Rosalind April Bearman

Keturah “was an energetic, determined woman of incisive personality. After her husband’s death she remained at 8, Tudor Road for two years until Donald was married, but in 1923 moved to 17, Sandringham Road, Leyton, immediately opposite Kate and Tom. I stayed with her there for some time in 1926 while my mother was in hospital. She later paid for my music lessons at the Metropolitan Academy of Music in Leytonstone.

She continued right up to 1928 to spend most of the summer at Beach Crest, as she and her husband had done. During 1929 she was too ill to travel and Beach Crest was hardly used by anybody that year. She usually had a maid at Beach Crest. A notable one during the 20s was Hilda Spicer, who also came back with her to Leyton. The Spicers were a big family of fisher folk who lived at 11, Golden Street, Deal. Hilda's elder sister Irma Spicer was at one time a particular friend of Edward Thomas Middlemiss.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

On her death she was living at 17 Sandringham Road and left £1838 7s to Donald Boyd Bearman according to probate records.

Thomas “was brought up as heir to his father’s business and took it over when he was only 22. His father had taken a lot of care over his education and used to take him travelling, including a tour of Ireland during which he actually kissed the Blarney Stone. Under Thomas Bearman III the shop prospered as a high class bakery and confectionary. Hackney had many wealthy inhabitants at that time and Bearmans catered for what was called "the carriage trade". It was also his practice to serve lunch daily to a select group of customers in the back room of the shop. Some blue-rimmed Wedgwood soup plates from this room have been passed down in both my family and Kate’s family.

“He married Keturah Sandell on 3rd June 1873 and for the first five years of their married life they lived in rooms at Fremont Street, Hackney. By 1878 he was able to buy a fine big house, Melbourne House, 8, Tudor Road, Hackney. His mother continued to live over the shop until her death in 1888. By about 1894 he was able to sell the shop and retire and during the next few years came to acquire property all over London, as well as "Beach Crest" (bought in 1897) and "The Moorings" both at Deal and a house in Sandwich Market Place. A photograph of Beach Crest, as it is now, is at the top of the Contents page of this website.

“He was a noted numismatist, specialising in mediaeval English and Scottish coins. Bernard Roth's book "Ancient Gaulish Coins" was dedicated to him. When he died, his collection was sold for £600, a considerable sum in those days. His whole estate was left to a family trust, the Bearman Trust. The original trustees were his sons-in-law, Tom Stutchbury, Charlie Carrington and Edward Middlemiss, with Tom as Secretary. On Tom's death in 1941 his son Tom became Secretary. Among many other things, the Trust administered Beach Crest as a holiday home for the family until 1975, when they sold it to Frank and Florence Middlemiss. Also in 1975 Donald Bearman, the last Tenant for Life of the Trust, died and the Trust was then broken up and the assets distributed among the family.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Probate records show Thomas left £16,079 14s 1d.

Ethel “was brought up in the Plymouth Brethren and was a Sunday School teacher before going to university. She graduated with 1st Class Honours in French at Somerville College, Oxford, in 1916. While on a travelling scholarship to Paris she met Don at the "Rue de Sevres Meeting" in January 1920 and they were married in September 1922. We have been told that Don first spotted Ethel on a bus in Paris and was so attracted by her that he followed the bus on his own bicycle. In 1924 they had their house Noonsun, 25, Churchfields, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, built to their own designs. Here their three children, Eirene, Rosalind and Peter were born. Ethel later obtained her Oxford M.A. and was an active academic all her life, mainly at the London University Institute of Education and as G.C.E. Chief Examiner. One person who has particularly made a point of telling me that he studied under her at the Institute is Mr. Southey, organiser of the Spring and Autumn concert seasons at Deal. Her nickname at the Institute of Education was Prudence, and her character in later life probably reflected the influence of the Plymouth Brethren in her childhood. Like her husband, she was an ardent pacifist.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Was living at 52 Hertford Road at time of death. Probate showed her leaving £13,184

Donald “was educated at the Parmiters' School, Bethnal Green, and became a Chartered Accountant, although he once said that he would rather have done something literary with his life, like Charlie Carrington in his latter years (and cf. Tom Stutchbury Jnr.). Don was a keen Quaker and, like Tom Stutchbury Snr., a Fabian socialist.

During the 1st World War he was an absolute conscientious objector and spent much time in prison. In prison (1916-1919) the regime was very tough and he disliked recalling such unhappy memories in later life. He was severely restricted in how often he could write home, what he could write and how much. The letters survive and are written in minute writing to get more on a page. They say nothing about life in prison and consist entirely of his own philosophical thoughts.

Quakers hold meetings rather than services, so on a Sunday he was always off to meeting, where he would take his little notebook to remind him of the thoughts that had come to him during the week, which he would then share with others at the meeting. He was a colourful figure - six feet five inches tall and slim, quite a health fanatic and a strong believer in homeopathy. Most days, right up until his late seventies, he could be seen high up on his specially designed two-barred bicycle cycling down to the River Lea at Broxbourne, summer and winter, to swim. (It is only fair to add that the water was warmed by discharge from the power station upstream). He was keen on nudism - perhaps as a reaction against Victorian stuffiness towards sexual matters. The large extended garden and pool at Noonsun enabled him and his children (not his wife) to swim and sunbathe in the nude, and later in life he liked to visit nudist camps.

He had a tendency to have his head in the clouds - a trait which could be infuriating when practical family matters needed attention. His wife was the extreme opposite in this respect - very down-to-earth. As a young man after the War he travelled much in Europe and met Ethel Webb in Paris.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Lived at 25 Churchfields, Broxbourne - Ancestry have phone records from 1941-1960. At death was living at 52 Hertford Road, Hoddesdon according to probate records.

Eirene “was always called "Pippa", because her father was so fond of Browning’s poem Pippa Passes. She trained as a nurse, working in London hospitals until she emigrated on a £10 ticket to New Zealand in about 1949. She met Stan Cave in the summer of 1953 on her return voyage from New Zealand, announcing her engagement on her arrival. After their marriage they both emigrated to Tasmania, where their three children, Christopher, Elizabeth and Nigel, were born.

They returned to England for the sake of their children’s education in 1961. They lived at 52, Hertford Road, Hoddesdon, although after Pippa’s death Stan moved to Hertford. Stan was a chain smoker and suffered badly from emphysema. He died on Christmas Day, 1996.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Mother maiden name Ellison according to birth transcript, matching father Norman F Cave and mother Mary Ellison, married Dec 1923, Houghton, Durham.

Christopher “married a Welsh girl who already had a child. They produced Pippa’s first grandchild just a few months before she died. They live at Harlow.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Married 1981 and had two children Nicholas 1982 and David 1987

Elizabeth “(her grandfather always called her "Bunty")" married Andrew (Andy) Walmsley who was a diabetic, after kidney failure and having had a leg amputated, he died of heart failure in February 1992 aged 38. They had no children. They had a house in Dolphin Street, Deal, which she inherited. During the last months of his life Andy was looked after by his ailing mother in her home which was also in Deal while Elizabeth (who rarely visited), remained in the marital home. A few months after Andy died in 1992 she set off to travel the world.

Nigel “married Jessica, who had suffered from cystic fibrosis from birth. They lived in Hertford and he is a postal worker. They had no children. Jessica died in 1998.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Ruth “took a degree in Social Science at Hull University and later trained as a teacher at Bradford. She taught for three years at the Tibetan Children's Village at Dharamsala, India, for Tibetan refugee children. Later she taught English to Tibetan monks and Chinese doctors in Llasa. She met her Danish husband-to-be, Anders Laugesen, a radio journalist, in Llasa. Their two sons Benjamin and Adam, were born in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Ruth and Anders were divorced a few years ago.”