Wilfred Powell (1853-1942)
The New Zealand Archives have some records - click here.
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Sir Wilfred Powell (1853-1942) was born on 14 May 1853. He travelled extensively in the Pacific, and explored New Britain from 1877 to 1880.
The sketch at left, drawn by Sir Wilfred, was the frontspiece of his book, Wanderings In A Wild Country: Or Three Years Amongst The Cannibals Of New Britain (1883).
He became Consul for the Navigators Islands (Samoa) on 1 May 1885, and also Deputy Commissioner for the Western Pacific. On 1 April 1888 he was appointed Consul at Stettin, and during April-June 1889 he attended a conference on Samoa at Berlin.
He was transferred to Philadelphia on 11 November 1898, becoming Consul for Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (an area altered in 1907 to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware). He was promoted to Consul-General in 1913, and retired on 1 January 1916. Powell became a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute in 1880. He died on 4 February 1942, age 88, in Kent, England, where he made his home.
His second son, Gareth Henry Mansell Powell, enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in August 1914. He was born March 1, 1894; died April 23, 1915 (missing in action) in the Second Battle of Ypres, age 21, private in the Eastern Ontario Regiment. Medals : The King's Cross; Mons Cross 1914; War Medal; Victory Medal. A memorial is on the southwest wall of the church interior. (right, Powell is listed on a plaque at the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium.)
His father sent an inquiry to the British War Office requesting his whereabouts when his son went missing (War Office records).
The Powells (he was related to Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts), lived at 701 Pine St. while he was H.M. Consul.
When he retired in 1916, he was succeeded by Charles A.S. Perceval. The announcement was made on Oct. 11, the day Sir Wilfred learned of his son's death on the Western Front, the New York Times reported Oct. 12, 1915.
In 1906, Sir Wilfred presented the St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia with one of its three gavels. It is made from oak, copper, mahogany, and iron from Lord Nelson's favorite ship, "Foudroyant."
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