So, a couple of weeks ago we looked at one specific time in the life of Bernard Nixon Wale. Today we’ll look at much more of his life, and investigate connections with Loughborough, Loughborough people, and some of the surrounding villages.
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| Family tree for Bernard Nixon Wale |
Bernard Nixon Wale’s birth was registered in Loughborough in late 1872, and his birthplace was Willoughby-on-the-Wolds. BNW’s father was John Henry Wale, who was born in 1847 in Wymeswold to parents Samuel, a farmer born in Shepshed, and Elizabeth (Pepper), born in Woodthorpe, who had married on 3 March 1846.
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| Church of St Mary and All Saints at Willoughby-on-the-Wolds |
In 1851 the Wale family were living in Wymeswold and the address given on the census returns was Wolds, Wymeswold. The entry is preceded on the census by Brook Street and followed by ‘Lodge’, Mizzen, Lodge, Little End and Wymeswold Villa. The farm ran to 115 acres, and the family employed an agricultural labourer, and two house servants.
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| River Mantle on Brook Street, Wymeswold |
Bernard Nixon Wale’s grandfather, Samuel, died on 31 May 1859, and by the time of the 1861 census, John Henry, Bernard's father, and John Henry's mother were living at Potter’s Ford, Wymeswold, farming 140 acres, assisted by a waggoner, a cowhand and one domestic servant.
In the first quarter of 1871, John Henry Wale married Eliza Nixon, daughter of Joseph, a farmer at Bradmore, and his wife, Mary. At the time of the 1871 census, the newly married couple are living at the Potter’s Ford farm, with John’s widowed mother, Elizabeth who is listed as a landowner. John is listed as a farmer of 185 acres and employs three men and a number of boys.
As mentioned above, the birth of Bernard Nixon Wale is registered in the third quarter of 1872, at Loughborough, and his place of birth is listed as Willoughby-on-the-Wolds.
By 1879, John Henry had moved his family, which now included a daughter, Nina, aged 5, to Keyworth, where according to the 1881 census return he is a farmer of 140 acres, employing three men and one boy. The address is no more specific than simply Keyworth. Another move of home was made, and on the 1891 census return the family is living at Burton Bandalls (not Brickyard House, nor BB Cottage, but possibly Farm House, although I can’t quite read it), in Burton-on-the-Wolds. There are a number of family relations on this census, including Eliza’s widowed mother, Mary.
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| Not quite sure what this address is ... |
In 1892, at the age of about 20, Bernard Nixon Wale studied with Cambridge University as a student of the Cambridge and Counties Agricultural Scheme. In 1895 he took second place in the Royal Agricultural Society’s examinations, gaining a silver medal and life membership of the Society. He also gained the diploma in the science and practice of agriculture of Cambridge University. Following this success, Bernard Nixon Wale became a student at the Midland Agricultural and Dairy College, Kingston, Derby, and at University College, Nottingham, specialising in agricultural chemical analysis and agricultural bacteriology. He was awarded the diploma in dairying and dairy farming, which was granted by the Midland Agricultural and Dairy College. During his time here, he also lectured on agriculture and dairy farming, and on agricultural botany and entomology, as well as taking on the duties of chemist and bacteriologist.
Again, following this success, Bernard Nixon Wale became the Technical Instructor at the Brewood Grammar School, in Staffordshire, where a few acres of land belonging to the school were cultivated scientifically. In his report on the activity of the school, for 1899, Bernard showed the result of the cultivation of mangolds and potatoes, and the effect of using various manures.
In the first quarter of 1899 (i.e. January/February/March) Bernard Nixon Wale married Edith Gadsby in Loughborough.
Edith, born in 1870, was the daughter of Charles Gadsby and his wife Clara Foulds, who had themselves married in 1865. In 1871 the family – Edith, her siblings Herbert aged 4 and Betsy aged 3, all born in Loughborough, and her parents – were living at 28 Derby Square, Loughborough. Charles Gadsby was a master currier employing 1 man and 1 boy. In 1881 Edith was still living at 28 Derby Square with her parents, siblings [Charles] Herbert and Betsy, but they were joined by siblings Jenny (who is later, at the time of her marriage to Alan Moss, listed as Jane), aged 9, Joseph, aged 7, Clara, aged 6, Mary, aged 4, Frank, aged 3 and brother Clement who is 10 months old.
In December 1886 – Edith Gadsby was one of several of the Gadsby children who sang at an evening event held at the Loughborough Union Workhouse, around Christmastime, and in July 1889 Edith Gadsby passed the London University Matriculation exams in 1889 with a First Division pass from the De Montfort House, in Leicester. This led to her studying Arts in Aberystwyth, at the College, where, in 1891 she was residing at 9 Victoria Terrace, which was a residential hall for ladies, where the Principal of the Hall was a Miss Carpenter. In August 1891 Edith Gadsby passed her intermediate exam in the arts of London University through the college at Aberystwyth, gaining a second division pass. Presumably following gaining her qualifications, Edith returned to Loughborough, where she met Bernard.
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| 9 Victoria Terrace, Aberystwyth - on the left, in the middle of the block of fawn houses that look like they have shark's teeth on top, and as though the funicular comes down to their back gardens! |
By 1900 Bernard and Edith were living at The Poplars in Brewood, Staffordshire, and that same year Bernard took second place in the Royal Horticultural Society’s examination and obtained his Diploma in Agriculture from the National Agricultural Societies of England and Scotland, and also was awarded life membership.
On 31 October 1900 Margaret Nixon Wale, the first child of Bernard and his wife, Edith, was born in Brewood, Staffordshire. The family address on the 1901 census was Market Place, Brewood. In April that year, Bernard delivered his annual report on the cultivation of potatoes, and the use of manure, at Brewood. Also included in this report was information on the sheep-feeding experiments that had been undertaken. 1904 sees Bernard passing the London University intermediate examination in science, for external students, with a first division pass, via Huddersfield Technical College. In the following year, Bernard, Edith and the young Margaret, now living at The Hyde in Brewood, accompanied Bernard’s parents on a visit to Presteigne in North Wales.
During this time Bernard was still studying and in November 1905 he graduated as an external student of London University, gaining a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Agriculture, via the University of Cambridge and the South Eastern Agricultural College. In August 1906 Bernard returned to Loughborough, where he delivered a lecture on butterflies to the Temperance Hall class of the Adult School.
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| Temperance Hall |
The following year, Bernard was appointed as a lecturer in agriculture at the South Eastern Agricultural College in Wye, Kent, where he was joint manager of the Wye College farms of 460 acres, and in 1908 he was elected a member of the Board of Studies, of the London University, and a member of Convocation of the same institution. Bernard and Edith celebrated the birth of their second daughter, Gwendoline [1] Clara Wale, which was registered in East Ashford, Kent, in the third quarter of 1908.
In October 1908 Bernard and family took the opportunity to visit his parents in Presteigne, where they were now living, and attended the wedding of Mr G H Lewis, and Miss Lottie Merriman, the bride being a niece of John Henry Wale. At the end of the year, Bernard returned to Brewood for the funeral of Mrs Cluett, the wife of the Clerk of the parish council.
Bernard was keen to share his knowledge and understanding of farming through writing articles, and these must have stood him in good stead, because in November 1909 the governors of Seale-Hayne College in Newton Abbott appointed him as the first Principal of the college. In this role, he delivered a series of lectures at Lingfield on stock rearing and feeding, and on crop rotation.
My previous post about Bernard covered the period of his employment as the Principal of the Seale-Hayne College, so let’s quickly look at where Bernard and his family were living. On the 1911 census return, Bernard was at his home, 3 Seymour Road, Newton Abbott, with two domestic servants. Edith, his wife, and his older daughter, Margaret, were visiting Edith’s parents, Charles and Clara, and those of Edith’s siblings who were living at home, at 25 Burton Street. Meanwhile, younger daughter Gwendoline, was with her uncle and aunt, Alan Moss and his wife Jane (formerly Gadsby), at 15 Forest Road, Loughborough. It would only be a few months before Edith’s mother, Clara, died.
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| 15 Forest Road |
In 1919 Bernard was listed in a regional directory for Devon, as still living in Newton Abbott and working at the Seale-Hayne Agricultural College, but he resigned from this position in June 1919. Although his resignation was accepted, the Devon Farmers’ Union had passed a motion at one of their meetings, that they regretted
“to learn that the severance of Mr B.N. Wale’s connection with the Seale-Hayne College is contemplated. This meeting unanimously asks that those responsible for filling the appointment use every endeavour to retain the services of Mr Wale, not only on account of the help he has rendered to agriculture generally, but also in connection with his work on the War Agricultural Executive.”
In the event, Bernard Nixon Wale, did leave, and was replaced as principal of the college by Lieutenant Colonel Edwardes-Ker: Edwardes-Ker had previously risen to the position of Assistant Principal at the South-Eastern Agricultural College in Wye, Kent! At his leaving do, Bernard was presented with a ‘handsome timepiece’ and his wife with a gold pendant and brooch set with pearls and opals. An album containing the names of the subscribers to the leaving gifts had the following comment:
“… to Mr and Mrs B.N.Wale in recognition of services rendered to agriculture in South Devon, whilst Principal of Seale-Hayne College, and also of their never-failing courtesy, kindness and interest in all matters pertaining to the public welfare. Sept. 1919.”
Around this time, Bernard and family move to Rectory Farm, Bourton-on-the-Hill, Gloucestershire, where Bernard takes up farming, but by 1932, they are back living in Loughborough. The intervening years were not kind.
- Bernard’s father, John Henry died in October 1922.
- On 21 March 1924, Edith’s father, Charles Gadsby, died.
- On 29 January 1927, Margaret Nixon Wale, the unmarried daughter of Bernard and Edith Wale, aged 27 died at the London Hospital, Whitechapel Road, London. Probate, which was not granted until 20 October 1933, went to her father, Bernard. Her effects were £315 0s. 8d.
- On 25 September 1932 Bernard’s wife, Edith, died at the age of 62. Probate was granted on 9 November 1933, and the probate record confirms that she and Bernard lived at Ingsdon, now no.40, on Fairmount Drive, Loughborough. Edith left her effects - £377 18s. 4d. - to her husband, Bernard.
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| The Wale home on Fairmount Drive |
Things look a little brighter for Bernard when in April 1936 he marries for the second time. His bride was Hilda Pick Corah, and they married in Loughborough. While Bernard had had a difficult few years, Hilda had been a widow for nearly twenty years.
The birth of Hilda Pick Mounteney was registered in the first quarter of 1889, her parents being George Mounteney, a coal merchant, and his wife Jemima (formerly Fisher). In 1891 the family, which included Walter aged 12, John aged 8, Dora aged 5, Bernard aged 3 and Hilda aged 2, were living at 33 Ashby Road, Loughborough. George Mounteney died in 1899, and on the 1901 census return the family had moved up the road to 127 Ashby Road. In 1911 we learn that the house at 127 is called Wynestowe, and the family, apart from Walter, are still living there.
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| 33 Ashby Road on the right |
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| 127 Ashby Road |
During the 1914-1918 war Hilda Pick Mounteney served 1,000 hours as a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, and worked at Loughborough hospital on Baxter Gate, which was a designated Auxiliary Military Hospital. In April 1918, Hilda married Sydney [2] Corah.
Sydney Corah was the son of John Henry Corah and his wife, Kate (formerly Morgan), who had married in 1889, and Sydney’s birth was registered at Loughborough during the second quarter of 1892. In 1901 the family was living at 112 Park Road, and John was an assistant clerk. By 1911, Sydney was an articled clerk (chartered accountant) and his father was an assistant overseer and rate collector, and the family were still living at 112 Park Road.
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| 112 Park Road - porch with white door behind telegraph pole |
When war broke out, Sydney joined the Leicestershire Regiment, in November 1914, and in May 1915 was promoted from sergeant to Second Lieutenant in the 1/5th Battalion, eventually becoming a First Lieutenant in July 1917. In early October 1918, whilst on a preliminary reconnaissance activity prior to an attack on Doon Hill, which formed part of the major attack on the Hindenburg Line, Sydney was killed.
Sydney’s death occurred on 3rd October 1918, and he was buried in Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension. His wife, Hilda, resigned her work as a VAD nurse in October 1918.
For whatever reason, Hilda Corah remained without a husband until 1936, when she married Bernard Nixon Wale, and moved into his house, Ingsdon on Fairmount Drive.
Kate Corah, Sydney’s mother died on 25th July 1937, in Skegness, shortly after her daughter-in-law’s marriage to Bernard. On 23 November 1958 John Henry Corah, Sydney’s father died, whilst living at 112 Park Road, Loughborough. Probate was granted on 24 March 1959.
In September 1938, Bernard became Treasurer of the Council of Action for Peace and Reconstruction, East Midland Area, and in January 193 he supported an address given in Chesterfield by the Honourable Secretary of the society, Mr Ivor Jones. Meanwhile, Hilda herself performed a number of important functions, including opening a Christmas bazaar and sale of work held in the Baptist schoolroom in Melton, at which Mr Corah (potentially a relation of Hilda’s from her first marriage) presided.
On the 1939 register, Bernard and Hilda are still living on Fairmount Drive, and Bernard is listed as a lecturer in geology. In September of that year, Bernard and Hilda were visited by Bernard’s daughter, Gwendolen, who lived at 21 Norland Square, Holland Park, London. Gwendolen’s address at the time is known, because the coroner’s report of her death, which occurred during this visit, included this detail, even if the local newspaper reports didn’t include it in their accounts of her death on 11th September.
The ‘Leicester Daily Mercury’ 11 September 1939, pg 8 said: “Body in canal. An inquest was held this afternoon on Gwendolen Clara Wale, whose body was recovered from the canal between Loughborough and Barrow-on-Soar … the police were notified yesterday by two boys who found a raincoat, a woman’s black hat and a gas mask at the side of the canal.”
The ‘Nottingham Journal’ 12 September 1939, pg 5 carried the following report:
“Loughboro’ tragedy. On Sunday two boys found a woman’s raincoat, hat, gas mask and a notebook on the [canal] bank between Moor Lane and the weir and police sergeant Ainsworth and police constable Bestwick dragged the water until darkness without result. Miss Wale … had been in business in London and was on a visit to her father. At the inquest yesterday a verdict of ‘Suicide while the state of her mind was disturbed’ was returned by the North Leicestershire Coroner. It was stated that she had suffered from tonsilitis.”
The report in the ‘Nottingham Evening Post’ of 11 September, clarifies that the body of Miss Wale was found the morning following the discovery of the items on the canal bank.
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| The burial place of Gwendoline Clara Wale in Loughborough cemetery |
The death of Bernard’s daughter was followed in July 1943 by the death of his mother, Eliza Ann, who, at the time of her death was living at 25 Burton Street, Loughborough.
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| 25 Burton Street |
From about 1940 onwards until about 1955, Bernard Nixon Wale delivered courses on geology for the Workers’ Educational Association. As a geologist, botanist and entomologist, Bernard studied the area of the Charnwood Forest in some detail. Bernard also shared his knowledge about the Charnwood Forest through illustrated lectures, like the one he delivered to the Nottingham Archaeological Society in January 1945, and with visits to the area, again like the tour he led for about 50 members of the Nottingham Archaeological Society in July 1945.
I have been unable to find any information about Bernard and his wife Hilda between about 1943 until April 1961.
On 8 April 1961, Bernard Nixon Wale died and probate was granted on 26 July to his widow, Hilda Pick Wale, accountant John Richard Hayward Godkin and solicitor Thomas Mervyn Llewellyn Walters. Bernard’s death was reported in an obituary in ‘The Loughburian’, the magazine for alumni of the Grammar School. The funeral was held at the Wood Gate Baptist Church, Loughborough.
Hilda Pick Wale continued to live at Ingsdon on Fairmount Drive, Loughborough, and outlived Bernard by 8 years. Hilda died on 5 August 1969, and probate was granted on 13 November 1969. Her effects amounted to £24,321, but no-one else is listed on the probate record.
[1] In the documentation I found, Gwendoline is spelled in a variety of ways, and I have generally reflected the spelling as found.
[2] In the documentation I found, Sydney is spelled in a variety of ways, and I have generally reflected the spelling as found.
You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:
Lynne
