01. Mary Elizabeth Langdon01. Mary Elizabeth Langdon| 1911-12-01 | b. Devonport RD, d. of Albert James and Edith Mary (Clarke) Langdon | GRO index; 1939 England and Wales Register (TNA: RG 101) |
| 1932-12-26 | m. Alexander William Beck, Baptist Tabernacle, Medway, Kent | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck |
| Children: | Margaret E. (1933 – after 2021, b. Medway RD), Joan M. (1936 – after 2021, b. Gillingham), Dorothy R. (1936 – after 2021, b. Gillingham), Eileen Patricia (1938–1990, b. Medway RD) | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck; personal knowledge |
| 1939-09-29 | unpaid domestic duties, living with her husband at 11 Albert Road, Gillingham | 1939 England and Wales Register |
| of 3 St George's Road, Gillingham, Kent | information from Sidney Beck | |
| 1969-11-09 | "Aunt Alec's wife (Aunt Mary) has had an operation for cancer, but seems to be getting on well." | letter to me from Ruth Beck |
| 1970-10-25 | of 80 James St, Gillingham; d. Chatham RD | GRO index; Find a Will; information from Sidney Beck |
| 1971-01-14 | admon at Brighton, to her daughter Margaret; £2266 | Find a Will; Chatham News, 1971-02-12 |
02. Eileen Mary Little| 1917-02-20 | b. Portsmouth RD, d. of Arthur Henry and Elsie Mildred (Partridge) Little | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck |
| 1937-06-02 | m. Reuben Percival Beck, Baptist Church, Devonshire Avenue, Southsea, Hampshire | |
| Children: | Rodney Allen (1942–2006, b. Barrow in Furness), Patricia Eve (1949 – after 2022), Christopher Martin (1954 – after 2022), Heather May (1963 – after 2022) | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck; obituary, Morganton News Herald, 2006-01-06; personal knowledge |
| 1939-09-29 | unpaid domestic duties, living at 26 Ridge Park Avenue, Plymouth | 1939 England and Wales Register (TNA: RG 101) |
| 1949-03 | of Portsmouth | Sidney Beck's diary |
| of 34 Woodmancote Rd, Southsea, Hampshire | information from Sidney Beck | |
| 1962 | living with her husband at Sunny Haven, Guildford Road, Chertsey, Surrey | electoral register |
| by 1989 | a Jehovah's Witness | information from Lucy Beck |
| 1990-09-23 | of 41 Burnham Rd, Knaphill, Woking, Surrey; made will; left £200 to the Woking congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, £50 to each grandchild, her TV to her son Christopher, residue to be shared between the four children | will |
| 1993-01-25, Monday | of 41 Burnham Rd, Knaphill, Woking, Surrey; d. St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, of a heart attack—just after being admitted to hospital for liver cancer | GRO index; National Probate Calendar; grant of probate; information from Sidney Beck |
| 1993-01-27 | "No further news as yet of Aunt Eileen (Percy's widow) who is in hospital, believed to be cancer of the liver." | letter to me from Sidney Beck |
| 1993-02-02, Tuesday | funeral in Woking | information from Sidney Beck |
| 1993-04-07 | will proved at Winchester; not exceeding £125,000 gross and not exceeding £100,000 net; executor Francis Oswald Coleman, also of Knaphill | National Probate Calendar; grant of probate |
03B. Marian Fletcher| 1926-04-25 | b. North Bierley RD, d. of James Arnold and Gladys (Dobson) Fletcher | GRO index; information from Marion Palmer |
| 1939-09-29 | [redacted], living with her family at 90 Hastings Ave, Bradford, Yorkshire | 1939 England and Wales Register (TNA: RG 101) |
| 1954 Q2 | m. Arthur James Palmer (1924–1978, b. Balham, London), in Bradford RD | GRO index |
| 1954-07-05 |
TEACHERS WED A member of the Bradford Old Choral Society, Miss Marian Fletcher, whose wedding to Mr. Arthur James Palmer, a Bradford Grammar School teacher, took place on Saturday at St. Oswald's Church, Little Horton, Bradford. The bride, too, is a teacher. |
Bradford Observer, 1954-07-07, with photo |
| Children: | Frances Jean (1955 – after 2019), Nancy Imogen (1957 – after 2008), both b. Worth Valley RD; and Rosemary Louise (1959 – after 2008), b. Wharfedale RD | GRO index; electoral registers; will |
| c. 1984 | retired teacher; formed an attachment with Sidney Beck; they went for long walks together, with the Evergreens walking club | letters to me from Daniel, Julia or Lucy; Sidney's letters to me; diaries of Sidney & Ruth Beck, 1946–1984 |
| 1984-12-12 | decided to marry, though Sidney's diary entry for that day records the decision as having been the "sense of the meeting"—the discussion they'd had that day over a pub lunch—rather than anything more positive | |
| by early 1985-01 | widely understood that marriage was in the air; in the end, however, Sidney and Marian decided not to marry, but for Sidney to move in with Marian to her home at 10 Eaton Road, Ilkley | |
| 1988-05 | visited the Normandy beaches with Sidney | Sidney's letters to me; my own knowledge |
| later 1988, and 1990 | visited the USA with Sidney | |
| later 1990 | visited Zimbabwe with Sidney | |
| 1993-02-24 | of 10 Eaton Road, Ilkley, West Yorkshire; made will; names daughters and step-daughter Suzanne Jane Gardner | will |
| 2004/2008 | of 8 Westville Close, Westville Road, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 9AL | electoral registers |
| 2008-03-02 | of 8 Westville Close, Westville Road, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 9AL; d. | grant of probate |
| 2008-06-17 | will proved at Leeds; estate £390,937 gross, £386,825 net; executors and trustees daughter Rosemary Louise Palmer and Barry Aveyard, both of 87 Bradley Street, Crooks, Sheffield | will; grant of probate |
04. Daphne Alice Amelia Langley| 1920-03-20 | b. Gillingham, Kent, d. of William Alexander and Mercy Violet (Swan) Langley | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck; funeral service programme; England and Wales death index |
| 1939-09-29 | shorthand typist, of 8 Shakespeare Rd, Gillingham, living with her mother and a redacted individual | 1939 England and Wales Register (TNA: RG 101) |
| 1941-04-02 | shorthand typist, of 225 Marlborough Road, Gillingham; m. William Arthur Beck, at St Mark's church, New Brompton, Kent | marriage certificate; GRO index; widow's funeral service programme |
| Children: | John Alexander (1942 – after 2022), Ann Elizabeth (1954–1992) | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck; personal knowledge |
| secretary | Rita Harwood gedcom | |
| 1952-04-06 | of 31 Granville Rd, Gillingham | Sidney Beck's diary |
| took art classes for a time, during which period she painted a picture of the narrow boat Fern; but was apparently demoralized by criticism she received, and gave it up | personal knowledge | |
| 1990-09-29 | planning on selling the family home in Strood, to move up to Cambridge, to help with Ann, who was dying of cancer | information from Sidney Beck |
| 1991-10-26 |
The lack of a car is a big handicap for Daphne. She has given up work and has to rely on other members of her church to get to church on Sundays. She would like to take on voluntary work but all the jobs involve travelling. She would like to move nearer the Church in Gillingham but cannot sell her house. It has been on the market for a long time and she has had to take the sign down now that the dark nights have come—being alone she does not want visitors at night. |
letter to me from Sidney Beck |
| 1995-05-27 | of 96 Broom Hill Road, Rochester, Kent, ME2 3LF | letter to me from Daphne Beck |
| 2007-04-01 | of 96 Broom Hill Road, Rochester, Kent, ME2 3LF; made will; left £6000 to each of her five grandchildren (all named); £2000 to her nephew Robert William Langley, £2000 to her brother John Derek Langley and his wife Rae Langley; £1000 to the Wainscott Gospel Hall, £1000 to the vicar and church wardens of St Mark's Church, Gillingham, to be used for foreign missionary purposes; residue to trustees, with half of the trust fund to son John, the other half to be divided between Ann's three children | will |
| 2011-10-22, Saturday | of 96 Broom Hill Road, Rochester, Kent, ME2 3LF; d. | funeral service programme; information from John Beck, via Lucy Beck; England and Wales death index; grant of probate |
| 2011-11-11 13:15 | bur. Woodlands cemetery, Woodlands Road, Gillingham, Kent, followed by a service at St Mark's Church at 14:00 | funeral service programme; personal knowledge; KentOnline Announcements |
| 2012-01-27 | will proved at Brighton by Paul Dominic James Sparks and Paul Nigel Ruse, both of Bassets solicitors, 156 High Street, Rochester; gross not exceeding £325,000, net not exceeding £208,000 | grant of probate; will |
05. William Thomas Mills (Bill)| 1913-12-04 | b. Pembroke RD, s. of George Frederick and Harriet (Price) Mills | GRO index; 1939 England and Wales Register (TNA: RG 101); information from Sidney Beck |
| 1939-09-29 | motor fitter, living at 47 Burnt Oak Terrace, Gillingham, Kent, with his parents, a brother, and a redacted individual | 1939 England and Wales Register |
| 1940-09-29 | engineer, of Gillingham; m. Gladys Ruth May Beck, at Medway, Kent | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck |
| Children: | Christine R. (1943 – after 2022, b. Chatham RD), Peter William (1946 – after 2022, b. Surrey S.E. RD) | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck; personal knowledge |
| shortly after 1953-04-17 | with family and father-in-law, moved to 211 Marlborough Rd, Gillingham, from 225 | Sidney Beck's diary |
| 1990-09-29 |
Meeting at church club led to golden romance YOUNG William Mills took a fancy to a girl he met at a church club in Gillingham. Pleasant walks and cycling trips led to romance and the couple have now celebrated 50 years of marriage. William and Gladys marked their golden occasion with an open-house party at their home in Guardian Court, London Road, Rainham, and were joined by two members of the original wedding party, the matron of honour and the flower girl. The couple met when they belonged to clubs at St. Margaret's Church of Scotland and moved to Crawley after marrying. William, who is now 76, worked in the motor industry, a "reserved occupation", during the war, and Gladys, who is 71, worked in a post office. She recalled: "I was on duty the night it was bombed and fortunately I'm still here to tell the tale." They returned to Gillingham after the war and William left the motor trade to join GEC Avionics in Rochester. They have two children and one lives in New Zealand. The couple visited him and liked the country so much that they wanted to stay. But the authorities said they were too old. William now spends his time collecting stamps and reading and Gladys enjoys knitting for their five grandchildren and great-grandchild. |
Chatham News, 1990-10-05, with photo of the couple |
| 1991-10-26 |
Bill Mills looked better than I expected to see him, but his hands are shaky but did not stop him using a knife and fork at lunch. He spends most of the day in his chair, covered with a rug, and has only blurred vision in his one good eye. His treatment for his Parkinson Disease involves Gladys in administering pills throughout the day and he occasionally has black-outs so she cannot leave him. |
letter to me from Sidney Beck |
| before 1995 | progress chaser (retired) | widow's death certificate |
| c. 1995-03-15 | of Rainham, Kent; d. Chatham RD | GRO index; information from Sidney Beck, via Lucy Beck; personal knowledge |
| 1995-03-21 | cremated at Walderslade crematorium, Kent | personal knowledge |
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