Joan Long
Millesaintes Laura Joan Long was the youngest child and third daughter of Robert Chaloner Critchley Long and Maud Felicia Frances Ann Johnson. She was the cousin of Guinevere Violet Lovett, with the families linked through their maternal lines.
Joan was born and baptised in Chudleigh Knighton in 1897, and she and her family grew up predominantly in the South West of England. Census returns and newspaper articles show the family in Wiltshire, with Robert Long unsuccessfully standing for election as MP for West Wiltshire in 1910. Joan's mother was a successful breeder and shower of Poodles - a family trait that was passed onto subsequent generations of the family.
On June 24th 1916, Joan married a cousin of her cousin Guinevere - Thomas Maitland Lovett, who has already featured in this blog. This wedding took place at St Michael's Church, Pimlico when Joan was 18. The marriage did not last very long, and in 1920, Joan filed for divorce. In 1921, we can see Joan living at 2 Carlton Mews in St James. Carlton Mews was demolished in 1969, but had been used as a location in the 1968 film "The Charge of the Light Brigade". She stated that she was working as model to Esther Ltd, a court dress maker based on Grafton Street, about a 5 minute walk from her home.
About a year later, Joan gave birth to a daughter at 48 Lexham Gardens, named Anne Williams. The father's name is given as Arthur Watts Williams and Joan gives her name as Joan Williams formerly Long. Arthur and Joan could not have been legally married because Arthur was already married to Lettice Mabel Becker. Arthur and Joan gave their residential address as 37 Courtfield Road, London which appears to have been Arthur's family home. Arthur was born in Newport, Monmouthshire in 1895 to James and Fanny Shadforth Williams. He had joined the Army Service Corps in 1914 before tranferring to the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916. In September 1916 he had married Lettice Mabel Becker at St Peters Church, Eaton Square.
In 1922 and 1923, electoral rolls show Arthur living at The Orchards, Stone, Aylesbury, and then in 1923 and 1924 at The Grange, Twyford, Buckinghamshire. It is not clear where Anne Williams was - whether she was living with her mother or her father, although the Pall Mall Gazette (31 July 1923) does suggest that Joan was in close proximity to Arthur - an article discusses that a George Whiteside was charged with insulting behaviour at Hyde Park Corner when at a coffee shop a lady's dog was allowed to drink out of a saucer. The lady referred to in that article was Mrs Joan Lovett of Twyford, Buckinghamshire. This is further borne out by an advertisement in the Bucks Herald (1 Dec 1923) which advertises Leysfield Hunting Stables, manager J. M. Lovett.
A couple of years later, in the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News (3 Apr 1926) an article discusses a new dog barber's business opening at 61 Beauchamp Place. This is Joan's new business venture, and provides a brief biography of her to date: hunted with Avon Vale, Grafton, Beaufort, Whaddon and Bicester, and at one time kept hunting stables in Bicester. She also managed kennels at Aylesbury and then at Twyford. Although I have not yet found Joan on electoral rolls for this time period, it does indicate that she kept in close contact with Arthur. I am not clear who their daughter was living with, and indeed whether Joan and Arthur were living together.
In the Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press (24 May 1924) an auction of household goods was advertised, at The Grange, Twyford "By direction of Captain A Watts Williams, who is leaving". Five days later, Arthur was aboard the Llanstiphan Castle to Mombasa, Kenya.
It seems that Joan remained in the UK, developing a reputation as a greyhound trainer and breeder. In 1928 Joan appears on the electoral roll, living at Five Acres, Whitchurch, Aylesbury. The Daily Mail (14 Jun 1928) describes this as an "extensive establishment". By 1930, Joan had moved to Belmont Farm, Cockfosters (Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 1 Feb 1930) where she set up a greyhound training facility and kennels. The Evening Dispatch (20 Mar 1930) reported that Joan was about to commence duties as a trainer at the Brighton and Hove greyhound track.
Arthur still seems to be travelling back and forth between Britain and Kenya - in 1930 there is a passenger list showing an A W Williams of 37 Courtfield Road emigrating to Mombasa, Kenya.
In February 1932, Joan was caught up in divorce proceedings - she had been named in a petition for divorce by Mrs Sybil Stanley who alleged that Joan had been having an affair with her husband, Captain Edward Vesey Stanley. Both denied this allegation, and it was then alleged by Captain Stanley that it was his wife who was having an affair with Captain Alexander Dennistoun. Mrs Stanley withdrew her petition and Captain Stanley was awarded a decree nisi, but not before Joan (at her request) had taken to the stand to refute the allegations (Liverpool Echo, 26 Feb 1932).
Perhaps Joan wanted a change of scenery after this experience, because in 1933 she moved her kennels to south Wales, so that she could participate in greyhound racing in Cardiff and Newport (Western Mail, 22 Aug1933). Less than a year later, Joan remarried to Donald Graham Bennett on 12 May 1934 at Marylebone Town Hall.
Donald Bennett was born in Essex in 1905 to Tom and Birdie Bennett. Tom was originally from Herefordshire, and by the 1911 census the Bennett family had moved to Priory Farm, Ross on Wye in Herefordshire. In 1923, Donald emigrated to Australia, probably taking advantage of one of several Assisted Passage schemes whereby the Australian government part-paid for their passage and awarded British migrants with land grants in order to encourage young people to move to Australia. Donald returned to the UK in March 1932.
Following their marriage, Donald and Joan lived at "The Kennels", Michaelstone y Vedw until 1937 - the name of their property suggesting that Joan continued to breed, train and run dogs.
1936 there is a passenger list showing Arthur W Williams leaving the UK for Mombasa, Kenya, accompanied by his wife, Marjorie, and two daughters Antoinette (aged 15) and Diana (aged 7). This ties in with some information found on this site although it is still unclear whether Arthur did register a marriage with Marjorie - remember he is still married to Lettice Becker - or whether they simply stated that they were married to keep up appearances (a lot easier to do in the time before social media and electronic records!).
On 19th August 1939, Mr and Mrs Donald Bennett left Britain aboard the "Umtah" bound for Southern Rhodesia. Sadly, Joan died just a couple of years later on 18th October 1941, in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia.
So what became of Joan's daughter, Antoinette Watts Williams? In 1946 she got married in Victoria, Australia, to Donald Graham Bennett. They remained in Australia until their deaths in 1974 and 1986 respectively.
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