{"id":7247,"date":"2023-02-18T15:46:05","date_gmt":"2023-02-18T15:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/?page_id=7247"},"modified":"2024-02-24T16:03:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T16:03:42","slug":"beard-oliver","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/beard-oliver\/","title":{"rendered":"Beard Oliver"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Beard | Oliver<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3>First names<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>Oliver<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3>Age<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>21<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3>Date of birth<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>1922<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3>Date of death<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>04-07-1943<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3>Service number<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>1379617<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3>Rank<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>Sergeant, wireless operator<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3>Regiment<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 90 Sqdn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3>Grave number<\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>III. A. 4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Oliver-Beard.jpg\" alt=\"Sergeant Oliver Beard\"><\/p>\n<h3>Oliver Beard<\/h3>\n<p>Oliver Beard<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Graf-Oliver-Beard.jpg\" alt=\"Grave Oliver Beard\"><\/p>\n<h3>Grave Oliver Beard<\/h3>\n<p>Grave  Oliver Beard<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Biography<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p>Oliver Beard, wireless operator, was a member of the crew of the Stirling III BK718 which was shot down on 4th July 1943, either by Flak88 or Hayo Hermann (luftwaffepilot). They took off at 23.26 on 3th July 1943 from West Wickham and crashed at Mehlem on the westbank of the Rhine, 10 km SSE of Bonn.<br \/>The crew is buried at Overloon War Cemetery, except <a href=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/norris-ivor-henry\/\">Sgt I.H. Norris<\/a>, who managed to leave the plane and was a Prisoner of War (POW).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9282\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9282\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00433-Short-Stirling-BK-718-Drawing-Groundcopyright-Ivan-Berryman-300x220.jpg\" alt=\"Short Stirling BK718 Drawing (Ground) copyright Ivan Berryman\" width=\"500\" height=\"366\" class=\"wp-image-9282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00433-Short-Stirling-BK-718-Drawing-Groundcopyright-Ivan-Berryman-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00433-Short-Stirling-BK-718-Drawing-Groundcopyright-Ivan-Berryman-768x563.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00433-Short-Stirling-BK-718-Drawing-Groundcopyright-Ivan-Berryman.jpg 932w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9282\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Short Stirling BK718 Drawing and copyright Ivan Berryman<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The other crew members who died were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/freeland-robert\/\">Robert Freeland<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/gilmour-andrew-patrick\/\">Andrew Patrick Gilmour<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/platt-robert-charles\/\">Robert Charles Platt<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/murray-hugh\/\">Hugh Murray<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/smith-geoffrey-charles\/\">Geoffrey Charles Smith<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Official information via findagrave.com:<\/p>\n<p>Plane data: Short Stirling III<br \/>Serialnr. BK718<br \/>Call Sign: WP-M<br \/>Unit: 90 Sqdn.<br \/>Take off: 11:26 PM West Wickham airfield.<br \/>Target: K\u00f6ln.<br \/>Operation: Bombing.<br \/>Shot down by FLAK.<br \/>Crashed at Bonn-Mehlem, Germany.<br \/>Buried Plot GGG-4-92 Allied cemetery Margraten, Netherlands.<br \/>Reburied 01\/05\/1947 Overloon War Cemetery.<\/p>\n<p>Details of how Oliver came to be with this crew can be found in the extended <a href=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/the-fate-of-the-crew-of-short-stirling-iii-wp-m-bk718\/\">side-story about the fate of the crew of the Stirling BK718.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8642\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8642\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Oliver-Beard-and-friend-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver-Beard-and-friend\" width=\"600\" height=\"423\" class=\"wp-image-8642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Oliver-Beard-and-friend-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Oliver-Beard-and-friend-768x542.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Oliver-Beard-and-friend.jpg 825w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8642\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oliver-Beard-and-friend<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Oliver Beard was the son of John Oliver Beard and Margaret Beard of Rock Ferry, Cheshire. Rock Ferry is part of Birkenhead. <br \/>\u00a0<br \/>John Oliver Beard had married Margaret Wilson in 1912 in Birkenhead. However, this was his second marriage. He was born in 1853 and had originally married Annie Lewis on 16th September 1880 in Birkenhead. Together they had two boys and three girls between 1882 and 1888, though one girl died aged just 1. They were living at 47, Keightley Street, Birkenhead in 1891 and 1901 and John was shown as a Police Constable born in Tranmere or Birkenhead. <br \/>\u00a0<br \/>By 1911 John had moved with two of his unmarried adult children to 40 Aberdeen Street, Birkenhead but was shown as a widower and a Retired Police Constable from Tranmere. The following year, John went on to marry Oliver\u2019s mother, Margaret Wilson, when he would have been around 59 and she was only about 25. She, too, was born in Birkenhead. They had three children: Olive born 1\/4\/1913, Christopher born 16\/3\/1914, then Oliver himself on 15\/3\/1922 \u2013 all in Birkenhead. In 1921 John was still living at 40, Aberdeen Street, Birkenhead with his new wife Margaret and their first two children. John was working as a Wirral Railway Porter.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>John died in 1933, aged around 80, when Oliver would only have been around 11. At some point after her husband\u2019s death, Margaret Beard suffered a breakdown and was cared for elsewhere. Olive and Christopher had to take on responsibility for bringing up their brother Oliver. In early 1939, Christopher married Bertha J Pearson and in September that year they were still living at 40 Aberdeen Street, but it was Christopher who was now the head of the household and living with them were his sister Olive and brother Oliver. Christopher was a General Labourer at an Oil and Grease Manufacturers.\u00a0 Olive was a Daily Domestic Servant and Oliver was an Apprentice Painter at a Soap Works. Oliver was working for Lever Brothers (now part of Unilever) which has a famous history in that area. <br \/>\u00a0<br \/>The commencement of WW2 saw both Christopher and Oliver enter the armed forces with Christopher joining the Military Police and Oliver the Royal Airforce Volunteer Reserve which was the main pathway for aircrew into the RAF during WW2. Indeed, it was Christopher who had to agree to allow Oliver to sign up, a source of a degree of future guilt. Christopher survived the war and was mentioned twice in despatches, on one occasion rescuing someone while under fire in Italy. <br \/>\u00a0<br \/>Sadly, Oliver was killed on 4th July 1943. He is commemorated on the very impressive war memorial at Port Sunlight in Birkenhead on which many other Lever Brothers employees who died in both wars are commemorated. Port Sunlight is a model village built in 1888 by Lever Brothers to accommodate its workers.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_8646\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8646\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" class=\"wp-image-8646\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial.jpg 747w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8646\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8644\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8644\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-Oliver-Beard-300x256.jpg\" alt=\"Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-Oliver-Beard\" width=\"400\" height=\"341\" class=\"wp-image-8644\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-Oliver-Beard-300x256.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-Oliver-Beard.jpg 662w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8644\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-Oliver-Beard<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<br \/>By the end of the war Oliver\u2019s Mother was sufficiently recovered that she was able to live with Christopher and his family until her death in 1969. After the war, Christopher and his wife had two children, Brian and Kenneth. Christopher died in 2004. Although Kenneth too has passed away, Brian has helped with this biography. Oliver\u2019s sister Olive moved to Scotland, never married and she too has since passed away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Sources and credits<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p>FindMyPast website: Civil and Parish Birth, Marriage and Death Records; England Census and 1939 Register Records; Military Records<br \/>Photos and assistance from Brian Beard, Oliver\u2019s nephew<br \/>Wikipedia \u2013 information on Lever Brothers and the Royal Airforce Volunteer Reserve<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>Research Elaine Gathercole \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\n<!-- {\"type\":\"layout\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"section\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"style\":\"default\",\"title_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"title_position\":\"top-left\",\"title_rotation\":\"left\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"width\":\"small\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"row\",\"props\":{\"layout\":\"1-2,1-2\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"position_sticky_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"width_medium\":\"1-2\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"headline\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"Beard | Oliver\",\"title_element\":\"h3\"}},{\"type\":\"description_list\",\"props\":{\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"layout\":\"grid-2\",\"list_element\":\"ul\",\"list_size\":\"collapse\",\"list_style\":\"divider\",\"meta_align\":\"below-content\",\"meta_style\":\"text-meta\",\"show_content\":true,\"show_link\":true,\"show_meta\":true,\"show_title\":true,\"title_element\":\"div\",\"title_grid_column_gap\":\"small\",\"title_grid_row_gap\":\"small\",\"title_grid_width\":\"small\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"description_list_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>Oliver<\\\/p>\",\"title\":\"First names\"}},{\"type\":\"description_list_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>21<\\\/p>\",\"title\":\"Age\"}},{\"type\":\"description_list_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>1922<\\\/p>\",\"meta\":\"\",\"title\":\"Date of birth\"}},{\"type\":\"description_list_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>04-07-1943<\\\/p>\",\"meta\":\"\",\"title\":\"Date of death\"}},{\"type\":\"description_list_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>1379617<\\\/p>\",\"meta\":\"\",\"title\":\"Service number\"}},{\"type\":\"description_list_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>Sergeant, wireless operator<\\\/p>\",\"meta\":\"\",\"title\":\"Rank\"}},{\"type\":\"description_list_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 90 Sqdn.<\\\/p>\",\"meta\":\"\",\"title\":\"Regiment\"}},{\"type\":\"description_list_item\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"\n\n<p>III. A. 4.<\\\/p>\",\"meta\":\"\",\"title\":\"Grave number\"}}]}]},{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"position_sticky_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"width_medium\":\"1-2\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"gallery\",\"props\":{\"filter_align\":\"left\",\"filter_all\":true,\"filter_grid_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"filter_grid_width\":\"auto\",\"filter_position\":\"top\",\"filter_style\":\"tab\",\"grid_default\":\"1\",\"grid_medium\":\"2\",\"image_height\":\"350\",\"image_width\":\"200\",\"item_animation\":true,\"link_style\":\"default\",\"link_text\":\"Read more\",\"margin\":\"default\",\"meta_align\":\"below-title\",\"meta_element\":\"div\",\"meta_style\":\"text-meta\",\"overlay_hover\":true,\"overlay_mode\":\"cover\",\"overlay_position\":\"center\",\"overlay_style\":\"overlay-primary\",\"overlay_transition\":\"fade\",\"parallax_easing\":\"1\",\"show_content\":true,\"show_hover_image\":false,\"show_link\":false,\"show_meta\":true,\"show_title\":false,\"text_align\":\"center\",\"text_color\":\"light\",\"title_element\":\"h3\",\"title_hover_style\":\"reset\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"gallery_item\",\"props\":{\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/Oliver-Beard.jpg\",\"image_alt\":\"Sergeant Oliver Beard\",\"meta\":\"Oliver Beard\",\"title\":\"Oliver Beard\"}},{\"type\":\"gallery_item\",\"props\":{\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/Graf-Oliver-Beard.jpg\",\"image_alt\":\"Grave Oliver Beard\",\"meta\":\"Grave  Oliver Beard\",\"title\":\"Grave Oliver Beard\"}}]}]}]}],\"name\":\"personalia\"},{\"type\":\"section\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"padding\":\"xsmall\",\"padding_remove_top\":true,\"style\":\"default\",\"title_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"title_position\":\"top-left\",\"title_rotation\":\"left\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"width\":\"small\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"row\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"position_sticky_breakpoint\":\"m\"}}]}],\"name\":\"auteur\"},{\"type\":\"section\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"padding_remove_top\":true,\"style\":\"default\",\"title_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"title_position\":\"top-left\",\"title_rotation\":\"left\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"width\":\"small\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"row\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"position_sticky_breakpoint\":\"m\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"headline\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"Biography\",\"title_element\":\"h2\"}},{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p>Oliver Beard, wireless operator, was a member of the crew of the Stirling III BK718 which was shot down on 4th July 1943, either by Flak88 or Hayo Hermann (luftwaffepilot). They took off at 23.26 on 3th July 1943 from West Wickham and crashed at Mehlem on the westbank of the Rhine, 10 km SSE of Bonn.<br \\\/>The crew is buried at Overloon War Cemetery, except <a href=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/en\\\/norris-ivor-henry\\\/\\\">Sgt I.H. Norris<\\\/a>, who managed to leave the plane and was a Prisoner of War (POW).<\\\/p>\\n[caption id=\\\"attachment_9282\\\" align=\\\"alignnone\\\" width=\\\"500\\\"]<img src=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/00433-Short-Stirling-BK-718-Drawing-Groundcopyright-Ivan-Berryman-300x220.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"Short Stirling BK718 Drawing (Ground) copyright Ivan Berryman\\\" width=\\\"500\\\" height=\\\"366\\\" class=\\\"wp-image-9282\\\" \\\/> <strong>Short Stirling BK718 Drawing and copyright Ivan Berryman<\\\/strong>[\\\/caption]\\n\n\n<p>The other crew members who died were:<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<ul>\\n\n\n<li><a href=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/en\\\/freeland-robert\\\/\\\">Robert Freeland<\\\/a><\\\/li>\\n\n\n<li><a href=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/en\\\/gilmour-andrew-patrick\\\/\\\">Andrew Patrick Gilmour<\\\/a><\\\/li>\\n\n\n<li><a href=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/en\\\/platt-robert-charles\\\/\\\">Robert Charles Platt<\\\/a><\\\/li>\\n\n\n<li><a href=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/en\\\/murray-hugh\\\/\\\">Hugh Murray<\\\/a><\\\/li>\\n\n\n<li><a href=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/en\\\/smith-geoffrey-charles\\\/\\\">Geoffrey Charles Smith<\\\/a><\\\/li>\\n<\\\/ul>\\n\n\n<p>Official information via findagrave.com:<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p>Plane data: Short Stirling III<br \\\/>Serialnr. BK718<br \\\/>Call Sign: WP-M<br \\\/>Unit: 90 Sqdn.<br \\\/>Take off: 11:26 PM West Wickham airfield.<br \\\/>Target: K\\u00f6ln.<br \\\/>Operation: Bombing.<br \\\/>Shot down by FLAK.<br \\\/>Crashed at Bonn-Mehlem, Germany.<br \\\/>Buried Plot GGG-4-92 Allied cemetery Margraten, Netherlands.<br \\\/>Reburied 01\\\/05\\\/1947 Overloon War Cemetery.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p>Details of how Oliver came to be with this crew can be found in the extended <a href=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/en\\\/the-fate-of-the-crew-of-short-stirling-iii-wp-m-bk718\\\/\\\">side-story about the fate of the crew of the Stirling BK718.<\\\/a><\\\/p>\\n[caption id=\\\"attachment_8642\\\" align=\\\"alignnone\\\" width=\\\"600\\\"]<img src=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/Oliver-Beard-and-friend-300x212.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"Oliver-Beard-and-friend\\\" width=\\\"600\\\" height=\\\"423\\\" class=\\\"wp-image-8642\\\" \\\/> Oliver-Beard-and-friend[\\\/caption]\\n\n\n<p>Oliver Beard was the son of John Oliver Beard and Margaret Beard of Rock Ferry, Cheshire. Rock Ferry is part of Birkenhead. <br \\\/>\\u00a0<br \\\/>John Oliver Beard had married Margaret Wilson in 1912 in Birkenhead. However, this was his second marriage. He was born in 1853 and had originally married Annie Lewis on 16th September 1880 in Birkenhead. Together they had two boys and three girls between 1882 and 1888, though one girl died aged just 1. They were living at 47, Keightley Street, Birkenhead in 1891 and 1901 and John was shown as a Police Constable born in Tranmere or Birkenhead. <br \\\/>\\u00a0<br \\\/>By 1911 John had moved with two of his unmarried adult children to 40 Aberdeen Street, Birkenhead but was shown as a widower and a Retired Police Constable from Tranmere. The following year, John went on to marry Oliver\\u2019s mother, Margaret Wilson, when he would have been around 59 and she was only about 25. She, too, was born in Birkenhead. They had three children: Olive born 1\\\/4\\\/1913, Christopher born 16\\\/3\\\/1914, then Oliver himself on 15\\\/3\\\/1922 \\u2013 all in Birkenhead. In 1921 John was still living at 40, Aberdeen Street, Birkenhead with his new wife Margaret and their first two children. John was working as a Wirral Railway Porter.<br \\\/>\\u00a0<br \\\/>John died in 1933, aged around 80, when Oliver would only have been around 11. At some point after her husband\\u2019s death, Margaret Beard suffered a breakdown and was cared for elsewhere. Olive and Christopher had to take on responsibility for bringing up their brother Oliver. In early 1939, Christopher married Bertha J Pearson and in September that year they were still living at 40 Aberdeen Street, but it was Christopher who was now the head of the household and living with them were his sister Olive and brother Oliver. Christopher was a General Labourer at an Oil and Grease Manufacturers.\\u00a0 Olive was a Daily Domestic Servant and Oliver was an Apprentice Painter at a Soap Works. Oliver was working for Lever Brothers (now part of Unilever) which has a famous history in that area. <br \\\/>\\u00a0<br \\\/>The commencement of WW2 saw both Christopher and Oliver enter the armed forces with Christopher joining the Military Police and Oliver the Royal Airforce Volunteer Reserve which was the main pathway for aircrew into the RAF during WW2. Indeed, it was Christopher who had to agree to allow Oliver to sign up, a source of a degree of future guilt. Christopher survived the war and was mentioned twice in despatches, on one occasion rescuing someone while under fire in Italy. <br \\\/>\\u00a0<br \\\/>Sadly, Oliver was killed on 4th July 1943. He is commemorated on the very impressive war memorial at Port Sunlight in Birkenhead on which many other Lever Brothers employees who died in both wars are commemorated. Port Sunlight is a model village built in 1888 by Lever Brothers to accommodate its workers.<\\\/p>\\n[caption id=\\\"attachment_8646\\\" align=\\\"alignnone\\\" width=\\\"400\\\"]<img src=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-300x225.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial\\\" width=\\\"400\\\" height=\\\"300\\\" class=\\\"wp-image-8646\\\" \\\/> Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial[\\\/caption]\\n[caption id=\\\"attachment_8644\\\" align=\\\"alignnone\\\" width=\\\"400\\\"]<img src=\\\"https:\\\/\\\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-Oliver-Beard-300x256.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-Oliver-Beard\\\" width=\\\"400\\\" height=\\\"341\\\" class=\\\"wp-image-8644\\\" \\\/> Port-Sunlight-War-Memorial-Oliver-Beard[\\\/caption]\\n\n\n<p>\\u00a0<br \\\/>By the end of the war Oliver\\u2019s Mother was sufficiently recovered that she was able to live with Christopher and his family until her death in 1969. After the war, Christopher and his wife had two children, Brian and Kenneth. Christopher died in 2004. Although Kenneth too has passed away, Brian has helped with this biography. Oliver\\u2019s sister Olive moved to Scotland, never married and she too has since passed away.<\\\/p>\",\"margin\":\"default\"}}]}]}],\"name\":\"biografie\"},{\"type\":\"section\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"padding_remove_top\":true,\"style\":\"default\",\"title_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"title_position\":\"top-left\",\"title_rotation\":\"left\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"width\":\"small\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"row\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"position_sticky_breakpoint\":\"m\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"headline\",\"props\":{\"content\":\"Sources and credits\",\"title_element\":\"h2\"}},{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p>FindMyPast website: Civil and Parish Birth, Marriage and Death Records; England Census and 1939 Register Records; Military Records<br \\\/>Photos and assistance from Brian Beard, Oliver\\u2019s nephew<br \\\/>Wikipedia \\u2013 information on Lever Brothers and the Royal Airforce Volunteer Reserve<br \\\/>\\u00a0<br \\\/>Research Elaine Gathercole \\u00a0<\\\/p>\",\"margin\":\"default\"}}]}]}],\"name\":\"bronnen en credits\"}],\"version\":\"4.3.4\"} --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beard | Oliver First names Oliver Age 21 Date of birth 1922 Date of death 04-07-1943 Service number 1379617 Rank Sergeant, wireless operator Regiment Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 90 Sqdn. Grave number III. A. 4. Oliver Beard Oliver Beard Grave Oliver Beard Grave Oliver Beard Biography Oliver Beard, wireless operator, was a member of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7247","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-biography"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Beard Oliver - Overloon War Chronicles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Serjeant wireless operator Oliver Beard, shot down by Flak crashing at Mehlem on the W bank of the Rhine 10 km SSE of Bonn and buried in Overloon.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.overloonwarchronicles.nl\/en\/beard-oliver\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beard Oliver - 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