Barbara Julia
1910-2002
I know very little about my paternal grandmother, as my father was estranged from her. I never met Barbara and he never talked about her till she was practically on her deathbed. But I am in possession of a large number of photographs of her, that my Uncle Chris sent me. So I feel I know her at least visually.
Barbara Julia Clarke was born on 28 Feb 1910 in Tottenham, Middlesex. Her mother, Ellen Rebecca nee Sinclair, was a nurse; her father, Frederick Charles (known as ‘Nobby’, worked at a the Bank of England as a printing compositor. She was an only child.
This is the first photo I have of Barbara, probably about three or four, and is my favourite. My cousin’s daughter said of her that she always looked like a model. Even at this early age, she was lovely.
At about five her mother dressed her up as a nurse. As an only child, she probably got a lot of attention.
This one of her at about seven years old is also charming.
The family lived at 108 Vartry Road in South Tottenham, a relatively “posh” area called Stamford Hill, a nice residential area which was developing in the 1920s before there was a large influx of Jewish residents from the East End in the 1930s. Much of the surrounding area was not yet developed, giving it a rural feel.
Chris wrote that Barbara’s mother, Ellen, or “Nellie” as she was called, hired a driver to drive her and her daughter around.
“Barbara’s story was that she was aged nine and he (the hire-car driver) used to give her sweets.” Hopefully Sister Clarke was present and gave her approval.
The driver’s name was Alf Hall and later he was to propose to Barbara and marry her. Chris says that he believes that she was older than nine, perhaps already eleven, when he was their driver. Alf was 23 at that time (1921), and living with his Uncle Ernest, but he returned to Coventry and married Dorothy Symonds in 1926.
In the meantime, Barbara obviously enjoyed herself with other friends of her own age, as this picture indicates, from when she was about 16. Barbara is sitting at the front.
After Dorothy died of a stroke on 9 Dec 1927, Alf returned to Hounslow and took up again with Barbara. She was eighteen when she married Alf by special license at St. John’s in Stamford Hill on 24 Oct 1928. He was 30 years old and, as my Uncle Chris said, didn’t waste any time.
At first they lived at 1 Layton Road in Hounslow, which may have been owned by his Uncle Ernest, and rented to them. Dorothy had also lived and died there. Not long afterwards, the couple moved to ‘Orchard House’ in Sutton Lane, a much larger house, indicating that Alf’s business as a garage proprietor was going very well. Barbara’s parents, Frederick and Nellie, moved into the house at 1 Layton Road. Shortly after, on 11 Apr 1929, Nobby died of a septic arm, at 56 years old.
The first child came along in 1930, Roland. Barbara looks even more like a model and was always impeccably dressed. Dinah Julia, her second child, came in 1932 and the third, Chris, in 1939.
The photos show a happy family. But as a friend of mine said: “You don’t take photos of the unhappy moments”, so it is hard to tell. This one of a holiday in Minefield shows Barbara looking drawn and more like the mother of three young children.
The details are also interesting: Barbara has her initials ‘BJH’ embroidered on her top. And Dinah hasn’t managed the art of rolling her socks quite as well as her mother.
No date is given for these shots, but I estimate she could be about forty.
Time for a new car: a Ford Anglia 105E, brand new in 1959.
After about 32 years of marriage, it was over. According to Chris, Alf left Barbara in about 1960. He had found another woman and went to live with her in Mallorca. The divorce took over nine years and was absolute on 19 Feb 1973. Who divorced who and on what grounds is unknown, as we don’t have the divorce papers.
But Alf and Barbara were not to be kept apart. Just three years after the divorce came through, he came back to her and they remarried, on 25 Jun 1976. She was 66 and he was 78. Chris said that Alf couldn’t live without Barbara’s lemon cake (proving the old adage that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach).
They lived out their days in 144 Windsor Road, Slough. Alf died on 22 May 1991 of pneumonia, a retired coach proprietor, aged 93. Some time after this, my father started to speak to his mother again and told me that she was blind from a glaucoma. She died on 23 Feb 2002 of old age and congestive heart failure, at the grand old age of 92.
My grandparents lived through two World Wars and lived nearly a century, Barbara even living past the millenium. The photos tell a kind of picture story, but other than her appearance, I know nothing about her really at all. She left behind some embroidered pictures but, as far as I know, never actually had paid work, though she seems to have lived comfortably enough.
For all that, she is one of my Ancestral Women.
Barbara was lovely all through the years. You are fortunate to have so many photos. Those eyes tell a story.
I smiled when I read "Chris said that Alf couldn’t live without Barbara’s lemon cake." If you're in love (or, like. or need), I suppose any excuse will do.
You’ve put together a lovely story about your grandmother. Well done on getting so much information from the photos. She was very beautiful