John William Trevan, 1887-1956

Abstract

John William Trevan was born on 23 July 1887. His father was John William Stoneman Trevan of Plymouth and his grandfather was another John William Trevan. His father was originally a carpenter, but he was a very intelligent man and in these days he would perhaps have won a state scholarship. As it was he became clerk of works to a large building project and eventually went into business on his own account as a contractor in Plymouth. His wife Bessie Babbage was a simple country woman, but her son always treasured the theory, unsubstantiated by any proof, that he was descended from Charles Babbage, F.R.S., the inventor of calculating machines and one of the founders of the British Association. The subject of this memoir was born in Bodmin, Cornwall, where his father was helping to construct the railway from Bodmin to Bodmin Road. He was the eldest of three children and had a brother, Jim, now in Canada, and a sister Winifred who has been dead many years. His parents belonged to the Plymouth Brethren and he was brought up in the rigid practice of their faith. He was not allowed to read anything but religious books on Sundays or to play card games, and he was expected to believe that every word in the Bible was literally true. He was always religious, but in later life he was also broadminded and tolerant.