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b.1887-d.1911
Bertha’s Background
Bertha was baptised on 18 January 1888 having been born, according to her baptism record, on 17 November 1887. She was baptised at Wandsworth Presbyterian church, and her parents were Edward and Hannah (née Wilder) Lyons. She was their seventh child.
Her parents had married on 20 January 1873 at St John the Baptist church in Erith, Kent. Both were said to be resident in Erith and Edward’s father Dennis was a Blacksmith. Hannah’s father was Frederick Wilder, a labourer. The witnesses were Joseph and Elizabeth Brown.
Edward hailed from London and was born in 1853, but it is difficult to pinpoint his background exactly. Hannah Wilder or Wilders came from Crayford in Kent. Her parents were Frederick and Eliza Wilder who had lived in Crayford for a few years. She was their eldest child.
The 1870s
Edward and Hannah Lyons settled in the Dartford area and their first child Eleanor was born in the December quarter of 1873. Eleanor was followed by Margaretta in 1876 and Edward Dennis junior in 1878 but sadly he died aged 2 in August 1880. Edward junior was buried on 28 August 1880 at St Paulinus Churchyard in Erith. The very next day his mother Hannah gave birth to a daughter named Jessie.
The 1880s
The 1881 Census shows the family had moved to Mile End in London and were living at 1 Half Heath Street with several other families. Edward aged 28 is a general labourer, Hannah aged 27 is a dressmaker. The children are Eleanor aged 7, Margaret aged 4 and Jessie aged 7 months.
Two further sons were born in the Dartford area. William Henry was born in the June quarter of 1883. He was baptised at Christchurch Church in Erith on 27 February 1884. The family were residing at 3 Pleasant View, West Street in Erith. Frederick John was born on 22 February 1885 and baptised on 6 May 1886 in the same church as his brother. This time the family address is given as North End in Erith.
Erith at this time was a thriving industrial and retail centre. There was a large range of manufacturers in the town so there would have been plenty of work.
By the time Bertha was born on 17 November 1887 the family had moved to Ludlow Road in Wandsworth and with a break in tradition Bertha was baptised into the Presbyterian church.
The 1890s
Bertha was followed by the birth of Christopher in the March quarter of 1890 in Lambeth. Sadly, Christopher died in the very same Registration quarter.
In the 1891 census the family were living at 32 Prague Street in Stockwell, Brixton. They were sharing the property with another family of six persons. Edward was aged 38 and working as a bricklayer’s labourer, was living with Hannah aged 37, Jessie aged 10, Willie aged 8, Freddy aged 6 and Bertha aged 3. It appears that the older children had left home and were working elsewhere.
There would be a further two children born to the family, Kathleen (Catherine) in September 1891 and Joseph, born in the December quarter of 1894.
Later documents unearth evidence that all was not well with Dennis and Hannah’s marriage. This newspaper article dated 30 October 1897 from the South London Press I think shows the earliest evidence of this. I believe this is Bertha’s father. It is the right age, occupation and the area that they lived. At this point Hannah asks for leniency for her husband’s behaviour.
The 1900s
By the time of the 1901 Census the family were living in Streatham, at 40 Larch Road with another family. Edward who is now recorded as Dennis has had a change of occupation and is now working as a gardener (not domestic), Hannah is aged 47, Frederick aged 16 is working as an Errand Boy at the Port, Bertha aged 13 is still at school, Katherine aged 10 and Joseph aged 7 are also at school.
On 14 December 1905 according to the UK Lunacy Register Bertha was admitted to the Epileptic Colony.
Page 57 of the Wandsworth Register of Lunatics explains why and gives an insight into her parent’s marital status.
A photo of Cowick Road Tooting dated 1915.
It shows she was brought to the Infirmary by her mother on 4 December 1905 from 62 Cowick Road in Tooting. On her examination by the Doctor on 11 December 1905 Bertha’s mother gave the following statement:
“This patient is my daughter. She was born on 17 November 1887 at 2 Ludlow Road, Wandsworth. I was married as Hannah Wilder to Edward Dennis Lyons, a gardener on 20 January 1873 at the parish church of Erith, Kent. (I have left my certificate with Mr Haggis as he has a warrant against my husband taken 3 years ago) I have never had Bertha’s birth certificate, she was registered at Wandsworth Town Hall, but I could not afford to buy the certificate.”
This simple statement supports the data I have found so far and shows the couple’s marriage had deteriorated. Also, it shows how desperately poor the family were.
In 1887 it cost 1 shilling to register a birth. A copy of the certificate was 2 shillings and 6d including the shilling to register the birth. So typically, a family would pay 1 shilling and 6d as there was an additional charge for a home birth of 6d or if they could afford a copy of the certificate 2 shillings and 6d. A shilling would be worth about £8.40 today. Labourers at that time typically earned about 4 shillings per day.
Hannah goes on to say:
“Bertha had been only 4 weeks with me at my present address up to 4th Inst before that she was in service with Mrs Baines at 22 Lucien Road, Tooting, for a month before that she was at home, at my ? Address with me for about 9 months from Tooting home, where she went in February last 1905. She went from Tooting Home from this Infirmary, was in infirmary for 2 weeks admitted from 62 Cowick Road, she had been at home for 14 years of age (sleeping) although she had daily situations.
Continuously she has had epileptic fits very frequently. Neither she or I have any money”
Margin notes state there was a Warrant for desertion against Father for wife desertion – taken out 19 January 1903.
Hannah’s statement gives a very sad account of how she and Bertha were struggling, and it seems as if Bertha’s condition had reached a point where she could not work or be supported by her mother.
Further notes state Bertha was not dangerous or suicidal and was clean and in a fair bodily condition. She did have “small bruises on the front of both arms, an old scar on lower jaw and nits in the hair of her head”
Observations on her condition say “She is subject to frequent epileptic attacks, during which she behaves in an insane fashion, embracing those who are near her and utters dis-evident sounds and assumes strange attitudes. Her memory is impaired”
Her religion was incorrectly recorded as Roman Catholic.
It was decided Bertha would be admitted to the Epileptic Colony at Ewell which had been opened in 1903 and would later become St Ebba’s Hospital. Medical care at this time would have included the administering of Bromide of strontium and controlled dietary regimes to try and manage the seizures. Patients would have regular checks on their health including a record kept of the frequency of their seizures.
All of this was to no avail for the patients and Bertha was no different. She was discharged from the Ewell Colony on 21 April 1906 with her symptoms no better. It is not clear where she went after this date and on 21 July 1906, she was sent to Bethnal Green Asylum. I can find no records of this and after a stay of a year she was sent to Long Grove Asylum on 30 July 1907 as her condition had not improved, it may have been getting worse. As we have seen there was no recognised successful way of managing the epileptic attacks so it was inevitable that Bertha would remain in an institution.
It was at Long Grove that Bertha died on 8 March 1911.
Bertha died from the effects of Epilepsy and Gastro Enteritis. It states she had been Epileptic for about 7 ½ years which would take her diagnosis back to the end of 1903 when she was about 16 years old. There is no mention of a family relative. The only address given was Wandsworth Infirmary which was where she was taken by her mother in December 1905 when Bertha’s condition had become intolerable and she could no longer work.
The family after Bertha’s death
The 1911 Census taken shortly after Bertha passed away is probably the closest snapshot you will get regarding the family dynamics at that time.
The family were living at Five Ash Road, Northfleet in Gravesend Kent. Dennis aged 60 was a jobbing Gardener, Hannah aged 59, William aged 29 a Bricklayer’s Labourer, Frederick aged 26 working as a Goods Porter for a Railway Company, Katherine aged 19 a Domestic Servant, Joseph aged 16 a Carter on a farm. Interestingly, the couple listed the 3 children who had died, Bertha, Edward and Christopher recording their ages at the time of their death and then writing “dead” in the end column.
It also indicates that Long Grove Asylum had advised the family of Bertha’s death but obviously they had no funds to provide her with a burial.
From the census it is obvious that Bertha’s father has returned to the family. It may have been for financial reasons, but we will never know the full circumstances.
Bertha’s parents
From his son’s military records, it appears that Edward/Dennis remained with the family, but the Kent Messenger and Gravesend Telegraph dated 22 January 1916 shows he has not changed.
Courtesy of British Newspaper Archives
It shows that these violent abusive incidents were viewed very differently at that time. In this case it was just dismissed.
Edward or Dennis died on 17th June 1920. His death is recorded at Strood Union, Poor Law Register. Strood is now part of the Medway Town area on the north side of the River Medway. Not far from Northfleet. Aged 69 he died of a cerebral haemorrhage and Lobar pneumonia. The responsibility of burial is recorded as “By friends”. It seems as if his family had lost patience with him.
Hannah, Bertha’s mother can be found living with her son Joseph Lyons and his family in the 1921 Census. She was living at 29 Five Ash Road in Northfleet. She was still living at the same address in 1939 when the register was taken at the outbreak of World War 2.
Hannah died at the grand old age of 90 and some Family trees on Ancestry stated she was a civilian killed in the War. However, her death certificate disproves this theory.
She died on 30 November 1943 at the local hospital. Cause of death was Myocardial Degeneration and Senility, a consequence of her advanced age I would imagine.
Bertha’s surviving siblings
Eleanor
Born in 1873 her name was spelt as “Elleanor” and her marriage certificate shows she went by the name of Elleanor Mary Ann at that time.
The 1891 Census shows that Nellie (Elleanor) and her sister Maggie were domestic servants in the same household, living in at 10 Dulwich Road, Brixton, working for a young couple with children.
She married on 7 January 1894 William Simkin, a 29-year-old bachelor. The marriage took place at St Mary’s church in Lambeth. William was an Electrician son of Robert Simkin who was a painter.
By 1901 Elleanor and William were living at 18 St Alphon Road in Clapham. William aged 38 was an electrical wireman living with Elleanor aged 28 and their 3 sons William Norman aged 6, Leslie Loftus aged 3 and Cyril Herbert aged 1.
In 1911 the family were living at 164 Mitcham Road in Streatham. William was working on the Tramways for London County Council. Eleanor was now aged 37. The couple declared they had had 8 children but 3 had died. William Norman aged 16 was working as a Postal Telegraph messenger, Leslie aged 14, Cyril aged 11, Arthur aged 9 and Roy aged 7 were all at school.
Sadly, Elleanor’s husband died right at the end of World War 1 on 5 November 1918 at sea, missing presumed drowned. He was a Corporal in Royal Engineers. He was serving in the Inland Water Transport Battalion. Incredibly he enlisted at the age of 52 in June 1917. Within William’s military records is a sad letter from Elleanor dated 29 November 1918 where she pleads for more information. She fears he is dead as Newspaper reports state there are only 3 survivors, and he is not named.
The family received a letter on 22 November 1918 stating he was on board the HSB 2 when it was struck by American Transport and her bows were cut off and the craft was brought into Southampton in a “sinking condition”. The letter suggests they go to the port as possibly he may be there alive. It lists the 3 known survivors.
Eleanor writes again in January 1919 after some confusion, and she asks when she will receive his death certificate as she has still not received official confirmation of his death. Again, she writes in March 1919 and there is no record of a reply. Her letters are so desperate and sad and show only too graphically the confusion and pain of World War 1.
I assume she must have had proof of her husband’s death by October 1919 as she remarries Frederick Philpott in October 1919.
Eleanor died in 1937.
Margaret
Margaret born in 1877 was, as we saw earlier working as a domestic servant in 1891 working in the same household as Eleanor. Margaret from this point is known as Maggie and on 15 May 1898 she married Herbert Roberts a 27-year-old Insurance Agent at St Paul’s church, Brixton. The couple settled in Clapham and had 2 children, Ruby Maud Mary born in 1899 and Clifford Herbert in 1903. After 1911 I have not been able to find any conclusive trace of Maggie.
Jessie
Jessie who was born in 1880 was by 1901 a Domestic Servant working in Battersea. She married Ernest Hill in Strood, Kent in the July quarter of 1910. By the time of the 1911 Census the couple were living at 140 London Road in Grays, Essex. Ernest aged 30 was working as a Kiln Labourer in the Cement Works and Jessie aged 27 was at home.
In 1921 the couple were living at 23 Exmouth Road in Grays and they now had a daughter named Mona aged 10 years and 2 months born in Grays. Ernest is now working as a Labourer at Tilbury Docks. Mona’s full name was Mona Christiana Jessie and she was born on 27 April 1911.
The 1939 Register shows Ernest and Jessie were living at 11 Clarence Place in Gravesend, Kent both aged 59. Ernest was working as a Transport Labourer at Tilbury Docks. Mona was married by this time but living not far from her parents.
Jessie died in October 1958 aged 78 in the Dartford Registration District.
William
William Henry born in 1883. I currently have not been able to find him in the 1901 Census, but he can be found in 1911 at 13 Five Ash Road, Gravesend living with his parents, aged 29 and a single man he was working as a Bricklayer. World War 1 was about to change his life but there is no evidence that he went to the Front at all. When he signed up on 3 September 1914 to the Duke of Cornwall’s Regiment he spent the next 128 days in Britain before being declared unfit on 8 January 1915. He was described as 5 foot 6 inches tall with a fresh complexion with Hazel eyes. This was not the end of his military career as it appears he was enlisted into the Royal West Kent Regiment on 24 September 1915. He was discharged again as being medically unfit on 25 August 1916. The cause being a “varix” which it seems he had since 1898 but not aggravated by military service. A varix is a twisted or dilated vein. This was the cause of his original discharge.
However, on 17 February 1917 William now living in Newport, Wales was called up into the Infantry Labour Corps. His medical status was given as C2 which meant he had the ability to perform light duties. He seems to have been transferred a few times and ended up in the Royal Engineers. Again, it appears he stayed in the UK. He was discharged at the end of the war.
On 16 June 1918 he had returned to London and married Alice Amelia Higgins who hailed from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. In 1921 they were living at 55 Fairlight Road in Tooting with their daughter Alice born in 1920.
The 1939 Register shows them living at the same address with Alice aged 19 and William junior aged 17.
Wiliam died in the October quarter of 1957 in Wandsworth Registration district.
Frederick
Frederick John born in 1885 was the sibling born just before Bertha. He was still living at home in 1911 working as a Goods Porter on the railways. There is no conclusive evidence that Frederick went to war and in the October quarter of 1913 he married Ethel Gadd.
In 1921 the family can be found living at 21 Spencer Street in Gravesend. Frederick, aged 36, was still working for South Eastern Railways and living with Ethel aged 28 and their 2 children Ethel aged 6 and Leslie aged 2.
The 1939 Register shows the family living at 64 Darnley Road in Gravesend. Frederick remains employed on the railway as a Goods Checker. Ethel is still alive, and his daughter Ethel is still at home working as a Drapery Assistant.
He died on 15 September 1953 at Gravesend and North Kent Hospital.
Katherine
Born 1 June 1892 married George William Reed in October 1913 in the Strood Registration District in Kent. By 1921 the couple were living at 29 Five Ash Road in Gravesend. George was at sea. He was a Fireman on board a ship. This is the same address as her brother Joseph and her mother so they must have been sharing a house.
In 1939 the couple were living at the same address with Hannah Lyons, Katherine’s mother. The couple do not appear to have had any children.
Katherine died in October 1961 aged 69.
Joseph
Born on 24 August 1894 Joseph was the youngest child of the family. He married in January 1921 Doris Tennant in the Strood Registration District. The couple were newly married at the time of the 1921 census and were living at 29 Five Ash Road in Gravesend with his mother and their newly born infant son who was only 3 days old. Joseph was working as a Cable Hand for Henleys Cable Works in Gravesend. The newborn was given the name Joseph Edward, and he was followed by a brother Frederick John in 1925.
In 1939 the family were living ay 19 Cedar Avenue in Gravesend. Joseph was still working in the cable works as was his eldest son Joseph. Frederick was still at school.
Joseph lived a long life and died aged 84 in April 1979 in Dartford, Kent.
Final Thoughts
Bertha seems to have been born into a family where drunkenness and violence was commonplace. There was also a lack of money as Bertha’s mother intimated in her statement given when Bertha was admitted.
By the time Bertha developed Epilepsy her father had already deserted her mother leaving the family unit. Bertha at that time was around 16 and according to her mother working as a Domestic Servant in “daily situations”. That is, not living in. Frederick would have been about 18, Catherine aged 12 and Joseph aged 9. It would have been extremely challenging for them all but at least the children were no longer exposed to their drunken father’s violence.
None of the other children seem to have had Epilepsy and it is difficult to understand why it developed in Bertha. The exact cause can vary from person to person. It does not appear to have been hereditary as far as I can tell. Whilst Puberty and stress are not causes of Epilepsy, they certainly are additional factors. Or did she have a blow to the head at some point? It is clear Bertha’s life was tough. Her parent’s violent marriage and the lack of money were all factors in her life.
Bertha tried to survive and worked where she could, but her untreated condition meant she could not carry on trying to function in the everyday world. Her mother probably had no other option than to go to the Workhouse and have her daughter medically assessed with the hope that her daughter’s institutionalisation meant that at least she had a roof over her head and was fed and watered.
Sadly, in a world that did not know how to successfully treat Epilepsy it was inevitable that Bertha would live out her days in care and die in an institution. The fact her mother recorded her existence on the 1911 Census shortly after her death along with her two dead siblings seems to me that her mother did not forget her daughter living away from home in Long Grove. Even if she could not afford to bury Bertha she was in her mother’s thoughts.
