James Bellamy (Upstairs, Downstairs)
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James Bellamy | |
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Board Wages" | |
Last appearance | "All the King's Horses" |
Portrayed by | Simon Williams |
In-universe information | |
Family |
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Spouse | Hazel Forrest (1912–1918; her death) |
Children | Stillborn son |
Relatives |
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Major The Honourable James Rupert Bellamy (1881 – October 1929) is a fictional character in the
James Bellamy is one of the main characters in Upstairs, Downstairs, appearing in 37 episodes, from the third episode of the first series "
Early life
While his birth date is never directly referenced, James Rupert Bellamy is likely born in the summer of 1881 (Lady Prudence, an old family friend, reminds his father that he was 30 years of age when he proposed to Hazel in November 1912, in the episode "A Family Secret". However, Hawkesworth explicitly states in the first novelisation of the show's scripts that James is 23 years old in 1904 making 1881 more than likely his birth year), the first child of
Beau of Lady Cynthia
James was paired with Cynthia Cartwright (portrayed by Jessica Benton) in the episode "The Path of Duty". His sister Elizabeth and Cynthia Cartwright have their coming-out ball in May 1905 at Londonderry House. Elizabeth was due to be presented to the King and Queen by her Aunt Kate (Lady Castleton), but she ran away from the ball. Cynthia, James, Richard and Marjorie don't know what to do at the ball without Elizabeth[citation needed].
Affair with Sarah
In about 1908, James, now a
Fiancé of Phyllis Kingman
When James returns from India in May 1910, he brings home with him a well-meaning, middle-class, Army Veterinarian Major's daughter named Phyllis Kingman, to whom he has become engaged. The engagement does not last, however, as he later admits he does not love her, nor believes she would fit in.[1]
Marriage to Hazel
In early March 1912, Richard hires a secretary, Hazel Forrest, and James quickly takes an interest in her. While his parents are away one weekend in April (right before Lady Marjorie's ill-fated trip aboard the Titanic), James insists that Hazel lunch with him in the Dining Room, much to butler Hudson's disapproval. After about seven months of courting, James proposes in November, but Hazel tearfully refuses him. It caused Hazel's father, Arthur Forrest, to visit James. He explains that Hazel was previously married to a drunk, Patrick O'Connor, who beat her.[1] They divorced, and Hazel moved back in with her parents. Mr. Forrest wants his daughter to be happy, while the prickly Mrs. Forrest is sure the Bellamys would never accept Hazel as a divorced woman. James asks Hazel again, and after talking and James letting Hazel know his own sister Elizabeth is a divorced and remarried woman, she accepts his second proposal. They marry in late 1912 or early 1913, and honeymoon in Paris.
The middle-class Hazel has difficulty adapting to James' upper-class world. On a hunting weekend to Somerby,
The Great War
As the
When Georgina arrives in France as a VAD nurse in June 1916, she meets James, who is now a major.[1] They spend the day together, and before they part at the end of the day, they kiss. For his part in the Battle of the Somme, James is awarded the Military Cross. In October 1917, James participates in one of the many skirmishes in the Battle of Passchendaele and is reported: "missing believed killed". After ten days, he turns up seriously wounded at Georgina's hospital. Against Georgina's advice, Richard and Hazel take him back to London in a private ambulance (a converted limousine provided by James' maternal grandmother, the old Dowager Duchess of Southwold). When back home, James tells Richard about his ten days missing; a German officer was about to shoot him when he found him injured in a shell hole but, for some unknown reason, he did not and gave James the chance to shoot him instead. James also says he felt his mother's presence while in the shell hole. James sees no further active service for the rest of the war. On 8 November 1918, days before its end, Hazel dies during the Spanish flu pandemic and is buried on Armistice Day.
Post-war years
After the war, James has difficulty adapting to life outside the army. In February 1920, he writes a letter to The Times regarding the treatment of former soldiers. On the strength of that letter, he is persuaded to stand as the Conservative candidate in an upcoming by-election in the Docklands seat of Rotherhithe East, a safe Labour seat. While he loses the election, he reduces the Labour majority and Conservative Central Office want him to stand again. However, he has no further interest in politics. A chance encounter with Diana Newbury, his former flame and wife of his best friend, in May 1923 leads to them staying in a country cottage together for a week. They decide to almost-elope. However, a note left by Diana to Bunny is read earlier than expected and, before they can leave Britain, Richard finds out and insists that James return to London. While Bunny says that Diana may divorce him if that is what she truly wants, James and Diana agree that time has moved on and they could not live together.
In 1927 or 1928, while holidaying in Scotland, James tells Georgina that he loves her. But she says that she does not love him in that way anymore, and early the next morning he leaves without saying goodbye to anybody. He then goes to
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Upstairs, Downstairs Fansite". Steve Phillips. 2006. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
- Richard Marson, "Inside UpDown – The Story of Upstairs, Downstairs", Kaleidoscope Publishing, 2005
- Updown.org.uk – Upstairs, Downstairs Fansite