After WILLIAM’S death on 29 November 1915, aged just 39, Doctor Aitkin identified three illness on the Form of Information of Death.
William English Form of Information of Death. Source: South Africa, Transvaal, Civil Death, 1869-1954
Silicosis for four years
Pulmonary Tuberculosis for two years
Heart failure for forty-eight hours.
The Form of Information of Death identifies WILLIAM having silicosis from 1911. There are no entries in the Journal that indicate that this impacted on his work at that time, though he had retired from competitive cycling. The Journal is clear that WILLIAM’S health declined and was considerably worse after 1913. This correlates with Doctor Aitkin’s assessment that WILLIAM had pulmonary tuberculosis for two years.
The distinction was often made at the time between simple and complicated silicosis. The impact of simple silicosis was relatively slow but progressive whereas the effects of complicated silicosis much more rapid. Silicosis is a permanent disease with no cure. It was thought that simple silicosis exposed the lungs of miners to tuberculous infection and tuberculosis was highly prevalent in the white urban centres of South Africa at this time. Tuberculosis superimposed upon silicosis so dangerously affected miners that in 1912 the Miners’ Phthisis Board estimated the life expectancy of a miner with silicosis who also had tuberculosis as no more than six months on average.
The only way of halting the advance of the disease was for workers to give up working in high risk environments. We can see this with WILLIAM as on 13 April 1914 he transferred to No 6 Shaft of Randfontein Central as he couldn’t stand the atmosphere of Block A. He was very ill in August and early September and then started work at a shallow mine with fresh air. But by 3 November he had worked his last underground shift on the East Reef. Then on 5 January he started as a shaft clerk at No 8 shaft Randfontein Central on £15 pound per month.
It is clear from Doctor Aitkin’s assessment that WILLIAM had complicated silicosis. His health continued to deteriorate even though he had removed himself from the high risk environments. On Page 64 of the Journal WILLIAM wrote:
‘Feeling run down. I applied for a month’s holiday on full pay to go to the Phthisis Sanatorium, Modderfontein on the recommendation of Dr Stewart; leave granted from Wednesday 13th October 1915 inclusive.‘
His words seem to suggest that he is in denial about the seriousness of his health issues. Though he would have been very aware that his father and his aunt’s husband William Whitehead both died from similar illnesses. There are no further entries in the Journal. The next piece of information comes from the Form of Information of Death completed on 1 December 1915. The progression of WILLIAM’S illness is most likely to have followed that described by two full-time Witwatersrand mine doctors, Louis Godfrey Irvine and Andrew Hutton Watt in 1912:
as the disease progresses to the stage of advanced fibrosis the cardinal symptom of shortness of breath becomes more urgent and distressing
the irritative cough is more frequent
expectoration may become more copious, but is still in most cases slight
the patient becomes unable to work, he loses flesh, his narrow shrunken rigid chest may scarcely expand at all even on forced inspiration, the shoulders are hunched, the chest appears to be practically fixed in the position of extreme expiration
The lips are bluish, the expression anxious, the pulse rate is accelerated, and the right side of the heart dilates under the strain
WILLIAM was buried in Burghershoop Cemetery in Krugersdorp.
William English’s headstone at Burghershoop Cemetery
Marie
The Probate Records from the Master of the Supreme Court in Transvaal provide a copy of the joint will he made with Marie with by Messrs Phillips and Osmond solicitors Krugersdorp on 11th June 1913. In this will all WILLIAM’S assets passed to Marie. In the probate records WILLIAM and Marie’s address is still 59 Dekker Street. Marie would have continued to receive compensation from the Miners’ Phthisis Board after WILLIAM’S death, which helped fund the sons Henry and William’s education in England.
There is an interesting comparison with Mary Jane English, William’s aunt. She married William Whitehead in 1895 in Gateshead. WILLIAM records in the Journal (Page 24) that he is in 1904 sending a loan of £10 in notes to his aunt, Mrs Whitehead, in LuipaardsVlei. When Mary Jane died in 1946 her death certificate indicates that she also had been receiving a Phthisis Widows Pension.
On 10 June,
1916 Passenger lists
show Marie English arriving at Tilbury, England with three of her children – William Ridley (aged 5), Constance (aged 3) and John (aged 1). On 22 July 1916 Marie, Constance and John leave England to return to Cape Town. William Ridley stayed with Marie’s sister Elizabeth who was living at 23 Dawlish Drive, Leigh on Sea, Essex. William initially went to Leigh North Street Primary School, then joined his elder brother Henry Bevington (Harry) English as day students at Highfield College.
There is no documentary evidence to confirm whether in the years immediately after William’s death, Marie considered returning permanently to England. Her mother, Emma Bevington, died in February 1918 and Marie was excluded as a beneficiary of her will, which may indicate that there was some family disharmony and returning to England was not seen as a particularly attractive option. Also WILLIAM’S aunt Mary Jane Whitehead and his sister Sarah Ann Shippen, having settled in South Africa, may have influenced her decision. Once back in South Africa, Marie also appears not to have been in regular contact with her two sons at Highfield College as shown by this letter:
Original and transcribed versions of a letter from the Headmaster at Highfield College to Marie English
Marie married Albert John Coles in the Magistrate’s Office in Durban on 7 August 1925. Two of her children, Henry (Harry) and Constance (Connie), are both married at this time. Her youngest son John (Jack) is aged 20 and unmarried. Harry was a witness at the wedding. All were three were living in South Africa. Her other son William (Willie) remained in England. There was little contact between Marie and Willie apart from occasional photographs sent by Marie.
Marie died on 23 June 1935. She was survived by her husband Albert Coles.
William and Marie’s Children
On
26 September 1919,
Harry returned on his own on the Comrie Castle to Cape Town . He would have been aged 14, though the the passenger list has him aged 16. It appears that his education at Highfield College had ended early. In 1923, aged 18, he joined the staff of Kodak in Durban. He was then based in Cape Town, then Manager in Bombay and later Assistant General Manager in Cairo. He was appointed Managing Director of Kodak (South Africa) in 1949. He subsequently became Chairman of the Directors of the Company. Harry visited England several times in the 1950s and saw his brother Willie. He was very keen that Willie moved to South Africa. Willie remained in England.
Henry Bevington English
Willie was very close to his brother Harry and missed him when he returned to South Africa in 1919. Willie at this time was aged 9 and would presumably continue to attend Highfield College until about 1925, when he was 15-16. He would have liked to have attended higher education to become an architect, but the funding for his education from the Miners’ Phthisis Board ended. Willie then worked for a shipping company and by 1939 worked for Judd, Budd Ltd, Coal Exporters of Copthall Avenue, EC2. He married Iris Mary Weir (Molly) in 1939 and they had two daughters. Willie never visited South Africa after leaving as a young boy in 1916.
Willie English with Elizabeth Bevington at 40 Eastcote Grove, Southend, Essex
Connie and Jack remained with Marie in South Africa, neither were educated in England like their older brothers. This picture shows Marie with them, possibly at 59 Dekker Street.
Marie, Connie and Jack English
Constance married twice and remained in South Africa. She visited England in the 1950s and saw her brother Willie. She also sent photographs to Willie. As far as records show and oral tradition, Jack never visited England.
UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960, Class: BT26; Piece: 630; Item: 113. Source: The National Archive (TNA)
Henry Bevington English departure from London on 26 September 1919, bound for South Africa. Source: UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960. The National Archives (TNA)
Contents
The Missing Years and Mary Sarah Bevington
READ MOREBefore William’s Birth
READ MOREWilliam’s Early Life
READ MOREWilliam’s cycle trip to North East England
READ MORELater Years
READ MOREAfter William’s Death
READ MOREWilliam’s move to South Africa
READ MOREBackground to William’s ‘Poems’
READ MOREAfter William’s Death
William’s Death
After WILLIAM’S death on 29 November 1915, aged just 39, Doctor Aitkin identified three illness on the Form of Information of Death.
The Form of Information of Death identifies WILLIAM having silicosis from 1911. There are no entries in the Journal that indicate that this impacted on his work at that time, though he had retired from competitive cycling. The Journal is clear that WILLIAM’S health declined and was considerably worse after 1913. This correlates with Doctor Aitkin’s assessment that WILLIAM had pulmonary tuberculosis for two years.
Elaine Katz’s thesis The White Death: Silicosis (Miners’ Phthisis) on the Witwatersrand Gold Mines 1886 – 1910 provides a very detailed account of the developing medical knowledge of the impact of silicosis on the miners in the Witwatersrand gold mines.
The distinction was often made at the time between simple and complicated silicosis. The impact of simple silicosis was relatively slow but progressive whereas the effects of complicated silicosis much more rapid. Silicosis is a permanent disease with no cure. It was thought that simple silicosis exposed the lungs of miners to tuberculous infection and tuberculosis was highly prevalent in the white urban centres of South Africa at this time. Tuberculosis superimposed upon silicosis so dangerously affected miners that in 1912 the Miners’ Phthisis Board estimated the life expectancy of a miner with silicosis who also had tuberculosis as no more than six months on average.
The only way of halting the advance of the disease was for workers to give up working in high risk environments. We can see this with WILLIAM as on 13 April 1914 he transferred to No 6 Shaft of Randfontein Central as he couldn’t stand the atmosphere of Block A. He was very ill in August and early September and then started work at a shallow mine with fresh air. But by 3 November he had worked his last underground shift on the East Reef. Then on 5 January he started as a shaft clerk at No 8 shaft Randfontein Central on £15 pound per month.
It is clear from Doctor Aitkin’s assessment that WILLIAM had complicated silicosis. His health continued to deteriorate even though he had removed himself from the high risk environments. On Page 64 of the Journal WILLIAM wrote:
‘Feeling run down. I applied for a month’s holiday on full pay to go to the Phthisis Sanatorium, Modderfontein on the recommendation of Dr Stewart; leave granted from Wednesday 13th October 1915 inclusive.‘
His words seem to suggest that he is in denial about the seriousness of his health issues. Though he would have been very aware that his father and his aunt’s husband William Whitehead both died from similar illnesses. There are no further entries in the Journal. The next piece of information comes from the Form of Information of Death completed on 1 December 1915. The progression of WILLIAM’S illness is most likely to have followed that described by two full-time Witwatersrand mine doctors, Louis Godfrey Irvine and Andrew Hutton Watt in 1912:
WILLIAM was buried in Burghershoop Cemetery in Krugersdorp.
Marie
The Probate Records from the Master of the Supreme Court in Transvaal provide a copy of the joint will he made with Marie with by Messrs Phillips and Osmond solicitors Krugersdorp on 11th June 1913. In this will all WILLIAM’S assets passed to Marie. In the probate records WILLIAM and Marie’s address is still 59 Dekker Street. Marie would have continued to receive compensation from the Miners’ Phthisis Board after WILLIAM’S death, which helped fund the sons Henry and William’s education in England.
There is an interesting comparison with Mary Jane English, William’s aunt. She married William Whitehead in 1895 in Gateshead. WILLIAM records in the Journal (Page 24) that he is in 1904 sending a loan of £10 in notes to his aunt, Mrs Whitehead, in LuipaardsVlei. When Mary Jane died in 1946 her death certificate indicates that she also had been receiving a Phthisis Widows Pension.
On 10 June, 1916 Passenger lists show Marie English arriving at Tilbury, England with three of her children – William Ridley (aged 5), Constance (aged 3) and John (aged 1). On 22 July 1916 Marie, Constance and John leave England to return to Cape Town. William Ridley stayed with Marie’s sister Elizabeth who was living at 23 Dawlish Drive, Leigh on Sea, Essex. William initially went to Leigh North Street Primary School, then joined his elder brother Henry Bevington (Harry) English as day students at Highfield College.
There is no documentary evidence to confirm whether in the years immediately after William’s death, Marie considered returning permanently to England. Her mother, Emma Bevington, died in February 1918 and Marie was excluded as a beneficiary of her will, which may indicate that there was some family disharmony and returning to England was not seen as a particularly attractive option. Also WILLIAM’S aunt Mary Jane Whitehead and his sister Sarah Ann Shippen, having settled in South Africa, may have influenced her decision. Once back in South Africa, Marie also appears not to have been in regular contact with her two sons at Highfield College as shown by this letter:
Marie married Albert John Coles in the Magistrate’s Office in Durban on 7 August 1925. Two of her children, Henry (Harry) and Constance (Connie), are both married at this time. Her youngest son John (Jack) is aged 20 and unmarried. Harry was a witness at the wedding. All were three were living in South Africa. Her other son William (Willie) remained in England. There was little contact between Marie and Willie apart from occasional photographs sent by Marie.
Marie died on 23 June 1935. She was survived by her husband Albert Coles.
William and Marie’s Children
On 26 September 1919, Harry returned on his own on the Comrie Castle to Cape Town . He would have been aged 14, though the the passenger list has him aged 16. It appears that his education at Highfield College had ended early. In 1923, aged 18, he joined the staff of Kodak in Durban. He was then based in Cape Town, then Manager in Bombay and later Assistant General Manager in Cairo. He was appointed Managing Director of Kodak (South Africa) in 1949. He subsequently became Chairman of the Directors of the Company. Harry visited England several times in the 1950s and saw his brother Willie. He was very keen that Willie moved to South Africa. Willie remained in England.
Willie was very close to his brother Harry and missed him when he returned to South Africa in 1919. Willie at this time was aged 9 and would presumably continue to attend Highfield College until about 1925, when he was 15-16. He would have liked to have attended higher education to become an architect, but the funding for his education from the Miners’ Phthisis Board ended. Willie then worked for a shipping company and by 1939 worked for Judd, Budd Ltd, Coal Exporters of Copthall Avenue, EC2. He married Iris Mary Weir (Molly) in 1939 and they had two daughters. Willie never visited South Africa after leaving as a young boy in 1916.
Connie and Jack remained with Marie in South Africa, neither were educated in England like their older brothers. This picture shows Marie with them, possibly at 59 Dekker Street.
Constance married twice and remained in South Africa. She visited England in the 1950s and saw her brother Willie. She also sent photographs to Willie. As far as records show and oral tradition, Jack never visited England.