#2058, Francis (Frank) Hepburn CHEVALLIER-BOUTELL

Frank had an interesting and very varied career having travelled extensively in Europe, Japan, China, Ceylon, Egypt, North America, Canada, Brazil, Chile and all over the interior of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, including the Alto Parana and Uruguay rivers and their sources.

As a young man he was very much interested in the Volunteer movement and in 1871 co-operated with Lord Brassey in founding the Royal Navy Artillery Volunteers, in which he was appointed sub-lieutenant in 1873. The corps was afterwards disbanded and re-formed as the Royal Navy Volunteers.

In 1873 he settled in Argentina, where he was prominently identified with the development and commerce of that country. He was a Civil Engineer by profession, a Director of several Joint Stock Companies, and Lloyd's Agent. At one time he was President of the Bolsa de Comercio (Stock, Grain and General Exchange) of Buenos Aires.

He enjoyed a prominent membership of the Freemasonry movement being initiated in the Dupla Alianza Lodge, San Jose, in 1878 and being installed a Knight Templar and a Knight of Malta in 1910 and ending up as District Grand Master of South America, Southern Division.

Anthony Cobbold (with help from Masonic Notables book)

May 2012.

A cutting in the Western Morning News dated 22nd June 1936 read as follows:

DIAMOND WEDDING Paignton Couple Who Met In The Argentine. Mr and Mrs Chevallier Boutell of Hollybank, Primley-park, Paignton, today celebrate their diamond wedding. They were married in Montevideo, and have travelled together all over the world.

Mr Boutell is 86 years of age, and informed a 'Western Morning News' representative that he had held every possible public position an Englishman could hold in Uruguay. He told of the meeting with his wife, who is Spanish and 76 years of age. "When I met my wife" he said "she could not speak any English and I could not speak any Spanish, but we soon were able to understand each other."

Mr Boutell and his wife have only been in England for the last three months; previously they lived in Australia. Mr Boutell was born at Asbell (Aspall) Hall, Suffolk and is first cousin to the late Lord Kitchener. He spent 30 years in the Argentine. Mr and Mrs Boutell had three sons, two of whom are married, and one was killed in the war.