Today sees the release of the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe [MCU], ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. You may wonder what on earth this has to do with Northumberland Archives? It turns out that Joan Boocock, wife and muse of the legendary comic book writer, Stan Lee, was born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne.
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Joan’s parents, Norman Dunton Boocock and Hannah Clayton, were married at the parish church of Gosforth St. Nicholas on 8 November 1920. The entry from the marriage register held in the Archives shows that Norman was a Clerk and was living at 2 Woodbine Road at the time of the marriage. Hannah was living at 5 Field Street which was a 15 minute walk from Norman’s house.
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Joan was born on 5 February 1922 and we can find her in the baptism register, again for Gosforth St. Nicholas. The baptism took place on 9 March of that year, and we can see that the family were now all living at 5 Field Street, Hannah’s old family home. Joan’s mother is listed as ‘Nancy’ in this entry, and we can only presume this was a mistake on the part of the Vicar, or that it was a nickname of Hannah’s. The Field Street house still stands today, and we did take a little trip to locate it.
Field Street
Joan moved to America as a war bride after the Second World War, before meeting and marrying Stan Lee in 1947. Stan claimed that Joan was the inspiration behind Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man’s first girlfriend; she also lent her voice to various characters in several Marvel cartoons during the 1990s, and made a cameo appearance in ‘X-Men:Apocalypse’ in 2016.
Although she died in 2017, aged 95 years, today we remember Joan Boocock Lee and acknowledge her part in an incredible legacy that continues to thrive today.
The pioneer of investigative journalism, William Thomas Stead, was born in Embleton on 5th July 1849. His parents were Rev. William and Isabella Stead; he was the second of their 9 children, and the last of the children to be born in the village, the younger ones were born in Howden-on-Tyne.
William was educated at home before attending Silcoates School in Wakefield, a school for the sons of Nonconformist clergy, between 1862 and 1864. He joined the staff of Darlington based newspaper The Northern Echo and by 1871 was its editor, the youngest newspaper editor in the country at the time. In 1873 he married Emma Lucy Wilson and they went on to have 6 children.
In 1880 he moved to London becoming an assistant at the Pall Mall Gazette and then editor, 1883-1889. It was during this time that he wrote the Maiden Tribute series to highlight child slavery and prostitution; to prove his point he arranged to purchase a young 13-year-old girl named Eliza. This campaign successfully led to the increase of the age of consent from 13 to 16, however for Stead it resulted in a 3-month prison sentence as a result of a civil case raised against him.
Having revolutionised Fleet Street, Stead left popular journalism behind him, founded the publication Review of Reviews in 1890 and concentrated on campaigning for peace. He was an advocate for the need of a strong navy and peace through arbitration; he spoke out about atrocities in Bulgaria and the Transvaal, met with the Russian Tsar and travelled to the Hague to lead peace talks.
On 10th April 1912 he boarded the Titanic at Southampton to travel to America where he was due to speak at a peace conference at Carnegie Hall, New York which was being attended by the American President Taft. His body sadly was never found, he was aged 62.
The press of the time reveals what must have been the absolute fear and chaos about the events surrounding that fateful journey. Family and friends rushing to offices of White Star Line hoping for news, a similar picture at the docks waiting for ships carrying survivors to arrive. Within a couple of days, the press began reporting the awful news. The Evening Telegraph and Post on 16th April carried the headline “Mr. W. T. Stead, Reported Victim of the Disaster”; the same day The Shield Daily News stated “Captain, Officers and Mr. W. T. Stead believed to be among the drowned”. The following day The Yorkshire Post said that “among the missing are many prominent personages, including Mr. W. T. Stead…”.
The obituaries that were published list many lifetime accomplishments and give an insight into William Thomas Stead the man; he was described in The Labour Leader as having “rare insight and unique power” as well as “cyclonic energy”. The Suffragist publication The Vote recalled that he supported women’s suffrage as he valued women, he led by example employing women and his belief of equal pay for equal work. The article also reveals an interesting insight into his character, referring to his time in prison it records “every year he wore prison clothes – and gloried in doing so – on the anniversary of his sentence.”
In Embleton, he is remembered with the naming of a street in his memory and the papers of the Embleton Local History Society held at Northumberland Archives include those from events to mark the anniversary of his birth.
From Wednesday 27th April, Berwick Record Office is revising its opening hours and its procedures.
The office will open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9.30 to 12.45 and 2.00 to 4.45. As original documents are not kept on site, these must still be booked in advance either via Eventbrite – or e-mailing berwickarchives@northumberland.gov.uk . If you haven’t got an Archives card, please apply for one here – https://www.archivescard.com/
Visitors wanting to consult our family history resources or ask for advice can just turn up on our open days and we will do our best to help you.
