Beaumont House school (courtesy Ian Foster's book Heronsgate)
Vezey Family:
Branches In and Out of Box
Penny Cook and Jessica Black (both nee Vezey)
July 2015
Elsewhere on the website we have Vezey family stories as candle-makers and publicans in Box. This story tells of other branches of the family who became grocers, solicitors and the headmaster of a preparatory school seen right.
All pictures courtesy Penny and Jessica, except where indicated.
Branches In and Out of Box
Penny Cook and Jessica Black (both nee Vezey)
July 2015
Elsewhere on the website we have Vezey family stories as candle-makers and publicans in Box. This story tells of other branches of the family who became grocers, solicitors and the headmaster of a preparatory school seen right.
All pictures courtesy Penny and Jessica, except where indicated.
Early Vezey History in Wiltshire
The earliest records for the Vezey ancestors are found in Wiltshire in the sixteenth century. We can't trace the direct line earlier than that. The name, with various spellings, was well-established in the county during the 1500s and is recorded in the nearby villages of Market Lavington, Devizes, and Urchfont, where a Maurice Vezey died in 1567.[1] There was also a Willyam Veysey, recorded in the North Wiltshire Muster, in 1539, who was recruited to fight with a billhook. This source does not mention any men with the name Vezey, whatever the spelling, in or near Box. The earliest reference to a Vezey in Box we found in the church records was 1689.
Thomas the Scriber
The first record of a Vezey family in Box is that of Thomas Vezey, who is described as a scriber in Box when he married Elizabeth Palmer in 1689. There are also records in Box church registers of the christening of their seven children, his death in 1711 and her burial in 1725. Our family line is descended from Joseph, the second son of Thomas the scriber and Elizabeth, born in 1698.
We might imagine that Thomas was born about 1655 and it is possible that he was married before Elizabeth as there is a record of a Thomas Vezey marrying a Marie Burgess in Urchfont in 1678.[2] For the sake of this account we assume that Marie died and Thomas the scriber moved to Box and then married Elizabeth Palmer.
Thomas and Elizabeth had seven children including: Ann (1690); Sarah (1691); Thomas (1693 - 1766); Elizabeth (1696); Joseph (1698 - 1762). Several stayed in the Box area. The eldest son, Thomas (1693-1766) married Ann Whiterose in Box in 1721 and had six children. Joseph (1698-1762), the second son, married Mary Cue, of Marshfield in 1739 and they had four children, the eldest of whom, Joseph (1740 - 1809), married Ann Harding, also of Box in 1767.
Joseph Vezey and Ann Harding
Joseph and Ann Harding married in 1767 and had six surviving children, all born and baptised in Box.[3] Their eldest surviving child, James, is our ancestor.
Their children were: James (1769 - 1829); John (b 1770), Joseph (b 1772), Thomas (b 1773), Peter (1777 - 1835) and Mary (1779 - 1780). Peter moved to London and married Elizabeth Molyneux in 1830 and they had one child, Annie, born in 1833. We understand that Thomas joined the 77th Regiment of Foot, East India.
James Vezey (1769 - 1829) and Sarah Prosser
We presume that James went to London, although we do not know when, how or where and met Sarah Prosser (1773 - 1833), whom he married in 1801, at St Georges Church, Hanover Square.
They returned to Box, where their nine children were born: Thomas (1803 - 1839); Ann (1804 - 1807); Elizabeth (b 1808); Joseph (1809 - 1851); James (1811 - 1875); Benjamin (1812 - 1863); Peter (1814 - 1867); Ann (b 1815); and Edward (b 1817). The eldest of their nine children, Thomas (1803 - 1839), was our ancestor. Of their other sons, Joseph (1809 - 1851) married Anne Hinton at Chiselden in 1841.
They had three children, all born in the London area. And their son James married Louisa Davison in Bristol in 1836.[4] Benjamin and Peter were unmarried and they became partners in the soap and candle business in Box. They died in Thornbury, Gloucestershire in 1863 and 1867 respectively, at the home of their brother James. Elizabeth, Benjamin and Peter probably lived together at one point to help look after the young children. Elizabeth married James Harper in Box in 1848 and in the 1851 census Benjamin was staying in Bradford-on-Avon.
Thomas Vezey (1803 - 1839) and Martha Cook
The eldest child of James and Sarah was another Thomas (1803 - 1839), who married twice, firstly Elizabeth Hewett Cottle, daughter of Mr Cottle of Cheney Court, Middlehill, Box, in 1827.[5] She died in Cheltenham in September 1828, possibly in childbirth, although there is no record of a child.[6]
He later married Martha Cook, from Iron Acton, Gloucestershire at Bathford, Somerset, in 1832.[7] Thomas and Martha had four children: James (1833 - 1916); Thomas (1833 - 1837); Sarah (1836 - 1919) unmarried; and John Cook Vezey (1838 - 1910). The youngest of these, John Cook Vezey, is Penny Cook's great grandfather and direct ancestor.
Martha was a widow in the 1841 census, her husband Thomas having died two years before. In the 1841 census ages were rounded up, hence James and Thomas were both listed as aged 25 when they were in fact nearly two years apart. James joined the family soap and candle business and is listed with his brother, John Cook, as co-owners in the 1889 Kelly's Trade Directory.
It is worthwhile to record the story of the family of James (1833 - 1916) because this takes us into other branches of the Vezey family referred to in the article Chequers and James Vezey.
Vezey Family: Grocers and Solicitors
The Vezey connection to the grocery trade and the legal profession comes from Thomas and Martha's eldest son, James (1833 - 1916), who married Annie (born in 1834 in Marylebone, London) at Bath in February 1860. James and Annie had five children: Thomas (1861 - 1931); James Arthur (1862 - 1918); Annie Junior (1864 - 1932); Louisa Mary (1865 - 1943); and Eliza Martha (1868 - 1956).
The eldest of James and Annie's five children, Thomas (1861 - 1931), was born in Bristol in January 1861 (although by the time of the 1861 census he was living in Box with his grandmother, Martha, whilst his father, was working away in Bristol, as a grocer). For some time whilst he was living in Box, Thomas (1861 - 1931) was the clerk to the Board of Box Church of England Primary School. He became a solicitor in Bath and in 1895 he married Margaret Ricketts (1867 - 1944), the daughter of his senior partner, Mr John Ricketts. By 1901 he was living in Bath, where he died in 1931. He was one of the last people to see his cousin, Benjamin, alive, as he had been to see him in Bath, the morning of his fatal accident in 1930.[8] His obituary, published in the Bath Chronicle and Herald shows he was an active member of the community with several public responsibilities. He was a city councillor and alderman from 1910 until six months before his death.
Thomas and Margaret had two children. The eldest, Thomas (1901 - 1994) was also a solicitor in Bath. He married Monica Latham in 1933 and retired to live in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, although he died in Colwyn, North Wales. His wife's death was recorded at Exeter in 1981. The younger son, Arthur John (1903-2000), was an electrical engineer who published a number of papers on submarine cables, which are held in the Science Museum library. He married Beatrice Snell (1905-2001) in Kensington in 1936 and lived in Rickmansworth at the time of his death. We are not aware that either brother had issue.
We know that the siblings of Thomas (1861 - 1931) were mostly based in Box. Annie (1864 - 1932) lived at home with her parents and was unmarried with no occupation recorded in any of the census records. We understand she spent some of her life as a volunteer at Box Church. Louisa Mary (1865 - 1943) was unmarried and lived at the family home until her death. Eliza Martha (1868 - 1956) was born, christened and buried in Box and at the 1901 census is recorded as the matron of Savernake Hospital, Marlborough.[9]
John Cook Vezey (1838 - 1910)
Thomas and Martha's last child, John Cook Vezey (1838-1910), was born shortly before his father died and is our direct Vezey ancestor. John Cook Vezey (1838-1910) was the youngest son of Thomas and Martha. He was born and lived all his life in Box, which must have been hard, as he was only 12 months old when his father died. He joined the family soap and candle business, married his cousin, Jane (1841-1907).
Jane's parents were James 1 (1805-1865) and Frances (nee Tyley) Vezey, the first of the Vezey owners of the Chequers Inn, Box. Her grandparents were James 2 (1778 - 1828) and Elizabeth whose son Edwin (Jane's uncle) had the Lamb and Flag at Batheaston. We believe the father of James 2 was the James 3 who married Mary Dew in Nunney, a small village near Frome, Somerset in 1778. James Vezey 4 of the Chequers Inn is listed in the tithe records of 1840 with pasture land in Box.
The earliest records for the Vezey ancestors are found in Wiltshire in the sixteenth century. We can't trace the direct line earlier than that. The name, with various spellings, was well-established in the county during the 1500s and is recorded in the nearby villages of Market Lavington, Devizes, and Urchfont, where a Maurice Vezey died in 1567.[1] There was also a Willyam Veysey, recorded in the North Wiltshire Muster, in 1539, who was recruited to fight with a billhook. This source does not mention any men with the name Vezey, whatever the spelling, in or near Box. The earliest reference to a Vezey in Box we found in the church records was 1689.
Thomas the Scriber
The first record of a Vezey family in Box is that of Thomas Vezey, who is described as a scriber in Box when he married Elizabeth Palmer in 1689. There are also records in Box church registers of the christening of their seven children, his death in 1711 and her burial in 1725. Our family line is descended from Joseph, the second son of Thomas the scriber and Elizabeth, born in 1698.
We might imagine that Thomas was born about 1655 and it is possible that he was married before Elizabeth as there is a record of a Thomas Vezey marrying a Marie Burgess in Urchfont in 1678.[2] For the sake of this account we assume that Marie died and Thomas the scriber moved to Box and then married Elizabeth Palmer.
Thomas and Elizabeth had seven children including: Ann (1690); Sarah (1691); Thomas (1693 - 1766); Elizabeth (1696); Joseph (1698 - 1762). Several stayed in the Box area. The eldest son, Thomas (1693-1766) married Ann Whiterose in Box in 1721 and had six children. Joseph (1698-1762), the second son, married Mary Cue, of Marshfield in 1739 and they had four children, the eldest of whom, Joseph (1740 - 1809), married Ann Harding, also of Box in 1767.
Joseph Vezey and Ann Harding
Joseph and Ann Harding married in 1767 and had six surviving children, all born and baptised in Box.[3] Their eldest surviving child, James, is our ancestor.
Their children were: James (1769 - 1829); John (b 1770), Joseph (b 1772), Thomas (b 1773), Peter (1777 - 1835) and Mary (1779 - 1780). Peter moved to London and married Elizabeth Molyneux in 1830 and they had one child, Annie, born in 1833. We understand that Thomas joined the 77th Regiment of Foot, East India.
James Vezey (1769 - 1829) and Sarah Prosser
We presume that James went to London, although we do not know when, how or where and met Sarah Prosser (1773 - 1833), whom he married in 1801, at St Georges Church, Hanover Square.
They returned to Box, where their nine children were born: Thomas (1803 - 1839); Ann (1804 - 1807); Elizabeth (b 1808); Joseph (1809 - 1851); James (1811 - 1875); Benjamin (1812 - 1863); Peter (1814 - 1867); Ann (b 1815); and Edward (b 1817). The eldest of their nine children, Thomas (1803 - 1839), was our ancestor. Of their other sons, Joseph (1809 - 1851) married Anne Hinton at Chiselden in 1841.
They had three children, all born in the London area. And their son James married Louisa Davison in Bristol in 1836.[4] Benjamin and Peter were unmarried and they became partners in the soap and candle business in Box. They died in Thornbury, Gloucestershire in 1863 and 1867 respectively, at the home of their brother James. Elizabeth, Benjamin and Peter probably lived together at one point to help look after the young children. Elizabeth married James Harper in Box in 1848 and in the 1851 census Benjamin was staying in Bradford-on-Avon.
Thomas Vezey (1803 - 1839) and Martha Cook
The eldest child of James and Sarah was another Thomas (1803 - 1839), who married twice, firstly Elizabeth Hewett Cottle, daughter of Mr Cottle of Cheney Court, Middlehill, Box, in 1827.[5] She died in Cheltenham in September 1828, possibly in childbirth, although there is no record of a child.[6]
He later married Martha Cook, from Iron Acton, Gloucestershire at Bathford, Somerset, in 1832.[7] Thomas and Martha had four children: James (1833 - 1916); Thomas (1833 - 1837); Sarah (1836 - 1919) unmarried; and John Cook Vezey (1838 - 1910). The youngest of these, John Cook Vezey, is Penny Cook's great grandfather and direct ancestor.
Martha was a widow in the 1841 census, her husband Thomas having died two years before. In the 1841 census ages were rounded up, hence James and Thomas were both listed as aged 25 when they were in fact nearly two years apart. James joined the family soap and candle business and is listed with his brother, John Cook, as co-owners in the 1889 Kelly's Trade Directory.
It is worthwhile to record the story of the family of James (1833 - 1916) because this takes us into other branches of the Vezey family referred to in the article Chequers and James Vezey.
Vezey Family: Grocers and Solicitors
The Vezey connection to the grocery trade and the legal profession comes from Thomas and Martha's eldest son, James (1833 - 1916), who married Annie (born in 1834 in Marylebone, London) at Bath in February 1860. James and Annie had five children: Thomas (1861 - 1931); James Arthur (1862 - 1918); Annie Junior (1864 - 1932); Louisa Mary (1865 - 1943); and Eliza Martha (1868 - 1956).
The eldest of James and Annie's five children, Thomas (1861 - 1931), was born in Bristol in January 1861 (although by the time of the 1861 census he was living in Box with his grandmother, Martha, whilst his father, was working away in Bristol, as a grocer). For some time whilst he was living in Box, Thomas (1861 - 1931) was the clerk to the Board of Box Church of England Primary School. He became a solicitor in Bath and in 1895 he married Margaret Ricketts (1867 - 1944), the daughter of his senior partner, Mr John Ricketts. By 1901 he was living in Bath, where he died in 1931. He was one of the last people to see his cousin, Benjamin, alive, as he had been to see him in Bath, the morning of his fatal accident in 1930.[8] His obituary, published in the Bath Chronicle and Herald shows he was an active member of the community with several public responsibilities. He was a city councillor and alderman from 1910 until six months before his death.
Thomas and Margaret had two children. The eldest, Thomas (1901 - 1994) was also a solicitor in Bath. He married Monica Latham in 1933 and retired to live in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, although he died in Colwyn, North Wales. His wife's death was recorded at Exeter in 1981. The younger son, Arthur John (1903-2000), was an electrical engineer who published a number of papers on submarine cables, which are held in the Science Museum library. He married Beatrice Snell (1905-2001) in Kensington in 1936 and lived in Rickmansworth at the time of his death. We are not aware that either brother had issue.
We know that the siblings of Thomas (1861 - 1931) were mostly based in Box. Annie (1864 - 1932) lived at home with her parents and was unmarried with no occupation recorded in any of the census records. We understand she spent some of her life as a volunteer at Box Church. Louisa Mary (1865 - 1943) was unmarried and lived at the family home until her death. Eliza Martha (1868 - 1956) was born, christened and buried in Box and at the 1901 census is recorded as the matron of Savernake Hospital, Marlborough.[9]
John Cook Vezey (1838 - 1910)
Thomas and Martha's last child, John Cook Vezey (1838-1910), was born shortly before his father died and is our direct Vezey ancestor. John Cook Vezey (1838-1910) was the youngest son of Thomas and Martha. He was born and lived all his life in Box, which must have been hard, as he was only 12 months old when his father died. He joined the family soap and candle business, married his cousin, Jane (1841-1907).
Jane's parents were James 1 (1805-1865) and Frances (nee Tyley) Vezey, the first of the Vezey owners of the Chequers Inn, Box. Her grandparents were James 2 (1778 - 1828) and Elizabeth whose son Edwin (Jane's uncle) had the Lamb and Flag at Batheaston. We believe the father of James 2 was the James 3 who married Mary Dew in Nunney, a small village near Frome, Somerset in 1778. James Vezey 4 of the Chequers Inn is listed in the tithe records of 1840 with pasture land in Box.
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Children of John Cook Vezey and Jane Vezey
John Cook Vezey and Jane had seven children: John (Jack) (1868 - 1911); Elizabeth (Bessie) (1869 - 1887); Peter (1871 - 1953); Benjamin (1873 - 1930); Edward (Ted) (1877 - 1953); Sarah Jane (Ginny) (1875 - 1953) who married MH Jay; and Alice Mary (1879 - 1964). Some of these children stayed in Box and others moved to try their luck in London. The eldest child, John (known as Jack), was born and christened in 1868 and was living at home in 1881. We have not found him in the 1891 census, but in 1901 he was in London, recorded as a salesman, living in Islington. We have been unable to find him in the 1911 census, conducted on April 2nd. Reputedly he drank to excess and died and was buried in Box in April 1911. Elizabeth (Bessie), was born in 1869 and died in 1887 (aged 19) at Box from a general paralysis. She was at home with her parents in 1871 and in 1881 was staying with her aunt Jane White (nee Vezey) (1815-1888) at Slades Farm, Box, daughter of James (b 1778) and Elizabeth Vezey. Thomas White is listed as a farmer of Slades Farm in the 1848 Kelly's Trade Directory. Jane was the sister of James Vezey (b 1805) of the Chequers Inn and Edwin of the Lamb and Flag at Batheaston. |
Jack Vezey (courtesy Margaret Wakefield)
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Peter (1871 - 1953) was born in Box, moved to London and died in Finchley in 1953. He is our ancestor and is considered in more detail below.
Benjamin (1873 - 1930) was born and christened at Box. He ran the soap works with his brother, Peter, and he lived in Box all his life. In 1911 he was living with his brother, Ted, and sister, Alice. He married later that year to Eugenie Sarah Weeks. He died tragically in 1930 in an accident on the railway line at Bathford Bridge, leaving his wife to look after their four children.[10] The coroner recorded an open verdict. His widow lived to be 100 years.
Benjamin and Eugenie had four children, Mary (1912-1918); Olive (b 1913); Gwendoline (b 1915); and Benjamin John (b 1917). Olive married Sidney Charles Banks (b 1908) at Chippenham in 1940. Sarah Jane (Ginnie) (1875 - 1953) married Harry Edward Say in 1895 in Box. She died in 1953 at Bridgewater.
Edward (Ted) Vezey (1876 - 1963) worked for the railway at Box Station and lived in Mead Villas. He was a keen supporter of the Box Cricket Club and was unmarried.
Alice Mary (1878 - 1964) was christened on 13th September 1878. She never married and lived at Mead Villas with her brothers, Benjamin and Ted, where she was recorded as a housekeeper in 1911.
Benjamin (1873 - 1930) was born and christened at Box. He ran the soap works with his brother, Peter, and he lived in Box all his life. In 1911 he was living with his brother, Ted, and sister, Alice. He married later that year to Eugenie Sarah Weeks. He died tragically in 1930 in an accident on the railway line at Bathford Bridge, leaving his wife to look after their four children.[10] The coroner recorded an open verdict. His widow lived to be 100 years.
Benjamin and Eugenie had four children, Mary (1912-1918); Olive (b 1913); Gwendoline (b 1915); and Benjamin John (b 1917). Olive married Sidney Charles Banks (b 1908) at Chippenham in 1940. Sarah Jane (Ginnie) (1875 - 1953) married Harry Edward Say in 1895 in Box. She died in 1953 at Bridgewater.
Edward (Ted) Vezey (1876 - 1963) worked for the railway at Box Station and lived in Mead Villas. He was a keen supporter of the Box Cricket Club and was unmarried.
Alice Mary (1878 - 1964) was christened on 13th September 1878. She never married and lived at Mead Villas with her brothers, Benjamin and Ted, where she was recorded as a housekeeper in 1911.
The Chequers building today is residential (courtesy Carol Payne)
The Chequers Inn, Box
We now have to turn to a different branch of the Vezey family, whose connection to the candle factory branch is uncertain. James Vezey senior (1806 - 1865) married Frances Tyley at Colerne in 1833. They lived at the Chequers Inn, Box. Their children were Thomas Wilton Vezey (1834 - 1918); Elizabeth Ann (b 1835) married George Browning in Box in 1861; Mary (b 1839) married Joseph Davis in Box in 1866; Frances (Fanny) (b 1839) married Walter Jones in Box in 1870; Jane (1841 - 1907) who, as we have seen, married John Cook Vezey at St James Bath in 1867; Emma Mary (1843 - 1848); and James (1846 - 1906) married Elizabeth Dyer in Box in 1870.
Thomas Wilton Vezey (l834-1918), eldest child of James and Frances at the Chequers Inn married Marian Bullock in 1859 in Bath. He was a gardener at Hilperton Marsh, near Trowbridge, and his children were born at Broughton Gifford: one known as Nellie, Tom James (b 1860), Mary (b 1862), Herbert John (1866-1900), Henry (Harry) (1868-1948), Walter Bullock (1875-1966), Florence Nellie (b 1881).
Another branch of the Vezeys lived at Batheaston, Somerset. Edwin who ran the Lamb and Flag was a brother of James of the Chequers Inn. Their parents were James (b 1778) and Elizabeth. Amongst their trades listed in the census records were maltsters, brewers, inn keepers, farmers, butchers and cattle dealers. It is from the Batheaston families that Pamela Vezey, the actress on Crossroads, is descended.
We now have to turn to a different branch of the Vezey family, whose connection to the candle factory branch is uncertain. James Vezey senior (1806 - 1865) married Frances Tyley at Colerne in 1833. They lived at the Chequers Inn, Box. Their children were Thomas Wilton Vezey (1834 - 1918); Elizabeth Ann (b 1835) married George Browning in Box in 1861; Mary (b 1839) married Joseph Davis in Box in 1866; Frances (Fanny) (b 1839) married Walter Jones in Box in 1870; Jane (1841 - 1907) who, as we have seen, married John Cook Vezey at St James Bath in 1867; Emma Mary (1843 - 1848); and James (1846 - 1906) married Elizabeth Dyer in Box in 1870.
Thomas Wilton Vezey (l834-1918), eldest child of James and Frances at the Chequers Inn married Marian Bullock in 1859 in Bath. He was a gardener at Hilperton Marsh, near Trowbridge, and his children were born at Broughton Gifford: one known as Nellie, Tom James (b 1860), Mary (b 1862), Herbert John (1866-1900), Henry (Harry) (1868-1948), Walter Bullock (1875-1966), Florence Nellie (b 1881).
Another branch of the Vezeys lived at Batheaston, Somerset. Edwin who ran the Lamb and Flag was a brother of James of the Chequers Inn. Their parents were James (b 1778) and Elizabeth. Amongst their trades listed in the census records were maltsters, brewers, inn keepers, farmers, butchers and cattle dealers. It is from the Batheaston families that Pamela Vezey, the actress on Crossroads, is descended.
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Above left: Nellie Vezey (courtesy Margaret Wakefield). Above right: Four generations: Eugenie and Olive Joyce Vezey, Emma Weeks and Elizabeth Gunning (courtesy Clive Banks).
James and Elizabeth lived at the Chequers Inn, Box. They had these children: William (1871 - 1915) who married Mabel Emma Weeks (b 1903); Helena (b 1873) who married William Bradfield in Box in 1904. (They had a son, Donald, who wrote the history of Box Cricket Club); James (1875 - 1882); Percival (1878 - 1919) buried in Box cemetery military grave; Frederick (1883 - 1884); Richard (1884 - 1885); and Francis (1886 - 1886). On his death in 1906 James Vezey Junior left his money to his brother-in-law, John Cook Vezey, tallow chandler.
Peter and Lottie Vezey: The Move to London
John and Jane's second son, Peter (1871-1953), attended the Pestalozzi School, Sussex and left the family home in Box, moving to London in 1886, to work in the warehouse of Vyse, Sons & Co, milliners and fancy goods merchants, who also sold French sewn goods, such as corsets.
James and Elizabeth lived at the Chequers Inn, Box. They had these children: William (1871 - 1915) who married Mabel Emma Weeks (b 1903); Helena (b 1873) who married William Bradfield in Box in 1904. (They had a son, Donald, who wrote the history of Box Cricket Club); James (1875 - 1882); Percival (1878 - 1919) buried in Box cemetery military grave; Frederick (1883 - 1884); Richard (1884 - 1885); and Francis (1886 - 1886). On his death in 1906 James Vezey Junior left his money to his brother-in-law, John Cook Vezey, tallow chandler.
Peter and Lottie Vezey: The Move to London
John and Jane's second son, Peter (1871-1953), attended the Pestalozzi School, Sussex and left the family home in Box, moving to London in 1886, to work in the warehouse of Vyse, Sons & Co, milliners and fancy goods merchants, who also sold French sewn goods, such as corsets.
Peter Vezey in about 1895
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In 1891 he was in lodgings in Wood Street, London, and gave his occupation as a Commercial clerk.
He married a goldsmith's daughter, Lottie Barney, in 1895, and in the
1901 census was recorded as living in Stoke Newington. His occupation
is given in the census as a Fancy Goods Salesman.
He became a senior director in a well-known Millinery and Fur House, Vyse, Sons & Co with branches in London, St Albans and Luton. He joined the company as an apprentice in 1886 and became a board member in 1908. He was a very keen cricketer and captained the company team (called the ORB Cricket Club) and there is a record of some of his scores in the scrap book kept by his wife. He was also a Freemason, belonging we believe at one stage to two London lodges. There is no record of the family in the 1911 census and we believe that as Lottie supported the Suffragettes the census form was not completed, apparently a common practice amongst supporters of voting rights for women. |
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Peter and Lottie Vezey were busy and active members of their local communities and she kept a scrap book of newspaper cuttings between the two wars.
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Lottie was one of the first female Justices of the Peace for the Highgate Bench and served for over 25 years. On one occasion she broke a record for the bench, dealing in 5 minutes with 14 summonses against motorists for breaching the 12-mile per hour speed limit in Finsbury Park.
She was on the board of the local hospital and regularly organised collections for Lifeboats, the Rose and British Legion Poppy Day appeals. When Peter retired from Vyse, Sons & Co in 1940 after 54 years service with the firm, it was reported that he was not absent from business for a single day on account of illness (a remarkable record). Peter and Lottie had five children, all sons: Peter Harold (1898 - 1976); Walter John (1901 - 1926); Edward Ernest (1907 - 1977); Richard Edgar (1908 - 1960); and Ralph Alan (1910 - 1976). Four of these were present when their parents celebrated their Golden Wedding on 13th August 1945, with their children and grandchildren. Right: The five sons of Peter and Lottie Vezey Left to Right: Richard Edgar; Edward Ernest; Walter John; Peter Harold; Ralph Alan |
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Peter Harold Vezey
Peter Harold Vezey and Joanna
Their eldest son, Peter Harold Vezey, was born in 1898. After attending school at Haileybury College, Hertfordshire, where he was a prefect, he went to Worcester College, Oxford where he took a two-year degree in Norman history. He was commissioned in the Special Reserve of officers in WW1 and he served in France as a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1917 and 1918.
After the war he gained an MA at Worcester College, Oxford in 1922 and joined the Colonial Service in Nigeria as a School Inspector.
He returned home in 1926, on the death of his brother, Walter aged 25, whilst on active service in the Northwest Frontier close to what is now the Pakistan Afghanistan border. Peter married Winifred Joan Thornton, who had a Diploma in Domestic Science, Reading University.
Peter Harold taught at and later became headmaster and owner of Beaumont House School, an independent preparatory boarding school, near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The school had a distinguished history from its foundation in 1905 and was run as a partnership by John Harvey Keating and Peter Harold Vezey from 1939 until they had a blazing row in 1941 and Mr Keating withdrew, leaving Peter Harold as the sole owner and headmaster.[11]
Their eldest son, Peter Harold Vezey, was born in 1898. After attending school at Haileybury College, Hertfordshire, where he was a prefect, he went to Worcester College, Oxford where he took a two-year degree in Norman history. He was commissioned in the Special Reserve of officers in WW1 and he served in France as a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1917 and 1918.
After the war he gained an MA at Worcester College, Oxford in 1922 and joined the Colonial Service in Nigeria as a School Inspector.
He returned home in 1926, on the death of his brother, Walter aged 25, whilst on active service in the Northwest Frontier close to what is now the Pakistan Afghanistan border. Peter married Winifred Joan Thornton, who had a Diploma in Domestic Science, Reading University.
Peter Harold taught at and later became headmaster and owner of Beaumont House School, an independent preparatory boarding school, near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The school had a distinguished history from its foundation in 1905 and was run as a partnership by John Harvey Keating and Peter Harold Vezey from 1939 until they had a blazing row in 1941 and Mr Keating withdrew, leaving Peter Harold as the sole owner and headmaster.[11]
The school gave instruction for the Common Entrance Examination for the Public Schools and singing and boxing form part of the ordinary curriculum. It also specialised in swimming and rugby in somewhat Spartan conditions, sufficiently old-fashioned to be included as an oddity in a television documentary. Ex-pupil Teddy Penn described it as The regime was more or less benevolent and the beatings not too fierce.[12]
Teddy wrote about Peter Harold: I left Beaumont House in 1940. On my first return visit 25 years later I found Peter Vezey in the garden in great voice, in Latin, instructing small boys to weed a flower bed. He recognised me at once and recalled my name immediately without prompting. The school flourished under Peter's headmastership and, at its peak, had over 60 boys, half of them boarding. After the death of Joanna and unable to find a headmaster successor, the school closed on Peter Harold's retirement in 1970 and was bought by two ex-pupils and converted into residential properties.
Peter Harold married Joanna Thornton (1907 - 1969) in 1942.
Teddy wrote about Peter Harold: I left Beaumont House in 1940. On my first return visit 25 years later I found Peter Vezey in the garden in great voice, in Latin, instructing small boys to weed a flower bed. He recognised me at once and recalled my name immediately without prompting. The school flourished under Peter's headmastership and, at its peak, had over 60 boys, half of them boarding. After the death of Joanna and unable to find a headmaster successor, the school closed on Peter Harold's retirement in 1970 and was bought by two ex-pupils and converted into residential properties.
Peter Harold married Joanna Thornton (1907 - 1969) in 1942.
The staff and pupils of Beaumont School in 1967: Peter Harold Seated centre with his wife Joanna to his left
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Other Children of Peter and Lottie Vezey
Peter and Lottie's second son, Walter John Vezey, was born in 1901. He was educated at Haileybury College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He served as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, attached to the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners. He was killed in a flying accident in the North West Frontier, India in 1926. His obituary in a Muswell Hill newspaper read: Walter John Vezey, Lieutenant, Corps of Royal Engineers, attached to the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners. Killed while flying on duty at Arewalie, North West Frontier Province, India on 4 April (Easter Sunday) 1926, aged 25 years. |
Plaque at RAF Bullford Camp
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There is a plaque to him in the RAF Bullford Camp and a stained glass window in Muswell Hill Church. He is buried at Arawali, in the NW Frontier. Like his father he was a keen cricketer and he had the distinction of playing in the precursor to the MCC v India Test Matches.
Born in 1908, Richard Edgar (Dick) Vezey married Joan Colquhoun in 1939. Dick died in 1960 and his wife in 1993.
The youngest son of Peter and Lottie, Ralph Alan Vezey, was born in 1910 and died in 1976. He married Joan Butler in 1938.
Born in 1908, Richard Edgar (Dick) Vezey married Joan Colquhoun in 1939. Dick died in 1960 and his wife in 1993.
The youngest son of Peter and Lottie, Ralph Alan Vezey, was born in 1910 and died in 1976. He married Joan Butler in 1938.
Ted and Eve Vezey
Edward Ernest (Ted) Vezey (1907 - 1977) is Penny's direct ancestor. Ted was educated at Haileybury College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. After leaving Sandhurst, he served in the Straits Settlement Police, probably in Port Dickson, south of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 1928 and 1930, leaving London for Singapore on the P&O Ship Karmala. Whilst there, he served for a time in the Malay Straits Volunteer Rifles. The Straits Settlement was the British colonial name for the territories abutting the Straits of Malacca, now known as Singapore and Malaysia.
There is a record in the Merchant Navy archives of his joining the Warwick Castle at Southampton as an Assistant Purser on 13 July 1934, but this seems to have ended on 3rd August 1934. We know from the Haileybury Register that between 1937 and 1939 he worked in Trinidad on a sugar plantation, but we have no records of that part of his life. He returned to Britain to join the army on the outbreak of war in 1939.
He married Evelyn (Eve) Warwick on 3rd of February 1941 in the church of St James, Muswell Hill, by special licence, owing to his impending posting to Burma. He went to Burma by troopship within a few days of the wedding, seconded in a training role to the Burma Rifles. Eve sailed from Clydebank to Burma in June 1941 aboard the SS Sagaing, reaching Rangoon on August 23rd 1941. She was met by her husband and they caught the 10 pm train to Mandalay. They changed trains for Maymyo, arriving there on August 24th. Maymyo was a British garrison town and became the seat of government after Rangoon fell. The town is still an important base for the Myanmar Army. They lived here until the Japanese invasion when Ted had to evacuate British personnel by all available means. He was one of the last to leave, just hours before the Japanese arrived, and before the British army blew up the Ava Bridge, the only crossing point of the Irrawaddy River. Eve left a few days earlier, by train, with medical / nursing personnel, while Ted walked out with the army, a hazardous trek through the jungle, eventually into India. The SS Sagaing was subsequently sunk at Trincomalee, a British navy base in Eastern Ceylon, by Japanese aircraft in 1942.
After evacuation from Burma, Eve worked at a hospital in Assam and with refugees from Burma. Ted managed to find her when he arrived in India, suffering from the effects of the long and difficult trek. A set of field dressings found in their house have been donated to The Imperial War Museum. They could have been army issue to Ted and one packet is stamped Rugh Nath Rai & Co, Lahore, August 1941.
The retreat of the UK armed forces was associated with considerable loss of civilian life and destruction of property. It has been estimated that by the end of July 1942 between 150,000 and 200,000 refugees had passed to India on the route to Kalewa and Imphal. The Indian Government estimated that up to 500,000 British Asians came into India from Burma. Estimates of the dead range from 50,000 to 100,000 compared with 13,000 members of Slim's army killed or wounded. The Japanese lost 4,600 killed and wounded.
Following a short time in Assam, Captain Ted Vezey was posted to a refugee camp at Hoshiarpur, in the Punjab. Hoshiarpur was well known for wood carving and a table and two wooden trays, as well as an inlaid table showing the Taj Mahal were purchased there. These are still held by the family. His last posting was at Deolali where Penny was born in the British Military Families' Hospital in June 1943. Deolali is still a garrison town for the Indian Army.
Ted and Eve returned to Britain from Bombay on the SS Orontes, which was chartered as a troop ship, finally arriving in Liverpool in April 1945. Extracts have been taken from the voyage log held at the National Maritime Museum. Smallpox broke out on board at Suez and the passengers and crew were vaccinated twice during a two week period as there was some concern that the first inoculation had not been effective.
After some leave staying with Eve Vezey's parents in Great Crosby, near Liverpool, they moved to South Wales, where Captain Vezey was stationed at a POW camp at Penllegaer near Swansea. After discharge as medically unfit for active service, the family moved to Enfield.
Ted and Eve Vezey did not return to Burma (now known as Myanmar), but their daughter, Penny, went to the Mandalay area and Maymyo in 2012 and took photographs of the Anglican Church and the lnwa Bridge (formerly the Ava Bridge).
Edward Ernest (Ted) Vezey (1907 - 1977) is Penny's direct ancestor. Ted was educated at Haileybury College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. After leaving Sandhurst, he served in the Straits Settlement Police, probably in Port Dickson, south of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 1928 and 1930, leaving London for Singapore on the P&O Ship Karmala. Whilst there, he served for a time in the Malay Straits Volunteer Rifles. The Straits Settlement was the British colonial name for the territories abutting the Straits of Malacca, now known as Singapore and Malaysia.
There is a record in the Merchant Navy archives of his joining the Warwick Castle at Southampton as an Assistant Purser on 13 July 1934, but this seems to have ended on 3rd August 1934. We know from the Haileybury Register that between 1937 and 1939 he worked in Trinidad on a sugar plantation, but we have no records of that part of his life. He returned to Britain to join the army on the outbreak of war in 1939.
He married Evelyn (Eve) Warwick on 3rd of February 1941 in the church of St James, Muswell Hill, by special licence, owing to his impending posting to Burma. He went to Burma by troopship within a few days of the wedding, seconded in a training role to the Burma Rifles. Eve sailed from Clydebank to Burma in June 1941 aboard the SS Sagaing, reaching Rangoon on August 23rd 1941. She was met by her husband and they caught the 10 pm train to Mandalay. They changed trains for Maymyo, arriving there on August 24th. Maymyo was a British garrison town and became the seat of government after Rangoon fell. The town is still an important base for the Myanmar Army. They lived here until the Japanese invasion when Ted had to evacuate British personnel by all available means. He was one of the last to leave, just hours before the Japanese arrived, and before the British army blew up the Ava Bridge, the only crossing point of the Irrawaddy River. Eve left a few days earlier, by train, with medical / nursing personnel, while Ted walked out with the army, a hazardous trek through the jungle, eventually into India. The SS Sagaing was subsequently sunk at Trincomalee, a British navy base in Eastern Ceylon, by Japanese aircraft in 1942.
After evacuation from Burma, Eve worked at a hospital in Assam and with refugees from Burma. Ted managed to find her when he arrived in India, suffering from the effects of the long and difficult trek. A set of field dressings found in their house have been donated to The Imperial War Museum. They could have been army issue to Ted and one packet is stamped Rugh Nath Rai & Co, Lahore, August 1941.
The retreat of the UK armed forces was associated with considerable loss of civilian life and destruction of property. It has been estimated that by the end of July 1942 between 150,000 and 200,000 refugees had passed to India on the route to Kalewa and Imphal. The Indian Government estimated that up to 500,000 British Asians came into India from Burma. Estimates of the dead range from 50,000 to 100,000 compared with 13,000 members of Slim's army killed or wounded. The Japanese lost 4,600 killed and wounded.
Following a short time in Assam, Captain Ted Vezey was posted to a refugee camp at Hoshiarpur, in the Punjab. Hoshiarpur was well known for wood carving and a table and two wooden trays, as well as an inlaid table showing the Taj Mahal were purchased there. These are still held by the family. His last posting was at Deolali where Penny was born in the British Military Families' Hospital in June 1943. Deolali is still a garrison town for the Indian Army.
Ted and Eve returned to Britain from Bombay on the SS Orontes, which was chartered as a troop ship, finally arriving in Liverpool in April 1945. Extracts have been taken from the voyage log held at the National Maritime Museum. Smallpox broke out on board at Suez and the passengers and crew were vaccinated twice during a two week period as there was some concern that the first inoculation had not been effective.
After some leave staying with Eve Vezey's parents in Great Crosby, near Liverpool, they moved to South Wales, where Captain Vezey was stationed at a POW camp at Penllegaer near Swansea. After discharge as medically unfit for active service, the family moved to Enfield.
Ted and Eve Vezey did not return to Burma (now known as Myanmar), but their daughter, Penny, went to the Mandalay area and Maymyo in 2012 and took photographs of the Anglican Church and the lnwa Bridge (formerly the Ava Bridge).
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Above Left and right: Bullford Camp where the memorial plaque to Walter Vezey is located.
Sources
Further details of the Burma campaign in 1942 can be read in:
OD Gallagher, Retreat in the East, 1942, George Harrap & Co
J Lunt, A Hell of a Licking: The Retreat from Burma 1941-2, 1986, Collins
F Owen, The Campaign in Burma, 1946, HMSO, London
Stephen Brookes, Through the Jungle of Death: a Boy's Escape from Wartime Burma, John Murray Ltd, London
Further details of the Burma campaign in 1942 can be read in:
OD Gallagher, Retreat in the East, 1942, George Harrap & Co
J Lunt, A Hell of a Licking: The Retreat from Burma 1941-2, 1986, Collins
F Owen, The Campaign in Burma, 1946, HMSO, London
Stephen Brookes, Through the Jungle of Death: a Boy's Escape from Wartime Burma, John Murray Ltd, London
References
[1] Wiltshire Family History Society, Parish Records Collection, Burials
[2] WPW Philimore & J Sadler, Urchfont Marriages, 1909
[3] Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
[4] England Marriages, www.familysearch.org
[5] Sarum marriage licence bond, Wiltshire Family History Society ;and Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 17 December 1827
[6] Urchfont Parish Records
[7] Somerset Marriages for Thomas Vezey after 1754, Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
[8] See Vezey Family article
[9] Extracts from Wiltshire Memorial Index in Box, Wiltshire Family History Society
[10] See Vezey Family
[11] Ian Foster, Heronsgate: Freedom, Happiness and Contentment, 1999, Manticore Europe Ltd, p.143
[12] Ian Foster, Heronsgate, p.146-9
[1] Wiltshire Family History Society, Parish Records Collection, Burials
[2] WPW Philimore & J Sadler, Urchfont Marriages, 1909
[3] Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
[4] England Marriages, www.familysearch.org
[5] Sarum marriage licence bond, Wiltshire Family History Society ;and Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 17 December 1827
[6] Urchfont Parish Records
[7] Somerset Marriages for Thomas Vezey after 1754, Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
[8] See Vezey Family article
[9] Extracts from Wiltshire Memorial Index in Box, Wiltshire Family History Society
[10] See Vezey Family
[11] Ian Foster, Heronsgate: Freedom, Happiness and Contentment, 1999, Manticore Europe Ltd, p.143
[12] Ian Foster, Heronsgate, p.146-9