This is one of the tangents promised in
the blog tagline, a summative post, partly public service announcement if you like,
hoping to share a few thoughts and experiences so that anyone else coming to
this destination can have an even better experience. This post has four sections, and I hope that
at least one will grab your interest and be useful. Some background to the sport in Chennai (1) is followed by some information and logistical advice for anyone
heading there (2a/2b). Then there is a
personal travelog with photos (3), before the post concludes with a family
history story (4) which is the background to why this trip took place, with some research advice for anyone thinking of starting. Thank you for your interest.
Disclaimer: everything herein is true to
the best of my knowledge at the time of writing (February 2018), but this is a
city and country where change is routine, so please double-check
everything. If it helps one person plan
a similar trip, or inspires one person to take up genealogy or multi-sport
groundhopping as a hobby (or both!), job done. It’s not a replacement for the
guidebooks – Chennai is a destination where up-to-date reading and checking are
essential.
1 A Sporting Life in Chennai
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As I’ve said
before, this was never really a hopping trip, but I’ve discovered a few
things worth sharing, especially for multi-sport enthusiasts.
I was able to
visit two cricket grounds. I could
have done four cricket matches and a football match in five days, all within
an hour or two of the hotel. I also
noticed the existence of a hockey stadium – it’s another popular sport in
these parts – but I had to let that pass.
Finally, I see that Chennai is hosting an ATP Challenger tennis tour
event which raises the real prospect of a great multi-sport hop in early
February for anyone so inclined.
Football
At the time
of writing, the city’s Indian Super League football team is Chennaiyin, managed by John Gregory
(so that’s where he went...) and based at the J Nehru Stadium, which
is close to the city centre. They should not be confused with Chennai City of
the second-tier I-League, who are also currently at a J Nehru Stadium, but
many hours away in Coimbatore.
Fortunately this was not an expensive error (see earlier blogpost) –
the VIP advance ticket that I purchased online was around £5. A good hotel will also have virtually
continuous football, live and re-runs, on various sports channels.
Cricket
The IPL have
reinstated Chennai Super Kings for
the new season after a two year ban for naughtiness. The season starts later in the year and I
can’t comment on costs or ease of obtaining tickets, but the home matches
will be at the 38000-capacity MA Chidambaram Stadium. See previous post for a flavour of the
venue in different circumstances.
However, my
cricket experience centred on the hidden gem of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Assuming it continues in its present form, it overlaps with the
football season and is fantastic value.
It is a one-day tournament played over 50 overs-per-side, between
regional teams. The group stages take
place intensively over a short period of time, and groups are based around a
geographic centre. Teams may have
matches on successive days. The
regional side is Tamil Nadu, and
they were in Group C (faring badly as it happens) along with six other
teams. On some days there were three
games taking place at various venues in the city. In addition to the main stadium, various
works and college grounds come into use.
The start
time is 9.00am, which means some early breakfasting and getting through the
rush hour. The spectator entrance for
the MA Chidambaram Stadium was on the OPPOSITE side from the Madras Cricket
Club. For the other venues I would
recommend getting to the main entrance of the appropriate college or sports
club and asking from there. Don’t
assume that the works sports club is adjacent to the works.
As you can
see from two previous posts, the Trophy is part of the development programme
for local talent. You don’t need me to
tell you how insanely huge this sport is in India. For the group stage matches, you will find
free entry, no scorecards, small but knowledgeable and appreciative crowds. You will see genuine fast bowlers, more
spin and deception than Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage put together, brutal
batting and some of the stars of the future alongside the odd household name. The cricinfo site was unfailingly accurate
for times and venues, and following the BCCIDomestic Twitter feed helped me
follow what was happening, and the names of the players.
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2a Getting Around
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I used the
tuk-tuks for getting to and from the venues.
You are never more than 10m away from a tuk-tuk. Read the guidebooks for general
advice. There are no enforced rules, so
generally speaking you will pay more as a tourist than the locals and don’t
expect the meter to be running. With
hindsight I paid over-the-odds on my first day but was hampered by having no
small-denomination notes and coins at that point. After that, a 15-30 minute journey cost me
100-200 rupees. At the exchange rate
of 90ish rupees to the pound (at least for now), I didn’t haggle any more
than that, but you could probably get even cheaper rates. I tended to walk away from the immediate
area of the hotel or the main tourist venues before approaching one (if I
hadn’t already been approached), avoiding the groups of tuk-tuks (we need a
collective noun here, people) bunched together. The main point is to agree the price with
the driver before you climb on board.
Tuk-tuks will get through the rush hour quicker than cars and are an
experience in their own right.
Most tuk-tuk
drivers speak very little English other than the numbers 1-9 and the word
“hundred”, it seemed. I had
pre-printed some maps of the city centre, or occasionally showed the driver
my phone screen with a picture or the destination shown in Google Maps. I felt that if the driver knew I was
tracking the route I’d be less likely to be diverted to a mate’s pashmina
emporium, but of course you’ll be paying extra to your phone provider for
data. Make sure you know in advance
what you will be paying – I’m with EE and it was very clear.
You’ll also
have to say “No” frequently to repeated offers to take you on a tour or to
the best shops. I had no problems
beyond the first day, and even that was only being charged £5 for a £2
journey. Be confident, and assertive
if you need to be. All of the other
precautions that you need to take about wallets and belongings are no
different from any other city. I
thoroughly enjoyed every tuk-tuking minute of getting around, it is a
wonderful, chaotic and yet extraordinarily effective experience. Just do it, as they say.
I chose not to
use the buses and trains, even though they looked to offer quite a memorable
experience! Taxis also come in various
shapes, sizes and guises. I only used
them for the airport transfers and one day trip as explained below. See the guidebooks! It’s worth reading up the advice on vaccinations
(you need to take action several weeks before travelling), food and water,
sun protection, and the best times of the year to visit. As is so often the case, the locals have
enough knowledge of English for us to get by without speaking or reading
Tamil. Embarrassing but true.
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2b Logistics and Costs
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The Tourist
e-Visa application process can be completed online and there is a fee,
currently £59. Follow the instructions
carefully for the physical size and file type/size for the images you need to
upload of your passport and your face.
There are lots of do/don’ts about these. Mine came through in 24hrs but allow a few
days. If you are not travelling on an
Indian passport you need to fill out a form that the airline cabin crew will
give you. Take a pen, and read the
instructions carefully. Expect a queue
and to have your fingerprints taken at border control. It’s a serious rather than a jokey
atmosphere there.
For a long
flight I wanted to be in good shape from the start so I drove to Heathrow T5
and parked the Yappmobile there, costing £140 for the week. Not cheap, but very convenient. I flew with BA for £520, direct to Chennai,
which takes 9-10 hours. On both legs they
dimmed the lights a few hours – we took off at 1420h, and with a +5h30min
difference at this time of year, landed on time at 0530h. I’d booked the hotel for an extra night so
that I’d have somewhere to go immediately.
This is not a city for being encumbered by luggage.
You can’t get
rupees in advance so it’s important to use the ATM or money exchange counter
in the relative calm of baggage collection before the chaos of the Arrivals
floor. Before you reach the exit,
there is a Pre-Paid Taxi desk, and that was my chosen method for getting to
the hotel, having read the guidebooks.
The cost was 500 rupees for a 40-minute journey and I didn’t
argue. As soon as you turn the corner
someone will be waiting to escort you (hoping for a tip) to the pre-paid taxi
ranks. These people are hard to avoid,
but it’s probably worth just going with the flow after a long flight, as the
rest of the crowd will leave you alone.
I was at the hotel well before 8.00am.
I stayed at
the Ramada Egmore for several
reasons, and I’m happy to give them a very positive plug. I paid for seven nights including the extra
one at the start, at a cost of around £360 including breakfast. I knew my family history activity would be
around the old Fort St George area, and Egmore is close enough. The Ramada Egmore (there’s another one
elsewhere in the city I think) was the nearest relatively upmarket hotel (I
like my comforts, tyvm). I had a large
room with WiFi included, and a TV with scores of channels, many of them
showing football or cricket. None of
your Six Nations or Winter Olympics here.
All the plumbing worked, there was complimentary tea, coffee and
bottled water, a most reasonable minibar (best value in the world so far),
and a big desk and chair. Perfect for
the passing blogger, in fact.
The food was
excellent – there is an alternative à la carte
restaurant, a lobby coffee bar and extensive 24hr room service but I
stayed with the buffet breakfast and the Symphony buffet dinner. The staff in the restaurant were
particularly helpful, and I can’t praise them highly enough. Jaikumar, if you ever read this, thanks again
to you and your colleagues for guiding me through the bewildering array of
choices. The buffet always had a
European alternative, usually Italian, alongside many and varied Indian
dishes. I am not a foodie, but it all
looked good, and I tried several new things over the course of the week. I spent a total of about £300 on tuk-tuks, taxis,
entry fees, souvenirs and evening meals.
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3 The Travelog Bit (See Also: three
previous posts)
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What I Did On
My Holidays by Graham Yapp Aged 60. Well,
you know what I mean.
Wednesday: After a nap, I found a tuk-tuk driver
who knew where Trinity Chapel was located.
I then headed fruitlessly to the football stadium, as previously
blogged, so changed plan and diverted to St Matthias’ Church. Both churches feature in my family tree. Several church members were around due to
works in progress, even though it is now part of a secondary school. This particular tuk-tuk driver, a friend of
the first, was trying everything to get me to sign up with him for a week and
I was glad to get back to the hotel. It
was never unsafe, but with hindsight he overcharged me and saw me as a big
earning possibility.
Thursday: I walked 45 minutes or so to Fort St
George, which taught me never to walk that much in the blazing sun
again! Some of the poverty was
distressing and some smells unpleasant.
At the Fort, there is a museum of moderate interest, but the church
within the grounds is St Mary’s, which also turns up on the family tree. As my metabolism had not yet reached the
same time zone as my body, it was back to the hotel for dinner and sleep.
Friday: The first of two games of cricket, as
blogged previously.
Saturday: Through the hotel, I booked a car and
driver to take me to the World Heritage Site at Mahabalipuram, where Hindu
temples and monuments have been carved from solid granite, and truly the site
deserves its special status. However, being
less independent meant a day of hidden costs and tourist games. I could not realistically travel by train
and bus to the site. This was the only
way in practice to get there and back with ease in a day.
The price of
the trip increased by £3 overnight, and only after I’d paid was it revealed
that there would be other admission and toll charges. Fine, it was all still good value. The journey was smooth, and interesting in
itself. I paid the small road toll,
the small entry fee to the site as a whole, and suddenly another man got in
the taxi and introduced himself as my guide.
I hadn’t understood that this would happen. In fairness, he was very good indeed. I had to pay again (but still only £5) for
a foreigner’s ticket to the temples. Occasionally
we jumped back into the car to get around, which was a big advantage on a
very hot day.
All good, until
I was ushered into a shop. A battered
certificate was produced by the custodian which, it was claimed, showed that
all profits were being reinvested in approved educational schemes and tuition
for the artists and creators. I played
the game and bought one objet d’art, but then had to be firmly clear that was
it. It wasn’t unsafe, but it was
intimidating. At the end of the tour
the guide asked for 4000 rupees, we bartered and in the end I paid him 3000
for an hour and half of one-to-one conversation. Although feeling some loss
of control, I’d enjoyed the tour and learned a lot, and was still within my
budget.
 
Overall, the
balance of power is as follows. The
more independent you can be, the more likely you are to avoid the tourist
traps. On the other hand, playing the
local games can sometimes be the only way to get where you want, and you are
maybe a touch safer. The current exchange
rate means that I won’t need to declare bankruptcy.
Sunday: Cricket again, as per the previous
post, and an early finish meant that I made it to the Government Museum,
which turned out to be a little gem with overtones of the grand past and a
golden age of taxidermy.
 
Monday: I went for a photowalk near Marina
Beach, the fish market, and the Kapaleeshwarar Temple before
returning to pack, and spent an hour surfing the non-sports channels,
marvelling at all the facial expressions in the soaps and dramas.
   
Chennai has
been fun and varied. It is an
in-your-face, chaotic, messy city where you need to be as careful as you
would in any other major city. You see
more poverty, or at least living on the subsistence line, than riches. I can see why Alexander Walsh (see below)
wanted to be here in the early days, and maybe as it grew and changed why
George Saul wanted to bring Margaret back to England.
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4 The Genealogy Bit
Surnames: Walsh, McConnell, Saul, Yapp,
Bolton, Fenton
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Maybe one of
the other descendants will stumble across this thanks to Google (other search
engines are available), so here’s the sense of what brought me here in the
first place.
In 1829 a
nineteen-year old Irishman by the name of Alexander Walsh of Loughrea signed on the dotted line for life
with the Honourable East India Company.
He is repeatedly shown in the records as hailing from County
Westmeath, though there is a more likely location in Galway. No records survive to my knowledge to tell
us more. Times were very hard in
Ireland. We don’t know whether he was
adventurous, ambitious, or felt that immigration was his best bet for a good
life. He transferred from Dublin to
the Company’s holding camp at Chatham, before setting sail on the HEICS
Minerva. I have sat in the British
library with the original ship’s log in front of me, tracking the events of
the voyage and the names of the others who did not survive the journey. In those days Chennai was Madras, and young
Alexander landed in August 1829 to become a Gunner in the Company’s
Artillery. Alexander Walsh is one of my great-great-great-great grandfathers
on the paternal side.
Something
happened in 1833 which also fuels speculation about his character, or his
treatment. The bottom line is that a
court martial found him guilty on two counts – persistent talking in the
ranks, and hitting his drill sergeant with a stick. He was sentenced to six months of solitary
confinement.
He served his
time and then reappears on the annual personnel listings of the Artillery. He was discharged in 1848, in his late
thirties, and I have seen the original pension record that says he was
“permitted to remain in India”. The
next identifiable record is the baptism of Margaret Walsh, the daughter of Alexander and his wife Catherine. We know nothing about the marriage location
or any other siblings, and we know nothing at all about Catherine except that
she outlived Alexander, finally buried in Madras in 1900 as a widow at the
ripe old age of 85. We don’t know what
happened to Alexander. It is quite
likely that Catherine was younger, and Anglo-Indian. The Company was quite happy with
intermarriage as part of its vision for a peaceful society. It fared less well in its principal
activity of trading for profit in times of war.
I should now
introduce William McConnell, a
private in the British Army 45th Regiment, The Sherwood Foresters. It has not been possible to trace William
back any further. In 1868, the
regiment was involved in a memorable march over a mountain pass, covering 300
miles in 24 days and taking part in the capture of Magdala in Abyssinia,
before being sent to India. There is
no documented certainty that William took part, but it is very likely. On 26 May 1870, William (34) married
Margaret Walsh (17) at St Mary’s Church within the walls of Fort St
George. pictured below. There must have been a
redeployment to Burma before the birth of their first daughter Ellen in
1873. The key event for my tree is the
birth and baptism of their daughter Margaret
McConnell in 1874. There would be
a third daughter, Mary, around 1877.
William, it seems, did not return to England with the Sherwood
Foresters in 1878, and were controversially re-organised, in effect disbanded. We know (see below) that the couple were
still together, in worsening health, in Madras in 1912.
 
The third
generation of my family in Madras starts with the marriage of Margaret to my
great-great grandfather George Saul,
at the Madras Registry Office in 1870.
George was in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. His father Jasper was a horse trader and
boatman from Gloucestershire who had settled in the Black Country, literally
by the side of a canal in Oldbury.
George was doing a twelve-year stint in the British Army, and Margaret
gave birth to their first child, George Jr, in Madras. The place of his baptism, Trinity Chapel,
still stands and functions today and I received a warm welcome when I turned
up out of the blue last week. Maybe that's the same font used for the service.
 
George and
Margaret returned to England with their son in about 1896. Their second child, Martha Saul, is my great-grandmother. Margaret became known as “Granny Saul” and
my parents have definite recollection of her Indian facial characteristics
and long plaited hair. She was frail
and housebound in her latter years. Incredibly,
a letter from Margaret to her mother, and one in return, surfaced for me in
Texas through a contact of a contact in the genealogy forums. (Thanks to Angela and Jen for all they
contributed to my investigations.) Young
Margaret wanted her mother to come over and join them in England, she had “no
regrets”, and “George will work night and day” to keep them. George was working as a labourer in the
phosphorus factory in Oldbury. The
letters contain checkable details about other family members that all stack
up. Her mother never made the journey
because of failing health. She died in
1912, the funeral taking place at St Matthias’ Church, where I was also
warmly welcomed last week. Restored, it's now within the grounds of a secondary school and has a large active Anglican congregation.
 
Meanwhile
William then seems to have returned to England as a widower – more
correspondence shows him to be in Chatham in 1916, and I am waiting
impatiently for the 1921 census to be published in the hope that he is alive
at that date and traceable. We know
all this because William’s personal effects were eventually in the keeping of
descendants of his eldest daughter Ellen, in the United States.
In 1912, Martha
had a son, James Yapp. James’ father, James Powell or Powles, had
by then taken his mother Mary Ann’s original surname, Yapp. In my case, the nominative line then tracks
back from Mary Ann, to Henry, to George, to Thomas and finally (for now) to
John Yapp (or Yopp) in the village of Lydbury North, Shropshire. If anyone knows any more about John Yapp,
probably born around 1730, and who married Mary Jones on 12 May 1750, I’d be
very happy to hear from you!
James Yapp is my grandfather and he married Lily Bolton, who was in domestic
service in Leamington Spa and whose ancestors pretty much all came from the Coventry
area, where they mostly enamelled cycles or wove and wound silk.
The eldest
child of James and Lily is Raymond
Yapp, who married a West Bromwich girl by the name of Lily Fenton after his National
Service. Their eldest son is Graham Yapp, that’s me, vintage 1957,
and I cannot begin to tell you how much fun and how fulfilling it has been to
track all of this story and to know and understand how I got here. I hope that my children and grandchildren
will enjoy the outcomes of the research and understand the life decisions of
their ancestors. They seem to have had
hard-working lives, large families and significant hardship when I look at my
tree as a whole. They weren’t “good
old days”, and one thing is incredibly clear as you follow the story down the
decades – the women of the world have had the worst of the deal.
How did this story unfold?
Well, we have
done most of this through subscriptions to internet-based services such as
FindMyPast and ancestry dot com.
Searches starting with the Victorian censuses from what we knew from
the family “oral history” led to the purchases of birth, marriage and death
certificates as needed to prove the generational links. Once the India connection appeared I spent
several days at the British Museum in London for the East India Company and
India Office archives, and a couple of days searching regular British Army
records at the National Archives in Kew. I’ve also needed to use several websites for
army regimental history. Through a
chance search on the Sole/Saul Society forum (known of course as Sole Searching)
I later corresponded with researchers Angela, linked to the Sauls of
Gloucestershire and Jen, a descendant of Ellen McConnell, who supplied the
amazing correspondence via Texas that added emotional colour to the names,
facts and figures in my database.
More and more
material is being added to the online resources every week. We’ve spent around £1500, spread over many
years, to get as far as we will be able to get before the threads of evidence
come to an end. Now you can understand
why I never found time for trainspotting or planespotting as well as
groundhopping, and thank you if you have read this far. I’m happy to give some amateur advice to
anyone who fancies starting, but there is plenty of support material out
there. Just be prepared for surprises,
and take your time to get it right.
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What Next?
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Weather-dependent,
but hoping to get to football on Saturday.
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!
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One of the best thing in Chennai is cricket stadium. You can find a best Cricket Club In Chennai.
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