Article O : A Day at the Picnic

This post is part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (#AtoZChallenge), where I’m exploring historical newspaper clippings—one story at a time—through my series “Behind the Newsprint.”

The Clipping

In a report of a large workers’ picnic at Sandown Park, one small detail stands out:

"The following are the results of the sports: Barmen's Handicap (100yds): Sterling 1, Herbert 2, Griffen 3. ... Waiters' Handicap (100yds): Bell 1, Meadow 2, Check 3. ... Girls' Race (6 years and under): Miss Todman 1, Miss Young 2, Miss Baseden 3”

(The full results list ran to over twenty races.)

The clipping was reporting on a workers' picnic for around 1,500 employees of Henry Skinner, a well-known Melbourne caterer.

Todman is not a common name, and it immediately caught my attention. Among the names of the competition winners, an unexpectedly familiar name. Walter Todman’s young daughter was there—and she won a prize.

By 1901, Walter Todman had two young daughters—Martha (born January 1894)[i] and Ivy (born September 1895).[ii] A child competing in a race for those aged six and under must almost certainly have been Ivy, who was 5 years old at the time. So, this was not just any “Miss Todman,” it was his daughter.

The event was hosted by Henry Skinner, described as a “well-known caterer,” and attended by:

• Around 1,500 employees, family members, and friends
• Staff connected to his catering and hospitality operations
• A network of workers from Melbourne’s service economy

This was, in effect, a staff function on a grand scale. But this raises a more interesting question: Why was the Todman family there at all?

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What It Suggests

The outing was no ordinary public event. If Walter’s daughter was present—and competing—then the family was not casual visitors. They were there by invitation.

Given the circumstances, the most likely candidate was Walter himself.

By 1901, Walter and his wife, Martha, had three young children, the youngest only four years old. In such a household, it is reasonable to assume that Walter was the primary wage earner, while Martha remained at home caring for the children.

If the invitation came through employment, then it was almost certainly through him.

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Looking Closer

So, what connection did Walter have to Henry Skinner? This is where his occupation becomes crucial.

From other records, we know that Walter built his working life around hospitality:

As a young man, he had worked as a steward aboard the S.S. Nurjahan, performing duties that included serving food, maintaining officers’ quarters, and managing stores.[iii] He later carried those skills onto land, working as "an attendant at Bowden's Hotel" in New South Wales in 1889,[iv] before settling in Victoria after his marriage, where he worked as "a job waiter and earned about £11 a month" in 1895.[v][vi]

While Walter was recorded as a job waiter as early as 1895, his presence at the 1901 picnic suggests he had maintained this professional connection for several years, navigating the peak of Skinner’s 'monopoly'.

A “job waiter” was typically a casual employee:

• Hired for events, banquets, and large functions
• Moving between employers or engagements
• Part of a flexible workforce supporting large-scale hospitality operations

This places Walter squarely within the kind of workforce that a caterer like Henry Skinner depended upon.

As a major caterer, Skinner would have required:

• Teams of waiters for large events
• Reliable men who could be called upon as needed
• Workers accustomed to fast-paced, high-volume service

It is entirely plausible that Walter was one of them.

The picnic, then, was not just entertainment.

It was a gathering of a working community—and Walter was part of it.

The Shadow of the "Commercial Bismarck"

The scale of the 1901 Sandown Park outing—with its private chartered train and 1,500 guests—transforms a simple race result into a 'smoking gun' for Walter’s employment. This was a corporate inner-sanctum event. By 1901, Henry Skinner was the 'undisputed king' of Melbourne's service economy, and for a 'job waiter' like Walter, Skinner was the primary gatekeeper to steady, high-status work.

Working for the 'Commercial Bismarck' meant adhering to a 'pyramid of self-reliance'. Walter would have been part of a literal army of service. For a "job waiter" like Walter employment came with high expectations:

• The Uniform: Skinner required his staff to wear the firm's "distinctive white uniforms," providing a professional, uniform look to his massive catering "army".
• Strict Discipline: To ensure absolute honesty, Skinner famously required his waiters to empty their pockets before they began their shifts.
• The Scale of Service: At events like the Sandown Park picnic, under those 'spacious marquees' laid out in the 'best style,' Walter would have been one of many disciplined staff members ensuring the day's luxury for 1,500 guests—including his own wife and children..

Seeing his daughter, Ivy, win a race in this environment suggests that despite the rigid discipline of the job, the Todman family was fully integrated into this professional community.

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What Lies Behind It

Walter’s work as a waiter sits within a period of transition and overlap in his life. He pursued a series of inventions, applying for patents for devices such as an improved gold-saving machine[vii] and an automatic check for Venetian blinds.[viii] At the same time, casual waiting work appears to have provided a reliable income stream, a practical means of supporting his family while his ambitions took shape.[ix]

When he married Martha Sarah Ellis in 1892, he was working as a blacksmith,[x]  a skilled trade that likely reflected his original training. Yet the broader record suggests a more complex reality. Before and after his marriage, Walter continued to undertake waiting and other casual work, indicating a flexible, multi-stranded working life rather than a single, fixed occupation.

This may not have been a step backwards, but a strategic choice. Casual hospitality work could provide:

• Immediate income
• Flexible hours
• Time to pursue other ambitions

By the late 1890s, his inventive efforts began to give way to more practical enterprise. His business gradually developed from bicycle work into motor repairs and engineering.[xi]

Seen in this light, his time as a waiter was not an endpoint, but a supporting role in a larger ambition.

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Reflection

It is easy to look at Walter Todman and see only the later industrialist—the man with the motor garage and the patents. This newspaper article reminds us that his path to engineering was paved by his time in the 'white uniform'. He wasn't just a waiter; he was a strategic actor in a bustling colonial city, using the flexible hours of Skinner's empire to fuel the inventions that would eventually take him 'behind the newsprint' and into his own future.

And it answers the question. He was there because, at that moment in his life, this was his trade.

Further reads:

For those interested in learning more about Walter Todman & Ivy Todman or Henry Hawkins Skinner see their profiles on WikiTree.

Sources

1. Geoff Browne, "Skinner, Henry Hawkins (1851–1912)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, originally published 1988, accessed online 6 April 2026. (accessed https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/skinner-henry-hawkins-8446 : 6 April 2026)
2. "A Pleasant Outing," . (1901, March 16). The Record (Emerald Hill, Vic. : 1881 - 1957), p. 3. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162550717 (Historical newspaper report detailing the Henry Skinner employee picnic at Sandown Park).

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[i] Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, Birth Certificate Martha Todman (Year 1894, #1801)

[ii] Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, Birth Certificate Ivy Florence Todman (1895, Reference# 32737)

[iii] Capacities - the jobs that seafarers did  https://www.crewlist.org.uk/about/capacities accessed 16 April 2022

[iv] 1889 'IN DIVORCE.--(Before His Honor Mr Justice WINDEYER.)', The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), 4 March, p. 5. , viewed 07 Apr 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227304883

[v] 1895 'DOMESTIC TROUBLES.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 10 December, p. 5. , viewed 13 Apr 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8883765

[vi] 1895 'PRAHRAN POLICE COURT', The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930), 14 December, p. 5. , viewed 13 Apr 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article144631672

[vii] "PATENTS APPLIED FOR," Record, 14 Apr 1894, p. 2, col. 7; digital images, TROVE (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ : accessed 4 Oct 2015), Digitised Papers and more. 

[viii] The Prahran Telegraph, "NEW PATENTS." The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930) 19 Oct 1895: 3. Web. 3 Oct 2015 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article144634019>

[ix] "PRAHRAN POLICE COURT." The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930) 14 Dec 1895: 5. Web. 3 Oct 2015 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article144631672>.

[x] Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Certificate of Marriage Walter Todman & Martha Ellis 16 January 1892 Reference# 345

[xi] Dir Sands & McDougall's Melbourne and Suburban Directory - Todman, Yr 1898 p.1209; Yr 1899 p.1219; 1900 p.1239; 1901 p. 1274 & p.1564; Yr1902 p.1551; 1903 p.1383 & p.1558; 1904 p.1413 & p.576; Yr1905 p.1449 & p.1634; 1906 p.1522 & p.604; 1907 p.1613 & 1813 p.580; Yr1910, p.1523, p.1726 & p.616 Yr1911 p.1499.

Walter Todman born Lincoln James Temple Willoughby

Walter Todman died in Australia on the 14 Oct 1929 at his home, 3 Cato Street, Prahran, Victoria, Australia of a heart attack. 

He is buried in an unmarked grave in Springvale Cemetery.  His death certificate gives his parents as Walter Todman (Rope maker) & Mary Ann formerly Willoughby, and birth place as England and having lived in the Australian Colonies, for 37 years in Victoria.[i]

In order to locate where Walter may have been born we looked for a marriage certificate between a Willoughby and a Todman. The only marriage that we have been able to locate occurred in 1854 between Charles Willoughby (rope maker) and Mary Ann Ramsey Todman in Gillingham, Kent.[ii] Their fifth child was a son, James Lincoln Temple Willoughby born 1 Nov 1865.[iii] 

James Lincoln Temple Willoughby (proposed great-grandfather of Sandra and Andrea)

James L. T Willoughby appears in the 1871 census as a scholar and again in the 1881 census as a blacksmith.[iv] In 1871 James was living with his parents and siblings on Creek Road in Deptford, Kent. He was still living at home in 1881 with his parents and siblings but in Montague Place, Poplar in London. Charles, his father, dies in 1888 (rope maker).[v] By the 1891 census James is no longer living with his widowed mother Mary Ann Willoughby who is now living with her son Charles and his family and also two of his unwed sisters.[vi] We have been unable to trace the location of James L. T. Willoughby by the 1891 census or in the marriage records.

It is believed that James L T Willoughby must have left the area as early as 1884 possibly to travel to Australia to begin a new life which is supported by the advertisement below that was placed by his mother in an Australian newspaper. Missing Persons article that appeared in the “Evening Journal” newspaper in South Australia.[vii]

Millwall is in Poplar, the east of London where James grew up; an area near the Millwall Docks (not far from the London's India Docks) and the Isle of Dogs.[viii] As the Willoughby family were predominately rope makers they probably worked at the docks as may have James as a blacksmith. A James Willoughby arrives on the SS Nurjahan in Sydney Australia from London on the 3 February 1885 as a member of the crew working as a steward. Records show that he was aged 19, born Bermondsey, it is possible that this is our James Lincoln Temple Willoughby.[ix]

Walter Todman

As James mother’s missing person plea (above) suggests James may have changed his name and we are trying to determine if James L. T Willoughby is Walter Todman.

Walter Todman’s marriage certificate in 1892 recognises his occupation as blacksmith. His mother is listed as Mary Ann Willoughby and his father as Walter Todman (rope maker)[x]. We also have a death certificate for our Walter Todman in 1929. This death certificate recognises his occupation as motor engineer. His mother is listed as Mary Ann Todman previously Willoughby and his father as Walter Todman (rope maker).[xi]

There is some evidence to support that James Lincoln Temple Willoughby became Walter Todman, the following was based on a list compiled by Simon Todman (Andrea’s brother)

Initial evidence (as discussed above)

1)      Family legend: states that Walter changed his name from Willoughby to Todman. Todman is a rare name. James Lincoln Temple Willoughby's mother was Mary Ann Ramsey Todman.

2)      Birth Date: Walter Todman died in October 1929 aged 63 thus birth is estimated as 1866. Documentation on the birth certificates of his children indicates that he was born either late 1865 or early 1866.

James Lincoln Temple Willoughby was born 1/11/1865.[xii]

English records indicate that there were only two Walter Todman's born between Mar 1860 and Dec 1870, they were:-

1. Walter Todman - reference Births Mar 1866 Greenwich 1d 711 and died in 1887
2. Walter Todman - reference Births Sep 1865 Hambledon 2a 109 and died in 1959 

3)      Occupation:  Walter was a blacksmith as was James Lincoln Temple Willoughby.

4)      Father's occupation:  On Walter’s marriage certificate his father was a rope maker. James Lincoln Willoughby’s father Charles was also a rope maker.

 5)      The only marriage found in England between a Willoughby and a Todman occurred in 1854 when Charles Willoughby married Mary Ann Ramsey Todman in Gillingham Kent.[xiii]

• On his marriage certificate, Walter's mother was Mary Ann Willoughby.
• James Lincoln Temple Willoughby's mother was Mary Ann Willoughby (nee Todman).
• On his marriage certificate, Walter's father was Walter Todman. No proof has been found of any Walter Todman being old enough to be the father of Walter 1866. The first Walter found in English records was born in 1852.

Further evidence to support theory

6)      Walter Victor Todman, Lincoln Todman and Alma Dudley Todman, Walter’s sons and his youngest daughter, all have their father’s name as Walter James Todman on their death certificates. The other children have their father listed as Walter Todman or unknown Todman on their death certificates.

7)      Naming Patterns of issue.

1.     Walter's 2nd son was christened Lincoln James Todman. Is this a clue recognizing a previous identity; that of James Lincoln Temple Willoughby?

2.     James Lincoln Temple Willoughby's grandmother’s name was Charlotte.  Walter Todman's 4th daughter (who died in infancy) was called Charlotte Mary - maybe after his grandmother.

8)   Walter's watch came to be given to Lincoln James Todman.  The initials on the inside rear cover are J.L.T.W. Is this another clue to a previous identity; that of James Lincoln Temple Willoughby. See below.

The Watch

Walter Todman owned a fob watch; with a crude engraving on the front of the watch of the letters “W” and “T”.  This physical link to the past watch was passed onto his second son Lincoln James Todman and give clues to Walter Todman’s possible name change.

Craig Todman (photographer), Engraved lettering close-up, 2016, digital image, cropped and enlarged

Craig Todman (photographer), inside back cover of fob watch Photographer unknown, Walter & Martha Todman, c.1926 taken at or close to the wedding of Arthur Atkinson & their daughter Martha “Ruby” Todman who were married on the 21st August 1926. Note - Walter is wearing his fob watch.

The letters on the front of the Fob Watch are thought to represent Walter’s Australian name – “Walter Todman”. The letters that appear on the inside back cover of the watch however are “J.L.T.W.” and are thought to represent Walter’s English birth name “James Lincoln Temple Willoughby”.

Walter arrived in Australia before 1890 and according to the serial number (8145946) on the internal mechanism of the watch, it was manufactured in 1897. It is not known if the watch was a gift from England or purchased in Australia. The initials “J.L.T.W.” may provide a clue. The working theory is that the J.L.T.W. lettering may have been engraved at the place of purchase, possibly England (where they knew him by this name), as the engraving looks professionally done.

DNA corroboration

The theory that James L. T. Willoughby changed his name to Walter Todman either on or after his arrival in Australia is supported by DNA evidence. Using existing trees and Ancestry ThruLines DNA links have been established 6 of James L. T. Willoughby [aka Walter Todman] 9 siblings (all children of Charles Willoughby & Mary Ann Ramsay Todman)

 

James/Walter’s siblings were:

1.       Mary Ann Ramsay Willoughby (1855-1915

2.       Charles James Willoughby (1861 -  )

3.       Charlotte Elizabeth Willoughby (1862-  )

4.       Annie Maria Willoughby (1852 -  ) [ no links yet located]

5.       Eliza Burdett Jane Willoughby ( 1870 – ) [ no links yet located]

6.       George Louisa Mayo Willoughby (1872-1929)

7.       Alice Jane Willoughby ( 1874-1882) [ died before having children]

8.       Katherine Beaconsfield Willoughby (1877- ) [ no links yet located]

DNA Connects

James Lincoln Temple Willoughby who later became known as Walter Todman in Australia was the son of Charles Willoughby and Mary Ann Ramsay Todman.

Paternal and Maternal relationships are both confirmed by an autosomal via an Ancestry.com DNA test match between Sandra Williamson to 4 third cousin DNA matches of over 30cM for the various descendant lines of Charles Willoughby and Mary Ann Ramsay Todman, all of which have been confirmed with a paper trail created during genealogical research.  These results are consistent with the predicted relationship from AncestryDNA of 3rd cousin.

Based on the following relationships I feel I can be confident that Charles Willoughby and Mary Ann Ramsay Todman are the parents of Walter Todman.

WikiTree profile for James Lincoln Temple Willoughby aka Walter Todman 

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The URL for this post is: https://ancestralresearchjournal.blogspot.com/2022/10/walter-todman-born-lincoln-james-temple.html originally published on 30 October 2022

Author 2022, Sandra Williamson

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References

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[i] Victorian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, death certificate 15938 (1929), Walter Todman died 14 October 1929. 

[ii] England, marriage certificate for Charles Willoughby and Mary Ann Ramsey Todman, married 2 July 1854, parish church Gillingham, Kent; citing 2a/473/256, 3rd quarter 1854, Medway  registration district; General Register Office, Southport.

[iii] England, birth certificate for James Lincoln Temple Willoughby, born 1 November 1865; citing 1d/74/275, 4th quarter 1865, Saint Mary Magdalan Bermondsey Surrey registration district, Saint James in the county of Surrey sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

[iv] Registrar General of England and Wales, "1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census," database & images, brightsolid online publishing ltd, Findmypast (www.Findmypast.com : accessed 11 Jan 2017), entry for Census record for Charles Willoughby, Creek Road, St Nicholas, Greenwich, London, England; RG10/750/21/37; Registrar General of England and Wales, "1881 England, Wales & Scotland Census," database & images, brightsolid online publishing ltd, Findmypast (www.Findmypast.com : accessed 11 Jan 2017), entry for Census record for Charles Willoughby, Montague Place, Poplar, London, England; RG11/510/105/10.

[v] England and Wales, death certificate for Charles  Willoughby, died 15 September 1888; citing 1C/418/243, 3 quarter 1888, Poplar registration district, Poplar sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

[vi] Registrar General of England and Wales, "1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census," database & images, brightsolid online publishing ltd, Findmypast (www.Findmypast.com : accessed 11 Jan 2017), entry for Charles James  Willoughby's household, Hutchings Street, Poplar, London, England; RG12/337/55/45; Mary Ann Willoughby is listed as living with Charles Willoughby as his mother a widow aged 55 living on her own means

[vii] 1901 'MISSING FRIENDS.', Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 - 1912), 13 April, p. 6. , viewed 19 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207944213

[viii] "Millwall, Middlesex Genealogy Genealogy - Familysearch Wiki". 2017. Familysearch.Org. Accessed January 15 2017. https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Millwall,_Middlesex_Genealogy

[ix] Mariners and ships in Australian Waters, ‘Crew & Passenger list for the Nurjahan arriving Sydney 3 February 1885’, citing State Records Authority of New South Wales: Shipping Master's Office; Passengers Arriving 1855 - 1922; NRS13278, [X172] reel 465, http://marinersandships.com.au/1885/02/006nur.htm, Accessed January 19 2017

[x] Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, "Certificate of Marriage  Walter Todman & Martha Ellis 16 January 1892 Reference# 345" (Original in the family papers of  Myrtle Sharp.)

[xi] Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, Death Certificate Walter Todman, 14 October 1929, Reference# 15938

[xii] England, birth certificate, James Lincoln Temple Willoughby, 1 November 1865, citing 1d/74/275, 4th quarter 1865, Saint Mary Magdalan Bermondsey Surrey registration district, Saint James in the county of Surrey sub-district.

[xiii] England, marriage certificate for Charles Willoughby and Mary Ann Ramsey Todman, married 2 July 1854, parish church Gillingham, Kent; citing 2a/473/256, 3rd quarter 1854, Medway  registration district; General Register Office, Southport.