Behind the smiling faces in family photo albums there are often mysteries which can only be solved by talking to those who remember the people, places and times past. LUCYA SZACHNOWSKI follows clues to the history of the Boultard family who lived in Beckenham and Bromley during the last century

WHEN we ran a history feature on a mysterious photograph album which had been handed in to a jumble sale (A Picture Book of Memories, November 14), we had no idea there was someone on the News Shopper's staff who was related by marriage to the album's former owners.

News Shopper receptionist Joan Saxby said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw the piece in the newspaper. Frank Boultard, known as Chum, was married to my mother-in-law's sister. He was a lovely man, very considerate and a complete gentleman.

"He got the name Chum when he was a boy and used to help his father, George, who was head green keeper at Beckenham Place Park golf course. George would say 'come on chummy' when he wanted him to help. The name stuck."

But the Boultard family had its share of tragedies.

Dorothy Fever, from Petts Wood, called the News Shopper to say she was the granddaughter of George and Eliza Boultard.

"Mrs Boultard was a seamstress and her husband was a green keeper.

"They had three daughters, Mabel, Lilly and Daisy. Lilly was my mother. We lived at The Stables, in Beckenham Place Park, until I was nine. Daisy Boultard died in 1912 at the age of 22. It was a sad story. Daisy went to work as a servant. She shared a bedroom with another servant, who lit a fire one cold night. The chimney was blocked and Daisy died of smoke inhalation. She is buried with her father in Elmers End Cemetery."

Miss Fever also talked about another family mystery.

"My grandmother brought up Frank Chum although he was not her son. He changed his name to Boultard later."

Mrs Saxby put us in contact with Biddy Howard, from Shirley, a niece of Frank Boultard and his wife Floss, who said: "Chum's real name was Francis Gabriel. There used to be a sanatorium in Beckenham Place Park for people from well-to-do families with problems. Chum's mother was staying at the sanatorium and asked Mrs Boultard to look after her child.

She then left the sanatorium and abandoned him, so Mrs Boultard raised him.

"Chum changed his name to Boultard when he was an adult, at the insistence of my aunt Floss who refused to marry him unless he did so."

Chum developed a passion for golf and became a professional golfer for West Kent Golf Club but retired from the sport early when his wife became ill. They had no children.

Chum died aged 84 in 1991.

More light was shed on the history of the family by Sheila Boyce, from East Sussex. She said: "My maiden name was Boultard. At the time of the 1881 census, the Boultards lived in Hertfordshire. They were a family of six."

This could possibly be the same family. According to the census, the head of the family was a George Boultard, who was a coachman and domestic servant.

The mystery of how the album was handed in to the Friends of Glebe Housing Association's jumble sale, in West Wickham, was answered by Mrs Howard.

She said: "The album belonged to me. I put out two boxes of stuff one for the jumble sale and another containing my photo albums. This got put in the wrong box."

But the accidental chain of events has, at least, lead to the discovery of a fascinating family history story.

November 30, 2001 10:23