Durham
Durham is the county between the Tyne and the Tees, south of Northumberland. Its coalfield and Northumberland’s are a single field, the seams running on beneath the county boundary.
Coal was dug there from the medieval period until the last pit closed in the 1990s, and the Durham Miners’ Gala is still held in the city each July.
George Besford (1871–1938)
George Besford started out as a shipbuilder, but went on to become a cinema manager.
George Besford (1893–1966)
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.
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.
Besfords Carry Torch in Olympic Relay
Two Besfords carried the Olympic torch in 2012: Jack past the Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle, and Siobhan at Aberystwyth.
George Bestford (1897–1968)
George Bestford was born at Bensham, Gateshead. He served in the First World War, and later moved to Pretoria where he joined the South African Police.
Emily Maud Carter (1893–1970)
Emily Maud Carter was born in Highgate, London, and married George Besford in 1920 at Gateshead Registry Office. They had one child, Henry, in 1921.
Catherine (Kate) Besford (later Gordon)
Catherine Besford worked as a general servant in a household in Bedlington. In 1903 she married Robert Gordon, a coal miner, at Gateshead Register Office.
Judith Besford (née Dinning) (1947–2023)
Judith Dinning was born on 25th February 1947, the daughter of Ernest Dinning and Emily McGlen.
Charles Herbert Besford
Charles Herbert Besford was working as a butcher’s boy in Heaton when the First World War broke out. He joined the Royal Navy and remained a reservist following his return to civilian life.