People (Northumberland)

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

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

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 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.

George Besford started out as a shipbuilder, but went on to become a cinema manager.

George Besford was born in Amble, Northumberland. He lost his leg in the Battle of the Somme, and later worked in the lamp cabin at Woodhorn Colliery, Ashington.

Henry Charles Deamster Hornsby was a wireless engineer and amateur radio enthusiast, who served with the Royal Air Force in the Middle East.

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.

Alexander Sanderson Besford was a miner, and a member of the Salvation Army at Ashington, where he played in their brass band. He was also, like his father David Besford, a Methodist lay preacher.