Quick Facts
Biography
Captain Richard Boswell Rushall MBE (April 1865 – 3 February 1953) was a British sea captain and businessman who served as mayor of Rangoon, Burma, during the 1930s. Born in Braunston, Northamptonshire, Rushall was the eldest of eight children. After finishing school he left for sea, joined the UK's Merchant Navy and became a ship's captain. He spent 20 years with the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, of which 14 were in command of steamships belonging to the company. In 1908 he settled in Rangoon with his family, resigned from the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and founded Rushall & Co. Ltd., a stevedoring and contracting business that employed between 3,000 and 4,000 men. In December 1922 Rushall was elected as an Honorary Magistrate, and was subsequently made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He was elected as mayor of Rangoon in January 1930, in an election that was described by Singapore's The Straits Times as having given "universal satisfaction". During his time as mayor, he sought to improve the accommodation and quality of care in the city hospital and to ensure that a fair share of stevedoring jobs in Rangoon were allotted to native dock labourers. During the Second World War Rushall retired to Bombay; he died at the age of 87 in Rangoon, where was commended by U Kyaw Tha for his work and character as mayor.
Life and career
Early life and naval career
Richard Boswell Rushall was born to saddler Benjamin Rushall (1825–1900) and Mary Boswell (1843–1918) in April 1865 in Braunston, Northamptonshire. He was the eldest of eight children. After finishing school as a young man, Rushall left for sea and joined the Merchant Navy. He earned his certificate of competency as second mate from the Lords of Trade on 8 March 1888, and eventually rose to the rank of ship's captain – he was aboard one of the final ships to travel under sail around Cape Horn. He went on to join the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, where he stayed for 20 years, of which 14 were spent in command of steamships belonging to the company. He married his first wife, Jane Amelia Graham (1872–1899), on 10 September 1892 in Burma, at the age of 27. He and Jane had four children together: Edna and Ella (who both died as children), Benjamin Thomas (1898–1980) and Nancy. Jane died on 19 June 1899.
Business
While in Rangoon, Rushall met and married Charlotte Sarah Trype (1883–1933)—the daughter of the local station master—and settled in the city in 1908 with his second wife and their three daughters: Molly, Esme, and Cecelia. Whilst there, he resigned from the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and founded Rushall & Co. Ltd., a stevedoring and contracting business located at 121 Judah Ezekiel Street (now Thein Phyu Road) next to the docks of the city. The company employed between 3,000 and 4,000 men. Over the following years, Rushall and Charlotte had two further children: Richard (1911–2002) and Edgar (1916–2002). Charlotte left with the family in 1913 for Rugby, Warwickshire, where she set up and managed two businesses: a brick factory and a haulage contracting business dealing in charabancs. Rushall remained in Rangoon to tend to his own company. Charlotte died in Rugby on 30 April 1933.
Politics
During the First World War, Rushall worked as harbourmaster at Rangoon's harbour, and in December 1922 he was elected as an Honorary Magistrate in the Rangoon Municipal Elections, whereupon he devoted himself to the improvement of the city's public parks and war memorial. He was subsequently made an MBE. Rushall was elected mayor of Rangoon in January 1930, and was seen as a popular choice – at the time, Singapore's paper The Straits Times described his election as having given "universal satisfaction".
Rushall's first year as mayor proved to be challenging: in March he was compelled to give at evidence at the trial of Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, the mayor of Calcutta, who was accused of sedition in speeches he had made during a visit to Rangoon. During the trial a riot erupted outside the courthouse. In May, further riots—this time of anti-Burmese Indian sentiment—sprung up in Rangoon and across the rest of the country following a strike by Indian coolies. One such riot lasted throughout the night of 26 May, and resulted in the deaths of 120 Indians and more than 900 injuries. When Rushall's son Richard came to visit him during this time, Rushall immediately sent him up the Rangoon River and away from the civil disorder for 2–3 months. In November, Rushall supported a resolution to improve the accommodation and quality of care in the city hospital, and the following year, he sat on a committee to ensure that a fair share of stevedoring jobs in Rangoon were allotted to native dock labourers.
Retirement and death
During the Second World War, Rushall retired to Bombay, but eventually returned to Rangoon, where he died on 3 February 1953, at the age of 87. Upon his death, U Kyaw Tha—chairman of the Commissioners of the Port of Rangoon—commended him as a "born gentleman", and praised his work at the city's hospital and his "kindliness and infectious friendliness".