Introduction
Bernard Leslie George Rendell was part of the early generation of engineers trained in the emerging technology of oil engines. After learning his trade at Petters Limited, he spent some time in Canada before returning to England. He later maintained a family home at East Chinnock while working mainly in the Midlands. His life ended abruptly due to a road accident.
Childhood
Bernard was born on 4 March 1901 at East Coker, the third child of George and Emma Jane Rendell.[1] His father was a postman. Bernard probably attended East Coker school from the age of five to at least twelve, and possibly a little longer. He was not baptised until 25 February 1917, by which time his father was serving in the military.[2]
Hardington
By June 1921, the family was living at Sunnydene, Hardington, and Bernard was working as an oil engine fitter at Petters Limited.
Canada
In 1923, Bernard travelled to Canada with the intention of settling there permanently.[3] However, he returned to England, possibly due to his father’s sudden death from a cerebral haemorrhage in February 1926.[4]
Marriage
Later that year, Bernard married Alice Marion Whatmore, who lived with her parents at the Wash Lodge, West Coker.[5] Her father, James Whatmore, had moved from Kent at least fifteen years earlier to work as a groom and gardener. Before her marriage, Alice worked at home as a glover for a Yeovil glove manufacturer.
Bernard and Alice appear to have established their home at Wayside, East Chinnock, where they had one son, Eric Gordon George, in 1930.[6] By 1939, Alice’s parents were living there as well.
Midlands
Bernard’s career took him away from home. The 1939 Register listed him as a “production engineer-oil engines” living at 7 King’s Avenue, Loughborough, and by 1946, he was living at 84 Kinross Road, Lillington, Leamington Spa.
Tragic accident
On Friday, 22 February 1946, Bernard drove from Lillington to East Chinnock with Alice and Eric. According to a later newspaper report, he was taking them to stay with Alice’s parents, although he may have been returning them after a visit.
On his return journey, near Bourton-on-the-Water, he lost control of his car, which overturned, skidded along a grass verge, and struck a tree. His body was discovered by a passing cyclist early the next morning.
At the inquest, it was established that Bernard, who was due back at work on Saturday morning, had been driving very fast. A verdict of misadventure was returned.[7]
Bernard was 44 years old and left an estate valued at £1,765 6s. His will appointed Alice and his sister Margaret as executors.[8]
Alice continued to live at Wayside but survived him by only four years. She died on 2 September 1950, at the age of 53, leaving an estate valued at £2,876 6s 9d.[9]
Conclusion
Bernard’s career as an engineer developed from his practical training at Petters and took him beyond Somerset to Canada and the industrial Midlands. Despite this, he maintained a continuing connection with East Chinnock, where his family remained. His death, resulting from a high-speed road accident, abruptly ended a life shaped by technical skill, mobility, and the demands of a profession that often kept him away from home.
References
[1] Civil registration birth index; 1939 Register.
[2] East Coker baptism register.
[3] Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924.
[4] Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1834-1970.
[5] Civil registration marriage index
[6] Civil registration birth index.
[7] Gloucestershire Echo, 23 February 1946, p.1; Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 9 March 1946, p.10.
[8] Civil registration death index; National Probate Calendar.
[9] Civil registration death index; National Probate Calendar.
