István Bekő

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István Bekő

"A prominent member of the Hungarian community was István Bekő known affectionately as Matyi (short for Mátyás which is the Hungarian for Matthew)." Photographic portrait from Manningham’s Belle Vue Studio. One of approximately 17,000 images held within our archive, dating from the 1950s to the 1970s.

My name is István Szabó. I have looked through the Belle Vue Studio collection in your archive and can put names to several of the images. Most of the ones I recognise are members of the Hungarian community in Bradford. I remember Sandford Taylor as a kind old gentleman. He first took my picture as a four year old in a sailor suit which my parents still have. Sadly this picture is not in the collection, though I recognise the pose in some of the other images. He once placed this younger picture of me in his window display alongside one of me at 18; this is also not in the collection. Firstly, I appear several times including as a 15 year old in H.2018.3.07864, and at 16 in H.2018.3.01538. Both these were on the occasion of my birthday that year. (I am now 62 years old.) My father István Gyula Szabó appears twice by himself in H.2018.3.04462 and H.2018.3.12601. My mother Irén Szabó (nee Erdös) appears by herself three times in H.2018.3.05653, H.2018.3.19232 and H.2018.3.06721. We appear as a family group in H.2018.3.05677, H.2018.3.18383, H.2018.3.19026 and H.2018.3.05535. My parents were refugees from the 1956 uprising and subsequent "revolution" in Hungary. In Hungary my father was a coal miner and my mother a manufacturing engineer. In Bradford they first found employment in the textile industry, then other factories when that declined. My father's last factory job was at Bridon Wire, Cleckheaton where he was a wire drawer. The factory site is now used for housing and a small industrial estate. However, for the last 16 years of their working life they ran a bed and breakfast in Headingley, Leeds called the Aintree Hotel. My father also had a one year term as secretary at the Hungarian Club formerly at Walmer Villas off Manningham Lane. To my knowledge the club continues as a group, meeting occasionally in the function room of Bradford's Latvian Club, though their membership is small. We also appear in a friend's wedding photograph in H.2018.3.19013. Unfortunately, My parents and I cannot remember the newleywed's names, only that his nickname was Göndör which is Hungarian for "Curly". The old gentleman at the back is György Csiki, who was the groom's former landlord, and a close family friend of ours. Another former tenant of Csiki "bácsi" (loosely "uncle") was Károly Varga in H.2018.3.10128. A prominent member of the Hungarian community was István Bekő known affectionately as Matyi (short for Mátyás which is the Hungarian for Matthew). I always got the impression that his nickname was an implication of a royal connection. He is in H.2018.3.12197. He was a jovial and popular character, and often played Santa Claus for the children at the Hungarian Club's Christmas parties. In his late fifties he married Margit Gál who appears in H.2018.3.10146. The last Hungarian I have spotted is Ferenc Sas in H.2018.3.00640. He was another family friend who was business partner with Ernő Horváth in a Hungarian butcher shop and delicatessen. Known as Horváth & Sas, it was on the corner of Heaton Road and Oak Lane. My mother worked there part time. The shop was closed on Mondays for the manufacturing of meat products including smoked meats, salami and sausages in the basement. As a 14 year old during school holidays I had my first job there. I fed the meat grinder for what seemed like hours on end in cold damp conditions. I also made several trips to a sawmill to collect sawdust for use in the smoke room. The shop was popular with the Eastern European community in Bradford as the proprieters spoke most of their languages, and they would shop and socialise. The one surprise for me in this collection was the image of a schoolmate from when I was 11 year old. In H.2018.3.05781 the taller boy at the back was in my year at Green Lane school. His name is Dexter Bogle. The next in height at the back is his younger brother Errol.

Creator

Tony Walker

Image filename

H.2018.3.12197

Collection

Belle Vue Studio