John LEWIS, (4) [40]

  General Notes:

John Lewis was born and brought up in Glasgow's Gorbals. In 1915 he married Elspeth aka Alice Beatson from Kinghorn, Fife. John Lewis was a platelayer, and his father, although a hairdresser by trade, was an ironworks labourer. John was 17 and Alice was 20 when they married; if this was a "shotgun wedding" then sadly they lost the baby.
A few weeks after they married, John and Alice adopted a motherless infant, ELIZABETH MORWOOD. I feel sure she was a relative, but have not found a link despite much research into both families. John was in the territorial army before enlistment and service in Egypt, the Dardanelles and the French/Belgian Front. He was badly wounded at Ypres resulting in loss of both legs.

In 1921, John Lewis proudly unveiled The Toll Boys War Memorial, and appeared in this Gaumont Graphic Newsreel.

After the war, the family lived in Kinghorn, Fife, where John ran a small goods store. Later they moved to Bonnyrigg, Midlothian (near Edinburgh). After Alice's death in 1931, leaving three young children, the family moved to St Leonard's Lane, Edinburgh, where he worked in the Earl Haig Factory for Disabled ex-Servicemen. John married Hannah Hoggarth later that year, and had three more children. He served in the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers later Home Guard) during World War II. Coping with his disability was a strain which contributed to John's relatively early death.
(Sapper No. 412154, 2459 Royal Engineers, discharged 22 Nov 1918).

1897: he resided at 13, Inglis Street, Glasgow. ³

31 Mar 1901 census: age 3, son of John Lewis at 36, Orchard Street, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland. ⁵

3 Apr 1911 census: age 13, only son of John Lewis at 11, Preston Street, Bridgeton, Lanark, Scotland. ⁶

1915: he worked as a platelayer, also Sapper in RE Territorials when he married Elspeth Beatson ¹

19 Jan 1915: John was married from 17, Nisbet Street, Glasgow (his parents' home). ¹

1917: he worked as a platelayer, Sapper, 2nd Lowland Field Company, Royal Engineers ⁷

1919: John Lewis, (4) worked as a ship's photo printer in Glasgow. ⁸

Bet 1919 and 1949: John Lewis, (4) was a member of BLESMA (British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association), Edinburgh, MLN.

1924: John Lewis, (4) worked as a fancy goods merchant in Kinghorn, Fife. The original of this lovely photograph was taken to New Zealand by my brother, James Beatson Lewis, and is now held by John's grandson JIM LEWIS in New Zealand. ⁹

17 Oct 1931: John was married from 10, St Leonard's Lane, Edinburgh, MLN, Scotland. He and the children had moved into Edinburgh after Elspeth died. ²

1932: John Lewis, (4) worked as an artificial flower maker in Edinburgh, MLN. For most of the 1930s, John worked at the Lady Haig Poppy Factory in Edinburgh, which provided work for wounded ex-servicemen. Although their core product was the poppies sold around Armistice Day, they also produced other goods, including leather handbags. Wages were not high, and to my recollection my mother wore the same coat for many years throughout my childhood. But she always had a beautiful handbag, my Dad said it was top-of-the-range as sold to the Queen! ²

John married Elspeth Mitchell Gray BEATSON [703] [MRIN: 29], daughter of James BEATSON [175] and Janet Suttie "Jessie" GRAY [176], on 19 Jan 1915 in Glasgow.¹ (Elspeth Mitchell Gray BEATSON [703] was born on 17 Jul 1894 in Kinghorn, Fife ¹⁰ and died on 13 Jan 1931 in Edinburgh, MLN ¹¹.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

Abt Apr 1915: Soon after their marriage, John and Alice Lewis took a motherless infant into their home, and brought her up as their eldest child. Elizabeth McFarlane Morwood was born April 5th 1915 to William Morwood and Elizabeth McFarlane. Despite much research, I have been unable to find any blood link between the two families, nor any trace of a formal adoption.

5 Mar 1917: they resided at Viewforth Place, Burntisland Road, Kinghorn, Fife, Scotland. Jackie Lewis was born in Kinghorn, at the home of his maternal grandmother. I'm unsure whether Alice was living there permanently, or had moved to Kinghorn temporarily for the birth of her first child. ⁷

21 Aug 1919: resided with John's parents in 17, Nisbet Street, Glasgow. ⁸

11 Feb 1924: resided when James was born at 1, Burt Avenue, Kinghorn, Fife. In the 1920s, many new housing estates were built in Scotland. Burt Avenue was part of a new estate developed in Kinghorn. A local historian told me that Burt Avenue was the first street to be occupied, perhaps John and Alice's family were given priority because of his war service. ⁹

13 Jan 1931: resided at the time of Alice's death in 1, Garden City Houses, Park Road, Bonnyrigg, MLN, Scotland. During the 1920s, groups of Veterans' homes were built for disabled British ex-Service men and women, and the work continues to the present day, see http://www.veteransscotland.co.uk/members/housing.html. ²

John next married Hannah Abigail HOGGARTH [76] [MRIN: 30], daughter of Stephenson HOGGARTH [422] and Charlotte Annie CLUBLEY [433], on 17 Oct 1931 in Edinburgh, MLN.² (Hannah Abigail HOGGARTH [76] was born on 17 Jan 1909 in Escrick, YKS, England,¹² died on 5 Nov 1992 in Kirkton Dale, Brotton, Yorkshire, England and was buried in Teesside Crematorium, Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

Bet Jun 1931 and Jun 1935: they resided at 10, St Leonard's Lane, Edinburgh, MLN, Scotland. St Leonard's Lane was part of a slum clearance project c.1934. Families were moved to new council (i.e. public) housing estates. Our family went to Northfield.

From 1935 to 1937: they resided at 5, Northfield Gardens, Edinburgh, MLN, Scotland.

From 1937 to 1949: they resided at 42, Northfield Broadway, Edinburgh, MLN, Scotland. After her husband died, Hannah and her three children moved into a flat in Northfield Terrace, then to 8, Northfield Square.