His father Mr. Birch was the English Commissioner of Chinsurah, Esq., Purveyor-General of Hospitals, Postmaster-General, and Commissioner of Chinsurah and Chandannagore. Records show the birth of a daughter to Mr. R.C. Birch in Jan 1802, and that of a son in Nov 1806.
R.C. Birch is mentioned in the East India Company records as having received and entertained the Governor-general, Lord Wellesley, in Chinsurah.
Richard Comyns Birch was the master of the first Masonic lodge of Bengal and the grandson of John Zephaniah Holwell (of the 'Black Hole of Calcutta' fame). Edward's siblings who survived were Sir Richard James Holwell Birch, KCB, who was a Lieutenant-General and the Secretary to the military in 1857 during the Sepoy Mutiny (also called the First War of Indian Independence). [Source: Maggs, P. N. D. Henry’s Trials: The Story of Henry John Hatch, First Chaplain of Wandsworth Prison. Chelmsford: Mirli Books Ltd, 2009.]


Purba Hossain
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