Keturah Sandell

Transcript of will of Elizabeth Swingbourn

This is the last will and testament of me Elizabeth Swingbourn of Kidlington in the County of Oxford, Widow, made this twenty fourth day of June in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty nine.

First I will and direct that all my just debts funeral and Testamentary Expenses and the cost of proving this my will be paid and discharged by my Executors herinafter mentioned. I give and bequeath unto William Scroggs of Kidlington aforesaid, Miller, and Robert Burgoyne of the same place, Tailor, the sum of six hundred pounds, new three and one half per centum Bank Annuities, upon trust, to pay the dividends thereof to my niece Phillis Sandell, of the City of Oxford, for her sole and separate use independent of her husband, whether present or future, and not subject to his debts, control or engagements and, so that she shall not anticipate or assign the same or any part thereof, and from and after her decease upon trust to assign and transfer the said capital sum unto, and equally between, each of her children as shall be living at her decease. But in case of the death of either in her lifetime leaving issue, then upon trust, to assign and transfer the share of him, or her, so dying, unto his, or her, children. I give and bequeath unto the said Phillis Sandell, all my household furniture, linen, books and wearing apparel, for her sole, and separate use.

I give and bequeath unto my niece, Charlotte Pointer, now or late of Edgeware Road, in the County of Middlesex, one hundred pounds of the like stock, for her separate use and whose receipt for the same shall be a sufficient discharge.

I give and bequeath unto my niece Mary Head of Marston in the County of Wilts, fifty pounds of the like stock.

Unto my niece Ann Pointer, of Edgeware Road, aforesaid, one hundred pounds of the like stock.

Unto my niece Sarah Pullen, of Hinton in the County of Wilts, one hundred and pounds of the like stock.

Unto my nephew John Cox, of Bletchington in the County of Oxford, one hundred pounds of the like stock.

Unto my niece Martha Cox, of the City of London, one hundred and fifty pounds of the like stock, and to Rebecca, the wife of Stephen Cox, of New Woodstock in the County of Oxford, one hundred and fifty pounds of the like stock.

I give and bequeath to each of the daughters of my late nephew, Charles Warner, of Bletchington aforesaid, as shall be living at the time of my decease, nineteen pounds sterling, and to each of the children, as shall be then living, of a daughter, or daughters, of the said Charles Warner, who shall have died in my lifetime, a like sum of nineteen pounds.

I give and bequeath unto my niece Martha Upcott, of the City of London, nineteen pounds. Unto my niece Rebecca Smith of the same city, nineteen pounds.

Unto Ann, the daughter of the aforesaid Rebecca Cox, the sum of fifty pounds and unto Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Gibbs, of Warbrough in the County of Wilts, the sum of fifty pounds.

I give and bequeath to each of the children of my late nephew Thomas Cox, of Blechington aforesaid, the sum of ten pounds, to be paid to each on his or her attaining the age of sixteen years.

I give the sum of ten pounds to be distributed in bread to poor widows and widowers of Kidlington aforesaid at the discretion of my executors. I give and bequeath unto the said William Scroggs and Robert Burgoyne, the sum of nineteen pounds each as a small remuneration for the trouble they will be put to in executing this, my will. All the rest and residue of my estate and effects, whatsoever, and wheresoever, I give and bequeath unto the said William Scroggs, and Robert Burgoyne, upon trust, to pay and divide the same unto, and amongst themselves, and all, and every other the legatees, in my said will, mentioned, rateably and in proportion to the amount of their respective, and several, legacies, by me hereinfore bequeathed. And I hereby nominate and appoint the said William Scroggs and Robert Burgoyne to be executors of this my will, and, hereby revoking all former wills by me, heretofore made, do declare this to be my last will and testament, and I empower my said executors to alter, vary and transpose my said trust funded property as it may appear best, to them, but so that nevertheless, the sum may be secured on some real or Government Security or Securities, upon trust, aforesaid. And I devise all mortgaged and trust estates which may be vested in me unto the said William Scroggs and Robert Burgoyne, subject to, and upon, the equities and trusts affecting the same. And I declare that their receipt and the receipt of the survivor and his heirs shall be a good discharge for all monies, which, in such receipt, shall be expressed to be received, and that all persons paying any monies for the purposes of this my will, and, taking a receipt from them or him, accordingly shall not be obliged to see to the further application of the same monies, nor be accountable for the misapplication, provided lastly. And I hereby declare that on the death, refusal, or incapacity to act, of either of them, the said William Scraggs and Robert Burgoyne, or any trustee or Trustees, to be appointed in his or their place or stead, it shall be lawful for the acting trustee, or trustees, for the time being, of this my will, or the executors or administrators of the last acting trustee, to appoint a new trustee, or trustees, in the place as stead of such trustee so dying, refusing or becoming incapable, to act as aforesaid and thereupon, the said trust monies and premises shall be transferred so that the same may vest in such new trustee, jointly with the continuing trustee upon the trust hereinbefore declared. And that every such new trustee shall have the same power, as if he had been appointed by this my will. And my will and mind is that my trustees and executors shall not be answerable the one for the other of them, or for signing receipts for the sake of conformity, or for involuntary lapses, but each for his own acts, receipts and defaults only. And that it shall be lawful for them to reimburse themselves, and to allow each other all losses, costs, charges and expenses, which they, or either of them, shall be put unto, or sustain for, or by reason of, this my will, or the trusts hereby reposed in them. In witness whereof, I the said Elizabeth Swingbourn have to this, my last will and testament, contained in this and the two preceding sheets of paper, set my hand the day and year first above written.

Elizabeth Swingbourn

The writing contained in this and the two preceding sheets of paper was signed by the above mentioned Elizabeth Swingbourn the testatrix in the joint presence of us who in her presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses.

J. V .Harrison

Batten Harrison

Copy of will of Mrs Swingbourn. Dated 24th June 1839

Taken from the copy of the will made by Harrison and Son.

At the age of 11, Edward was awarded Oxford University privilegiatus as an apothecary. This gave him special rights in the city and he wouldn't have had to complete an apprenticeship. See attached image and www.headington.org.uk/oxon/mayors/government/1_privilegiatus.htm for more details.

Apothecary and Man Midwife, who was bankrupted in 1837. He had some kind of relationship with Mr Paget who re-established the Dorchester School in 1801 (see attached image). This is probably the origin of Joesph’s middle name.

From British History Online:

Dorchester:

Schools.

There had been an endowed grammar school in Dorchester since 1652, but by the middle of the 18th century it had ceased to provide effective education. (fn. 623) In 1801 a Mr. Paget advertised that he would re-establish 'Dorchester School' which had long been vacant, and offered to board 8 young gentlemen at 20 guineas a year, with dancing and French included in the curriculum. (fn. 624) By 1833 the school had 50 pupils. (fn. 625)

From: 'Parishes: Dorchester', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 7: Dorchester and Thame hundreds (1962), pp. 39-64. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63767 Date accessed: 19 April 2011.

“There is a family tradition that the Sandells descended from a Norman knight, John de Sandell, who came over with William the Conqueror. Joseph was a school master who founded a school in Oxford which closed only in 1975. Joseph died in 1866 and Leah then brought her young family to Hackney.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Hadajsah “married John Jones, a builder, in 1878, and hence was always known as "Auntie Jones". In 1881, they were living in Lower Clapton. From 1905 she lived first at Southwall Road, Deal, and finally at de Burgh Hill, Dover”

- Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

John “and his wife Eunice kept a draper's shop in High Street, Dover, for many years before the 2nd World War. Members of the family staying at Beach Crest always made a point of buying something in their shop. Bert was very fond of music but of somewhat limited tastes; he loved Handel and Haydn but could not see much in Bach or Mozart. At the beginning of the War they had to give up the shop as it did not pay and, in late middle age, Bert managed to obtain an uncongenial clerical job in the post office in Birmingham, where they lived in unsatisfactory lodgings. Eunice died suddenly of a stroke in May 1941, leaving Bert all alone in a strange land. However, in December 1943 he married Anne Sumner, the supervisor in the post office where he worked. They lived at Sparkbrook and he died four years later.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

“Ernest Jones lost his job and his home and he and his wife lived in a hotel room while looking for lodgings. After a hard day's searching they came back to their hotel room and sat on the floor exhausted and she died in his arms. He died soon afterwards.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

“Ida ... married William Malcolm on the 25th July 1908. From early in the 2nd World War they were living at 3, Sandringham Road, Leyton, opposite the Stutchburys, where William died in 1949. My wife Florence and I inspected the house in 1954 with a view to buying it, but we decided not to. Ida and William had three children, Frank, Alan and Kathleen.”

Bearman Family tree by Dr. Frank Middlemiss

Probate 28 May 1908, John Barraclough Howson of 134 Hollydale-road Peckham, Surrey died 10 April 1908 at the Charing Cross Hospital Middlesex, to Rhoda Howson widow. Effects £184 19s.

Rhoda “married Ernest Southernwood in 1904. They lived at 158, Waller Road, New Cross, South-east London. They had no children.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Emily “married Mr. Mitchell (died 1937), a man a good deal older than herself and she was a widow for many years, living at Lee, south-east London. They had no children. She died suddenly in November 1961. I was told that this was the result of being caught between two trams and crushed (but were there any trams in the London area in 1961? Another story is that she was knocked down by a car).” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Winifred “married Basil Banks and they lived in a house called Winbas at 18, Exford Road, London, SE12. (Note that nearly all this part of the family was concentrated in south-east London). In later years Winnie moved to Hythe. She suffered with arthritis and was not very mobile. Winnie and Basil had two children, Winifred Jnr. and Beryl. Winifred Banks married a man named Cooke, and they had a son Clive Vincent Cooke, born 29th August 1943. Beryl Banks, with her sister and parents, used to stay at Beach Crest in the 20s.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

“Wilfred emigrated to Canada on the 8th March 1913. He married and had two daughters.” — Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Kezia “was born at Headington, near Oxford. In 1911, she married a Thomas Coles and they lived in Newbridge, Monmouthshire. Sadly, before they had been married long, he had an accident. I was told that he walked in the dark into a machine - I think it was a lawn mower - and suffered injuries from which he died. Auntie Kiz, as she was always called, spent the rest of her life in domestic jobs and lodgings. According to the 1881 and 1901 censuses, she was living with the Bearmans at 8, Tudor Road on both these dates. She had a room in our house at Canterbury Road, Leyton, for a time, when I was a small child. In her last years she had rooms in Granville Road, Walthamstow.

“Like most of her sisters, she was a woman of forceful personality and strong opinions, fiercely conservative in her views. Like so many people originating in the 19th century, and like some characters in Dickens, she had a special dread of having to go into the workhouse. In 1934, when for some illness she had to spend some time in St. Margaret's Hospital, Epping, we had to be very careful that she did not find out that it had formerly been the workhouse. For some reason she always seemed particularly fond of me. In February 1941 it was reported that she was using her precious ration coupons to buy extra food ready for my next leave.”

Frank Middlemiss wrote in his family notes online

Frank Middlemiss wrote in his online notes: Clara “was the only one of Joseph and Leah's children who was not given a biblical name. As they already had a Kezia, named after one of the daughters of Job, they intended to call their youngest after another of Job's daughters, Keren-Happuch, but when they arrived at the font neither of them could remember the name. So, quite on the spur of the moment, looking at his daughter's typical Sandell red hair, Joseph decided to call her Clara Bright. Clara Sandell later, as a young woman, emigrated, quite alone, to Canada and then the USA. There she married three successive husbands, of whom the last was a wealthy orange grower at Anaheim, California. She died in California in 1952.”

I have not been able to find any evidence of middle name Bright or of 3 husbands, however the meaning of the name Clara is taken to be bright so possibly the story got mixed up over the years.

Emigrated 1st July 1911 to Halifax, Canada, on board the ship Carthaginian. When Clara crossed from Canada to US in 1912 she apparently had 25 dollars in her possesion and was described as being 5'5" tall, fair complexion, brown hair and green eyes.

Death record of Clara Long online at vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com confirms her identity with mother’s maiden Davis, father Sandell and birth date of 26th Sept 1863.

Clara can be seen in the 1920 census in Los Angeles as widow Tagg. The following year she married William J. Long. From the time of her crossing the Canada - US border in 1912 when she gave her age as 38 (48), 1920 census 45 (56) Clara understated her age. In her death record she is recorded as being the widow of William Tagg (her first marriage) but the dates were at least correct.

Was a builder according to the 1916 voter registration lists attached. 

Mother was Elizabeth Hunt, father James according to marriage record on familysearch.

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.

Thomas “died shortly after the move from Fremont Street to Tudor Road and on the very day of the birth of his sister Edith, who was said to have been born "sobbing and sighing" as a result.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Kate “was in many ways a daintier version of her mother, from whom she inherited her flaming red hair. As a child she hated her red hair because the rude urchins used to shout "carrots" after her, but her husband later particularly admired it. Kate was educated at Lady Eleanor Holles' School, which was at that time situated in Mare Street, Hackney. She loved music and played both piano and violin. Her husband Tom bought her a piano when they married (8th October 1904) and this same piano was still very much in use by Kate's Merkin great-grandchildren ninety-four years later. She also loved animals, especially cats, of which she nearly always had one. In 1934 the family got a Chow dog called Ruff, which can be seen in many photos taken in the 1930s. Ruff was a splendid big dog, very strong; unfortunately he pulled Kate over, causing her to break her hip in 1938.

Like her mother, Kate was a woman of strong opinions and precise and proper ways. She lived all her life after her marriage at 16, Sandringham Road, Leyton even though this involved sleeping in the coal cellar during the Blitz of the 2nd World War. Before her marriage she had been a rather reserved person; afterwards, when she was stuck out at Leyton with nobody to talk to, her sisters were astonished at her flood of conversation when she visited the family home in Hackney. However, in 1911 her sister Hilda also moved to Leyton.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Thomas “worked all his life for the Civil Service in the Post Office Secretarial Department. He was a Fabian socialist, a supporter of the Labour Party, and a keen chess player. He also took an active interest in the League of Nations Union and spent much time in literary pursuits. He regularly played chess in Essex teams and was secretary of the Leyton Chess Club. When Donald Bearman was in prison during the 1st World War Tom wrote out books for him in longhand and sent them to him as letters, since Don was not allowed access to books. He suffered a stroke in late March 1941 and died within a few days.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Thomas of 16 Sandringham Road, probate Llandudno 28 June to Kate Stutchbury widow and Thomas Stutchbury analytical chemist. Effects £1773 19s 6d.

Thomas Stutchbury Jnr. “was known as Stutch until the death of his father. He was educated at Mrs. Press's Oxford House School in Leytonstone and then at Bancroft's School, Woodford Wells. He gained the B.Sc. in Chemistry of London University at Sir John Cass College, London. He was the first person in the direct line of descent of the family to take a university degree. He spent his life as a professional chemist, first working for Siemen (electrical) but later became Chief Chemist at the Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene in London. Actually he used to say to us that he would rather have been an accountant- he was very good at figures and used to try to coach me in mathematics when I was a boy (without much success I am afraid).

He was also very good at electrical and radio matters. He collected stamps and in later years also had a large collection of cacti and became quite an expert on them. He was also very interested in photography and was rarely without his bag containing camera and lenses. Before colour photography became widespread he would develop and enlarge his black and white photos in the cellar at Sandringham Road. For many years until 1975 he was Secretary of the Bearman Trust.

In the summer of 1947 my future wife Florence Fozzard stayed with us at "Beach Crest" for the first time. Tom and his mother were also there and his mother, referring to Florence, remarked

"I wish Tom could find a nice girl like that!".

Thus inspired he went out as soon as they were home and found Eileen Smith. They were both keen tennis players and they met at the Tennis Club. They were married that same autumn. Tom lived at 16, Sandringham Road, Leyton, all his life until he and Eileen moved to Sidmouth in 1993 to be near their daughter. The family had lived in that house for nearly ninety years; it was newly built when Tom and Kate bought it in 1904. Eileen died on the 29th February 2008, at the great age of 96.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Edith “was the intellectual one among the Bearman girls. She was an impressive person to meet with her level gaze, deep well-modulated voice and beautiful articulation. Charles Carrington (12th Dec. 1877-30th April 1946) was an accountant. Charles and Edith married on the 22nd August, 1903 and from about 1911 they lived in an elegant house at 11, Willifield Way, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Golders Green. London.

They had been medically advised to move there from Clapton for the sake of Edith's health, which had never been very good. Charles lost his job early in the great depression (about 1929) and they invested in a book shop, The Temple Fortune Book Shop, 1071, Finchley Road, Golders Green, London, which they ran successfully until Edith died. Several of the books in our collection were bought there. They had to leave Willifield Way for two months, September-November 1940, as there was an unexploded German bomb in the ground just behind the house. The very day after they had arrived back home the house in which they had been staying temporarily was flattened by a bomb. When Elsie Bearman was admitted to a mental hospital in 1922 Charlie took on the thankless job of Receiver of her property under the Court of Protection. When Charlie died I took on this job until Elsie died in 1970. Edith died in November 1945, of pneumonia after getting soaked in a rain storm. I met Charlie that Christmas, when he seemed quite lost without his wife, and he died only four months later.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Hilda “was educated at the Misses Pitman’s school in Hackney until 1890, then at Lady Eleanor Holles’ School, which she left in 1895. In 1894, 1895 and 1896 the family went on holiday to Margate (by "Eagle" steamer from Tower Bridge). These were the first family holidays they had had, which suggests that Thomas Bearman probably retired from the shop in 1894.

About 1900 Hilda met Edward Middlemiss, as the Middlemiss family was at that time living next door at 10. Tudor Road. They became engaged in 1901 and married in 1907. Hilda, having a clear soprano voice, was in the choir at Mare Street Baptist Church, took part regularly in the Nonconformist Union Choir Festivals at the Crystal Palace, and sang in several Handel and other oratorios. This was with her fiance, who had a good baritone voice. In addition she was a fairly competent pianist. She was also an excellent draughtswoman and was often employed by her father to make detailed drawings of his coins. She was a keen tennis player and, in the winter, a skater on the lake in Victoria Park.

After their marriage, Hilda and Edward lived for 3½ years in rooms at 32, Poole Road, Hackney, London, and here their first child, Edward Thomas Middlemiss, was born. They moved to 38, Canterbury Road, Leyton on the 11th March 1911. Here Edward was able to indulge his interests in gardening, carpentry, photography and in having a dog - the Airedale Bob was the first.

Hilda was a less assertive person than her sisters Kate and Edith but was a woman of strong principles and knew her own mind. She was more concerned with fundamentals than with more trivial matters; she was not worried if the house was a bit untidy or about such details as the precise time of meals as long as her children grew up with the right principles in life. Like her husband and like her sister Kate, she was very fond of animals and we grew up in close contact with dogs, cats, tortoises, etc. Many of her letters from the time of the second World War have been preserved and shed a vivid light on what housekeeping, shopping and travelling were like in the dark days of the Blitz. On reading them, the word "indomitable" comes to mind as descriptive of her.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

Edward “was born on Michaelmas Day , September 29th, at 58 Brownlow Road, Dalston. London.

“He left school at 13 and was mainly self- educated. He spent some time working in his father's glass factory (he was working there in 1901, when the census describes him as a glass silverer) but also worked in about 1902- for Ever-Ready Batteries at Tottenham. He married Hilda Bearman on the 7th September 1907. From 1903 he was in the finance department of Yardley (soap and scent), Carpenter’s Road, Stratford, London.

“They gave him a handsome canteen of cutlery as a wedding present, some items from which are still in use in 2009. He remained with the firm for the rest of his life, latterly ranking as Cashier. His salary in 1931 was £600 per annum.

“He was a keen gardener and fond of travel. He had a good baritone voice and was active in the Nonconformist Union Choir Festivals at the Crystal Palace and sang in several Handel and other oratorios. Although he never learned to read staff notation and relied always on Tonic Sol-Fa, he became for a time Choirmaster at Cann Hall Baptist Church, Leyton, which he and his family attended during their early years at Leyton.

“However, something very unpleasant happened (I was never able to find out exactly what) and he not only resigned the Choirmastership but gave up forthwith all interest in the Church and all interest in music. This must have been some time during the 1st World War.

“In 1925 he left his family and went to live with a Miss Flo Bedwell, a fellow employee at Yardleys. It is an interesting comment on the customs of the time that, although I knew her quite well, I never learnt her Christian name; I used to call her "Auntie Bed". They lived first at Pinner, later at Thundersley (Essex) and finally at 27 (or 29) Winchester Road, Northwood Hills Middlesex.

“He always fully maintained his family, visited us regularly every week and often came on holiday with us. He was bitterly disappointed in 1925 when a promised business trip for Yardleys to New York failed to materialize, but later travelled extensively on holiday (presumably with Miss Bedwell) to the Channel Islands, a Mediterranean cruise, the Rhineland and especially Switzerland, which he loved.

“In 1926 he bought his first car, a Wolsley YO4854. He was the first in the family to have a car. He learned to drive but never did in fact drive, always leaving the driving to his son Edward. He underwent an operation for cancer of the colon in London Hospital (Royal Ward) but a few days later an abscess on the site of the operation necessitated a second operation, which he did not survive. He died on Easter Sunday, 9th April 1939.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

On his death at London Hospital, Whitechapel Road E1, Edward, of 25 Winchester Road, Northwood Hills, Middlesex left £1152 14s 4d to Edward Thomas Middlemiss, motor mechanic, according to probate records.

Another probate grant the same day showed Edward “3 July to Florence Mabel Bedwell spinster. Effects £975. Resworn £900. Another Grant same day.”

Edward “was educated mainly at Mrs. Press's Oxford House School in Leytonstone and the Leyton Technical College. Leaving school at 16 he was first apprenticed to the plumbing firm of Alexander Grant (an old family friend) but had great difficulty in settling down and passed through many and varied jobs during the 20s and early 30s. About 1926 he started to train as a draughtsman by correspondence course, but soon gave it up. Finally, about 1935, he found his niche as a car repair fitter with Stewart and Ardern, the Morris specialist in Ilford.

“In 1938 he transferred to John Knight, the soap manufacturers of Silvertown, for whom he worked until retirement. For many years he maintained their vans and lorries at their Silvertown depot, acting there as Air Raid Warden during the 2nd World War. His value to the firm is shown by the fact that his job was a reserved occupation, i.e. he was exempt from service in the armed forces. He was, however, a member of the Home Guard from 1942, in addition to his Air Raid Warden and fire-watching duties. When he became too old to climb under the lorries he was made gate-keeper of the depot until he retired about 1968.

“He was a very keen sportsman, especially swimming, cycling and tennis, and claimed that there was not a sport that he had not at least tried. He was also an expert ballroom dancer.

“Ethel May Smith (16th August 1907-16th February 1991), always called "Elsie" (although her husband always called her "Apple" or "Ap"), came from a rather overcrowded home at 53 Cambridge Road, Walthamstow (demolished after the 2nd World War), and round about 1930 moved in with us at 38, Canterbury Road.

“Ed and Elsie married in July 1937 and eventually the house was divided into two flats, Ed and Elsie downstairs, my mother and I upstairs (this was in 1940). This arrangement continued when the Canterbury Road house was destroyed by bombing in 1940 and we moved to 204 Hainault Road, Leytonstone.

“Ed was a heavy smoker, as his father had been, and died of lung cancer at the age of 66. After his death in 1975 Elsie remained at Hainault Road only one year and in 1976 moved to a house at Lindfield, Sussex, close to her sister Emily (and Emily's husband Eric Ditton and their daughter Christine). For the last few years of her life Elsie was in a home at Shoreham, Sussex.”

Frank Middlemiss online notes

Donald “was a sturdy lad, much like his father and elder brother. One day in early February 1919 he went up to the snow-covered Forest with his brother and got thoroughly chilled. Unfortunately this was in the midst of the terrible diphtheria epidemic of 1919 and he contracted the disease and died within a few days.

“The bill for his funeral makes interesting reading. The bill is for ‘An elm coffin, covered with white swansdown, with nickel fittings and ornaments and an inscribed plate, and lined with cambric. To be drawn in a glass coach by a pair of horses; undertaker in attendance’. The total cost of this was £4.10. 0 (£4.50 in 1990s money) - a quite astonishing comment on the inflation of the late 20th Century.”

Frank Middlemiss online notes

Frank “was born at 38, Canterbury Road, Leyton and educated at Canterbury Road School, Leyton, and the Leyton County High School, along with his cousins Ernest and Douglas. He spent the 2nd World War in the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving in all the countries from India to Italy. He was taken prisoner on the Anzio beachhead in February 1944 and spent fourteen months as a prisoner of war in Italy and Germany. When he eventually came out of the Army he was fortunate enough to obtain a Government Further Education grant and went to London University, where he took his B.Sc. (and later his Ph.D.) in Geology.

“He was taken on to the staff of his own college (Queen Mary College) and remained there for the rest of his working life, gradually rising through the ranks of Assistant Lecturer, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, University Reader and finally Emeritus Reader. He loved his job, as he always got on well with students, and went on working until he was 76. From 1981 until 2004 he was Chairman of ACE Residents' Association, the residents' association covering the whole of his part of Woodford.

“In his first week at the College he met fellow student Florence Fozzard (9th February 1919- ), from Oldham, and they were married in 1949. Florence had spent the war years as Secretary, Bursar and Assistant Matron at a boys' boarding school in her native Oldham and had come to College as a mature student. Afterwards she had a variety of jobs, mainly secretarial, including being Personal Secretary to the man who ran the National Industrial Relations Court, and she finished up by being an Inspector in the Department of Health and Social Security until she retired at the age of sixty.”

Frank Middlemiss online notes

Elsie was “educated at Lady Holles’ School. She was the artistic one among the Bearman girls. She had a thorough training, including a painting tour of Holland, and was excellent at both drawing and painting. Several of her pictures have been handed down through the family, although one of the best, a still life with oranges, was destroyed when 38, Canterbury Road was bombed in 1940. When the Middlemiss family were living next door, about 1900, and Hilda and Edward became engaged, Elsie and Edward's younger brother, Alec , were very interested in each other; this was during 1900 - there was no mention of it in 1901. It is said that an engagement was vetoed by Mrs. Bearman. Elsie never did marry, but continued to live at Tudor Road. In 1921 she suffered the unpleasant shock of finding her father dead. About that time she was becoming progressively more withdrawn and peculiar and at the beginning of 1922 she was diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and committed to Horton Hospital, Epsom. She remained in hospital for the rest of her life, for many years in Garden Villa 3, Horton Hospital, but during the 2nd World War she was transferred to West Park Hospital, where she eventually died. She was not an unreasonable patient; she was always helping with the chores at the hospital and in the 1940s took up drawing and painting again quite successfully. Under modern ideas she would never have been kept in hospital all her life.”

Frank Middlemiss’s online notes

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.

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

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

“Rosalind ... read Social Science at the University College of Hull, where she met her husband-to-be, Robert Hammond. She worked as a Child Care Officer in London, married in 1953, and after living in Hoddesdon, Hemel Hempstead and Basildon, settled in Keyworth, near Nottingham. Robert taught Geography at Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University) and Rosalind taught in a primary school for thirteen years. Their main interests in retirement, apart from travelling the world, are research into local history and promoting social justice - particularly in relation to Third World Countries - through Oxfam and similar institutions. Rosalind died of cancer in March 2000.”

Bearman Family tree by Dr. Frank Middlemiss