Remarkably, James did marry Mary Julia Stephens in December 1871 and became the owner of two tea plantations in Sri Lanka. One of them was named 'Hatherleigh', according to a copy of a letter from his wife. In September of 1872, my grandfather, James Alexander was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. During the next seven or so years, James lived and worked on his Tea plantations where he maybe served in a local militia, but not in the regular forces. In the official 1881 British census, James' occupation is listed as an 'East Indian Planter'. James' departure from Sri Lanka was accomplished by boarding a native schooner using a disguise and slipping away at night, according to an account in his own handwriting dated September 5th, 1881. Because he escaped custody to take his cruise, it was unlikely that he might be a suitable candidate for the British military. While wanted by Sri Lankan and other British authorities, he might have traveled incognito for the next few years in the Pacific. I believe that enough evidence has been presented to show that James Churchward did not have the time necessary to be in the military and rise to the rank of Colonel.
Of course rumors from an unimpeachable source that he served in some secret intelligence service and had his official records purged could explain the lack of documentation. On the other hand, a more reasonable explanation is that the rumor was fabricated to bolster James' reputation and explain away the lack of records about his military service. I can surmise that the ultimate aim of this subterfuge is to sell books; for the record: I do not have a financial interest in sales of his books and I am only interested in the truth. Another piece of solid evidence against James using the title 'Colonel' is in the form of a letter between James wife, Mary Julia and James' brother George Gould Churchward dated May 14th, year unknown. In part she states:
Remarkably, James did marry Mary Julia Stephens in December 1871 and became the owner of two tea plantations in Sri Lanka. One of them was named 'Hatherleigh', according to a copy of a letter from his wife. In September of 1872, my grandfather, James Alexander was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. During the next seven or so years, James lived and worked on his Tea plantations where he maybe served in a local militia, but not in the regular forces. In the official 1881 British census, James' occupation is listed as an 'East Indian Planter'. James' departure from Sri Lanka was accomplished by boarding a native schooner using a disguise and slipping away at night, according to an account in his own handwriting dated September 5th, 1881. Because he escaped custody to take his cruise, it was unlikely that he might be a suitable candidate for the British military. While wanted by Sri Lankan and other British authorities, he might have traveled incognito for
 the next few years in the Pacific. I believe that enough evidence has been presented to show that James Churchward did not have the time necessary to be in the military and rise to the rank of Colonel.
Of course rumors from an unimpeachable source that he served in some secret intelligence service and had his official records purged could explain the lack of documentation. On the other hand, a more reasonable explanation is that the rumor was fabricated to bolster James' reputation and explain away the lack of records about his military service. I can surmise that the ultimate aim of this subterfuge is to sell books; for the record: I do not have a financial interest in sales of his books and I am only interested in the truth. Another piece of solid evidence against James using the title 'Colonel' is in the form of a letter between James wife, Mary Julia and James' brother George Gould Churchward dated May 14th, year unknown. In part she states: