by relations of Sir Thomas Jackson. Years later, I learned what Mr. Noble’s initials were from a photo in
Frank H.H. King’s history of HSBC. His full name was: George Edward Noble. At the peak of his bank career, he was Chief
Manager of HSBC. Since I knew absolutely nothing about him in 2003, the sparse
inscription beneath the photo raised a deluge of questions:

Who was the mother of Mr. Noble’s children?

Was she alive when the photo was
taken?

Was she the photographer?

When was the photo taken?

What were the names of the
children?

When were they born?

Who was the elderly woman? Was
she the family amah?

Is it possible that she was
George Edward Noble’s mother?

This last question is speculation, but it is not as
farfetched as it might seem. We can be reasonably certain that George Edward’s
father wasJohn Noble (1799-aft 1871), an East India merchant born in Co. Kent,
England. John’s wife is so far only known to me by her first name: Mary-Ann. According to census records, she
was born in Lambeth. She was probably the mother of George Edward, but at
present I can find no birth certificate that ties her to him, unlike the paper
trail of her other children.

It may be that this glitch is simply a clerical error, and
George Edward has no birth connection to anyone other than George and Mary Anne.
I don’t know if his father ever lived in India, as some East India merchants
did – keeping two separate families, one in England and one in India. There are
dozens of other people with the Noble surname in and around Bombay at the same