Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

Mary Augusta Timson

d.17/07/1939

"Gussie" Timson - wife of Walter and Salvation Army Sergeant Major

Relatives

Walter Edgar Timson — husband

Tom W. Timson — son

• Christopher Dolton

MARY AUGUSTA “GUSSIE” TIMSON; 1862 – 1939

Mary, or “Gussie” as she is affectionately referred to on her memorial in Rectory Lane Cemetery, was born in the third quarter of 1862 in St Pancras, London. She was the daughter of Alfred George Bays, a commercial agent, and his wife Emily Bays. We know little about her early life, encountering her next in the 1881 census when she was 18. She was then boarding at the home of 67 year old widow, Sarah Richball, on Berkhamsted’s High Street. The census notes her occupation as “Draper’s assistant (learning).” It may be that she worked alongside her husband to be, Walter Timson, also a draper, who lived in the High Street. In any event the couple were married on the 12^th March 1882. The marriage took place at All Saints Church, Gordon Square, London.

The wedding may have been something of a shotgun wedding as Gussie gave birth to the couple’s first child, Walter Howard, in the third quarter of that year and within six months of the wedding. Gussie was to give birth to another eight children: Thomas Alfred, born in 1883; Percy Archibald, 1887; Frank Arthur, 1890; Mary Eveline, 1892; Dorothy Olive, 1894; Constance Hilda, 1896; Algernon victor, 1899 and Reginald Howard, 1903.

Although Walter Howard’s birth took place in London and was registered in St Pancras, the couple’s second child Thomas was born in 1883 and his birth was registered in Berkhamsted. The 1891 census confirms that Gussie, Walter and their family were living in Berkhamsted High Street. Walter had set up his own drapery business in the town and Kelly’s directory gives us the address, 204 High Street.

Although Gussie had met Walter whilst she learning the draper’s trade, it would seem that she did not continue with that work following her marriage. Whilst she is noted in the 1891 census as being Walter’s wife, no occupation or profession is noted against her name.

The 1901 and 1911 censuses add little beyond confirming that the family were living at 204 High Street and that Walter continued his drapery business. The 1911 census confirms that Gussie had given birth to nine children, one of whom had died. The deceased child was Mary Eveline, named Eva on her memorial, who had died in 1910.

The Electoral Rolls place Walter and Gussie at 204 High Street up to 1925. At that date Walter was 67 and presumably he then retired from the drapery business. In 1926 we find from the Electoral Rolls that Walter and Gussie were registered as living at Rydal Dene, 20 Boxwell Road, the address at which they were both to live for the remainder of their days.

Gussie’s obituary published in the Bucks Examiner upon her death in 1939 reveals that like her husband, she was actively involved with the Salvation Army. “Both Mr and Mrs Timson will be remembered by older inhabitants of the town as ardent salvationists in the early days of the Salvation Army at Berkhamsted. Mr Timson was local Corps treasurer and Mrs Timson was Young People’s Sergeant Major. When the Corps was disbanded during the Great War, Mr and Mrs Timson returned to their former churches – the Berkhamsted Baptist and Berkhamsted Methodist Churches respectively…”

Gussie died on 17^th July 1939 aged 77 years. The death notice referred to above tells us that she died after a short illness. She was buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery with her daughter Mary Evaline who had died in 1910.

Walter Edgar Timson

d.13/01/1942

Alleluia Timson / Uncle Wally - draper and Salvation Army bandleader

Relatives

Tom W. Timson — son

Mary Augusta Timson — wife

• Christopher Dolton

WALTER EDGAR TIMSON; 1858 -1942

Walter was born in Berkhamsted on 2^nd September 1858. He was the youngest of seven children born to Thomas and Charlotte Timson. His siblings were Mary, the eldest, born 1842 followed by Joseph, born 1845; Elizabeth, 1847; William, 1850; Sarah, 1853; Frederick, 1857. Walter’s father, Thomas, was a butcher whose shop was at 232 High Street. (The shop no longer stands as it then was; the Rennie Hospice Cancer charity shop now stands on the site.)

We can follow Walter through the census records. In 1861 he is age 2 years and as one would expect is to be found living with his family in the High Street. Ten years later at the age of 12 he was attending school. In 1881, then age 22 years, he was the only child of Thomas and Charlotte still living with his parents in the family home, and we learn that he has taken up work as a draper.

Drapers, also known as linen drapers, sold cloth that was used to make clothing. Since ready-to-wear were not readily available at the time, there was a great demand for cloth from dressmakers and tailors such as Walter’s uncle Samuel Timson who was a master tailor. The name “draper” derives from “drap”, old French for cloth.

We know from later census returns and Kelly’s directory that Walter’s drapery shop was at number 204 High Street. (Café Nero stands on the site today.)

Research undertaken by James Moir indicates that 204 High Street consisted of three dwellings running off from the High Street with a fourth set further back in its own plot. One of those dwellings had been the childhood home of Walter’s Grandmother, Mary Timson. When she married John Timson, he joined her at the property. John and Mary Timson appear to have bought the property in the 1840’s. By 1861 it was known as Timson’s Court and a shop fronted the High Street.  Walter’s grandmother Mary is described in the 1861 census as a shopkeeper, so must have run the shop.  By 1881 John Timson had died and Mary had moved to Bridge Street. 204 High Street passed to John’s son Samuel and his large family. He was a master tailor and played a major role in the town. However, by 1891 Samuel and his family had moved to Chapel Street, and Walter was then in occupation of 204 High Street from where he ran his own drapery business. The 1891 census also reveals that he employed 14 year old Louise Matthews, a draper’s apprentice. The 1901 and 1911 censuses add little beyond confirming that the family were living at 204 High Street and that Walter continued his drapery business.

On 12^th March 1882, Walter married. His bride was Mary Augusta Bays. Walter was 23 and Mary, or “Gussie” as she appears to have been familiarly called, was 22. Gussie came from London and the marriage took place at All Saints Church, Gordon Square, London. The couple must, however, have met in Berkhamsted. The census of 1881 informs us that Gussie was boarding in Berkhamsted’s High Street  at the home of Sarah Richbell, a 67 year old widow. The census also reveals that Gussie, aged 18 years, was learning the trade of draper’s assistant. Walter and she presumably met through their work.

The wedding may have been something of a shotgun wedding as Gussie gave birth to the couple’s first child, Walter Howard, in the third quarter of that year, within six months of the wedding.

Gussie had another eight children: Thomas Alfred, born in 1883; Percy Archibald, 1887; Frank Arthur, 1890; Mary Evaline, 1892; Dorothy Olive, 1894; Constance Hilda, 1896; Algernon victor, 1899 and Reginald Howard, 1903.

Although Walter Howard’s birth took place in London and was registered in St Pancras, the couple’s second child Thomas was born in Berkhamsted in 1883.

The Electoral Rolls place Walter and Gussie at 204 High Street up to 1925. At that date Walter was 67 and presumably then retired from the drapery business. In 1926 we find from the Electoral Rolls that Walter and Gussie were living at Rydal Dene, 20 Boxwell Road, the address at which they were both to live for the remainder of their days.

It seems that on retirement Walter took a trip to the United States. The 1926 passenger list record Walter returning from New York that year. We know from the notice of Gussie’s death published in the Bucks Examiner in 1939 that two of Walter and Gussie’s sons emigrated to America. No doubt Walter was visiting one or both of them. He alone is noted on the passenger list; it appears Gussie didn’t accompany him on the trip.

Aside from his family life and drapery business, Walter was a prominent member of the Salvation Army. The Berkhamsted Corps of the Salvation Army was established in 1887 and was first based in a small workshop in Back Lane. By 1898 the Salvation Army Barracks were in a hall in Lower Kings Road. The Corps closed down during the First World War. It opened again in 1927 only to close again in 1947. Walter was the Treasurer for the Bekhamsted Corps and an article in the Berkhamsted Review noted that Walter “was an untiring worker for the Salvation Army…Mr Timson often led the drums, cornet and tambourines of the band, and so became known as ‘Allelluia Timson’ or ‘Uncle Wally.’”

It seems that the Salvation army was not universally popular. An article published in the Bucks Herald reported an occasion upon which 40 or 50 boys pelted the marching members of the Salvation army with snowballs. In 1886 The Bucks Herald also reported court proceedings brought by an officer of the Salvation Army arising out “… of a collision which occurred on Monday evening between the processions of the ‘Army’ and of the Odd Fellows and Foresters who were returning from their fete in the Castle Grounds. The Bench did not consider it a serious case… expressing a wish that the Salvation Army would not be so aggressive at such times.”  Given that Walter’s cousin Arthur Timson was a member of the Odd Fellows and Foresters (and another cousin, Octavius Timson, was later to become the Grand Master of the Berkhamsted Odd Fellows), it is tempting to speculate whether Walter and Arthur were involved in the collision on opposing sides, but given the article makes no mention of any member of the Timson family, that must remain nothing more than speculation.

Gussie died in 1939. She was buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery with her daughter Mary Eveline who had died in 1910. Walter was not himself in good health. The 1939 Register notes that the 81 year old Walter was an invalid. He survived Gussie by only a couple of years, dying on the 13^th January 1942, aged 83.

Walter had done well for himself. His estate was worth £11,322 0s 3d which is the equivalent today of a little over £500,000, We learn from a notice of an auction carried by the Bucks Herald in 1942 that as well as Rydal Dene in Boxwell Road, Walter also owned 52 Shrublands Avenue, 18 Gossoms End and St Phillips, Charles Street. The annual rent received was £152.

Tom W. Timson

1883 –1965

Son of Draper who was also a draper after first becoming a baker; served in WWI Field Bakery

Relatives

Walter Edgar Timson — father

Mary Augusta Timson — mother

Eva Timson (513) — sister

• Christopher Dolton

THOMAS TIMSON; 1883 – 1965

We know from the cemetery burial records that buried in plot 513 along with Walter and Mary Timson and their daughter Eva, is a fourth body, named in the records as Tom W. Timson. Whilst Walter, Mary and Eva are named on the inscription on the kerbstones surrounding the grave, there is no mention of Tom. The burial records, give us nothing more than the name. We have no date of burial or address at time of death as is usually recorded.

There are two likely candidates. The first is Walter’s father, Thomas Timson who died in 1894. However, he was married to Charlotte Redding Timson, who had died in 1884 and one might expect Thomas to have been buried with Charlotte when he died. There is no record of Charlotte being buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery, nor of Thomas (unless he is in fact Tom W Timson.) Charlotte and Thomas were non conformists and that may explain why they were not buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery.

Walter and Mary had nine children and the second child was a son, Thomas Alfred Charles Timson. He was born in 1883 and died in 1965; it is not unusual for a child to be buried with his or her parents (as Eva was). However, that doesn’t answer the objection that the burial record notes the name as being “Tom W. Timson,” whereas if Thomas, the son, is our fourth body, one would expect the name recorded to be “Tom A C Timson,” although it is worth noting in passing that Mary Timson, whose middle name was Augusta, is also named on the grave memorial as Gussie and Eva’s given name was in fact Mary Evaline Timson, so it seems that members of this family were not necessarily always known by their given names.  On balance, however, Thomas Alfred Charles Timson looks to be the most likely candidate. Assuming we have indeed made the correct identification, we can move on to firmer ground as far as the facts of Thomas’ life are concerned.

Thomas was born on 29^th August 1883. As mentioned above he was the second of nine children born to Walter and Mary Timson. Walter was a draper and the family lived at 204 High Street from where Walter also ran his drapery business. Although Thomas was later himself to become a draper, he initially started work as a baker. We discover from the 1901 census that at the age of 17 he was a baker’s assistant and he was boarding in Luton in the home of Walter Bloomfield, a baker and pastry cook for whom he was working.

Five years later in 1906, Thomas married. His bride was Elizabeth Ann Sellars. Elizabeth had been born in Scarborough in 1885 and that is where she and Thomas married. It is not immediately apparent where or how the two met, but meet they did and by 1908 a daughter had been born. She is named in the 1911 census as “Nellie”, but we know from Thomas’ Army records that her full name was Elizabeth Elenor Timson.  The 1911 census also reveals that the family were then living in Berkhamsted at 47 Kitsbury Road (they moved to 12 Kitsbury Road by 1915) and Thomas was no longer a baker, but was working as a draper’s assistant, presumably for his father, Walter, in the family draper’s shop.

In May 1915, following the outbreak of World War 1, Thomas, at the age of 31, enlisted in the army. His attestation papers record his trade not as draper, but rather as a baker. The army would have had little need of a draper’s skills (and as a draper he would probably ended up as an infantryman in the trenches), but it did have a particular need for bakers and he was posted to the Army Service Corps to serve in 2^nd, 43^rd and 9^th Field Bakeries.

The troops in the trenches had to be fed and the demands of the war required a vast expansion in the ability to supply bread which formed a staple of army rations. In 1914 there was one Field Bakery allocated to every Division. Staffed by an officer and 92 men, a Field Bakery could produce bread for more than 20,000 men. Because of the nature of their work, bakeries were not set up near the front line, being based in locations such as Le Havre, Rouen and Abbeville.

Thomas was demobilized in 1919 with the rank of corporal and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

His service record provides a brief description of Thomas. He was 5 feet, 5 ¾ inches in height and weighed 133 lbs. His physical development was described as good, as was his eyesight.

Thomas returned to his family and civilian life. Electoral Rolls through to 1929 show that Thomas and Elizabeth remained at 12 Kitsbury Road during this time and presumably Thomas returned to his trade as a draper. His father, Walter, retired from the drapery business in 1926 and Thomas presumably continued the business. We know, however, that by 1939 he was no longer working, as the 1939 Register describes him as a “Retired Draper.” Neither was he living in Berkhamsted. He was living in Ramsgate with an Albert Kelson, a 34 year old florist and horticulturalist. There is no immediately apparent family relationship between Thomas and Albert Kelson. We do know that after the war Thomas and Elizabeth were living in London. It is possible he and Elizabeth had moved to London from Berkhamsted sometime in the 1930’s before the war and that Thomas was evacuated to Ramsgate when war broke out. Thomas and Elizabeth’s daughter, Elizabeth Elenor Timson, had married William Garrett and they lived in Barrow-in -Furness; Elizabeth was living with them in 1939.

Thomas died on 29^th March 1965 in Edgware General Hospital. He was 81 years old. His address at the time of his death was 60 Torver Road, Harrow.

Eva Timson (513)

d.07/09/1910

Daughter of Walter and Mary - died at age of 18

Relatives

Tom W. Timson — brother

• Christopher Dolton

MARY EVELINE (“EVA”) TIMSON: 1892 – 1910

Mary Eveline Timson, or Eva as she is named on the kerbstone surrounding the grave in which she is buried and by which name she was presumably known within her family, was born in the first quarter of 1892. She was the fifth of nine children born to Walter and Mary (“Gussie”) Timson. The family lived at 204 High Street, Berkhamsted, from where Walter ran a draper’s shop.

Sadly, Eva was to live only a short life, dying in 1910 at the age of 18 and the only census in which she features was that taken in 1901. That tells us little more than the fact that she was nine years of age at the time the census was taken.

Eva died on 7^th September 1910 in West Herts Hospital in Hemel Hempstead. Her death certificate reveals that the cause of her death was mucus colitis (irritable bowel syndrome) from which she had been suffering for just over a month prior to her death and syncope, black outs caused by loss of blood supplied to the brain.

The death certificate notes that Eva was a draper’s assistant, suggesting that she worked with her father in  the family business.

Following her death, Eva was buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery, to be joined in due course by both her father and mother when they in turn died.