Category Archives: Tearle Stories UK

From England we are able to research the history of the Tearle Family. Here we will share what we have found in our research, and our travels around England, to find Tearle sites and Tearle graves.

02Jan/16

Mary Andrews 1830, Eggington, UK

02/01/2016Stanbridge, UKBedfordshire, Stanbridge, United_Kingdomewart.tearle

I have decided to have a long look at my gg grandmother, Mary nee Andrews of Eggington, a village that is only a short walk from Stanbridge. Cousin Thelma called her “Much Married Mary” although she never told me what that meant. In Mary’s case it is a story of three marriage certificates.

Here she is in the 1841 census, aged 11 (b1830) and still at home in the hamlet of Eggington:

1841 = Mary Andrew p1 11 at home in Eggington

1841 = Mary Andrew p2 Thomas 6 Amos 4m in Eggington

Her father is James, aged 40 (b1801) and her mother is Sarah, also aged 40. I have on record that her maiden name was Moore, and I have given 1801 as her birth date given the census return. Mary, then, has a sister, Dinah, 15 (b1826), a brother Abel, 14 (b1827) then Mary, then Sarah, 8 (1833), a brother Thomas 6 (b1835) and little Amos 4m.

I have added these children into the Tree.

John Andrews sent me the following information in Dec 05 and you’ll notice that some of the names below are not in the census return, so I guess not at home that night:

JAMES ANDREWS was born June 2, 1799 in Eggington, Beds, and died 1851 in Eggington, Beds. He married SARAH MOORE, daughter of William Moore and Elizabeth Bishop.Children of James Andrews and Sarah Moore are:

ABEL ANDREWS, b. 1827; d. June 12, 1864.

AMOS ANDREWS, b. December 28, 1823, Eggington, Beds; d. January 1, 1837.

DINAH ANDREWS, b. June 26, 1825; m. DAVID SCRIVNER.

MARY ANDREWS, b. 1830, Eggington, Beds.

SARAH ANDREWS, b. 1833, Eggington, Beds; d. March 13, 1861.

THOMAS ANDREWS, b. April 16, 1835.

WILLIAM ANDREWS, b. June 6, 1820, Eggington, Beds; d. February 17, 1907, Hooper – Weber – Utah.

HANNAH ANDREWS, b. 1826, Eggington, Beds.

AMOS ANDREWS, b. February 3, 1841, Eggington, Beds.

JOHN ANDREWS, b. March 30, 1851; d. April 2, 1851.

You’ll also notice that one of this family, William 1820, went off to Utah, after marrying one of the Pantling girls. There were several Pantling families in Eggington.

Dinah married David Scrivner, and she was a witness to the marriage of Amos Tearle, my great-grandfather Levi’s brother. Also there was George Blake, who was married to Amos and Levi’s sister, Sarah 1853 Stbg. Both men (Amos and Levi) are Mary’s sons. Just a snapshot of village life, really.

So here is the first marriage certificate: James 1826 Stbg, my gg-grandfather and Mary Andrews of Eggington, married at a very young age, by banns, in Stanbridge Church on July 26, 1847. You can see their entry in the banns register, which, in spite of its age, is still being added to in the “marriage season” even in the 21st Century.

However, I have the marriage certificate:

James 1827, my gg-grandfather, marries Mary Andrews in 1847

In the 1851 census we can see Mary and James Tearle in Stanbridge with their first child, Levi, just 8m old.

1851 = James 1828 Stbg p1 Mary 23 in Stbg

1851 = James 1828 Stbg p2 Levi 8m in Stbg

They are living right next door to Joseph 1798 Stbg and Maria nee Millings of Soulbury.

One day, I must track the spread of Methodism amongst the Tearles. We know from the Dunstable Methodist circuit records that Joseph and Maria were Methodists and we know that Phoebe nee Capp was also a staunch Methodist; how much did this influence James and Mary and therefore Levi? Levi is my great-grandfather who moved to Wing, set up a successful smithy there and was the superintendant of the Sunday School in the Primitive Methodist Chapel in Church St, now a private residence.

Joseph and Maria are much older than James and Mary. Joseph 1798 Stbg is one of the grandsons of Joseph 1737 and Phoebe nee Capp. These are two parallel families living side by side in Stanbridge; Joseph 1798 grandson of Joseph 1737 and James g-grandson of John 1741, the brother of Joseph 1737. I know from living for 10yrs in a village of 100 houses, that these two families would have known exactly what their relationship was.

In 1861, Mary and James are living in Tilsworth Rd, Stanbridge and have their children:

1861 = James 1827 Todd Mary 31 Levi 11 Sarah 8 Elizabeth 5 Isabella 3 in Stbg.

Amos was b July 1861, so he missed the April census day.

In 1871 all the family is there, living in Leighton Rd, Stanbridge, with an addition – James and Mary have just become grand-parents:

1871 = James 1828 Tod Mary 40 Eggnt Sarah 18 Elizabeth 15 Isabella 13 Amos 9 Mary gd 2m Mary Ann Andrews niece 3 in Stbg

The grand-daughter belongs to Sarah, who goes on to marry George Blake 1857 of Stanbridge.

In 1881 they are living in Totternhoe Rd and only Amos is living with them:

1881 = James 1827 Tod Mary 50 Amos 19 in Stbg.jpg

This is where it starts getting complicated. James died in April 1887.

I first knew of the existence of a second marriage certificate because I found a Mary 1830 of Eggington in the 1891 Stanbridge census; she had to be my gg-grandmother. She was married to Charles Shillingford 1825 Stbg, a “Retired plate layer on the railway.”

1891 = Mary 1830 Egtn Charles Shillingford 66

And eventually I found it:

Mary nee Andrews 1830 Eggington marriage to Charles Shillingford 1888

I also have a wonderful photograph of the two of them, but it’s in New Zealand and I will have to wait until I visit there again before I can see it.

In 1891, they are living in Tilsworth End, not far from the Hockliffe Bridleway, now called Kings Way. In the Hockliffe Bridleway are James 1819 Stbg and Hannah nee Phillips of Fleet Marston, Bucks. This James 1819 is the uncle of our James 1827 Tod, being the much younger brother of James’ father Thomas 1807 Stb. Both men are among the sons of Richard 1773 Stbg and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. Mary would have known James’ uncle.

1891 = James 1819 Stbg Hannah 61 Fleet Marston Elizabeth 22 Thomas 20 Sarah 16 in Stbg

I can sketch a little bit of Charles Shillingford:

1841 Charles Shillingford 15 in Stbg, hence b1825.

He was a worker on the farm of James and Sophia Frambleton (?) in Backlane, Stanbridge. This must have been renamed, because I am not familiar with the road. He is one of seven such workers and the next door farm is the one belonging to Daniel Ellingham 1776 Stbg.

1881 Charles Shillingford 1825 Stbg Catherine 64 in Stbg.

Charles is living with his wife Catherine in Tilsworth Rd and he is a railway labourer.

I know that Mary died in 1914 and I know that Levi visited her almost every weekend, travelling there by horse from Wing. It’s not too far, but the roads were a bit rough. It was probably incorporated into Levi’s weekly trip to Leighton Buzzard for supplies. I have walked from LB to Wing and it’s not very far at all. One nice sunny day soon, I’ll walk from LB to Stanbridge.

So that brings me to 1901.

This is the most intriguing entry of all:

1901 = William 1832 Stbg Mary 1831 Egtn in Stbg

Mary nee Andrews has married William 1832, her first husband’s brother.

This is a portion of the 1901 census report for Stanbridge. The record clearly states that he is Married, 69, Retired Railway platelayer, and the word Pension is written in bold. The record also clearly states that Mary is Wife, 70, and has Superannuated alongside her name.

This, without doubt is William 1832, of William and Catherine nee Fountain 1834 Eaton Bray. He is the brother of James 1827 Stbg, of whom Mary is the widow; he is also the brother of John 1829 Stbg “For 60 years the sexton of this parish.” The headstones of James and John stand side by side near the church, but there is no sign of William’s.

There was a third marriage certificate to find, and when eventually I did, it was quite unusual.

Mary Shillingford nee Andrews 1830 marriage to William Tearle in 1893

When I found this certificate, and it took a while, I wondered why they got married in Watford, and I speculated that there might be a bit of subterfuge involved. Mary was, after all, marrying her late husband’s brother; and if it wasn’t actually illegal, then it was frowned upon. However, if you consider the nature of William’s family – that they founded two Willesden families and at least one Watford family, then perhaps it wasn’t so difficult to comprehend. I noticed the witness: Henry Walker Simmonds. He married Ann Tearle in Stanbridge in 1864 and you can see that in the banns register.

Ann was the sister of James 1827, and John the sexton – and William 1832. She was already Mary’s sister-in-law.

In the 1891 Watford census, Ann has a “Nephew,” William aged 16 (b1875) a sawyer, living with her family. This is probably William and Catharine’s boy.

1891 = Ann Simmonds nee Tearle 1834 Stbg Henry W Simmonds 46 Thomas 19 William 18 Frederick 15 Kate 14 William Tearle 16 neph in Watford

I can’t find the address Mary says she was living at when she married; Ann and Henry were living at 44 Frarnley St, Watford, when the 1891 census was taken, but that didn’t mean they were still there when Mary was staying in Watford prior to her wedding. However, whatever the circumstances under which Mary and William were married, it was conducted in dignity with family and friends in attendance.

The last sighting I have of Mary is a sad one, but tinged with relief. On her death certificate you can see that she has died at Levi’s home in Wing, with Levi at her side.

Mary nee Andrews 1830 Eggington death cert Wing 1914

Levi’s house, Wing.

The house in the middle is called the Ebenezer Cottage (you can see the name carved into the window sill) and Levi Tearle, my g-grandfather, lived here with his family while he built The Big House, as the family called it, which is the attached house on the left of the two cottages.

I think the two headstones in Stanbridge Church cemetery tell their own story. Mary is buried with James:

James Tearle and Mary headstone Stanbridge Church

Headstone for James Tearle 1827 and Mary nee Andrews in Stanbridge Church graveyard.

and Charles Shillingford is buried with Caroline.

Headstone of Caroline and Charles Shillingford in Stanbridge Church.

It’s easy for us to criticise Mary, but without someone to look after her, she had a very dismal future, stricken with poverty. Charles’ pension from the railways would have helped, and so would the railways pension that William would have provided. As couples, they would have kept each company as well. We know that Levi certainly did not hold it against his mother, because he gave her care with a room (at least) in the Ebenezeer cottage, and he was at her side when she died. I also have no doubt that he paid for the headstone for his parents.

02Jan/16

William Tearle 1832, Stanbridge, UK

02/01/2016Stanbridge, UKEngland, Stanbridge, United_Kingdomewart.tearle

William 1832 of Stanbridge was a son of Thomas 1807 Stbg and Mary nee Garner. His grandparents were Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth and his g-grandparents were John 1741 and Martha nee Archer. William, then is on the branch of John 1741. He married Catherine Fountain in 1856.

Here he is in 1841, at home with his parents, his sister Emma and little brother John, 1840, who would go on to be the “Sexton of this parish for 60 years.”, as told by his headstone in the Stanbridge Church cemetery. William’s eldest brother (my gg-grandfather) James 1827 was already at work as a manservant in the household of James Goodeson, a farmer in Heath and Reach.

1841 = Thomas 1811 Beds Mary 1806 William 9 Emma 3 John 1 Stbg

The Tearles were not educated and many could not read or write. It is not unusual for people in the various censuses to have different birth dates because they could not keep an accurate track of their age. Couple this with the 1841 census enumerators who often rounded up or down people’s ages by as much as 5 years and you can see how William is 9 in 1841, but 12 in 1851.

This is him in 1851, just 12 yrs old, a Farmers Labourer (Servant) for William Pratt in Totternhoe:

1851 = William 1832 Stbg farmers lab for William Pratt in Totternhoe

He first appears as a railway labourer in the Stanbridge census of 1861 – now married and living in Stanbridge:

1861 = William 1832 Stbg Catherine 24 Sarah 4 Thomas 2 Charles 1 in Stbg

They were married by banns in Stanbridge Church in 1856

In 1871 he is a “Platelayer on the Railway” – does that mean he’s gone up in the world?

1871 = William 1832 Stbg Kate 36 Charles 11 John 9 Ellen 7 Henry 5 George 1 Alfred 1m in Stbg

In 1881 he is still a platelayer on railway but they are living in Houghton Regis

1881 = William 1832 Stbg Catherine 47 Henry 15 George 12 Jeffrey 9 William 7 Ezra 5 in HR

In 1891, no change in employment, but most of the children have left home:

1891 = William 1832 Stbg Catherine 57 Ellen 27 Ezra 14 in HR

In 1901 he is a “Retired Railway Platelayer,” but he has married a Mary 1831 of Eggington, who is described as Superannuated.

This Mary is Mary nee Andrews 1830 of Eggington. On Mary’s page you can see this story from her viewpoint.

1901 = William 1832 Stbg Mary 1831 Egtn in Stbg.

I’m not sure when he died, but I am looking for his death certificate.

One small note you might like to make is that Catharine was often referred to as Kate.

This is a very influential family when you look at Tearle history, and it adds to the story of the dispersal of the Tearles from Stanbridge:

Sarah 1857

Thomas 1858 married Pamela Andrews of Eggington and founded a family of Willesden Tearles, working on the railways.

Charles 1859 married Lizzie Gates in 1882 and founded a family in Wolverton, Northants, also working on the railways.

Jonathon 1862 married Alice Kearns in 1882 and was the second family in Willesden

Ellen 1864. I don’t think Ellen married. The last I saw of her was in the 1901 Edlesborough census, where she was working as a housekeeper in the household of Henry Vasey, a baker, of Leighton Rd. At the same time and in the same house, working as a Journeyman Baker, was Albert Tearle, 1874 EB, the son of William 1852 Edles and Ann nee Bird. Albert is the brother of Louis (Lewis) of the headstone in Edlesborough Church. Albert is descended from William 1749 (and Mary nee Prentice) while Ellen is descended from John 1741. This is another example of the Tearle network in operation. This is surely not a coincidence. They would have known their familial links and the fact that their distant grandfathers were brothers. Victorian women maintained these links by giving their children their own and their mother’s maiden names.

Henry 1866 went to Higham Ferrers, Northants and married Ada Hale in 1889. In 1891 and 1901 he was working in a shoe factory.

George 1870

Alfred 1871 – 1874

Jeffrey 1872

William 1874

Ezra 1876

02Jan/16

John Tearle 60 years sexton of this parish

Stanbridge Banns Register

02/01/2016Stanbridge, UKbanns, Bedfordshire, church, register, Stanbridge, weddingewart.tearle

During the very first TearleMeet in 2006, Enid Horton and her daughter Lorinda took on the task of compiling a Tearle-only Stanbridge Banns Register. The result is below, and all of us are grateful for the legacy Enid and Lorinda have left us. It took a long time before I had a database comprehensive enough to fully annotate everyone in the register. It eventually happened in January 2009, and Rosemary Tearle of Auckland, NZ, worked out who the Elizabeth Tearle was who married George Tearle in 1831.

You can see that the first entry is 1825 and the last entry was in 1923; almost a hundred years of documentation. The wonderful thing is, this book is still in use, in the Stanbridge Parish Church, 191 years after the register opened.

Compiled by Ewart Tearle, July 2006 – thanks to Enid Horton and Lorinda.				The Cat number, in the column on the left, refers to the number of the page on which the banns appears. Hence the banns of John Tearle and Elizabeth Mead are on page 3 of the Banns Register.
Annotated by Ewart Tearle, Jan 2009
Date	Men	Women	Cat	Comment
09 Sep 1825	John T	Elizabeth Mead	3	John 1799, son of William 1769 and Sarah nee Clarke. Joseph 1737
09 Oct 1825	Thomas T	Mary Garner	9	Thomas 1807, son of Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. John 1741
18 May 1831	George T	Elizabeth T	33	George 1809, son of Richard 1778 and Mary nee Pestel. G-son of Joseph 1737 and Phoebe nee Capp. Elizabeth Tearle, 1810, of Stanbridge, dau of John Tearle 1770 and Mary nee Janes. G-dau of John 1741 and Martha nee Archer. George and Elizabeth were cousins.
09 Jul 1833	Abel T	Martha Emmerson	37	Abel 1810, son of William 1769 and Sarah nee Clarke. Joseph 1737.
18 Sep 1841	Joseph T	Mary Turney	69	Joseph 1823, son of Richard 1778 and Mary nee Pestel. Joseph 1737. This has been entered on the wrong page by the vicar.
26 Jul 1846	James T	Mary Andrew	90	James 1827, son of Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. John 1741. Mary’s family is usually spelt Andrews, and they are from the neighbouring village of Eggington.
26 Nov 1848	Joseph T	Mary Turney	96	Joseph 1823, son of Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. John 1741. Marriage cert date 25 Jan 1849. This is the correct record.
02 Nov 1851	James T	Hannah Philips	106	James 1823, son of Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. Banns in Stanbridge, but registered in Aylesbury. John 1741
15 Apr 1857	William T	Catharine Fountain	130	William 1832 son of Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. My gg-grandmother Mary nee Andrews married him, too. John 1741
06 Sep 1857	Geo Pratt	Emma T	132	Emma 1837, dau Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. John 1741
01 Oct 1857	James Birch	Jane T	133	Jane 1838, dau Joseph 1798 and Maria nee Millings. Joseph 1737
04 Oct 1857	Ephraim Gates	Sarah T	135	Sarah 1837, dau Abel 1810 and Martha nee Emmerton. Joseph 1737
03 Nov 1863	Jason Field	Phoebe T	160	Phoebe 1843, dau Abel 1810 and Martha nee Emmerton. Joseph 1737
07 Jun 1864	Henry Simmons	Ann T	163	Ann 1842 dau Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. John 1741
11 May 1868	John T	Harriet Bliss	176	John 1840, son of Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. John 1741. This was Maria Bliss, not Harriet.
27 Feb 1869	George T	Lavinia George	185	George 1844, son of Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. John 1741. There is also a 1780 Q1 marriage in Hendon.
12 Nov 1871	William T	Rebecca Sinfield	189	William 1848, son of John 1823 and Eliza nee Irons, g-gson of John 1770 and Mary nee Janes. John 1741
23 Mar 1874	Levi T	Sarah Blake	201	Levi 1850, son of James 1827 and Mary nee Andrews. My g-grandfather. John 1741.
31 May 1874	David Thomkins	Ruth T Gates	202	Ruth Tearle Gates 1850, dau of Ruth Tearle 1813 and George Gates. G-dau of John 1770 and Mary nee Janes. John 1741
27 Jul 1874	Samuel Chapman	Isabella T	203	Isabella 1858, dau James 1827 and Mary nee Andrews. G-dau Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. John 1741
06 Oct 1874	James Thomson	Mary Ann T	204	Mary Ann 1857, dau James 1823 and Hannah nee Philips, G-dau Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. He was usually called Thompson, rather than James. John 1741
03 Jun 1877	Joseph T	Elizabeth Chapman	211	Joseph 1823, son of Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. His second marriage. John 1741
06 Dec 1877	George Blake	Sarah T	216	Sarah 1853, dau James 1827 and Mary nee Andrews. Sister of Levi, above, who was married 1874. John 1741.
18 Jul 1881	Amos T	Martha Timms	231	Amos 1861, son of James 1827 and Mary nee Andrews. G-son Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. Brother of Levi m 1874 above. John 1741
16 Feb 1884	John T	Annie Walker	239	John 1861, son of James 1823 and Hannah nee Philips, g-son of Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. John 1741
06 Oct 1889	Emmanuel Hogston	Emily T	254	Emily 1851, dau James 1823 and Hannah nee Phillips, g-dau Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. John 1741
18 Apr 1892	Charles Rose	Annie T	270	Annie 1868, dau John 1840 and Maria nee Bliss, g-dau Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. John 1741
13 Jul 1896	William Wilson	Sarah T	279	Sarah 1874, dau James 1823 and Hannah nee Philips. G-dau Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. John 1741
07 Aug 1900	George Horne	Phoebe T	299	Phoebe 1877, dau John 1840 and Maria nee Bliss, g-dau Thomas 1807 and Mary nee Garner. John 1741
20 Apr 1908	Albert Jeffs	Amy T	324	Amy 1880, dau Catherine 1853, g-dau James 1823 and Hannah nee Phillips. John 1741
02 Apr 1923	Ernest F Webb	Mabel Edith T	363	Mabel 1899, dau John 1861 and Annie nee Walker, g-gdau Richard 1773 and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. John 1741

02Jan/16

George Tearle 1818, Dagnall, UK

02/01/2016Dagnall, UKBedfordshire, brewing, Dagnall, family, Tearle, United_Kingdom, watfordewart.tearle

Grandfather of the Watford Tearles

This is another story of the family of Fanny Tearle 1780. We have elsewhere discussed the origins of Fanny, and John L Tearle (Tearle, a Bedfordshire Surname) tells her story at some length. George 1818 is the founding father of the Watford Tearles and what I intend to do is to show the development of the Watford Tearles and the highlights of their 150 years in Watford. Let’s start with George’s father.

Fanny Tearle had one son, Abel, born 1797 in Edelsborough. He married Hannah Frost of Tilsworth on 16 Oct 1817 in Edelsborough. We can catch up with them in 1841. Here they are in Dagnall, working oln the farm of Thomas (?) Mead. Dagnall, Edelsborough and Northaw are so close together they are almost one village, strung along a country road. You can see that George has already left home.

1841 = Abel 1795 Bucks Ann 35 John 15 William 4 Joseph 6 Jabez 5 in Dagnall.

He is down the road a bit, in Slapton. He is working for Mary Gurney, who calls herself a Victualler, and is probably a pub-keeper. George learns his craft here. He will go on to be a brewer. Now, the choice of Slapton is interesting because John 1824 Dagnall, George’s younger brother also goes to Slapton and he, too, works for Mary Gurney and you can see him in the 1851 census in Slapton. This time she is calling herself a Maltster and Victualler, while John is a Malt Maker. John’s story is an interesting one – or more correctly, the story of his wife, Sarah nee Bishop. Look up this story under John 1824 of Dagnall.

1841 = George 1821 Bucks MS for Mary Gurney in Slapton

1851 = George 1818 Dagnall Ann 31 Jabez 6 Catharine 2 Sarah Ann 1m in Elstree

As a point of interest, George’s sister, Susanna 1827 Dagnall, is featured on one of the headstones in the Dunstable public cemetery.

02Jan/16

Tearle, Jeffrey, 1891, Eaton Bray, UK (1/Beds Regt)

02/01/2016Bedfordshire, UK, Roll of Honour WW1Bedfordshire, dunstable, England, UKewart.tearle

On the Roll of Honour in the Dunstable Priory Church, there are two names: Tearle G and Tearle J. The first is George Tearle, born 1876 in Dunstable; the second is Jeffrey Tearle, born 1891 in Eaton Bray. They are only distantly related.
Below is a picture of the War Memorial in the grounds of the Dunstable Priory Church.

Here is his entry in National Roll of the Great War:

Here is Jeffrey’s service record from the CWGC.

Name: TEARLE, JEFFREY Initials: J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank:Corporal Regiment/Service: Bedfordshire Regt Unit Text:1st Bn.
Age: 24 Date of Death: 31/10/1914
Service No: 3/6459
Additional information: Son of Mrs Sarah Jane Tearle of 9 Alfred St, Dunstable, Beds
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference:Panel 10 and 11.
Memorial: LE TOURET MEMORIAL

War memorial inside the gates of Dunstable Priory Church.

Jeffrey was born 1891 in Eaton Bray and his parents were George 1861 of Edlesborough and Sarah Jane nee Horn. He was the brother of Frank Tearle 1898 also of Eaton Bray. George 1861 was the son of George 1831 and Hannah Maria nee Janes. George 1831 was the son of Jabez 1792 and Mary nee Green and his parents were William 1749 and Mary nee Prentice. Thus Jeffrey is of the branch William 1749. George 1876, the other Tearle man on the memorial, descends from Joseph 1737 and Phoebe nee Capp, via Charles Bowler Tearle and Constance Cleaver nee Dickens. Jeffrey and George are 4th cousins.

Panel of WW1 casualties on Dunstable Church war memorial.

Steve Fuller, historian of the Bedfordshire Regiment says of Jeffrey:

“His death – on the 30th October – two companies of the Bedfords retook trenches the Ghurka’s had vacated as a result of all their Officers being killed or wounded and them not knowing what else to do under a heavy bombardment. That day was a confusing minor engagement that is not really listed or included in the diary. The Germans caused even more hassle as they were shouting “We are Ghurka’s” at the Bedfords, making them hesitate and allowing the Germans to pick those who paused within sight of them. Nasty little **&@##’s. The following day saw the Beds split in 2 and both portions in the trenches supporting other units who were hard pressed by localized attacks and bombardments. The entire 15th Brigade was having a horrible day but they simply clung to their posts and put up with it despite the dwindling Officer supply. Although the diary does not record it, several men were killed.”

Roll of Honour inside Dunstable Priory Church.

“Jeffrey being on the Le Touret Memorial would be down to his being buried in the field and his grave being lost in the four years of fighting that raged over the area before the Imperial War Graves Commission began the process of collecting the dead from all over the battlefields and condensing them into the cemeteries we know today. The chances are that he is buried in a cemetery as an unknown soldier, bless him. When men were killed outright on the spot they were buried where they fell, left there until it was possible to do something abut their corpse or moved to a small collection area, usually behind the trench lines somewhere. All these kind of graves were condensed in the 1920’s but they are still finding men even today, as you may well know.”

Closeup of Roll of Honour inside Dunstable Priory Church.

The massed graves at Le Touret Military Cemetery

Jeffrey does not have a headstone at Le Touret Military Cemetery, he is remembered by inscription on the Bedfordshire Regiment section of the Le Touret Memorial.

Corporal Jeffrey Tearle Bedfordshire Rgt Le Touret Memorial

Here is Le Touret Memorial it remembers the names of more than 13,000 soldiers “who have no known grave” and were killed in the Le Basse – Bethune area of Pas de Calais.

Le Touret Memorial.

Jeffrey Tearle in the Book of Remembrance

Jeffrey Tearle in Le Touret Book of Remembrance.

01Jan/16

Tearle, James, 1862, Preston, UK (Welsh Regt)

01/01/2016Preston, UK, Roll of Honour WW1Cardiff, Preston, Tearle, United_Kingdom, Wales, WW1ewart.tearle

Here is his service record from the CWGC:

Name: TEARLE Initials: J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Welsh Regiment
Secondary Regiment: Royal Defence Corps
Secondary Unit Text: transf. to (3711)
Age: 36
Date of Death: 16/04/1918
Service No: 20724
Additional information: Husband of Alice Maria Tearle.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: A2. 12. 16.
Cemetery: WHITCHURCH (ST. MARY) CHURCHYARD, GLAMORGANSHIRE

I had wondered for a very long time who this was, but Lost Generation told me he was James and I had a James 1862 of Preston married to an Alice M… Was the CWGC wrong about his age? Ancestry gave me the medical records for a soldier whose military service began in 1880 and this lead me to be increasingly certain we had this chap already on the Tree. His parents were Thomas 1836 of Leighton Buzzard and Emma nee Ayres who moved up to Preston around the time Thomas’ brother Joseph 1838 of Leighton Buzzard (LB) did, closely followed by their father, Joseph 1803 Tebworth. Young James had brothers George 1868 Preston, and Robert 1871 Preston, both of whom died in 1873. Their father Thomas died in 1871, close to the birth of his youngest son, and their mother Emma died in 1879. In the space of eight years, James had become an orphan, with no family at all that he knew about. At 18yrs he joined the Loyal North Lancashire Regt, renewing several times. I can’t find any record of his serving anywhere overseas except for one year and 196 days on Gibraltar, in 1884. At this time he gave his next of kin as Sarah and Robert Gaunt of Preston. I have looked for a Sarah Tearle in Preston, but I can’t find one, so it is likely they were his foster parents. Around 1891 (I can’t find the marriage certificate) James married Alice Maria Edwards of Sipton, Staffs. In the 1891 census of Burnley, Lancs, they were newly married and living in 28 Aqueduct St, James describing himself as a Herbalist’s Assistant. Between 1892 and 1899 they registered four children in Colne, Lancs; Emmeline 1892, Alice 1894, Reginald 1896 and Minnie Louisa 1898. In the 1901 Colne census we can see James, Alice and their children living in 70 Market St, which is also the business address. James is a Herbalist (Shopkeeper) and the census enumerator categorises him as a SubMed.

James 1862 Preston 3711 and 2763 and 20724 ex-Lancs attestation 1914 in Wales.

WW1 started in June 1914 and James signed his attestation form, for 1 years service, in Cardiff on 16 Nov 1914. He said he was aged 45, but you can see that CWGC has this transfer at age 36. He transferred from the Loyal North Lancashire Regt to No 4 Supernumerary Co, 5th Battn Welch Regt, presumably because he was still a reservist, but now living in Cardiff. I have attached the two documents crucial to establishing who he was and to show his original attestation to the army in 1880 and again in Cardiff in 1914.

James 3711 and 2763 and 20724 army record p1

You can see his Loyal North Lancashire number (20724) in the lower document. It’s difficult to read because it’s scribbled out, but subsequent documents clarify it.

St Mary Whitchurch, Cardiff.
Above: St Mary, Whitchurch. On 19 Apr 1916, James transferred to the 24th Protection Coy of the Royal Defence Corps. He was living at 3 Hazelhurst Rd, Llandaff North, West Cardiff.He was described as a Shopkeeper, 5ft 7in tall, blue eyes, fair hair. In a medical report dated 22 Mar 1917, he was said to have been on leave in Preston from Fairweather Hospital, Cardiff when he contracted diarrhoea. He was operated on in Worley Hospital on 26 Feb 1916. He was certified “No longer physically fit for War Service” on 16 Apr 1917, and died on the very same day one year later. He was just 56 years old. Here is a copy of the record the army used to ensure he was correctly awarded the Silver War Badge.

James Tearle 1862 Preston CWGC headstone in St Mary Whitchurch, Cardiff.

On 17 Apr 1918, his widow was awarded a pension of 15/- a week.

The fact that James was in Preston when he fell ill means to me that he still kept in touch with his family. The trip to Preston from Cardiff is a major undertaking and indicates the depth of the relationship he still enjoyed with his far-off family.

I wonder sometimes if James knew Charles 1894 Preston, above? It’s possible that in being an orphan he didn’t, but they are closely related, and in the same Lancashire regiment. James did receive a medal, but the record is unclear as to which one.

I have no clue as to why James should move all the way from Colne, Lancs to Cardiff, but his wife’s name might be Welsh and perhaps she felt the need to go to her family.

As with all the Preston Tearles, he is on the branch Joseph 1737.

01Jan/16

Thelma Mary Shepherd 1931 Wing, Buckinghamshire, UK

01/01/2016Buckinghamshire, UKBuckinghamshire, family, Tearle, Thelma, Wingewart.tearle

I cared deeply for Thelma, and here is the obituary I wrote for her:

Goodbye Thelma Shepherd 2005

Thelma Mary Shepherd

We were still living in New Zealand when I wrote to Barbara Tearle of Oxford in 1992 asking her if my grandfather Arthur Tearle had any brothers and sisters. She wrote back to say he had one brother and many sisters, and she would put an advertisement in the local paper to see if there were any members of that family still in the district. It was Thelma who wrote to me. She explained that she was the daughter of Harry Tearle of Wing, son of Mahlon who was the brother of my grand-father Arthur and they were both the sons of the blacksmith of Wing, Levi Tearle.

From that letter came a lasting and deep friendship that I have enjoyed with my cousin, Thelma. We wrote letters, swapped cards and I even rang her a couple of times. She never forgot a birthday and she had a knack of getting a card to me on time, even though she may have sent it from England only three days before. She rang me once to say she had been allowed to buy her little house on the High Street in Wing that she had rented from the council for many years. Did I think she should buy it? I said “Definitely, it’s always better to own it than to rent it.” That Christmas she asked us to raise a toast to her as a newly propertied woman.

In March 1994, our dear son Jason was tragically killed and it was Thelma who organized her aunt Clarice Pugsley and cousin Sheila Leng to go with her all the way to New Zealand in November that year to help us in our grief. It was Thelma who gave us the 6 walnuts from the tree in Jennie Pugh’s back yard, which was itself a son of the tree that grew in Levi’s garden in Wing, which in turn was grown from a walnut gathered from the tree which grew for his mother in Stanbridge. Elaine, Thelma, Clarice, Sheila, my mother Tia and my father Frank each planted one of the walnuts under the kitchen window of our house in Whawharua. Two of those walnuts grew into trees and both of them are planted in different places on our farm, a tribute to Levi Tearle and the wonderful family he had brought up. Two years later, my father and I transplanted one of the saplings to a special corner of the block set aside for the tree and the Rev Fred Day, retired, of Te Kuiti conducted a small ceremony entirely in Latin to dedicate the tree to Jason’s memory. It was Thelma, too, who held Elaine’s hand in the car on the long journey to collect Jason’s ashes in the urn from the funeral director’s studio and Thelma, Clarice and Sheila were there in Hamilton with Genevieve, our daughter and a small collection of family and friends when my younger brother sang “Let the Circle be Unbroken” as Elaine and I finally laid our beautiful son to rest. A special bond had been formed, a bond that would grow stronger with time.

There was the wonderful reunion when they met my father for the first time. He and Mum came to Otorohanga for the formalities and saved us all the long trip to Hahei, and there were tears on the one hand and joy on the other, because my father was first cousin to Thelma’s father, Harry, and first cousin to Clarice herself. Arthur was much loved and much missed by his sisters.

Elaine and I were working in Te Kuiti at the time and each day we would go to work and we would organize something for “The Girls” to do while we were away. One day a Te Kuiti businessman took them on a trip to the black sand beach at Mokau where they met up with a bus carrying marching girls on tour. The busload of marchers was so taken with Thelma, Clarice and Sheila having come so far, that they put on their marching display, in their lovely costumes, just for them. They sat in the sun on a giant log watching the marchers while Tony Pivac poured tea from a flask into plastic mugs on a blanket on the beach. It was a magical day. On another morning, we took them to the Waitomo Club where they met one of the local bowling enthusiasts and captain of his team, the best bowler in the Waitomo. When we came home Thelma, Clarice and Sheila were sitting on the pool deck in the late afternoon summer sun, swirling their legs in the cooling water, drinking New Zealand sauvignon blanc, laughing and shadow bowling and celebrating Sheila’s remarkable win. She had crushed them, every single Waitomo bowler who had dared challenge her; every one who had thought she was merely lucky with the way she bowled. No-one had told them Sheila was the Bedfordshire champion. They thought she was just an English girl! Thelma and Clarice had sat in the shade under the veranda of the Waitomo Bowls Club and watched their cousin play her beautiful shots with borrowed bowls; and they had laughed and cheered for Sheila and talked with these delightful Waitomo Club players who bought them cups of tea and cool glasses of lemonade all day long. It was one of the sunniest and happiest days of the many adventurous days that Thelma spent in New Zealand.

“I was very brave today,” she said with a shy smile, “I watched someone take a bungy jump.”

“I was very brave today, I watched the “geezers” in Rotorua and dipped my feet in a hot pool.”

“I was very brave today, I walked under the Natural Bridge. I know its solid stone, but anything could have happened.”

That was after the day we took them on a trip along the Marokopa Road. We stopped briefly at the little Waitomo Caves School where Elaine used to be principal. We took a ride in a cave boat inside the Waitomo Caves and Thelma sat there utterly in awe, revelling in every minute of looking up at the thousands of beautiful glowing pin-pricks of light and being most impressed at how handsome and polite the young chap was who rowed the boat and helped her in and out.

We drove to the Marokopa Falls and Thelma watched the thundering water and felt the spray – that was brave, too, she said. Then we walked from the road to the Natural Bridge and along a narrow path beside a clear, cold stream. That was brave, too. We walked along the black sands of Marokopa Beach, dug fossils from the mudstone and listened to the thunderous roar of the Marokopa surf. That was brave, too. She was loving being an outdoors girl. We stopped at the Waitomo Hotel on the way home and had a cup of tea, just so we could go inside and sample its Olde Worlde elegance. It’s a late Victorian kauri building in a Regency style perched on top of a limestone cliff with a panoramic view over a pretty valley full of native bush. Thelma stood in the open glass doors and drank in the view while she told me how much she loved being in New Zealand. She would emigrate here and we could all live in the sunshine and she wouldn’t have to freeze in the bitter English winters.

That night we sat outside and had a glass of wine on the wooden steps of the house deck and Thelma looked up to see the Milky Way. “Where’s the Southern Cross?” I showed her where it was and how it pointed more or less to due south. “I have never seen so many stars.” During the time she was there, she would sit on the deck overlooking the farm and admire the skill and sheer hard work of Hurricane Jimmy, as they called him, the farmer who looks after our block. They admired his tractor work and he would come over to see them sitting on the deck and swap stories with them about his time on holidays in England and what they were doing on their holiday in New Zealand. Thelma talked about Hurricane Jimmy for years. For the whole time they stayed with us a tui visited the flax flowers and sang his beautiful melodies. A tui is a thrush-sized native bird, glistening black with a white tuft of feathers at the throat and a remarkable song of great clarity and purity of tone, distinguished from his imitators by a self-deprecating little cough at the end. They were totally charmed by this beautiful bird and considered themselves blessed.

They left a couple of days before Christmas. “Why not stay? We go to Pauanui for Christmas. You could join our beach barbies and go surfing every day. Who wants to go back to winter?”

“We’ve got to go home, our families would miss us.”

When we saw them off at the airport it was in the knowledge, the certain knowledge, that we would see them again. Our English family was not a myth; it was real, and the people we had met – Thelma, Clarice and Sheila – were some of the loveliest people we had ever met.

Elaine and I moved to England in 1999 and between then and now, Elaine’s friendship with Thelma has deepened into an enduring love. Elaine and Thelma dropped into a routine of contacting each other before the school holidays and Thelma would plan a trip they could take together. One year, she was feeling very lonely and asked us to take her to see Clarice. We drove down to Ilfracombe and Thelma stayed with Clarice while Elaine and I stayed in one of Clarice’s cottages about 3 doors away in the same street. Thelma and Clarice were like schoolgirls again; they gossiped and laughed and dug out family photos until deep into the night. We took Thelma to Lynmouth and she and I rode the cable railway up to Linton.

“I was very brave,” said Thelma, “I went up the railway and I didn’t close my eyes. Anything could have happened, you know.”

She and Clarice had a very tearful parting but they would see each other one more time. Clarice came up all the way from Ilfracombe to St Albans and Elaine took her and Thelma and Jennie Pugh to the Moat in Luton and it’s true that they never saw each other again. Thelma was so pleased that she had seen her beloved aunt.

On other holidays, Thelma would sit happily in the passenger’s seat and guide Elaine through the narrow country lanes of Beds and Bucks and point out all the places she used to bike to and all the places she used to know and she would talk about all the people who used to live there. One holiday recently she took Elaine to Southwold and Great Yarmouth and they sat on a wooden bench overlooking the beach, wrapped in blankets while she watched the RAF trying to salvage a Harrier jet that had crashed off the beach. Not far away, a young chap in T-shirt and shorts was watching the scene through a telescope mounted on a tripod and he noticed her watching him intently.

“Do you want to see the rescue?” he asked.

“Oh,” she said, “Do you think I might?” For the week they were there, the news was full of this Harrier being salvaged, but Thelma had organized a ring-side seat. Each morning she and Elaine went to the beach, examined the scene through the telescope and talked knowledgeably to the owner about things military. After all, her brother was an RAF Squadron Leader with an MBE.

“I was very brave,” she said, “I paddled in the North Sea. I could have been frozen, you know.” As she sat in the bus shelter with Elaine drying her feet, she collected quite a gathering of people who were happy to talk to this delightful old lady telling her story to her Kiwi companion. In a nearby café, she met people she knew from Wing. Later, she wanted fish and chips. Not any old fish and chips, mind, the ones in Great Yarmouth were not good enough. The only ones suitable were the fish and chips in Kessingland. There are rules about fish and chips; they have to be excellent quality and it’s not proper to pay too much. If the sign says the fish and chips are too expensive, you move on until a sign says the price is right. Thelma knew these things and Elaine loved her for it.

One holiday, Thelma navigated Elaine through the Buckinghamshire country lanes exploring thatched cottages and little Norman churches, some still showing damage from visits by Cromwell’s army. They trawled the churchyards for famous people from this time and examined the oak doors for bullet holes from Cromwell’s muskets. Thelma always had an exciting story to tell for every place they visited. Every holiday trip was thoroughly planned and each trip had a theme. Sometimes, they would sit under a tree while Thelma got her breath back and they would watch the passers-by and giggle as they made up stories about what their lives might be like. Thelma never took Elaine anywhere on the main roads, she always took “The scenic route.”

The very last trip Elaine and Thelma took was to Mentmore. Thelma was too weak to get out of the car, so Elaine jumped out and photographed the scene so Thelma could see the picture in the little screen on the back of the camera. She told Elaine all about the places they were seeing and how things had changed over time. She imagined herself living there…

A couple of days later, Thelma rang us to say she wanted to drive her red Ford Ka to Mentmore, did we think it was a good idea? Elaine said, “If you feel you can make it, then, yes of course you should go.” Thelma later rang to say that she had taken exactly the same route she had taken with Elaine and had sat in her car and looked out over that beautiful valley all the way to the narrow, steep spire of Leighton Buzzard church. As far as we know it was the last time she drove her beloved little Ka.

Thelma had a heart and a mind for the simple things; she had an encyclopaedic knowledge of English plants and of local history and yet she could play the high life as well. She was on the committee that vetted the people who would live in the Wing Almshouses. She took this job very seriously; my grandmother Sarah Jane Adams was brought up in the Wing Almshouses. On our last visit to see her in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, she told us how angry she was that the government was messing her pension about. Every time she went to hospital the pension stopped immediately, but it took weeks to get it started again when she got back home and that was a long and tiring business when it was so difficult for her to leave the house.

“I am going to write to the Minister of Pensions and tell him how to do this properly,” she said. “If you hear that he has resigned to spend more time with his family, you may assume that I had a hand in his downfall.”

Thelma was a woman of dignity and wonderful presence. She was intelligent and steeped in the knowledge of her family and mindful of her obligations to her friends, her mother and her village. She was a woman of rare character and great charm. She was a woman of the old school; gracious, generous and beautiful to the core. We shall not see her like again.

Ewart Tearle
St Albans
January 2005

29Mar/15

Who on Earth was Montague Tearle?

29/03/2015Yorkshire, UKhistory, Montague, Tearle, Walter, WW1, Yorkshireewart.tearle

By Ewart Tearle

Mar 2015

For a very long time, only two sets of records existed for Montague Tearle; his marriage in the third quarter of 1915 to Lilian A Boulter in Derby, and his death in 1939, aged 63, somewhere in Hackney, London. There was no record of a birth certificate. The second set was from Chelsea Hospital, and consisted of his military and health records.

He enlisted for the army on 10 Oct 1915. The recruiting officer wrote his name as Montague Tearle, but his signature was Monty Tearle. He was given the military number 5006 and on attestation day he was put in the 19^th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment, headquartered in Camden Town. Monty’s home address was 10 Nelson Street, Derby.

Montague Tearle attestation for Territorial Force

The second page of Montague’s army record was his Medical Inspection Report, which was conducted on 23 Oct 1915. He was 38yrs 6mth old, 5ft 10.5in tall with a 37in girth he could expand and contract by 2in. His vision in both eyes was 6/6, and his physical development was good. He was pronounced fit for service, subject to some dental treatment.

The third page recorded his acceptance of the service obligation – to serve anywhere he was posted and in whatever corps he may find himself at any time, subject to a condition placed on the army itself not to post him on any transfer where he would suffer a loss in pay. He duly signed that one.

The fourth and fifth pages are a double page of the same book – his service. It only has a few lines. He was “embodied” in the army as a Private (their capitals) from 13 Oct 1915 to 26 Apr 1916, a total of 197 days. A sad note on the left-hand page says, “…. Kings Regs; Not likely to become an efficient soldier on Medical Grounds” again, their capitals. Dated 24 April 1916. His record was “Home” meaning anywhere in Britan, including Ireland, 13/10/15 to 24/4/16. So he had no claim to any service medals, and no claim to pension. His next of kin was “Brother – Walter Tearle, 16 Churchill Rd, Birmingham.”

Montague leaves the army

However, Montague did claim for pension: The next document from Chelsea Hospital was dated 29 June 1916 with a determination made on 15 July 1916 – Montague Tearle 5006, with regard to claim for pension: Rejected. What was he thinking of? All claims to pension were based on the number of days a soldier was in the army, so long as he had a posting abroad. Montague would have known that – he was trying it on.

He had another go in 1929 – the last two documents are from Chelsea Hospital and they record a request for information from the Kent County Police on 1 Sep 1929 to the London Infantry Record Office stating that Montague Tearle was under the care of the doctor in charge, British Legion Village, Preston Hall, Aylesford. “Some doubt exists as to the genuineness of this case, and I shall be glad if you would furnish me the particulars of … his service, and his description.” On 6 Sep 1929, the Chelsea Hospital received the form requesting the discharge documents “for the purpose of being annexed to his later Discharge to pension.” It would appear he was again claiming his pension, hoping that time had dulled the bureaucrats, or he was trying to stay in a soldier’s care home to which he only had access if he was on pension.

At first appearance, Montague’s request to join the army seems to be for the best of motives – he was 38yrs old and he was going to fight for his country. But in the light of his later activities this impulse looks a little less than the self-sacrifice he intended it to appear. He gets free dental treatment on the army and for 197 days he was quartered for free, as well actually being paid.

He does not appear (and neither does Walter Tearle) in any census from 1880 to 1911. There is no birth record for a Montague Tearle and all the Walter Tearles (nine of them) are accounted for in other families.

Ten years after Montague and his very reticent (not to mention almost invisible) brother came to light, Barbara Tearle of Oxford unearthed some newspaper clippings that recorded some of Montague’s activities. They are not pretty.

Bath Chronicle Thu 30 May 1907

Cyril Dudley Vincent, a music hall artist, was in the Bath City Police Court for having produced documents to back up a claim of having money, and asking for a loan on the strength of the documents. He raised the loan, but couldn’t pay the lender, hence he landed in court on charges of false pretences. The name on the letter was Montague Tearle, who said Cyril was a property-owning gentleman. It turns out that Cyril in the dock, and Montague on the documents, were the same man.

Montague never has any money, but he lives the life of a gentleman of quality. He uses the conventions of the gentleman to con the unwary and the trusting. We can see, above, that Montague joined the army in 1915; in the light of just this one conviction, it would not appear that the army was too concerned about the moral or criminal behaviour of its recruits for the Great War.

Morpeth Herald and Reporter Fri 26 Jan 1917

The Theatre Royal in Blyth, Northumberland, was opened in 1900. It was a well-known and well-respected local institution by 1917, when Montague Tearle became its manager. This report in the Morpeth Herald, which often had articles on Blyth, centres on Mr Tearle’s capacity as a very popular man who raised the considerable sum of £10 3s 6d for a local military charity. Mr Tearle, it was noted, was the son of a most famous Shakespearian actor, Edmund Tearle, who had played to Blyth audiences in this very theatre. Mr Tearle’s role as an ex-soldier in the Pals Battalion of the London Regiment was noted by the gold braid badge of honour on his sleeve and the stories of his exploits since 1914 in the Great War, where he had fought in the Battle of Loos in France, been injured and gassed and finally passed out of the army due to ill health. Sadly he was leaving the Blyth Theatre for the Raynor’s Repertoire Company as General Manager. He was later presented with a handsome silver Treasury note-case by a group of military officers.

It is quite likely that none of this is true; Montague was probably not the manager of the Blyth Theatre Royal, and the paper has not checked his assertion. He has raised £10 3s 6d and equally probably kept it all. He is not the son of Edmund Tearle of Leighton Buzzard, who was indeed a famous actor/manager but he is very keen to trade on Edmund’s name. Within nine months of leaving the army, he has literally embroidered his jacket cuff to embellish his story as a Great War veteran. As we know, he was never in France, never gassed, but he was invalided out of the army – one tiny fact to ground all the war stories he is happy to relate. He is leaving Blyth in a hurry, and stole a silver Treasury note-case on his way out. If we take another look at the 1907 court case, there are some similarities, which show a pattern in his behaviour – he is always in theatre, sometimes a manager, an actor, or an agent. This is why he has adopted the name Tearle: his contemporaries are George “Osmund” Tearle the actor/manager, Osmund Tearle (son of George) the actor manager, Edmund Tearle the actor/manager and possibly by now some whispering of the genius of Godfrey Tearle (born 1884) also making his way towards theatrical fame. The name is beginning to have some credibility.

Bucks Herald 15 Oct 1921

Montague Tearle, aged 46, of Leicester, a theatrical agent, was in the dock at the Bucks Assizes, charged with the theft of 8 Treasury notes valued at £5 10s, a 10s Treasury note and 7s 6d from various people overnighting in the Railway Hotel, Linslade. He was found guilty because everyone who had been stolen from had wax droplets in their room, and Montague was the only person who had a candle. The judge noted that between 1892 and 1905, Montague had been convicted in various courts no less than 15 times. Since 1905, he had been imprisoned for two terms of five years and there were other terms of imprisonment with hard labour. The prisoner wanted another chance, saying that his offending was due to the difficulty of finding work, and that he was very sick, spitting blood, and wanting to get back to Leicester. The prison governor said his sickness was due to refusing to eat while he was in prison since 31 August, awaiting trial. The judge sentenced Montague to twelve months in prison. This story was gleefully retold by The Northampton Mercury on Friday 21 October under the headline TRACED BY CANDLE GREASE.

Montague has even gone to Leighton Buzzard, the home of Edmund Tearle. What did they think there of a man claiming to be Edmund Tearle’s son, but speaks with a Yorkshire accent? Has he borrowed someone else’s accent as well while he is in Bedfordshire? The story above would be amusing if it wasn’t at the same time quite tragic. Montague’s life is a mess; look at the sorry list of convictions the judge above has noted, and the two terms of five years in gaol. He is 46 years old, and he has spent no less than 10yrs in prison. If he is spitting blood, does he also have TB?

The Herald 29 Mar 1924

The Leicester newspaper reported that Montague Tearle had appeared on bail in the Tamworth Borough Petty Sessions charged with arrears on an affiliation order. The arrears went as far back as 1918 and amounted to £60. Montague argued he had been very sick in hospital and in a sanatorium. He had found it difficult securing work due to his illness, but he thought he had a promise of work, and as soon as the doctor would allow him back to work, he would be able to pay the arrears at the rate of 10s per week. The mayor said the magistrates would give Montague the chance to repay at the stated amount.

Leicester is where Montague has housed his wife – his very long-suffering wife, Lillian – and Montague is pointing to ill health as a reason for his misfortune. It is relatively true – surely you can’t blag your way out of a war-time army by feigning sickness. And it may also be true that sickness has largely prevented him from keeping a job, but perhaps also there is a moral sickness, and he just cannot help himself from seeking the rush of pleasure he must have felt when he successfully talked someone out of their money.

Lincolnshire Echo Fri 20 Nov 1925:

Charged in the Ilkeston Police Court on false pretences. He had told the court he was a theatrical agent and was in Ilkeston on the chance of getting a job at the local theatre. He was remanded for a week.

There is no later edition to say what happened next – and whether he was convicted – but there are worrying similarities to other appearances in court: false pretences, theatrical agent, looking for work …

Pat Field of the Yahoo Tearle Group, noticed that Lillian A Boulter was listed twice in the marriages index, once with Montague Tearle and again with a William Woollen. Also, if William Woollen’s marriage listing in the index was examined closely, William Woollen also married a Lillian A Boulter on the same day, in the same place – Derby. She also noticed that Montague Tearle and William Woollen had the same date of death, and the same address; furthermore, they were on the same page of the index:

Montague’s marriage was in the Oct-Nov-Dec quarter of 1915 – around the same time he joined the army, and of course his address is Derby; that is where he was so recently married. Is it significant? Did Lillian have some savings? Or did he want the respectability of being a married man?

The story of the censuses

In order to uncover the story of a person between 1841 and 1911, the censuses are a reliable and necessary resource. In this case, they provided conclusive evidence of Montague’s identity.

1881

Since Montague was born in 1874/5 he should have been in the 1881 census, and since he had mentioned a brother, Walter, then there should be a family containing a Montague and his brother Walter. There was no Montague Tearle, but there was a William Woollen born 1875 in Sheffield with an older brother Walter E Woollen. They are living with their parents, William J, 31, who was a silversmith born in Wath, Yorkshire and mother Lucy, aged 31, from Ince in Warwickshire. There are four Waths in Yorkshire, but we can safely say that William J Woollen was a Yorkshireman.

1891

William is 16 and he is a lithographer, Walter Edwin, the elder brother, is 19 and he is a warehouse assistant, while their father William James, now aged 41 has given up silversmithing and he has become a journalist.

1901

Walter Edwin is 29, a warehouse sales assistant, and he has married a girl from his home town of Sheffield called Alice Maud Kenyon. Alice’s father and sister are living with them. Walter’s own father William J, who has returned to silversmithing, and mother Lucy E are living in Albert Road, Sheffield. There is no sign of William Woollen 1875, nor of Montague Tearle. Was he in prison?

1911

We now find out which Wath William James Woollen comes from: Wath-on-Dearne in South Yorkshire. He is 60 years old and still a silversmith. Lucy Ellen is 60, they have been married 39 years and had two children, neither of whom has yet died.

Walter Edwin, 39, is a clerk in a motor manufacturer’s factory in Birmingham. He is living with his wife, Maud and a boarder, who is a fellow clerk from work. More importantly, the 1911 census gives us the final, unimpeachable proof of who Montague really is. His brother Walter Tearle who lives at 16 Churchill Rd, Birmingham is actually his brother, Walter Edwin Woollen. Montague is unmasked – his real name is William Wollen, born 1875 in Sheffield, the son of a South Yorkshire silversmith. There is absolutely no sign of William Woollen 1875, nor of Montague Tearle, in this census. Was he in prison – again?

Not being in the censuses of 1901 and 1911 does not indicate that Montague was not working, nor was William Woollen completely buried as an identity. It is quite likely that Montague was either in prison, or he was being careful to stay away from the census enumerator.

We can go full circle now: we can join up William Woollen, the boy in the working-class neighbourhood of 1881, to Montague Tearle, the ne’er-do-well of the newspaper reports and the army recruit of 1915. In giving his next-of-kin as Walter of 16 Churchill Rd, Birmingham, Montague gave us one small fact amongst all the distractions, and that one fact told us who he really was.

1911 Walter Edwin Woollen 1872 of 16 Churchill Rd Birmingham

21Mar/15

Dunstable Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1710-1940

21/03/2015Bedfordshire, UKbirths, deaths, dunstable, family, history, kingdom, marriages, registry, Tearle, unitedewart.tearle

Compiled by Pat Field
Annotated by Ewart Tearle and Pat Field Mar 2010

DUNSTABLE BAPTISMS
ST PETER
Dunstable Parish CD up to 1813 – none
Dunstable Parish CD 1813 – 1852
27 Jan 1834 ADA dau of James Tearle, Horsekeeper.
Adah dau of James 1806 and Mary Ann nee Webb. Joseph 1737

Fiche 1853-1945

July 8 1853 GEORGE NASH TEARLE son of Richard & Kezia Tearle Labourer of West Street
Dunstable
Son of Richard Webb Tearle and Kezia nee Wright. Gson of James 1806, married Mary Ann Hallifax.
Joseph 1737.

July 28 1872 ARTHUR TEARLE son of Charles & Sarah Tearle – Lab Victoria Street Dunstable
Son of Charles 1840 & Sarah nee Hill. Married mary Ann Bullock. Joseph 1737.

May 28 1890 FLORENCE EMILY TEARLE dau of Charles & Annie Tearle Painter of Dunstable
Dau of Charles 1836 & Annie nee Eastment. Married George Spivey. Joseph 1737.

June 10 1894 FREDERICK JAMES TEARLE son of Charles Bowler & Constance Tearle Lab of Church Walk Dunstable born Jan 15 1885
Son of Charles Bowler T 1848 & Constance nee Dickens. Married Maggie Clara Weller. Joseph 1737.

June 10 1894 ARTHUR THOMAS TEARLE son of Charles Bowler & Constance Tearle Lab of Church Walk Dunstable Born July 9 1886
Son of Charles Bowler T 1848 & Constance nee Dickens. Married Beatrice Putman. Joseph 1737.

Nov 1 1908 FREDERICK WILLIAM HENRY TEARLE son of James Henry and Edith Lydia Tearle Warehouseman of 64 Edwards Street Dunstable
Son of James Henry T 1884 & Edith Lydia nee Morgan. Sergeant in the Australian Army in WW2.
Married Patricia Bridget Cotter. John 1741.

Sept 7 1911 IVY CONSTANCE TEARLE dau of Albert Edward and Norah Kate Tearle of 37 Church Street Dunstable Motor Fitter
Ivy 1906, dau of Albert Edward 1879 & Norah Kate nee Cardell nee Pecks. Gdau Charles Bowler T.
Joseph 1737.

Sept 7 1911 WINIFRED IRENE TEARLE dau of Albert Edward and Norah Kate Tearle of 37 Church Street Dunstable Motor Fitter
Winifred 1908, dau of Albert Edward 1879 & Norah Kate nee Cardell nee Pecks. Joseph 1737.

Sept 7 1911 ALBERT EDWARD TEARLE son of Albert Edward and Norah Kate Tearle of 37 Church Street Dunstable Motor Fitter
Albert 1910 son of Albert Edward 1879 & Norah Kate nee Cardell nee Pecks. Joseph 1737

Mar 18 1916 DORIS SYLVIA TEARLE dau of Louisa Sylvia Tearle of Rokley Gt Northern Road Dunstable Domestic Servant
Dau of Louisa Sylvia Tearle 1890, gdau Charles 1863 and Louisa Caroline nee Green. Joseph 1737.

Dec 1932 GRACE TEARLE dau of Alfred and Annie Tearle of 8 Richard Street Dunstable

Ethel Grace dau of Alfred 1887 and Annie nee Rathbone. Bap at 18yrs. Married Stanley Capp.
William 1749.

?Dec 1934 ?ELIZABETH TEARLE dau of Arthur and Elizabeth Tearle of 10 Chiltern Road Dunstable Lab born 17 ? 1916 ?
Irene Elizabeth 1916, dau of Arthur 1877 and his second wife Elizabeth Saunders. Gdau Tabitha 1854. Died 1940 and is buried in Dunstable Cemetery

Nov 15 1939 STANLEY ALBERT TEARLE son of Alfred & Annie Tearle (address unreadable) Machine Operator
Stanley Albert 1913 son of Alfred 1887 and Annie Rathbone – he married in Q4 1939, probably the reason for a late baptism. William

1749. Sept 30 1945 JOHN HAROLD TEARLE son of Alfred George and Vera Dorothy Tearle of 35 Grantham Road Luton Drayman born 2nd July 1945 UNK poss son of Alfred George 1901 and Vera Dorothy Irons) NOTE; These records were badly filmed and lots of pages were completely unreadable , the original
records may reveal more if needed.

DUNSTABLE MARRIAGES
23 Nov 1710 WILLIAM TALE – ANN FORD of Stanbridge
UNK. If this was his first marriage, the latest William could be born would be 1694. The nearest to this is William 1699, son of Thomas and Sarah nee Pepyatt, so this is not him. The only likely candidate on the Tree is William 1671 Stbg son of John 1645 and Jane on the John 1560 Tree (Nathaniel’s Tree). Unfortunately for us he married an Elizabeth and they had children from 1707 to 1722, so it isn’t him. A likely person may be William 1670 of Stanbridge, whose parents were John 1645 and Jane nee Purrett. William was the grandson of John 1620 and he married Susannah; they had a Mary Tearle in 1697 and another Mary in 1700. If Susannah died, it could well be this William who married Ann Ford.
There is a birth to this couple recorded in the Stanbridge PRs:
1711 NO21 Eliz d Wm-Ann T

DUNSTABLE PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH

7 March 1908
ARTHUR THOMAS TEARLE 21 Compositor 14 Church Lane Dunstable Father Charles Bowler
Tearle dec Lab
BEATRICE PUTMAN 19 72 Bury Park Road Luton Father Mark Putman Lab
Witnesses Mark Putman and Ellen Putman
Arthur Thomas T 1887, son Charles Bowler T 1848 and Constance nee Dickens. John 1741

DUNSTABLE WESLEYAN, THE SQUARE, DUNSTABLE

28 July 1914
ROBERT TEARLE 26 Batchelor Hat Blocker 41 High Street North Dunstable Father Alfred Tearle
Dealer
HETTY FLORENCE BOURN 23 Spinster Hat Machinist 41 High Street Dunstable Father William
Stow Bourn Gas Foreman
Witnesses Elsie Elizabeth Bourn and William Bourn Robert 1887, son Alfred 1866 and Mary Ann nee Roe. G-gson George 1797 and Mary nee Hill. John
1741.
ST PETERS PARISH CHURCH
9 Aug 1852
RICHARD WEBB TEARLE 27 Batchelor Lab of West Street Father James Tearle Lab
KEZIA WRIGHT 32 Widow West Street Father John Nash Farmer
Witnessed by John Tearle and Harriett Tearle
Richard Webb T 1826, stonemason, son James 1806 and Mary Ann nee Webb. Kezia died young, and their son George Nash T lived with Richard’s parents. G-gson of Joseph 1737.
10 July 1859
CHARLES TEARLE 23 Painter & Glazier High Street Father George Tearle Groom
ANN EASTMENT 20 Sewer Church Street Father George Eastment Gen Dealer
Witnesses George Eastment and Elizabeth Tearle
Charles 1836 son George 1809 and Elizabeth 1810. George is descended from Joseph 1737 and Elizabeth from John 1741. Charles is the g-gson of them both. One of their daughters, Charlotte Louisa, emigrated to NZ and died in Auckland 1947.

1868 September
CHARLES BOWLER TEARLE 21 Batchelor Lab of High Street Father James Tearle Ostler
CONSTANCE CLEAVER DICKENS 22 Spinster Father Simon Cleaver Farmer
Witnesses Thomas John Smith and Clara Cleaver Charles Bowler T 1848, brother of Richard Webb T above, son of James 1806 and Mary Ann nee Webb. Bowler is named after Mary Ann’s mother. Joseph 1737.

24 December 1871
CHARLES TEARLE 31 Batchelor Lab Dunstable Father William Tearle Lab
SARAH HILL 32 Spinster Dunstable Father James Hill Labourer
Witnesses George Tearle and Eliza Allen
Charles 1840, son William 1814 and Hannah nee Pratt. G-gson Joseph 1737.

7 June 1874
HARRY JOHN BULL 20 Batchelor Blocker High Street Father John Bull Shoemaker
EMILY TEARLE 21 Spinster ? High Street Father James Tearle Groom
Witnesses Joseph Boskett and Clara Tearle
Emily 1852, sister of Charles Bowler T and Richard Webb T above.

21 Dec 1874
LEVI TEARLE 20 Batchelor Blocker High Street Father William Tearle Stoker Gas Works
MARY SUMMERFIELD 21 Spinster High Street Father Thomas Summerfield Lab
Witnesses J. L Spittel and ? could be Fanny Mead or Ward got cert
Levi 1855 of Thorn, son William 1814 and Hannah nee Pratt. Joseph 1737.

29 Oct 1882
HENRY GEORGE GILBEY 22 Bat Baker Church Street F Daniel George Gilbey ? Officer
MARY ANN TEARLE 19 Spinster Dunstable Father Charles Tearle Straw Dealer
Witnesses ? Gilbey and Harriett Tearle – got cert
She was registered as Mary Hannah, but married as Mary Ann 1864, dau Charles 1831 and Sarah
Ann nee Brandon. John 1741

2 Jan 1905
JAMES HENRY TEARLE 21 Bat Straw Hat Manufacture High Street South F George Tearle lab
EDITH LYDIA MORGAN 22 Spinster Straw Hat Manufacture Dunstable Father ?Morgan
Witnesses John Haines and Rosa Dyer got cert
James Henry 1844 Dunst, son George 1851 and Louis nee Finch. Emigrated to Australia 1912. Lived
in Brisbane. John 1741.

10 March 1906
ALBERT EDWARD TEARLE 26 Batchelor Mechanic St. Peters Rd Dunstable Father Charles
Bowler Tearle Lab
NORAH KATE CARDELL 29 Widow St Peters Street Dunstable father Lot Pecks? Platelayer
Witnesses Francis Bowler Tearle and Beatrice Pecks
Albert Edward 1879 Dunst, son Charles Bowler T and Constance Cleaver nee Dickens. Joseph 1737.

8 June 1908
HERBERT ERNEST BURGESS 20 Batchelor Straw Hat Trade 64 Edward Street Father John
Burgin deceased Blocker
PRISCILLA TEARLE 21 Single Domestic Servant 64 Edward Street Father George Tearle lab
Witnesses William Herbert Pateman and Edith Lydia Tearle
Priscilla 1886 Dunst, dau George 1851 and Louisa nee Finch. Went to see brother James Henry T when he was living in NZ for a while. Edith Lydia is her sister-in-law. John 1741.

23 Oct 1909
SYDNEY JOHN TEARLE 28 Batchelor Lab Church Walk Dunstable Father Charles Bowler Tearle
deceased lab
ALICE ANN NORTHWOOD 26 Spinster Church Walk Dunstable Father Leonard William Northwood
Blockmaker
Witnesses George Northwood and Beatrice May Saunders
Sydney John 1880, son Charles Bowler T and Constance Cleaver nee Dickens. Awarded the Military
Medal in WW1 for rescuing men while under fire. Joseph 1737.

26 Dec 1912
ALFRED TEARLE 24 Batchelor Lab Church Street Dunstable Father George Tearle dec Lab
ANNIE RATHBONE 23 Spinster Printer Church Street Dunstable Father Samuel Rathbone Shepherd
Witnesses John Henry Tearle and Lily Northwood.
Alfred 1887, son George 1861 and Sarah Jane nee Horn. G-gson Jabez 1792. Witnesses are Alfred’s
brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. William 1749.

7 June 1913
JOHN HENRY TEARLE 28 Batchelor Telegraph Wireman Alfred Street Dunstable Father George
Tearle dec Lab
LILY NORTHWOOD 26 Spinster Litho Printer Church Walk Dunstable Father Leonard William
Northwood Blockmaker
Witnesses Amelia Mead and Harry Northwood
John Henry T 1885, son George 1861 and Sarah Jane nee Horn. G-gson Jabez 1792. William 1749.

8 Sept 1913
GEORGE SPIVEY 33 Batchelor Butcher Stuart Street Luton Father William Spivey Baker
FLORENCE EMILY TEARLE 32 Spinster Milliner High Street South Dunstable Father Charles Tearle
Painter
Witnesses Walter James Tearle and Lizzie Lavinia Spivey
Florence Emily T 1881, dau Charles 1836 and Annie nee Eastment. Joseph 1737.

18 June 1921
WILLIAM THOMAS MEAD 20 Bat Builder Victoria Street Dunstable Father Amos Mead Lab
AMELIA TEARLE 28 Single Alfred Street Dunstable Father George Tearle dec Lab
Witnesses Frank Tearle and Selina Gore
Amelia 1892, dau George 1861 and Sarah Jane nee Horn. Witnesses are her youngest brother and her soon-to-be sister-in-law. Died at only 37yrs. G-gdau Jabez 1792. William 1794.

2 May 1925
DONALD RALPH TEARLE 20 Batchelor Engineer Eaton Bray Father Richard Ralph Tearle Retired
Policeman
PATTY MURIEL KENDALL 21 Spinster Clerk St. Peters Road Dunstable Father William Thomas
Kendall Gardener
Witnesses William Thomas Kendall and Leonard Leslie Tearle
Donald Ralph T 1904, son Richard Ralph T 1870 and Lillian Rosa nee Lofts. G-son Nathaniel 1839.
Leonard Leslie is Donald’s eldest brother. John 1560.

24 December 1938
STANLEY WILLIAM CAPP 25 Batchelor Bricksetter 44 Church Road Woburn Sands Father James
Thomas Capp Bricklayer
ETHEL GRACE TEARLE 24 Spinster Book Examiner 47 Great Northern Road Dunstable Father
Alfred Tearle Maintenance Worker
Witnesses Alfred Tearle and Horace James Capp
Ethel Grace T 1914, dau Alfred 1887 and Annie nee Rathbone. Born in Bethnel Green, London. Died 2001. Witness above is her father. G-dau George 1861 and Sarah Jane nee Horn. William 1794

DUNSTABLE CEMETERY BURIALS

1861-1940 – Fiches 1-21

1868 Sept 15 HANNAH TEARLE 24yrs Sewer London Road
Hannah 1844, dau of James 1806 and Mary Ann nee Webb. Joseph 1737.

1869 May 13 JAMES TEARLE 63yrs Groom London Road
James 1806, son Richard 1778 and Mary nee Pestel. Joseph 1737.

1871 Aug 24 ROSE EMILY TEARLE 1yr dau of Chas Tearle Ashton Street Dunstable
Dau of Charles 1836 and Annie nee Eastment. Joseph 1737.

1872 May 11 MARY ANN TEARLE 67yrs Widow High Street South Dunstable
Mary Ann nee Webb wife of James 1806. Joseph 1737.

1872 May 13 JOHN TEARLE 44yrs Lab High Street South Dunstable
John 1830, son of James 1806 and Mary Ann nee Webb. Joseph 1737

1872 Oct 28 ELIZABETH TEARLE 27yrs Plaitmaker Union Street Dunstable
Elizabeth 1845, dau William 1814 and Hannah nee Pratt. G-gdau Joseph 1737

1876 Dec 14 MARGARET TEARLE 5 weeks dau of Charles Tearle Ashton Street
Dunstable
Dau of Charles 1836 and Annie nee Eastment. Joseph 1737.

1881 Nov 11 SUSANNA TEARLE 54yrs Housekeeper High Street Dunstable
Susanna 1827, dau of Abel 1797 and Hannah nee Frost. Housekeeper for her brother Jabez 1836 for
many years. One of the few Tearle headstones in Dunstable cemetery. Thomas 1737 via Fanny 1780.

1884 Sept 2 ANNIE TEARLE 3 days dau of Annie Tearle Church Street Dunstable
Dau of Ann 1858, gdau Charles 1831 and Sarah Ann nee Brandon. John 1741

1885 April 1 MARGARET TEARLE 3 weeks dau of Ann Tearle Union Street Dunstable
Dau of Ann 1851, gdau of William 1814 & Hannah nee Pratt. Joseph 1737.

1889 May 4 CHARLES TEARLE 50yrs Painter King Street Dunstable
Charles 1836, husb Annie nee Eastment, son of George 1809 and Elizabeth Tearle. Joseph 1737.

1890 April 12 GEORGE TEARLE 80yrs Groom High Street Dunstable
George 1809, husb of Elizabeth Tearle, father of Charles 1836 and son of Richard 1778 and Mary
nee Pestell. Joseph 1737

1891 Jan 8 ANNIE TEARLE 32 yrs Sewer Church Street Dunstable
Ann 1858, dau of Charles 1831 and Sarah Ann nee Brandon. “Deaf and dumb from birth.” John 1741.

1891 Feb 14 CHARLES TEARLE 50yrs Lab Union Street Dunstable
Charles 1840, husb Sarah nee Hill, son of William 1814 and Hannah nee Pratt. Joseph 1737.

1892 Jan 18 HANNAH TEARLE 72yrs Sewer Union Street Dunstable
Hannah nee Pratt, wife of William 1814. Joseph 1737.

1892 Oct 6 ELIZABETH TEARLE 82yrs Widow The Square Dunstable
Elizabeth Tearle 1810, dau John 1770 and Mary nee Janes and wife of George 1809. John 1741.

1892 Feb 24 SARAH ANN TEARLE 61yrs Plaiter Church Street Dunstable
Sarah Ann nee Brandon – wife of Charles 1831. John 1741

1893 Aug 11 RICHARD TEARLE 68yrs Stone mason High St South Dunstable
Richard Webb Tearle 1826, son James 1806 and Mary Ann nee Webb. Joseph 1737.

1895 Oct 21 WILLIAM TEARLE 81yrs Gasman Union Street Dunstable
William 1814 son of Richard & Mary nee Pestell. Joseph 1737.

1896 June 23 RUTH ALLEN TEARLE 54yrs High Street Dunstable
Ruth Allen ne Willis, wife of James 1847. Joseph 1737.

1897 May 26 CHARLES TEARLE 67yrs Carter Church Street Dunstable
Charles 1831, son of Thos 1800 and Mary nee Cook, husb Sarah Ann nee Brandon. John 1741.

1900 July 7 MARY MATILDA TEARLE 22yrs Sewer 30 St. Marys Street Dunstable
Mary Matilda nee Weedon, wife of Arthur 1877, who was the son of Tabitha. Mary and Arthur’s son
Reginald born and died EB 1899. Arthur married Elizabeth Saunders in 1905. John 1741.

1901 Aug 31 WINIFRED VERA TEARLE 8 mths dau of Wm Tearle 96 High St South
Dunstable
Dau of William Charles 1869 and Jennie Anstee, gdau Charles Bowler T. Joseph 1737.

1915 Feb 22 ALBERT EDWARD TEARLE 36yrs Mechanic 37 Church Street Dunstable
Albert Edward 1879, son of Charles Bowler T and Constance Cleaver nee Dickens. Joseph 1737.

1915 March 9 THELMA TEARLE 1 mth child of John Henry & Lily Tearle 36 Richard St
Dunstable
Dau of John Henry 1885 and Lily nee Northwood. William 1749.

1915 May 6 ERNEST HARRY TEARLE 45yrs Lab 14 Church St. Dunstable
Ernest 1870, son of Charles Bowler T and Constance Cleaver nee Dickens. Joseph 1737.

1915 Dec 13 JANE TEARLE 43yrs wife of Chas Tearle 4 Downs Road Dunstable
This is Jennie nee Anstee the wife of William Charles Tearle, they are living at 4 Downs Road in the

1911 census. Joseph 1737.

1918 July 27 NORAH KATE TEARLE 42yrs wife of Albert Tearle, 47 Church Street Dunstable
Norah Kate nee Cardell wife of Albert Edward 1879, son of Charles Bowler T. Joseph 1737.

1920 Jan 24 GEORGE TEARLE 44yrs Discharged Soldier 14 Church Walk Dunstable
George 1876, son Charles Bowler T and Constance Cleaver nee Dickens. Fought in France in WW1,
buried with CWGC headstone.

1922 Nov 22 FRANCIS BOWLER 50yrs Packer 11 Church Walk Dunstable
Francis 1872, son of Charles Bowler T and Constance Cleaver nee Dickens. Joseph 1737.

1923 June 28 HETTY FLORENCE TEARLE 33yrs wife of Robert Tearle 40 Belmont Road
Luton
Hetty Florence nee Bourn, wife Robert 1887, gson William 1830 and Ann nee Rogers. John 1741.

1923 July 23 CISSIE NORAH KATE TEARLE 11yrs dau of the late Albert and Kate Tearle 193
Church Street Dunstable
Cissie 1912, dau of Albert Edward and Norah Kate nee Cardell nee Pecks. Gdau Charles Bowler T
and Constance Cleaver nee Dickens. Joseph 1737.

1925 April LEVI TEARLE 70yrs 100 Church Street Luton
Levi 1855 of Thorn, married Mary Summerfield. Son of William 1814 & Hannah nee Pratt. Joseph
1737.

1928 Dec 31 CONSTANCE TEARLE 80yrs Widow of Bowler Tearle 3 Counties Asylum
Arlesly (3 Church Walk Dunstable)
Constance Cleaver nee Dickens the wife of Charles Bowler Tearle. Joseph 1737.

1932 June 27 SELINA FLORENCE TEARLE 42yrs wife of Frank Tearle 24 Worthington Road
Dunstable
Selina nee Gore, wife of Frank Tearle 1899, son George 1861 and Sarah Jane nee Horn. William
1749.

1933 June 29 MILLICENT TEARLE 22yrs Spinster Leavesden Mental Hospital (10 Chiltern
Rd Dunstable)
Millicent 1911, dau of Arthur Tearle 1877 and Elizabeth nee Saunders. Arthur’s mother was Tabitha.
John 1741.

1933 Nov 22 SARAH TEARLE 79yrs Widow 6 White Hart Yard Dunstable
Sarah Jane nee Horn wife of George 1861, son of George 1831 and Hannah Maria nee Janes.
William 1749.

1939 May 27 AUDREY MARINA TEARLE 10mths dau of Frank Tearle and Edith Tearle,
Worthington Road Dunstable
Dau of Frank 1899 and 2nd wife Edith Weaver, married 1937. Frank was the son of George 1861 and
Sarah Jane nee Horn. William 1749.

1940 April 20 LILY TEARLE 53yrs wife of John Henry Tearle 14 Richard Street Dunstable
Lily nee Northwood wife of John Henry1885. Son of George 1861 and Sarah Jane nee Horn. William
1749.

1940 Nov 11 IRENE ELIZABETH TEARLE 24 yrs dau of A Tearle 10 Chiltern Road
Dunstable
Dau of Arthur Tearle and Elizabeth nee Saunders. Arthur was the son of Tabitha 1854, g-gson of
George 1794 and Mary nee Hill. John 1741.

20Mar/15

Helen Hinkley, 1865, London

20/03/2015London, UK, New Zealand1865, Helen, Hinkley, kingdom, london, registry, unitedewart.tearle

6 July 2001

Mr Jim Spence

Christchurch

NEW ZEALAND

Dear Jim

I have brought to England all the material about the Orange family that you sent me. A few weeks ago, I was browsing through it all and I realised that I had heard of Southwark and couldn’t think why. They ordained the latest Bishop of St Albans in Southwark Cathedral and while I was looking through your material I saw Helen Hinkley, 53 Union St, Southwark. Within weeks, I was called to a job interview at Sainsbury’s 169 Union St, Southwark and I spent the day, either side of that interview, wandering around the area that Helen would have known so well. In a week or so, I was appointed to a job with Sainsbury’s in Rennie St, just around the corner from Union St. I sent the following to Mum:

I have landed a very nice job as a Technical Support Analyst on the Help Desk for Sainsbury’s head office in Rennie House, Rennie St, Southwark. Pronounced SUTHic. The place is often confused with Suffolk because lots of Brits can’t say the th in Suthic, so it comes out suffok anyway and people say to me, “Oh, you’re working in Suffolk – that’s a long way from St Albans ….”

Now, Mum. Your grandmother, Elsie’s mum, Helen Orange, nee Hinkley (I’ll call her Helen Hinkley for the moment) was born in 1865 and lived at 53 Union St, Southwark. When she left for NZ in 1883, she left from a very good place to leave. It’s easy to picture the Dickensian pea-soup smogs and imagine peering through slit eyes as you pick your way to work through the grubby brick buildings, skipping past horse droppings, breathing the foul and putrid air and listening for the trains hissing and rattling noisily overhead, as they make their way to London Bridge or Blackfriars.

She was a nurse in London, did you know? I’d love to know if you ever met her – she died in 1928, and you would have been 7 at the time, and she divorced your grandfather in 1924, so it’s quite possible you never meet her. However – back to Southwark. I’ve taken to walking all around the Bankside area that Helen would have been familiar with and I have been looking for anything older than 1883, so that what I am looking at, she would have seen.

Well, there is a lot. Firstly, her house is still standing.

53 Union St – middle house was Helen Hinkley’s.

It’s just the shell and is being refurbished for business premises, but many of the houses around it are still in 1883 condition and you can easily get a sense of the dust, grime and poverty of the area. It was primarily a warehouse district and many of the Victorian era buildings still standing, although converted to modern use mostly as offices, have retained the lifting gear attached to the outside walls.

She would have been familiar with the Southwark Cathedral, which was called the Church of St Mary Overie when she lived there – it became a cathedral in 1910. It’s only a few streets away, adjacent to London Bridge.

Southwark Cathedral

She would have been familiar with the stories of The Clink – the prison that gave all others the name. It’s just a few streets away, even though it wasn’t an active prison when she lived there, the rubble from a huge fire in the area in 1814 was still there in 1883 and its underground vaults still exist, too. It was the prison for the Duke of Winchester in Winchester Palace and it started life in the 1300’s. A really horrible place.

Entrance to the Clink.

Southwark has been home to prostitution and crime since Saxon times. The Duke of Winchester “regulated” the brothels and owned a large section of Bankside since King Steven gave it all to him in the 1130’s. The Clink was his private prison and he held life and death over its inmates until the prison was destroyed in 1780.

Prisoner in the overhead cage outside the Clink.

Prisoner in overhead cage outside the Clink.

There is a little bit of Winchester Palace still standing – a wall and a large rose window – and under that is the Clink. In Clink St, of course. The palace itself, in its heyday, was inside a fully-walled area of about 200 acres; all that’s left today is that bit of wall with the window, and the remnant of the Clink.

Winchester Palace, the last fragment.

She would also have been familiar with St Paul’s Cathedral towering over the Thames on the other side of the river, and all the other works of Sir Christopher Wren in the area built in the late 1600’s, early 1700’s.

St Pauls Cathedral

His chief mason, by the way, was a man called Edward Strong who was a citizen of St Albans and is buried here in St Peters Church. The Blackfriars bridge Helen crossed to get to The City from Bankside is the same one I cross to get to work, because it was built in the 1760’s; by an engineer called Rennie, incidentally. She would have been familiar with the Blackfriars rail bridge, too, that crosses the Thames and swings through Southwark on a big brick viaduct. I suspect that then the arches would have been open, but today they are bricked up for lockups – and there is a very large amount of space to be let under the arches of a rail bridge.

Ivor Adams, my cousin on my grandmother Sadie Tearle’s side, who has worked in The City most of his life, said that Bankside was the haunt of the Teddy Boys in the 1920’s and 1930’s and even today, in spite of all the upgrading that has been done there, areas just to the south, like Peckham, and Elephant & Castle, are still poverty-stricken and crime-ridden. If you stay close to the river, you’re ok. It’s very nice. I walked 7 minutes from work down The Thames Walk to the Tate Modern, a coal-fired electricity station that has been converted into the largest indoor space I have ever seen.

Tate Modern.

And they use all this space for an art museum. Free admission, too. I could only spend 10 minutes there but the building outside is massive in brick, dominated by a tall red-brick chimney that has been a feature of the Bankside skyline for nearly a century. Inside, it is light and airy and there are overhead cranes quietly tucked away waiting to move large and heavy exhibits.

I have attached photos of the landmarks in the Bankside area that Helen would have seen.

I have also found Glen Parva, Blaby, Leicester, where Albert Edward Orange (1865-1942) came from. It was a Roman settlement and nestles in a crook of the A426 and the Leicester Ring-road. There is a Great Glen in the area as well as Peating Parva, Ashby Parva and Wigston Parva. Elaine’s cousin, Jack Dalgleish, lives in Leicester and we have been to see his family several times. Would you like some photos of 1870’s Glen Parva? Next time we go to Leicester we’ll stop and have a look to see what is left. Do you have a street name? That would be a real help.

Kindest regards

Ewart Tearle

Tearle.org.uk

The Tearle Family History Website

Category: Tearle Stories UK

Category Archives: Tearle Stories UK

Mary Andrews 1830, Eggington, UK

William Tearle 1832, Stanbridge, UK

Stanbridge Banns Register

George Tearle 1818, Dagnall, UK

Tearle, Jeffrey, 1891, Eaton Bray, UK (1/Beds Regt)

Tearle, James, 1862, Preston, UK (Welsh Regt)

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Dunstable Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1710-1940

Helen Hinkley, 1865, London