The Perryn Family

The van Perryn family (also Perryn, Perren, Perram, or Perriam) is a distinguished Malton family of Dutch extraction. The family patriarch, Augustus van Perryn, emigrated from Holland in the late 17th century.

The multitude of family names is a direct result of the wave of Germanophobia that swept Great Britain during World War I (1914-1918). Numerous families, including the van Perryns, opted to change their names to sound less "Germanic." Some members of the family chose to simply drop the "van" from their names, while others opted to alter the name further.

As the Perryns (under whatever name they may be lurking now) have always been a rather prominent Malton family, it is not surprising that numerous buildings bear the surnames associated with them. Their most prominent legacy is Fort Perryn, a military compound within the city limits of Malton.

Notable Family Members

Augustus van Perryn

Augustus van Perryn (1640?? - 1706) was born in Rotterdam some time during the 1630s. For much of his early life he worked as a sailor, often working under contract with the Dutch East India and West India Companies. He was a captain of one of the vessels transporting the army of William of Orange (later King William III of England) during the Glorious Revolution; for his services he requested and was granted a small estate in Malton. He died in 1706 on his estate.

Brig. General Roger van Perryn-Moore

Roger van Perryn-Moore (1747 - 1809) was a great-grandson of Augustus van Perryn and a close relative of John Moore, who would himself rise to prominence during the Napoleonic Wars and die at the Battle of Corunna. He served as a colonel in the 42nd Regiment of Foot (the "Black Watch") 1790-1797; during this time he participated in the capture of the island of St. Lucia.

Perryn-Moore was promoted to Brigadier General in 1804. In early 1809 he was dispatched to command a brigade in Spain during the Peninsular War; it was in this capacity that he was killed, on August 1, by a French volley during a minor skirmish.

Grp. Cpt. Winston Addam Perryn

Winston Addam Perryn (1892 - 1955) (aka "Mad Addam" Perryn) was another descendant of Augustus van Perryn who served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the RAF and head of Project Waterloo, a military research and development project based in Malton. His military service began in late 1914, immediately after the outbreak of World War I. He was originally drafted into the infantry but later applied for (and received) a transfer to the fledgling Royal Flying Corps, where he served first as a reconnaissance observer and then as a scout (fighter) pilot, managing to achieve a respectable 27 kills and ascending to the rank of Major. In October 1918 he suffered serious injuries during a landing accident and was hospitalized; the subsequent infection of his left leg made it necessary for the surgeons to amputate it. He spent the last days of the war recovering in an infirmary.

Major Perryn decided to remain with the now-independent Royal Air Force after the war and his rank was transfered to Wing Commander, but never received another flying command. Instead, he was transferred to the research and development department of the RAF. In 1938, on the eve of another war with Germany, he was promoted to the rank of Group Captain

Grp. Cpt Perryn's research bureau was especially noteworthy for its eccentric projects, including plans for flying tanks, saucer-shaped aircraft, and an aircraft carrier constructed entirely of oak wood (the Royal Navy was amused by this last idea but turned it down). His pet scheme, however, was Project Waterloo, a project to develop a "horse-drawn zeppelin" for the RAF. Despite the objections (and derision) of his fellows, Perryn continued to work on Project Waterloo until all funding to his research team was cut by his superiors.

After the war's end Grp. Cpt Perryn resigned his commission and started his own defense contracting business, servicing Forts Perryn and Creedy. After a heart attack nearly claimed his life in 1949 his health deteriorated slowly, and on Aug. 16th, 1955, he succumbed to a stroke.

Interestingly, some rumors state that data on one of Grp. Cpt Perryn's lesser-known projects, an effort to develop a means of reviving dead pilots by the use of electric diodes, was acquired by the NecroTech Corporation in the 1980s, and that they used this data to conduct research of their own into the field. However, neither the existence of such a project nor its subsequent reinvestigation by NecroTech has been confirmed by official sources.

(Who ever orginally used an Army rank for the RAF should do some research)

Locations

Fort Perryn

Contruction began on Fort Perryn in October 1912 just after the Great Fire and served as a British military post during both World Wars. It was deactivated during the 1960s, but was reactivated during the zombie outbreak in Malton. It was named in honor of Brig. Gen. Perryn-Moore.

Perryn Building (Dulston)

The Perryn Building was built in 1949 as a home for retired veterans. It was named for Brig. Gen. Perryn-Moore.

Perryn Building (Gulsonside)

The Perryn Building in Gulsonside was constructed during the 1950s and was named for its main patron, Winston Addam Perryn. Originally used by a defense contracting and security firm often employed by nearby Fort Perryn, the building was later abandoned in the 1970s and remained so until the 1990s when the land was purchased by NecroTech.