The Brothers Theakstone


Anatole Marquardt Theakstone (1899 - 1980) took up his post in the Modern Languages Department of the RGS in 1925.  His brother Louis Marquardt Theakstone (c1899 – 1968) joined the Mathematics Department in 1932.


The brothers (they do not seem to have been twins) were born in St Petersburg and attended a German Gymnasium there before proceeding to Moscow University in the early years of the Soviet Union.  The shared middle name Marquardt suggests it belonged to their mother’s family.  Originally from Prussia, many Marquardts seem to have been resident in the Russian Empire.  Some were Mennonites who sought the freedom to practice their pacifist religious tradition.  Until it became dangerous to do so after the outbreak of the Great War the family probably considered itself to be part of the Russian German community.

Their father, V. E. Theakstone, was presumably of Yorkshire origin, but his family must have been resident in Russia for some generations as the brothers were “without nationality” when they arrived in Britain in around 1919.  Anatole was not naturalized until 1927.

Both enrolled at Edinburgh University and graduated with the four-year MA degree.  Anatole married Jean Buchanan Campbell at St Cuthbert’s parish church there in 1924, the year before he moved to Newcastle.  Louis also obtained a BSc, and between 1925 and 1927 was at Saltey College in Birmingham training as a teacher.  In 1930 he married Ceridwen Jones in St Asaph. 

Louis was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers (TA) as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1929 becoming Captain in 1937 when he was second in command of the RGS Officers’ Training Corps.  He joined his regiment in 1938 and in September 1941 was appointed interpreter to the British Military Mission in Russia, serving at the international conferences at Yalta and Potsdam.   Louis was remembered by his friend and colleague in Russia, Arthur Herbert Birse (Memoirs of an Interpreter 1967), as always providing willing and cheerful assistance  - especially when dealing with domestic staff.

Louis – now Colonel - returned to the RGS in 1946. He left in 1953 to be Head of Maths at Gateshead Grammar School.  His brother became Head of Modern Languages at the RGS in 1954 where he introduced the teaching of Russian into the sixth form.

F. C. Galbraith O.N., who joined the staff in 1949, and was Head of History in the 1960s, used to tell us that one of the Theakstone bothers had had a part time job in a pharmacy in St Petersburg/Petrograd and had supplied the poison which was used to assassinate Rasputin.

Louis Theakstone

Anatole and Jean in 1924 with Louis
Meeting of the Allied Foreign Ministers
The Yusopov Palace, Koreiz




15 comments:

  1. Hello. Whereas the photo of Louis Theakstone is undoubtedly correct, I have severe doubts about the photo of Anatole. The photo of him shows an incredible likeness to a Mr Doxford (Jim, I think) who was the art teacher at Gateshead Grammar School until around 1964. Louis was my form master in 1958/59 (Form 1T) and 1959/60 (Form 2T) at Gateshead Grammar and for all that he was a strict disciplinarian, I remember him with great fondness and I have no doubt that he was responsible for my ability (and that of the whole form) in mathematics. Jim Doxford was our art teacher at that time and I have 2 photographs of him and would be amazed if he could have borne such a resemblance to Anatole and worn what appears to be the same hood on the staff photos of those years.

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  2. A further comment. I have now studied the photograph carefully and have absolutely no doubt that the photograph is indeed of Mr James Doxford, Head of Art at Gateshead Grammar School. The photograph has been lifted from the "long school photo, 1961" of Gateshead Grammar which can be clearly seen by looking at the uniforms etc of those pupils around him. Can't even start to imagine how it has ended up on the Old Novocastrian website.

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  3. We were taught by the Theakstones at DGS. Anatole used to wear a lapel clip which, rumour has it, indicated the award of Legion d'Honneur. I thought I would check - as Legion d'Honneur has been in the news and I wondered what he had done to get it - but have not found him on any lists so far.

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  4. Joseph Theakston, probably from Alnwick and a gardener at one of the royal estates - Tsarskoye Selo or Pavlovsk - married Frances Philipson from Pontefract in 1796 in St Petersburg. They had 7 children, and there are still Theakston descendants in Russia, mainly around St Petersburg. There was even a popular Russian footballer, Pavel Pavlovich Theakston, born about the same time as Anatole and Louis.

    The brothers came to the UK with their parents - Victor Emanuel and Olga Maria Theakston née Pehmoeller, and their younger sister Sophia who also became a teacher - and settled in Edinburgh, which probably explains their choice of university. Their father died in Edinburgh in November 1924, only a few months after Anatole's wedding, and their mother and sister remained in Edinburgh until the late 30s when they moved to Carshalton in Surrey>

    And yes indeed, their grandmother's maiden name was Alexandrine Louise Marquardt. If anybody would like more information about the Theakston family in Russia - Victor was the only one to choose Theakstone with an 'e' - do ask.

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  5. We had a Miss Theakstone at school who taught German and French. My school was Wallington Girls Grammar sited in Carshalton so this would fit. She taught there from approx 1959 to approx 1975. Unfortunately I was not taught by her as I was not considered bright enough to learn German and certainly not Russian!

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  6. Thank you for that very helpful contribution to Theakstone family history! The official History of Wallington High School for Girls 1888-1998 can be downloaded here: https://www.wallingtongirls.sutton.sch.uk/_site/data/files/history/History-of-the-school-1888-1998.pdf. There, we find Sophia teaching German at Wallington High School during the war: the History actually quotes her description of air raids, the terrifying sound of a V2 cutting out, and the even more terrifying silence before it exploded. She seems to have taught at your school from at least 1939 until her retirement, probably in 1976 when she was 65. This is a real find, and thank you again for the information!

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  7. Thank you for your interest in our family. Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information. My husband is the grandson of L M Theakstone. annatheakstone@gmail.com

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