The Goodliffe Family of NottinghamArnold Daniel GoodliffeArnold Daniel GOODLIFFE was the only son of Pickering Goodliffe and Margaret MURPHY. He was born in Nottingham on 9 July 1874 and was recorded in the 1881 census with Pickering and Margaret at 36 Park St, Nottingham. He attended University School, Southport (between Liverpool and Blackpool) from 1891, then University of London, then on to King's College, Cambridge, in 1900.
Census records
Arnold Daniel was a Choral Scholar with a fine voice. He graduated BA in 1900 and MA in 1905. Arnold became Science Master in 1902 and later Headmaster of Richard Huish College, Taunton, Somerset, a position he held until early 1941 when he died of pneumonia. There is further information about Arnold's time at Huish in a book on the School's history. Several famous people passed through Huish during Arnold's time as Headmaster. One was Arthur C. Clarke, who
gave this Tribute:
Arnold's FamilyArnold married Sarah Alice MANN, in Carnavon, in late 1903. Sarah was the daughter of Dr Mann, the organist and choir-master at King's College. After Arnold was appointed headmaster they settled into Huish House, a Grade II listed property off Hamilton Rd, Taunton, which they occupied until Arnold died in 1941. Arnold and Sarah had 4 children:
All four children were baptised at Taunton St Mary Magdalene Church, Taunton.
Arnold and Sarah lived in Taunton for all of their married life. In 1911 they were at Huish House, Arnold's mother Margaret was now living with them.
Arnold was a reknowned chorister, gaining entrance to Kings College Cambridge on a chorister's scholarship. His sons Arthur, Frederick and Edwin all graduated from King's College Cambridge, as their father had. Arthur and Frederick are referred to in various archival records, relating to the choir. Their second cousin Walter Arnold Goodliffe was also in the choir. Arnold retained his connections with the Kings College choir, especially as his father-in-law was the music master there.
Arnold's mother (Margaret MURPHY) lived with them from about 1902 until she died there in 1926. The circumstances of her death were tragic and the subject of two coroner's hearing, reported in the papers:
Their daughter Sara Margaret died in Taunton in 1936 and was buried at St Mary's Cemetery, Taunton. In 1939 Arnold and Sarah (known now as Alice Annie) were at "Halcon House", which looks to be the same building as "Huish House". Arnold is also listed in the 1941 phone directory at Halcon House:
Arnold died of pneumonia on 29 March 1941 whilst still the Headmaster at Huish College. He was buried with daughter Sara. After Arnold died, Sarah moved to London to live near her youngest son Edwin. In the 1953 electoral rolls, Sarah was living at 10 Gloucester Rd, New Barnet. Edwin with his wife Sylvia and mother-in-law Esmonde BOWERMAN were at 7 Lyonsdown Ave, New Barnet. Sarah died at 10 Gloucester St Barnet on 21 May 1955, aged 79. She was buried at St Mary's Cemetery, Taunton.
The Children of Arnold and Sarah GOODLIFFESara Margaret GOODLIFFE 1904-1936Sara was born 12 July 1904 at Taunton to Arnold and Sarah and was baptised on 12 October 1904 at Taunton St Mary Magdalene. She was recorded with the family in the 1911 census. She studied the piano and passed the Intermediate grade exams in 1922. We know little more about Sara. She did not marry and died on 18 August 1936 at Taunton aged 32. She is buried at St Mary's Cemetery, Taunton.
Frederick Arnold GOODLIFFE 1905-1979Frederick ArnoldFrederick Arnold was born in Taunton on 11 October 1905, a twin with Arthur Henry. He was baptised ahead of Arthur so we might assume he was the older twin.
He attended King's College, Cambridge with his brother, and both were in the choir. After graduating BA, he joined the Civil Service and was posted to Nigeria as a magistrate, where he spent most of his working life. He married Doris Francis POTTER in 1932. There are 11 shipping records for Frederick Arnold and his wife travelling to various destinations in Africa. The record for April 1932 is shown here. It gives Frederick's address in Britain as Halcon House, Taunton (the house occupied by his father Arnold) but his usual residence as abroad, but his wife's is England. As they were married in 1932 this would be her first overseas trip. Frederick is listed as a civil servant and has travelled to and from Africa regularly from 1928.
The 1948 record to Tiko is for Mrs Doris Goodliffe, late of 8 Clifford Ave Taunton. She appears to be accompanied by Mary SELKIRK, occupation Nursing Sister. Frederick and Doris had one child - Ann Patricia, born 24 April 1935 in Taunton. Both were living in Taunton in 1939, at 8 Clifford Ave, with Doris' mother Evelyn (POTTER). Note Ann's marriage to Philip Paul SANDERS was later recorded on the register.
Frederick Arnold was awarded the OBE in 1952, as announced in the London Gazette:
Frederick Arnold and Doris returned to Taunton. In the 1953 telephone directory, they are listed at Hazelford, Mt Nebo, Taunton. By 1963 he had became Secretary of the Somerset Rural Community Council, as recorded in the 1963 telephone directory. By 1967 Frederick had moved to a new address: Coyden Cottage, Staplehay. He retired from all duties, including as a local magistrate in 1971.
Frederick died in March 1979 and Doris in September 1982.
Arthur HenryArthur was born in Taunton in 1904, a twin with Frederick Arnold. He graduated from King's College with BA and then went on to London for a BSc. Arthur joined British Petroleum. He married Kathleen NOTT on 30 July 1932 at Carshalton All Saints Surrey. A few years later they went overseas, first to the West Indies and later to Egypt until his retirement in 1963.
On 6 August 1938 he and Kathleen travelled to Curacao, West Indies, on the ship Columbia, departing from Dover. Country of intended residence was the West Indies. Arthur's occupation is given as B.Pm likely to mean British Petroleum).
When war was declared they returned to England via Lisbon and lived at Ewell Downs Road, Ewell during the war years. In 1945 he moved to The Hague to help restart the Shell Oil Company. On 18 January 1951 Arthur and Kathleen travelled to Port Said, Egypt on the Strathaird. Address in England was given as 10 Gloucester Rd, New Barnet. However they are noted as usually residing in a foreign country, and their intended future residence is Egypt. Arthur's occupation is now given as Ch. Eng - Chemical Engineer. He worked as Chief Engineer at the Shell Refinery, Suez.
Later he worked in Japan on new refinery projects. The consular birth indices have a record for Nigel James GOODLIFFE, born Willemstadt, Curacao in January 1939. They had another son - Peter Arthur GOODLIFFE born in Ewell, Surrey in December 1941. There is a patent awarded to Arthur Henry Goodliffe in 1946 for the reaction of sodium with water. It is in the name of the Asiatic Petroleum Company Ltd, of London. (Read the patent in PDF format here.) Asiatic Petroleum was formed in 1903 as a joint venture between British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Petroleum (later to merge with Shell). Arthur and Kathleen retired to Chard (Taunton), where they are listed in the phone directory for 1963:
Arthur died in Chard on 25 March 1964. His death was recorded in the Times of London. He is buried at St Mary's Cemetery, Taunton.
Kathleen Alice (KNOTT) died in 1992 at Macclesfield. Edwin Ramsay GOODLIFFEEdwin was born 3 June 1913 at Taunton and baptised on 23 July 1913 at Taunton St Mary Magdalene.
He also attended King's College, Cambridge, graduating with BA in 1935, as recorded by the Times of London, Wednesday June 26, page 18:
Edwin went on to obtain a PhD in Entomology and seems to have specialised in pest control. I have not discovered much about his career, but he published a series of papers in 1939, probably related to his PhD research. In 1958 he published a paper: Current Methods of Roach Control in the Annals of Applied Biology, Vol 46 pp102-105. His address at the time was given as: Ratsouris Limited, Golden Acre, 50 Central Street, London, E.C Edwin Daniel GOODLIFFE married Sylvia Henrietta Lorraine BOWERMAN in St Mary's Church, Taunton on 7 December 1939. The event was recorded in the Taunton Courier on 14 October 1939. The report is notable for the exhaustive list of presents received by the couple.
Edwin, as did his brothers, kept up his assocoation with Huish's Grammar School. The London branch of the Old Boys Association held an annual dinner in 1951 at which Edwin, and the later-to-become-famous writer Arthur C. Clarke attended.
By 1975 Edwin had returned to the Taunton area, as recorded in the telephone directory. He would have been 62 years old:
Edwin died in Taunton on 28 February 2002 - his wife's 85th birthday. He was aged 88 years. Sylvia Goodliffe died later the same year on 3 December 2002, aged 85. Her death certificate shows the informant was her daughter, Lyn Catherine GOODLIFFE.
Return to Pickering Goodliffe page Last updated: 14 Feb 2021 |
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