McQuoid, Norman Scott (Norman)
Assistant District Commissioner
Makeni, Bombali District, Sierra Leone
Died of disease on Tuesday 23 October 1917 (aged 31)
Buried:
King Tom Cemetery, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Commemorated:
First Bangor Presbyterian Church
Brother of Private Urell McQuoid (No. 29126)
BIOGRAPHY
Norman Scott McQuoid was born on 28 August 1886 at 10 Castlereagh Avenue, Belfast and he was a son of James McQuoid (born in Larne) and Mary Rebecca McQuoid (nee Scott, born in Newry) who were married on 15 October 1885 in First Belfast Presbyterian Church. James McQuoid (aged 26) from 10 Castlereagh Avenue, Belfast was a son of John McQuoid, a shopkeeper. Mary Rebecca Scott (aged 20) from 155 Strasburg Terrace, Mountpottinger, Belfast was a daughter of John Scott, a brass founder.
In 1901 James McQuoid was an estate agent; he was also company secretary for Francis Ritchie & Son Belfast (a roofing felt manufacturer).
In 1911 James McQuoid was a Justice of the Peace for Belfast and a Managing Director.
The McQuoid family had addresses at 36 The Mount, Mountpottinger, Belfast; Lombard Street, Belfast and West Lawn, Ballyholme Road, Bangor.
James and Mary McQuoid had six children:
Norman Scott (born 28 August 1886 at 10 Castlereagh Avenue, Belfast)
Gladys (born 24 July 1888 at 10 Castlereagh Avenue, Belfast)
Ada (born 28 May 1890 at 10 Castlereagh Avenue, Belfast)
Urell (Eurell born 23 July 1893 at 9 The Mount, Belfast)
James (born 17 September 1895 at 9 The Mount, Belfast)
Louis (born 26 April 1897 at 9 The Mount, Belfast)
All four McQuoid brothers attended Campbell College – Norman from 1897 until 1904; Urell from 1904 until 1907; James from 1908 until 1911 and Louis from 1908 until 1911.
Pre-war James worked for the Bank of Commerce in Canada; during the war he served with the 16th Seaforth Highlanders (Canadians) and was severely wounded; post-war he worked as a real estate agent in Los Angeles. Post-war Louis worked as an estate agent in Northern Ireland.
Norman Scott McQuoid studied languages at TCD, practised as a Barrister-at-Law and for a time he lived at 102 Seacliff Road, Bangor. He joined the West African Civil Service and was appointed Assistant District Commissioner to Sierra Leone where he was based in the city of Makeni in the Bombali District. On 23 October 1917 he died in Sierra Leone as a result of pneumonia following yellow fever and the following details are taken from a report in the 23 November 1917 edition of the Belfast News Letter together with an obituary in Volume IV (December 1917) of The Campbellian:
The Acting Governor, Sierra Leone, has forwarded to Mr James McQuoid JP, Lombard Street, Belfast a letter regarding the death of his son, Mr Norman McQuoid BL, Assistant District Commissioner. The Acting Governor pays a high tribute to the deceased, and encloses, by permission, a copy of a confidential report of the late Mr McQuoid by Lieutenant-Colonel H.G. Warren, District Commissioner, who says: “A most reliable, hardworking zealous officer; takes great interest in all his duties, which he performs with tact, patience and ability. His office records are kept with care and neatness; capacity for work, above average; most willing to perform extra duties; conduct exemplary. He is the best all round Assistant District Commissioner that has ever served under me, and an officer I have a very high opinion of”.
The Acting Governor says the funeral service was held on the morning of 24 October in St George’s Cathedral, Freetown, and was conducted by the Right Rev Bishop Walmsley. It was attended by a large congregation, both European and native. His Excellency the Governor, the General Officer Commanding the Troops, the heads of all Government Departments, and a large number of Mr McQuoid’s colleagues and friends, as well as representatives from the Army and Navy, were present. The body, covered with the Union Jack and many Royal tributes, was drawn to the military cemetery at King Tom on a gun-carriage by native gunners of the local detachment of the Royal Garrison Artillery, and was followed to the grave by the Governor and many officers and friends of the deceased, escorted by a body of the Sierra Leone police under the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner.
By the untimely death of your son this Government has been deprived of the services of a most promising young officer, and his fellow officials of a true and generous friend.
Assistant District Commissioner Norman Scott McQuoid was 31 when he died and he was buried in King Tom Cemetery, Freetown, Sierra Leone. He is commemorated in First Bangor Presbyterian Church.