COPY.
C.O.
39991
JAMES GORDON MILNE, (35), Foreman Ship's Carpenter, residing at
54 Urquhart Road, Aberdeen.
States:-
RECE
Rent 16 001 141
In March, 1914, I received a letter (since destroyed)
from my brother-in-law George Leopold Duncan, Exporting
Agent, c/o M'Ewen, Freckle & Company, Exporting Agents,
4 Des Voeux Road, Hong Kong, to the effect that Ernest
Vollbrecht, c/o Wilhelm Vollbrecht, 36 Ferdinand Street,
Hamburg, who was a friend of his was coming to this
country from Hong Kong; that he (my brother-in-law) had
given him my address so that he could call on me. He
however did not call on me, but about the end of April,
1914, I received a letter from Vollorecht at 36
Ferdinand Street, Hamburg, stating that he was coming to
London where he would stay in the Hotel Cecil; that he was
to send on three small cases to me at Aberdeen from
London, and requesting me to make stronger cases for
them to go into, and to forward them to Messrs. Pickfords
Limited, London, for shipment to Hong Kong. Sometime
later the three small cases which were of different
sizes arrived from London, and I made strong wooden
cases in which I put them into. The three cases which
I received were made of tin and were soldered up, and I
did not see the contents. I then wrote Vollbrecht to
his Hamburg address and informed him that I had the
three cases ready and asked him for further instructions.
I then received a letter from Vollbrecht, Hamburg
enclosing three address labels with instructions as tò which case they were to go on to respectively, and also giving particulars as to the contents of each case which was Herrings, Cakes, and Boots, addressed respectively to "J. Fouldie, Hong Kong"; "T. Miller, Hong Kong"; and
I made out a schedule and "A. Melville, Hong Kong", despatched the three cases by Goods train per West Coast
Route to London for Messrs Pickfords Limited, there for
shipment to Hong Kong.
ne/
In Vollbrecht's letter to me
427