Additional
Info
Dr. Rakusen Percival Charlesworth died in Shanghai in 1958.
It is the youngest stone we found dated 1958 while very
few Jewish people keep leaving in Shanghai. It's possible
that Dr. Rakusen was one of the last Jewish people who died
and burried in Shanghai. The top piece was covering the
sewage watercourse runs out of the house to the field. The
second piece was part of the floor in the front yard. At
this day the landlords did not want to give us the stone
unless we pay them a lot. It was the first time that we
met this kind of attitude. All our attempts to convince
them did not work. Later that week through Dvir Bar-Gal's
connection with the Jewish Chronical of London, we located
the Rakusen family in UK. Dr. Rakusen's younger sister Mrs.
Adelle List lives in Leeds. With that information we came
back to take the stone one week later. This time the landlord
hide the stones from us, but after additional negotiation
they were willing to give us the stone for 90RMB.
From
the family
Dr. Charlesworth Percival Rakusen
He was
the eldest of the children and the first son. He was a colourful
character, who liked the good things of life. In Shanghai,
he ran the O.I.C. Oculists Institute Company, optometrists
and opticians. He had a large house, servants, a yacht,
and a Rolls Royce car. He married Lucille. There were no
children. He seemed to have had various affairs and lived
a busy social life. His name was Charles. The additions
'worth' and 'Percival' were his own inventions. Einstein
is reputed to have visited him when in China, and I have
a photo of Einstein with members of the Jewish community.
Charles was interned during the Second World War. He remained
in China thereafter probably because of his links there.