Gladys Lightman, known as Gwladys in her later years, is the mother-in-law of Alan Cecil Levinson, my 2nd cousin 1x removed. Levinson family HERE. Glynn family HERE
Tombstone for Gladys's parents. They are buried in the United Hebrew Congregation Cemetery in Leeds, England
Biography for Victor Lightman
Victor Lightman (1859-1928)
Victor Lightman built up a reputation as a supporter of a range of Leeds charities, by no means confined to Jewish organisations. A quiet man of firm views, he was the acknowledged lay leader of the Leeds Jewish community for some twenty years from 1908 as President of the Leeds Board of Guardians in succession to Paul Hirsch. He was the second Jewish magistrate in Leeds, appointed in September 1909.
With his mother, his younger brother Louis, and three sisters he came to Leeds from Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1880, just before the assassination of Tsar Alexander. His obituary states that he came to Leeds by accident:
He had arranged to sail for America, but meeting another emigrant on the boat bound for Leeds, he changed his mind and eventually found work in the city as journeyman cabinet maker at 8d an hour.
The furniture trade was very much a minority occupation among immigrants in Leeds, yet clearly Victor was both a skilled cabinet maker and businessman, as by 1888 he had his own business in the Leylands. Lightman's great innovation was to develop a wholesale furniture trade. At the time, most furniture was bespoke to order and poorer people had to buy secondhand. Lightman developed the machinery to supply furniture in bulk. By 1899, he had opened a factory in Hunslet to meet orders placed by retailers. His development of the trade in Leeds led to him becoming a nationally recognised figure in the furniture industry.
Lightman was a dedicated Liberal and an office holder at the local level. He was a financial mainstay of the Leeds party at many levels and was an active member of the Leeds and County Liberal Club in Quebec Street. Curiously, he never stood for public office, though his nephew, Harold Lightman, contested the Bramley ward unsuccessfully in 1927 at the tender age of 21. Victor was also an active Freemason and a generous donor to a number of Jewish, civic and Christian charities. One successful innovative charitable project he established in 1923 was the 'Victor Lightman Loans Fund'. Through this fund, small interest-free loans were made to those in need, to be repaid in weekly instalments.
His leadership within the Jewish community began when he became President of the main Belgrave Street Synagogue, for which he made and presented a pulpit. In 1908, he became President of the Leeds Jewish Board of Guardians and thus de facto became the lay leader of the community. He was a popular leader and it was a surprise when, in 1914, he was challenged for the post by Abe Frais. The election was keenly fought and, although Victor Lightman won by 190 votes to 154, the strength of the vote against him was a surprise. He then suddenly resigned the post just one month later, ostensibly on the grounds of ill-health; however, when his successor, Abraham Feldman, resigned following his removal to London a bare year later, Victor was prevailed upon to take up the post again - which suggests that there was more to his resignation than health grounds. Victor continued in the post for a further thirteen years, until his death in 1928.
A key event in Leeds during his leadership was the riot in June 1917 when Gentile youths attacked the Jewish community in their Leylands neighbourhood. The local papers were clear that the Jews were the innocent party and one notes that there were no Jewish names among those arrested. It was a serious disturbance, but it was a unique occasion, never repeated. Victor played a key role in calming the community and his perception of the situation was demonstrated when he congratulated the police on their handling of it.
At his death he left a wife, two sons and six daughters. It is some indication of his reputation that the company that bought the furniture business on his death maintained it as Victor Lightman Limited through to the 1950s. (Fraser, Derek, ed. Leeds and it's Jewish Community: a History, 2019, pp. 271-2)
Born: 31 December 1901 in Leeds, England
Married
Isaac Solomon Sydney Fox on 16 June 1927 at the Belgrave Street Synagogue in Leeds, England. Isaac was 30 and Gwaladys age 25
Children
Their first child was born in 1928 when Isaac was 31 and Gwaladys 26. Their last child was born in 1936 when Isaac was 39 and Gwaladys 34
- Cecile Joan Charlotte Fox, known as Joan, 1928 - 2003
- Victor Murray Fox 1931 - 2014
- Alfred Mervyn Fox, known as Mervyn, 1936 - 2013
Census
1911
In the 1911 Census Gladys age 9 and her sister Evelyn age 11 are listed as being boarders at Minerva College, a Jewish boarding school at 153 Folkstone Road, Dover, England
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1921
In the 1921 census Gladys is living at "The Towers", Ladywood Road, Leeds, England in a 13 room house. Her father Victor is age 62 and a wholesale furniture manufacturer, her mother Beatrice is age 60. The children are Stanley age 33, Miriam age 27, Alexander age 25. Gladys age 19 and whose occupation is listed as home duties
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1939
I am unable to locate Gladys in the 1939 register, suggesting that she was not in the country that evening
Death
17 December 1983 in Totteridge., Middlesex, England age 81. She was buried in the Bushey Jewish Cemetery, Hertfordshire, England, section 10, Row L, plot 221 on 20 December 1983
What is left of Isaac and Gwaladys's joint tombstone in the Bushey Jewish cemetery in Hertfordshire, England
Probate
FOX, Gwladys of Ellern Mede Nursing Home 31 Totteridge Common Totteridge Herts died 17 December 1983 Probate London 23 May (1984) £78126 8451108127V
Leeds Database
Entry in the Leeds database for Gladys Fox
Residences
Isaac, Gwaladys and the children lived in London at 40 Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, London, England before they retired to Brighton
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