ANNIE BROMILOW (1842-1911), pictured left, in 1857 was married at the age of 16 to 19-year-old Edward McLaughlin, then a first lieutenant.

The June wedding is puzzling, at least to the pure, to whom all things are impure. Subalterns were discouraged from marrying for fear that it could ruin them financially and because it removed them from the comradeship of the mess.

The officiating minister was Edward's father, the Rev. Hubert McLaughlin.

So why was the ceremony not held in his church at Boraston? Or in St. Helens? Or in a town garrisoned by the groom and his fellow officers? Instead the wedding was in Bournemouth, a seaside resort visited by only a select few. (I shall be grateful to anyone who can identify what Annie is holding in her carte de visite reproduced above right.)

Annie was the daughter of James and Ellen Bromilow of Green End House, St. Helens, Lancashire. The photograph on dark glass shown left is believed to be that of James and his family.

James, who died before Annie's marriage, was the second son of William, a founder of Bromilow, Foster & Co. Ltd., which owned coalmines in and around St. Helens.

James established the St. Helens Crown Glass Company in 1826, along with members of another prominent local family, the Pilkingtons.

He was supposed to keep the company's books, but after three years James was forced out and had to sell his shares to young William Pilkington. This recently appointed manager had discovered that James had made extremely costly accounting errors.

James then went into partnership with William West running another glass factory, but that went bankrupt after West's own brother correctly informed customers that West was guilty of a huge excise tax fraud.

Meanwhile the St. Helens Glass Company went on to become one of the world's largest glass manufacturers, Pilkington.

A portrait of Ellen (1807-1891) painted in her youth is shown above right. After James died, Ellen married John Rose Hall (1790-1858) in 1845. On the left Mrs. Rose Hall is pictured in old age, a detail from a carte de visite made by Samuel Oglesby of Llandudno, "Photographer to the Queen and the Emperor of the French."

© 2006 G. Harry McLaughlin.
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