On Wednesday, October 24th 1931, my great grandmother, Matilda Martha Newport (née Natt) died and was buried on the following Friday, 16th October, in Hampstead Cemetery (off Fortune Green Lane), in the same grave as her husband, George, who had died in 1912. The grave plot, no. 87H8, was, actually, owned by my grandfather, which was a popular thing to have, in Victorian times.
The Bexhill Observer, in their issue of the 24th October, reported the death and funeral as follows:
"Bereavement – On Friday the death occurred at Hooe of Mrs M. M. Newport, widow of Mr George Newport, of Hampstead, and mother of Mr. J. Newport, of Hooe. She was aged 88. The funeral took place at the Hampstead cemetery on Wednesday. The mourners were: – Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Newport, (son and daughter–in–law), Mr. and Mrs. Bradfield (son–in–law and daughter), Mr. Robert Newport (son), Mrs. Hewison (niece), Mrs. Lambourne (niece), and Mrs Nutt (niece). The floral tributes were inscribed as follows: - "In deepest sympathy, from Ada, Tom and family"; "With love and deepest sympathy, from all at 173, Goldhurst–terrace"; "With sweet sympathy and remembrance of Sister Till, from James and Sally"; "With fond remembrance from an old friend, from Miss Pilbeam (Hooe)"; "With deepest sympathy and love, from Annie, Ted and little Ted"; "In affectionate remembrance, from May, Arthur and Joyce (Australia)"; "In kind remembrance, from Will, Polly and family (U.S.A.)"; "In loving memory, from all the grandchildren"; "In loving memory, from John and Emily"; " With sincere sympathy, from Mrs. Bourner, Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. Lennard and Mrs. Vitler (Hooe); "In loving memory, from Harry, Emily and family"; "in loving memory, from Bob, May and friends at Exeter.""
Mr. and Mrs. J. Newport were my grandparents.
Mrs "Hewison" should be Mrs "Hewson" but I have no further identification.
"from Ada, Tom and family" – "Ada" was Ada Maria Natt who married Thomas Hewson in late 1903 but I have no record of their children. When I spoke, in about 1990, to Harry Hewson, their son, he said that his mother was known not as "Ada" but as "Maria", pronounced the same way as the old police vans used to be known as. If this were true, and I see no reason why Harry should lie, it makes the note on the floral tribute rather strange.
Mr. and Mrs. Bradfield were Henry "Harry" Bradfield from Shinfield, Berkshire who married my grandfather′s sister, Emily Newport, at St. Cuthbert′s Church, Hampstead, in 1903.
Mrs. "Nutt" I am sure should have been Mrs. "Natt" but who there′s insufficient information to say who she was.
"from all at 173, Goldhurst–terrace" – this was Amey Emily Natt, my great grandmother′s niece and the daughter of James and Amey Natt; James was my great grandmother′s brother. Amey Elizabeth never married and died, a few years later, in 1937.
"With sweet sympathy and remembrance of Sister Till, from James and Sally"; – from this we know that mt great grandmother, Matilda Martha, was affectionately known as "Till". The tribute is from her brother James Natt and her Sister Sarah (Sally) Natt (born 1855).
"With deepest sympathy and love, from Annie, Ted and little Ted" – these were Edward James Lambourne married Annie Elizabeth Natt, in Hampstead, in the June quarter of 1922 (FreeBMD – cert no. 1a 1589). Annie born at Hampstead, in the December quarter of 1884.
The couple had a son in the June quarter of 1923, who they named Edward James Lambourne after the father.
"In affectionate remembrance, from May, Arthur and Joyce (Australia)" - these are Matilda Martha Sarah Newport, my grandfather′s younger sister and Arthur John Croome, the man she married in 1900. Young Joyce, was, in fact, Joyce Elizabeth, their daughter born in the June quarter of 1905. They emigrated to Australia.
"In kind remembrance, from Will, Polly and family (U.S.A.)" - "Will" was my grandfather′s brother, William Newport who married Mary Ann Hoare (known as "Polly"). At some stage they emigrated to the U.S.A. but, at the moment, after much research, the when and where is still not known.
"In loving memory, from John and Emily"- these are my grandparents
"In loving memory, from Harry, Emily and family" These are Henry (Harry) Bradfield and his wife Emily (nee Newport), my grandfather′s sister. They were living in the Reading area of Berjkshire.
"in loving memory, from Bob, May and friends at Exeter." These are Robert Henry Newport and his wife Mary (nee Bromley), obviously known as "May". Mary Bromley was the daughter John Bromley who owned a company in which Robert was employed as a carpenter.
On 6th December 1940, my grandparents celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary at Hooe Village Hall, which my grandfather had rented for 10 shillings (10/-)
Ten shillings was half a pound sterling, which is the same as 50p is to the modern pound, in today′s monetary system but it would have had the equivalent spending value, according to the National Archives website, of £14.36 today, which is not a great deal of money! We wouldn′t be able to hire a hall, today, for anywhere near that amount.
There′s a copy, HERE, of the Village Hall Accounts book, for 1941, that shows the entry.
The event was reported in the Bexhill Observer in three different issues – the first advising of the coming occasion, the second reporting on the reception, and the third, for some reason, just showing a photograph of the couple.
From the "Bexhill Observer" dated 30th November 1940
Hooe
Golden wedding -- Mr and Mrs J. Newport will be heartily congratulated by them many friends on their golden wedding anniversary next Friday, December 6th. They were married at Christ Church, Cambridge.
From the "Bexhill Observer" dated 14th December 1940
Hooe Golden Wedding
Reception by Mr and Mrs J. J. Newport
Bride met at Newport
When Mr J. J. Newport went as a young men to Newport, Isle of Wight, to take up the teaching appointment, he met the leader became his wife. On Saturday, with members of their family and friends from Who and Ninfield around them they celebrated the 50 years of happy married life at a reception held at the Village Hall, Hooe, which was open to the whole parish. Another interesting point about this fateful journey to Newport was that Mr Newport succeeded another teacher named Newport.
Mr and Mrs Newport were married at Christ Church Cambridge on December 6th 1890, the bride being Mrs Hazlitt. Both are natives of London. They have lived at Hooe over 45 years for 25 of which Mr Newport was the schoolmaster there.
He has also been organist and choirmaster at the Church, a Sunday school teacher, and for nearly 25 years was licensed lay reader. He is now secretary and treasurer of the Ninfield parochial church council emphasise one. Outside his church activities, Mr Newport big work is that of collector for the two parishes on behalf of the Hospitals Benevolent Fund.
For 12 years he has been clerk to the Hooe Parish Council, and the war has brought him additional duties as billeting officer and salvaging organiser for the village.
Mr and Mrs Newport have a family of 12 children, five sons and seven daughters. Four of the sons are serving their country, three in the R.A.F. and one in the Army Dental Corps, while the eldest is employed in an important civilian service – at the Battersea Power Station. One daughter is in South Africa and another is a Queen′s Nurse at Kensington
There are nine grandchildren
Old scholars of Mr Newport joined with well-known residents in offering their good wishes to Mr and Mrs Newport on Saturday. Congratulatory telegrams came from relatives and friends and other well-wishers sent them flowers.
Members of the family at the party were Mr and Mrs A. G. Wells and Mr and Mrs Cyril Cramp (sons-in-law and daughters), Mrs Wickham and Mrs Pilbeam (daughters), Mr and Mrs Owen Newport (son and daughter-in-law), and Mrs Donald Newport (daughter-in-law). Among Mr Newport′s old scholars were Mrs Vitler, Mrs Freeman, Mrs Lennard, Mrs K. Clifton, Mr C. Pilbeam, Mr Arthur Sargent (Parish Councillor), Mr A. Pocock and Mrs Hutchinson, and other guests included Mr J. Berthon Sparke J. P. (chairman of the Ninfield Parish Council), Miss Sparke, Mr A. R. Hayward (chairman of the Hooe Parish Council), Miss Hayward, Mr A. T. Stevens, Mrs Packham, Mr Hillier (organist at Hooe Church), Mrs Hillier, and Miss F. E. Roberts (formerly headmistress of St Barnabas′ girls School, Bexhill).
Mr and Mrs Newport welcomed the guests, and the former told them that he was as happy that day as he was at his wedding 50 years ago. He said he felt politic but he had no need to try to compose any verses himself as the opening words of two hymns met the occasion -- "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform" and "When all Thy mercies. O my God, my rising soul surveys".
Good wishes for long life and continued happiness were offered to Mr and Mrs Newport by Mr Hayward and Mr Stevens, and their healths were toasted.
A beautiful wedding cake occupied the place of honour on the tables, and this was ceremoniously cut and distributed. Pieces of this and another cake will also been sent to many other friends. There was gramophone music and piano selections were played by Miss E. Pilbeam.
The Brother Working at Battersea Power Station
Just a few words here to identify the above brother; it was my father and he would have been unable to attend the anniversary, not because he was in the forces, but because he was in a "Reserved Occupation".
At the outbreak of war, in 1939, all men, aged between 18 and 41, were, through an Act of Parliament, liable for conscription (call-up) into one of the armed forces. In 1938, however, the government had been fully aware of the serious problems in WW1, when major war production schemes were jeopardised by a severe shortage of an experienced workforce, brought about when so many men were, indiscriminately, recruited into the services. Their answer, in 1938, was to draw up a "Schedule of Reserved Occupations" exempting certain key skilled workers from being conscripted.
As I′ve already said, my father was the brother at Battersea and, when the war began, he was just over forty-one, by just a few months, but he had already served his country, in WW1, from 1914 until 1919, fighting in Northern Europe. It could be said, them, that he had done his "bit", but he must have felt outside the family because his brothers were fighting a different war and able to share in their stories of what they saw and what they did. When they were on leave, they gravitated to their old home to meet with their parents and siblings, while, for my father, married with a family, living in London, in a Reserved Occupation, this wasn′t an option.
What my father did was to join the Battersea Power Station Home Guard (each generating station had its own Unit because of the importance of maintaining the electricity supply at all times but, especially, during the Blitz). After his official working day was over, he would stand on the roof of Battersea Power Station, on fire-watch, while the enemy bombers tried to blow up the building and him with it. Because of this, his hours of work were long and irregular, sometimes having to do two shifts. Times were hard and food in short supply and I, clearly, can hear him complaining to my mother about having to have jam or cheese sandwiches, yet again. It was boring food but it was very difficult for her, as it was for everyone, because there was no real choice for sandwich fillings, not with the cost of food and the limits of rationing - prepared sandwich fillings were nowhere on the horizon and wouldn′t be until the 1960s.
The Queen′s Nurse
This was my Aunt Grace who never married but, as far as I can remember being told, she spent most of her life, as a nurse, caring and travelling with older richer ladies from whom she became reasonably well-off. From my own experience of her, she was never a ball of fun but did like to put people down. Perhaps, if she had married, she would have been a different person.
The next cutting is, purely, a photograph of the couple – it′s not a very good photograph but, then, it is taken from a film of an old newspaper, using a far from the art library, black and white photocopier. It can′t get much worse than that!
I decided to include it because it does end the story of the Anniversary.
From the "Bexhill Observer" dated 21st December 1940.
