Sir John Betjeman

[Roy Stockdill]

A new biography of the former Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman, has
just been published. Written by A. N. Wilson, it was serialised for most
of last week in the Daily Mail, running from the previous Saturday
through to Wednesday. Most of it was a very good read, even if it did
concentrate more on Betjeman's sexual proclivities [bi-sexual,
apparently] and his two wives, i.e. a legal wife Penelope Chetwode and
a mistress, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, than his poetry.

A. N. Wilson is a well-known biographer, novelist, historian etc.
However, there was a throwaway line early on that stated that Betjeman
was actually born John Betjemann (double "n" at the end of the name)
and that his father was Ernest Betjemann, whose ancestors came into
England from Holland in the 18th century. The original spelling of the
surname is true but apparently Betjeman himself stuck to this fiction that
his family were of Dutch origins all his life because he was often
accused of being of German origins, which is why the family dropped
the last "n" from the name at some stage, probably during WWI.

Having read and enjoyed the extracts, I decided to check out the
ancestral story. I got back to his grandfather, another John Betjemann
born in 1835, but it seems to me that Betjeman was, in fact, undoubtedly
of German origins, his earliest immigrant ancestor into England being
his gt-gt-grandfather Jurgen (later anglicised to George) Betjemann, who
was born at Bramstedt, Hanover, in 1764, came to London at some
stage and married at Wapping in 1797. George's origins are detailed
and from then onwards the line is clear cut and a very detailed and
convincing account, plus several family trees, can be found at:-

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/tripartite/geobetjemann.htm

This is presented by someone who has obviously put in a great deal of
research and whose evidence, with supporting sources, I tend to
believe.

My point is that you can't believe anything you're told about family
history, even when it comes from the subject himself - in this case, Sir
John Betjeman, who either believed or maintained a fiction all his life
that his ancestors were Dutch and not German. Moral - ALWAYS
CHECK yourself!

--
Roy Stockdill
Guild of One-Name Studies: www.one-name.org
Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History:
www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about."
OSCAR WILDE

[Geoff]

Roy Stockdill wrote:-

snip

Post by Roy Stockdill
However, there was a throwaway line early on that stated that Betjeman
was actually born John Betjemann (double "n" at the end of the name)
and that his father was Ernest Betjemann, whose ancestors came into
England from Holland in the 18th century. The original spelling of the
surname is true but apparently Betjeman himself stuck to this fiction that
his family were of Dutch origins all his life because he was often
accused of being of German origins, which is why the family dropped
the last "n" from the name at some stage, probably during WWI.

Snip

However, in "Summoned By Bells", his wonderful autobiography in blank
verse, Betjeman wrote,
"With joy he showed me old George Betjeman's book.
(He was a one-'n' man before the craze
For all things German tacked another 'n'):"

So there's a thing!!

Geoff

[Roy Stockdill]

Post by Geoff
Roy Stockdill wrote:-
snip

Post by Roy Stockdill
However, there was a throwaway line early on that stated that
Betjeman was actually born John Betjemann (double "n" at the end of
the name) and that his father was Ernest Betjemann, whose ancestors
came into England from Holland in the 18th century. The original
spelling of the surname is true but apparently Betjeman himself
stuck to this fiction that his family were of Dutch origins all his
life because he was often accused of being of German origins, which
is why the family dropped the last "n" from the name at some stage,
probably during WWI.

Snip
However, in "Summoned By Bells", his wonderful autobiography in blank
verse, Betjeman wrote, "With joy he showed me old George Betjeman's
book. (He was a one-'n' man before the craze For all things German
tacked another 'n'):">

It's many years since I read "Summoned By Bells", so I'd forgotten that
line. However, it suggests he was actually reversing the truth. In the
census of 1861 Sir John's great-grandfather George Betjemann and his
son John, the poet's grandfather, were living at 36 Pentonville Road,
Clerkenwell, which was the family home for many years. The surname is
very clearly spelt with two "n's". And again in 1881, by which time John
was married and had a number of children, including Sir John's father,
Ernest E Betjemann, the name is also spelt with a double-n. They were
in Compton Terrace, Islington. George Betjemann was still alive aged
83 and still at 36 Pentonville Road, but the name has been
mistranscribed in his case as BETZEMANN. Because of the peculiar
way in which the LDS standardised surname system sometimes works,
the search program doesn't recognise Betjeman, Betjemann and
Betzemann as the same name and you have to search separately on
them all or with a wildcard.

The evidence suggests though, that the family name had always been
spelt BETJEMANN. His birth was registered in 1906 as John
BETJEMANN, as was Ernest's birth in 1872. And when Ernest died in
1934 his entry in the GRO Death Indexes (June quarter) is shown as
Ernest E BETJEMANN.

According to A N Wilson's new biography of Betjeman, he was teased at
his first school about being a German spy and Wilson claims it was his
mother Bess who changed the family name to avoid the suggestion that
they were German. If you read the very detailed account of the
Betjemann family on the Internet at...

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/tripartite/geobetjemann.htm

this suggests that Betjeman stuck to the fiction all his life that they were
of Dutch origins. Just goes to show you can't win with family history!

--
Roy Stockdill
Guild of One-Name Studies: www.one-name.org
Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History:
www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about."
OSCAR WILDE

[John Stevens]

Well, to quote from the massive three volume biography of Sir JB by Bevis
Hillier:

"One of the things Ernest and Bess (JB's parents) quarrelled about was their
surname.
John's gt.grandfather, a London cabinet maker, spelt his name 'George
Betjeman' in stylish
copperplate on the cover of his workbook and on the printed heading of his
business invoices.
But John's grandfather and father both spelt their names with 'nn'. A single
'n' John's mother
thought looked Dutch and she assured him that his ancestors had come from
Holland.
When German products were popular in the late 19th century it was almost an
advantage for
the family firm G.Betjemann and Sons, to have a name that looked Teutonic
but during the
First World War when the Battenbergs changed their name to Mountbatten and
German traders'
windows were shattered, a double 'n' became a liability. Ernest, however,
continued to spell his
name as Betjemann until his death and his son's birth certificate is in the
name 'John Betjemann'.
During the war Bess used the single 'n' spelling and as John grew older he
saw no reason why he
too should not revert to the spelling used by his gt.grandfather"

So as usual, you pays yer money and takes yer choice.....

John

Post by Roy Stockdill
A new biography of the former Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman, has
just been published. Written by A. N. Wilson, it was serialised for most
of last week in the Daily Mail, running from the previous Saturday
through to Wednesday. Most of it was a very good read, even if it did
concentrate more on Betjeman's sexual proclivities [bi-sexual,
apparently] and his two wives, i.e. a legal wife Penelope Chetwode and
a mistress, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, than his poetry.
A. N. Wilson is a well-known biographer, novelist, historian etc.
However, there was a throwaway line early on that stated that Betjeman
was actually born John Betjemann (double "n" at the end of the name)
and that his father was Ernest Betjemann, whose ancestors came into
England from Holland in the 18th century. The original spelling of the
surname is true but apparently Betjeman himself stuck to this fiction that
his family were of Dutch origins all his life because he was often
accused of being of German origins, which is why the family dropped
the last "n" from the name at some stage, probably during WWI.
Having read and enjoyed the extracts, I decided to check out the
ancestral story. I got back to his grandfather, another John Betjemann
born in 1835, but it seems to me that Betjeman was, in fact, undoubtedly
of German origins, his earliest immigrant ancestor into England being
his gt-gt-grandfather Jurgen (later anglicised to George) Betjemann, who
was born at Bramstedt, Hanover, in 1764, came to London at some
stage and married at Wapping in 1797. George's origins are detailed
and from then onwards the line is clear cut and a very detailed and
convincing account, plus several family trees, can be found at:-
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/tripartite/geobetjemann.htm
This is presented by someone who has obviously put in a great deal of
research and whose evidence, with supporting sources, I tend to
believe.
My point is that you can't believe anything you're told about family
history, even when it comes from the subject himself - in this case, Sir
John Betjeman, who either believed or maintained a fiction all his life
that his ancestors were Dutch and not German. Moral - ALWAYS
CHECK yourself!
--
Roy Stockdill
Guild of One-Name Studies: www.one-name.org
www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html
"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about."
OSCAR WILDE

[Richard van Schaik]

Post by John Stevens
But John's grandfather and father both spelt their names with 'nn'. A
single 'n' John's mother thought looked Dutch and she assured him
that his ancestors had come from Holland.

Look in databases in The Netherlands (they are reasonably filled and
almost weekly / monthly updated with additions) and thusfar with
Betjeman* I found none. If looked in Germany then there are at least
five found on the spelling "Betjemann". I'm not completely sure about
their covery and updating, but having some German ancestors to me it
seems a lot slower in progression than in The Netherlands.

Btw: Holland is just a small part of The Netherlands, nowadays
consisting of two provinces (North- and South-Holland).

Cheers,
Richard