Edmond Thomas PENNY
Edmond was born on 5th January 1883 in Paddington, London.
Edmond’s parents
His parents were Arthur William PENNY (1847 – 1919) and Jane EVRY (1845 – 1928) and were both born in Somerset
In 1866 Arthur was working as a labourer in Somerset, aged 19, and was imprisoned for
Feloniously stealing 46 pounds of Barley Meal, value 4/6 (4 shillings and 6 pence), the property of George Adams at Stanton Drew on 17th December 1866.
He was sentenced to 1 calendar month in prison and was discharged on 19th January 1867, so would have spent Christmas in prison.
Edmund’s parents married on 9th February 1871 in St George’s, Hanover Square, London. At the time of the marriage Arthur’s occupation was shown as a Coffee House Keeper.
Arthur William PENNY went from being a Butler in the 1881 Census to a Plate Window Cleaner in the 1891 Census. Arthur served as a Private in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War One and received the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Edmond’s siblings
Percy Edward PENNY was born on 4th November 1879. He married Florence Ada RESTALL in Paddington in 1903. Percy and Florence had six children – Harold, Gladys, Ronald, Alan, Dorothy and Olive. Percy qualified as a Dentist and obtained Freemason membership in 1913. In the 1916 Phone Book he was listed as offering English and American Dentistry. He died in December 1952 in Bushey, Hertfordshire, although he was still legally living in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex. Probate records show he left £3,569 14s 4d to his wife Florence.
Herbert Walter PENNY was born on 13th February 1877 in Paddington. He married May Gertrude DRAKE on 29 September 1903 at St Peter’s Church, Paddington. The 1911 Census shows him living with his wife and son Reginald, age 6, at 2 Oakington Road, Paddington and he was working as a Railway Clerk. By the time of the 1921 Census May had given birth to a daughter, Inez-May, who was aged 8 at the time. Herbert was working as a Booking Clerk for the Metropolitan Railway and his son Reginald was age 16 and working as a Junior Draughtsman. In 1922 May gave birth to another daughter, Joyce Mary PENNY.
In the 1939 England & Wales Register Herbert is shown as living in Hastings and his occupation was Railway Clerk (retired). He was living with Joyce Mary Penny, who was born on 3rd August 1922 and was in Domestic Service. Herbert died in 1962 in Uxbridge, Middlesex.
Florence Louisa PENNY was born in 1875 and sadly died aged just one year old in 1876 in Paddington.
Arthur Joseph William PENNY was born on 8th November 1873. He married Clara YOUNGMAN on 28th July 1928 at St George’s, Bloomsbury, London. Arthur was 54 and Clara was 49 and neither had been married before. Arthur’s occupation was an Accountant. I have been unable to find any children born to them. Arthur died on 7th December 1952 and left his estate to his wife.
Ada Jane Elizabeth PENNY was born on 7th January 1872 in Paddington. She married Albert FREEMAN on 26th March 1894 in St Peter’s Church, Paddington. At the time of the marriage Albert’s occupation was a Dentist so I wonder if he knew Ada’s brothers and that is how they met? Ada and Albert had two daughters – Ada Florence, born 1895 and Rita, born 1914 so there was a 20 year age gap between them. I wonder if they had other children who did not survive until birth?
Albert FREEMAN died on 14th April 1941 and Probate records show he left his money to his daughter, Ada Florence. Ada Jane died on 18th June 1967 in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex and Probate records show she left £4028 to her daughters.
There seems to be a family link to St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, as Percy and Herbert both lived there and Ada died there.
Edmond’s Dental Training
At the time of the 1901 Census Edmond is recorded as a Dentist’s Apprentice and his brother Percy as a Dentist’s Assistant.
The 1915 Post Office Directory lists Edmond as an Artificial Teeth Manufacturer, living at 122 Elgin Avenue, Paddington. Edmond was initiated into the United Grand Lodge of England Freemasons on 13 March 1915 at Cyclist Lodge, Kingston on Thames. The 1919 and 1921 Electoral Registers show Edmond was still living with his parents at 122 Elgin Avenue, Paddington.
Edmond and his brother Percy both qualified as Dentists in 1921.
The Dentists Act 1921 restricted practice to qualified and registered dentists, established a Dental Board as a sub-committee of the General Medical Council with responsibility for maintenance of the Register, and introduced restrictions on the number and structure of corporate bodies. There was increasing pressure to make dentistry a statutory rather than an additional benefit under the National Insurance scheme administered by approved societies but the precarious nature of the economy with high levels of unemployment and unexpected claims for sickness and disability benefit from women made this impossible. Big gaps remained in the availability of health care, with no coordination and wide variation in quality, which led to the commissioning of a report from William Beveridge recommending a comprehensive health service, to include dental care, and laying the foundations of the NHS.
Edmond’s marriage
Edmond married Theresa AUGHUET in January 1929. She was the daughter of Edward AUGHUET, who was born in Greece and Theresa ROCHE, who was born in Ireland.
Edmond’s career as a Dentist
The British Phone Book of 1932 show Edmond and Percy both listed as Dentists. Edmond was working from 9A Sinclair Road, West Kensington, London.
By 1935 Edmond was listed in the UK Dentist Register of that year. He was still working from 9A Sinclair Road. Percy was also listed, working from 34 Chicele Road, Cricklewood, London.
The 1939 England & Wales Register show Edmond and Theresa living at 9A Sinclair Road, Edmond was a Dentist and Theresa was a Draper’s Store Saleswoman selling ladies’ coats.
In the 1930s, UK dentistry was limited, largely unpaid, and access was poor, with most people relying on home remedies or extraction for tooth problems; formal regulation was incomplete and many dentists were unregistered. Dental care was basic and painful. Work on poor teeth often meant extraction rather than filling, as crowns or restorations were rare for the working class. Wealthier patients might get more advanced treatment, but even then, materials and techniques were primitive compared to today.
For most people, oral hygiene relied on salt, tooth powder, or bicarbonate of soda mixtures rather than commercial toothpaste. Toothbrushes were often hogs hair on bamboo or bone, but many poorer households used willow twigs or even a finger dipped in salt. Toothache was common, and treatment might involve painkillers, home remedies, or extraction to relieve pain.
Edmond’s death
Edmond died at West Park Hospital, Epsom, on 16th March 1952 and was buried on 22nd March at Horton Cemetery, aged 69.
His father-in-law, Edward AUGHUET was a patient at Long Grove Asylum and is also buried in Horton Cemetery. Edward Aughuet – Friends of Horton Cemetery
The 1946 electoral role shows Edmond’s wife Theresa living on her own at 34 Hazlitt Road, Hammersmith. I have been unable to find any children of theirs or a death record for Theresa.