william thomas mallindine + beatrice deathridge
William was born at 2 Mount Street in Bethnal Green on 22 June 1880, to Charles Malindine and Emma Tweed, and baptised at St James the Great in Bethnal Green on 11 July. He was enrolled in the Virginia Road School just before his fifth birthday but transferred to another school two years later. After leaving school, he trained as a French Polisher.
French Polishing
French polishing was a furniture finishing technique that developed in France but became popular in England during the 19th century. It was a long, labour intensive process that was used primarily on furniture and musical instruments made from expensive types of wood such as mahogany. The process involved applying numerous thin coats of shellac and polishing each layer with a rubbing pad called a 'rubber' that was made from cotton wool and covered with a soft cotton cloth. This resulted in a high gloss finish that brought out the natural colour of the wood.
He lived in the family home on Virginia Road until his marriage to Beatrice Deathridge at St Matthew in Bethnal Green on 23 April 1905. Beatrice was born on 14 October 1883 to Edward James Deathridge and Martha Ewin and when she married, she lived with her parents at 197 Vallance Road and worked as a Dressmaker. Edward Deathridge was a successful Cigar Box Manufacturer and owned a factory in the East End and his three sons — Edward, John and James — also worked in the family business.
William and Beatrice’s first son, Edward George William, was born on 31 March 1906 in Walthamstow, Essex but he was baptised back in Bethnal Green at St Matthew on 22 April. The baptismal record confirms they were living in Walthamstow, at 7 Hawardon Road, and William was continuing his work as a French Polisher.
By 1911, they had returned to Bethnal Green and William had made a radical career change from French Polisher to Publican when he took over as landlord of The Kings Arms at 11a Abbey Street. They were living in 7 rooms above the pub and one of his employees, a Cook named Loty Lyons, was living with them. On 16 June 1915, William Thomas, known as Bill, was born at Abbey Street and baptised at St Matthew on 11 July.
c. 2005
Abbey Street, now known as Buckfast Street, runs between the church of St Matthew and Weaver’s Fields. William was the landlord for 27 years and the pub became known as Malindine’s with the name painted over the door until 2012. William and Beatrice also appear in various Electoral Registers and Post Office Directories at 11a Abbey Street throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
In 1921, Beatrice’s father died leaving an estate valued at £12 000 and this included his house down the road from the pub at 7 Abbey Street which passed to Beatrice. From the early 1920s, William’s sister Rosina and her husband Frederick Wastell lived at number 7 no doubt renting from William and Beatrice while they continued to live above the pub.
From 1935 to 1937, William and Beatrice appear in the Electoral Registers at 259 Green Street although their ‘abode’ was listed as either 11a Abbey Street or 125 Eastern Avenue in Ilford. Also living at the Green Street address was Beatrice’s nephew, Ernest Frederick Deathridge. Beatrice probably inherited a stake in the family business as she appeared in the 1938 Post Office Directory at Green Street as a Cigar Box Maker.
By 1939, they had left Bethnal Green and moved north to Tottenham where William was managing the Coach and Horses Public House at 860 High Road. Beatrice was listed as the licensee in the 1939 Register and their Cook and Barmaid were also living with them. It is not known why they left the East End after so many years but they took on a new pub while George Ashdown took over their tenancy at The King’s Arms.
c. 1920
They appear in the Post Office Directory in Tottenham for the last time in 1943 and when they finally gave up the tenancy, they returned to Ilford where William died in 1952. Beatrice died in Rochford, Essex in 1966.
Their eldest son Edward, known as Ted, married Ada Theresa Collins in Bethnal Green in 1931. She was born in the family home on Squirries Street in Bethnal Green on 11 July 1908 to John Collins and Eliza Saunders. In the years following their marriage, Ted and Ada left Bethnal Green for Croydon settling first at 75 Lancaster Road in South Norwood. Their only child, son Edward John William was born on 29 March 1936. Three years later, they were living on the High Street in Arundel, Sussex and Ted’s occupation was listed as Photographic Journalist. He worked as a photographer for the Daily Herald newspaper for many years and when the war began, he served as a Captain with the Army Film and Photographic Unit. His assignments included the evacuation at Dunkirk, the D-Day invasion, the liberation of the Bergen Belsen concentration camp, and the Potsdam Conference in Berlin in 1945.
Following the war, he returned to his previous position at the Daily Herald and the family moved to Sanderstead, south of Croydon, where they lived at 32 Ewhurst Avenue for many years. Ted died in Croydon on 7 January 1970 and with son Edward living nearby in South Croydon, Ada remained in their home until the late 1970s before moving to Wingrave in Buckinghamshire. She died in Oxford on 3 March 1985. Edward John married and had two children; he died in Godstone, Surrey on 28 January 2013.
William and Beatrice’s youngest son Bill married Mary Jane Wallace in South Shields near Newcastle in 1945. Like his brother, Bill worked as a press photographer, primarily covering crime for the Daily Mirror, and when war broke out he too joined the Army Film and Photographic Unit. His main duties involved operating the mobile film processing units rather than working as an official photographer. After the war, Bill and Mary settled in Ilford, Essex where their three children were born. Following his retirement from the Daily Mirror, the family emigrated to Canada where Bill and Mary retired to Duncan on Vancouver Island but sadly, after only two years of retirement, Bill was diagnosed with lung cancer and he died at the Cowichan District Hospital on 21 January 1978. Mary Jane died three years later and was buried next to her husband at Mountain View Cemetery in North Cowichan.