Sir (Joseph) Trounsell Gilbert, by Walter Stoneman, 1955, © National Portrait Gallery, London
Trounsell Gilbert was born in Bermuda on 30 Aug 1888 and won a Rhodes scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford, matriculating in 1907. He was a contemporary and life long friend of Noel Downing.
Trounsell rose to be Chief Justice of Bermuda and was knighted in 1955. Unlike many of Noel’s close university friends he did not enlist in the war and pursued a legal career notably in the colonial service.
A number of his communications have survived. A card from Zanzibar dated 1928 states that he has asked Jabey back in London to buy presents for Noel’s three young daughters (Pamela, Hazel and Jill). Jabey would appear to refer to Balfour Trotter, another 1907 Brasenose man, who features in some of Noel’s war time letters.
Trounsell Gilbert’s Christmas Card, Zanzibar, East Africa, 1928
After his retirement in 1958 it would seem Trounsell and his wife Fran had much more time to travel. A postcard stamped Hamilton, Bermuda 25 Nov 1957 announces an intention to spend more time in England. The Upton visitors book records they stayed with Noel and Molly in Jul 1959.
Even after Noel’s death, Trounsell writes on 4 Sep 1966, this time from a hotel in Dublin, to arrange a further visit for a lunch with Molly.
Sir Trounsell Gilbert died in Bermuda on 23 Jan 1975.
Sources
- Brasenose College Register 1509-1909, ancestry.co.uk
- Register of Bermuda Rhodes Scholars