New Information: Mr Gladstone's, Eaton Gate Preparatory, and Eaton House Belgravia

This message (below) arrived from Bill and Susan Miller of Watford, England [left], regarding the possibility of the contemporary Eaton House School having once been Eaton Gate Preparatory School, employer of George Mills during or around June 1938, when the institution was mentioned in George's dedication to his second novel, King Willow:


We have just stumbled across your website researching George Mills and asking for information re Eaton Gate school. We have an interest in the same school as my wife Susan is the granddaughter of Robin Gladstone, and we have been trying to find out the connection between him and the school in Cliveden Place, Belgravia known as "Gladstone's".

I think you mention that Harold MacMillan [pictured as a schoolboy, right] was educated at Gladstone's early in the 20th Century, but it came to our attention through the memoirs of Tony Benn, the veteran Labour Party politician and former Cabinet Minister, who was also educated there in the 1930s. Curiously he mentions that Mr Gladstone was still active at the school until it was sold in 1937 and moved to Eaton Gate. The Eaton House School website mentions the move from Cliveden Place to Eaton Gate in 1937 so I don't think there is any doubt that Eaton Gate and Eaton House are one and the same school.

What we do find puzzling is Tony Benn's assertion that Mr Gladstone was active at the school in the '30s. This we find puzzling because from 1920-1929 he was, as you mention, owner and headmaster of the Hall School in Hampstead, London. Our family records show that he probably left the Hall on his marriage and took some time off to embark on a round the world cruise with his wife. Curiously however, my father-in-law was actually born in Switzerland, so we are wondering if there is a George Mills connection here, if he later settled at Glion after working for Robin at The Hall. Could Robin have worked for a short period in Glion with Mills?

On their return to England the Gladstones settled in East Grinstead, Sussex, where he purchased another school, The Abbey [pictured below, left], which he ran until 1969. We are a little unsure of the dates here - it is just possible this didn't happen until 1937, in which case he could have been back at "Gladstone's" from about 1930-1937. It also seems unclear as to where T S Morton was at this time. The Eaton House website seems to suggest his ownership and presence at the school was continuous throughout its history until it was sold in 1959. Our own theory is that the Gladstone family had ownership interests in all these schools, and that Morton was an employee and not owner, and hence may have moved from school to school.

I am not sure if any of this helps you with the life of George Mills, but we have been intrigued by the connections and will continue our own researches into Gladstone's, and to see if we can turn up any more information both on the school and on Mills. We would equally be interested to know if you have found any further information on this subject since your last postings.

I have copied a couple of links in to The Hall school website, and to the Abbey School alumni website. Also the reference to Tony Benn's book.

http://www.hallschool.co.uk/home
http://freespace.virgin.net/abbey.school/index.html#top

Tony Benn "Dare To Be A Daniel" published by Random House, London (paperback version) 2005. pp 94-97

Best wishes

Bill Miller
Watford, England


Thank you so much, Bill and Susan, for taking the time to write and share your information!

The reference they cite does, indeed, provide additional evidence for the current Eaton House Schools having been the "Eaton Gate Preparatory School" mentioned by George Mills in his 1938 dedication [seen below, right].

Why did the school change names? It seems unlikely that George Mills and his editors at G. G. Harrap & Co. all would have used the incorrect name for a relatively prestigious institution accidentally, especially if George had been employed there. The name change does seem to have gone undocumented, however, as did the change in names when the school moved from Cliveden place (and it was referred to as "Gladstone's") to Belgravia.

Although, perhaps we are being presumptuous in believing that Mills did teach there. He dedicates King Willow "to the headmasters, staff, and boys" of the school without actually attesting to the fact he was ever an employee.

Still, we know that Mills had taught at Windlesham House School, another prestigious institution, and dedicated his first novel, Meredith and Co., to that school, as well as to schools in Meads, Windermere, and Glion where he also had taught. Would it be odd for Mills to have dedicated this book to his local prep school, even though he was not on the staff in any way? It seems more likely that he worked there, at the very least as an occasional substitute for teachers who were indisposed.

Despite polite entreaties for assistance in academic research, Eaton House Schools has not, as far as we know, delved into any archival material that might shed light on the change of names and/or whether or not George Mills served on the staff.

This message was received from Eaton House Belgravia on 10 May 2010:

Thank you for your enquiry. There is a possibility that there might be a reference in one of our old school magazines.I will have a look and let you know.

Regards,
Lucy Watts

Miss Lucy Watts
Headmistress
Eaton House School
3-5 Eaton Gate London


Later , on 21 July 2010, this message was received:

The current owners,The Harper family,took over in 1977/78. I am not sure about your other queries but I will pass them onto Mrs Harper,via her son-in-law,Rupert Back.

Regards, Lucy


And I have never heard back from Back.

For whatever reason, Mills interestingly did dedicate his second book to the school, and not to his wife, Vera, nor anyone in his family.

One small but also extremely interesting aspect of the above message for the Millers is the possibility of there having been a connection between Robin Gladstone's birth in Switzerland and George's temporary employment in Glion, followed by their subsequent connections to the preparatory school in Eaton Gate.

If any readers have better luck communicating with Eaton House Schools, please let us know. And if you have any information on Robin Gladstone, I would be delighted to pass it along directly to the Millers. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Additional Information: Percy Carmichael Clarke, Emma Anna Piper, and Egerton Clarke

I've had some exciting information arrive this week, some of it from in and around Watford, England. Let's start with the thread I began receiving first.

A comment on the article "Mr. Egerton Clarke: Meet the Maternal Family" was recently posted by Lex Tucker on Tuesday, 1 November 2011. He wrote:

Frederick Ebenezer PIPER and his wife Mary nee MEACHER had:
Mabel Agnes 1874
Charles Frederick ca 1876
Horace Francis ca 1878
Albert Lucius Meacher ca 1880
Guy Reginald 1882 @ Hythe.
Fredk's wife seems to have been around 11 years his senior. He was 21 to her 32 when they married at Ivinghoe in Bucks in 1873.

According to the 1901 English Census, Mabel, a widow whose 6 y.o. daughter, Dorothy EDWARDS, was a 'British subject born in France' had married James ROY, a 43 y.o. widower. His 16 y.o. daughter Marjorie was also part of the household in Hove, Sussex. James was a 'manufacturing confectioner's manager' and may have had something to do with the fact that Albert PIPER, who was single and lived in Worthing, was a 'confectioner's agent'.

Horace and Guy were living with Charles (head of the household) and his wife in Teddington, Middlesex. Horace was a confectioner (James again?) and Guy a florist.


Thank you very much for the information, Lex!

While the above does not directly play into our story of George Mills, it does flesh out more of the the family history of George's dear friend, Egerton Clarke. If I am reading it all correctly, Egerton would have had some 5 step-siblings from his father Percy Carmichael Clarke's first marriage to Mary Meacher.

What we do not know is how close either Egerton or his mother, Emma Anna Piper Clarke [pictured, right, with Egerton], may have been—if at all—to the children of Percy Clarke's first marriage. The last child of Percy's first union was born around 1882 at Hythe, while Egerton was born in 1899 in Canterbury of a different mother, Emma Piper.

While that difference between half-siblings was some 17 years (1882-1899), Hythe is only some 20 miles from Canterbury, and both just across the Channel from France, where Percy passed away at Dinard in 1902.

It is also notable that Hythe is just a handful of miles west of Folkestone along the coast, the latter being the locale in which Egerton Clarke penned the dedication to his first book of poetry, Kezil and Other Poems, while residing at The Grange in June, 1920, after having served in the First World War.

Egerton clearly had step-kin in the area. Does the fact that he wrote that dedication in Folkestone have more to do with the fact that Hythe was part of his family's geography, or the fact that he had just served in the Army Pay Corps, with nearby Dover the location of a major WWI pay centre where friend George Mills had been stationed after Egerton's medical discharge from the service in 1918? Dover is just over 5 miles to the east of Folkestone.

Much of this requires speculation. Does having a family member born in Hythe make the military connection between Folkestone and Dover somewhat less meaningful? It's difficult to be certain, but we do know that Egerton's mother, with whom he was never truly close, seemingly was out of the picture and residing with her family in Hertfordshire at the time.

Had there always been a deeper connection with his father's family, especially during the time he attended St Edmund's School in Kent, than we previously have suspected?

This new information isn't earth-shattering, but in light of wondering about the relation between Egerton and George Mills, as well as the relationship between Egerton and his mother and her family, it is extremely interesting.

I forwarded Lex's comment to Janine LaForestier, whom you may remember being Egerton Clarke's granddaughter. She already has provided a wealth of information regarding the family's history.

Her reply, dated 3 November:

This is wonderful. I have photos of a couple of Pipers - always wanted to know the approximate ages of these folk. They certainly look ancient - I love this puzzle. Wonderful.

All well at this end - still going through boxes of books.

Funny you should write - I was reading some of Egerton's poems this morning. One he wrote for my mother when she was three.

Also
Came across a photo of a man in uniform - on the back it states "Therese's fiance Lancashire Fusilier - killed in battle 1916-17. So my grandmother was engaged before she married Egerton. There must have been a tremendous shortage of men her own age - hence the age difference between them.


On the radio I recently heard an author, Adam Hochschild, talking about his upcoming book, To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 [left]. In his discussion, he mentioned the difficulty of having a generation of men in its collective prime winnowed down to a relative few due to wounds, amputations, shellshock, and death. It must have impacted the societal pas de deux of lovers in post-War England to a great degree, thereby affecting the eligibility of George Mills and Egerton Clarke, both veterans!

However, I also came upon this message in my mailbox just this morning, dated Saturday, November 05, 2011 7:11 PM:

Dear Harry
I have been forwarded all the information you have discovered about my family.
I know you have been discussing your research with my cousin Janine in Canada. I am another granddaughter of egerton and live in England. although I spent eight years in California I have been brought up and live very close to a great deal of the places mentioned our nearest town is Watford and I went to school in st Albans and walked past the flat where Emma piper (my great grandmother's) sister lived without to this day knowing of the connection. egerton and Emma did not ever spend time in work houses the institutions referred to are schools in today's language would be private schools for the well to do. Emma was living in France after her husband Percy died . there are pictures and I have Percy's bible. there is a lot of research that I have done on the genes reunited website if you are interested. egerton was well educated and in the class system that is still prevalent today would have been considered upper class. the class ranking is often accompanied by a lack of money either money lost or a lifestyle indulged in beyond means. the class being defined by social circles and education. egerton's became a publisher and the publishing career then passed on to my father.

I am curious to know why you have such an interest in this family and have spent so much time researching it. I think it is difficult from such a distance and a different culture to interpret some information and language and meanings change over time.
kind regards
Camilla Andrews


Great information! Thank you so much, Camilla, from whom we have heard before! We now know for sure that Emma Anna Piper Clarke, Egerton's mother, failed to be tallied by early 20th century census takers because she had remained abroad in France after Percy's death! Perhaps that was natural: Emma had married a much older man and, after his passing, still may have had much to learn about herself as both a person and a woman.

We found reference to Emma in French journal from the year 2000 regarding a man with the surname "Lawrence," but it seems that would not have been author and prolific poet D. H. Lawrence, who did not reside in France until after World War I. By 1917, Emma clearly was a resident of Bishops Stortford, Herts.

[The addresses referred to in the journal article mentioned above are part of the region of France across from Dover, Folkestone, Hythe, and Canterbury (Go to: http://www.webcamgalore.com/EN/webcam/France/Veulettes-sur-Mer/5624.html).]


I feel, however, I must have offended Camilla more than just a little, and for that I apologize. My suppositions—that there may have been work houses involved in Watford and Blean—arose simply because of the fewer facts available to me at that time.

Egerton attended school in a town with a workhouse, Blean [right], which for purposes of the 1911 UK census was the location of St Edmund's School, not Canterbury. Citing Blean as the location of his residence without the census documents having named the "institution" (not "school") itself, I will admit, made me wonder where Egerton might have been housed and/or educated and under what circumstances, especially given that he recently had been orphaned.

In addition, the school's website describes its history thusly: "The name of the school was changed from the Clergy Orphan School to St Edmund's School in 1897." Egerton's circumstances as an orphan of a clergyman (and father of over a half-dozen children), combined with Egerton's attendance at a school that had recently been so charitably affiliated (the school was funded by the Clergy Orphan Society), never led me to believe that he was reared in an institution that was actually "in today's language… [a] private school for the well to do."

In addition, I also was misled to a great degree by this information: "1902 THE CLERGY ORPHAN CORPORATION, Under the Patronage of his majesty the King. President - The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. Vice-President - The Earl of Cranbrook. Treasurer - E. Lonsdale Beckwith, Esq.

"These Schools, founded in 1749, are for the absolutely free maintenance, clothing, and education of the Orphan (fatherless) Children of the Clergy of the Established Church of England and Wales.

"3228 children have been admitted to the benefits of these Schools which now contain 240. Of this number 132 boys are being educated in St. Edmund's school in Canterbury."

Admittedly, I laboured under the assumption that young Egerton must have been one of those "absolutely free maintenance, clothing, and education" boys, and humbly propose that could have been a somewhat logical assumption, at least from my position at "such a distance and [from] a different culture."

Given the information to which I had access, St Edmund's [left] appeared to me then to have been a charitable school for orphans of men who typically would not have been wealthy. And given what one reads in fiction from the era (at least in classic and popular English literature available to us here in the States), one would assume that even beneficed Anglican clerics who were not fortunate enough to have come from wealthy families before taking their Holy Orders, and who subsequently sired more than just a couple of children, would not have been considered widely as having been 'well-to-do.'

I guess that's why they call it fiction, though, and I stand corrected if I have misconstrued all of the above.

From a purely personal perspective, I will add that one of the greatest 'perks' gained by doing this research is, indeed, gaining some insight into the culture of my ancestors, from "such a distance and a different culture." Hence, I am obliged to anyone who 'sets me straight' in these matters. It's all a work in progress!

Finally, to satiate Camilla's curiosity, my primary interest in her family is in regard to George Mills, a man no one seems to recall very much about, but who was well-educated (as was Egerton Clarke), who wrote children's books (as did Egerton Clarke), was the son of an Anglican vicar (as was Egerton Clarke), who had served in the Army Pay Corps during WWI (as did Egerton Clarke), who had health-issues in the service (as did Egerton Clarke), who later attended Oxford (as did Egerton Clarke), who did not earn a degree from Oxford in the end (as Egerton Cklarke did not), who became a devout Catholic against his family's wishes (as did Egerton Clarke), who never wrote another book after publishing religious texts with Burns, Oates, and Washbourne in the late 1930s (as did Egerton Clarke), and whose health fared poorly during the Second World War (as did Egerton Clarke's), although Mills survived the conflict.

Therefore, I truly hope it does not seem unnatural for me to wonder and wish to learn about the life of a gentleman acquainted with, and who had so very much in common with, George Mills. And if reading any of the suppositions I have made along the way—in the midst of this research—has offended anyone retrospectively, for that I do apologize.


Next time, there'll be more word from Watford, England. However, then it will regard conirmation of a former place of employment for George Mills and a potential link to his teaching career in Glion, Switzerland. See you then!

Mr. Egerton Clarke Goes to War

It's clear from what we learned last time that Egerton Clarke did not come from a well-to-do family, or even a family with a moderate income. When his father, Percy Carmichael Clarke, passed away while serving as Chaplain in Dinard, France, in 1902, Egerton was just three years old. His mother was 45 years old and had another child, 14-year-old Dorothy Mary Clarke.

One day, Egerton was a three year old playing at his home on the balmy coast of France and probably being tended to by his nurse, and in the next his father was dead, his family uprooted, and his life changed forever.

As the orphan child of cleric, Egerton was able to attend St Edmund's School in Canterbury (or Blean?), which had changed its name in 1897 from the The Clergy Orphan School.

His mother, Emma Anna Piper Clarke, was the youngest daughter and second youngest child among a brood of 11 children.

Her father and mother passed away (in 1887 and 1893 respectively), and she had departed the farmland that had been her home at Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire to become the wife of an older man, the Reverend Clarke, in Norwich, Norfolk.

After that, it seems she got lost in the shuffle of siblings' deaths, family squabbling (I don't think those multiple, fraternal partnerships involving breweries that we read about last time became dissolute over nothing), and space and time—by 1902, my hunch is she truly was not in the forefront of any family member's mind. They all had other things to worry about besides a youngest sibling that, frankly, many of them hardly knew.

By the time Emma Anna was 10 years of age, her five oldest siblings would have been 18 or older. By the time Emma was 18, eight of them would have been 21 or older.

And, sadly, by the time Emma was widowed at 45, three were dead—including the two of the three youngest (Herbert and Clement), who had been closest to her in age. Within ten years, three more would pass away, leaving a married sister, two spinster sisters (who were 6, 8, and 12 years her senior), and an older brother, Ebenezer, who'd run a public house for tramps and was living with her brother Herbert's widow.

What happened to Egerton's sister, Dorothy, is open to conjecture. She seems to have disappeared into the mist, as they say. We also are unsure of Emma Anna's whereabouts between 1902 and 1917—15 long years—but we do locate her when Egerton goes to war.


Egerton Arthur Crossman Clarke became a member of the army at Southampton on 20 September 1917, and his date of service was recorded from 12 November of the same year. His occupation is recorded [left; click any image to enlarge] as "Scholar," and he was 18 years and 54 days of age. He had been classified as B III and posted to the Devon Regiment in Exeter the next day.

Two days later, on 15 November, Egerton was transferred to the Army Pay Corps in Winchester. His next of kin is cited as "Mrs. P. C. Clarke, Thorley Wash, Bishops Stortford, Herts"—the farm of her widowed (and wealthy) sister, Hannah.


We know someone else who had been transferred into the A.P.C. around that time: George Ramsay Acland Mills, who had been sent to Winchester on 16 April 1917.

We also know from our study of his First World War records that George would eventually be put out of the A.P.C.: Mills was compulsorily and involuntarily transferred to Dover on 19 September 1918. After beginning his service at the Rifle Depot in 1916 as an acting lance corporal, by 1918 George had become a mere "fatigue man" at Winchester—not very well thought of, and a man who would not be considered for promotion.

Let's take a closer look, though, at what little we know about the time Egerton spent at Winchester.

He spent eight days hospitalized at the Central Military Hospital in Winchester with influenza from 18 January 1918 through 26 January. There were no remarks recorded about his stay.

Soon, he spent 13 days at hospital—3 June 1918 to 15 June 1918—with tonsillitis, with the remark: "Cleared up on treatment."

Despite the terror that attended the influenza epidemic that year, Egerton really seems to have borne up well, and these hospitalizations on the surface don't seem to have been very serious.

However, on 20 August 1918, Egerton was hospitalized for "V. D. H.": Valvular Disease of the Heart. The attending physician's notes easily can be seen to say: "Anaemic. Systolic bruit at apex. Conducted into axilla. Heart dilated. Attacks of epitaxis frequent. Very short of breath and exertion. Unfit for further service."

Now, Egerton was admitted on 8 August, but we do not know when that diagnosis was made—perhaps the same day.

On page 1685 of the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 78, No. 22) from 29 November 1919, there is an article by Fred M. Smith, M.D., of Chicago entitled, "Tachycardia following influenza pneumonia." You can read the article itself by clicking HERE, but the gist is that many soldiers, after suffering influenza in 1918, were beset by increased pulse rates and other maladies, leading, as the author writes, to some "who had been discharged from the hospital to quarters or duty were returned for observation. Some complained of shortness of breath, weakness, dizziness, and palpitation of the heart on exertion."

Egerton's third hospitalization may have been due to a different cause than those above—he was admitted suffering epitaxis, or nose bleeds—but while the onset of symptoms may have been precipitated by his bout with influenza, his problems were likely to have been organic in nature. Of a case Dr. Smith studied in which the soldier suffered "Organic Heart Disease," he writes:

The course and physical findings of the patient differed markedly from that of the other men. He had a pulse rate of 140 per minute, a definite cardiac enlargement, and a blowing systolic murmur at the apex that was transmitted to the axilla. The findings were associated with shortness of breath, palpitation of the heart, and a feeling of exhaustion on exertion. These symptoms disappeared on rest in bed.


"Rest in bed."

Egerton Clarke had a ticket out of the army: His bad ticker.

When Egerton had reported to Winchester, his medical examination reported that he was 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 135 lbs. (very slim!), and in "Good" physical condition. His vision was excellent.

Egerton's chest size was 34" with an expanded range of 3"—completely average.

Unfortunately, that Army Form B. 178., filled out upon his arrival in the army, had already noted that Clarke suffered from a "Mitral Systolic Murmur" that was "½ (inch) under chest." Egerton's problem was, indeed, organic. Interestingly, the President of the Medical Recruiting Board passed him into service, but classified him as a "Grade III."


We gain more information on Egerton from his Army Form B. 178a., with the wonderfully descriptive title: Medical Report of a Soldier Boarded Prior to Discharge or Transfer to Class W., W. (T), P., or P. (T), of the Reserve.

Aside from the usual name, rank, and serial number, it states that Egerton's Former Trade or Occupation immediately before serving had been "Student at St Edmunds, Canterbury."

We find him being discharged due to "293 V. D. H.," and that he'd had the disability since "Childhood… in the South of France."

A history of the Facts of the case on this form reads somewhat differently than what we saw recorded above. Of Egerton, a physician wrote:

He states he has always had a weakness in his heart + was marked Grade III when he was called up on leaving a public school. He was sent to Winchester. In Jan 1918 he reported sick with pain in his chest + throat trouble. He was sent to Central M. H. Winchester. After 1 week he returned to duty. In July he reported sick + was in H. with tonsillitis [and] influenza. After 2 weeks he returned to duty. His heart became worse, he had attacks of giddiness+ breathlessness. On 20 – 8 – 18 he was sent to Union Infirmary H. + on 5 – 9 – 18 he was transferred to Bed X. H. Winchester.


The form was stamped at the War Office on 30 September 1918. He had been placed in "Grade IV" ("unfit for further service of any kind") by the Medical Board on 25 September.

Egerton had been demobilised officially on 28 September 1918. He would apply for a small pension of 20% which would begin on 1 October 1919 and last for 26 weeks based on the 321 days he had served.


To review: Egerton's third and final trip to the military hospital occurred on 20 August 1918. He was sent to the infirmary hospital on 5 September 1918.

George Mills was "compulsorily transferred" out of the Army Pay Corps [below, right] on 9 September 1918, just a few days after Egerton had been sent to Union Infirmary Hospital—and the only institution I can find by that name was 238 miles away in Bradford, Yorkshire.

That's quite a long way to send a convalescing patient. Perhaps the Medical Board convened to approve or disapprove discharge cases there and only there. Perhaps, though, there was another reason that a great distance from Winchester was deemed necessary by September 1918.


George Mills, a B III like Egerton and with health problems of his own, would have become fast friends with Clarke. Both were educated lads, and both were the sons of clergymen in the Church of England. Both were relatively tall for that time, but neither was a robust man.

Both would have been doted on as youths, the youngest sons of their mothers, both born worrisome problems: Clarke, a weak heart and Mills a speech impediment.

Both may have had trouble fitting in with the other clerks and soldiers in a segment of the army that was populated to a large degree by women. And both were a bit too sensitive and ill-prepared for survival in an environment that, at least involving males, could be hostile and physically demanding.


Clarke was simply not around very long; he served under the Colours less than a year. Mills had been around long enough—since 1916—to have presented a poor impression of himself to the military already. In fact, on the very day that Clarke was discharged for hospital on 15 June 1918, Mills was described [below, left] by an officer as "not much use, I fancy."

Perhaps that was just a coincidence, but Clarke had spent some three weeks away from his duties by then, and George was virtually 'useless.' It appears that Egerton helped Mills make more use of himself than George otherwise might have. If Clarke helped George survive in an oppressive environment, then one easily can see that completely losing Clarke later—a transfer to Bradford, followed by a discharge home—would have hit George extremely hard.

And as Mills was barely a satisfactory "fatigue man," at the very bottom of the regimental food chain, any slip in his performance would have had him sent out of the A.P.C. posthaste.

And it did. Losing his friend Egerton must have been devastating.


Interestingly, George's "place of casualty" is listed above as Watford—presumably in Hertfordshire, and a place we've been reading about in the last few entries.


George would eventually be hospitalized himself for Dhobi's Itch (probably ringworm), and finally demobilised on 19 February 1919.

Would the paths of Egerton Arthur Crossman Clarke and George Ramsay Acland Mills, both late of the Army Pay Corps and serving under the Colours for the duration, eventually cross again?

We know they will, and we'll see where and how next time. See you then.

Mr. Egerton Clarke: Meet the Maternal Family

This morning, it's time to take a look at a Clarke, and I don't mean Darren [left] up at Royal St George's…


Last time we ended with young Egerton Clarke, 11 years old and attending an "institution" in Blean, Kent. It's possible this could have been the Blean School. It's possible the "institution" was the Blean Workhouse. And depending on the way the census was aggregated, it may even have been St. Edmund's School in Canterbury (also known as The Clergy Orphans' School), just 2 kilometers from the village of Blean.

To understand which it may have been, we'll have to dig deeper, and that means having a look this time into his mother's family.


That Egerton would have ended up at St. Edmund's is no surprise. Wikipedia: "St Edmund's School Canterbury was first established in 1749 as the Clergy Orphan Society." [You can see the school below, right; click to enlarge any image]

Egerton wasn't exactly an orphan when his father passed away in 1902, but he was barely three years old. His mother, Emma Anna Piper Clarke, who was also responsible for his 13-year-old sister, Dorothy, was the daughter of a farmer. On the 1871 census, Emma Anna, is listed as a scholar, but what that meant for a 14-year-old young lady in rural Hertfordshire—even if her father worked 130 acres and employed 6 men and 2 boys—is difficult for me to ascertain. What useful skills she may have possessed or learned with which she could have supported her children is open to speculation.

And as there are no probate records for Egerton's father, Rev Percy Carmichael Clarke, we don't know the financial situation in which Emma Anna found herself—there isn't even a record of Percy's death in English or French databases—if there were legalities to be settled stemming from a death abroad, and then there was the shipping of the body back to England and the burial. That is, unless, of course, he was buried in France, where he had been Chaplain at resort town of Dinard.

On page 89 of Hazell's Annual for 1906 within a listing of various "Charitable Societies"—just below an entry for the City of London Truss Society for the Relief of the Ruptured Poor—we find the Clergy Orphan Association. Under that bold-faced entry is listed, among others, "St. Edmund's School, Canterbury" [pictured below, left].

While Egerton, whenever he attended, may have enrolled there simply because it was close to home, that reason seems less than likely. As we discussed last time, his father's move from Rector at St Michael-at-Plea, might not have been career advancement, and the family may have been in some trouble, partly financial trouble caused by the move itself. What would it have cost to move one's entire life and household to France?

Egerton's mother passed away in 1930 leaving a legacy of £194 12s., and using a solicitor as executor of her estate, not one of her children. She had been living for a number of years at 30 Portland-road in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, less than 10 miles from her childhood home at Hare Street Village in Hertfordshire.

This doesn't guarantee that she was less than well-endowed financially—it may be as simple as having a great love for family—but that's a bit difficult to determine.


Emma Anna Clarke (née Piper) was raised in a family of 11 children. She had married Percy Carmichael Clarke in late 1887 or early 1888, just at the time her father died. Francis Caton Piper, farmer, had passed away on 9 December 1887. His probate proved £270 12s. 2d. The exectutors were his eldest sons, Francis Parsey Piper and Robert Dean Piper.

That's not a huge legacy to leave a farmer's wife and 11 living children.

Might it be safe to assume that, at the time, staying out of the workhouse may have been as prominent a motive for marrying the much older Percy Clarke Emma Anna as was love—and perhaps larger?

Hannah Parsey Piper, Emma's mother, soon passed away in January 1891. There are no probate records for her.


So, by 1901, Emma Anna's parents were deceased, and Emma herself was in France with husband Percy, and most likely her two children: Neither Dorothy nor Egerton appears in Kent or Hertfordshire on the 1901 UK census. Presumably they were residing with their parents at Dinard in Bretagne [right].

So who was left back in Herts for Emma to turn to when Percy then died in 1902?

Let's see. With such a large numnber of siblings, it may be best to number them…


1.) Her youngest sibling, brother Clement Samuel Piper, died in October 1887, in Reigate, Surrey, at the age of 28. There was no probate, and there is no record that he had ever married.


2.) Another brother, Edward Herbert Piper, like his father a farmer, had passed away in 1893 in Hertfordshire, leaving behind a widow, Sarah Louisa Piper, and a 4 year old daughter, Mildred Louisa.

In 1891, Piper was likely working Bradbury Farm in Greater Hormead, and living there with his 32 year old wife and 2-year-old child.

There was no probate.

After his death, both wife Sarah Louisa and daughter Mildred Louisa would appear separately in the 1901 census, but we'll read about that much later.


3.) Yet another brother, Arthur Dalzell Piper had attended Cambridge. His entry in Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900 reads:

Arthur Dalzel Piper. College: ST JOHN'S Entered: Michs. 1873 Died: 16 Nov 1895 Adm. pens. at ST JOHN'S, Oct. 4, 1873. S. of Francis Caton, farmer (and Hannah). B. at Great Hormead, Herts. Bapt. Jan. 29, 1854. Matric. Michs. 1873; B.A. 1879. Ord. deacon (Lincoln) 1879; priest, 1880; C. of Timberland, Lincs., 1879-81. C. of St Luke's, Camberwell, 1881-3. V. of N. Woolwich, 1883-9. V. of Albury, Herts., 1889-95. Died Nov. 16, 1895, aged 42. (Eagle, XIX. 200; Crockford; The Standard, Nov. 19, 1895.)

[An obituary from St. John's College's The Eagle, from Volume 19 in 1897, is seen, left.]

As we can see, Arthur passed away on 16 November 1895 in Albury, near Ware, Hertfordshire. His probate proved £257 10s. 8d., presumably most or all of which was left to his wife, Jessie Mary Elizabeth Jarrett Piper. His executor was Reverend Edward John Doherty.

One wonders if Arthur's death in 1895 in any way figured into the departure of Emma Anna's husband, Percy (another cleric), for Dinard, France, in the same year.

In addition, Arthur's religious calling seems at odds with one chosen by several of his brothers, as we shall see.


Afterwards, Emma Anna's brothers seemed to pass away in even more rapid succession!

4.) Robert Dean Piper died in December 1910 in Bishops Stortford, just before the 1911 census. He left two adult children behind.

Just a decade before 1911, during the 1901 census, he had resided in Newport, Essex, and Robert, 52, listed as "living on own means." His wife, Emma Elizabeth Patten Piper, died on 6 August 1906, and her probate proved £416 17s. 3d. to Robert on 4 December 1908.

Strangley, on the 1881 census, Robert is listed as "Rolston Piper," and he was living at 68 Church Road in Richmond, Surrey, with Emma Elizabeth, their 2-year-old daughter, and a brother-in-law, 19 year old Alfred Patten, listed as a "Student Pupil." They were attended by a cook and a nurse. Robert's occupation was that of a "Brewer."

We find out why on page 5913 14 October 1879 edition of the London Gazette:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership heretofore subsisting between us the undersigned, Robert Dean Piper and Horace Shearly, carrying on the business of Brewers, at Friars-lane, Richmond, in the county of Surrey, under the style of the Richmond Steam Brewery, was this day dissolved by mutual consent j and in future the business will be carried on by the said Robert Dean Piper alone, who will pay and receive all debts owing from or to the said partnership in the regular course of business.—Dated this 11th day of October, 1879.

Robert Dean Piper.
Horace Shearly.


Then, in 1891, Robert (42), Emma (37), and the children [Robert Garnet R. (8) and Emma May Hannah (12)] were living with Emma's father, farmer John Pallew, back in Greater Hormead, Herts. Although the form does not list an occupation for Robert, it would be surprising if he had not been obligated at least to help a bit around his father-in-law's farm.

Incidentally, their son, Robert Garnet Piper, was born in January 1883 in Reigate, Surrey—where Emma Anna Clarke's brother Clement, above, died several years later in 1887. We'll soon see why and how Reigate figures into this story even more.


Two of Emma Anna Clarke's brothers passed on during July 1911, just after the census was taken:

5.) Eldest son, George Parsey Piper, had married his wife, Emma, in Essex in 1870, but worked Bury Farm in Greater Hormead, Herts, where he passed away at the age of 68. He left behind a wife named Emma and 6 children.


6.) Francis Albert Piper appeared on the 1911 census at the age of 65 and passed away at Edmonton, Middlesex.

His story starts on page 6091 of the 15 November 1867 edition of the London Gazette:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership hitherto subsisting between us the undersigned, John Newnham and Francis Albert Piper, as Brewers and Coal Merchants, at Horley, under the style or firm of Newnham and Piper, was this day dissolved by mutual consent; and that in future the business of a Brewer will be carried on by the said Francis Albert Piper on his separate account, who will receive and pay all debts owing to and from the said partnership firm. As witness our hands this 11th day of November 1867.

John Newnham.
Francis Albert Piper.

Newnham & Piper had been listed among the literally hundreds of brewers in England in Loftus's Almanack for Brewers, Distillers, and the Wine and Spirits Trade, 1869 [left].


On the 1871 census we find that Francis, 24, was owner of a brewery in Reigate, Surrey. He lived there with his unmarried sister, Matilda Frances Mary Piper, 26, and his bachelor brother Robert, 22 and mentioned above, and a servant. The business employed 3 men.

This explains the death of their brother Clement, above, occurring in Reigate in 1887, where the younger man presumably worked with, or at least was visiting, his family.

Then on page 4571 of the 7 November 1871 issue of the London Gazette, we find:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership which for some time past has been carried on by Francis Albert Piper and George Lewis Lilley, as Brewers, at Horley, under the style or firm of Piper and Co. is dissolved by mutual consent, as from the 18th day of February last. All accounts due and payable to and by the said firm will be received and paid through the said Francis Albert Piper. Dated this 9th day of October 1871.

Francis Albert Piper.
Geo. Lewis Lilley.


On the heels of that partnership dissolution, this item crops up in the 22 May 1874 issue of the London Gazette, however, on page 2751:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the partnership which for some time past has been carried on by Francis Albert Piper and Robert Dean Piper, under the firm Messrs. Piper Brothers, in the trade or business of Common Brewers, at Horley, was, on the 1st day of January, 1874, dissolved by mutual consent. As witness our hands this 1st day of May, 1874.

Francis A. Piper.
Rob. D. Piper.


It seems Francis also was having some trouble keeping a partner in on his brewing business, and those problems included his brother. We can see, though, that the dissolution of their partnership did not drive either man out of the brewery business—it merely sent Robert off to Richmond.

The 1881 census shows that Francis, 34, was still running the Horley Brewery on Station Road, but was now residing with his wife, Eliza, 32, three children, a 17-year-old governess, and two teenage sisters as domestic servants. At this point, the business employed 6 men.

Business certainly seemed to have improved.

Interestingly, in 1883, Francis's brother, Robert and his wife had had a child who was born in Horley—at a time when Robert's own brewery should have been running in Richmond. Perhaps they had anticipated a need for a period of confinement, and Francis's wife, Eliza, had offered assistance. Or, it could be that Robert's brewery had folded by then.

The Post office directory of the brewers and maltsters (1884) distributed by Kelly's Directories, Ltd. [left], lists both the Piper Brothers' Horley Brewery in Surrey, and Piper & Sweeting's Langdown Steam Brewery in Hythe, Southampton, as being active that year.

The 1995 book, A Century of British Brewers, 1890-1990, by Norman Barber, contains the following transaction: "Langdown Steam Brewery. Acquired by Strong A Co.Ltd 1895."

By 1891, however, Francis was gone from Horley, the brewery already disposed of by the above transaction, and would be residing then in Hackney, where he is listed as a "Granary Superintendent Corn," and lives with his wife and 6 children, ages 5 to 15, and he's no longer an employer: He's listed clearly as a "employed."

By 1901, Francis was living in Hackney at 315 Kingsland Road with Eliza and 5 children, ages 10 to 25 years. His occupation still is listed as a "Forage Superintendent Corn."

There was no probate that I could locate.


That amounts to six deceased siblings through the year 1911.

So, by the end of that summer in 1911, Emma Anna Clarke had only four living siblings:


7.) Matilda Frances Mary Piper, her spinster sister, was living back in Bishops Stortford in 1911. In 1901, she had been living on her own means, 40 miles from Hare Street, in St Alban's, Herts, in a flat in 172 Fishpool Street [right], at the age of 56. She had somehow eluded being counted during the 1891 census.

Matilda would pass away in on 6 January 1933 while residing at 30 Portland-road (the address Emma Anna would be using at the time) in Bishops Stortford, Herts, and proved a legacy of £2,121 2s. 4d. Her executor was her sister, Elizabeth.


8.) Elizabeth Agnes Piper, appeared on the 1911 census as probably living in Edmonton, Middlesex, at the age of 50, but she passed away in Bishops Stortford in June 1935. She showed up on the 1891 census living in Thorley (I am unable to find the complete record on ancestry.com), but she managed to miss being counted on the 1901 census. In 1881, she was recorded as a resident of Thorley Wash Farm with her brother-in-law John and sister Hannah Patten, their children, and 4 servants.

In 1911, she may have been living with her brother, Francis, during his time in Middlesex, but she died near home in Herts, the probate reading "Administration (with Will)." She seems always to have lived in the care of, or caring for, her siblings, even before the passing of her parents.


9.) In 1911, Hannah Louisa Piper Patten, a sister who had married farmer John Edward Drury Patten, still lived at Thorley Wash Farm, just outside of Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, where she bore 5 children. John Patten would pass away on 16 August 1898.

Thorley Wash Farm must have been doing well: Patten's 1898 probate proved £14,091 13s. 3d. Executors were Hannah and her brother, George Parsey Piper. Hannah would die at Thorley Wash in 1930 and her probate shows her leaving £5,935 5s. 5d. Executors were her sons John Francis and Drury Dalzell Patten.


10.) Emma Anna's final sibling was Frederick Ebenezer Piper, born in January 1852.

In early 1873, he married Mary Meacher in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. She was the brother of well-to-do Charles Robert Meacher, Esq. Mary's brother passed away on 18 August 1876 in Watford, Herts, and his probate was listed as "Under £18,000." Spinster sisters Sarah Lucy and Agnes Meacham were executors, along with William Godden of 34 Old Jewry, Gentleman.

Ebenezer and Mary had two children, according to family trees on ancestry.com. He appeared outside the confines of his father's farm when the London Gazette carried this item on page 2457 of their 10 May 1881 edition:

Notice is hereby given, that the partnership heretofore existing between us the undersigned, Francis Albert Piper and Frederick Ebenezer Piper, carrying on business as brewers at the Albert and Bell Breweries, Horley in the county of Surrey, under the style or firm of Piper Brothers, was dissolved by mutual consent, as from the 25th day of March 1881. And all debts due to and owing by the said firm will be received and paid by the undersigned, Francis Albert Piper.—Dated this 3rd day of May 1881.

Francis A. Piper.
Fred. E. Piper.


At the same time that brother Robert was brewing on his own in Richmond, and Francis had found and severed ties with yet another partner in younger brother Ebenezer, who may have had some money through his bride.

What's odd is that Ebenezer and wife do not seem to appear on the 1881 or 1891census.

The National Archives at Kew list the following entry:

Papers relating to a loan D 123/25 1882-1893

Contents:
From Sarah Lucy Meacher and Agnes Dillon, to Frederick Ebenezer Piper for his brewery business in Hythe, Hants.

So, by 1882, Ebenezer was off to borrow money from his sister-in-laws, spinster Sarah, in Watford, and an Agnes Dillon (presumably the married name of Agnes Meachan above) for funds to open his own brewery.


It's hard to tell exactly how things worked out, but on page 4888, the London Gazette of 12 October 1883 reported:

NOTICE is hereby given, that the partnership heretofore existing between us the undersigned, Frederick Ebenezer Piper and Randall George Frederick Sweeting, carrying on business as brewers and maltsters at the Langdon Steam Brewery, Hythe, near Southampton, Hants, under the style or firm of Piper and Sweeting, has this day been dissolved by mutual consent, as from the 29th day of December 1883—Dated this 6th day of October 1883.

Fred. E. Piper.
Randall George Fredk. Sweeting.


We saw a snippet about Piper & Sweeting's brewery above. As noted, Ebenezer and Mary do not appear on either the 1881 or 1891 UK census.

Ebenezer, however, appears on the 1901 form at the age of 48. In that year, we find him living in St Margaret's Villa at 4 Benhill Road in Sutton, Surrey, obviously having returned from his days as a brewmaster in Hants.

His occupation is given as "living on own means," and the other person sharing the villa with him is his 44 year old widowed sister-in-law, Louisa Piper.

Sarah Louisa Piper was widowed, you'll recall from above, when Herbert Piper died in 1893.

It seems reasonable to think that this "sister-in-law" of Ebenezer's is Sarah Louisa, being called simply Louisa here.

How Ebenezer ended up hooking up and co-habiting with Louisa is unknown.

What happened to Mary Meacher Piper, I also don't know. There are simply too many Mary Pipers who died between 1881 and 1901 to determine which one she might have been. And why Ebenezer seemingly doesn't appear in the census counts for 1881 or 1891 is also unknown.

However, according to the blog The Breweries and Public Houses of Surrey, there was a public house described thusly:

The Three Tuns, High Street (NGR TQ 326508 (?) Situated 200 yards from the White Hart Inn and 200 yards from the Plough.

In 1892 described as a beerhouse owned by Frederick E Piper, of Horley, and tied to the Hornchurch Brewery Co, Hornchurch, Essex (formerly Youell & Elkin, brewers, Horley). The licensee was William Balcombe, and the premises described as a tramps lodging house.


That "Frederick E. Piper" is certainly our Ebenezer, and the "tramp house" [right] a place where it might been difficult to take an accurate census count.

Ebenezer, however, died back home in Bishops Stortford in September of 1930, returning to his place of birth as most of the siblings did near the end.


That explores the entire cast of siblings of Emma Anna Piper Clarke, mother of Egerton Clarke, in the year of 1911. The situation was thus:

Six were dead or about to die that year, leaving just four besides herself.


● Widowed sister Hannah Patten, 62, was relatively wealthy and living in Thorley, Herts, near Bishops Stortford. Hannah would die at Thorley in 1930.


● Spinster sister Elizabeth 60, was residing in Edmonton, Middlesex, in 1911 after living for years with Hannah at Thorley. She eventually would pass away in Bishops Stortford in 1935.


● Spinster sister Matilda, 66, was living once again in Bishops Stortford, probably at 30 Portland-road [left], in 1911 after appearing on the 1901 census alone and living by her own means in a flat in St Alban's.


● Brother Ebenezer, 59, was also living in Bishops Stortford in 1911, and it probably won't surprise you to discover that widowed sister-in-law, Sarah Louisa Piper, about 52, was living there as well.

Sarah Louisa's 22 year old daughter, Mildred Louisa, also was living in Hertford, Herts, in 1911. In 1901, she had been a 12 year old "school girl" at the London Orphan Asylum's District Girls School [below, right] in Watford, Hertfordshire, while her mother lived with in-law Ebenezer Piper.

One wonders why. Was it a chance for a free education—and a decent one at that, if past opinion is to be believed? Was it just that there was no money in a home 'living by its own means' to support Mildred? Is there another reason I simply cannot imagine?


Emma Anna Piper Clarke had been born on 1 December 1857, the youngest of all of the Piper siblings, and would have been 53 years old in 1911 when the census was taken.

Emma Anna still had a handful of kin back in Bishops Stortford in that year, although older than she, along with an in-law. What could have happened to her? Why wasn't she there, with them, in that 1911 census count?

There are 5 Emma Clarkes on the 1911 UK census who could be our Emma. They were living in Durham, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire—none of which seem very proximate to a place she would probably want to be: Near her child or her family. They could be Emma Anna, but are probably not, unless she took herself far afield.

Given the UK census's propensity, however, often to have middle names entered instead of Christian names (like Ebenezer and Louisa above), I tried "Anna Piper." Using the same year of birth, we end up with this:



That top entry may not be our Anna, but, again, the Annas in the other possible locations—here Nottinghamshire and Sussex—don't seem at all likely to be Emma Anna Clarke, actually far less so.

The siblings in Bishops Stortford were all listed as members of "households" in 1911.

Did their sister, Emma Anna, end up in the workhouse at Watford, Herts? 54 is a bit old for attending a school...

There are no solid primary sources available to me that would describe conditions in the Watford workhouse [right] in that era. However, it is near the workhouse in Bishops Stortford, and was designed by the same gentleman. Reading the report of the commission set up by the British Medical Journal, 1894-95, to inspect the workhouse makes it seem not quite as awful as the institutions portrayed by Dickens—as long as you can get past the sewage. [Read about it HERE.]


One thing that we can feel better about: It appears that young Egerton Clarke, Emma Anna's 11-year-old son does not appear to have been in a workhouse in 1911.

Here's the information found on the 1911census.co.uk website regarding young Egerton:



It seemed unusual that a school situated in an historic English cathedral city like Canterbury—and which is today in the district of Canterbury—would have been listed as having been within the district of village of Blean in 1911. Today, it is the other way around: Blean is within the Canterbury district.

That said, clever researcher and friend of this website, Jennifer M., found out where Egerton was... indirectly.

Wikipedia lists the names of the Headmasters & Headmistresses of St Edmund's School in Canterbury, which, you'll recall was established for the orphans of clerics. (In the United States, "orphan" would imply that a child has no living parents, but we learned above, in the case of Mildred Piper, that having a dead father and a living mother would have been enough to consider a child an orphan in England at the time.)

Jennifer used the name of Walter Burnside, who was Headmaster of St Edmund's from 1908 to 1932 and came up with this information:



Brilliant, Jennie!

And so we find that Walter Burnside was also residing in an "institution" in Blean, Kent, during 1911—a time we know he was serving as Headmaster at St Edmund's.

St Edmund's School today takes children of the ages 3 to 18. Hopefully, Jennifer's cleverness demonstrates clearly that young Egerton already had been enrolled at the school by 1911, no matter where his mother may have been. And, as it was a school for orphans, it was unlikely he would have been the beneficiary of any great amount of money bestowed upon him by his wealthy Aunt Hannah in Thorley (on his mother's side of the family) or his rich Uncle Egerton (on his father's side).


Next time, we'll tighten the focus on Egerton as the Great Britain moves on to the next challenge to the Empire: The First World War.

And it's at that point that we'll discover the link between Egerton Arthur Crossman Clarke and our own George Ramsay Acland Mills.