Other Notable Persons and Collections
Bessie Eleanor Bescoby (1909-1994) Born in Bristol to Frederick Babb a milliner, her mother, Mabel Babb, was a teacher before her marriage and was also a good naturalist. She passed on her knowledge of English flowering plants to Bess who, having obtained a degree in History at Bristol University, followed into the teaching profession, mainly in the Bristol area during the war years and met husband Charles Bescoby when he was posted to that area. After starting and raising a family of two sons and a daughter, Bess resumed full-time work in 1956 specialising in teaching children with special educational needs.
Work brought them to the Manchester area where Charles was Head of Biology at Cheadle Hulme Grammar. Bess retired in 1969 aged 60.
After retiring Bess had more time to pursue her natural history interests and the couple moved to Delph.She joined many natural history societies including the Oldham Microscopical and Natural History Society and she also helped found the Saddleworth Naturalists
Bess was most interested in plants and in particular mosses and liverworts and in retirement attended Manchester University to study botany. The couple holidayed all around the wild areas of the UK, and in 1971 they visited their daughter who was working in Kenya. Here Bess collected moss specimens from the forest surrounding Mount Kenya. With the Rev. C.E. Shaw and Peter Hill she helped write 'Some Natural History of Middleton' published in 1989.
Bess and Charles were keen speakers of Esperanto and were life-long socialists and members of the
Co-operative movement.
Bess and Charles made collections across many natural history subjects some of which are held at Gallery Oldham.
