Introduction
John Wilfred Guppy grew up in a family of builders and stonemasons at Hardington and entered the same trade as a young man. His early adult life was overshadowed by affiliation proceedings following the birth of an illegitimate daughter. However, after marrying in 1932, he settled in Watford, where he established himself as a journeyman bricklayer and raised a family.
Early life
John was born on 19 October 1902 at Hardington Mandeville, the second of seven sons born to Walter Charles Guppy, a stonemason, and his wife, Annie (née Higgins).[1] The family lived in Barry Lane until around 1904, when they briefly moved to East Coker before returning to Hardington. In the early 1920s they left the High Street for Rose Cottage at Hardington Moor.[2]
John attended Hardington School from 23 April 1906 until he left with a labour certificate in January 1915.[3] By the time of the 1921 census he was employed as a builder’s labourer with the Yeovil firm of Bird & Pippard,
Affiliation proceedings
As a young man, John began a relationship with Elsie Evelyn Lock, a single woman living at 10 North Terrace, Newtown, Yeovil. Their daughter was born on 3 December 1924.[4]
In February 1925, Elsie applied to the Yeovil magistrates for an affiliation order alleging that intimacy had taken place in her home and that he later promised to marry her “like a white man.” John denied being the father of the child. However, the magistrates ordered him to pay 10 shillings per week until the child turned fifteen, in addition to costs of £3 3 shillings.[5]
The following month he appeared before Yeovil Borough Police Court after falling into arrears amounting to £5 7s. John stated that he would not pay for a child he insisted was not his and claimed that he had neither work nor any prospect of obtaining it. The court sentenced him to one month in prison. It remains unknown whether he complied with the order afterwards.
Family tragedies
John experienced two family tragedies during his early adult life, both involving brothers who had followed him into the building trade. In August 1926, his twenty-two-year-old brother, Charles Walter, died from head injuries after jumping from a moving lorry while working as a bricklayer in Newport.[7] Six years later, in November 1932, another brother, Joseph George, who was also a bricklayer, died of a fractured skull following a motor collision at Preston Road, Yeovil.[8] Joseph left a widow and a young son.
Marriage and later life
John remained in Somerset for several more years before marrying Hilda Lawrence in the Chard registration district in 1932. Hilda was born in Crewkerne on 9 September 1906, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Ann Lawrence. At the time of the 1921 census, she was living with her parents at Golds Barton, Crewkerne, and was described as an unemployed shoe repairer.
After their marriage, John and Hilda moved to Watford, where they had three children: David Walter, born in 1933; Sheila Joy, born in 1934; and Brian John, born in 1943. In 1939, the family lived at 12 Maude Crescent, and John worked as a journeyman bricklayer. Their household also included Hilda’s youngest brother, Douglas Bernard Lawrence. During the Second World War, Douglas served with the Royal Engineers and was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore. He survived captivity and later became Borough Architect at Grantham.[9]
Hilda remained in Watford for the rest of her life, dying there in 1998. No record of John’s death has been identified.
Conclusion
John’s life illustrates the mobility of skilled building workers during the interwar years. Although his early adulthood was marked by the distressing affiliation case and a short period of imprisonment, he later established a settled family life in Hertfordshire, where his skills as a bricklayer provided more secure employment than was often available in rural Somerset.
References
[1] Civil registration birth index; 1939 Register; Civil registration death index; family reconstitution.
[2] Hardington rate book for 31 December 1923.
[3] Hardington School admissions register.
[4] Civil registration birth index; 1939 Register.
[5] Western Chronicle, 6 February 1925, p.4.
[6] Western Chronicle, 3 April 1925, p.5.
[7] Death certificate of Charles Walter Guppy; Western Mail, 2 September 1926, p.8.
[8] Death certificate of Joseph George.
[9] World War II Allied Prisoners of War, 1939-1945; Western Daily Press, 3 June 1943, p.3; Sleaford Standard, 18 January 2001, p.8.
