Historical Musings: Stories from an Autograph Book

My blog has so far centred on my husband's grandparents, Joe and Sarah Vernon Smith and their immediate family. Before I go back further in their family (I still have a lot of photos and stories!), I thought I would research their autograph books –they had one each. They date from 1911-1919. The entries are from friends and family and there are several autographs and sketches made by nurses, from the time that Sarah was in hospital following the birth of her first child, who died at 12 days. It seems that it was a traumatic birth as she appeared to be in hospital for about a month.

I have managed to find quite a lot out about the people in the books!

JOE'S BOOK

William John Henretty

One of the entries in Joe's book is William John Henretty, with a lovely sketch and poem. William seems to have been well educated – he was a student/teacher in Chester in the 1911 census and I have discovered that the lines he wrote are from a poem by Tennyson "My Good Blade".

I think William must have beern a close friend of Joe. The latin inscription from his sketch in the autograph book “Amici usque ad aras” means “a friend to the very end”.

I have found further evidence of William's literary skills - he won a newspaper competition in the Liverpool Echo in 1926! He won half a crown!

William joined up in WW1, as did Joe. He also suffered in the War, as we know Joe did– he was discharged “sick” in 1916. He married Sarah Billington in 1916 and they had two sons – one died in infancy but one – John was born in 1923 and lived to a fair age. William died in 1930, aged just 39 – perhaps of a War-related illness?

William was in the King's Liverpool Regiment at the same time that Joe was serving with them. I wonder if they came across each other during their service? They were clearly good friends, judging by the signature in Joe's book. I wonder if William is in either of these charabancs with Joe in the 1920s!

Malcom Peter MacLachlan

Joe lived at no 141 Worcester Road so I decided to check the 1911 census for other names in the road to see if any of them featured in his autograph book

I immediately spotted Malcolm's name.He lived just a few doors from Joe, at number 131. Surely a friend of Joe's. So I set out to research him.

What a tragedy I discovered. Malcolm was born in Essex in 1896. His family moved to Bootle, where I discovered him in 1911. He joined up in 1915 as an engineer and had been promoted to Lance Corporal.

Malcolm was posted to the front on the 18th November 1915, but suffered a leg wound and was invalided home early in 1917.He was sent to Bedford, for further training. It was while he was there that he was tragically drowned on 4th May 1918. He was with a young girl in a canoe on the river Ouse. There was a lot of interest in the accident in the press at the time. Apparently Malcolm could swim but the young girl kept pulling him down in her struggle to prevent herself from drowning. The coroner expressed outrage that people had been seen laughing at the incident or rowing away from it. He was 22. She was just 16. Joe would undoubtedly have been very shocked

Below is Malcolm's sketch, dated January 1911.

He is buried in Bootle Cemtery, where his headstone reads:

"Just as his hopes were brightest

God took him home to rest"

Sadly, there was to be another tragedy for the family. His father, Peter, was Captain of the SS Bellorado when it was attacked by a German U Boat on 28th February 1917.. It was damaged, but saved by its own gunfire,just off Malta; 3 lives were lost including the Captain. His wife lost her husband and son within 18 months during the War. Her husband would have been too old to be on active service (he was just 44 when he died), but he gave his life serving his country on the sea. Both drowned but in tragically different circumstances. Capt MacLachan was the first man ever to receive a "Commendation" from the King. It had been recognised that acts of bravery by Mercantile Marines went unrecognised. It was uniquely awarded for gallantry by merchant seamen. He is buried in Malta

"His duty nobly done"

Both father and son are commemorated on the Bootle War Memorial. Rose lived to be 70. Intriguingly I have found her on a ship's passenger list returning from Buenos Aires in 1921 - I have no idea why she would have gone there so soon after the war. She was still living in no 131 Worcester Road in 1939 and died in 1946.

Joe had already lost his brother to the War (Dan was also a merchant seaman) and a brother in law, Tom, at Gallipoli. Now he was losing friends too.

Mrs McNaught laying a wreath at Bootle War Memorial. Mrs McNaught was Matron at Breeze Hill Auxiliary Military Hospital in Bootle.

Joe's book has only a few entries, there are far more in Sarah's - maybe because autograph books are more likely to be kept by women. Joe and Sarah both sketched in his book.......Joe was quite an accomplished artist