John Bertram DEAKIN (1887-1977)

John Bertram DEAKIN was the second son of William Robert DEAKIN and Betsy DEAKIN (née HODSON). John, known as Bert, was born in Wigan, Lancashire, on 10 October 1887.

Bert went to school at New College, Pannal, Harrogate, Yorkshire, and is listed as a boarder at the school along with his brothers Samuel and William in the 1901 census.

Following the family’s move to Toddington (where Deakin’s opened a jam and canning factory), Bert became a member of the Alderton branch of the Wesleyan Missionary Society and was President of the Society in 1907.

In the 1911 census, Bert is listed as living with his parents in the house on the site of Deakin’s Canning Factory at Naunton Field, Toddington, Gloucestershire, and is employed in the family business as manager of the canning factory.

Bert married Florence Kate TANDY from nearby village of Alderton, at the Wesleyan Chapel, Beckford Road, Alderton, in March 1914. The Evesham Standard reported on 28 March 1914:

The ceremony took place in the Wesleyan Chapel, where the Rev. Bryan Jones, of Winchcomb officiated, the choral part of the service being conducted by Mr. F.G. Clarke, Organist and Choirmaster at the Chapel. On entering the Chapel the contracting parties were received by members of the choir who sang “The voice that breathed o’er Eden”. The bride, who was given away by her brother, Mr. Albert Tandy, was charmingly pretty in a costume of white satin, adorned with a veil and orange blossoms, she carried a sheath of lilies, the gift of the bridegroom. Mr. Robert Deakin, brother of the bridegroom acted as best man. The bridesmaids were Miss B. Deakin, sister of the bridegroom, who was elegantly dressed in pale blue crêpe de chine, and Miss Florence Roberts of Keighley, Yorkshire, and Miss Iris Tandy of Ashton-under-Hill, niece of the bride, who were both dressed in blue satin and carried bouquets and baskets of daffodils, roses, Scotch heather, and ferns. On leaving the Chapel, the Organist played Chopin’s “Wedding March”, and the happy looking couple motored to the house of Mr. Albert Tandy where about thirty relatives and guests assembled at the breakfast. Among those present were Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Deakin, Mr. and Mrs. W.G. Deakin, Messrs. George and Stanley Deakin, Mrs. Alfred Tandy, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Tandy, Mr. J. Tandy, Mrs. A. Smith, Miss E. Mills, Mr. R. Roberts, and Mr. and Mrs. H. Williams. The newly-married couple left shortly after the wedding breakfast for the Cliffs and Norbreck Hydro, Blackpool, where the honeymoon is being spent. They took with them the hearty congratulations and best wishes of their numerous friends for their future happiness. The bride’s travelling costume was of navy blue palace, with grey blanket cloth coat. The wedding cake was made by Miss B. Deakin. The bridegroom’s gifts to the bridesmaids were gold necklaces and pendants. The presents were numerous and handsome.

The couple set up home at The Bungalow, Dalton, Parbold, Wigan. Bert had been appointed a director of W.R. Deakin Ltd and managed both Deakin’s canning factory at Naunton Field, Toddington, during the First World War and the jam factory at the Eclipse Preserve Works, Wigan, until the late 1920s.

Bert and Florence had the following children:

1. William Robert (Billy) DEAKIN, b. 17 November 1914, Pemberton, Wigan, m. Olive GREEN on 20 September 1941 at St Michael and All Angels’ Church, Wigan, d. Melbourne, Australia, 18 November 2005.
2. Bessie Mary DEAKIN, b. 1917, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, d. Melbourne, Australla, 5 May 1991.
3. Florence May Zillah DEAKIN, b. 28 May 1919, Wigan, firstly m. Edward Friel CHALMERS, 8 April 1942, Dundee, Scotland, secondly m. Richard Joseph DIENHOFF, 14 December 1967, Melbourne, Australia, d. 2 September 1990, Melbourne, Australia.
4. Joan Sarah DEAKIN, b. 8 March 1921, Wigan, m. Leslie Magnus MARKS, 6 December 1943, Derbyshire, d. 2 March 2003, Australia.
5. Roger Bertram Pownall Hartley DEAKIN, b. 11 November 1933, Wigan, firstly m. Celia M. BESTON, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, 1960, secondly n. Marie Bridget MAYO, 1969, Gloucestershire, d. 25 August 2010, Diss, Norfolk.

By 1923, Bert, Flo and their family had moved to 26 Swanley Road, Wigan. In 1929 the family moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to manage the Deakin’s overseas business interests. They set sail on 31 August 1929 on the SS Demerara (Royal Mail Steam Packet Company). The family lived in Buenos Aires for 3½ years before returning to England in February 1933.

After the winding up of W.R. Deakin Ltd in 1936, Bert and Florence emigrated to Melbourne, Australia. Florence died on 28 May 1975 and Bert died on 6 May 1977 in Melbourne, Australia.