Continuing this month’s Portraits theme, my focus is on my cousin's paternal grandfather Edward Stewart Ingram Smith (1871-1923). The many portraits of him in the family's photographic collection depict a sad tale, tracing his life from a handsome young man to a man haunted by his war experiences.
The Smith family hailed originally from the island of Unst in the Shetlands - the most northerly part of the British Isles. Edward was born in 1871 in Ceres, Fife, Scotland, eldest son of John Ingram Smith and Isabella (Ella) Edward. The Ingram middle name came from that of the Shetland minister who had baptized his father - and was one adopted by future generations of Smiths.
John in a number of moves and facing bankruptcy along the way, settled finally in the famous seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire where he became catering manager at the Winter Gardens entertainment complex.
Son, Edward was a man of many parts - boy soldier, waiter, photographer, and upholsterer. In these photographs of him as a young man, he has a sensitive and artistic air about him.
Edward's daughter Ella (who lived to the age of 99) left notes relating how her father was proud of his Scottish heritage, wore the kilt, played the bagpipes and spoke Gaelic He enjoyed art and painted in oils. He was well educated in Edinburgh and spoke with a soft lilting accent and used to say that Edinburgh people spoke the best English.
Leaving school, Edward joined the army as a Gordon Highlander, but did not settle and was bought out by his parents.
By the time of the 1891 census, 20 year old Edward was in Leeds where his father John was manager at the Victoria Hotel. Edward's occupation was listed as photographer.
A further move by the family followed, as by 1901 Edward was working as a waiter at the Belvedere Hotel, South Promenade, Blackpool.
His daughter recalled that Edward was brought up in the Scottish
Presbyterian Church but converted to Catholicism for his first girl
friend, without actually practising in the faith. At the age of 31, in
1902, Edward married Lily Beatrice Jones, 13 years his junior. (below) at Kirkham Registrar, near Blackpool,
Four
children were born to the marriage - Lily Ella, Arthur Stuart Ingram,
Edith Florence and baby Edward who did not survive infancy. Edward's
interest in photography is illustrated in the many delightful
portraits he took of his children, notably son Arthur, with his mop of
long fair curls, and in a "little Lord Fauntleroy" outfit.
Ella, Edith and Arthur
In
the 1911 census, Edward's occupation was still given as photographer,
but he was affected by the chemical used in developing his prints; illness struck and Edward had
to give it up. He moved into upholstery, and eventually opened up a
furniture business in Blackpool.
In 1915 at the age of 44, Edward, as a previously serving soldier, was called up to return to the army and he joined the Liverpool Scottish Regiment. He served in France, but was gassed and injured at the Battle of the Somme. After the Battle of Delville Wood, where he was wounded in action, he was invalided back to England and hospitalised. His daughter Ella related how he went to meet her at the school gates and she did not recognize him, as his weight had dropped from 15 to 9 stone.
Edward is the figure on the far right of the back row,
standing slightly apart from his much younger colleagues.
But following Edward's discharge, family life proved unhappy. His mother died in July 1919 and at some point, he separated from his wife and children. A news item of 24 November 1919 in "The Lancashire Evening Post" (traced on FindMyPast) made sad reading, when he appeared in court charged with failing to support his family.
One cannot help reflect that having to return to active service at the age of 44 and face the harsh physical and mental conditions of the World War One battlefields took its toll on Edward, as on so many soldiers. He died in 1923 aged 52. His wife Lily found happiness in a second marriage and survived Edward by a further 40 years.
The
photograph below shows an older Edward Stuart Ingram Smith with
haunting eyes and a dispirited air - a far cry from the handsome young
man portrayed thirty years earlier.
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their family history and memories through photograph
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ReplyDeleteGreat to have so many photos that follow the different ages of Edward. He did try many things, I wonder if there aren't more family portraits, which you may have held back as you were focused on his life in this post. I think you're right about his WW I experiences leading to his downfall. I'm glad to hear his wife remarried and lived another 40 years after Edward's early death.
ReplyDeleteI especially liked the Highlander photos. So sorry about the hardship he experienced at the end.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to be able to "follow" one person through his portraits like that. I've recently spent a lot of time myself trying to figure out if certain photos are of the same person or not, as it's really not always obvious when you try to compare photos of someone in their youth vs their old age...
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