Sunday 2 February 2014

Seeking biographical information on WW1 poet Madeline Ida Bedford


As you all know by now, I am researching women who wrote poetry during WW1 (as well as inspirational women and fascinating facts) for a series of exhibitions to commemorate the Centenary - Grandfather was an Old Contemptible and this is in his memory.  I spent hours yesterday, trying to find biographical details of the poet Madeline Ida Bedford without much success.  Madeline wrote a poem about women munition workers in WW1 that has now become famous.   In "The Soldiers Return", Rebecca West suggests the dates 1888 - 1956 for Madeline, however I can't find anything to confirm this and the dates do not appear to tally with any British registered births and deaths.

A Madeline Ida Bedford, father's name Edward Bedford, a civil engineer from Waterford, Ireland, married an Ernest Bolton Morris in St.Martins-in-the-Fields, London on 24th June 1919 . The records suggest that they had only one child, a daughter:

Madeline B Morris born Greenwich  1922 Oct-Nov-Dec - Mother's maiden name: Bedford

Madeline Bolton Green was the beneficiary of Madeline Ida Bolton Morris’s estate. A Madeline B Morris married a Bernard O. Green in Westminster in 1946 - Oct-Nov-Dec quarter.

Madeline Ida’s probate record indicates that her daughter’s husband’s name was Bernard Osborn Green.   It could be that Madeline's daughter is still alive and could tell us if her mother is indeed our lost poet.   Can anyone help please?

I have to thank Clive Barrett who broke off his own research into WW1 poet and artist Constance Ada Renshaw to help me.

Lucy London, 2nd February 2014