William Bestford (1862–1922)

William Bestford was born in the village of Path Head, Stella, Blaydon on 6th September 1862. His parents were Christopher Bestford and Mary Bestford (née Newton). Christopher was an agricultural labourer. He and Mary had married on 5th June 1853 at Gateshead Register Office. They were both living at Ryton at the time of their marriage. Their fathers (and hence William’s grandfathers) were George Bestford and John Newton, both of whom were working as masons.

William was the fifth child born to Christopher and Mary, as the 1861 Census, taken two years before William’s birth, recorded the family household at Path Head as follows:

• Christopher Bestford (39) – Agricultural Labourer
• Mary Bestford (38)
• Isabella Bestford (8)
• George Bestford (5)
• John Bestford (3)
• Mary Ann Bestford (1)

Seven years later, William’s father Christopher Bestford (at that point working as a labourer in Stella Brickworks) died when William was only five years old. He died of pneumonia on 28th July 1868 at Path Head, Stella.

The 1871 Census recorded the widowed Mary Bestford and family at 22 Path Head, Stella:

• Mary Bestford (48) – Widow
• George Bestford (15) – Labourer
• John Bestford (13) – Labourer
• Mary Ann Bestford (11) – Scholar
• William Bestford (8) – Scholar
• James Bestford (5)

Ten years later, the 1881 Census recorded the family living at Commercial Square, Winlaton. William Bestford was now aged 19 and was working as a coal miner. His younger brother James Bestford, aged 16, was also working as a coal miner. Their mother Mary Bestford and older sister Mary Ann Bestford completed the household.

William’s life changed dramatically in 1885. On 4th June of that year he travelled to Newcastle and there enlisted in the Northumberland Fusiliers. His service record shows that he had previously been in the Army volunteer reserves. William signed up for 12 years’ service.

His records indicate that he was 5 feet 8 and a half inches tall, weighed just under 9 stone 11 pounds, and had grey eyes, light hair, and a fresh complexion. William was vaccinated six days after enlistment, this being preparatory to him being posted to Dublin (the whole of Ireland was then part of Great Britain) on 30th September 1885, before embarking for India on board HMS Malabar on 26th February 1886. William Bestford landed in India on 25th March 1886. He would serve there for just under five years.

William’s service record tells us that he was wounded in an “off-duty accident” in April 1886 and spent five days in hospital as a result. He was then posted to Fort Lahore from 7th May 1886. Fort Lahore was (and still is today) a citadel within the walled city of Lahore in the Punjab. It became part of Pakistan after Indian independence and partition in 1947. The fort was used by the British as a secure military garrison and arsenal. Thousands of British and native soldiers served there.

Whilst based in Lahore, William was again hospitalised, this time for eight days, suffering from “Ague”. In the 19th century this was the term used for a fever. It may have been that William had contracted malaria, which was endemic in India. He suffered further ill-health and was hospitalised for a third time, suffering from bronchitis, for nine days in February 1887. William remained stationed at Fort Lahore until April 1887.

William was next posted to Dalhousie on 20th April 1887. Dalhousie was a hill station in Himachal Pradesh. It had been established in 1854 by the Earl of Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India. It stood at 6,460 feet above sea level.

On 20th October 1887 William Bestford was posted to Meean Meer. Just over six weeks later, on 3rd December 1887, he was sent to Rawalpindi, the third largest city in the Punjab (now located in Pakistan). Rawalpindi was the largest British military garrison in India and was the headquarters of the Northern Command. The railway had arrived there just one year before William Bestford.

William continued to be dogged by ill-health, being hospitalised for 18 days in January 1888, suffering from neuralgia.

On 9th April 1888 William was sent to Maldaha, in West Bengal. His service record shows that his health remained a recurrent problem as he was again in hospital, this time for 30 days, from July 1888, suffering from rheumatism and sciatica.

On 11th September 1888 William was given a medical examination and was found to be “unfit for field service – lame”.

In October 1888 William was again hospitalised for seven days, the diagnosis being “Chronic Rheumatism”.

Posted to Rawalpindi again, William had to be hospitalised on an intermittent but fairly regular basis: 12 days in January 1889, 26 days in March 1899, and further episodes in August and November of that year.

In 1890 he was in hospital in March, but things really came to a head in July when he was diagnosed as having an inflamed left hip joint, which was stated to be “Chronic, with sympathetic pain in the knee joint and wasting of the thigh muscles”. On the basis of this, William was “Discharged to light duties pending assessment of the Invalidity Board”.

The Invalidity Board recommended “a change of climate” and William Bestford’s return to England with him now being diagnosed with “Ostitis”. William embarked for England on board HMS Malabar on 6th November 1890, arriving on 1st December. He was discharged from military service on 13th January 1891. He was described as being of “steady” character.

We know from the 1891 Census, taken a little less than three months later, on 5th April, that William returned to Winlaton to live with his widowed mother Mary and his sister Mary Ann, now aged 68 and 31 respectively, at 7 Robson’s Place. William, now aged 29, was working as a rolling mills labourer. This would have been at the Winlaton Rolling Mill which was owned by the Raine Brothers and was located in the Winlaton Mill area south of Winlaton village. The rolling mill processed steel into sheets of uniform dimensions.

On 1st July 1891 William married Mary McCullagh, at St. Paul’s Church, Winlaton. His sister Mary Ann was one of the witnesses. Interestingly, William had changed jobs at some point between 5th April and 1st July as he was described at the time of his wedding as a miner. Mary McCullagh had been born in Co. Armagh, Ireland.

William Bestford and his wife Mary became parents on 19th July 1892, when their son John William Bestford was born at Winlaton. At this point William was said to be working as a colliery banksman. This job would have entailed loading and unloading the pit cage, removing coal-filled tubs from the cage when it arrived at the surface (Bank) and replacing them with empty ones. William would have also had to signal to the winding engineman when it was safe to move the cage with miners in it.

The 1901 Census recorded William, his wife Mary, and son John William living at 20 Back Street, Winlaton. William was recorded as a “Coal Miner, Labourer above ground”, suggesting that he was still working as a banksman.

The 1911 Census indicates that William and Mary had moved as they were now living at 6a Cromwell Place, Winlaton. William was recorded as aged 48 and still working above ground at the colliery. Their son John William Bestford (18) was also working as a coal miner, below ground, as a shifter. This would have entailed the repair and maintenance of underground roadways, timbering, clearing obstructions and ensuring air passages stayed open.

On 22nd August 1914 William and Mary’s son John William Bestford, then aged 22, married Janet Stuart Reid. At the time of his marriage John William was living at Wansbeck Road, Dudley Colliery, Northumberland. He was working at Dudley Colliery as a shifter. His wife Janet was the daughter of William Reid, a hewer at Dudley Colliery, who was living at 16 Railway Row. John William’s father William Bestford was still said to be working above ground at this point.

The 1921 Census records that William Bestford and his wife Mary were living with their son John William and his wife Janet at 25 William Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. The detailed entry is as follows:

• John William Bestford 28 years 11 months – Shifter employed by the Seaton Burn Coal Company (out of work)
• Janet Bestford 25 years 10 months
• William Bestford 57 years 9 months – Pit Heap Labourer employed by the Stella Coal Company at Addison Colliery (out of work)
• Mary Besford 61 years 2 months

William and his son John William would both have been out of work because of the 1921 lock out. The coal owners had demanded wage cuts and when the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain would not agree to this, the coal owners locked the miners out. The dispute lasted for 94 days before the miners were effectively starved back to work and had to accept the wage cuts. William Bestford’s work was at the Addison Colliery in Ryton so it is unlikely that he and his wife Mary were based permanently in Newcastle with their son and daughter-in-law.

William Bestford died at the age of 59 on 31st May 1922 at 418 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. This was the address of the workhouse. William would have been getting treated in the workhouse’s hospital wing. The whole site would become Newcastle General Hospital when the NHS was founded in 1948. Working people who were ill were often treated in the hospital wings of workhouses in this earlier era, as this was sometimes the only option available to them. William’s cause of death was certified as 1) “Tubercular disease of ankle” and 2) “Amyloid disease of the liver”.

William Bestford’s ancestry #

William’s parents were Christopher Bestford and Mary Newton who were married on 5th June 1853.

Christopher Bestford was the son of George Besford (note the spelling at this point and earlier is the more common “Besford” without the T) and Isabella English. George and Isabella were thus William Bestford’s grandparents. They married at Chollerton, Northumberland, on 11th April 1807.

George Besford was baptised on 2nd July 1786 at Birtley, Northumberland. His parents were John Besford and Margaret Forster, who had married on 22nd December 1768 at Birtley. John and Margaret were therefore William Bestford’s great-grandparents.

John Besford was baptised in Birtley on 3rd September 1749. He was the son of John Besford and Mary Besford (née Felton) who married in Birtley on 9th October 1740. John Besford and Mary Felton were thus William Bestford’s great-great-grandparents.

William Bestford’s 3x great-grandfather was George Besford (baptised 1680), the son of James Besford and Margaret Robson (hence William’s 4x great-grandparents) who were married at Rothbury on 17th August 1679.