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Here are a selection of Belbin news items, stories or
facts which show that over the years some of us made our mark or still do
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David Belbin was once an English Teacher but since 1985 has written
novels for young adults and teenagers, his first THE FOGGIEST was
published in 1990 under the Scholastic Point Crime imprint. He has
written several novels for young adults and a police series, THE BEAT,
for Scholastic, as well as suspense novels for Mammoth and Penguin.
One of his recent novels, LOVE LESSONS, was awarded second prize in
the 2000 North Eastern Book Awards (second only to Harry Potter!).
David is also an avid music fan and has his own website where you
can find out more about the many books he has written as well as some
biographical background. |
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Examples of English and German covers from David Belbin's books
David Belbin's Website |
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| DID YOU KNOW that
apart from BELBINS in Romsey, Hampshire the Belbin
name features on many other maps around the world? For instance, in
Hombourg, Belgium there is a Rue de Belben (Belben
Road) and in County Donegal, Ireland there is a hill called BEN
BELBEN. In Newfoundland, Canada there is a Belbin's
Cove (and a Bellman's Cove too in the Port au Port region)
which is the place where Janet Elizabeth McNaughton's book Catch me
once, catch me twice is based. That in New Chelsea, Newfoundland there
is a BELBIN ROAD EAST and a BELBIN ROAD WEST.
That in Australia, there is a Belbin Rivulet at Cambridge,
Tasmania 42º 47m 00s South, 147º 26m 00s East, a Belbins
Creek a 10 mile long watercourse in Cadell County, and a
Belbins Waterhole in the same place. Also a Belben Road
in Bournemouth, Dorset, a Belbin Road in Cambridge,
Tasmania and a Belbin Place in Canberra, Australia.
Well, you do now! |
pictured late in life was born in 1842, probably in Islington, Middlesex
where she married Alfred Harker Vines in 1865. She was the Great-Great
Grandmother of Gerry Howe who kindly provided the photograph and also
the photograph of the sampler Jane made when she was only 8 years
old in 1850. The sampler is proudly preserved by Gerry's family. Click
on the thumbnails to view both photos in detail. |
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Did you know that owing to the absence of any authorised coinage of
low denominations in the 17th Century, local token coins were made
and used in most areas of England during the period 1648 to 1672 and
at other periods during the next two centuries. They were mostly used
by tradesmen, and were for values of 1d (one penny), ½d (halfpenny)
and ¼d (farthing). Unless specifically marked otherwise they
were of the value of one farthing and only had local value. Only six
specimins of those issued in Ringwood, Hampshire are known to exist.
Two of these are BELBIN tokens issued by:
Nick (or Nicholas) BELBIN Value ½d. He was
a haberdasher and was born in 1615.
Richard BELBIN Value ½d. He was a confectioner
born in 1616 and died in Ringwood during a smallpox epidemic in
1695. The token was issued in 1668 of coin pattern: Wetton Ringwood
2. The inscription on the obverse reads RICHARD BELBIN.1668./.B./R.M
a sugar loaf, and on the reverse IN. RINGWOOD./HIS/HALFE/PENNY It
was made of copper alloy and is held in store by the Hampshire County
Council museum. See http://www.hants.gov.uk/museums/h0046443.html
for more information. |
The TIMES, a small country
newpaper circulating in Queensland, Australia had a regular page called
BELBIN'S BEAT containing chatty news items put together by ex-Fleet
Street (London, England) journalist Ron Belbin who sadly died in May
2001. Ron covered Scotland for the NEWS OF THE WORLD newspaper before
moving to London as assistant news editor in 1978. He turned out scoop
after scoop including the sensational inside story of love triangle
farmer Maxwell Garvie murdered by his wife and her lover in 1968.
Ron emigrated to Queensland in 1983. |
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Albert Henry Belben (1871-1947) trained as a photographer and established
a photographic business at the County Studios, Bridgwater, Somerset,
but when his father Robert Henry Belben (1836-1902) became ill moved
back to Sherborne, Dorset and took over the family business (house
furnisher and china dealer) at
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Parade until he retired to Weymouth, Dorset in 1924. Albert was well
known for cutting lengths of lino on the pavement outside his shop.
Albert was also a bit of a property developer on the side and sometime
before the First World War built six houses in Bristol Road, Sherborne.
He stipulated that the initials of the house names should be an acrostic
of BELBEN and they still are - Buena Vista, Elmwood, Lyndhurst, Bracknell,
Epworth and Netherleigh. |
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The thumbnail picture on the left is The Parade, Sherborne, Dorset
in about 1880. The shop behind the lamp post is
which was founded by James Belben
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in 1857, and as his business was in Yeovil, Somerset, his son, Robert
Henry Belben (1836-1902) moved to Sherborne to take charge of it.
BELBEN'S ceased trading in 1924 but the premises are still in the
family. The family tree will be on Belbinmania in due course. |
The Late Australian Artist, ,
was one of the foremost international painters of transport themes.
Among a lifetime of honours, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Arts, London; was awarded a Citation for Merit by The New
York Society of Illustrators and had won a Gold Medal in the Fourth
National Print Awards, Australia. Born in 1925, he lived on Cremorne
Point, overlooking Sydney Harbour, from 1932 to 1942. With trams,
buses and ferries at hand, this was a period of unrivalled fascination.
His work was celebrated in 1993 with the issue of two calendars, the
Sydney |
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| Tram
and Bus Calendar and the Sydney Ferries Calendar. Both are sought
after by collectors and are now quite expensive. Phil Belbin was also
a descendant of James Belbin, the convict and emancipist whose life
and descendants are featured in the Australian pages of BelbinMania.
was Mayor of Portsmouth, England from Michaelmas
Day (29th September) 1652 for one year. He died in June 1660. His
family tree is detailed in the EVERITT Collection R9740 held at Portsmouth
City Library. |
The was invented
and constructed by an Englishman, H W G Belbin, of 1a William Street,
New Road, Battersea, London SW8 who as a water cyclist covered over
900 miles on the River Thames and on the sea at Weston-Super-Mare,
Westcliff and at Southend, Essex where an interested crowd once watched
him ride along the pier and straight into the sea. He also demonstrated
on the mouth of the Bristol Channel where he crossed from Knightstone
to Weston Pier in a rough and blusterous sea. He has given exhibitions
of Life-Saving, and his inability to swim proved the confidence he
had in his |
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| invention.
He was also shown on the screen at various Picture Palaces (cinemas).
The machine could leave home fully equiped for either land or water
without adjustment and Mr. Belbin was pleased to give a demonstration
to that effect on receipt of a post card. (circa 1920). |
| is a Director and Producer of Light Entertainment, Comedy
at BBC Television in England so you may well have seen her name listed
in the credits of such programmes as "One Foot in the Grave",
"Jonathan Creek", "Only Fools and Horses", "It
ain't Half Hot, Mum", and so on. |
| owned the barque Natal Queen (pictured left)
which was built in 1866 by Adamson at Grangemouth. Her length
was 113 ft 8 in. (34.5 m), beam 23 ft 5 in. (7.1 m), depth 12
ft 7 in.(3.8 m), and she weighed 230 tons. She came to Hobart,
Tasmania in 1873 and sailed out of this port for many years
under various owners and masters. She was wrecked at Adventure
Bay off Bruny Island in June 1909. These facts and other pictures
are shown in the website featuring Tall Ships Visiting
Tasmania. |
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| (1825-1892) was Mayor of Hobart, Tasmania
for 1880, 1883 and 1884 and represented South Hobart as a member
of parliament for 19 years in the House of Assembly in Tasmania.
William was twice married and was the father of 11 children
of whom only 5 survived him. His life story and that of his
father James Belbin and other members of the
family is told in Reg Wright's book "The Youngs of Rokeby
and their friends"and I commend this to you if you are
remotely interested in BELBIN Genealogy. |
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| This
photograph has been reproduced with the kind permission of Reg Wright.
Click here for the story of William's family history |
| ROBERT
LAWSON BELBIN was a NASA scientist who according to his son SCOTT
BELBIN worked on the Gemini space program, the Apollo Moon missions
and the Viking probes sent to Mars. His name is recorded in the Smithsonian
Museum in Washington DC and also on a micro-dot on the side of the
Viking space craft which is currently sitting on the planet Mars!
So, the BELBIN name is on Mars! |
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