Besfords

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John William (Jack) Besford (1891–1975)

Jack Besford began work as miner on his 13th birthday, and went on to become a leading trade unionist.

Dr John Besford

Dr John Besford is a retired Harley Street dentist, famous for his specialism in prosthodontics.

John Charles Preston (Jack) Besford

Jack Besford was a dentist and amateur swimmer, who became British and European swimming champion.

David Besford (skipper)

David Besford was the skipper of the St. Patrick trawler in Lowestoft.

Besford family in Northumberland

Explore the history of the Besford family in Northumberland through a series of articles written by John Hornsby. These also linked from the family tree, which traces back to James Besford, who was married in Rothbury in 1679.

John William (Jack) Besford (1891–1975)

Jack Besford began work as miner on his 13th birthday, and went on to become a leading trade unionist.

David Besford (1863–1954)

David Besford was born at Cowpen Colliery, where he began work aged 12. His work as a Methodist lay preacher led him to meet his wife.

Joan Besford (née Matthews) 1921–2019

Joan Matthews was born in Haltwhistle, Northumberland. She married David Besford four years after the start of the Second World War.

Dorothy Jane (Dora) Besford (later Hornsby) 1915–2018

Dora Besford spent two years training to be a teacher at City of Leeds Training College, and returned to teach at Hirst North Girls School.

David Besford (1919–2015)

David Besford worked for the Cooperative Wholesale Society in Newcastle, where he met his future wife Joan Matthews. He drove a fire engine during the Second World War, and later joined the Civil Service.

Besford family in Australia

The family tree of the Besfords in Australia can be traced back to David Besford (1897-1991) and Thomas Besford (1899-1994), who emigrated from England to Australia in the 1920s.

David Besford (1897–1991)

David Besford was injured fighting in the First World War. He and his family emigrated from the UK to Australia in 1925, where he worked as a mines inspector.

Thomas Besford (1899–1994)

Thomas Besford was born at Chevington Crescent, Northumberland. He was a miner who first relocated with his family to Kent, and then in 1928 to Australia.

Ted Besford

Ted Besford moved to Australia with his parents at the age of 10. He went on to be an Australian rules footballer and cricketer.

Margaret Alice Dodds (1901–1986)

Alice Dodds married Tommy Besford in 1925. They and their children emigrated to Australia in 1928.

Rhoda Barkwell Websell

Rhoda Websell marrried David Besford in 1920. They and their children emigrated to Australia in 1925.

Besfords in the late medieval period #

Records from the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) include two men named John Besford, the first being a Clerk on Overseas Service in 1382, and the second an Archer in 1441.

John Hornsby explains the records at The National Archives and the link to the village in Worcestershire.

There is a gap of 97 years between the record of John Besford serving as an Archer in France, and the start of Parish Registers, which would potentially provide the link to the earliest Besford traced in the modern era, James Besford in 1679.