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Jonathan Dearden F/Mc Married Married Married: 1870 Frances Goldsmith F/Mc | |||||||||||
| Harold Dearden [CFT #1520] Born: 1883-Dec-3 Died: 1961-Jul |
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| b Bolton, Lancashire d cerebral thrombosis Rather unusually, our biographical paragraph on Harold Dearden is an extract from Andrew Gibson-Watt's biography 'An Undistinguished Life' (which, of course was anything but undistinguished!). Andrew was Ann's brother #1517. He wrote: 'Harold Dearden was a great character. He was a good many years older than Ann, having qualified as a doctor in the early 1900s. For two years during the First War, he had served as Medical Officer to the 3rd Grenadiers. He later wrote a book about his experiences called 'Medicine And Duty' which was a classic in its day. I will explain here that when a soldier attends sick parade, he takes his army pay-book with him and whatever treatment is prescribed is recorded therein. 'Medicine And Duty' meaning that the soldier is considered fit enough to remain at full duty with a pill or two, is a fairly frequent prescription: if the MO is of the opinion that the man is malingering, he writes it in red ink! Red M and D reads badly in the pay-book, and gets noticed. Harold's service with the Grenadiers was ended by a serious head wound. After the war he practiced for a time most successfully as a fashionable ladies' psychiatrist from consulting rooms in Curzon Street; but then the effects of his wound caught up with him and he had to turn his hand to writing books, and also plays at which he was most successful. At the time war started, he was author or co-author of several plays running in the West End. War broke out, the London theatre shut down and Harold's income, which he had been spending in advance ceased abruptly. He then joined the army and served as a very skillful interrogator of German prisoners-of-war. While doing this he met Ann and they married. At last she had a really successful and happy marriage, and in due course four fine children. Harold and Ann had their first married house (he had given up his military job) in the beautiful border district of Herefordshire called Garway Hill.' Anthony Cobbold 2021 Harold wrote 19 books between 1922 and 1948. Medicine and Duty (mentioned above) was first published in 1928 and re-published in 2014, such was its popularity. He also wrote the play Interference, with Roland Pertwee, and Two White Arms which became a successful film. CFT says DoD = 1962 elsewhere with full DoB, July 61 |
1: 1944 Martin Deardenc W/C 2: 1946 Claire Deardenc H/C 3: 1950 Annette Deardenc H/C 4: 1951 Celia Mary Deardenc C | ||||||||||
| 4 Children | |||||||||||
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