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Author Topic: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?  (Read 54127 times)

Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« on: July 22, 2009, 05:20:36 PM »

We know Gallagher had a camera.

Fragments of 1930s flash bulbs were found on the Seven site.

Four trunks of Gallagher's belongings were supposed to be shipped from Suva, Fiji, to Gallagher's family in 1945.

Gallagher's pictures must either have gone to the government or to the family.

Where are they now?
LTM,

           Marty
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Todd Attebery

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2011, 02:22:15 PM »

I was re-reading the old forum archives about Tighar's e-mail correspondence to track down "Miss Clancy" and to figure out who Ruby Margetts was in relation to Gallagher.  http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Highlights21_40/highlights34.html and http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Highlights41_60/highlights43.html   

I did a search on "Gallagher Clancy -tighar" and eventually stumbled onto someone else's Oct 2000 geneology looking for more infor on Gallagher's father:  http://searches2.rootsweb.com/th/read/GALLAGHER/2000-10/0970533823

A further google search of the e-mail address found nothing of interest, but a search of the first part of the e-mail address resulted in a single facebook page.  http://www.facebook.com/gerry.gallagher1 

Did Phill Tanner make any more progress in finding Gallagher relatives after July 1999 ?
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2011, 06:15:57 PM »

Did Phil Tanner make any more progress in finding Gallagher relatives after July 1999 ?

I don't recognize Phil Tanner's name.  He may have dropped out of the search.

Art Carty has straightened out the Ameliapedia notes on Gallagher
LTM,

           Marty
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Matt Revington

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2012, 07:33:52 AM »

According to the ameliapedia page on Gallagher:
"Gerald's mother asked that his personal effects be returned to a Miss. Clancy [Julie Marie Clancy] who was her sister and lived at Clanmere, Graham Road, Malvern, Worcester, England. Edith Gallagher had been engaged in war work in London and apparently considered the Malvern address to be more permanent than her own. [4]"

The link below is from a blog written by Julie Clancy's adopted daughter and the first part of the autobiography details her life with her mother.  There is no mention of Gallagher or the rest of the extended family but if contacted she may have some idea where Gallagher's effects might have gone.

http://www.frockfairy.blogspot.ca/2011/06/autobiobraphy-1.html
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Bruce Thomas

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2012, 07:50:07 AM »

According to the ameliapedia page on Gallagher:
"Gerald's mother asked that his personal effects be returned to a Miss. Clancy [Julie Marie Clancy] who was her sister and lived at Clanmere, Graham Road, Malvern, Worcester, England. Edith Gallagher had been engaged in war work in London and apparently considered the Malvern address to be more permanent than her own. [4]"

The link below is from a blog written by Julie Clancy's adopted daughter and the first part of the autobiography details her life with her mother.  There is no mention of Gallagher or the rest of the extended family but if contacted she may have some idea where Gallagher's effects might have gone.

http://www.frockfairy.blogspot.ca/2011/06/autobiobraphy-1.html

In the old Forum, in June 1999, Deirdre Clancy's being the adopted daughter of Julie Clancy was mentioned.  Deirdre was contacted by a TIGHAR contributor, Phil Tanner, and apparently the only Gallagher artifact that arose from that was a photograph of Gerald Gallagher, as reported by Ric.  That photo can be seen in the wonderful August 2000 Earhart Project Research Bulletin #25, "Gallagher of Nikumaroro," written by Dr. Tom King.
LTM,

Bruce
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« Last Edit: June 15, 2012, 07:51:40 AM by Bruce Thomas »
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Irvine John Donald

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2012, 02:12:41 PM »

I took this picture of Jeff Glickmans slideshow presentation at the Symposium.  It shows Jeff taking a photo of the Bevington Object.  It appears to me that he did not remove the original photo from its mounting in a scrapbook.  Its the old style of photo scrapbook and it looks like there are a fair number of pages.  This is likely the Gallagher photo collection.  Perhaps there are multiple books.
Respectfully Submitted;

Irv
 
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Bruce Thomas

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2012, 02:19:43 PM »

This is likely the Gallagher photo collection.  Perhaps there are multiple books.

This scrapbook contains the pictures that Eric Bevington sent home to his parents before the outbreak of WWII.  I don't see there being any relation between it and the effects of Gerald Gallagher.
LTM,

Bruce
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Irvine John Donald

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2012, 02:25:10 PM »

Oh Oh.  You're a good man Bruce.  Caught me on that one for sure.  Youre right of course.  Jeff took the photos of the Bevington Object from the Bevington Phot books.  Not the Gallagher photos.  Me bad.  You good

Thanks Bruce.
Respectfully Submitted;

Irv
 
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #8 on: June 15, 2012, 05:09:04 PM »

... if contacted she may have some idea where Gallagher's effects might have gone.

TIGHAR has corresponded with Gerry Gallagher.

I'm not sure at the moment whether he was a nephew or cousin of GBG.

He made inquiries among family members, and couldn't turn up a trace of the shipment.
LTM,

           Marty
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Steve Robertson

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #9 on: September 28, 2015, 12:31:33 AM »

A test to determine if the shipment of Gallagher's possessions made it home to Edith. Does not answer the "where are they now" question.

If Gallagher's mother Edith ever took possession of her son's trunks of personal effects, including the Colt pistol, she would be obliged to first obtain a Firearms Certificate under the UK's Firearms Act 1937 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1937/12/contents/enacted for example). Otherwise she would stand in breach of the law.

The Firearms Act 1937 was in force until the late 60's. It controlled the ownership of certain types of firearm, and who could not. There were also regulations concerning how an owner might dispose of an unwanted firearm.

Some salient points from the Act:
  • PART I Sect 1. To own the pistol, one must first obtain a Certificate. This is done by application to the chief officer of police in the area the applicant resides.
  • PART I Sect 4-(12). A permit might be issued by police to an applicant who does not have a certificate (presumably due to some unforseen circumstance)
  • PART 1 Sect 11. A person transferring (selling, giving away) a firearm may only transfer it to another Certificate holder, or to a registered firearm dealer. Police must be notified in writing of private transactions.
  • PART 1 Sect 12. Registered firearms dealers must keep a register of transactions sufficient to identify the persons with whom they are dealing.

My point is, if the personal effects arrived home (something we have not yet established), the presence of the pistol may have precipitated an entry in a register held by either the police or a registered firearms dealer. This was the largely the point of the Act - to provide identities of people who held - or were entitled to hold - certain firearms.

And if Gallagher's pistol made it home, then we might reasonably guess that his diaries and photographs (which are of particular interest because they may document the castaway discovery) also arrived home  - unless the government took them from the crates before dispatch.


So we might look for:
  • A UK police record that reads something like
          Firearms Certificate (or permit) granted to Edith Gallagher, Dec 1945 (say), OR

  • A day-book entry at Edith's local police station that reads something like
          Surrender of unwanted firearm: Received from Edith Gallagher 1 x Colt 0.22 pistol w/ cartridges, OR

  • A trading register entry from a registered firearms dealer near her home that reads something like
          Received from Edith Gallagher for consignment sale: Colt 0.22 semi
for example.

Sadly, there would be no guarantees that such a record, if found, referred to "our" pistol - maybe Edith and her husband had their own collection! Or maybe Edith worked outside the law (unwittingly, surely!!) Or maybe Edith applied for a Firearms Certificate in anticipation of receiving the pistol - but still never actually received the shipment.

So what are our chances that:

   Such a record was made somewhere
   It still exists
   Someone knows where to find it
   We are allowed to look at it
   It's worth the effort?
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #10 on: September 28, 2015, 05:40:36 AM »

A test to determine if the shipment of Gallagher's possessions made it home to Edith. Does not answer the "where are they now" question.

It's an ingenious test.  No harm in trying it, if it interests you.

But ...

We've been in touch with a nephew of Gallagher's several times in years past.

He was as interested as we are to find Gallagher's effects.

We have the directive from the WPHC to an agency to have Gallagher's effects
shipped.

If they didn't arrive, they're lost and gone forever.

If they did arrive, the family has lost track of them (so far).  They may well be lost and gone forever, just like the bones, without any record of who decided not to save them.
LTM,

           Marty
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Bill Mangus

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2015, 12:51:04 PM »

Quote
We have the directive from the WPHC to an agency to have Gallagher's effects
shipped.

Do we know the name of the agency that supposedly shipped his effects?  Undoubtedly they would have gone by ship; if we know the agency and what ships were available and sailing for England, it might be possible to track the movement of the ship and it's fate and thus narrow the search somewhat, if another search is indeed plausible.
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2015, 01:16:37 PM »

Do we know the name of the agency that supposedly shipped his effects?  Undoubtedly they would have gone by ship; if we know the agency and what ships were available and sailing for England, it might be possible to track the movement of the ship and it's fate and thus narrow the search somewhat, if another search is indeed plausible.

I personally visited the offices of the shipping agency in Fiji in 2003 during Bones II.

They were not in the habit of keeping ancient records.

Even if they had been, their offices had had a major fire between WWII and 2003.

The woman with whom I spoke was Foua Tofiga's daughter.

She was very sweet and would have helped us if she could have.

LTM,

           Marty
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Bill Mangus

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #13 on: September 28, 2015, 01:28:37 PM »

Thanks, Marty.

Bad luck/timing again.

I wonder if there's a data base someplace of old shipping companies/steamship lines that would contain a listing of what ships were where in 1945?  If the likely name of a ship could be determined it might be able to trace/track it's voyage and port of arrival in UK.  If  said ship survived to be scrapped, the logbooks are likely archived someplace.  Might be a starting point anyway.  Maybe someone of a nautical expert could help.

Craft a search engine to look for steamship companies operating from central Pacific to UK in 1945, then potentially search their archives for anything relevant.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2015, 02:00:50 PM by Bill Mangus »
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Re: Where are Gallagher's photographs from Niku?
« Reply #14 on: September 28, 2015, 09:10:53 PM »

I wonder if there's a data base someplace of old shipping companies/steamship lines that would contain a listing of what ships were where in 1945?  If the likely name of a ship could be determined it might be able to trace/track it's voyage and port of arrival in UK.

If you wish to search, here is a starting point: "TIGHAR has discovered that the WPHC wrote W.R. Carpenter Shipping on August 7, 1945, to ask them to pick up four trunks containing Gallagher’s belongings and ship them to his mother in England. This fact shows that the WPHC was capable of putting work on the back burner for four years and then addressing it when the time was ripe."
LTM,

           Marty
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