Protect Yourself/Your Family From The Scourge Of Plastic
First I should say, investigate, be suspicious. If clothing has some claim to fame, such as that it is wrinkle free (embalming fluid) or moisture wicking (https://www.shape.com/fitness/clothes/harmful-chemicals-hidden-your-workout-clothes), you can be almost certain it's not good for you ! Unfortunately this applies to a lot of products sold nowadays, not just plastics. Other than that, here are some ideas:
 
1. Avoid buying plastic or using it in all its myriad forms. This is very hard to do as many natural products have pretty much vanished. Some are available on the internet.

2. Do not buy synthetic clothing (polyester, nylon, rayon, acrylic, fleece etc. even spandex which replaced elastic along the way. Spandex is almost impossible to avoid.) The clothing industry is beginning to come up with alternatives (such as lyocell, tencel, modal, etc.).  These are made with fibers produced from such things as tree trunks/bamboo soaked in chemicals - however they do not leach plastic fibers. Do NOT use synthetic blankets and sheets, especially fleece !   All night long, as you turn in bed, you will be releasing and breathing in lots of fibers, especially from the blankets.

3. Do not recycle synthetic clothing. Until such time as there is a hazardous waste program in place, put it in the garbage. Clothing made from recycled fibers degrades much faster than the original product. I put mine in a plastic bag which I tie tightly to slow it's entry into the planet.

4. Cover heavily trafficked areas of synthetic carpet with a natural fiber rug (wool, cotton, jute). Also cover the areas where children play. Replace the carpet with something better as soon as you can (tile, natural carpet). Hold your breath when emptying vacuum dust  or dryer dust into the garbage !

5. Keep your food and drinks covered if they are sitting out. There are waxed cloths you can buy or use a clean cotton dish towel, even aluminum foil.

6. I segregate my clothing, I make a cut in the label of the synthetics, where possible so I can discriminate. I wash synthetic on the delicate cycle and then hang to dry. I do not put them in the dryer. There are filters you can buy to trap the fibers in the wash but that residue will go in the trash and end up leaching out, albeit more slowly. 1,900 miniscule fibers leach from each synthetic garment, at a minimum EVERY SINGLE TIME IT'S WASHED. Some thick fleece produce 2 million at a time.

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Plastic was developed in 1907 but did not come into large scale production until the 1940's. In the 1970's the first synthetic clothing was produced and since it gives the textile industry more profit, it is now used in billions of garments. Plastic production has exploded with approximately 150 million tons at the present time ! So in a relatively short period of time it has polluted the entire planet and everything on it, even the bodies of insects. It's psychologically difficult to protect yourself against microscopic objects especially when the danger comes from everyday objects but the fibers are now in the water (rain/ocean and fresh), in the air you breathe, both indoors and out, and in your food.

The garment industry has been aware of the problem of synthetic microfibers for almost 20 years. They have immense lobbying power and so far have managed to block even feeble attempts by lawmakers to bring it to the attention of the public.

　

The Greatest Threat to Life on Planet Earth
 - SYNTHETIC CLOTHING

I recently saw a brief mention of pollution from plastic microfibers (PMFs) in the oceans in a news article, and my curiosity was piqued. I decided to investigate and what I read appalled and alarmed me. Here is my report:
PMFs are now found throughout the US in the water supply (94%). There seems to be some sort of cover up going on about this invisible problem, even though synthetic/plastic microfibers are causing immune system damage and/or weakening the health of all creatures that ingest them. That includes humans but particularly aquatic creatures from water fleas to plankton (which are killed by them) to whales. Synthetic fibers are found in nylon, polyester, fleece, acrylic, rayon and even spandex, etc. all made from by-products of crude oil. The damage is even worse from thick fleece and (unfortunately) from clothing made from recycled plastic. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-new-york-river-dumps-millions-of-fabric-microfibers-into-the-ocean-daily/

In humans, plastics generally disrupt the endocrine system and affect all glands in your body, including those that control your moods. https://www.livescience.com/26496-endocrine-system.html
Even garments that are part synthetic are just as polluting. Only 100 percent natural materials, such as cotton, wool, linen, silk, hemp, cashmere, jute etc. are safe. The unique shape of PMFs causes them to attract dangerous and carcinogenic chemicals that are also in water, such as dioxin, PCBs and pick up bacteria (see end of article); and from the fabrics all the dyes and chemicals that are used and sometimes flame retardants and even waterproofing chemicals (in fabric furniture). In addition, even the production of synthetic fabrics involves the use of large amounts of dangerous chemicals.


A minimum of 190,000 fibers leach from each garment into the drains every time it is washed, depending on the washing method, with the number increasing as the garment ages. Some release 250,000 or more. Only the largest - about 40 percent are filtered out by sewage plants; the rest enter the environment. Even the most sophisticated RO system only catches the larger fibers. 0.6 to 1.7 million TONS A YEAR is one estimate, with the number rising all the time as the garment industry makes less and less clothing from natural sources. https://storyofstuff.org/uncategorized/the-story-of-microfibers-faqs/

A small amount are shed as you move about. The California legislature recently debated a law to label all garments with easily visible warnings and a request that synthetic garments be handwashed, but it did not pass. The garment industry lobbied against it ! It probably wouldn't have helped much, but at least would have made the public aware. Even handwashing won't solve the problem if you use a dryer, as that spews massive numbers into the atmosphere, where the fibers presumably are breathed in. It is now legal in California to use a laundryline and hang your laundry outside to dry, with certain exceptions ! (see Assembly Bill No. 1448). I found no information about lung damage in my research. I have a book, The Secret Life of Dust which was written prior to awareness of this problem. It mentions that all dust spreads across the planet, for instance dust from the Sahara Desert, so this scourge is being spread planetwise through the air. I found no mention of whether they are carried in rain water.
PMFs have been shown to pass the blood/brain barrier, and in fish cause behavioral changes such as slower eating and less exploration of surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2017-09-brain-fish-affected-plastic-nanoparticles.html

PMFs are also ingested in your food, with an estimate of over 100 dropping onto one plateful of food as you eat, in the average home. They are in beer, in sea salt (660 pieces a year) ; in food cooked with water, and in irrigation water where they are absorbed into the soil and may affect plants, including your fruit and vegetables. Sewage sludge from human waste used for fertilizing crops, contains them, as do sludge ponds, and various industrial processes. Most bottled water has about 150 pieces per bottle. Alarmingly they are even in honey. Could this be another reason for the huge decline in the number of bees and recently the documented "alarming decrease" in the number of insects in general ?  Without insects and plankton we will be in danger of starving, not only ourselves but most creatures.

Most PMFs enter the environment from the US, so we are the most responsible for polluting the entire planet. A friend in Pakistan tells me that in his country the poorer people cannot afford to buy natural garments, in spite of the discomfort of synthetic clothing in the heat of summer. Water dispersed from carpet washers is likely teeming with millions of them. Then there are the fibers percolating through the soil from landfills mostly from old clothing and carpet. 5 billion lbs of old carpet are disposed of each year in the US, though a small percentage are made of natural fibers and recently many are recycled. Some sort of hazmat program should be set up if you wish to dispose of your PMF products, to prevent them seeping into the ground water. It is hard to believe that the people who developed synthetic fabrics did not have some idea of the havoc they could cause ?! Similar fibers are in car tires and those also end up in the water and air. In our attempt to solve one problem we create another, since used tires are now recycled in various ways, including tarmac for roads, which wear down , also releasing PMFs into the environment. Plastic takes hundreds of years to degrade so the problem is increasing exponientially. PMFs are also in the intestinal tracts of fish so it's particularly unwise to eat creatures you consume whole, such as mussels, oysters etc. (70 pieces each serving)

(There is still a problem from microbeads which were banned in 2017, during Obama's administration, from "rinse off cosmetics". That law contained a loophole, which corporations have taken full advantage of, to continue use of them in other cosmetics, detergents and sandblasting materials. California and some other states are working to pass new protections.)


Synthetic fibers are much cheaper than natural ones so allow manufacturers more profit. On a recent expedition to buy Christmas gifts I was shocked and depressed to see the piles of synthetic clothing, particularly thick fleece. Are manufacturers trying to get rid of their stockpiles as they are afraid of a ban or consumer backlash ?! The problem was discovered in the early 2000's and in 2011, Mark Browne, a researcher, reached out to apparel makers for help with a study. All declined except women's apparel maker Eileen Fisher, though in early 2015, Patagonia, the developer of many PMFs, commissioned a study from the Bren School of Environmental Science at UC https://www.outsideonline.com/2091876/patagonias-new-study-finds-fleece-jackets-are-serious-pollutant
Manufacturers are researching new chemicals with which to treat fabrics in an attempt to solve the problem, but more chemicals ....? In the meantime more and more clothing with PMFs is being produced and less from natural fibers. I just bought my usual jeans which have always been cotton with a little latex and now see they are part polyester. I will be returning them to the store. Tree trunks are soaked in chemicals like sulphuric acid and zinc to make a new fabric, Tencel, though that does not contain PMFs. Each garment has a content label but the past few years those are not usually in the neck or waistband but concealed in the lower part of the garment, making identification more time consuming. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/may/13/clothes-companies-microfiber-pollution

Microfibers are an increasing problem as they filter throughout the environment and could eventually threaten the health of most creatures on our beautiful planet. I just read an article about the astronauts in which they said that the only color to be seen from space came from Earth, life on which, in the age of crude oil, we seem to be destroying. Ultimately it will be up to you, the consumer, to make choices that protect the planet, and the sooner the better. You can continue on, or you can avoid these products. More recently it has been found that they are causing reproductive problems in wildlife, such as failure to calve in whales.


(Update January 1, 2019 - Dr. Andrew Weil - bacteria are in the fibers. This could cause problems for those who swim in lakes, rivers, even the ocean, though some bacteria are killed by salt water. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/31-fla-infected-bacteria-salt-water-f8C11379013

Insect "Armageddon" report in guardian.co.uk (not yet connected by them to PMFs) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ecological-armageddon-after-dramatic-plunge-in-insect-numbers

wash post Oct 2018 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/are-synthetic-fleece-and-other-types-of-clothing-harming-our-water/2016/10/28/eb35f6ac-752e-11e6-be4f-3f42f2e5a49e_story.html?noredirect=on


(c) Elizabeth Donnell- 2019

　
 

Hugh Barnard (1910 to 2002, age 92)

Hugh de Beausire Barnard - (June 6, 1910-February 2002 Cause of death: dementia and influenza). Hugh was named after an uncle, Hubert Barnard, nicknamed Hugh who died age 16 in 1882. 
The eldest son of George and Winifred, Hugh had black hair, brown eyes and a humorous mouth and was about 5'10" tall (shorter than his father).  Hugh and Joan were the darkest of the 7 children and experienced prejudice in England so avoided going in the sun. Hugh was fearful of this and it affected his behavior since he was a quiet person, without Joan's outgoing and extremely attractive personality.  He avoided any of the West Indian family who came to England and attempted to contact him (as did his oldest sister, Nibs). He was a gentle man, intelligent and thoughtful with a great sense of humor.  He loved to recount amusing tales, though unfortunately I've forgotten most of them.  He had a store of funny tales about the wild behavior of the “Barnard boys" of his generation.   These included his younger brothers, and occasionally the exploits of his first cousins, Bertie, Cyrill and Denis.

Hugh was born when my mother, Lesley Winifred, was 16 months old and another sister, Naomi Isabel ("Nibs") was almost 4.  With two older sisters and a younger sister, Joan Katherine two years later, he was nicknamed "Boy".   Three more boys followed:  David, Noel and Donald.   Hugh and Lesley suffered the most from their father's abusive behavior and I assume that Hugh was also horsewhipped.  According to Lesley, he was more affected by it, as he was a sensitive child.  By the time the 3 youngest boys were born, their father was older and had mellowed.   I actually blame their mother, Florence Winifred equally, as she was the one who would make them wait in the 'punishment room' till their father came home from working in the broiling tropical sun, knowing full well how they were to be punished.

Hugh visited us fairly frequently during my early childhood, prior to his marriage which took place when he was more than 40 years of age.  He was the relative I knew best, though unfortunately I didn't see him much once I was an adult.   He was the only man with whom my brother and I had any real relationship, little though it was.  We enjoyed the excitement as he usually stayed for a few days and used to roughhouse with us. I recall a story about Noel.  He was managing the family plantations and came home one afternoon to find a local preacher waiting for him in the house.  Noel was a heavy drinker and enraged he drew his pistol and shot multiple times into the ceiling, causing the preacher to flee for his life.   Shortly after that incident my grandfather removed him as manager.  Another story was about his cousin, Denis Barnard, who bought a new black Jaguar automobile one afternoon, smashed it up on the way home and went back the next day to buy a white one.  I don't know if there was insurance in those days, but since I was a small child and raised in poverty, I was both shocked and impressed by this story.  More recently his son, Craig, told me that later in life, Denis carried a bullwhip about St. Lucia, to intimidate others.

Denis and his older brothers, Bertie and Cyril, had a terrible experience as children when their parents both died of flu within days of each other.  Their father Walter Herbert Barnard and their mother, Ida (Child) had decided to move to England due to Walter's poor health.   They were staying in a hotel in London and in the midst of buying a house in Maida Vale when first Walter died and then Ida a few days later.     Some of their mother's relatives were also in London, attending a family wedding and Cyril was particularly upset when some of the women came to the hotel and helped themselves to his mother's jewelry.

According to a story told to Craig by his father Denis Barnard, (though another member of the family tells me he never heard the story and doubts it's true) the hotel management had no idea what to do with the boys but managed to locate an elderly relative, a French countess who lived in a chateau in the French countryside.  Presumably a Dumourier relative from their mother's side.   The boys were sent to stay there temporarily, while a more permanent arrangement could be made.   They were there for several months, largely ignored except on Thursday afternoons when they had to join the countess in her salon for afternoon tea.   Every other day of the week a large decanter of cherry brandy was brought to their rooms and they would drink themselves into a stupor.  Fortunately another relative, Colonel Thorne, the husband of one of the Beausire girls, was located and agreed to act as guardian. so the boys returned to England and school.   My grandfather, George Barnard was the Executor of their estate and kept some of their parents' valuables until they reached their majority.   There is a copy of a deed acknowledging receipt of those items, signed by all three young men.    While my grandfather was in charge of their affairs he used some of the assets to purchase at least one more plantation.  Unfortunately when the time came to transfer the assets there was a major recession and the bottom had dropped out of the market for the items grown on the plantations.  George was short of money and therefore transferred the estate of Dennery to the boys in lieu of money.

Hugh liked to tease me by singing a song that was popular at that time, "Hey Barbariba" and sometimes called me Barbarida !   I have no idea why ! I recall two occasions when he was critical of my mother.  The first was a comment that "she falls out with everyone", when I was about ten.    I thought the sun rose and set on my mother at that point in my life so it was a huge surprise when I realized it was true.  The other occurred when I was about twelve.  We were together in his car in town, waiting for her, when I heard him say, in a shocked tone, "Is that your mother?"   I looked up and she was coming towards us.   She was slightly overweight at that point and wearing a shapeless camelhair overcoat.   I recall how taken aback I was to see her from his viewpoint.
 
He was 10 when he and my mother, 11 1/2, were taken to boarding school in England in 1920, as soon as it was safe to travel after World War I.  Their older sister, Naomi, started boarding school at the age of 6 and except for the war they would probably have been sent away much younger, but the war began when Lesley was 6 and Hugh was 4.   In the meantime they were educated at home by govenesses hired from England, when living at Park Estates - a large plantation in an isolated area; or at school in Castries, if they were living at Rosemount, a house on Barnard Hill.  There is a record of them travelling by sea with their father, from New York to Southampton, in September 1920, while their mother, Winifred, stayed behind in St. Lucia with the younger children. The voyage to England was stressful to my mother due to a steward on board who kept staring at her and she  became fearful of him and went to great lengths to avoid him.

Hugh was sent to boarding school at Pinewood School in the Cotswolds area of Wiltshire. a beautiful area of the countryside (if this is the correct school) and later attended Dover College as a preparatory student.  During school holidays the older children lived with their maternal cousin, Hilda Barnard, in the seaside town of Ramsgate.   At first Hugh and my mother enjoyed talking to each other in the singsong French patois they had used in St. Lucia, when in public, enjoying both the privacy and the attention it caused.

Hugh was friendly with my father, John Charles Oliver for most of his adult life.  They lived in rented rooms near each other in London, where Hugh worked for an insurance agency for a while, and met through my mother. 

Prior to his marriage Hugh travelled extensively.  At one point he lived in British Honduras (Belize) raising pigs.  These developed trichinosis and had to be destroyed.  Hugh was left stranded and penniless.   My grandfather provided enough money for him to return to England and for short term living expenses.  Unfortunately all the boys needed help at one time or another and George provided it only after delays and with great reluctance. He resented the fact that his adult children were not self-supporting but their schooling had not prepared them for anything but the life of the idle rich. Once they left school he did nothing more than the bare minimum to help financially. “Aunt Hilda” was ill with cancer and died in June 1937, and there was no parental figure to go to for advice and no home in England for them, so it was hard for them to fend for themselves.  All the girls went hungry on many occasions after leaving school. Sadly, after my grandfather died, large sums went for British probate taxes, since he was in the ‘super tax’ range.

After the start of World War II Hugh joined the British army and was in one of the convoys sent to Dunkirk on D Day, June 6, 1944,  which also happened to be his birthday.  He was shocked and traumatized by the experience and would never talk about it.

After the war he returned to office work until he married Frances in his late 40’s.   The family moved to Worthing about 1957, a few miles from our house, where Hugh remained until his death. Like the rest of the children he was not raised to be a worker and had various jobs.  John, my father, told me he was the reason Hugh married. Apparently he had commented that people would think Hugh was 'weird' if he remained single, and the next thing Hugh was engaged. My mother, brother and I attended his wedding to Frances in the 1950's, and also met her family. Frances was one of three girls, daughters of a vet, and I remember we all wondered why he wasn't marrying Frances' sister, Stella, since there was so much flirting going on between the two of them.

After his marriage he found his forte: buying large older homes and turning them into flats. He made quite a bit of money doing this. He and Frances had two sons, Timothy and Martin Barnard born 1955 and 1957. Their childhood was miserable with continual and dreadful fights between their parents, who could agree on nothing, not even which day of the week it was, according to Tim!  In addition they were isolated from the rest of the family, and friends were not allowed over to visit during holidays. In fact Tim says he did not even realize that other children were allowed to invite friends to play until he was much older.  Tim was a terribly shy child but Martin was more sociable.  Tim didn't get to know any of the family until he was in his early 20’s, when he visited Naomi, Hugh's older sister.

When my brother, Richard, and his first wife Marion, separated, Frances refused to allow my brother to come to their house, since she sympathized with Marion.  This caused a permanent rift and my brother never spoke to Hugh again.

Hugh's relationship with Frances was impossible and he fell in love with a gentle Welshwoman, Nella, in the 1970's, when she rented one of his flats.  She was 14 years younger. He and Frances divorced. This was very upsetting to the boys since they felt abandoned, particularly since their mother was difficult and cold. Martin joined the Hare Krishna cult in his late teens and Hugh had difficulty extricating him from it. Hugh and Nella never married though they lived together for over 20 years.  At first Hugh wanted to get married but Nella was unwilling, then later she wanted to and he didn't.

Although Hugh died shortly after inheriting a fairly considerable sum of money (c. $140,000 US), nothing was left to his sons, even though he had promised to do so. His Will was changed after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. This caused both sons considerable hurt and dismay. Hugh was quite careful with money and possessions, to the point of being mean, a trait that seems somewhat common in some of the family, but his estate contained very little and what there was, was left to Nella. Tim did not mind too much, but Martin was most upset about it.  I wrote to my brother saying it was unfair and that I was upset about it, but not all the family agreed with my opinion (he shared my email !!) 

 Tim lives in Devon with various dogs. and Martin is in Hove with his long time girlfriend. Neither has married. Tim has made money investing in rental property which keeps him busy but I have no information at present about Martin.  Hugh's ex wife, Frances died in 2018 at the age of 102.  

When Hugh went to St. Lucia, which he enjoyed doing occasionally, he visited his 2 younger brothers, family and friends.  He usually stayed in the Morne where prices were more reasonable and in particular liked a placed called Hewanorra. He was particularly impressed with his cousin Mildred (who later died of cancer), commenting that she was one of the nicest people he had ever met. Denis Barnard at that point (1974) also had a house in the Morne. Hugh also mentioned a friend that he met - Madeline (nee Bouse).

Letters to my mother:
12 June 1974 from St. Lucia:  "Somehow I never got around to writing onboard, which once again shows the less you have to do, the less you get done.  I travelled on one of the Geest Line banana boats.  Food reasonable.  1st class cabin to myself called a Stateroom.  Air conditioned, phone, bedroom furniture, own bathroom and loo.   I found...there were only 8 passengers.  An elderly retired Colonel, a couple who own a small hotel with shooting and fishing rights for the wealthy.  She was very nice but he was somewhat overpowering and everything he said seemed to revolve around some well-known person.  A man who was from Cardiff and has his own wholesale leather business, whom I found companionable and the other three were Indians returning to their native St. Vincent.  We all sat at the Captain's table.  Rather formal and I'm not the club type who is full of anecdotes.   However I have never known such a friendly lot as the ship's officers.  It's not often one is invited to their mess and bar.  The Purser, who would call me Hughie, noticed my birthday was on the 6th and kept referring to D-Day.  I said I'd celebrated my birthday before I left and not to mention it.  The blighter let on.  A great big birthday cake was baked.  As I took my seat at lunch, the Captain half rose and shook my hand.... (rest is lost)
P.S.  David (his brother) is just like the old man.  He can't get anything done and can't get or keep a cook as he thinks $20 a week is too much."

20 July 1976:  "...when I was in Castries (1974) I scrutinized people's faces in case I knew them.  There was an oldish chap standing on the corner as I approached.  As he turned towards me I decided I didn't know him.  When I was alongside he half turned and I did too.   I thought 'this man thinks he knows me.'  We both turned away and then looked at each other again.  I thought he half held out his hand and being of a friendly nature, I did the same !  He said "You're Hugh aren't you?".  Yes that's right, I said and you're?  "Noel", he said.  "My God", said I and stopped myself saying, I didn't recognize you !!   His hair is white, like me he wears glasses.  He's had an operation for cataract.   He's OK now.  For several years now he hasn't touched a drink and doesn't smoke.  I'm told this is true.  He nearly died you know." 
Noel was his younger brother.  At that time he was about 58 years old and lived in the Morne.

Hugh developed glaucoma in 1981, had an operation for a hernia in 1988 and a cataract operation in 1989. He had arthritis and difficulty walking after he was about 84 .  He went to Sri Lanka with his son Tim in 1982.  One of the last times I spoke to him on the phone he told me he couldn't walk much.  I encouraged him to get a wheelchair or even an electric scooter like my mother's but he refused.   He was always concerned about the cost of phoning and wouldn't talk long, even though I was the one to phone him as he never initiated any of the calls.  He died in 2002 after developing flu in a nursing home where he was staying, while Nella took a short trip.    He had dementia and was frightened by any changes, which probably contributed to that. 

Lesley Winifred Barnard Childhood

LESLEY WINIFRED BARNARD

Early Years

My mother was born on November 15, 1908 in London, England.    She was the second child in a family of seven children,   Her sister, Naomi was 2 1/2 years older.  Lesley was a pretty baby, with black hair and dark blue eyes.     She was allergic to various formula given to her as a baby and cried a lot.    At one point the English neighbors called the authorities as they thought the children were being abused.

At the time of her birth the family was living in a rental since their principal residence was on the island of St. Lucia in the (British) West Indies, where Lesley's father, George Ernest Beausire Barnard, owned several coconut and banana plantations and also had an interest in his father's import/shipping company, Barnard & Sons.   Shortly after Lesley's birth they returned to St. Lucia.

I don't have a clear idea of my mother's daily life, growing up in the tropics in the care of poorly educated servants. Her father was irritable from working long hours in the tropical sun and her mother, Florence Winifred Barnard was often pregnant and debilitated by the heat.   In those days Western women wore long dresses with long sleeves and high necks and the heat must have been unbearable.   After Hugh de Beausire Barnard's birth (nicknamed Boy) on June 6, 1910, Florence bore 4 more children, Joan Katherine, 1912, and three more boys, David, Noel, (born on Christmas Day 1916 ?) and Donald Barnard.

On the island they had several homes, which they occupied at various times depending on where George needed to work.   There was Rosemount, on Barnard Hill (earlier Barnardsville and named after the family), overlooking Castries Harbor.  While staying there the children attended a local school.  Their Uncle Arthur also lived on the hill, at one point with his wife, Hilda (until they separated). In another house known as Sans Souci, was their grandfather, Samuel (until his death) and grandmother, Isabella Beausire Barnard,  but Lesley avoided her as she was rather ill tempered.  One day she had a cherry tree cut down when Joan, Lesley's little sister, ate a lot of the fruit.   Each house had numerous outbuildings, plus storage areas for any equipment needed. 

 

The largest house was on Park Estates, known as Park and I believe this is where they lived most of the time, as Lesley spoke of it more often.   She was not allowed to roam far though and never knew there was a gorge on the property.  Nor did she know that some of the younger servants were half siblings from a previous relationship her father had.   This did not come to light until Lesley was in her 90's !

Park had beautiful mahogany and glass swinging doors to let in any stray breeze The glass was etched and there was beading between the glass.  The windows were small and louvered and with the louvers set at a certain angle, this also helped to keep the temperature down.  The house servants lived in the basement.   There was a cook and a head parlor maid who supervised the other servants.     The upper front room of the house was the ‘birthing room’ where any of the children not born in England first saw the light of day.   A balcony went around most of the outside, which made a safe place for the children to play.   They were shut out there every afternoon with a servant in attendance.  The bathroom was at the back of the house.   The dining room opened onto the balcony.  After dinner parties, which were given occasionally, Lesley would go into the empty dining room and drink the leftover coffee, very black and sweet !!   The kitchen table was sometimes used for minor operations since George had many talents and was able to help in some medical emergencies.

There were steps down to the servants’ quarters in the basement and to the kitchen.   Lesley slept in a small room at the back of the house on the middle floor.   As soon as he could, George purchased a motor car and liked to take the family for drives.  I believe this was a Jaguar. The car would often stall and roll back on the precipitous narrow roads and the children would scream in terror.   Prior to the car there were trips in a horse and buggy and on one occasion the buggy went off the embankment and almost capsized.   George managed to control the horse and get everyone safely back on the road, however Winifred and the children got out and refused to get back in.   The children all spoke the local patois fluently and even after living in England for some years in their early teens Lesley and Hugh used the patois to converse secretly and also for amusement.

 

Another house, "The Bungalow" was near the town of Choiseul by the beach. It was much smaller and there is a photo of my mother with some of the other children, in a horse and cart. Each house had its own small farm with fruit trees, produce, chickens and pigs, all tended by servants.   The children learned the singsong local patois which was a mixture of French and West Indian.   A small island, Rat Island, was part of one of the estates.  There were stables with horses but the children were not allowed to go near them as the horses were bad tempered from the heat and flies.  This is the only surviving house as the others burned over the years.

Numerous servants attended to the household's needs:  a cook, house servants, and various nursemaids.  The main nursemaid was Da, which means nurse in patois and she was very much loved by all the children.  Occasionally governesses were brought out from England, but they did not usually stay long.  When a new teacher arrived Lesley would show them the switch with which the children were whipped.  Lesley and her brother, Hugh, were also horsewhipped by their father on more than one occasion.  For the rest of her life Lesley had scars on her back from the whip.   They both feared and hated him for this treatment and Lesley rarely spoke to him when they were together in her adult years.  I believe he mellowed when he was older and treated the younger children less harshly.

I don't think Lesley was an easy child.   She could be stubborn and resentful.   Since the children were left mostly to the care of the servants and Lesley always liked attention she may have misbehaved to get it and probably led Hugh astray also.  She would be sent to her room by her mother to wait for punishment on her father's return from a long day of work, so Florence was equally at fault.   In the early days George rode about the plantations on horseback and even when a car was purchased there were no proper roads and the land was steep and hard to negotiate.   There is a photo of him with the car stuck in mud and a woman next to him who is most likely my grandmother.

The only punishment my mother mentioned to me in detail was being whipped after she was accused of causing one of the female servants to have a miscarriage.    At the time she was very small and liked to hold the hands of various workers and then walk up their legs, as children of that age will do, if allowed.  After doing this one girl had a miscarriage and my mother was taken to her father's study, blamed and beaten for it.  Barbaric and cruel.

One story that my mother enjoyed telling was of an afternoon on the shady terrace, watched by a servant while their mother napped.    A huge spider ran across the tiles and the servant hit it with a broom, splitting it in two.    One half ran one way and the other half the other way, with screaming children in all directions.    My mother also mentioned an expensive china doll she received one year for a Christmas gift.    It was beautifully dressed and had been sent out by ship specially for the occasion.    About half an hour later she dropped it on the floor and it shattered into hundreds of pieces !   She also had a pet sea horse at one point, though I doubt it lived very long !    She did tell me of the hundreds of mosquito bites on her legs, in spite of the mosquito netting over the beds.    She got malaria several times, but her last attack was in her twenties, even though the medical profession says that you never recover.

I will quote from an email in January 2009, from a cousin, Craig Barnard, upon hearing of my mother's death:

"The children and I go from time to time to Park House where your Mum grew up, although only the ruins of the house now remain.*  I can think of her as a little girl running barefoot around the house and down to the river.   Nannies in uniform and father on the horse.   I grew up the same way, although in her time of course the life was even more rural and the world was less crowded.  She would have known the smell of a sugar factory in cane cutting season and the perfumed smell of the tropics after a downpour of rain.  The experience of a steamer across the Atlantic is almost lost to us.  She grew up at an idyllic time really and her passing is so sad."   *(Park House burned down in the 1990's?)

George developed cataract early in life, probably from the tropical sun.   At one point he and Winifred sailed to Canada to consult an eye specialist and Lesley was left with her Uncle Walter Barnard and his wife, Ida.   They had six boys - 3 from Ida's prior marriage and 3 with Walter.   Ida was delighted to have a little girl and spoke openly of adopting Lesley, but Lesley was terrified by the idea as the boys teased her continually.  In the hope of changing their minds, she began to behave badly.  One day there was a parade and fair at the local botanical gardens.   The convertible car, with the top down, was decorated with brightly colored tropical flowers including bougainvillea and Lesley was dressed in white with angel wings, seated in the back with the boys.  She spent the time in tears as the boys kept pinching her, but afraid to complain, while her aunt was happy and oblivious in the front seat.     While she was visiting she was sexually molested by a servant and Lesley overheard her aunt telling friends about this, so was terribly humiliated.   Fortunately the idea of adoption was dropped. She commented that her older cousin, Cyril, was very kind to her and would read her stories at night.

Lesley's early childhood included occasional trips to England, since her mother, Florence Winifred (nee Hendy) was born there and besides the trauma of the tropical heat she missed English life and especially all the shops in England.   They traveled by steamship, sometimes on the Queen Mary, but those visits ended in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I and did not begin again until after the War ended, when George accompanied Lesley and her younger brother, Hugh de Beausire Barnard to England, to enroll them in boarding school.  It was 1919 and Lesley was almost 11 but small for her age, and Hugh only 9.  My mother was stressed by the voyage as one of the stewards kept trying to get her alone and she spent a great deal of time avoiding him, with no one to confide in.   My mother was molested twice by servants when she was a small child, so was especially alert for trouble.    

 

The change in lifestyle must have been really shocking once they arrived as their last visit was when Lesley was about 5 years of age.  She also hated Oakdene, the boarding school, since it was very restrictive and she was made to wear a vest, a liberty bodice and then a very plain dark uniform.   (Letter from Pamela June 1975 "I was most amused by the cutting about the girls from Oakdene.  What would Miss Watts and Miss Mary have said!"   This comment made me wonder if Pamela also attended that school, though my mother never mentioned it.)  Soon after her arrival the headmistress produced a very ugly dress for my mother to wear for a special occasion.   This was thrown to the floor and stamped on.  At first she was quite a favorite of the headmistress who was amused by her antics, but after a while that changed.    Her older sister, Naomi, known as Nibs, had been attending the same school since the age of 6, so was well settled in and a bit resentful of this younger sister she hadn't seen for many years.  My mother did make some friends, one being Ruth English, nicknamed "Wuffus" for some reason.   She was related to G.K. Chesterton, the famous author, and sometimes he would drive over in his motor car with his wife and take both girls out to lunch.

I heard a few details of her life at the school.    One was after lights out in the dormitory, when my mother was supposed to be in bed but had got up to get a glass of water.   She heard the matron coming and ran across the room, slipped and cut her palm severely on the broken glass, severing the tendon.   The other incident was when she became very ill and lost a lot of weight,    The doctor ordered thick cream for her cereal each morning, which my mother loved.  She was very upset once this was stopped and ever after had a fondness for cream.   Then there were the orthodontist visits which were traumatic.  After the initial install he would come every few months to tighten them.   This was tight enough to last till the next visit and gum boils would erupt in her mouth and then burst.   The pain must have been terrible. 

 

At home in the West Indies, my mother had helped care for her small brothers.   The servants did not have much idea of keeping them safe and would often allow behavior that caused my mother to intervene.   One was giving them fruit with a very slippery seed that they could have choked on.   She was naturally caring and loved babies, so as she approached school leaving age she decided to train as a children's nanny, and enrolled in the world famous Norland School for Nannies.   

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(c) Elizabeth Donnell September 22, 2010

George Ernest Beausire Barnard (my grandfather)

Copied from a news article (partially damaged) and written in 1914.

The Opening of the Choiseul Bridge

"The Government's regular routine for building a bridge each year over one of the principal thoroughfares crossed by a river, brought the Hon. Colonial Engineer and his attendants to Choiseul during the latter part of the last year.
Work was actually commenced in February this year, during the last days of Mr. Cameron's administration, and the long drought made it ideal weather for the acceleration of such work. The river being all the time at its lowest, the job occupying a little over three months from beginning to end.
When the completion of the bridge was within sight, it was thought that its opening should be marked as a special event, and a few gentlemen of the District, representing the community of Choiseul, formed themselves into a committee to solicit pecuniary assistance from the general public, wherewith to hold various athletic sports and to ask his Excellency...Governor*, to perform the ceremony of opening the bridge to the public on Empire Day. Subscriptions were sent to our friends in Castries, Soufriere and Laborie; and the idea at once appealed to all as being a suitable way of manifesting loyalty to the Government for any progressive steps toward the general welfare of the island.
Empire Day opened in all its brilliance and crowds of expectant pleasure seekers could be seen wending their way to one common centre - Choiseul Village. Bands of ragtime music began to parade the streets at an early hour to which crowds of elated admirers flocked and tried to keep time in the dance of some of the most popular airs. The Hon Colonial Engineer kindly lent the Promoting Committee a number of flags etc. wherewith to decorate the bridge. An arch was formed , stretched along the bridge’s length on each side, and streamers of the Union Jack floated over all, and gave the beautiful structure a still more beautiful appearance.
At about 10 a.m. Mr. George Barnard** was seen to be approaching the village in his motor car; and this spectacle now drew the feelings of the great crowd to boiling pitch, and when this popular gentleman entered the village he was welcomed with quite an ovation." (rest of article lost)

*William Douglas
**George Barnard helped in the design of the bridge, according to family legend ! He was somewhat of an inventor and had several items patented with the UK Patent Office.

Samuel Barnard (June 6 1832 - September 23 1912)  My great grandfather on my mother's side of the family.   Sounds like quite a feisty guy !

(This old newspaper clipping was damaged and parts unreadable)

                                         INSERT FROM "THE HERALD of ST. LUCIA"
SATURDAY, SEPTMBER 28,1912
THE LATE MR SAMUEL BARNARD

One by one, the old heads, who have played prominent parts in the life of this
community, disappear from the scene of their terrestrial labours and are gathered unto
their fathers. Early this month, it was our duty to chronicle the death of MR A. R. W.
Lloyd, and this week the sad duty fell to our lot to record that MR SAMUEL
BARNARD, J.P., senior partner in the leading firm of Barnard Sons & Co., General
Merchants and Shipping Agents, and doyen of the local mercantile community, had paid
the debt of Nature, and peacefully breathed his last at 8 p.m. on the 23rd instant, at his
residence "Sans Souci". The deceased gentleman was a St. Lucian in all but birth, he
having first seen light in Antigua on June 6, 1832. The acquisition by St. Lucia of this
desirable citizen, in early childhood, was due to the action of the Trustees of the Lady
Mico Charity * in sending Samuel Barnard, the deceased's father, among the earliest group
_ "of teachers trained at the Mico Institution ** to take charge of one of the schools established
by them in this colony, and Samuel Barnard Junior, as the deceased was known for
many years, started to follow in the footsteps of his father. He eventually became
assistant teacher at Vieux-Fort, but he soon felt that a youth of his parts could do better in
a mercantile career, and having attracted the favourable attention of the late Mr.
Abernethy, of the Firm of Jones Abernethy & Co., he left the service of the Lady Mico
Trustees and became a Clerk in the employ of this firm. He soon impressed his employers
that, in him, they had a trustworthy and energetic clerk, and they treated him accordingly.
His honourable career, thus begun, continued under the various changes of name which
this old firm underwent, until he became a partner when the firm traded as Jones,
Fleming & Co. Eventually the time came when his sons were admitted into partnership
and Barnard, Sons & Co. came into existence.

A man of remarkable energy, as his carriage, erect to the last***, and his short quick step betokened, and of forceful character, he was a power to be reckoned with in the community. Of great tenacity of purpose, it is probable that he never entirely lost the autocratic tendency of mind said to be engendered in schoolmasters, and, being of that intense nature, given to holding strong views, he was
not very tolerant of opposition to his views. This trait in his character endowed him with
the fine old Hampden-like spirit of fighting the Government over the payment of such
taxes or duties that he deemed not payable. A careful student of the various tariffs that
affected commerce, he differed from the interpretation of certain parts by the Treasurer,
and many a fight has he had with the Government - sometimes in the Courts of Law -
over tariff and other questions; nor would he give in, until he could carry the matter no
further; and he was by no means always unsuccessful in such encounters.  Other
characteristics of his, were a lively sense of humour which enabled him to enjoy a good
joke and to give many a good one, and his uncompromising Protestantism, which,
however, did not prevent his reckoning as among his best friends some of the Parish
Priests in the out-districts in his younger days, or his having many friends among those
who did not see eye to eye with him in religious matters.  
                                                                                                                                           
He was nominated to a seat on the Legislative Council, of which he was a member for a number of years. There, a man of the deceased's independence of mind and forceful personality could have done some good, had things been different. The unsparing criticism, not untinged by a vein of
sarcastic humour, to which Government measures, of which he disapproved, were
subjected at the hands of one who neither catered for the favour of the "powers that be",
nor cared for their displeasure, could hardly have been relished by them, and they
probably breathed somewhat freer, when Mr. Barnard, never overwhelmed with any
undue sense of the honour of the position of an unofficial member, and having come to
the conclusion that he could better employ his time in attending meetings of the council,
declined re-nomination some years ago; especially as his old friend, Mr. Lloyd, was also
contemplating retirement.

For some years, he was an elected Member of the Castries Town Board. He took a keen interest in the lat contested municipal election, in 1909 as ......................... choice of a site for a c....... or Cornegie ? college ------------ within Columbus Square and although showing traces of advancing age, he could be seen energetically advising voters which side to support. A serious illness which his vitality
enabled him to weather, three or four years ago, induced the deceased to slacken
somewhat the very active life he had led and which there was no necessity then for him to
lead, and he left the active conduct of the business in which he had been, for such a very
long time the presiding genius, in the able hands of his sons and partners; Mr. W.H.
Barnard and Mr. Frank Barnard; though he by no means, abandoned all interest in the
affairs of the firm.

A man of the deceased's energetic disposition could not remain doing nothing, and
turning, like Cincinnatus, to agricultural pursuits, he devoted the evening of his days to
the development of the lime plantation he had established at Barnardville and which he
personally supervised, until quite recently. Had Mr. Barnard lived to  ___? December he
would have celebrated his golden wedding, for it is nigh on 50 years since he led Miss
Isabella Parker, daughter of the late Hon'ble Thos. Parker, for many years auditor of this
Colony; and to the influence and sympathetic support, so much needed in the troubles
which are inseparable to this life, of such a helpmeet may be attributed, to a considerable
extent the prosperous career of the deceased, And, who can gauge the depth of he.................. at the separation - temporary  though it ......) really be - from a close companion of a .............. lifetime! Of the deceased's seven (offspring), two sons have preceded him into ....Eternity?
(NOTE: assumed to be Hubert Wallace 'Hugh' and Gerald). Of the five
surviving children .......................(column chopped off so most unreadable).

*   Training of teachers began in 1836 after establishment of the Lady Mico Charity in 1835.  In 1836 a British Parliamentary Grant was added to the Charity's funds.

** 1847 The Parliamentary Grant ended and after that schools under the Charity were confined to Jamaica, Antigua and St. Lucia.

***  A few days prior to his last illness Samuel was to be found at his Jaguar car dealership in Castries
(c) Elizabeth Donnell September 22, 2014

A Different Summer Holiday

A Different Summer Holiday

Summer holidays (vacations) were such an exciting event for me as a child. We lived in the country where we were free to roam and explore wherever we wished and the thought of two months with nothing much else to do gave me a heady feeling each June. There were fields and woods and the beach nearby and our bicycles to ride. My brother and I took long walks with our mother and exploratory bike rides, often for miles, taking picnic lunches.

The last day of school the year that I was eleven was one such day. School closed early so I was home for lunch. I always rode my bike to school, a trip of just over 2 miles each way. Some time during that afternoon I was on the sofa in our small living room and began to feel extremely tired. I lay down on the sofa and became terribly cold, but was unable to move. Eventually my mother came into the room and found me. She was quite annoyed to find me almost unresponsive, except for the words "Cold, cold". She managed to get me upstairs to bed and in the morning called the doctor. Doctors in England, at least in those days, made house calls if you were ill. Our doctor was a woman, Dr. Drown. At some point she made the diagnosis that I had viral pneumonia.

I felt terribly ill and had a very high fever. If I had been able to think I would have wondered if I would die. The only time I felt better was when my mother put her hands on me. Since then if someone is very ill I always make a point of laying my hands on them. I was unable to eat and could only take small sips of liquid. Unfortunately I was allergic to penicillin so a medicine known as M&B was prescribed but did no good. I wasn't good at swallowing pills so this was prescribed in liquid form. It was white and in an attempt to make it more palatable my mother would coat the spoon in raspberry jam. For years after I recovered I could not eat raspberry jam. I recall she had a difficult time getting me to swallow it anyway.

I am not sure how long I suffered, but at least a week. Then it was decided that I would be put in hospital so that I could take a new medication, erythromycin. It had been developed in the United States but at that point only available in England under strict supervision. An ambulance arrived and two men put me on a stretcher and carried me down to the road. Just as we arrived at the front gate I saw my friend, Patricia Elliott, standing near, holding her bicycle and her mouth open ! She had not known I was ill and was shocked to see me, especially as I was much thinner and whiter after so many days of extreme illness. I don't believe I acknowledged her in any way, I was feeling too bad.

Fortunately the erythromycin worked almost immediately. I was put in a bed at the end of a long ward. There must have been about 20 beds in the ward and at least one nurse was in attendance at all times, mostly sitting at a desk by the entrance. The end where I had my bed had glass windows separating us from the other beds and was almost like a separate room. I think there were 3 or 4 other patients in that area. One was a girl a few years older than I. I remember she talked about having her period, which I thought very peculiar as to me it was something one didn't publicize ! I was not well enough to get up but after a few days I could sit up and since I was an active child I would wriggle about, so gradually regained some strength.

Hospitals in England in those days served afternoon tea and snacks to both patients and visitors about 4 p.m. Visiting hours were restricted to about an hour and two people, and I was always so thrilled to see my mother. My brother came with her once. One afternoon a friend, another Patricia but with the last name of Bingham, came to see me instead and I was so disappointed it wasn't my mother, even though I didn't let on. I expect she was glad of a break though, since she had to ride her bike or take the bus to see me and it was quite a few miles.

After a week I was taken in another ambulance to a convalescent hospital in my hometown of Goring. This was quite near our house and was a converted mansion with beautiful grounds. My room was on the ground floor and looked out over a sloping lawn with a small lake at the end. There was one other person in my room, which had most likely been a large living room in its past. Before it's conversion to a hospital my brother and I had often played on the grounds as the building had been empty for many years. We especially liked the lake as it had small islands in the middle. One of them had a fallen tree across to it, so we could climb over. The house had previously been the home of the wealthy Keymer family. Alice and Nora Keymer were two of the owners and our street was Keymer Crescent, and the next street over was Alinora Avenue, a contraction of the two names. Just behind the house was a large field where the yearly circus would pitch tents and at night we could hear the lions roaring as we lay in bed

I was still terribly weak and ill and the first time I was allowed out of bed all I could do was sit in a reclining chair by the window, where I promptly fell asleep. I was in that hospital for another week and then taken home - presumably by ambulance as we had no car, though I don't recall that part. It took me some months to regain all the weight I had lost. I remember my mother making the comment that I looked like I had come out of concentration camp. Unfortunately I wasn't really well enough to enjoy the rest of the summer but was able to go back to school in September!