Obituary notices of fellows deceased

Abstract

Sir Andrew Noble, who died at Ardkinglas, his Scottish home, on October 22, 1915, was born at Greenock on September 13, 1831. His father was George Noble, a retired naval captain, who lived in a house which at that time was called 65, Union Street, but was afterwards named “Springbank.” In earlier days the Nobles had been landowners in Dumbartonshire, but the property was sold at the end of the eighteenth century. It was bought back again in 1889 by the subject of this memoir, who, when he was made a baronet in 1902, was able to associate with his name the family estates of Ardmore and Ardardan. George Noble had twelve children, five sons and seven daughters. Andrew was the third son. The home life was one of strictness and discipline, for the father's ideas of education were very thorough. the rudiments of learning were instilled into the boys by various teachers in Greenock, beginning with Peter Murray, who grounded them in English grammar, and ending with the classes of Mr. Robert Buchanan, who taught them writing and mathematics. From his early years Andrew always did well in these local intellectual contests, and he became the possessor of several small silver medals, with the word Dux upon them, From Greenock he went on to the Academy at Edinburgh, and passed as a cadet into Woolwich in the spring of 1847. His father died of typhus fever in the autumn of the same year.