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Captain
Hancock
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Captain J de B Hancock was Assistant Resident
Perim for just
six months in 1904. He appears to have wiled
away the time by writing letters to the
Residency in Aden on matters of protocol and
trying to enhance the status of the Assistant
Resident Perim.
He met with mixed success. His initial move was
to indent to the Port Officer in Aden for a Blue
Ensign for the Perim Cutter. The request was
noticed by the 1st Assistant in Aden who asked
the Port Officer if the Assistant at Perim was
entitled to fly this ensign, the tone of the
letter rather assuming that the answer would be
negative. |
Much to Hancock’s delight the answer was yes, he
could fly a ‘Blue Ensign with a lion rampant
guardant and holding a crown’ and that one was
being sent to Perim
by the next boat. His next move was not so
successful. Since he flew a small Union Jack on
the flagstaff at the fort ‘as the sole
representative of His Majesty’s Government on
the Island’, was he therefore not entitled to
fly a small Union Jack on the cutter, as well as
the Blue Ensign? No, definitely not, came the
speedy reply from the Residency. The Union Jack
was the Station Flag, similar to the one flown
at Aden, and not a representative one. |
Perim Island
Next there was the matter of the feu de joi from the
fort, or rather the absence of one on the anniversary of
the King’s coronation. That day Hancock had dressed his
flagstaff at the fort with signal flags and had
persuaded the Royal Navy ship in
the harbour to dress overall and fire a salute. But
answering feu de joi from the fort came there none.
Hancock was Civil Staff and therefore not OC the
detachment. On complaining to the military authorities
in Aden he was told that Indian Army Regulations only
permitted a feu de joi being fired on the King’s
Birthday and on New Year’s Day.
Hancock’s parting shot on leaving
Perim was to put up a
case to the Resident for the post of Assistant there to
be upgraded to Political Agent for status purposes. The
terse reply, signed by the 1st Assistant was to the
effect that the Political Resident, Aden, did not think
that the proposal would commend itself to Government.
Hancock had, however, earlier achieved one other
success. He had got permission to take Rs10 a month from
his contingency fund to pay for a punka wallah for his
office for the period 1 April to 30 September. |
