How Tolkien left the land of his birth 130 years ago today – registered as a girl

Capetown, 29 March. The Guelph, with mails from Delagoa Bay, has left for Southampton, via Teneriffe, Madeira, and Lisbon. —So said the shipping news, with perfect accuracy, of a seemingly inconsequential departure exactly 130 years ago today.

The passenger list, made on arrival in England 19 days later, is a bit less accurate. Among those on that steamer in 1895 was a four-year-old Miss Tolkin. In fact that passenger was John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, aged 3.

The general story is well known. Born to English parents, young Ronald had suffered from the torrid, dry climate of the high African veldt. His mother Mabel determined to bring him and his younger brother Hilary on a long visit to England, both for health and to introduce the boys to their wider family. Their father Arthur stayed behind running a bank in Bloemfontein, capital of the Orange Free State (now part of South Africa). When Arthur Tolkien died in February 1896, the stay in England became permanent.

The details of the S.S. Guelph’s voyage from Cape Town are less well known. I have outlined the dates and stopping points in The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien. In the current post I share my sources and a few further thoughts.