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Christmas Cards

Christmas Cards
I have always enjoyed receiving Christmas cards, and find it sad that they're becoming less popular.   Perhaps the constantly rising cost of postage and cards is to blame.    Years ago I used to get 30 or 40 cards every Christmas and it was such fun going to the mailbox and hearing news of loved ones.  In those days I had numerous aunts, uncles and other relatives and we all exchanged cards.   Mine always went off with a personalized handwritten letter.    Now one is fortunate to receive a form letter !
The custom of sending Christmas cards began in England in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole, who worked for the Post Office (then known as the Public Record Office) came up with the idea, in an effort to encourage people to use the service.   He had an artist friend, John Calcott Horsley, design the first card and sold each for one shilling (12 pence , though of course you could buy a great deal more with it in those days).   The card they designed had 3 panels, - two outside panels showing people caring for the poor and the center of a family having Christmas dinner.   There were some critical comments from the public as a child had a glass of wine (how little has changed ?!).  About 1000 were printed and sold.   Those originals are now rare and cost thousands to buy.
You may view the card here, but I can't show the image due to legal restrictions !
https://www.granger.com/results.asp?image=0054688
https://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com/generalnews/the-first-christmas-card/
The first postal service for ordinary people was started in 1840 with the Penny Post.  Before that only the wealthy could afford to use the post.   New railways were being built and could carry many more letters than a horse and carriage and trains were so much faster.   Cards became even more popular after the Post Office allowed unsealed envelopes for a half penny.  (The UK still has a discount for unsealed envelopes).
With improvement in printing methods Christmas cards became popular and were sold in large numbers from about 1860.  In 1870 the cost of sending cards dropped to a half penny, even when sealed.  By the early 1900s the custom had spread throughout Europe, and was especially popular in Germany.
The first cards usually had pictures of the Nativity on them, but in late Victorian times a British bird, the red breasted robin, and snow scenes were popular since an extremely bad winter had happened in the UK in 1836, with 8 to 9 feet of snow in some areas.
Christmas cards appeared in the US in the late 1840's but were too expensive for most people to buy. In 1875 Louis Prange, a printer, originally from Germany, who had worked on early cards in the UK, started mass producing them, so they were more affordable.  His first cards featured flowers, plants and children.  Then in 1915 John Hall and two of his brothers started the Hallmark Card Co. which is still one of the largest card makers.
Annie Oakley is known for the first personalized Christmas cards  She sent them from Glasgow in 1891 to her friends and family in the US, with a picture of herself on them .   She's wearing Scotch tartan in the photo and reportedly designed the cards herself and had them printed by a local printer.   https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/21915840_44034-annie-oakley-her-christmas-card
In the 1910's and 1920's homemade cards were popular.  These often had unusual shapes and were decorated with foil and ribbons.   They were delivered by hand as they were too delicate for the mail.
My early memories of shopping for Christmas cards was in a large stationery shop near our house in England.   It had steps going up to a higher level and there were literally hundreds of cards on both floors.   My mother and I would go in with a long list of friends and relatives and each card was chosen with that person in mind.   This was quite a time consuming task especially finding the right message, but I loved doing it.   This was years before 'boxed' cards became popular but since they were not expensive it made for a delightful shopping experience, at least to me as a child.

Copyright 20020 Elizabeth Donnell

Joseph Gabriel de Beausire (July 12, 1771   - 1845 age 74 in Metz)

l recently got in touch with a distant cousin through the internet and have been able to learn quite a bit about this great3 grandfather, whose name was Joseph Gabriel de Beausire.  He was born on July 12, 1771 in Metz, in Northeast France, near the borders of Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg in the area known as Alsace Lorraine, where they spoke Alsation, a German dialect.   I also have the family tree dating back to 1440.   The family was well to do and raised thoroughbred horses.    Joseph Gabriel's father, Marie-Claude Sebastien de Beausire (1750-1832 age 82 in Metz) was a Lt. Colonel in the Surville Regiment and later a Councillor in the Parliament of Metz  and a Chevalier of St. Louis.  He married  Anne Antoinette de Goussaud.  They were royalists .  

The French Revolution began in 1788 when Joseph Gabriel was 17, and continued until 1799.  17,000 people were executed, and 10,000 died in jail.   Marie-Claude and Anne remained in France but their children left the country during the turbulence of that period.  Marie-Claude was arrested and sent to prison.   He was sentenced to death with his execution scheduled for the 29th of July 1794 but Robspierre, one of the leaders of the Revolution, was arrested the day before, and Marie Claude was reprieved.  I would love to know the details of that traumatic experience !   The most interesting thing I learned is that Joseph Gabriel's mother, Anne, was a direct descendant of Pierre d'Arc, brother of Jeanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc).  There is a book showing their family tree, although some family members are not listed.   The book is entitled Extracts La Familia de Jeanne d'Arc written by E Debroueilles.    Pierre D'Arc was also a Chevalier du Lys.  I found this exciting as several people in our family claim to be psychic.
  

After leaving France, probably deported by the Revolutionaries, Joseph Gabriel enlisted in the Lowenstein Chausseurs, one of several British regiments raised by foreign nobles to fight the army of Revolutionary France.  He became a lieutenant, later a Captain and finally a Major.  He was wounded in St. Lucia in 1796.  His regiment was incorporated into the 5th Battalion in 1797 together with Hoppesch's Mounted Riflemen, another specialised emigre unit, both using the Baker Rifle.  After the Revolution came the Napoleonic Wars which lasted from 1804 to 1810.  
 

Later as part of his army duties, he became a harbormaster on the island of St. Lucia, where the British Navy ships were refueled with coal.  I have a couple of photos of him, in his army uniform, one of which is of a locket owned by a cousin.  I also have a photo of his grandson, Joseph Beausire,  This is of a portrait which used to hang in the Royal Insurance Company building where he worked in Liverpool.  He was a Director of the company where his uncle, Robert, was an accountant.  The company, which was very successful, (now renamed Royal Insurance Plc) is still in existence.
 

 The building occupied by the company in those days is on the historic list.   It was an award winning design from a competition, with 5 stories, built in 1896 and has now been restored and turned into a hotel.  That was not the first building used by the company.    The previous one, built in 1837, is also on the historic list.   One of the employees tracked down the present day Joseph Beausire, Robert's great grandson, and gave him the portrait.   There are no photos of Catherine Ann Beausire, so it's interesting to see her nephew and ponder whether they looked alike !
 

Joseph Gabriel had 3 children with Polly Kitty.   Very little is known of Polly.  It is likely that Kitty is not her surname but a middle name.   It was found in the baptismal records of the first two sons, Robert (born 1804) and Henry (born 1813), when they were baptized in St. Vincent Cathedral on April 14, 1813.  From DNA tests of her descendants it appears that she was Caucasian and also had some African blood with Nigeria or the neighboring countries of Togo and Benin showing up. Information found online shows that she was a landowner with slaves.  She was reputed to be very beautiful.  Robert was described in a report about his gift of some exquisite reredos to a church in England as an octoroon, which if accurate means he would have been one eighth African.   Another son, Joseph was born about 1814. 

Prior to Catherine Ann's birth Joseph Gabriel and his family moved from St. Lucia to England where their daughter, Catherine Ann Beausire, was born in Liverpool about 1815.  She was my great great grandmother on my mother's side of the family.  In 1807 Joseph Gabriel was a member of the masonic lodge in Carenage (now known as Castries), St. Lucia.   Joseph Gabriel then returned to Metz alone, and on the 9th of February, 1817 made a claim for return of half the wealth taken from the family during the Revolution, which was allowed by the government.  He either never married Polly Kitty or she had died, but in 1818 he married Anne Louise Phillipine Besser.  They also had four children together.   In 1821 he was promoted to Major and given half pay for his retirement by the British Army.   He was a Marichel de Camp d'artillerie, and a Chevalier de St. Louis.   He died in Metz in 1845 at the age of 74.   

Catherine Ann went to live in St. Lucia at some point, either with her mother or perhaps later with her husband, Thomas Collingwood Parker, who was the government auditor there and quite wealthy.  It's likely that Thomas was a friend of Robert Beausire in St. Lucia since they were the same age and of similar racial heritage, and he may have visited Robert in England if he took his accountancy training there.  They were both in the accounting business.   Thomas was born some time after late 1803 and baptized on the 6th of February, 1806.   He and Catherine Ann lived and raised their 4 daughters, including my great grandmother, Isabella Parker, in a large house called "Retreat" situated on Morne Fortune, a hill with wonderful views of Castries harbor.    The house burned down but was rebuilt much later by Isabella and her husband, after their marriage.
 

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 Notes - first son) Robert Beausire 1804-1854 m. 1) Franceys and 2) Janet Pollock. Cashier, Royal Insurance Co. Liverpool.   (second son) Henry Beausire 1813 - 1876 m. Amy Tyrer. Secretary, Midland & Grand Western Railway, Dublin

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.

__________________________________

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