Gran's Story - Beryl Dix
By Camille Barton
When you think of an inspirational woman, names such as Marie Curie, Harriet Tubman, Queen Elizabeth or Michelle Obama might come to mind. These women were all pioneers, scholars and humanitarians and influenced generations of all genders to pursue their dreams and passions and reach their potential. Beryl Dix is my hero and inspiration, the equal to those I just mentioned in her influence on not just my life, but the lives of practically all who had the privilege to know her.
Beryl was by far the most intelligent person I have ever known, incredibly well read and spoken, and fastidious to a tee when it came to spelling and grammar! Always on top of current events, you could talk to Beryl about absolutely anything, though she preferred meaningful, stimulating conversation over small talk or gossip. Unashamedly progressive, Beryl was a proud greenie, feminist, environmentalist and animal activist. She was also in many ways quite traditional, carrying on the family traditions of baking classic English pastries, endless cups of tea and of course supporting the monarchy (however she was a bit less sure since poor Charles took over), she was also a model citizen, never incurring so much as a speeding ticket (a trait she didn't manage to pass on to everyone). Adventurous and fun loving throughout her life, Beryl enjoyed dancing, travel and music. She was also an avid and skilled Gardener and was particularly proud of her rose garden. Beryl was also a very talented writer, author, archivist and family historian and published two books, including her family history which established our descent all the way back to the Vikings. Beryl was endlessly kind, thoughtful and caring, an excellent listener and a doting and loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. She was treasured by her family and will be very sorely missed.
Good afternoon and thank you all for being here today. My name is Camille and Beryl is my grandmother. It is my great honor and privilege to stand here and tell her story. It is a daunting task to put the proverbial pen to paper and summarize a life so well lived to a few pages, but I will do my best.
Beryl Dix was born, weighing 6lb, in Oldham Central Hospital on the 3 rd of March 1932. To Sarah (Sally) and Ephraim (Eph) Ingham, this same hospital is famous because it was the birthplace of the world's first test tube baby in 1978 (I got that from Beryl's first book!). Beryl was the first surviving child born to the family, with her older brother Derek born in 1930 sadly passing away at or soon after birth. Beryl was a placid baby who didn't cry very much, stoic from the very beginning.
Ephraim was an electro-plater who worked for Ferranti's, a company that manufactured high voltage power transformers, Sally was a speed tenter for a cotton mill (someone who stretches cloth on a frame whilst it dries). Beryl and her family lived in Chadderton, Oldham at Coalshaw Green Road from 1932 to 1939, during which time her younger brother Trevor was born in 1934. The family often took holidays in the regions to visit family, Dover was a favorite destination of Beryls, where she enjoyed seeing the castles, visiting the funfair at Margate and watching her father catch fish at the breakwater. In her book, Beryl recalls treasured memories of the pebbled beaches, building sandcastles with her brother and eating picnics and swimming with her father, but never Sally who was frightened of the water.
The family moved around the beginning of the war in 1939 to a larger home in Norman Street in Failsworth, where they would remain until 1957 it had an outside lavatory (at least it flushed!) and a modern hot water system that the family considered a luxury. Beryl attended school in Stansfield Road, where Trevor was in the infants' school and she was in the Primary section, she learned to write using both a pen dipped in an inkwell as pencil. Beryl was grateful both parents were able to remain at home at this time as Ephraim was too old at 40 to join the armed forces and worked in an essential service anyway, however Sally did work in a canteen at a company providing goods for the war effort when Beryl was a bit older, telling Beryl all the tricks they used to make the rations go further. Gran used to tell me stories about rationing during the war and had even kept some ration books. I recall that during the war children had an allowance of one small bag of sweets a month. An example which was given to me when I was asking for the lolly jar for the umpteenth time!
In 1941 when Beryl was 9, she was enrolled at the Convent School, at Werneth Grange in Oldham, an all-girls school run by the Sisters of Mercy. Beryl enjoyed the lessons in English, particularly literature and poetry. She also enjoyed drawing but admitted not having much of a talent for that (same Gran, same). She also learned needlework which she loathed a distaste that remained throughout her life, Grandad was the sewer in our family). Towards the end of her schooling Beryl sat for the entrance examination of the Gregg School in Manchester, a highly respected college whose graduates were sought after by employers. In her book Gran recalls not knowing the answer to one question "what is kept in an apiary?". In desperation with the clock ticking she wrote "apes" and was horrified to find when she looked it up later an apiary is where you keep bees! Despite this error Beryl not only passed the exam but was offered a scholarship which she accepted.
Beryl was 15 when she commenced her education at the Gregg School where she studied, typing, English, bookkeeping, commercial French and shorthand. Shorthand is now a bit of a lost art, but before word processing it was a highly valuable skill and one that Gran continued to use throughout her life right until the end. Beryl was one of the youngest pupils at the school and after 12 months she was interviewed for and offered a role with the Road Transport and General Insurance Company, her wage was 25 shillings per week (about $2.50). Beryl was thrilled to be able to earn her own living. After a time, although she enjoyed her job, Beryl saw no opportunity for advancement so applied for a typist position at GB Ollivant and Co, they were West African merchants and the thought of working for a company connected to such an exotic place was thrilling. She stayed for several months until in 1949 when she was approached by a family friend to take up a role at Hubron Rubber Chemicals in Failsworth as Secretary to the General Manager. It is here where Beryl's long career as an executive Secretary began, she was appointed Secretary to the Chairman and Managing Director from 1952 until 1968.
1949 was a big year for Beryl, on Good Friday her life changed forever when she attended the Daisy Nook fair with her friends, riding the roundabouts and dodgem cars, eating candy floss and ice cream before beginning the walk home. Beryl and her friends were joined on their walk by three "not bad" looking lads, wearing fashionable drainpipe trousers and colourful ties, one of which was Roy Dix. Beryl and her friend made arrangements to meet Roy and his friend the following afternoon, they took a record player and sat on the grassy hill listening to music, then they went to the Cinema and watched a film.
The rest, as they say, is history. Beryl and Roy courted, spending their free time together enjoying outings and adventures including rock climbing, caverneering and cycling. They were engaged in May 1951 and Married on May 30th, 1953, at St John's Church in Failsworth a few months after Beryl's 21 st birthday. They honeymooned in Wales, Anglesea and Ludlow, travelling in their latest car, a "crushed strawberry" hued Hudson Terraplane which was their pride and joy. They actually honeymooned with another couple, who were apparently a bit hopeless, there is a cherished family photo taken of Beryl and Roy waiting at a café for their vehicle to be repaired due to the other pairs bungles.
After the wedding, Beryl returned to work and the newlyweds moved in with Sally and Ephrim to save for a home of their own. They were still living there when on the 14 th of November, 1955 Martin was born. Beryl returned to work at Hubron a few months later with Sally helping with childcare. Roy had been working as a cabinet maker but had to change careers when he developed an allergic reaction to sawdust. He moved into sales, working first for a sewing machine company then later opening his own shop. Remember I said Grandad was the sewer?
In 1957 Beryl, Roy and Martin moved from Sally and Ephrim's place into their brand-new home in Simister Road, Failsworth. It was here in their modern bungalow they welcomed their daughter Melanie into the world, who was born on October 4th, 1959. In those days it was relatively unusual for women to return to work after children, but Beryl was so valued by Hubron they provided a company car, chauffeured by Johhny Dodd to drive Martin to school every day to allow her speedy return.
In 1964 the family moved to the very posh Grange Avenue in Werneth, Oldham. The house was opposite the Convent Beryl had attended as a girl. Beryl continued working at Hubron and Roy followed his passion for cars into a career in the auto-industry, running two service stations where Martin sometimes worked alongside him on the school holidays. It is through Roy that Beryl became a somewhat unlikely appreciator of fine vehicles, driving predominantly English cars for many years including a Diamler Dart V8 sportscar. They also owned a very fancy Bently, this car was equipped with a black, Bakelite telephone, on which Roy would call Beryl of an evening, telling her to put the chips on for tea, making them possibly the most expensive chips of the day! Beryl and Roy loved travelling and family holidays, going on many motor tours over the years to Polperro, Tenby, Dover, Anglesey and the Lake District.
By 1966 Roy's work was doing so well Beryl was able to take a well-deserved break from her career. Roy's brother Albert moved to Tasmania, and they started to think about the possibilities. Sadly, Beryl's father Ephrim passed away unexpectedly, shortly after his retirement. The family then moved to a brand-new house in Leicester Road, Failsworth in 1967.
By 1969 the pull of adventure had become too great, Beryl and Roy decided to emigrate, they had the choice of Australia, Canada or New Zealand but settled on Australia due to having some family there in Roy's Brother Albert. The family voted on whether to travel by air or sea. Air travel was very special in those days and Beryl was outvoted on her preference to go by boat. The family boarded the first all immigrant flight to Australia in January 1969. Beryl and Roy were 10-pound poms, Martin and Melanie were free!
The family first lived with Albert and Christine in Claremont, Hobart. Before moving around a few rentals before buying their own housing commission home in Binnalong Road, Mornington where they remained until 2016. They were later joined by her Mother Sally and brother Trevor who eventually bought and lived in the house next door. Neither Beryl nor Roy ever looked back on their decision to move to Australia, they loved the open spaces, warmer weather and the egalitarian spirit of their adopted home. They would go on to become citizens and enjoyed exploring not only their home state of Tasmania but also the Norther Territory and Northwest of Western Australia which they explored extensively. Over the years they met a multitude of people from all walks of life and forged many lifelong friendships, they were very social and often hosted dinner parties, something that continued throughout their lives, with Beryl still hosting traditional afternoon teas for family and friends in later years.
Barely a month after moving to Australia Beryl was employed as the Secretary to the General Manager of the Australian Glass Company, later that year she moved to Charles Davis Ltd where she was the Secretary to the Chairman and in 1970, she joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tasmania where she worked until retirement in 1991. She was not only the Departmental Secretary of Chemistry but also took on the role of Secretary of the University Branch of the Community and Public Sector Union. It was here at the University of Tasmania Beryl became one of the pioneers of modern computing, working with early versions of both Apple Macintosh and IBM computers (including the famous Golf ball Electra) and becoming proficient in both systems (something most of us still can't manage).
Beryl was a dedicated writer and record keeper all her life and always had a typewriter, word processor, computer or iPad at home on which to write, her computer skills were better than many people half her age even right up to the end, when she was still joined at the hip to her apple watch.
Melanie and Martin grew up in Hobart, attending School in Rosny and making their own careers. Martin joined the police force and Melanie followed in Beryl's footsteps, attending Mitchell's Secretarial School to study Business and joining Beryl to work at the University of Tasmania where Melanie worked in the Mathematics department. Melanie has fond memories of having lunch with Beryl every day and Gran driving her V8 Leyland P76, leaving other rev-head drivers in the dust when she took off at the traffic lights!
Beryl and Roy's passion for travel was a constant throughout their time together, they took their first cruise to the South Pacific on the Oriana in 1978 and another on the Caberra in 1984, the same year they visited New Zealand. They travelled to Asia in 1981 and traveled twice to the US, completed an 8-month word tour after Roy retired and in 1999 returned to the UK for several months. They also took off on a Motorhome tour of mainland Australia in 1993.
Both Martin and Melanie eventually met their future spouses and married; Martin to Deborah in 1978 and Melanie to Larry in 1980, Melanie and Larry would leave Tasmania in the early 80's to pursue careers in the dusty North of the country, where Beryl and Roy would later visit and explore. Beryl welcomed four Grandchildren into her life in the 80's in Samuel, Camille, Thomas and Jeremy. She was a doting, loving Grandmother who would do anything for her Grandchildren, we all share fond memories of our time spent with her and Grandad. Gran introduced me to the classics, the Sound of Music, gone with the wind and the Phantom of the Opera, encouraged me to read everything but take nothing at face value. She once told me off the one time I lamented the fact that women now had to work instead of being spoiled housewives, she soon set me straight with a lecture on women, working and the importance of being able to always provide for oneself. She did spoil us though, the lolly jar was always full, she would make you just about anything you wanted to eat, and she was always pulling out toys, books and games to entertain us. Her house was a safe place for us all.
Beryl retired from the University of Tasmania in 1991, but never one to sit still she soon took up a voluntary role in 1992 with Holyoak, a drug and alcohol addictions counselling service. She was also their Board Secretary from 1995 until 2002. It was after retirement that in amongst the travel, caring for her elderly mother (Sally who passed away in 1997, aged 95), gardening and family time that she began writing. She was a member of the writer's group and was on the Publications Committee of the Tasmanian Family History Society from 2008 where she reviewed and approved all publications from the five branches of the society. Beryl published her first book "Growing Up in Lancashire" in 2009, it is a fantastic read and helped me immensely in writing this story for you today. She also began her life's work of researching and recording our family history, which I will return to shortly.
Beryl, in my eyes at least, was really, very remarkable. A career woman well ahead of her time and smarter than people with multiple fancy degrees. We have often commented that if Beryl was born in a different time, she would likely have been an academic. Most people become less flexible in their thinking and views as they get older. Not Beryl, she remained an informed, active citizen and respectful and critical thinker for all her days. You could talk to her about anything, and she would consider arguments from all sides, able to converse with anyone no matter their views and eloquently give her informed opinions. Beryl was our un-official family editor in chief, helping to write and QA countless job applications, university assignments and even an entire PHD thesis. She could write a letter better than anyone I have ever known; we all have stories of times when Gran wrote letters to companies and councils that would make even the most seasoned lawyer shake in their boots. Beryl was a humanitarian and animal rights activist. She supported numerous causes in the pursuit of animal welfare and even became a vegetarian and later vegan (though she never managed to quite convert Roy!) in her 80s. I can't really express how astounding a change that is for anyone, but especially an octogenarian! but I digress.
In 2015 Beryl was blessed with her Great Grandchild Trevor Roy (Born to Sam and Laura), named for her treasured brother who she lost too soon in 1993 and whom she had cared for and supported throughout his life. Bery doted on Trevor Roy, he brought her and his Great Grandad Roy immense joy and pride.
2016 was a very difficult year for Beryl, Roy broke his wrist, and it was discovered he had cancer. What followed was a multitude of hospital visits, an operation, another fall and fracture, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Despite the best efforts of the staff at St John's hospital, Roy passed peacefully on September 25th, 2016, with Beryl by his side. Beryl was heartbroken by the loss of her dear Roy, her best friend and husband of over sixty years.
After Roy's passing, Beryl took comfort in the company of her family and her special friend Irene whose late husband David was a close friend of Roy's. Beryl and Irene enjoyed meals out, attending the cinema and even went on a cruise together. In 2018 Beryl left Binnalong Road and accomplished her long-term dream of living in Bellerive, moving to her beachside unit on high-street. Beryl was very fond of her new house and took great pride in the gardens, particularly the roses which she cultivated with great expertise and care. Beryl returned to her writing and went on to publish her second book. "The Legacy of the Lesser Son a Family History from the 12 th to the 20 th Century", celebrated with a launch party at the Hobart Botanical Gardens in 2022. Beryl also continued to be an active member of her writer's group and family history society as a committee member.
In late 2023 during a routine checkup, it was discovered that Beryl had pancreatic cancer, which was devastatingly, not curable. Beryl elected not to undergo active treatment and chose to spend quality time with her family instead. Last Christmas she was able to spend with us and it is a memory we will all cherish forever. Stoic and concerned for others, Beryl never complained and continued to live at home, with support from family, particularly Melanie, Martin, Deb, Larry and Thomas. Her final two weeks were spent at the Whittle Ward and Beryl passed peacefully on the 11 th of April with Martin and Melanie at her side, cherished and loved until the very end.
As I come toward the end of this story I want to briefly go back to the beginning. Beryl was not given a middle name at birth, for reasons unknown and it was something she rather lamented as she wasn't fond of her first name due to its unfortunate connotation with grouchy grannies in popular culture. Beryl, however, is a precious stone, in fact is a family of precious stones which includes the noble emerald, the same as that in Gran's favorite ring. All stones have meanings and Emeralds symbolize love, wisdom and inspiration, which means Beryl was just perfect for her, after all.
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