Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
Grumpy Gertrude: The mysterious Bilbroughs (part 3)
Vacation homes on Kalman Peninsula in the 1930s. Robert Neff Collection
By Robert Neff
When Gertrude Bilbrough arrived in Wonsan in the summer of 1899, excitement undoubtedly swept through the handful of Western women in that port.
Gertrude was an elderly woman ― she just turned 60 ― and contrasted greatly with the American and Canadian missionary women. She was British and proper ― a lady of social status and means ― whereas the young missionaries came from humbler stock. The excitement soon dampened.
Against the custom of that period, Gertrude paid no visits to the women of the port and made it very clear that she hated Americans, Japanese and missionaries ― she didn't specify in which order. She was also very distrustful of those around her. She claimed there were only two people she trusted in the world ― her son and herself.
Her disdain and aloofness were not reserved just for the American women missionaries. She was especially disrespectful to James Frederick Oiesen, who served both as the commissioner of the Korean customs and British consul at Wonsan.
Oiesen, who was Danish and married to a Chinese woman, was very popular with the foreign community in the port and he was always willing to help those in need. He often hosted Christmas parties for the foreign children ― his and the missionaries' ― and parties for the adults.
He was described as “a charming entertainer” who knew how to keep his guests entertained with “brilliant conversations and charming music” and was “the delight of all present.” He was liked by everyone except Gertrude, who took great pleasure in demeaning him.
When Prince Albert William Henry of Prussia visited the port, she was delighted that Oiesen was not given the seat of honor next to the prince because, “in England, customs officials are nothing.” She was quick to tell anyone who would listen that her son, Charles, and Prince Henry regularly corresponded.
The foreign swimming area (possibly Kalman) of Wonsan, circa 1920-1930s. Robert Neff Collection
She obviously enjoyed being around the upper crust of society and may have ― on occasion ― let it be known that she was of nobility.
Yun Chi-ho, the governor of the province, seemed at first impressed by Gertrude and described her as “majestic.” But as he interacted with her, his opinion became negative and suspicious.
He acknowledged that she was “an able woman who has not only capacity but also talent for work” and talked “well and freely, though with a deal of diplomacy.” But judging from Yun's descriptions of her, she was anything but diplomatic.
Yun suggested that her claim to be a member of English nobility was just an act to disguise her role as “a smuggler who has found in the primitive Korea an easy and profitable corner for her illegal traffic.”
The smuggling he was referring to was probably the incident involving the weapons aboard the steam yacht and seems to imply that Gertrude was actually running the company.
As for Yun's dismissal of her claims to being a minor noble as a hoax, he was wrong. She was, in fact, the daughter of Sir Edward Bates, a first baronet.
We don't know much about Gertrude's childhood ― or even her adult years ― but it seems to have more than its share of unpleasantness.
Her father was a powerful shipping merchant who eventually owned over 130 ships. He married her mother, Charlotte Elizabeth Umfreville-Smith, in 1837 and they had three daughters. The marriage did not last long (either Charlotte died or they divorced) and in 1844 her father married another woman.
In May 1860, Gertrude married Thomas Priestly Bilbrough, a bank clerk, and they had three children: Edward Earnest (1861), Gertrude Winifred (1863) and Charles (1868).
The eldest son, a writer, died in New Zealand in 1891. How close their relationship was is unknown. Gertrude seems to have been estranged from her husband who died in Liverpool, England, on February 17, 1909, leaving his estate of 1,726 pounds to their daughter. Perhaps this may have accounted for her bitterness and distrust.
Socializing with her must have been difficult but working for her must have been much worse as we shall see in tomorrow's article.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.