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Choppington

Choppington is a village in Northumberland, 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Morpeth and just north of Bedlington. Its colliery was one of the three large pits of mid-Northumberland, alongside Ashington and Bomarsund.

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.

Harry Hornsby (1909–1992)

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 (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.

Robert Besford (1752–1837)

Robert was an agricultural labourer. He had three daughters with his first wife Mary. After her death, he had two sons with his second wife Ann Goodfellow.

Rhoda Barkwell Websell

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