COVERNTON, Capt Ralph Henry (1869-1952)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0099 KCLMA Covernton
Held at	: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma ›
Full title	: COVERNTON, Capt Ralph Henry (1869-1952)
Date(s)	: [1945-1967]
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 1 volume
Name of creator(s)	: Covernton | Ralph Henry | 1869-1952 | Captain

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born in 1869; studied engineering at University College, London; ship's engineer, 1893; moved to South Africa and worked as electrical engineer, Capetown Harbour Power Station, 1894; Assistant Engineer, later Resident Engineer, Johannesburg Municipal Power Station, 1895-1899, 1901-1904; volunteer stretcher bearer with Royal Army Medical Corps, South Africa, 1899-1900; Assistant Engineer, Victoria Falls Power Company, 1909-1911; 2nd Lt, later Lt, Rand Rifles, 1914; transferred to South African Engineer Corps and served in German South West Africa, 1914-1915; undertook signal training in UK, 1915; served in France with South African Signal Company, Royal Engineers, 1916; served in UK, 1917-1918; appointed to a position in the Public Works Department, South African Government, 1919; worked for Consulting Engineer, Pretoria Power Station, 1921-1923; resident in Channel Islands, 1940-1945; died 1952.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Bound typescript entitled 'Fifty odd years of memoirs', covering his life and career, 1893-1945, notably his work as an engineer in South Africa, 1894-1899, 1901-1904, 1909-1911, his travels in South Africa, 1895, East Africa, 1904, and Canada, 1907, his service as a volunteer stretcher bearer with the Royal Army Medical Corps, South Africa, 1899-1900, including the siege of Ladysmith, 1899-1900, his service with the South African Engineer Corps, German South West Africa, 1914-1915, and with the South African Signal Company, Royal Engineers, France, 1916, including the Battle of the Somme, Jul 1916, and his experiences in the Channel Islands during German occupation, 1940-1945, dated [1945-1967].

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

1 volume

Conditions governing access:

Open, subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification, to include one photographic ID.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.

Finding aids:

Summary guide available on-line here, and in hard copy in the Centre's reading room.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Presented to the Centre by the family in 1967.

Allied Materials

Related material:

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

Rules or conventions:

Date(s) of descriptions:
Aug 1996