The Late Mrs. Sonia John - Obituary

Montage by Liz Chater

This is the full obituary For Mrs. Sonia John courtesy of the Indo-ArmenianFriendship NGO Facebook page.

It is with the deepest regret and with a heavy heart that we announce the sad passing of Mrs. Sonia John, on the 10th August 2020 in Kolkata. She was 94 years old.

Born in Shiraz, Iran on July 2 1926, Sonia arrived in India as a young girl with her grandmother, aged only 4 years old. She subsequently attended La Martiniere for Girls School in Kolkata where she excelled at both studies and extracurricular activities. In appreciation of her commitment to getting an education and her overall behaviour at the school, young Sonia was awarded the "Good Conduct" medal by the school authorities. Sonia later went on to become an accomplished hockey player and captained the Bengal Women’s Hockey Team for many years. She also captained and managed the Bengal Womens' Basketball team, along with many clubs during her career. As a keen sportswoman, Sonia was a fierce competition on the Golf Course as well, winning several titles and trophies. In the 1950s, years after her marriage to Arathoon Mackertich John and after having worked as an educator for a few years, Sonia set up the Moir Hall School in Calcutta. Moir Hall School was her focus and passion right up until her passing, believing education of children in Kolkata to be of paramount importance. The school continues to be one of the most affordable places to get an education in the city, with many pupils from low-income households having studied under her guidance free of charge.

As a multi-talented and accomplished person, Sonia also succeeded in her entrepreneurial skills, successfully running a hotel with her husband for many years. Her "Carlton Hotel" was one of the many Armenian-owned hotels in Kolkata. As a patriotic Armenian and a devout Christian, Mrs. John couldn't be indifferent to matters concerning the Armenian Community of India. She helped activate the Armenian Sports Club and was elected a member of the Committee of the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth. In the late 1990s, when the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy, built in the year 1821 was at a brink of certain closure, Sonia John, with the help of certain community members came to its rescue and through hard-fought litigation, secured an order from the Calcutta High Court for the school to be placed under the Management of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. This act of patriotism and devotion forced her to be even more involved in the day-to-day running of the Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy (ACPA) as well as the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth Kolkata for many years, taking the position of Honorary Chairperson of the Church Committee, a position she held until 2005. She was also appointed as Manager of Armenian College by His Holiness Karekin I, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, a position she held on an Honorary basis as well.

As Chairperson of the Armenian Church Committee and in her capacity as the Manager of ACPA, Sonia oversaw the successful renovation of many of the properties of the Armenian Community, including the Churches, the old-age home as well as the Armenian College and Davidian Girls Schools, among others. It is not known to many, that the current building of the Armenian Embassy in India was completely designed by her. It was during her tenure as Chairperson that the Armenian Church donated the plot to the Armenian Government and financed the building of the Embassy in Delhi. For her contribution and service, during his official visit to India in 2003, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan awarded her with an Honorary Passport of the Republic of Armenia, acknowledging her tireless devotion to the Armenian cause. She was also awarded the St. Nerses Shnorhali Medal by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians for her extraordinary services rendered to the Armenian Apostolic Church. Years earlier, in 1999, she had been the only delegate from Asia and Oceania at the National Church Assembly of the Armenian Apostolic Church which was bestowed with the mandate to elect the Catholicos.

Mrs John, as one of her most important contributions to social welfare, oversaw the completion of the Armenian Church Trauma Center as well as Sir Catchick Paul Chater ward at the Rabindranath Tagore Hospital, Kolkata, which the Committee of the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth financed during her tenure. It is here that she passed away having suffered a heart attack.

Even in her 80’s Sonia never slowed down, and one of many of her finest events was the Armenian Church pilgrimage to Hong Kong in 2005 to honour and remember the late Sir Catchick Paul Chater. In 2017, at the remarkable age of 91, Sonia, in conjunction with the Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO, collaborated with La Martiniere for Boys' School in Kolkata to finance the erection of a bust of the late Sir Catchick Paul Chater in the ground of the Boys' School, where Sir Paul had been educated. As always, she was involved in all aspects of the organisation of this magnificent event and was deeply gratified that La Martiniere chose to honour Sir Paul Chater in this way. Not only was Sonia John a former pupil of the institution but had also served on its Board of Governors for many years.
Sonia continued to run her school, attending and teaching there daily, right up until the COVID pandemic crisis hit in March. Life at the Armenian Community in Kolkata would have been very different had it not been for her devotion, patriotism and many years of dedicated service. Her contribution to community life in recent decades remains unmatched.

Sonia is survived by her children, Angela and Paul and grandchildren, Julian, Maria and Noah.

Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO has lost one of its strongest supporters. Her guidance and words of wisdom will be missed greatly. The Armenian Community of India, the Armenian Diaspora and the entire Armenian nation has lost an icon.

Rest In Peace, Mrs John and thank you for everything.

Sonia is buried at the Armenian Cemetery Tangra, Kolkata with her late uncle John Martin.
The tombstone is situated adjacent to another late uncle, Haik Martin.

Further reading about Mrs. John's family, in particular her grandfather, Jordan Martin, and how he was a spy for the British in Persia during WW1, can be found here.

In 2017 Mrs John was the generous benefactor of the Sir Catchick Paul Chater bust unveiled in the grounds of La Martiniere School, Kolkata. View a short video clip of Sonia looking through my private album on Sir Paul Chater and her natural enthusiasm and reactions to it.

Sir Paul Chater: Remembered

Today is the anniversary of the death of Sir Catchick Paul Chater. A man ahead of his time, a visionary

At the time of Sir Paul’s death, it was suggested on more than one occasion that there should be some sort of memorial or statue in remembrance of his life and contribution to the development of Hong Kong. One anonymous newspaper contributor wrote:

“……By the passing of Sir Paul Chater, the colony has sustained an immeasurable loss and the memory of this, one of the most illustrious citizens of his time will forever be held in the history and future development of this Colony.  As a resident of the Colony, the late Sir Paul Chater had given his full time and money for the general welfare of the island and its inhabitants and stood a noble example of a generous benefactor, a businessman of marked ability, and last but not least, a man born with the true virtues and an Empire Patriot.   It is only fitting that as a recognition of Sir Paul’s wonderful realization of one’s duty of citizenship that a life-size statue of Sir Paul should be put up in an appropriate place.  I would suggest that as Sir Paul was actually the citizen who rendered the greatest service in the public affairs of the Colony, the cost of erection of the statue should be borne by the Government as a permanent memorial to her most noble citizen and benefactor”.

In 1927, a year after Chater died, his staunch and loyal friend Noel Croucher, himself holding a position in society of influence and authority, pushed Hong Kong’s LegCo hard to have a statue of the man erected, but even Croucher was unsuccessful in getting the Grand Old Man permanently remembered in the Statue Square. 

In February 1928, the annual report by the Kowloon Residents’ Association  stated: “a committee has been formed for the purpose of erecting a statue in memory of the late Sir Paul Chater, and they have suggested that as Kowloon has been built up largely by the foresight and keen interest of Sir Paul, it is fitting and proper that his statue be erected in Kowloon, to commemorate the fact that we owe a debt to his memory which is immeasurable.  It was also felt that the statue might form the centre around which a more dignified approach might be made to the gateway of the Kowloon Peninsular.”

Unfortunately, no further action was taken.

However, it was in 2009 that Hongkong Land, the company that Sir Paul created in 1889 in conjunction with John Bell-Irving Chairman of Jardines at the time, commissioned the first real tribute that Hong Kong had made towards him. A bust and a wall plaque were placed in Chater House in Central Hong Kong in remembrance and gratitude to his memory.  

Image courtesy of Hongkong Land

Image courtesy of Hongkong Land

In 2017, in the grounds of the school that gave Sir Paul the preparation and education he used to build the extraordinary life he had, La Martiniere is also the proud custodian of a Sir Paul Chater bust. Created and unveiled in a joint collaboration with the relatively newly formed and dynamic Indo-Armenia Friendship NGO, along with ex student of La Martiniere Girls’ School and a stalwart member of the Armenian community of Kolkata, Mrs. Sonia John.  The result of this unique team work stands tall in the grounds for all to admire. Sir Paul Chater has once again returned to his beloved La Martiniere School and will forever look over the current and all future students who go there to study for a better life.

In the grounds of La Martiniere School

Those of you who know about Sir Paul Chater will know he owned a unique and priceless collection of art, as well as Chinese and Japanese porcelain and bizenware. You may also know that he was a successful race horse owner in Hong Kong with a top class stable that many admired. His triumphs on the race course became legendary, particularly with the incredible record of Derby wins he gained.  Eleven Hong Kong Derby wins jointly with his business partner and best friend Sir Hormusjee Mody, and a further eight Hong Kong Derby winners solely in his own name.  

Image: Liz Chater's Private Archive

No other owner has been able to attain the heady heights of 19 Hong Kong Derby wins in their career.  In his trophy room in Marble Hall, his tables must have been groaning under the weight of silver they were displaying.

Image: Liz Chater

But what of that silver? After he died, he left his collection of art to the government of Hong Kong, perhaps hoping they would create a museum. Extraordinarily, in 1936 it was reported that: “…..portions of the household effects bequeathed to the Colony by the late Sir Paul Chater have in turn been bequeathed by the Hongkong Government to various charitable organisations as they are considered worthless from a collection point of view…………”

After years of being loved and admired, parts of Sir Paul Chater’s home were deemed “worthless”.
In the last 93 years, there have been no sightings of any of the silverware Sir Paul Chater once owned. That is, until now.

At a recent auction sale this beautiful silver tray, inscribed to Sir Paul Chater came on to the market. I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase it. A gift from the 93^rd Burma Infantry to Sir Paul in 1904.

Although it has always been thought that his art collection and silverware never made it after the Japanese invaded Hong Kong during WW2, I can safely say, at least one piece of silver did indeed make it and I am very happy to share the photograph here.

Image: Liz Chater's private archive

Websites: Armenian Graves in India and Sir Catchick Paul Chater - Active Again

If you've been trying to access my websites over the last few months you will have realised that they were not working.

Today they are back up and running. The links have changed, if you have saved them please update your bookmarks.

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~chaterfamilytree/

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sirpaulchater/

Mrs Sonia John Reviewing Sir Catchick Paul Chater Album

I have uploaded on to Youtube a short video of Mrs. John reviewing some of my private archive, and in particular the unique one-off Sir Paul Chater photo album. Unaware I was filming her reflections,  the instantaneous reactions as she turns the pages are natural and utterly charming.

Mrs. John is the generous benefactor of the Sir Catchick Paul Chater bust that was unveiled in the grounds of La Martiniere Boys' School, Kolkata last year on the anniversary of his birth, 8th September. The project was initiated by the Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO, who oversaw all aspects of the creative stages of the bust. The school kindly hosted the well attended and lavish event. The occasion is a memory that will last for a long time.

Here is the link to the video for your interest.

A Twelve Year Serendipity Due To A Mistaken Identity

In 2005 I received an email from someone asking me how life was in Kenya. It recounted the latest news as if I, the reader, should know exactly who and what was being written about.  I politely replied that I thought they had messaged the wrong person as I did not know any of the information or names they had mentioned. It was the equivalent of a ‘wrong number’, but if it had been a telephone call, it is very unlikely that a conversation thread would have gone beyond “sorry, wrong number”. However, I think sometimes ‘wrong e-mails’ are actually a more welcoming medium, it is much easier to strike up a conversation with an anonymous person where voice, accent and intonation cannot be judged. Naturally, the return reply to my email was an apology and an explanation of how such a mistake could have happened. The email was from someone who shared my surname, and of course a natural conversation thread was bound to follow.

A few weeks later his daughter wrote to me saying they had a cousin “3 times removed (or something like that”.) Her name was Penny Gatehouse and she owned some interesting items inherited from her late husband’s family whose ancestor had been Sir William Robinson, Governor of Hong Kong.  Hong Kong is where Catchick Paul Chater made his name and fortune, and I was aware that Sir William’s life and Paul Chater’s overlapped.  (For instance, they jointly co-ordinated the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Hong Kong in 1897 honouring Queen Victoria, Sir William having appointed Chater as chairman of the organising Jubilee Committee.) The email went on to say that Penny would love to hear from me, I wasted no time and made the call.  What a delightful lady she was. As luck would have it, she was only about 30 minutes from me, and we made arrangements for me to visit her the following week.

Penny’s home was in the old market town of Lymington, a stones throw from the sea but still right in the heart of the New Forest on the south coast of the UK. She was a very spritely 86, full of verve, enthusiasm and wonderful stories. Penny spoke about her late husband and  how they ran a family business together, her conversation jumped around a bit, she interrupted herself with a sub-plot to a story, sometimes two sub-plots, her mental agility kept me on my toes. As she began to retrieve items of interest and photographs, she became more animated and I was kicking myself for not recording everything she was telling me. She was pretty well pulling cupboards and drawers apart showing me various beautiful antiques and items of interest.

But the pièce de résistance was a stunning Chinese silk embroidered scroll. It had been presented to Sir William Robinson on the day of his departure from Hong Kong in 1898 where he had served as Governor for 6 ½ years.

Image 1: Liz Chater

It was so long she didn’t have enough floor space to roll it out and nowhere high enough to hang it in a straight line.  Penny was eager to show me the whole thing, so, without missing a beat, she hopped up on the bed and hung it on a picture hook high up on the wall.  We then carefully unrolled it down the wall, laying it flat on the bed, it must have been 12 feet long.

What is that well known phrase?

Ah yes…….Shock and Awe.

Image 2: Liz Chater

The embroidery was simply stunning. It was in magnificent condition and the colours were still bright and fresh as if it had only recently been completed rather than being over 100 years old. We both bent over and closely examined it. Penny was scrutinising its condition after so many years of it being tucked away in its protective case. I, on the other hand simply couldn’t believe the beautiful craftsmanship and minute detail that lay before my eyes.

Image 3: Liz Chater

Penny and I had two different reactions but we were both in complete unison when it came to the magnificence of such an incredible and historically important piece of Hong Kong history. Before my eyes lay unseen history, in fact it was UNKNOWN history –no one apart from the family, knew this beautiful parting gift given to Sir William still existed. It was, and still is, a privilege for me to be the first person outside of the family to see this superb and exquisite creation.

Image 4: Liz Chater. A snapshot of some of the intricate detail

Image 5: Liz Chater. A snapshot of some of the intricate detail

By all accounts, this was turning in to the most perfect day.

And then Penny said:   “……but there’s more, do you want to see his medals?……” There was of course, no question that I wouldn’t want to, and in a trice Penny guided me to the framed honours board.

Image 6: Liz Chater

Officially, my breath was taken.

Therefore, presented here for the first time and never before seen in public, is what Penny affectionately called The Robinson Tribute as well as the privately held collection of Sir William's medals and honours which are lovingly kept and displayed by the family.

Shortly after my visit to Penny, I created a separate page on my old website for Sir William Robinson and The Robinson Tribute where I uploaded a couple of photographs.  It wasn’t long before they were attracting a lot of attention and a number of people messaged me concerning the embroidery. “Was it on public display?”, “could I put them in touch with the family?” “could they have pictures?”, “where did you find THAT?”,  “does anyone in Hong Kong know about it?” “where will it end up?” And so many more. Penny had made it perfectly clear that it was a family piece and will continue to be inherited down the generations of her family.

Knowing that the embroidery was of great historical significance, particularly to Hong Kong, I had also uploaded some of the images to gwulo.com a website dedicated to finding and preserving anything of historic value related to Hong Kong in a digital format. I also sent photographs to the Hong Kong Museum of History.

Five years after that in 2011 the Hong Kong Museum of History made contact with me  again and said they liked the photographs and would like to look into the possibility of using the scroll in an exhibition.

By this time, Penny had become frail and was no longer interested in enquiries. However, I gave the museum as much background information as I was able to.

- I had first made contact with the family in 2005
- Penny owned and was custodian of the scroll
- I had seen and photographed it with Penny's permission
- It was a cherished family heirloom
- Penny was only contactable via post or telephone

I agreed to post a letter to Penny on their behalf, which I duly did.

The museum was keen to hear if Penny had replied, and asked me only a few days later if there was any news.

By now Penny had had enough and I had to inform the museum of my conversation with her. it was of course very disappointing news. Having received the letter, Penny telephoned me and advised me that she no longer had any of the items, that all had been passed to her sons.

This was the end of the journey.

Or was it?

The museum once again contacted me four years later in 2015 with the exciting news that there were plans to renovate the permanent exhibition of 'The Hong Kong Story'. My posting on the gwulo.com site(http://gwulo.com/william-robinson-hong-kong-governor) had reminded them of the scroll's existence and what a gem it was. Again, I attempted to help them.

Given the age that Penny would be by now, (potentially in her mid 90s) I was not expecting her to still be at her home in Lymington.  I carried out some local research once more, and notified the museum that although she had given the items of interest to her sons a few yeas ago, I had also discovered that Penny had sadly passed away in 2013.

What I was able to do was find and make contact with Penny's son, I made a phone call, explained who I was and asked them if they minded if I could put them in touch with the museum. They agreed.

That day I felt I had really achieved progress, I had successfully connected the family with the museum, and duly introduced them via email.

In 2017 after much deliberation and soul searching, Penny’s son agreed to sell The Robinson Tribute to the Hong Kong Museum of History for their archive and display use. It will at last be featured in all its full glory as well as maintained and preserved for many years to come.  I feel honoured and proud to have had a part in the instigation of this acquisition by the museum of an item of great historic significance that quite simply, no one knew about.  I would imagine it was a difficult decision to make for the family but the future of the embroidery is secure, and that is very pleasing.

I believe it will eventually, be put on display as part of the permanent exhibition of Hong Kong’s history. It is likely to be alongside the only other known existing silk tribute scroll that was once presented to Sir Frederick Lugard. He was given his Chinese silk embroidery in 1910 at the time of his departure from Hong Kong as the then Governor.  In 2011 it too was gifted to the Hong Kong Museum of History by the respective Lugard family members.  To possess both beautiful silk embroideries must be one of the most exciting things for the museum in Hong Kong. 

The Lugard Tribute article of the Royal Asiatic Society can be read here

Image 8: The Lugard Tribute by the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong

Image 9: Liz Chater. The complete Robinson Tribute

And to think it all started because someone asked me in an email “How’s life in Kenya?”

This was indeed a 12 year serendipitous journey.

Image 10: Liz Chater

Image 11: Liz Chater

Image 12: Liz Chater

Image 13: Liz Chater

Hon. Dr. Ho Kai then handed the address to his Excellency and said: “The original has been sent on board, being of a very bulky nature.  This is the bill of lading and the key of the box and photograph of the address.”

There were two other addresses presented to Sir William at the time of his departure, one from the Hongkong community as a whole and the other from the Parsee community. The presentation of all three addresses were made in the St. George’s Hall and Sir William arrived punctually and was received in front of the City Hall by a guard of honour consisting of the men of the Hongkong Regiment.

Image 14: Liz Chater Private Archive. William Robinson portrait as Governor in the Bahamas 1878.

Acknowledgements:

My thanks once more to the late Penny Gatehouse and her family for sharing their private collection with me.