18.6 Elsie Edith Le Sueur and the Beginning
of Remarkable Financial Benevolence
The visit of the Jaenickes in September 1959 must have stirred many
memories for Robert. After all, fifty years had passed since his work at
Karlsruhe. But more memories—those of the family—must have been
recalled when a few months later his sister, Elsie Edith, died in Harrow. Elsie
had married Arthur Le Sueur in 1917 and they had lived for some time at
Westbourne Terrace, Jersey. However, on Arthur’s death Elsie moved to
Harrow and lived in a substantial house at 53 Gayton Road which ran at right
angles to St Johns Road, and just ‘around the corner’ from the junction of the
two roads was Robert at number seven. Indeed, by this time the remaining Le
Rossignol siblings had all de-camped from Jersey to the UK. Herbert Sorel
living at Balliol House, Putney. Elsie Edith died on Monday 16 May 1960
aged 79
23 and her remains were cremated at Breakspear Crematorium,
Ruislip, on the following Friday. We know little of Robert’s relationship with
his sister but one can only assume it was fond as she chose to live close to
Robert and Emily in Harrow in her later years, although at the time of her
death the couple had already moved to Penn Road.
But after Elsie’s death, with age progressing, (75 at the time) and the
meeting with the Jaenickes all reminding him of his own mortality, Robert
resumed the benevolence that had began with the ‘Haber Foundation’ at
Karlsruhe
24 in 1917, which continued with his and Emily’s contribution to
the Red Cross and St John Fund in 1940, (Chap. 17) and with his donation
the Science Museum in 1952, a benevolence in keeping both with his
humanity and with that of his father Augustin. (Chap. 10) The first of these
new gifts occurred less than a year after Elsie’s passing when Robert completed
a Deed of Charitable Trust with the University of London. (16 March 1961)
Robert, described only as ‘an old student of the College’ in the literature
provided for me,
25 gave the University the enormous sum of £50,000 to
establish an Endowment Fund for ‘the advancement of education generally,
and in any manner and in particular at or for the students and graduates of
University College in the University of London in the fields of Chemistry,
Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics and Biophysics in such manner
as the College Committee may from time to time think fit’. Robert’s wish was
that two thirds of the income from the ‘Robert Le Rossignol Fund’ was to be
used for the departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Chemical
Engineering and the remainder for Physics and Biophysics—although this was
not an absolute direction. Clearly, through his donation Robert wished to help
474
D. Sheppard
of Remarkable Financial Benevolence
The visit of the Jaenickes in September 1959 must have stirred many
memories for Robert. After all, fifty years had passed since his work at
Karlsruhe. But more memories—those of the family—must have been
recalled when a few months later his sister, Elsie Edith, died in Harrow. Elsie
had married Arthur Le Sueur in 1917 and they had lived for some time at
Westbourne Terrace, Jersey. However, on Arthur’s death Elsie moved to
Harrow and lived in a substantial house at 53 Gayton Road which ran at right
angles to St Johns Road, and just ‘around the corner’ from the junction of the
two roads was Robert at number seven. Indeed, by this time the remaining Le
Rossignol siblings had all de-camped from Jersey to the UK. Herbert Sorel
living at Balliol House, Putney. Elsie Edith died on Monday 16 May 1960
aged 79
23 and her remains were cremated at Breakspear Crematorium,
Ruislip, on the following Friday. We know little of Robert’s relationship with
his sister but one can only assume it was fond as she chose to live close to
Robert and Emily in Harrow in her later years, although at the time of her
death the couple had already moved to Penn Road.
But after Elsie’s death, with age progressing, (75 at the time) and the
meeting with the Jaenickes all reminding him of his own mortality, Robert
resumed the benevolence that had began with the ‘Haber Foundation’ at
Karlsruhe
24 in 1917, which continued with his and Emily’s contribution to
the Red Cross and St John Fund in 1940, (Chap. 17) and with his donation
the Science Museum in 1952, a benevolence in keeping both with his
humanity and with that of his father Augustin. (Chap. 10) The first of these
new gifts occurred less than a year after Elsie’s passing when Robert completed
a Deed of Charitable Trust with the University of London. (16 March 1961)
Robert, described only as ‘an old student of the College’ in the literature
provided for me,
25 gave the University the enormous sum of £50,000 to
establish an Endowment Fund for ‘the advancement of education generally,
and in any manner and in particular at or for the students and graduates of
University College in the University of London in the fields of Chemistry,
Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics and Biophysics in such manner
as the College Committee may from time to time think fit’. Robert’s wish was
that two thirds of the income from the ‘Robert Le Rossignol Fund’ was to be
used for the departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Chemical
Engineering and the remainder for Physics and Biophysics—although this was
not an absolute direction. Clearly, through his donation Robert wished to help
474
D. Sheppard