William Beveridge. 1st Dec.1942

William Beveridge. 1st Dec.1942


This day in history with some genealogy.


On 1st December, 1942 the Beveridge Report was released, the plans for the post war ‘welfare’ state’(BBC – History, n.d.).
It was published by William Beveridge, he was born 5th March 1879 in Bengal, India.(BBC – History – William Beveridge, n.d.)
Off I go on the genealogical trail.

William Beveridge. (Creative Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Beveridge_,c1910(4093206662).jpg)

Find a Grave (Find A Grave – Millions of Cemetery Records, 2021) is usually worth a look there will often be a biography even for those of us less illustrious.


From his memorial, I confirmed he was born 5th March 1879 at Rangpur, Bangladesh, and a bit more detail emerges.

His death occurred on 16th March 1963 (aged 84) at Oxford, City of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, he was buried in St Aidan Churchyard, Thockrington, Northumberland Unitary Authority, Northumberland, England. (William Henry “Lord Beveridge” Beveridge…, 2021).

This same source gives his wife as Jessy/Janet, daughter of William Philip and widow of David Mair, married in 1942.
The next step on the route led to a succinct biography at LiberalHistory.org (William Beveridge (Lord Beveridge), 1879-1963 – Liberal History, n.d.)
Stepping along as a genealogist the good things given here are the names of his parents and places he lived.

He, William Henry Beveridge was the second child and first son of Henry Beveridge, a district sessions judge in the Indian Civil Service, by his second wife, Annette Susannah Ackroyd.
A quick search did not turn up a birth record from India for him but a good place to check is fibis.org (Birth, Marriage and Death Records – FIBIwiki, n.d.) but many records do not exist.

However, it is easy enough to find his marriage, in the October to December quarter of 1942, registered at Westminster. (FreeBMD – Search, n.d.)

Here are the census records for him:

  • 1891 at the Croft, St. Anne’s Road, Eastbourne, Sussex, with his parents:
    Henry Beveridge 54, Head, retired Judge Bengal Civil service, born Scotland.
    Annette S Beveridge, 47, Wife, born Stourbridge.
    William H Beveridge 12 Son, born East Indies.
    Annette J Beveridge 10 Daughter, born East Indies.
    Rebecca V Herims 47, Servant, born Westbury, Gloucestershire.
    Alice J Blackman 23, Servant, cook, born Sussex.
    Arthur Tracy 15, Servant, footman, born Sussex
    Rebecca Coleman 16, Servant, under housemaid, born Sussex
    Laetitia Beveridge 13, Daughter, born East Indies.(1891 Census England. Beveridge, William., 1891)

  • 1901 still with his parents at Pitfold, Shottermill, Guildford, Surrey.
    Henry Beveridge 63, married, head, retired Bengal Civil service, born Scotland.
    Annette S Beveridge 58, married, living on own means, born Stourbridge, Worcestershire.
    William H Beveridge 22, single, son, no occupation, born India.
    Annette J Beveridge 20, single, daughter, no occupation born India
    Teresa A Roe 25, single, servant, cook, born Surrey
    Emily E Roe 19, single, parlour maid, born Staffordshire
    Ellen Collins 21, single parlour maid, born Staffordshire. (1901 Census England. Beveridge, William., 1901)

  • With his mother in 1911 at 9, Swan Walk, Chelsea.
    William Henry Beveridge 32, Joint Head of family, Single, born Bengal, India, Civil Servant (Board of Trade.
    Annette Susannah Beveridge 66, Mother, Married 36 years, 4 childen orn 2 still living, born Stourbridge, Worcestershire.
    Mabel Watson 27, Servant, Single, born Edinburgh, Cook (Domestic).
    Richard Douglas Denman 34, Joint Head Married born London, M.P Underwriter At Lloyds. (1911 Census England. Beveridge, William., 1911)

  • Until the 1921 census arrives next January the next useful government record is the 1939 register.
    Lady Jessy (Janet)Mair born 26 Nov 1879, University Administrator Retired, Married.
    Agnes Mackay McIntosh born 23 Jul 1915, Agricultural Economist, Single.
    Eleanor Winifred Smith born 01 Apr 1910, Domestic Servant, Single,.
    Lily May Townend 28 Apr 1912, Cook, Single.
    William Henry Beveridge born 05 Mar 1879, Master Of University College, Single.
    Between the lines on of the records here, his wife to be, after she was widowed is living in close proximity.(1939 Register England. Beveridge, William., 1939)

Just to show some other sources that can be used here is a newspaper report from 1909:
“Director of Labour Exchanges.
The President of the Board Trade has appointed Mr. William Henry Beveridge to be Director and Mr. Charles F. Key to be General Manager Labour Exchanges under the Labour Exchanges Act, 1909. Mr. Beveridge, after leaving Oxford, went as Sab-Warden to Toynbee Hall, and began the systematic study of the whole question of unemployment, which led him advocate Labour Exchanges as the first step in organised system of dealing with the problem of chronic unemployment. From 1906 to 1908 he was on the staff of a London daily paper, and left to take up a temporary appointment in the Board Trade. He has published a book called Unemployment, Problem of Industry, which is recognised as the standard work on the subject.”(Islington Gazette | Wednesday 13 October 1909 | British Newspaper Archive, 1909).


A quick genealogical journey for this day in history on the man whose vision was to battle against what he called the five giants; idleness, ignorance, disease, squalor and want. With a ‘cradle to the grave’ social programme that amongst other proposals called for a free national health service, it resonated with the public and this would influence Clement Atlee’s Labour Government to implement these ideas.(1942 Beveridge Report, 2021).

References:

BBC – History: On This Day. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/on_this_day/index.shtml?day=01&month=12&go=Go

BBC – History—William Beveridge. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/beveridge_william.shtml

Find A Grave—Millions of Cemetery Records. (2021). Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com

William Henry “Lord Beveridge” Beveridge… (2021, 04). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/225589414/william-henry-beveridge

William Beveridge (Lord Beveridge), 1879-1963 – Liberal History. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://liberalhistory.org.uk/history/beveridge-william-lord-beveridge/

Birth, marriage and death records—FIBIwiki. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Birth,_marriage_and_death_records

Marriage index (CR) England. Beveridge, William. (1942). FreeBMD. https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

1891 Census England. Beveridge, William. (1891). Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1891. www.ancestry.co.uk

1901 Census England. Beveridge, William. (1901). Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901. www.ancestry.co.uk

1911 Census England. Beveridge, William. (RG14 PN:401 RD:4 SD:2 ED:5 SN:99 Page:197). (1911). RG14 General Register Office: 1911 Census Schedules” The National Archives. www.thegenealogist.co.uk

1939 Register England. Beveridge, William. (1939). The National Archives, Kew. www.findmypast.co.uk

Islington Gazette | Wednesday 13 October 1909 | British Newspaper Archive. (1909, 10). 4. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

1942 Beveridge Report. (2021). https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/coll-9-health1/coll-9-health/

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