Introduction
Herbert Goldring lived at Hardington for about seven years before the First World War. He served in the army during the war, during which his brother died of wounds, and his mother took her own life. Herbert survived and subsequently spent much of his working life as a civil servant in London. He remained single until the age of sixty-three, when he married Marjorie Abrams. In his later years, Herbert suffered from depression and became increasingly anxious, at one point expressing fears that he might harm his wife. In 1965, he took his own life.
Childhood
Herbert was born at Yetminster on 30 June 1897, the younger of two sons born to George and Mary Goldring.[1] His father, George, was a dairyman. The family moved to Corscombe in about 1900 and to Hardington in about 1907.
On 4 February 1907, Herbert and his brother, Frederick, were admitted to Hardington School. In May 1907, they were among the fourteen village children who passed the diocesan temperance examination.[2] In June 1911, they took part in games to celebrate the coronation.[3]
By April 1911, at the age of thirteen, Herbert had left school and was working in his father’s dairy.
First World War
Both Herbert and Frederick joined the army, and their mother constantly worried about their safety at the front. On 12 September 1916, she hanged herself after receiving news that Frederick had been severely wounded in both legs. She left a note stating, “I cannot live without my dear boys. It is worse each day I live.”[4] Frederick died from his injuries five days later.[5]
Civil Service
Herbert survived the war and found work as a clerk with the Ministry of Labour in London. By June 1921, he was boarding at 48 Stratford Road, Kensington, and by September 1939, he lived at 21 Bolingbroke Road, Hammersmith.
Marriage
In 1960, Herbert married Marjorie Mabel Elvin Abrams in the Marylebone registration district. At the time, Herbert was sixty-three, and Marjorie was forty-nine.
Marjorie was also a Civil Service clerk and originally came from Grimsby. They lived in a substantial four-bedroom semi-detached house with large bay windows at 60 East Acton Lane, Acton.
Death
In his later years, Herbert suffered from anxiety and depression. On 1 April 1965, Marjorie gave him breakfast in bed before leaving for work. Afterwards, he went to Brighton and jumped off the cliffs near Roedean. His body was discovered later that day on the undercliff walk.
During the inquest, Marjorie testified that Herbert had shingles in 1958 and subsequently received treatment at a hospital for nervous disorders. She said he worried about everything and suffered from depression. Two weeks before his death, he had been in an extremely agitated state and expressed fears that he might harm her. The inquest jury reached a verdict that he took his life while the balance of his mind was disturbed.[6]
Herbert died intestate, leaving an estate valued at £17,411, which was administered by Marjorie and a student named Roger Simon Goldring.[7] The electoral rolls record Roger living with Herbert and Marjorie from 1964 and suggest he was born in 1943. He may have been Marjorie’s illegitimate son, as the birth of a Roger S. Abrams was recorded in the Amersham area in the first quarter of 1943 and the mother’s surname was Abrams. Marjorie continued living at 60 East Acton Lane and remarried in late 1970 or early 1971. She died on 20 May 1982 at the age of seventy-one, leaving an estate valued at £50,869.[8]
Conclusion
Herbert’s life was marked by two periods of profound distress, separated by nearly half a century. In 1916, he lost both his brother and his mother within five days; in his later life, he suffered from severe anxiety and depression. Whether the events of his youth contributed to his later illness cannot now be known.
References
[1] Civil Registration Birth Index; 1939 Register; Yetminster baptism register.
[2] Western Chronicle, 31 May 1907, p.6.
[3] Western Gazette, 23 June 1911, p.4. The report only mentions the name Goldring with no first name, but both brothers were probably present.
[4] Western Chronicle, 22 September 1916, p.3.
[5] Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.
[6] Acton Gazette, 8 April 1965, p.1.
[7] National Probate Calendar.
[8] National Probate Calendar.
