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| The Long & Short of It |
Some weeks ago I purchased an old
photograph album from a dealer on Ebay.
For once, rather than being split up with photos being sold
individually, the whole album was for sale.
My interest was drawn to the lot because many of the photos were taken
whilst the family was working in China. The album also included photos of their
homeward voyage to the UK
aboard P&Os Ranpura in 1935. This
was an album that I desperately wanted.
Adrenalin pumped through my body
as the minutes ticked down to auction end.
One bid had been placed by an unknown bidder days before. How much did this person want this
album? Was it just a hopeful bid to get
some photos from the Far East or was it a serious
collector? Of course there was no way
knowing. If I placed my bid too early
that would give others the chance to raise their bids. Holding my nerve I waited until 10 seconds
were left – then pressed “Submit Bid”.
The bid price immediately (and rather alarmingly) rose and rose and rose
but then the auction was over. I peered
through my fingers and found that somehow or another I had managed to WIN the
lot. I was overjoyed! Of course, until the album arrived, I had no
idea whether I would be able to identify the family shown in the photos – but I
was ever hopeful.
When the album arrived it was
every bit as wonderful as I had hoped it would be although there was no obvious
indication as to the owners name. A
label inside the front cover stated “All Good Wishes for a Happy Birthday, from
Nancy & John 31st. March 1935”.
But who was the recipient? It
did not say.
A young boy of about 7 or 8 years
of age appeared throughout the album and some of the photos showed his name as Norman. A lady who could be his mother was named as
Helen. One photograph taken in Penang
on the homeward trip was titled “Helen, Marshall and Mrs Starkie”. Everyone else who was named was shown with
the title of Mr. or Mrs. indicating that they were friends or acquaintances
rather than family. Knowing that the
family traveled home on P&Os Ranpura in 1935 was the only clue left to
follow. Fortunately Passenger Lists
turned up trumps.
The Ranpura arrived in London
25 October 1935 and there
on the pages were:
Marshall Beard a mariner aged 33
Helen L. Beard aged 35
Norman M Beard aged 7
They had boarded the Ranpura in Shanghai
and given their UK
address as 139 Mt. Annan Drive,
Cathcart, Glasgow. Eureka! The photos were no longer of nameless people
but of a family.
Now the really hard
part. Who was Marshall Beard? What was his family background? How did this wonderful album end up on Ebay? Well, here is the background as pieced
together so far.
During the 1880s George Beard, an
Iron Master, moved his family from Worcestershire up to Scotland. The Beard family had been connected with the
manufacture of iron in Gloucestershire, Durham,
Yorkshire and South Staffordshire
for 100 years. George was now to manage
the sheet rolling mills of Smith & McLean in Gartcosh, Lanarkshire.
By the time of his death in 1913
he was a director of Smith & McLean, the Clyde Galvanising Works, Gartcosh
Steel & Ironworks, and Milnwood Iron & Steel Works.
George left six sons and two
daughters:
Ambrose was connected with The
Penn Iron & Steel Co, in Pennsylvania,
USA;
Thomas was also connected with
the sheet trade in the US;
Herbert was General Manager of
Messrs Smith & McLean, Gartcosh;
Roland Beard was Manager of the
Milnwood Works in Mossend;
Harry G. was Chief Engineer at
the same Works;
Rev. Charles B. was Rector of
Scottish Episcopal Church, Helensburgh.
George and his wife, Tabitha were
buried in Cathcart Cemetery,
Glasgow. Also remembered on the imposing memorial are
two of his sons, Harry Grinsell Beard & Charles Bernard Beard.
The family line that I needed to
follow in order to find Marshall and his son, Norman, was that of Roland Beard.
Roland, Manager of the Milnwood
Works in Mossend had been born in Bilston, Staffordshire in 1865 and arrived in
Scotland with
his father in the 1880s. Roland was very
popular both within and outside the Steel Works. For many years he was an enthusiastic member
(& President) of the Bellshill & Mossend Bowling Club. Roland married Annie Allan and the couple
went on to have a large family: George,
James, Sydney, Edgar, John, Ambrose and Marshall.
Annie died in 1921 and Roland in
1923. Both are buried in the Old
Monkton Cemetery
in Coatbridge.
The following brief details relate to some of the Beard siblings:
George Rowland Beard served with both the Royal Field Artillery and
the Army Service Corps during the First World War. However he suffered with his health and was
discharged in 1917. Private G.R. Beard
died on 20 April 1919 and
is buried in a Commonwealth War Grave at Old
Monkland Cemetery,
Coatbridge.
Sydney Albert Beard enlisted with the Scottish Horse in 1914 and
embarked for Gallipoli in August 1915. On 1st. December Sydney was wounded
in the right arm and invalided home on the Gloucester Castle in January 1916. In July 1918 Sydney
joined the Royal Air Force, transferring to the Lanarkshire Yeomanry in March
1919.
Edgar Ross Beard was apprenticed to James Boyd & son in
1910. On 5th. September 1914
he received his Certificate of Competency as Second Mate for Foreign-going
steamships. During the war
he served with the RNVR and in January received his Certificate of Competency
as First Mate for Foreign-going steamships.
In March 1922 he qualified as Master for Foreign going steamships. During the Second World War Edgar served as
Chief Officer on ss Baron Carnegie. On 11th. June 1941 the ship was
torpedoed by German aircraft 15 miles off St Davids Head. Edgar, husband of Amy Irene Beard, died at
sea and was buried at Llanwnda Cemetery,
Fishguard & Goodwick.
John Allan Beard also served with the Royal Air Force during the
WWI. In 1925 he left UK
to work in South America where he married and had a
daughter. During WWII the family spent
time in the UK
with sources indicationing that John once again served with the RAF. John took his family back to South
America in 1945. By 1950
something had gone desperately wrong in John’s life. The Brazilian newspapers reported that John –
an RAF hero – had killed his mother-in-law and shot & wounded his wife and
17 year old daughter before turning the gun on himself. His daughter, Cecily Anne, did not survive
the attack.
Ambrose Cecil Beard was yet another brother to join the Royal Air
Force. He was so enthusiastic about
flying that he went on to gain the Royal Aero Club aviator certificate. Ambrose spent much of his career working in
the steel industry in Argentinia. He
died in Westminster in 1962.
Marshall Payne Beard was born on 23 September 1902 in Mossend, North Lanarkshire. His merchant seaman’s registration details
showed him to be 5ft 11 ½ ins with blue eyes, fair hair and a fair complexion. In 1921 he was a certified Wireless Watcher
and in January 1924 received his Certificate of Competency as Second Mate for
Foreign-going steamships. In 1926 he
married Helen Lang Young as well as receiving his Certificate of Competency as
First Mate of a Foreign-going ship. A
son, Norman Marshall Beard, was born on 26
April 1928.
In 1931/32 Marshall
travelled East to work for the China Navigation Co. His first ship was the ss Changchow
but when this was scrapped in 1933 he transferred to the ss Chengtu.
By 1934 Helen and Norman were
ready to join Marshall in China. Their voyage was taken aboard P&Os
Carthage leaving London on 16th.
February 1934. Also travelling on the ship
were Nancy and John Dunlop. As several
of the photos within the album show a Mrs Dunlop it does not take much to work
out that it was this Nancy & John who gifted the album to the Beard’s on 31st.
March 1935. As that date was not
the
birthday of either Marshall or Norman perhaps it was Helen’s. And so the
family were re-united. Here they are on Daddy's ship - the ss Chengtu.
I shall post more photos from the album in due course. In the meantime, I hope this goes to prove how keeping a set of photos together might provide enough clues to aid full identification.
If any readers should be descended from Marshall's siblings and can add (or amend) the stories shown here then I would love to hear from you.
