Herbert Eyres Britton and Diane

Herbert Eyres Britton's Diane [1920] was his third collection of poems after The Visions of a Dreamer (1912) and War Poems – date and publisher unknown (1). He dedicated it to his mother Maud May Britton, and a six-sonnet sequence in the collection concerns his recently deceased wife Elsie.

Also of note is 'In Memoriam', a poem written on the death of the working-class poet Noah Cooke, a weaver from Kidderminster who appears to have been a friend of Herbert's. The following link is to Sonya O. Rose's criticism of Cooke (2).

(1) Herbert E. Britton, Diane: And Other Poems (London: Arthur H. Stockwell, [1922]).

(2) Sonya O. Rose, Limited Livelihoods: Gender and Class in Nineteenth Century England (London: Routledge, 1992).

Now What's John James Britton Doing with That Baby's Head?

The splendid photo below contains a great deal of detail, the most remarkable of course being a stern John James Britton's futile attempts to hold the baby's head in the long exposure. It's very unlikely that a professional photographer would have allowed this error to see the light of day, so we can only speculate about the identity of the person behind the camera.

More certain, though, are the names of the characters in the photo, and I leave Robert Hughes – who, along with Sandie Coomber, I thank for making possible the publication of this picture – to give the details:

'The house was almost certainly 2 Drayton Terrace, Melton Rd, Belgrave, [Leicester]; or alternatively 12 Melton Rd (according to the 1891 census).

I have found that street numbering sometimes followed small groups of properties such as terraces, and sometimes followed a larger scheme such as a whole street, but there is no reason to suppose that these addresses were anything other than one and the same.

On the left is Herbert Eyres Britton (1883–1940), later a published writer and poet.

Seated is Maud May Britton, formerly Coward (c.1858–1946), said to be the daughter of James Eyres Coward, ship's surgeon. She was John James Britton's second wife.

On her lap is Elizabeth Hilda Dorothy Britton (1889–1966), later Dorothy Viner or Dension-Viner or some variation of this spelling.

The child with the spinning head has to be Reginald Ernest James Britton (1887–1981), later to be a canon in Canada after service in the Navy.

Below right is Ruth Elise May Britton (1885–1925), who became a health visitor in Birmingham.

Right is Ethel Alice Britton (1860–1936), the elder daughter from John James Britton's first marriage (to Catherine Erskine Smith). She married Thomas Perkins (1893–1907), vicar of Turnworth, Dorset, and friend of Thomas Hardy.

To the rear, of course, is the man himself: John James Britton (c. 1832–1913), Solicitor of the Supreme Court and self-proclaimed "literary man" (1891 census).

John James was the father of Richard Britton, who died tragically young, and the (paternal) grandfather of Lionel Britton the playwright and novelist, whom family tradition held to have spoken 22 languages.

The date of this photograph is almost undoubtedly 1890.'

The photo below was taken in July 2009, showing the facade of 12 Melton Road, Leicester.

Reginald Ernest James Britton, Maud May Britton and Herbert Eyres Britton

The photo below, from left to right, shows Maud May Britton – the second wife of solicitor and poet John James Britton – between her sons Reginald Ernest James Britton and Herbert Eyres Britton.

Many thanks to Sandie Coomber and Robert Hughes for making possible the publication of this image.

John James Britton’s Family

John James Britton was born in Handsworth in 1832. He died in Halford, Warwickshire, in 1913.

Catherine Erskine Britton was John James’s first wife, born in Birmingham in 1839 and the daughter of James Smith (a factor) and Elizabeth Smith (née Nimmo). John James and Catherine were married in 1858 in Handsworth. She died at Cookham in 1879.

John James's and Catherine’s children:

Richard Waddams Nimmo Britton, born Gravelly Hill, Erdington 1859, died Bournemouth 1894

Ethel Alice Britton, born Accrington, Lancs, c.1860

Lilian E. C. Britton, born Petersfield, Hampshire, c.1863

Arthur Henry Britton, born Newcastle on Tyne, c.1864

Maud May Britton (née Coward) was John James’s second wife, born in Huddersfield (date unknown) and the daughter of James Eyres Coward (a surgeon) and Elizabeth D. Coward. John James and May were married in Huddersfield in 1882. She died in 1956.

John James’s and Maud May’s children:

Herbert Eyres Britton, born Alcester, 1883

Ruth Eliza M. Britton, born Alcester, c.1885

Reginald Ernest James Britton, born Alcester, c.1888

Elizabeth Hilda D. Britton, born Alcester, Warwickshire, c.1889.

Edith L. Britton, born Halford, c.1896.

Richard married Irza Vivian Geraldine Thomas in Birmingham in 1885. They had four children: Kathleen Ethel Ivy Britton, born in Astwood Bank in 1886; Lionel Erskine Nimmo Britton, born in Astwood Bank in 1887; Reginald Percy Leopold Britton, born in Levallois–Perret, France, in 1989; and Cyril Lancelot Douglas Britton, born 1891 in Christchurch.

Lilian married Frank G. Allen, a dental surgeon in Cheltenham. In 1901 they had one child, Lorna C. P. Allen, aged 15.

Ethel married Thomas Perkins, a clerk in holy orders, in Belgrave, Leicester, in 1891.

Arthur Henry became the rector of Frodesley in Shropshire and married Haidee (maiden name unknown). In 1901 they had a daughter, Haidee C. E. Britton, aged 9, and a son, Arthur G. H. Britton, aged 7.

As ever, any further information regarding any of these people is most welcome.