Hugh McCallum (previously Heaney)
Born on the 13th of January 1911, Hugh Heaney was the first born child of Mary Heaney, my great grandmother.When I started tracking our family tree some years ago, I was unaware that Hugh had even existed. My grandmother never once mentioned him and as children we were always led to believe that her brother Peter was the oldest child. My dad's cousin, Mary Hebron, remembers her mother Rose going to visit him, so I'm sure he stayed in touch with at least some of his brothers and sisters.
Hugh was born at 126 Glasgow Road, Hamilton, Lanarkshire to Mary Heaney. There is no father listed on the birth certificate and it's accepted that we will never know the identity of his father. Mary was only 18 years old when she gave birth to Hugh at her sister Martha's home in Hamilton. It wasn't as uncommon as you might think to have a child out of wedlock.
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Little is know about Hugh's early life. His mother married John Strachan on the same year that Hugh was born and John took on the baby Hugh as his own son. This would provide Mary with the much needed social respectability she needed and John himself was still recovering from the death of his first wife Catherine in 1910.
John was a distant, private man and it's unlikely Hugh had much of a relationship with him. Hugh never assumed his stepfathers surname and at the age of 19 he left home. Mary and John would go on to have 10 other children however as Hugh was the oldest it's unlikely he had much of a relationship with the other children when they were young.
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In the 1920's Mary Heaney became gravely ill and it was decided that arrangements should be made for the provision of her children. Daughter Jean went to live in New Zealand while Hugh made the decision to move to England and seek his fortunes. He had already grown close to members of his mother's family and changed his surname from Heaney to McCallum. Afterwards his mother recovered and did not die after all but by this time Hugh was off on his travels.
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Hugh's adventures took him all over the North of England - Bury, Manchester, Blackpool and Preston. Sadly he developed a habit of helping himself to other people's belongings and he soon ended up in trouble with the police.
Some of Hugh's exploits
The saddest thing about this whole situation was that Hugh was 19 years old and out in the world fending for himself. Of course, times were different then and boys of his age were being dragged off to war, so there was an expectation that he would work and look after himself.
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Sader still are the newspaper articles of the time which describe him of 'no fixed abode'. He was a drifter, moving from place to place in search of the next adventure.
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"J'ai une âme solitaire"
Various pieces of information on Hugh Heaney taken from the police archives.
A lot of Hugh's later life remains unknown, for now.
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On the 1939 Register of England he's listed as living at 72 Grantham Road, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. Listed as single. ​​​
News of Hugh Heaney or McCallum's exploits made their way into the local newspapers in the 1930's.
Due to his constant involvement with authorities Hugh made his way into the 'Police Gazette'. Unlucky for him but lucky for us, as we get to see a photograph of him as a young man.
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He worked for a time in Lyon's bakery and spent 20 years living in London. On the 12th of December 1970 he married Eileen Aldridge (nee Mills) at the Registry Office in Newbury, Berkshire.
Eileen was a widow. Her first husband Harry Aldridge was killed in a motorcycle accident in January 1949 on the road between Hungerford and Kintbury. He had only recently left the Navy, serving during WW2.
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Eileen & Hugh first lived in London but then moved back to Newbury, Berkshire. A source close to Eileen remembers Hugh as a very private man. He didn't talk about his past at all. It's been confirmed that he had been previously married before he met Eileen and that he had two sons.
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Hugh & Eileen had strong ties to California, USA and would go and visit often. Hugh loved poetry he had one of his poems published in the World Book of Poets. He also co-wrote a couple of adverts for Brook Bond Tea.
A family gathering in California, USA - Hugh & Ellen are on the right hand side.
Hugh died at Newbury District Hospital, Newbury, West Berkshire, England on the 4th of March 2002 from bronchopneumonia, lung cancer, central and peripheral arterial disease. He was 91 years old. Eileen died at Royal Berkshire Hospital on the 29th of February 2008. She was 101 years old.
Large parts of their story remain untold.
