Family History

Arthur Jary  (1868-1956)
Born in 1868, Arthur was one of several children born to William and Sarah.  Three of his brothers and sisters (aged between 1 and 8 years old) died within 4 days of each other in December 1873. Two other siblings died in infancy and only one sister survived to adulthood.  The 1881 census shows Arthur as being a labourer and we have his original apprenticeship papers for when he was aged 14 and 16 and was training as a carpenter.  The 1891 census shows Arthur at 23 being married to Edith (nee Durrant).  They had two children, Lillian and Sidney, but it appears that Edith died giving birth to Sidney.  Arthur quickly re-married and he and his second wife Henrietta Kate (nee Blake) had several children, including Leonard (Lenny). 

By 1901 we see Arthur and Henrietta and 4 children living on Rampart Road (off Northgate Street) where Arthur is described as a 'carpenter, undertaker and employer'.  It was usual in those days for building firms to 'undertake' funerals, as they had all the equipment necessary for making coffins and digging graves.  In fact, this is where the name 'undertaker' originates from and many undertakers today are still builders as well. 

Somewhere between 1899 and 1917, the business operated from 217 Northgate Street, which until just a few years ago was Simmons wet fish shop.  It then moved just a few doors down to 214 Northgate Street and the Head Office still operates from here and the next door property at 213 Northgate Street.

The records for the first funeral carried out by the firm of Arthur Jary start in 1899.  He must have carried out funerals before this date, but in 1899 obviously decided to make it part of his business.  In his first official year, the firm carried out eighteen funerals, exactly half of which were for children, showing the high child mortality rate at that time.  The total turnover for funerals that year was 63 pounds and 16 shillings!

Arthur's father William had been a Methodist Town Missionary and his father in law, Ephriam Blake was also a Methodist preacher.  It therefore seems natural that Arthur was a staunch Methodist and was choirmaster at the Temple Methodist Church (where Sainsbury's is currently situated) for many years.  He died in 1956, a much respected member of the community.

Leonard (Lenny) Jary (1903-1986)
Born in 1903, Lenny was one of Arthur's youngest children.  He helped his father with the running of the company together with his two older brothers, Sidney and Walter.  Sidney contracted sleeping sickness during World War 1 and never recovered from it.  He died aged just 36 years old in 1929.  Walter continued working for the firm, but it was Lenny who gradually took over the reins from his father.  Being in the funeral profession was a reserved occupation and as such, Lenny never joined the military.  This was perhaps a mixed blessing as Yarmouth was heavily bombed during the war and Lenny had to constantly retrieve the bodies of friends and neighbours from the aftermath of the bombing.  On one particular evening, he was drinking in a nearby pub with friends until midnight.  Two hours later the pub suffered a direct hit and it was Lenny who had to go to remove the bodies of people he had been with only two hours earlier.  Perhaps it's not surprising that shortly after the war he had a breakdown.

The war years saw great changes for the firm as well.  During the 1920's the firm had been gradually introducing motor hearses as well as the traditional horse drawn ones.  The premises on Northgate Street had its  own stables but if more horses were required, that wasn't a problem as Budderies stables were just a couple of doors away. However, during the war all horses had to be removed from the town as they ran riot during the raids.  With the bombing of Budderies stables, it was inevitable that the motor fleet would start to take over.

Gorleston Office
In 1939 Arthur Jary & Sons opened its Gorleston office at 43 High Street.  The building dates from 1716 and was built by William Killett, the local brewer.  Many years later it became the Earl Grey public house, which closed in 1934.  The floor joists in the original part of the building were made from old masts from fishing boats and many of the walls were constructed from ballast brought in by the same boats.  The building fronts onto the High Street, but the gardens at the back go down to Riverside Road and have steps leading all the way down.  In days gone by the fishermen used to climb these steps to collect their wages from the property.

Kitty Wilson (nee Jary) who was one of Arthur's children was the first member of the Jary family to live in the property and run the office.  After her, her brother Lenny lived there with his second wife Olive (Olly).  Lenny's second son David then moved in with his wife and children for about seven years and when they moved on, Lenny and Olly moved back in and stayed there until their deaths in the 1980's.  Since then, more and more of the ground floor was taken over by the increasingly busy office and the living accommodation was eventually restricted to the upper floor only. The Gorleston office is easily recognisable as it has a large clock hanging out the front, which has become a bit of a landmark.

Brian Jary, born in 1926, was the only child from Lenny's first marriage to Alice, who tragically died of TB aged just 31.  By the age of 14, Brian was working for the family company and apart from his spell of National Service, worked there until his retirement in 1986.

David Jary, nine years his junior, David started his working life as a carpenter apprenticed to Middletons. After he had carried out his National Service he went to work for a firm of funeral directors in London but soon came back to join the family business until his retirement in 1995.

Susan joined the company in June 1975, shortly after leaving school.  She started work in a secretarial capacity and gradually became more and more involved with the firm, before becoming the Company Secretary and a Director alongside her grandfather, father and uncle. Once Brian and David retired, she became Managing Director - a rare position to be held by a female in the funeral profession.

Debbie joined the company much later in 1988 and now works alongside Susan at the Northgate Street office.  She is also a Director and has taken over the role of Company Secretary from Susan.