Charles Thomas Rodgers was said to be the third husband of Vaudine Agassiz, though there is no documentary evidence to confirm this. They married during the Second World War in Kenya, so no details are available, and no records of his war service have been found for him. Her previous marriages were presumably also in Kenya. Their only daughter, Jeanann, was born in 1943. Charles and Vaudine did not last long after this. Charles met his second wife, Noreen Alba Hale, when Jeanann was 6 months old. Vaudine was then about 30, and Charles left her and Jeanann soon afterwards.
Vaudine was not yet finished, though. When Jeanann was 5 years old, Vaudine married Desmond Kenzo Knight (presumably her fourth husband) in Kenya. He became Jeanann’s ‘Dad’.
Desmond and Vaudine were married for over forty years. Jeanann lived in Kenya until she and her husband went to Australia in 1974. Desmond and Vaudine followed in 1976 and they lived in Western Australia until they died. Vaudine died aged 81 in Bunbury, Western Australia. There were no other children.
Jeanann Rodgers married Richard Andrew Barbour in 1964 and they had three children. After nearly thirty years living in Kenya and then thirty years in Australia, Jeanann and Richard lived and worked at Kisampa Camp in Tanzania. Kisampa is a private community conservation sanctuary that adjoins the unique coastal Saadani National Park in eastern Tanzania. Conserving this area was the passion of the Barbour family.
Charles Thomas Rodgers married Noreen Alba Hale in 1946. Noreen was born in 1912 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her mother’s father had been in Argentina as manager the Anglo South American Bank, whilst her father, Horace, after an illustrious rowing career at Eton and Balliol, worked there as an importer of agricultural equipment and later arms and munitions. Noreen had obviously been married before as her name was given as Pearson when she married Charles.
Charles continued in the forces after the war. He spent some time as a liaison officer in Washington DC, in America, where their only daughter, Jocelyn, was born in 1947. He served as colonel with the Cheshires in Korea. After that he returned to the USA, still working in the army. Later, after leaving the army, Charles went to work for Lonrho, the London and Rhodesian Mining and Land Company, in Rhodesia. He died at a cricket match in Oxted, Surrey, in 1989 whilst there with his daughter Jocelyn.
Jocelyn Mary Rodgers was the only child of Charles and Noreen Rodgers. She had US citizenship by reason of her birth. She married Martin Broughton in 1974 in Chelsea, London. They had met whilst they were both working with British American Tobacco (BAT) in Hong Kong. Trained as an accountant, Martin later became chairman of BAT; he has also been chairman of the Wiggins Teape Group, chairman of Eagle Star and became chairman of British Airways in July 2004. He was president of the CBI from 2007. He is a keen Chelsea football fan, and was most recently in the news for his part as temporary chairman of Liverpool FC in 2010, negotiating the sale of the club.
The rationale for this long explanation of the origins of Jeanann and Jocelyn can now be revealed. With all the convolutions and intricacies of their father’s marital situation, Jocelyn did not know her half-sister, Jeanann, existed until she was 23 years old. Frederick Harrod Rodgers was the second child of Frederick and Eva Rodgers, born in 1916. Although qualified as a solicitor, he spent most of his life in local government.
Jean Mary Rodgers was the third child of Frederick and Eva, and was born in 1920. Her daughter, Penny Blyth, gave details of her story.
She married her first husband, Major Donald John Scott, a Canadian officer, at the end of 1942, when the Canadians were stationed in Sussex. Don was killed in the D-Day landings at the Falaise Gap in France. Their best man, Jimmie Blyth, who was Don’s roommate at the University of Saskatchewan, was also serving with the Canadian forces in France, where he was wounded. Jimmie came back to England after the fighting in France – and married Jean himself!
Jimmie had been made a major at the age of 24, and ended the war as an acting lieutenant colonel. He returned to Canada with his troops at the end of the war, sailing on the Queen Mary. Jean followed later on a bride ship. He worked in the power industry and later the brewing and soft drinks industry, including Canada Dry, where he became president and chairman of the board.
Penny Jean, who was born in 1948, was their only child.
An interesting addition to the story of Jean Mary Rodgers materialised in 2014. I was contacted by a retired British Army officer after he saw my family tree on Ancestry. Tony was born in June 1942 and had been adopted as a youngster, and he had had a very happy family life. He had been born a Rodgers. He was keen to trace his birth mother, who he knew to be Jean Rodgers. He thought from my tree that he might have been an illegitimate son of Don Scott and Jean Rodgers, conceived before their marriage. He had already done quite a lot of research about Don. He hoped I might know what had happened to Jean Rodgers and be in contact with any relatives.
It had been some years since my last contact with Jean’s daughter, so I was by no means certain whether Jean was still alive. She would have been 94 years old. I was able to contact Penny and break the news to her that her mother had a further child, and she had a half-brother. Jean was still alive, though very frail, and Penny had to broach the subject slowly and carefully with her mother. It turned out her mother had had a relationship with another Canadian soldier before marrying Don Scott, and Tony was the result. Jean came round to the idea that her secret was out and Penny was delighted to find a brother.
The happy end to the story is that Tony and his wife flew off to Canada soon afterwards and they were all able to meet Jean and Penny and get to know each other.
EPILOGUE
I am very proud of my illustrious ancestors, despite their occasional indiscretions. However, I do wonder from time to time whether the Harrods of today is such a glorious institution because of or despite my relatives.
Comparing the store to other similar stores suggests that a good start in life is not necessarily a guarantee of success; look at what happened to Whiteley’s. But plenty of London stores which were founded in the nineteenth century, or even earlier, have thrived and are still in a healthy state today. John Lewis started as a draper’s apprentice. He opened his own store in 1864 in Oxford Street. He became a great benefactor with a reputation for looking after his staff; a feature of the company that still continues today. No one could argue that the store has not been successful.
William Debenham invested in William Clark’s small London draper’s shop in Wigmore Street in 1813. Starting as Clark & Debenhams, it was later renamed Cavendish House. Of particular interest to me is that they opened several provincial stores, including one in my own town, Cheltenham, in 1823. It prospered, and the management split with Debenham returning to London. The Cheltenham store that remained is called Cavendish House. As what goes around comes around, John Lewis has this year, 2016, taken over an arcade site from Debenhams in Cheltenham and will have a department store here once again.
There has always been a flux of stores which get swallowed up in a group and then change hands. Harrods were involved for a while in the House of Fraser group, and Debenhams in its time took over Marshall & Snelgrove and Harvey Nichols, but they have all changed ownership since.
The Army & Navy Co-operative Society was formed in London in 1871 by a group of army and navy officers. It became a limited company in the 1930s, and expanded into other stores in the 1950s. They were acquired by House of Fraser in 1976 but the name was lost when the stores were rebranded after 2005.
Arthur Lasenby Liberty opened his business in 1875 selling exotic fabric, with a lease on half a shop in Regent Street. He had already worked in Regent Street for twelve years. Over the following years the store continued its growth by buying neighbouring properties and pursued its interest in fabrics and design. Although Liberty died in 1917, in 1924 the distinctive mock-Tudor store was constructed from the timbers of two Royal Naval ships: HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan. The shop has changed hands several times and in 2010 it was taken over by a privat
e equity firm.
William Fortnum used his position as footman to Queen Anne to kick-start his career. His landlord, Hugh Mason, joined him and their Piccadilly grocery store opened in 1707. It has always concentrated on provisions, and although other departments have been added it has never tried to have universal coverage. The shop has changed hands in the last few decades and is now privately owned by an investment company.
Benjamin Harvey opened a linen shop in 1831. He died in 1850 and his wife ran the shop in partnership with James Nichols, who married Harvey’s niece. Following demolition, a new building was completed in 1894. It was owned for a while by Debenhams, and subsequently Burtons who bought Debenhams, but it has changed hands since then only once, and is now listed on the stock exchange. In the recent years the group has opened branches both here and abroad.
In 1849, Hugh Fraser and James Arthur started a small drapery shop on Argyle Street, Glasgow. The partnership was dissolved in 1865, but Fraser continued. Between 1936 and 1985 over seventy companies, not including their subsidiaries, were acquired and the group became a national chain and it was rebranded as the House of Fraser. In 2006 it was sold to a consortium of investors and, latterly, in 2014 was acquired by a chain of Chinese department stores.
Michael Marks began selling wares from a bag. In 1884, Thomas Spencer joined him and they opened a shop in Leeds. It is now publicly owned and listed on the stock exchange. Today, it operates 700 stores.
What I do not know is how many potential stores started up in the nineteenth century and never made it into the twentieth century.
Whiteley’s makes an interesting comparison; it is really very similar to Harrods. They were both started by a driven individual who did well after humble beginnings. Whereas Whiteley had the vision to see where he wanted to go on his own, Harrods needed the ambition of the founder’s son to put the growth into overdrive. Whiteley was fired up by his visit to the Great Exhibition in 1851 when he was aged 20. Both Mr Harrod and Mr Whiteley’s shops suffered the setback of a major fire – Harrods in 1883 and Whiteley’s in 1897 – but both recovered and continued to progress.
Charles Digby Harrod had seven daughters and a son who was not interested in business. William Whitely had two daughters and two sons, and his sons took over after William’s death in 1907. They opened a splendid new store in what is now called Queensway, in 1911.
At this point, I would guess Harrods and Whiteley’s were neck and neck in the store stakes, with Selfridges a late starter. Whiteley’s thrived for a while, but the sons lost interest and drive, and in 1927 the store was sold to Harry and Gordon Selfridge. It did not thrive and gradually declined in the following decades. Gordon Selfridge did not do very well in the next decade and had many financial problems. In the end, he returned to the retail trade in the USA in 1940.
So why did Harrods continue and succeed, whilst Whiteley’s never really recovered from the founder’s death? I think the answer lies in what today would be called succession planning. Whiteley’s ran out of somebody to pick up the ball, whereas Harrods, more by chance than planning, always found somebody competent to pick up the ball and run. Charles Henry Harrod made an inspired decision when he moved from Cable Street to Brompton Road, but he had run out of steam by 1860 and Charles Digby, despite his youth, was raring to go. Thirty years later, when he was in his turn ready to retire, he had no family to take over.
However, he was well advised to sell up and form a limited company. It was luck that determined that the appointed manager, Mr Smart, failed so early in his career, and that the board moved rapidly to replace him. Richard Burbidge, who proved to be more than capable, happened to be available and the rest is history. There could have been no better individual to take over, and fortunately the correct genes passed to his son and grandson who kept up the momentum in their turns.
So, the critical factor was the ability to react to changes in circumstances. Perhaps for the future of Harrods it was a blessing that there was no one in the family to take over. So often a successful father is followed by a reluctant and less successful son. Throughout the convoluted changes to ownership in the last few decades, someone with drive and ambition has always been able to maintain the reputation of the store. Which leaves us thankfully with the ‘best store in the world’.
The Harrods played their part, and I am proud of them. What a shame, though, that I was not the fifth generation of the family in charge!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The information contained in this story has been sourced from many places, some from official websites, some unofficial, some from individuals who have done their own research and an awful lot from living relatives.
There are a few names amongst those that helped me research and create the book that stand out for me. Mary Rance helped me to understand the importance of accuracy. I have found that accuracy cannot be guaranteed, but it has been strived for. Peter Shilham did a lot of background work in Southwark. Successive archivists at Harrods have given me help and encouragement, notable Nadene Hansen and more recently Sebastian Wormell. Several cousins have given me information, photographs and help, particularly Jean Pitt, Natalie Oliver, Vanessa Ascough, and James and Phillipa Weightman; and there are several more in the Conder, Martin and Rodgers families who have also contributed. There are some no longer alive, like Maughan Innes and Lionel Harrod. My brothers and my own family worked with me in the early stages of my research. Most important of all, my wife Christine has put up with thirty years of my research, both on foot and latterly in front of the computer god.
There are many more in a list that has become too long, they know who they are already.
The author is happy to be contacted with additional information about the Harrods shop or the Harrod family. The address for contact is- [email protected]. The author will attempt to answer all constructive e mails.
Also from The History Press
Also from The History Press
Tallis map of London 1838–40, showing 228 Boro’ High Street and the entrance to Maidstone Buildings.
Photograph of Charles Henry Harrod in mid life. (Harrods)
Ambrotype of Elizabeth Digby between 1850 and 1860. (Harrods)
Horwood’s map of Southwark, 1792–99, updated by Wm. Faden in 1813.
Map of Cable Street Area in London, from Edward Weller’s map of London, 1868.
Artist’s impression of Harrods shop in 1849, produced for the Harrods centenary in 1949. (Harrods)
Copy painting of Charles Henry Harrod. Date and artist unknown. (Harrods)
Photograph and copy painting of Elizabeth Harrod née Digby. (Harrods)
Possible photograph of Elizabeth Harrod née Digby in old age. (Harrods)
Portrait of Charles Digby Harrod in his prime. (James Weightman)
Photograph of Caroline Harrod née Godsmark, wife of Charles Digby Harrod, and their four eldest children in about 1872. (Natalie Oliver)
Photograph of Caroline Harrod – disputed whether née Godsmark or Wade – in mid-life. (Jean Pitt)
Artists impression of the 1883 fire. (Fred Taylor / Harrods)
Map of Brompton Road in 1885 showing the site of the new Harrods. (British History Online)
Harrods frontage in late 1890. (Harrods)
Harrods frontage about 1901 showing Queens Gardens entrance. (Harrods)
The series of floor plans showing the growth of the building from 1889 to 1909. (Harrods)
Beatrice Martha Harrod and daughter at the 1949 Centenary set of Charles Henry Harrod in his shop. (Harrods)
Photograph of William Kibble 1903. (Harrods)
Morebath Manor interior in the early twentieth century.
The front entrance to Morebath Manor in the early twentieth century. A coach is waiting and is thought to contain Charles Digby Harrod and some of his family. (Jean Pitt)
Culverwood House before 1945. (Mobbs Pitcher)
Edgar Cohen and his brother in Greece in the 1870s. (Harrods)
Richard Bu
rbidge and his wife on honeymoon in 1868. (Harrods)
Richard Burbidge in later life. (Carol Samuel)
The Jewel of Knightsbridge Page 25