporary captain in the Gordon Highlanders on 12 April 1921 (London Gazette 9 May 1921 p3743), relinquishing the commission on 7 July 1921 (London Gazette 5 August 1921 p6262). He was promoted to captain in the 6th Battalion of the Gordons on 19 September 1923, with precedence from 22 May 1923 (London Gazette 18 September 1923 p6278), then to major on 1 June 1931 (London Gazette 9 June 1931 p3765). In 1935, William was awarded the Efficiency Decoration for long service in the Territorial Army (London Gazette 22 March 1935 p1985). He was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1937 (London Gazette 1 January 1937 p15) and lieutenant-colonel on 24 May 1939 (London Gazette 23 May 1939 p3477), relinquishing his commission on 12 February 1945, having reached the age limit (London Gazette 9 February 1945 p862). William was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Banffshire on 11 August 1947 (London Gazette 26 August 1947 p4049). He died on 4 April 1949, aged 59, and was buried in Drumblade Kirkyard, Aberdeenshire.
Census & Addresses:
1901: Hertford, Hertfordshire: William Murray, scholar, is aged 11, born in Gibraltar
1911: Croydon, Surrey: William Turner Murray is aged 21, born in Gibraltar
1947: Mayen, Rothiemay, Banffshire   (London Gazette 26 August 1947 p4049)

Lessendrum House
Lessendrum House, before the 1928 fire
image from Bisset Resources Pages
Notes: On the death of her brother in action in 1915, Janet inherited the Lessendrum estate in Aberdeenshire and as part of that legacy, retained the Bisset name upon her marriage becoming a Murray-Bisset or Murray Bisset. In a disentailing application in 1950, her full name is stated as Janet Kathleen Elrington Murray Bisset and she is "in possession of the entailed Lands and Barony of Lessendrum" (Edinburgh Gazette 8 December 1950 p599). Lessendrum House was destroyed by fire in 1928 due to a failure in the heating system and was never rebuilt, although other buildings on the estate continued to be used. Janet's granddaughter tells that when "Lessendrum burnt to the ground it gave my grandmother the chance to move to Mayen, another very large country house not far from lessendrum, but it was on the river Deveron and she was a great fly fisher woman!!!! So my dad reckoned that was one of the reasons they never restored Lessendrum, she, being the head of the family, was quite happy to stay where she was. I believe she was very Victorian, and quite stricked." During the war, Janet offered Mayen as a sort of convalescent home for wounded personnel and the visitors book in which they all wrote their names shows Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders as well as Britons from all parts of the country. While she still lived at Mayen, Janet had a Scottish deerhound called Wolf, and a small cairn terrier called Stink. One of her grand-daughters remembers watching these two dogs hunting rabbits on the large lawn at Mayen - Wolf would chase the rabbit into a rhododendron bush, then Stink would rush into the bush and flush the rabbit out - whereupon Wolf would pounce! Janet later had two west highland terriers named Pixie and Jill.

The Glasgow Herald 13 January 1928 p11
MANSION HOUSE DESTROYED
ALARMING FIRE IN ABERDEENSHIRE
GIRLS' THRILLING LEAP
  The mansion house of Lessendrum near Huntly, Aberdeenshire, belonging to Captain J. K. Murray Bisset, was yesterday morning destroyed by fire. Two servant girls made their escape from the burning building by jumping from a height of between 20 and 30 feet into sheets held by rescuers on the ground below. The sheets were only strong enough to break their fall, and the girls suffered shock from impact with the ground.
  Of the building itself nothing was left but the bare walls. The damage is estimated at many thousands of pounds.

FIREMEN POWERLESS
  Captain and Mrs. Murray Bisset and their family of one boy and three girls were in residence at the house.
  The outbreak, which is supposed to have started about 4.30 a.m. in the furnace-room below the kitchen and servants' sleeping apartments at the north end of the building, was discovered about 5 a.m. by a maid, who raised the alarm. The family living-rooms were in the north end of the mansion-house, and were not immediately involved, but as the flames had a strong hold when the outbreak was discovered, Captain Murray Bisset took steps to see that everyone left the house. Eight servants were asleep in rooms about the seat of the fire, and six of them hurriedly escaped from the building along the smoke-filled stairs.
       ESCAPE BY THE ROOF.
  Two maids named Nettie Gibb and Bessie Sharp, on opening the door of their room, were met by volumes of smoke, and, panic-stricken, decided to try to make their escape by way of the roof. By means of the window of the bedroom they reached the roof. Clad only in their night attire, they crawled to a lower storied roof above the dining and drawing rooms and the library. On seeing the plight of the two girls on the roof 20 to 30 feet above the ground, the men servants and other workers procured sheets and rugs, and shouted to the girls to jump one after the other. The young women did so, but the sheets were not strong enough to do more than break their fall, and the two girls suffered shock from impact with the ground.
      A VAIN TASK.
  Without fire-fighting appliances, Captain Murray Bisset and his helpers saw that it was impossible to save the house from the flames, and concentrated on removing valuable furniture and other effects from the house. the fire was burning furiously at the north end of the building, but the helpers, reinforced by many people from the surrounding district, worked with a will in the drawing-room, dining-room, and library. At the south end it was impossible to use the staircase, which was of pitchpine and burned quickly. Windows were broken and articles of furniture and pictures were dropped to the ground. The fire burned for fully four hours, at the end of which the whole interior of the building had been destroyed, and nothing remained but the bare walls.
      A CALL TO ABERDEEN.
  The Huntly Fire Brigade was early summoned, but, without the services of a pump to conduct operations, they could assist only in the work of saving furniture. The Huntly firemaster telephoned to Aberdeen Fire Brigade, asking for an engine and pump. Firemaster Bell, Aberdeen, however, could do nothing, as the distance from Aberdeen to Lessendrum is 43 miles, and he is tied down to a radius of 20 miles from the city. in any case, the situation would have been hopeless by the time the Aberdeen brigade could have arrived on the scene, as at the time of the telephone message the fire had a strong hold.
      AWAKENED BY CRIES.
  The two servant girls who had such an exciting escape were cared for in the chauffeur's house.
  Bettie Sharp said she was asleep in bed with Nettie Gibb when the cries of other servants awakened her. She rushed to the door, but was met by a volume of smoke. She and her companion decided to escape by the roof. Nettie jumped first and she followed. When she jumped, the sheet tore, and she went right through it.
   The damage amounts to many thousands of pounds.
The county families of the United Kingdom p35 (Edward Walford, 1919)
BISSET, Mrs. MURRAY-, of Lessendrum, Aberdeenshire.
 Janet Kathleen, only dau. of Major Maurice Elrington Bisset, J.P., late R.E., of Lessendrum, who d. 1909, by Anna Isabella, 2nd dau. of the late Walter Stephens Brinkley, Esq., 11th Hussars, of Knockmaroon House, co. Dublin; m. 1917 William Turner Murray, Esq., temp. Capt. Gordon Highlanders, and has a dau., Kathleen Helen. Mrs. Murray-Bisset s. her brother Walter Faviere Elrington Bisset, Esq., temp. Lieut. 9th (Service) Batt. Gordon Highlanders, who was killed in action, 1915, and assumed the additional surname of Bisset 1919. — Lessendrum, Huntly, Aberdeenshire.

Gravestone of William Murray and Janet Kathleen Elrington Murray Bisset
Gravestone of William Turner Murray Bisset and Janet Kathleen (Elrington-Bisset) Elrington Murray Bisset in Drumblade Kirkyard, Drumblade, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
photo by GariochGraver posted at findagrave.com
Death: 18 May 1953, at Lessendrum Dower House, Drumblade, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, aged 66

Buried: Drumblade Kirkyard, Drumblade, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
The inscription on the gravestone reads:
In loving memory of William Turner Murray Bisset Lieut Col. the Gordon Highlanders who died at Mayen, Rothiemay. April 4th 1949 aged 59.
Jesus Christ hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel
    2 Tim. I.10
and of his wife Janet Kathleen Murray Bisset of Lessendrum who died at Lessendrum Dower House Drumblade May 18th 1953 aged 66.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.    John.II.28.

Census & Addresses:
1891: Clifton, Gloucestershire: Janet K E Bissett, daughter, is aged 4, born in Dublin
1919: Lessendrum House, Huntly, Aberdeenshire   (The county families of the United Kingdom p35 (Edward Walford, 1919))
1950: Mayen House, Rothiemay, Banffshire   (Edinburgh Gazette 8 December 1950 p599)
1952: Lessendrum Dower House, Huntly, Aberdeenshire   (Edinburgh Gazette 18 March 1952 p167)

Sources:

Maurice (Elrington) Elrington-Bisset

Birth: 12 June 1854, in Dublin, county Dublin, Ireland

Father: Joseph Favière Elrington

Mother: Janet F. (Bisset) Elrington

Married: Anna Isabella Brinkley on 3 December 1884, in Abbey Church, Bath, Somerset, England
The Irish law times 13 December 1884 p638
MARRIAGES.
 ELRINGTON-BISSET and BRINKLEY—December 3, at the Abbey Church, Bath, by the Rev. M. Turner, M.A , Rector of Cotton, Suffolk, assisted by the Rev. Charles Elrington-Bisset, and the Rev. Canon Brooke, Rector of Bath, Maurice Elrington-Bisset, Lieutenant Royal Engineers, second son of the late Joseph Faviere Elrington, Q.C., L.L.D., Recorder of Londonderry, to Anna Isabella, second daughter of the late Walter Stephens Brinkley, formerly of 11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars, and of Knockmanor House, County Dublin.

Children:
Occupation: Army Officer, reaching the rank of captain in the Royal Engineers.
Maurice Elrington, then a Gentleman Cadet from the Royal Military Academy, was commissioned as a temporary lieutenant on 12 August 1874 (London Gazette 11 August 1874 p3969). The commission was made permanent in the Corps of Royal Engineers on 20 February 1877, antedated to 12 February 1874 (London Gazette 20 February 1877 p837). Lieutenant Maurice Elrington-Bisset was promoted to captain on 12 February 1885 (London Gazette 13 February 1885 p630). Maurice retired on 2 October 1889 (London Gazette 1 October 1889 p5198).

Notes: Maurice's mother, Janet Elrington succeeded to the estates at Lessendrum near Huntly, Aberdeenshire on the death of her brother, Mordaunt Fenwick Bisset in 1883, and assumed the name Bisset. Her children also assumed the additional surname and a notice from the War Office on 18 November 1884 states that "Lieutenant Maurice Elrington has been permitted to assume the surname of Bisset, in addition to and after that of Elrington" (London Gazette 18 November 1884 p4953).

Arms:
Crest: The trunk of an oak-tree sprouting afresh ppr.
Motto: Abscissa virescit  ("though we be cut off (or hewn down), we will still grow green (or flourish)")

Death: 15 June 1909 in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Census & Addresses:
1886: 16 Morehampton Road, Dublin, county Dublin   (Parish records of Christ Church Leeson Park, county Dublin 1886 p4)
1890: Lessendrum, Huntly, Aberdeenshire   (The Miscellany of the New Spalding Club vol 6 p408)
1891: Clifton, Gloucestershire: Maurice E Bissett, head, is aged 36, born in Dublin

Sources:

Walter Favière Elrington-Bisset

Birth: 21 February 1889 in Southampton, Hampshire, England

Father: Maurice Elrington-Bisset

Mother: Anna Isabella (Brinkley) Elrington-Bisset

Notes: Walter served in the First World War, and was killed in action. He was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on 16 November 1914 (London Gazette 17 November 1914 p9505). He was a second lieutenant in 'H' company of the 9th Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders at his death in 1915. Walter landed in France on 8 July 1915. He was presumed killed in action at Loos, after being reported wounded and missing on Hill 70.

Death: 25 September 1915, aged 26, in the Battle of Loos, France.
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser 24 November 1915 p10
Our Scottish Letter...
Who's who in the Casualties...
Lieut. Walter F. Elrington Bisset, 9th Gordons, of Lessendrum, Huntly, son of the late Major Maurice Elrington-Bisset, R.E.

Drumblade War Memorial
Drumblade War Memorial
image from Drumblade War Memorial
Names on the Drumblade War Memorial
Names on the Drumblade War Memorial, including that of Walter F. Elrington Bisset
image from Drumblade War Memorial
Memorial: Walter's name is memorialised at the Loos Memorial in Pas de Calais, France, on panel 115 to 119, and on the Drumblade War Memorial, near Huntly, Aberdeenshire.

Census & Addresses:
1891: Clifton, Gloucestershire: Walter G. E. Bissett, son, is aged 2, born in Southampton, Hampshire
1915: Lessendrum, Huntly, Aberdeenshire   (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) and also of Spaxton, Somerset (Drumblade War Memorial)

Sources:
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