Commander Alban Rahere Castleton Poyntz, DSC
Royal Indian Navy
Date of Birth: 22nd of July 1886
Place of Birth: Pancras, London
Date of Death: 1st of December 1968
Buried: At sea 12 miles off Teignmouth, Devon
Awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, and DSC
in WW1 and the War Medal and 1939-45 Star in WW2
Captain Poyntz of Teignmouth
Very many thanks to Alan Furze which forms an appendix to his book. Amended and updated by Geoff Wood, Teign Heritage.
Alban Rahere Castleton Poyntz was born in 1886 and, according to local personal recollection, was the son of a member of the clergy.
In the 1891 census, Alban was living at The Vicarage, Stoke Lane, Dorchester, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, with his father Nathaniel C S Poyntz, Vicar of Dorchester, Oxon, born in 1847, and mother, Ellen W Poyntz (nee Minor), born 1861 in the USA. Alban had one brother, Richard S P Poyntz, born in 1884, and one sister, Helen R Poyntz, born in 1885. The family employed four servants.
HMS Conway training ship By Flapdragon - Picture was taken from www.hmsconway.org, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10832286Alban was educated at HMS Conway Training Ship from 1902, and then at Radley College, Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
He seems to have had a lifetime of association with seafaring and several sources maintain that as a young man he made voyages under sail, even rounding Cape Horn.
His career choice was with the Royal Indian Marine, later known as the Royal Indian Navy, which he joined as soon as he was old enough and his service record shows that in 1911 he gained the rank of Lieutenant. He was promoted in 1913. In 1917 he was 'Gazetted' having been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1919.
Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.)
Royal Indian Navy men training at Stamshaw training camp, Portsmouth 8th July 1942 By Royal Navy official photographer, Smith, J H (Lt) - http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib//27/media-27286/large.jpgThis is photograph A 10553 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25263116
Alban continued in the Royal Indian Navy throughout most of WW2.
By 1944 he had settled at Clive Cottage in Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire, and had become a member of the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Ringers and the Guild Minute Book records that he became a member of the Guild Committee.
He seems to have established a keen interest in the affairs of the Guild. In 1945, for example, he donated books to form the nucleus of the Guild Library with Marie Cross as its first librarian.
At the Guild AGM in July 1946 There was an election contest between Rev C.E.Wigg and Captain Poyntz (he was, in ringing circles, always known as Captain Poyntz, a rank he attained during his service in WW2) for the post of Ringing Master which Mr. Wigg won so became Master. Poyntz was elected Deputy Master, filling the vacancy which Mr. Wigg's appointment had left.
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16826888
It appears that he was not altogether satisfied with the manner of his election because at the AGM in 1948 Poyntz successfully proposed a more formal procedure involving nominations to the Committee in March for election at the AGM in July.
He was keen to support the Guild Bell Restoration Fund and, at the AGM in July 1949, was successful in setting up an arrangement whereby PCCs were asked to help with finance.
During his Oxford years, he was Ringing Master of the Reading Branch and was listed as an unattached member of the Bradfield Deanery Branch of the Oxford Guild which is the Branch local to his home in Goring-on-Thames.
In 1952 Captain Poyntz tendered his resignation as Deputy Master of the ODG as he was leaving the Guild.
St. Michaels Church 1911Captain Poyntz moved to 7, Riverside, Shaldon, Devon, and later became Tower Captain at St. Michael's Church, Teignmouth, a post he held until his death in 1968.
On 24th July 1966, a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples was rung with compliments to Captain Poyntz on his eightieth birthday.
Captain Poyntz died on December 1st, 1968 and his funeral was held at St. Michael's Church on December 9th.
A touch of 500 Grandsire Triples was rung half-muffled before the service. The band was as follows:
- Arthur Gowlett
- Frank Sheppard
- Bob Edden
- John Reed
- Greg Roberts
- Dr. Gent
- Bill Simmonds (c)
- Martin Dodd
Martin Dodd recalls that after the service Captain Poyntz's body was transferred to a local trawler for his burial at sea twelve miles off the coast of Teignmouth. This was the first burial at sea off Teignmouth for a hundred years and to Martin's knowledge, there has not been another since.
Flag courtesy of Chandranath sau - Data on layout from [1]. Created for use in template of type: "Flag of India"., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3130930
