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Sheepstor
with its church nestling in the Dartmoor countryside
with the expanse of Burrator reservoir behind
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In 1859, James Brooke
bought Burrator, he returned there in 1863, and died there in 1868. John
Brooke died the same year.
In 1868 John’s brother, Charles Anthoni Johnson, who had also changed his
surname to Brooke, and had in 1854 been granted the title Tuan Muda, succeeded
to being the Second White Rajah.
In 1888 he was awarded the G.C.M.G. by Queen Victoria.
Charles died in 1917
having been Rajah for nearly 50 years.
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Take
a climb to the top of Sheepstor and on a clear day you can see for
miles
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Charles Viner de Windt
Brooke, eldest surviving son of Charles was in Sarawak when Sir Charles
Brooke died and was proclaimed ‘Third White Rajah’ a week later.
After World War One, the country under his rule prospered and he was created
G.C.M.G. in 1927 by King George V.
Japanese invasion
In 1941, while he was in Australia, Sarawak was invaded by the Japanese
and suffered great devastation, and after the war he felt the task of
rebuilding Sarawak was beyond his capability, so Sarawak was ceded to
Great Britain.
Sarawak is now part of the Federation of Malaysia with Malaya, North Borneo
and Singapore.
Charles died in 1963. His brother Bertram died in 1965.
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The
three tombs surrounded by railings
in the churchyard at Sheepstor
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The tombs of the three
White Rajahs of Sarawak lie in Sheepstor Churchyard today, surrounded
by iron railings.
The first Rajah is buried under a large slab of polished red Aberdeen
granite. The second Rajah under a large slab of Dartmoor granite, reputedly
brought down from Sheepstor by a team of eleven horses. The smaller tomb
in the middle is that of the Third White Rajah and in front of this lies
the tomb of Bertram.
So ended the reign of the White Rajahs of Sarawak.
Most years, people from Sarawak visit Sheepstor to pay homage to their
White Rajahs, and there is a prayer mat hanging in the Church, given to
the people of Sheepstor by the people of Sarawak, as a token of friendship.
Go and see for yourselves what is truly a fascinating piece of Dartmoor/Sarawak
history.
There are leaflets relating this story and the history of St Leonard’s
Church available there for just 20 pence each.
If you'd like to get in touch with Tony you can email
him
at devon.online@bbc.co.uk
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