Richard Julius Pumphrey, 1906-1967

Richard Julius Pumphrey (Jerry’ to all his friends) was born in London on 3 September 1906. His father, Julius Pumphrey, came from a Quaker family of great respectability that had lived in Worcestershire and traced their descent from one James Pomphrey of Newnham-on-Severn, born about 1490. His mother, Alice Lilian (née Towgood), was the daughter of Edward Towgood of Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, but had come to Kent as a child. The Towgood family originated from the West Country and included Richard Towgood of Bruton, Dean of Bristol (b. 1595) and other Church of England clergymen. In London, Julius Pumphrey was a manufacturer of umbrellas.