Richard Becher
(1764-1846)
RICHARD BECHER, the eldest son of Richard Becher and Ann Haselby, was born 15th March 1764 and baptised two days later at St Andrews, Holborn. His Godparents were Richard Becher, R. Porter and Anne Haselby.
His father obtained an East India Company nomination for him, and his brother Robert, and they were appointed as Writers on 31st May 1781 with rank from October that year. The three of them went out to India that autumn and Richard joined the Bengal Civil Service. He held several appointments including Commercial Chief at Cossimbazaar in 1783. The records are then incomplete until his appointment as Commercial Resident at Commercolly on 5th March 1790. He was out of employment in 1801 but became Commercial Resident at Bareilly on 16th July 1802; Third Member of the Board of Trade 20th May 1805; Acting Salt Agent of Tumlook 28th October 1808 and Salt Agent at Tumlook on 26th January 1809. He resigned on 30th January 1815 in India.
In 1786 he was described as being 'of Portman Square' when he and his brother John and George Peters (my 5x maternal great grandfather) each donated £21 to the Magdalen Hospital which had been founded a decade earlier just off Blackfriars Road, south east London. This sum also conferred on them the Governorship of the hospital for life.
Richard Becher's visiting card is part of a historical collection at the British Museum and can be seen lower centre in the photo on the left.
He had seven children prior to his marriage with Frances Wyatt of whom the boys were initially given the surname of Stephens and it was only later that Robert made a statutory declaration stating that his sons were in fact true born and 'for very particular reasons' were baptised as Stephens.
He married Frances Wyatt on 12th August 1815 at St Marylebone. She was born about 1773 at Elham, Kent. The local press on 16th February 1815 carried this announcement:
NOTICE is hereby given, that Mr. ROBERT BECHER has admitted Mr. RICHARD BECHER, and his son, Mr. JOHN BECHER, in Partnership, and that the Firm will be Messrs. BECHER & CO. from this date; and it is further hereby notifoed that in consequence of Mr. RICHARD and Mr. ROBERT BECHERS'S intention to return immediately to Europe, the business of the above Firm will, until the return of Mr. ROBERT BECHER, be conducted by Mr. JOHN BECHER, Junior.
RICH. BECHER
ROBT. BECHER,
J. BECHER.
Calcutta, January 21, 1815
He is recorded in the 1841 Census at Speldhurs, Kent, although living at Chancellor House
Richard Becher died 9th April 1846 at his residence at 17 Portland Place, Brighton and was buried there. Frances also died there on 6th February 1855.
The details for all seven children are given below except for Robert Stephens Becher whose details which are here.
John Becher (1791-1842)
Robert Becher (1791-1841
Charlotte Becher (1795-1815)
George (c.1795-1826)
Harriet Becher (1807-1842)
William Augustus Becher (1813-1879)
Sarah Frances (1815-1820)
1. JOHN BECHER was born in 1791 and baptised 27th May 1791 at Burrampore. He was a Merchant and Free Mariner. It is not known when he sailed to England where he had a residence in Penge. He was a member of the United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies and in their directory entry of 1815 John Becher is listed as living at 2 Connaught Place, 9 Cumberland Gate, London. His firm was one of the oldest in the city and was first known as Becher, (G.) Mackintosh & Co. of 7 Clive Street, Ghaut, Calcutta; then Becher, (Henry) Chapman & Co. of 6 Old Court House Street, Calcutta; and then after John Becher's death in 1842 it became Chapman, (Edward Pryce) Griffiths & Co. of 9 Hasting's Street, Calcutta. He was also, with his son Major Robert Becher, a member and shareholder of the Bengal Tea Association in 1839.
He married Emily Foulkes 28th July 1826 at St Mary Bredin, Canterbury. She was the daughter of John Foulkes of Elstead, Surrey. According to John's Will, he set sail for England on or shortly after 9th March 1840. He died 16th March 1842 at Singapore on his passage from Bombay to Calcutta on board the Forth. He was buried there on 16th March 1843.
Back in England, his wife moved to 12 Stanhope Place, London and later married on 16th January 1851 John Leigh Williams at Richmond, Surrey who predeceased her. At the time of her second son's death in 1857, she was living at 3, Westcliff Gardens, Folkestone, Kent. She died 9th October 1870 at Isleworth,
They had six children:
1. Major-General ALFRED BECHER who was born 28th July 1825 at St Pancras, London and was educated at Edward Trimmer's school on Upper Richmond road, Putney, Surrey along with two of his younger brothers. By the time he applied for an East India Company Cadetship on 7th December 1842 his father had died and he was unable to prove his age as there was no entry in the Parish Register so he was deemed to be 'not under 16 or over 22'.
He sailed to India and on 11th Sept 1843 he transhipped at Bombay for Karachi on the steam frigate Auckland. He was a Cornet when he transferred to the 5th Bengal Light Infantry but owing to a shortage of officers he was brought in as a Lieutenant on 28th March 1829.
He summarised his own career in support of his son's later application for a Cadetship:
‘On going out I joined the 8th Regt Bombay N.I. and served with it in Sinde during 43-44 and 45. Also in the Mutiny in 57 and 58 in which year I had to come home with medical certificate from fever contracted from exposure. I proceeded with the same regiment for the Abyssinian Campaign, but being in the last brigade reached too late, and never landed. I was adjutant of this regiment for some years. On the re-organisation of the Native Army about 1861 I obtained the appointment of Second-in-Command of the 8th Regt, came home on furlough in 1871 for about 18 months. Received command of the 26th Regt N.I. in about 1874, which I retained till '77 when ill health obliged me to come home - and owing to failing health was induced to retire from Service in 1878 instead of returning which was my wish in order to obtain full Colonel's allowances at the end of this year which I would have been entitled to (NB I'm unable to give exact dates, not having any records by me). I am most anxious to obtain this cadetship as I cannot afford to meet the high charges that are exacted by those who prepare candidates for the high standard of education now required at the Competitive Examinations - at the same time as having my younger son to educate also.'
He married Caroline Maria Morse 22nd June 1858 at St Mary Abbott's, Kensington by Rev. Philip S. Desprey, the uncle of the bride. She was born in Bombay 11th February 1838 the daughter of Major Henry Charles Morse (8th Regiment, Bombay N.I.) and Penelope Gabriell Desprey. She is in the 1871 Census living at Melbourne House, Chapel Road, Broadwater, Worthing, Sussex with their four children. Alfred was then a Colonel stationed in India. On 12th November 1871 he disembarked at Southampton having sailed from Bombay via Alexandria, Malta and Gibraltar aboard the Poonah. Alfred and his wife are both in the 1881 Census living at Lexington, Beckenham, Kent with their family. In the 1891 Census they are still in Beckenham at Crystal Palace Park Road plus their children Rose, Lily and Percy (this last name appears to be an error as his actual name was Edward). She died in 1894 at Lewisham, London. He died 26th September 1901 at Hawthorndene, Longton Avenue, Sydenham, Kent. His obituary in the Woolwich Gazette recorded that General Alfred Becher, late of the East India Company's service, and of the Bombay Staff Corps, whose death at his residence, Hawthorndene, Longton-avenue, Sydenham was announced last week, entered the East India Army in December, 1812, and obtained the rank of Major in September, 1848, and that of Lieutenant Colonel in December, 1888. He commanded the 18th Bombay Native Infantry, reached the brevet rank of Colonel in December, 1873, and was placed on the Retired List in August, 1878, receiving the honorary rank of Major General in the following November.
There were four children:
1. Rose Blanche Becher born 5th August 1859 at Harvey Villa, Elham, Nr Folkestone, Kent. In 1891 at Lewisham she married Joseph Osborn Grout (1858-1904) on 14th June 1891 at St Philip's, Sydenham. He was born in Standon, Herts, the son of Joseph Grout and Maria Isabella Hippisley, of The Mount, Braughing, Hertfordshire. She died 8th October 1938 then of 4 Longton Avenue, Sydenham and was buried at Elmers End Cemetery.
2. Millie Becher (or Lily) born 9th November 1860 at Sattara, Bombay, India and lived in various parts of S.E. England and died 31st October 1927 at St Margaret's, Twickenham.
3. Edward Alfred Morse Becher born 12th October 1862 Shalapore, Bombay and named after Henry Charles Morse, a Colonel in the Bombay Staff Corps.
He started out as an actor and adopted the professional name of O'Neill Edward and lived at Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea. He ran into financial difficulty after the failure of various theatrical ventures mostly in the provinces. The Times reported bankruptcy proceedings on 9th January 1899 where it stated that he was living at Wharton Road, Kensington and that he had put on an Ibsen play which ran for 30 weeks but made a loss causing the bankruptcy.
The following month, on 25th February 1899 The Times reported that he had incurred a loss of £400 producing the play 'The Red Squadron' and he had contracted liabilities of between £400 and £600 during production of the piece 'No Appeal' which ran for three weeks only. His income had amounted to £240 over the last twelve months as four relatives depended on him for support. It is not known what the conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings were. He went on to appear in more than thirty plays and films between 1911 and 1929.
He married, firstly, Rose Adela Elizabeth Meller on 19th December 1891 at Wandsworth. She was was an actress born 1862 in Lambeth to Thomas Meller and Elizabeth.
A number of her roles were reviewed in The Stage. From 11-15th May, 1891, she played Mrs Elida Wangel in Ibsen's 'Lady from the Sea' (which had been adapted and translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, Kark Marx's daughter) at Terry's theatre in the Strand, London, on part of the site of the present-day Cole Hole pub. She also played the Matinees; her manager was Mr C. St John Denton.
The Echo reported that 'Rather odd paragraphs have been copied from our paper by another relative to the theatrical career of the recently-married Miss Rose Meller. She is stated to have advanced the cause of Ibsen and played a leading part in 'The Doll's House.' Miss Meller was responsible for the production of the Master's 'The Lady from the Lake' at Terry's one afternoon. She was Elida. We have always held that she did the British drama a service on that occasion; but we should not have said she advanced the cult of Ibsen.
From 28th January to 5th March, 1892, she played Lady Isobel in John C. Chute's 'East Lynne' at the Olympic Theatre, Drury Lane, managed by Mr John Cleman. The review said she was 'A young actress who will make her mark. In addition to possessing good looks and voice, there is evident intelligence combined with earnestness and capability expressing the deepest feeling. Mr Edward O'Neill, another promising actor, is good as Levison.'
She was a adherent of the methods of the Frenchman Francois Delsarte who laid stress on the connection between mental attitude and physical posture and how one's emotional state is communicated through one's physical appearance. In 1913 she became a Delsarte teacher at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and published numerous articles on Delsarte's methods in the journal 'Focus' including a major work 'The Science and Art of Speech and Gesture' in 1927.
He, his wife, and daughter are recorded in the 1901 Census living at 125 Keppel Street, Chelsea. In 1911 she wrote the 3-act comedy 'Dick the Benedick.' They divorced in 1917.
He started out as an actor and adopted the professional name of O'Neill Edward and lived at Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea. He ran into financial difficulty after the failure of various theatrical ventures mostly in the provinces. The Times reported bankruptcy proceedings on 9th January 1899 where it stated that he was living at Wharton Road, Kensington and that he had put on an Ibsen play which ran for 30 weeks but made a loss causing the bankruptcy.
The following month, on 25th February 1899 The Times reported that he had incurred a loss of £400 producing the play 'The Red Squadron' and he had contracted liabilities of between £400 and £600 during production of the piece 'No Appeal' which ran for three weeks only. His income had amounted to £240 over the last twelve months as four relatives depended on him for support. It is not known what the conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings were. He went on to appear in more than thirty plays and films between 1911 and 1929.
He married, firstly, Rose Adela Elizabeth Meller on 19th December 1891 at Wandsworth. She was was an actress born 1862 in Lambeth to Thomas Meller and Elizabeth.
A number of her roles were reviewed in The Stage. From 11-15th May, 1891, she played Mrs Elida Wangel in Ibsen's 'Lady from the Sea' (which had been adapted and translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, Kark Marx's daughter) at Terry's theatre in the Strand, London, on part of the site of the present-day Cole Hole pub. She also played the Matinees; her manager was Mr C. St John Denton.
The Echo reported that 'Rather odd paragraphs have been copied from our paper by another relative to the theatrical career of the recently-married Miss Rose Meller. She is stated to have advanced the cause of Ibsen and played a leading part in 'The Doll's House.' Miss Meller was responsible for the production of the Master's 'The Lady from the Lake' at Terry's one afternoon. She was Elida. We have always held that she did the British drama a service on that occasion; but we should not have said she advanced the cult of Ibsen.
From 28th January to 5th March, 1892, she played Lady Isobel in John C. Chute's 'East Lynne' at the Olympic Theatre, Drury Lane, managed by Mr John Cleman. The review said she was 'A young actress who will make her mark. In addition to possessing good looks and voice, there is evident intelligence combined with earnestness and capability expressing the deepest feeling. Mr Edward O'Neill, another promising actor, is good as Levison.'
She was a adherent of the methods of the Frenchman Francois Delsarte who laid stress on the connection between mental attitude and physical posture and how one's emotional state is communicated through one's physical appearance. In 1913 she became a Delsarte teacher at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and published numerous articles on Delsarte's methods in the journal 'Focus' including a major work 'The Science and Art of Speech and Gesture' in 1927.
He, his wife, and daughter are recorded in the 1901 Census living at 125 Keppel Street, Chelsea. In 1911 she wrote the 3-act comedy 'Dick the Benedick.' They divorced in 1917.
There was one child: Olive Daune Becher, seen left, born 18th March 1894 in Kensington, London who was also an actress. In 1920 she sailed to New York on the Adriatic and on the passenger list her next of kin was given as her mother: Mrs O'Neill, c/o T. F. Jephart, Stadion, Chelsea, London whose wife was Elizabeth Florence, nee Chipperfield.. Olive died 22nd April 1966 at Dartmouth, Devon.
This 1917 painting of her by George Washington Lambert, left, was sold at Sotheby's, Australia, for £22,480 in May 2013.
He married, secondly Josephe Mary de Paniagua, daughter of Jean Didier André de Paniagua and Henriette Simard in 1917 at Brentford, Essex. According to the 1936 Electoral Roll he was then living with his second wife at 6 The Barons, St Margaret's, Twickenham. He died 19th August 1938 at Brentford. His second wife died 5th December 1963 at Fulham Hospital then of 4 Longton Avenue, Sydenham. There was one child: Ronald Edward Andre Becher born 7th February 1918 at Brentford. Up to 1985 he was living at Sydenham, south London. He married, firstly, Doris M. Cowdy in 1942 at Lewisham, South London. He married, secondly, Evelyn R. Chipperfield in 1956 at Lewisham. She was born 1929 in Bromley, Kent the daughter of John H. Bruno and Evelyn Style. Ronald died at Taree, NSW 6th January 2005.There was one child by his first wife and three by his second.
4. Percy Morse Becher was born 8th February 1868 at Allahabad, India. In August 1890 he visited Belgium and kept a small Morocco leather bound diary of his journey filling some 150 pages which was sold at Mullock's auction house in Church Stretton, Shropshire, on 17th April 2012 for the hammer price of £20. He died 30th October 1893 aged 26 at Hawthorndene, Longton Avenue, Sydenham.
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2. Richard Adolphus Becher was baptised on 26th October 1826 at Elstead, Surrey and attended Edward Trimmer's school in Upper Richmond road, Putney, as did his brothers John and Alfred.
He married Elizabeth Miller de la Garde 1856 in Exeter. She was born in 1836 in the Channel Islands the second daughter of Philip Chilwell de la Garde and Susan Lempriere of Exeter. She died of cholera at Barrackpore just a year later on 2nd August 1857 aged just twenty-one and was buried there.
He was nominated for an EIC Cadetship by Mr B. Bayley Esq at the recommendation of Mr A.V. Bayley Esq. He became an Ensign on 28th December 1842 and arrived at Fort William and was admitted to the Service on 27th May 1843 and was posted to the 48th Native Infantry. He was promoted Lt 14th June 1843 and posted to the 43rd Battalion N.I. Sadly, for reasons unknown – but perhaps after the death of his only daughter and following the death of his wife - he committed suicide on 2nd September 1857 and was buried at Barrackpore. There was one child: Emily 'Millie' Harriet Becher born 3rd April 1857 who died on 21st July 1857.
3. John Foulkes Becher was born in 1829 and attended the same school in Upper Richmond road, Putney as his two elder brothers Alfred and Richard.
He was nominated for an EIC Cadetship and was appointed Ensign on 27th April 1849 and was promoted to Lieutenant with the 2nd West India Regt on 17th August 1852. He died on 2nd January 1871 at Penge but formerly of 2 Spring Villas, Woodlands, Isleworth and was buried at Norwood Cemetery.
4. Charles Wade Becher was born about 1831 and baptised 25th April 1831 at the British Chapel, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Nothing further is known about him.
5. Trevor George Becher was born 23rd February 1834 in Calcutta and attended school at Brighthelmstone, Brighton, as did his twin brother James. He married Victoria Janette Sergison on 7th June 1866 at Slaugham, West Sussex. She was born 27th February 1840 in Brighton the daughter of Rev William Thomas Sergison of Slaugham and Janette E. Ives. He was in business by the time of the 1891 Census when he gives his occupation as 'Cocoa Nut Matting Manufacturer' living at 9 Farnan road, Streatham. In May 1894 a notice appeared in the London Gazette stating he was trading with his son as T. Beacher & Son (Trevor St John Becher) as Cocoa Nut Mat and Matting Manufacturers of 148 Ormside Street, Old Kent Road, London and now residing at 9 Farnan Road, Streatham, Surrey when bankruptcy proceedings were begun. He died 31st August 1904 at 4 Vale Place, Epsom Road, Guildford. She died 7th March 1909.
His obituary in The West Surrey Times reads: We regret to record the death of Mr. Trevor George Becher, which occurred at his residence, 4, Vale Place, Epsom Road, on Wednesday evening, after a lingering illness. The deceased gentleman, who was 70 years of age at the time of his death, had only resided in Guildford for about 24 years, having previously lived at Bournemouth. Mr. Becher lived a retired life. He leaves a widow, a daughter and two sons to mourn their loss. The interment takes place tomorrow, Saturday, at Stoughton Cemetery.
The chief mourners at his funeral, which was officiated by the Rev. C. E. Nuttall and the Rev. St John Methuen (cousin), were Mr St John Becher (son), Miss Maude Becher (daughter), Miss Methuen (cousin), Col. Keller and the nurse who attended him. There were many floral tributes.
There were three children:
1. Trevor St John Becher was born 31st May 1867 at Willingdon, Eastbourne. By 1881 he had became a Civil Engineer but by the 1891 Census he was in business with Charles John Jones trading as C.J. Jones & Co. of 104 The Broadway, Plaistow, Essex and 148 Ormside Street, Old Kent road, London. The partnership was dissolved on 9th March 1891. He married Elsie Amos in 1914 at Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire. He died in 1927 at Fylde, Lancashire.
The West Surrey Times stated that 'We regret to record the death of Mr Trevor George Becher, which occurred at his residence, 4. Vale Place, Epsom Road, on Wednesday evening, after a lingering illness. The deceased gentleman, who was 70 years of age at the time of his death, had only resided in Guildford for about 24 years, having previously lived at Bournemouth. Mr. Becher lived a retired life. He leaves a widow. A daughter and two sons to mourn their loss. The internment takes place tomorrow, Saturday, at Stoughton Cemetery.'
His wife died in 1935 at Southport and later married Paul L. Jobin in 1931 at Ormskirk, Lancashire. There were no children of her first marriage.
2. William Francis Gordon Becher was born 8th June 1875, Kensington, London. By the 1891 Census he was a Clerk to a firm of Electrical Engineers. He married the twice-widowed Elizabeth Mary Lawrence 5th June 1910 at the Registry Office, Birmingham She was born 1868 in Datchet, the daughter of Mr Mark Clench. At the time of their marriage they were both actors living at 56 Bath Row, Birmingham and on his marriage certificate he is recorded as being of 'independent means'. He died on 1st December 1910 at St John's Mansions, Clapton Square, Clapton, Middlesex. She died in 1914 at Chorlton, Lancashire.
3. Maud Janette Becher was born 9th February 1872 at Cuckfield, West Sussex and died 1st January 1954 aged 81 at Worthing, West Sussex..
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6. James Pattle Becher was born 23rd February 1834 at Calcutta and attended the same school at Brightelmstone as his twin brother Trevor. He was a Civil Engineer. He married Sage Halse Ley on 3rd September 1862, at St James’ Church, Exeter. She was born 1837 in Bangalore the daughter of the late Col. John Morgan Ley of the Madras Horse Artillery and of 'Pennsylvania', Exeter. She died 6th August 1888 aged 51 at Wandsworth, Surrey. He died 19th December 1888 then of 118 Sandmere Road, Clapham, Surrey.
There were two children:
1. Col Cecil Morgan Ley Becher DSO was born 9th July 1870 at 1 Melbourne Terrace, Dulwich, road, Penge, Surrey. He was educated at Christ's Hospital Hertford School, Hertford St John, Hertford under Rev. John T. Bell, Schoolmaster, and at Christ's Hospital, Surrey. Joined the Antrim Rifles (4th Militia Battalion Royal Irish Rifles) 1898; 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles 1900; accompanied the Imperial Representative Corps to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania 1900-1; served S. African War operations in Orange River Colony Jan 1901-31st May 1902;1901-2 (Queen's Medal & 4 Clasps); Adjutant 5th Bn the King's (Liverpool) Regt (formerly the 1st Lancashire Rifles) 1910-13; proceeded to France with 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles August 1914; present at the Battles of Mons, the Marne, and Aisne (twice wounded at latter); 2nd Battle of Ypres (wounded at Bellewarde, 16th June 16 1915); assumed command of 6th (S) Bn Royal Irish Rifles in Serbia 1915; appointed to the command, 1916: Macedonia and Palestine, 1916-18; appointed to command the 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles, October 6, 1918 to 31st March 1919. Mentioned in Despatches twice and was awarded the DSO in 1917 and the Officer de l'Ordre de Leopold et la Croix de Guerre-Belge on 24th October 1919.
He married Winifred Grantham Page, 30th January 1917 at St Peters, Cranley Gardens, Kensington, the only dau of Ernest Page KC, Recorder of Carlisle and Ethel Grace Grantham. She was born 13th April 1890 in Kensington and died 24th October 1972 at Greenwich.
On 9th April 1934 he had this letter published in The Times headed 'Portmantologisms':
Sir, Coined many years before the disease obtruded itself, and of estimable value when indignation demands expression on viewing the creeping sickness across the face of beauty, that master of language, Rudyard Kipling, enriched our vocabulary with "Perfectly Bungaloathsome."
Lt.Col. C.M. Ley Becher,
Holybourne,
Alton,
Hants
April 8, 1934
Col. Cecil Morgan Ley Becher died on 3rd July 1952 at Bromley, Kent. There was one child: Rev Ernest Page Becher, Catholic Priest, who was born 17th July 1921 at Glenhurst Cottage, Esher, Surrey. By 1982 he was at the Holy Cross Presbytery, 27 The Slade, Plumstead Common, London SE1. He died 2nd July 2009 at Kennington, London and was buried at St Peters Residential Chapel, London SW8.
2. Evelyn Eliza Ley Becher was born 5th January 1873 at Anerley Park, Norwood, Surrey and died 15th February 1873 aged just 6 weeks and 5 days and was buried there.
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7. William St John Becher was born 19th October 1835 at Calcutta and died there on 30th January 1836. In the South Park Street Burial Ground, Calcutta, there is a memorial to him inscribed: 'In memory of William St John, infant son of Jno and Emily Becher died 30th January 1836 aged 3 months, 11 days.'
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2. ROBERT BECHER was born in January 1791 and baptised at Burrampore, Bengal, 27th May that year. He was nominated by Charles Grant on the recommendation of his father and was admitted to the HEIC on 21st August 1806. His records show that he 'passed a very good examination in Persian and Hindoostani' and Major Raban reported him 'qualified to join the Army' and 'praises his assiduity.'
He held the post of Adjutant to the 10th Battalion Native Infantry from 1811-1818. He was given a reward by the Court for his meritorious conduct in executing a work for 860 Rupees which Captain Hyde had estimated would cost 10,249 Rupees. He was appointed Quartermaster of the 1st Infantry Brigade and Nagpur Subsidiary Force. In 1820 he was directed to proceed to the Dooab for a Road Survey and was later placed under the orders of Brigadier General Donkin at Dacca.
A letter of his, expressing his concern for his sister survives in the Indian Archives though some words are illegible:
Camp Meerapoor April 4th 1836
My dear Colonel
Accept me earnest thanks for your two ?? of the 24th ultimo. Whether I gain my object or fail in it, to you I shall ever feel equally indebted for the very kind and friendly interest you have shown in my behalf. Most willingly and happily would I adopt your plan of leaving my sister at Simla and returning to ?? it was a measure which occurred to me before I include my application for leave - but - I know/knew ? there with whom I could make such an arrangement. And my sister's case is such that requires far more nursing and attendance than a mere acquaintance would devote to her. As said before, hers is a case of life or death and unless her husband could be with her I would not leave her for the world. I have replied to Colonel Lumley's letter by this opportunity in the way you have kindly suggested and I was almost adding another paragraph to it bringing to H. Fane's notice that if I can put in General Orders for leave although I should lose half my staff salary. I shall have to do my work precisely the same as if I were at Kurnaul. I have been too well drilled in the world sense to be particularly sanguine or anxious about any worldly matter but I confess I am inclined to think that Sir Henry Fane* will not allow your kind exertions in my behalf to be overlooked if he can possibly help it.
Once more I tender you my grateful thanks. And remain My dear Colonel.
Yours sincerely
Robt. Becher
P.S. The Doctors made me start another ....? ....? they send? there and not a day and nor an hour to be lost in conveying my sister to Simla, they onjected ...? decidedly to her travelling dawk.
*Sir Henry Fane had been Commander-in-CHief, India. He died in 1840 aged 61.
In 1840 he was appointed Quartermaster General of the force to be sent East. In reporting the military operation before reaching Canton in May 1841 Sir Hugh Gough observed that: 'I will here state and with sincere sorrow that Major Becher deputy QMG a most estimable and willing officer whose services throughout the previous operations were as creditable to him and they were satisfactory to me fell (13 May) by my side from over exertion and expired in a few minutes.' Capt Sir H. Le Fleming Senhouse said that ‘the two officers who had fallen, Major Becher and a very old officer who had served ably in the Burmese War (and Lieut Fox) have merited the regret of all by their character and services.’
He married Elizabeth Oomdan (a local woman) 22nd September 1835 at Lucknow. She died on 15th September 1860 and was buried in the Old Cemetery, Gauhati, Assam and her son erected a memorial to her with the epitaph: 'Sacred to the memory of Mrs Elizabeth Becher, widow of Major Robert Becher assistant Quarter Master of the Bengal Army. Who (she) departed this life at Gauhate (sic) on 13th September 1860 in the Blessed hope of a joyful resurrection. This monument in remembrance of his most kind and attached mother was erected by her affectionate son William.'
There were three children:
1. Henry William Becher was born 26th July 1813 and baptised at Cawnpore on 22nd February 1814. Nothing further is known about him except that he died in 1860 or later.
2. Charlotte Elizabeth Corbyn Becher was born 1st May1816 at Fort William. She married Major-General Augustus Abbott on 14th September 1835 at Kurnaul. After his wife's death he married Sophia Frances Garstin in 1843. Charlotte died 26th June 1839 at Mussorie aged twenty-three. Augustus Abbott was the brother of Captain James Abbott who John Read Becher took over from in the Hazara, India.
3. Robert Becher was born c.1822 and married Elizabeth Hulbert on 11th March 1847 at Calcutta Cathedral. She was the daughter of George William Hulbert of Queens County. Robert died 7th July 1847 aged just twenty-five at Gauhate, Assam, barely four months after their wedding. His widow erected a memorial for him which reads: 'Sacred to the memory of Robert Becher, Esq., aged 25 years and ten months. This monument to his lamented loss erected by is bereaved widow.' His wife gave birth to a son, Frederick Becher, on 21st December 1847 who died 22nd July 1848 at Lahore.
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3. CHARLOTTE BECHER was born 1795 at Moidipore, Bengal and died 14th July 1818 at Cawnpore and buried at South Park Cemetery, Calcutta. Her epitaph reads: 'Cut down like a flower. In the midst of life we are in death. Sacred to the memory of Charlotte Becher who departed this life on the 14th day of July AD 1818, at the early age of 23 years. Ye who here tread here the gay fantastic round of pleasures dear delights, one moment pause. Behold the record of the young, the gay, the innocent, laid low in kindred dust, and oh! Reflect how short, how frail the thread of human life & learn to live that you may die to God.’
4. GEORGE BECHER was born 1795 at Moidipore, Bengal and died in 1826 in India.
5. HARRIET BECHER was born 22nd September 1807 at Calcutta and married Captain Charles Scott on 21st September 1835 at Karnaul, Bengal. He was the son of David Scott, Commissioner and Judge of Usan, Angus, Scotland, and served in the 27th Native Infantry. He was born in 1817 and died in Dacca in 1847 and this memorial was erected at Usan, Craig Parish, Angus in his and his wife's memory: Capt. CHARLES SCOTT, son of DAVID, died Dacca, 1847. Also his wife, HARRIET BECHER. HARRIET (Emily) FRANCES (their daughter) and wife of Joseph Orpe BROOKHOUSE MRCP, interred Nottingham 1913. She died 23rd February 1842 at Jessore, India. There were two children.
6. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BECHER was born 31st March 1813 at Calcutta.
He married his cousin Louisa Elizabeth Becher on 23rd April 1853 at St Mary's, West Brompton, Kensington. She was born in 1827, the daughter John Becher and Mary Ann Lefevre.
He is in the 1861 Census with his wife living at Woodbridge road, Stoke next Guildford, Surrey with their three daughters, their son, his niece Harriet Emily Frances Scott and his mother-in-law Mary Ann Becher (née Lefevre). From 1863 they lived for a time at 13 Sillwood Place, Brighton but in 1866 the lease was put up for sale at £84 p.a. By the 1871 Census they were all living at 26 Park Crescent, Brighton plus his sister-in-law Emma Becher. The year 1879 was not a good one for the family. First, William died on 10th March then his wife died on 13th March only to be just out-lived by his mother-in-law who died 1st June 1879.
There were six children:
1. An unnamed son born prematurely and stillborn on 15th December 1853 at Brighton.
2. Emily Helen (or Ellen) Becher born 9th March 1855 at Brompton, West Kensington who married Thomas William Davidson on 26th April 1877 at St Peter's, Brighton. The bride was attired in cream coloured satin with orange blossoms, and was given away by her father. He was born in 1852 in Kensington, London, the son of Thomas Davidson of Albury Villa, West Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight. In the 1881 Census both Emily and Thomas had no occupation and were living at 37 Hogarth Road, Earl's Court, London a boarding house run by a Mary L. Frances. By 1891 he was a Second Division Clerk with the Post Office and by the 1911 Census they were living at 74 Sinclair Road, Kensington with a Housekeeper and Servant. She died 2nd July 1931 at Hammersmith, London. He died in 1906 at Brighton, Sussex.
3. Augusta (Lizzie) Becher was born in 1857 at Brompton, West Kensington, London. In the 1881 Census she was staying with her aunt Emma Becher at 66 Springfield Road, Preston, Brighton, Sussex. In the 1901 Census she was living at 36 Warwick Road, Earl's Court, London and was described as an Artist/Painter. Her aunt, Emma Becher, was also staying with her. The Western Morning News reported that 'In 1892 she completed a portrait of Miss Stella Maris, a cabaret dancer, then appearing at the Criterion Theatre. She's better known in the artistic and journalistic world as 'Alma.' 'Alma' excels in the happy knack of catching an instant likeness, as her many pen and ink theatrical sketches prove. In her pastel work she shews that sane desirable faculty, and her colouring is delightfully soft and life-like.' She died in 1908 in Hendon, Middlesex.
4. Mary Louisa Sage Becher was born 5th March 1860 at Woodbridge Villa, Guildford, Surrey. She married twice, firstly Mountiford Henry Hay in 1888 in Marylebone, London. He was born 10th June 1866 in Westminster the son of Mountiford David Hay and Eliza Kernage and it is not known when he died. Secondly, Edward Oxenford in 1907 at Hendon. He was born in 1848 and became a Lyric Author and died in Aylesbury, Wiltshire, in 1929. She died there in 1937.
This 1917 painting of her by George Washington Lambert, left, was sold at Sotheby's, Australia, for £22,480 in May 2013.
He married, secondly Josephe Mary de Paniagua, daughter of Jean Didier André de Paniagua and Henriette Simard in 1917 at Brentford, Essex. According to the 1936 Electoral Roll he was then living with his second wife at 6 The Barons, St Margaret's, Twickenham. He died 19th August 1938 at Brentford. His second wife died 5th December 1963 at Fulham Hospital then of 4 Longton Avenue, Sydenham. There was one child: Ronald Edward Andre Becher born 7th February 1918 at Brentford. Up to 1985 he was living at Sydenham, south London. He married, firstly, Doris M. Cowdy in 1942 at Lewisham, South London. He married, secondly, Evelyn R. Chipperfield in 1956 at Lewisham. She was born 1929 in Bromley, Kent the daughter of John H. Bruno and Evelyn Style. Ronald died at Taree, NSW 6th January 2005.There was one child by his first wife and three by his second.
4. Percy Morse Becher was born 8th February 1868 at Allahabad, India. In August 1890 he visited Belgium and kept a small Morocco leather bound diary of his journey filling some 150 pages which was sold at Mullock's auction house in Church Stretton, Shropshire, on 17th April 2012 for the hammer price of £20. He died 30th October 1893 aged 26 at Hawthorndene, Longton Avenue, Sydenham.
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2. Richard Adolphus Becher was baptised on 26th October 1826 at Elstead, Surrey and attended Edward Trimmer's school in Upper Richmond road, Putney, as did his brothers John and Alfred.
He married Elizabeth Miller de la Garde 1856 in Exeter. She was born in 1836 in the Channel Islands the second daughter of Philip Chilwell de la Garde and Susan Lempriere of Exeter. She died of cholera at Barrackpore just a year later on 2nd August 1857 aged just twenty-one and was buried there.
He was nominated for an EIC Cadetship by Mr B. Bayley Esq at the recommendation of Mr A.V. Bayley Esq. He became an Ensign on 28th December 1842 and arrived at Fort William and was admitted to the Service on 27th May 1843 and was posted to the 48th Native Infantry. He was promoted Lt 14th June 1843 and posted to the 43rd Battalion N.I. Sadly, for reasons unknown – but perhaps after the death of his only daughter and following the death of his wife - he committed suicide on 2nd September 1857 and was buried at Barrackpore. There was one child: Emily 'Millie' Harriet Becher born 3rd April 1857 who died on 21st July 1857.
3. John Foulkes Becher was born in 1829 and attended the same school in Upper Richmond road, Putney as his two elder brothers Alfred and Richard.
He was nominated for an EIC Cadetship and was appointed Ensign on 27th April 1849 and was promoted to Lieutenant with the 2nd West India Regt on 17th August 1852. He died on 2nd January 1871 at Penge but formerly of 2 Spring Villas, Woodlands, Isleworth and was buried at Norwood Cemetery.
4. Charles Wade Becher was born about 1831 and baptised 25th April 1831 at the British Chapel, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Nothing further is known about him.
5. Trevor George Becher was born 23rd February 1834 in Calcutta and attended school at Brighthelmstone, Brighton, as did his twin brother James. He married Victoria Janette Sergison on 7th June 1866 at Slaugham, West Sussex. She was born 27th February 1840 in Brighton the daughter of Rev William Thomas Sergison of Slaugham and Janette E. Ives. He was in business by the time of the 1891 Census when he gives his occupation as 'Cocoa Nut Matting Manufacturer' living at 9 Farnan road, Streatham. In May 1894 a notice appeared in the London Gazette stating he was trading with his son as T. Beacher & Son (Trevor St John Becher) as Cocoa Nut Mat and Matting Manufacturers of 148 Ormside Street, Old Kent Road, London and now residing at 9 Farnan Road, Streatham, Surrey when bankruptcy proceedings were begun. He died 31st August 1904 at 4 Vale Place, Epsom Road, Guildford. She died 7th March 1909.
His obituary in The West Surrey Times reads: We regret to record the death of Mr. Trevor George Becher, which occurred at his residence, 4, Vale Place, Epsom Road, on Wednesday evening, after a lingering illness. The deceased gentleman, who was 70 years of age at the time of his death, had only resided in Guildford for about 24 years, having previously lived at Bournemouth. Mr. Becher lived a retired life. He leaves a widow, a daughter and two sons to mourn their loss. The interment takes place tomorrow, Saturday, at Stoughton Cemetery.
The chief mourners at his funeral, which was officiated by the Rev. C. E. Nuttall and the Rev. St John Methuen (cousin), were Mr St John Becher (son), Miss Maude Becher (daughter), Miss Methuen (cousin), Col. Keller and the nurse who attended him. There were many floral tributes.
There were three children:
1. Trevor St John Becher was born 31st May 1867 at Willingdon, Eastbourne. By 1881 he had became a Civil Engineer but by the 1891 Census he was in business with Charles John Jones trading as C.J. Jones & Co. of 104 The Broadway, Plaistow, Essex and 148 Ormside Street, Old Kent road, London. The partnership was dissolved on 9th March 1891. He married Elsie Amos in 1914 at Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire. He died in 1927 at Fylde, Lancashire.
The West Surrey Times stated that 'We regret to record the death of Mr Trevor George Becher, which occurred at his residence, 4. Vale Place, Epsom Road, on Wednesday evening, after a lingering illness. The deceased gentleman, who was 70 years of age at the time of his death, had only resided in Guildford for about 24 years, having previously lived at Bournemouth. Mr. Becher lived a retired life. He leaves a widow. A daughter and two sons to mourn their loss. The internment takes place tomorrow, Saturday, at Stoughton Cemetery.'
His wife died in 1935 at Southport and later married Paul L. Jobin in 1931 at Ormskirk, Lancashire. There were no children of her first marriage.
2. William Francis Gordon Becher was born 8th June 1875, Kensington, London. By the 1891 Census he was a Clerk to a firm of Electrical Engineers. He married the twice-widowed Elizabeth Mary Lawrence 5th June 1910 at the Registry Office, Birmingham She was born 1868 in Datchet, the daughter of Mr Mark Clench. At the time of their marriage they were both actors living at 56 Bath Row, Birmingham and on his marriage certificate he is recorded as being of 'independent means'. He died on 1st December 1910 at St John's Mansions, Clapton Square, Clapton, Middlesex. She died in 1914 at Chorlton, Lancashire.
3. Maud Janette Becher was born 9th February 1872 at Cuckfield, West Sussex and died 1st January 1954 aged 81 at Worthing, West Sussex..
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6. James Pattle Becher was born 23rd February 1834 at Calcutta and attended the same school at Brightelmstone as his twin brother Trevor. He was a Civil Engineer. He married Sage Halse Ley on 3rd September 1862, at St James’ Church, Exeter. She was born 1837 in Bangalore the daughter of the late Col. John Morgan Ley of the Madras Horse Artillery and of 'Pennsylvania', Exeter. She died 6th August 1888 aged 51 at Wandsworth, Surrey. He died 19th December 1888 then of 118 Sandmere Road, Clapham, Surrey.
There were two children:
1. Col Cecil Morgan Ley Becher DSO was born 9th July 1870 at 1 Melbourne Terrace, Dulwich, road, Penge, Surrey. He was educated at Christ's Hospital Hertford School, Hertford St John, Hertford under Rev. John T. Bell, Schoolmaster, and at Christ's Hospital, Surrey. Joined the Antrim Rifles (4th Militia Battalion Royal Irish Rifles) 1898; 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles 1900; accompanied the Imperial Representative Corps to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania 1900-1; served S. African War operations in Orange River Colony Jan 1901-31st May 1902;1901-2 (Queen's Medal & 4 Clasps); Adjutant 5th Bn the King's (Liverpool) Regt (formerly the 1st Lancashire Rifles) 1910-13; proceeded to France with 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles August 1914; present at the Battles of Mons, the Marne, and Aisne (twice wounded at latter); 2nd Battle of Ypres (wounded at Bellewarde, 16th June 16 1915); assumed command of 6th (S) Bn Royal Irish Rifles in Serbia 1915; appointed to the command, 1916: Macedonia and Palestine, 1916-18; appointed to command the 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles, October 6, 1918 to 31st March 1919. Mentioned in Despatches twice and was awarded the DSO in 1917 and the Officer de l'Ordre de Leopold et la Croix de Guerre-Belge on 24th October 1919.
He married Winifred Grantham Page, 30th January 1917 at St Peters, Cranley Gardens, Kensington, the only dau of Ernest Page KC, Recorder of Carlisle and Ethel Grace Grantham. She was born 13th April 1890 in Kensington and died 24th October 1972 at Greenwich.
On 9th April 1934 he had this letter published in The Times headed 'Portmantologisms':
Sir, Coined many years before the disease obtruded itself, and of estimable value when indignation demands expression on viewing the creeping sickness across the face of beauty, that master of language, Rudyard Kipling, enriched our vocabulary with "Perfectly Bungaloathsome."
Lt.Col. C.M. Ley Becher,
Holybourne,
Alton,
Hants
April 8, 1934
Col. Cecil Morgan Ley Becher died on 3rd July 1952 at Bromley, Kent. There was one child: Rev Ernest Page Becher, Catholic Priest, who was born 17th July 1921 at Glenhurst Cottage, Esher, Surrey. By 1982 he was at the Holy Cross Presbytery, 27 The Slade, Plumstead Common, London SE1. He died 2nd July 2009 at Kennington, London and was buried at St Peters Residential Chapel, London SW8.
2. Evelyn Eliza Ley Becher was born 5th January 1873 at Anerley Park, Norwood, Surrey and died 15th February 1873 aged just 6 weeks and 5 days and was buried there.
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7. William St John Becher was born 19th October 1835 at Calcutta and died there on 30th January 1836. In the South Park Street Burial Ground, Calcutta, there is a memorial to him inscribed: 'In memory of William St John, infant son of Jno and Emily Becher died 30th January 1836 aged 3 months, 11 days.'
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2. ROBERT BECHER was born in January 1791 and baptised at Burrampore, Bengal, 27th May that year. He was nominated by Charles Grant on the recommendation of his father and was admitted to the HEIC on 21st August 1806. His records show that he 'passed a very good examination in Persian and Hindoostani' and Major Raban reported him 'qualified to join the Army' and 'praises his assiduity.'
He held the post of Adjutant to the 10th Battalion Native Infantry from 1811-1818. He was given a reward by the Court for his meritorious conduct in executing a work for 860 Rupees which Captain Hyde had estimated would cost 10,249 Rupees. He was appointed Quartermaster of the 1st Infantry Brigade and Nagpur Subsidiary Force. In 1820 he was directed to proceed to the Dooab for a Road Survey and was later placed under the orders of Brigadier General Donkin at Dacca.
A letter of his, expressing his concern for his sister survives in the Indian Archives though some words are illegible:
Camp Meerapoor April 4th 1836
My dear Colonel
Accept me earnest thanks for your two ?? of the 24th ultimo. Whether I gain my object or fail in it, to you I shall ever feel equally indebted for the very kind and friendly interest you have shown in my behalf. Most willingly and happily would I adopt your plan of leaving my sister at Simla and returning to ?? it was a measure which occurred to me before I include my application for leave - but - I know/knew ? there with whom I could make such an arrangement. And my sister's case is such that requires far more nursing and attendance than a mere acquaintance would devote to her. As said before, hers is a case of life or death and unless her husband could be with her I would not leave her for the world. I have replied to Colonel Lumley's letter by this opportunity in the way you have kindly suggested and I was almost adding another paragraph to it bringing to H. Fane's notice that if I can put in General Orders for leave although I should lose half my staff salary. I shall have to do my work precisely the same as if I were at Kurnaul. I have been too well drilled in the world sense to be particularly sanguine or anxious about any worldly matter but I confess I am inclined to think that Sir Henry Fane* will not allow your kind exertions in my behalf to be overlooked if he can possibly help it.
Once more I tender you my grateful thanks. And remain My dear Colonel.
Yours sincerely
Robt. Becher
P.S. The Doctors made me start another ....? ....? they send? there and not a day and nor an hour to be lost in conveying my sister to Simla, they onjected ...? decidedly to her travelling dawk.
*Sir Henry Fane had been Commander-in-CHief, India. He died in 1840 aged 61.
In 1840 he was appointed Quartermaster General of the force to be sent East. In reporting the military operation before reaching Canton in May 1841 Sir Hugh Gough observed that: 'I will here state and with sincere sorrow that Major Becher deputy QMG a most estimable and willing officer whose services throughout the previous operations were as creditable to him and they were satisfactory to me fell (13 May) by my side from over exertion and expired in a few minutes.' Capt Sir H. Le Fleming Senhouse said that ‘the two officers who had fallen, Major Becher and a very old officer who had served ably in the Burmese War (and Lieut Fox) have merited the regret of all by their character and services.’
He married Elizabeth Oomdan (a local woman) 22nd September 1835 at Lucknow. She died on 15th September 1860 and was buried in the Old Cemetery, Gauhati, Assam and her son erected a memorial to her with the epitaph: 'Sacred to the memory of Mrs Elizabeth Becher, widow of Major Robert Becher assistant Quarter Master of the Bengal Army. Who (she) departed this life at Gauhate (sic) on 13th September 1860 in the Blessed hope of a joyful resurrection. This monument in remembrance of his most kind and attached mother was erected by her affectionate son William.'
There were three children:
1. Henry William Becher was born 26th July 1813 and baptised at Cawnpore on 22nd February 1814. Nothing further is known about him except that he died in 1860 or later.
2. Charlotte Elizabeth Corbyn Becher was born 1st May1816 at Fort William. She married Major-General Augustus Abbott on 14th September 1835 at Kurnaul. After his wife's death he married Sophia Frances Garstin in 1843. Charlotte died 26th June 1839 at Mussorie aged twenty-three. Augustus Abbott was the brother of Captain James Abbott who John Read Becher took over from in the Hazara, India.
3. Robert Becher was born c.1822 and married Elizabeth Hulbert on 11th March 1847 at Calcutta Cathedral. She was the daughter of George William Hulbert of Queens County. Robert died 7th July 1847 aged just twenty-five at Gauhate, Assam, barely four months after their wedding. His widow erected a memorial for him which reads: 'Sacred to the memory of Robert Becher, Esq., aged 25 years and ten months. This monument to his lamented loss erected by is bereaved widow.' His wife gave birth to a son, Frederick Becher, on 21st December 1847 who died 22nd July 1848 at Lahore.
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3. CHARLOTTE BECHER was born 1795 at Moidipore, Bengal and died 14th July 1818 at Cawnpore and buried at South Park Cemetery, Calcutta. Her epitaph reads: 'Cut down like a flower. In the midst of life we are in death. Sacred to the memory of Charlotte Becher who departed this life on the 14th day of July AD 1818, at the early age of 23 years. Ye who here tread here the gay fantastic round of pleasures dear delights, one moment pause. Behold the record of the young, the gay, the innocent, laid low in kindred dust, and oh! Reflect how short, how frail the thread of human life & learn to live that you may die to God.’
4. GEORGE BECHER was born 1795 at Moidipore, Bengal and died in 1826 in India.
5. HARRIET BECHER was born 22nd September 1807 at Calcutta and married Captain Charles Scott on 21st September 1835 at Karnaul, Bengal. He was the son of David Scott, Commissioner and Judge of Usan, Angus, Scotland, and served in the 27th Native Infantry. He was born in 1817 and died in Dacca in 1847 and this memorial was erected at Usan, Craig Parish, Angus in his and his wife's memory: Capt. CHARLES SCOTT, son of DAVID, died Dacca, 1847. Also his wife, HARRIET BECHER. HARRIET (Emily) FRANCES (their daughter) and wife of Joseph Orpe BROOKHOUSE MRCP, interred Nottingham 1913. She died 23rd February 1842 at Jessore, India. There were two children.
6. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BECHER was born 31st March 1813 at Calcutta.
He married his cousin Louisa Elizabeth Becher on 23rd April 1853 at St Mary's, West Brompton, Kensington. She was born in 1827, the daughter John Becher and Mary Ann Lefevre.
He is in the 1861 Census with his wife living at Woodbridge road, Stoke next Guildford, Surrey with their three daughters, their son, his niece Harriet Emily Frances Scott and his mother-in-law Mary Ann Becher (née Lefevre). From 1863 they lived for a time at 13 Sillwood Place, Brighton but in 1866 the lease was put up for sale at £84 p.a. By the 1871 Census they were all living at 26 Park Crescent, Brighton plus his sister-in-law Emma Becher. The year 1879 was not a good one for the family. First, William died on 10th March then his wife died on 13th March only to be just out-lived by his mother-in-law who died 1st June 1879.
There were six children:
1. An unnamed son born prematurely and stillborn on 15th December 1853 at Brighton.
2. Emily Helen (or Ellen) Becher born 9th March 1855 at Brompton, West Kensington who married Thomas William Davidson on 26th April 1877 at St Peter's, Brighton. The bride was attired in cream coloured satin with orange blossoms, and was given away by her father. He was born in 1852 in Kensington, London, the son of Thomas Davidson of Albury Villa, West Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight. In the 1881 Census both Emily and Thomas had no occupation and were living at 37 Hogarth Road, Earl's Court, London a boarding house run by a Mary L. Frances. By 1891 he was a Second Division Clerk with the Post Office and by the 1911 Census they were living at 74 Sinclair Road, Kensington with a Housekeeper and Servant. She died 2nd July 1931 at Hammersmith, London. He died in 1906 at Brighton, Sussex.
3. Augusta (Lizzie) Becher was born in 1857 at Brompton, West Kensington, London. In the 1881 Census she was staying with her aunt Emma Becher at 66 Springfield Road, Preston, Brighton, Sussex. In the 1901 Census she was living at 36 Warwick Road, Earl's Court, London and was described as an Artist/Painter. Her aunt, Emma Becher, was also staying with her. The Western Morning News reported that 'In 1892 she completed a portrait of Miss Stella Maris, a cabaret dancer, then appearing at the Criterion Theatre. She's better known in the artistic and journalistic world as 'Alma.' 'Alma' excels in the happy knack of catching an instant likeness, as her many pen and ink theatrical sketches prove. In her pastel work she shews that sane desirable faculty, and her colouring is delightfully soft and life-like.' She died in 1908 in Hendon, Middlesex.
4. Mary Louisa Sage Becher was born 5th March 1860 at Woodbridge Villa, Guildford, Surrey. She married twice, firstly Mountiford Henry Hay in 1888 in Marylebone, London. He was born 10th June 1866 in Westminster the son of Mountiford David Hay and Eliza Kernage and it is not known when he died. Secondly, Edward Oxenford in 1907 at Hendon. He was born in 1848 and became a Lyric Author and died in Aylesbury, Wiltshire, in 1929. She died there in 1937.
There was one child:
Phyllis Maude Hay was born 6th March 1889 in London. She was an actress who used the stage name Lavender Leigh. She is seen in the photo, below, taken by Bassano on 5th November 1920, which is in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
She married Capt. Raymond Seaton Dane MC, an Engineer, in 1915 at Preston, Lancashire. He served as a Private in the Army Service Corps then as a Corporal in the Royal Scots and was then commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Lancashire Regiment in WW1 where he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during an enemy attack. He died in 1965 in South Africa. She died in 1974 at a home for retired actors in Islington, London. There were three children including: 1. Raymond Leslie Leigh was born 3rd June 1912 at Holborn who married Lilian F. Horlock in 1934 in Stepney, East London. She was born 1912 in Poplar, East London the daughter of William Horlock and Sarah Jaye. Raymond died at Stepney in 1962. They had two daughters and a son. 2. Derrick R. Dane born 1915 in Blackburn, Lancashire and died there the following year.
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The 5th and 6th children of William Augustus Becher and his wife were:
5. William Arthur Becher born 1858 at Brompton, Middlesex. He emigrated to South Africa where he became a Private in the Cape Mounted Rifleman regiment. He died 21st September 1878 aged 20 at the Grand Strand Hospital, King Williamstown, South Africa.
6. Richard Augustus Becher born 1862 at Guildford and died 1863 at Brighton, Sussex.
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7. SARAH FRANCES BECHER was born in 1815 and baptised at West Malling, Kent. She died in 1820 and was buried at St Lawrence's church, Thanet, Kent.
Phyllis Maude Hay was born 6th March 1889 in London. She was an actress who used the stage name Lavender Leigh. She is seen in the photo, below, taken by Bassano on 5th November 1920, which is in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
She married Capt. Raymond Seaton Dane MC, an Engineer, in 1915 at Preston, Lancashire. He served as a Private in the Army Service Corps then as a Corporal in the Royal Scots and was then commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Lancashire Regiment in WW1 where he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during an enemy attack. He died in 1965 in South Africa. She died in 1974 at a home for retired actors in Islington, London. There were three children including: 1. Raymond Leslie Leigh was born 3rd June 1912 at Holborn who married Lilian F. Horlock in 1934 in Stepney, East London. She was born 1912 in Poplar, East London the daughter of William Horlock and Sarah Jaye. Raymond died at Stepney in 1962. They had two daughters and a son. 2. Derrick R. Dane born 1915 in Blackburn, Lancashire and died there the following year.
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The 5th and 6th children of William Augustus Becher and his wife were:
5. William Arthur Becher born 1858 at Brompton, Middlesex. He emigrated to South Africa where he became a Private in the Cape Mounted Rifleman regiment. He died 21st September 1878 aged 20 at the Grand Strand Hospital, King Williamstown, South Africa.
6. Richard Augustus Becher born 1862 at Guildford and died 1863 at Brighton, Sussex.
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7. SARAH FRANCES BECHER was born in 1815 and baptised at West Malling, Kent. She died in 1820 and was buried at St Lawrence's church, Thanet, Kent.