Numbered from left to right: (2) Alfie Moore, the Head Gardener,
(3) Sam Farrar, the Head Groom, (5) Eric Baldwin, Chauffeur and Secretary,
(7) Mrs. John Dunville, (8) Bobby Dunville, (10) Ernest Maggs.
The words on Bobby Dunville's pullover are 'Banshee R.U.Y.C.' (Royal Ulster Yacht Club).
Banshee was the name of the Dunvilles' boat, as well as some of their balloons.
The car on the right is a Hotchkiss. These were made in France.
On the boat: Patrick Kelly, Bobby Dunville, Mrs. John Dunville,
Tommy Thompson and a lemur
Tommy Thompson the Gamekeeperand Patou in front of Redburn House |
The Gamekeeper's house,up the hill from Redburn House |
 Some of the staff of Redburn House |
 Tommy Thompson, 1952 |
 Gordon Thompson, son of Tommy Thompson, in RAF uniform, 1941 |
These photographs were very kindly provided by Gordon Thompson (Senior) and Gordon Thompson (Junior), who are a son and a grandson of Tommy Thompson, the gamekeeper. We are very grateful to John Kelly for the larger scans of the two photographs at the top of this page, and for the information below. We would also be grateful for larger scans of the three smallest photographs immediately above.
Mrs. John Dunville standing on the running board of her yellow and black Rolls-Royce. The car was a 1913 Silver Ghost model with Barker Torpedo engine. It was exhibited at the 1913 Olympia Show and then supplied to Mrs. John Dunville. Looking on is her chauffeur, Patrick Kelly. The photograph was probably taken in the 1920s. For example, in the summer of 1925, Mrs. John Dunville would have been 63 or 64 and Patrick Kelly would have been 27. This photograph and the two photographs below were very kindly provided by Patrick Kelly's daughter Maureen, by way of Sam Christie. The first four sentences of this caption are by courtesy of Michael Traynor's book "Petticoat Pilots". The Rolls-Royce might have been used as an ambulance during the Second World War. Does anyone have any more information on this, or on what became of the Rolls-Royce?
On 13th April 2020 we received a message from John Kelly, whose great-grandfather Patrick Kelly was a chauffeur for the Dunville family. Patrick is shown in the second photograph from the top on this page and in the photograph immediately above. Patrick's wife Eleanor was a maid and a cook for the Dunville family. They and their children lived in the grounds of Redburn House and were great friends of the Dunville family.
Patrick and Eleanor Kelly were well known for being a hardworking family. Eleanor was known by a lot of people for being a strong independent woman who was "as tough as nails".
Patrick was born on 11th November 1897 at 30 Ravenhill Road, Belfast, the son of Joseph Kelly, a farmer, a publican and a sea captain, and Mary Ellen Kelly née Small. He was a boarder at St. Malachy's College in Antrim Road, Belfast. Eleanor was born on 29th October 1904 in Tullynashane, County Tyrone, the daughter of Isaac Ritchie, a farmer, and Margaret Ritchie née Marshall. Patrick and Eleanor married on 15th December 1924 in St. Colmcille's Church, Ballyhackamore, Belfast and had three children: Cyril Joseph, Patricia and Maureen. John Kelly is a grandson of Cyril Joseph Kelly, through his father Michael Joseph Kelly.
Patrick died in Holywood on 12th February 1986, aged 88. Eleanor died in Holywood on 14th October 2001, aged 96.
Patrick Kelly's wife Eleanor and their children Maureen and Cyril
with an Isotta Fraschini belonging to the Dunville family.
Cyril Kelly was born in 1927 and so if he was six years old in the photograph,
it would have been taken in about 1933.
A Delage belonging to the Dunville family.
The Dunvilles of Northern Ireland and Dunville's Whisky
Gordon Thompson's Stories of the Dunville Family and Redburn House, which mention Patrick Kelly and these three cars.
Photographs of John Dunville Dunville, CBE, DL (1866-1929)
Photograph of Violet Anne Blanche Dunville née Lambart (1861-1940)