august 5th 1908 Hubert Eugene scrutton to Beatrice feodora hurrell

framlingham, Suffolk to Finsbury park, london

101 miles

the message

"From Bert to Beat

Aug 5th 1908"

the sender

The sender was Hubert Eugene Scrutton (1883-1983). Hubert was the son of Arthur Edgar Scrutton (1848-1919) and Mary Ann Eacock (1850-1921). Arthur was at one time a wheelwright and a carpenter although in 1901 he was a farmer.

By the time Hubert was 18 in 1901 he was no longer living at home in Suffolk as he was working as a coach builder and lodging in Bulmer in Essex. In 1911 he was lodging in Peterborough and was now a manager at an automobile carriage building factory. By this time he was married to Beatrice Feodora Hurrell, the recipient.

At the time that the card was sent, Hubert's family were living in Framlingham.

Although there is no concrete evidence that Hubert served in WWI, the fact that their children were born in 1910 and in 1920 suggests that this is the case.

the recipient

Beatrice Feodora Hurrell (1889-1973) was the daughter of George Hurrell (1851-?) and Clara Cornell (1852-1919). George was a bricklayer. The Hurrell family were living at 7 Wells Terrace at the time that the 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses were taken, at least 30 years. Oddly, the address must have contained at least 2 dwellings because multiple families are listed. And in 1911, a second family is Beatrice herself with her son. Hubert, by then her husband is at that time lodging in Peterborough.

the places

Framlingham, Suffolk

Finsbury Park, London

what the card says to us

The card says very little. The picture is of the church in Framlingham which is where the card was posted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Michael_the_Archangel,_Framlingham

The message is short and incredibly sweet. They were married a year later. Maybe it was their little joke. Maybe it was a coded message. We don't know.

What is obvious however, from the formation of the capital "F"s is that the two halves of the card were written by different people. Did Beatrice provide self addressed cards to Hubert? It would be interesting to know whose handwriting is whose.