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Major The Honourable James Rupert Bellamy (1881 – October 1929) is a fictional character in the ITV
period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
'' Upstairs, Downstairs'', that was originally broadcast for five series from 1971 to 1975. He was portrayed by Simon Williams. James Bellamy is one of the main characters in ''Upstairs, Downstairs'', appearing in 37 episodes, from the third episode of the first series "
Board Wages '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' is a British television drama series created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, and developed by Alfred Shaughnessy for London Weekend Television. The series consists of 68 hour-long episodes that aired in the United Ki ...
" to the penultimate episode of the fifth and final series " All the King's Horses". Handsome, arrogant, irresponsible, and selfish, James is his mother's favourite child. James never truly recovers from her death on the ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...
'' in 1912. After a few unsuccessful relationships, James marries Hazel Forrest, but their happiness is short-lived due to their disparate backgrounds; she dies in the
Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
pandemic of 1918. James serves in the
Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
but is seriously wounded at Passchendaele on the Western Front in 1917 and subsequently never finds a purpose in life or true love. He commits suicide in 1929 after losing his fortune in the Wall Street crash.


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
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MP and
Lady Marjorie Bellamy The Lady Marjorie Helen Sybil Bellamy (née Talbot-Carey; 6 May 1860 or 12 July 1864 – 15 April 1912) is a fictional character in the ITV Network, ITV drama ''Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), Upstairs, Downstairs''. The character w ...
, the daughter of the 12th Earl of Southwold. He has a sister,
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...
who was born in 1886 (or 1887). James is portrayed as going to
Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...
and then attends the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...
, and by 1904 he has been commissioned as a lieutenant in the Life Guards in the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. James is his mother's favourite, but he has a difficult relationship with his father, who finds his son weak and irresponsible.


Beau of Lady Cynthia

James was paired with Cynthia Cartwright (portrayed by
Jessica Benton Jessica Benton (born 15 November 1948) is a British actress, mainly known for her role as ''Elizabeth Onedin / Frazer / Fogarty'' in the BBC series ''The Onedin Line'', that ran from 1971 to 1980. Benton had some minor roles on TV such as ''Z-Ca ...
) in the episode "The Path of Duty". His sister Elizabeth and Cynthia Cartwright have their coming-out ball in May 1905 at
Londonderry House Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England. The mansion served as the London residence of the Marquesses of Londonderry. It remained their London home until 1962. In that ye ...
. 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.


Affair with Sarah

In about 1908, James, now a
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
, starts an affair with the former house maid
Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...
, who is now a
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
singer and who attends Elizabeth's wedding. Soon, Sarah becomes pregnant by James, who is in debt of around £1350. Sarah gives him some of her earnings. James's regiment in
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...
contacts his parents about his debts, and he confesses everything to them. The family solicitor, Sir Geoffrey Dillon, arranges for Sarah to be sent to Lady Marjorie's family home, Southwold, and for James to be transferred to India with the Sind Horse Regiment, although Lady Marjorie is furious that James has been sent abroad. While he is gone, in the early months of 1909, Sarah returns to Eaton Place, fed up with life at Southwold. The same night she returns, Sarah gives birth to a boy, who dies almost immediately.


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.


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. 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, Lord Newbury's country house, the other guests encourage her to surprise James and join the hunt, something she has never done before. However, Diana Newbury, a childhood friend of James, had secretly swapped the horses and gives Hazel a spirited horse that bolts and runs away with Hazel, who escapes largely uninjured. She and James then argue as he feels humiliated. This, in addition to Major Cochrane-Danby claiming that James and Diana are sleeping together, leads Hazel to flee Somerby with
Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
. James follows her back to London and they soon make up. In mid-1914, Hazel suffers a miscarriage. By now, James has left the Army and is working for Jardines in London and plans to transfer to India in 1915, until the Great War intervenes. James and Hazel's relationship quickly deteriorates, and, by August 1914, they are sleeping in separate bedrooms. The often-unfaithful James has grown increasingly fond of Georgina, his stepcousin and father's ward, who arrived to live at Eaton Place right before
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
in December 1913.


The Great War

As the
Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
approaches, James is recalled to service as he is on the Army's Reserve of Officers. He serves at the Western Front and fought in the
Second Battle of Ypres The Second Battle of Ypres was fought from 22 April – 25 May 1915, during the First World War, for control of the tactically-important high ground to the east and the south of the Flanders, Flemish town of Ypres, in western Belgium. The ...
. In April 1915, he returns home on leave and during dinner, at which Sir Geoffrey Dillon is present, makes comments about the incompetent running of the war. These comments are soon published in ''
The Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the highest circulation of paid newspapers in the UK. Its sister paper ''The Mail on Sunday'' was launch ...
'', and while the comments are unattributed, it is traced to James. James is transferred to become a
General staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
officer and posted miles behind the front line, much against James's wishes. The following year, while James is again home on leave, Hazel sees how unhappy he is. She secretly asks the colonel to transfer him back to the front line. The colonel agrees, and James is reassigned to the
Guards Division The Guards Division was an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division was responsible for providing tw ...
of the
Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...
. When Georgina arrives in France as a VAD nurse in June 1916, she meets James, who is now a major. 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 The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...
, James is awarded the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
. In October 1917, James participates in one of the many skirmishes in the
Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...
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 The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
pandemic and is buried on
Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...
.


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 ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' 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 The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...
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
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and sails to New York City to stay with Elizabeth, who had moved there with her husband Dana around 1911. James does not return until October 1929 and has more money thanks to the
stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...
. However, on 24 October, the stock market crashes and James loses his entire fortune. Days before the crash, he had encouraged
Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
to invest the £1200 she had received from
Gregory Wilmot This is an alphabetical list of characters from the ITV drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', which aired from 1971 to 1975. Cast ; Key : Regular cast (4 or more episodes) : Recurring cast (2–3 episodes) : Guest cast (1 episode) ...
in his
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
, and she too loses all her money. He and Richard have a heated argument about this, as James cannot repay Rose, and about how James has failed to make anything of himself despite his upbringing and all his advantages. James privately goes to a hotel in
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...
and commits suicide by shooting himself.


References

#
Richard Marson Richard Marson (born July 1966) is an English writer, television producer and director, best known as a former editor-in-chief of the BBC's children's television programme '' Blue Peter''. In September 2007, Marson was sacked from his post for m ...
, "Inside UpDown – The Story of Upstairs, Downstairs",
Kaleidoscope Publishing Kaleidoscope Publishing is a publishing house founded by Richard Down and Chris Perry, and based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1988 and exists to promote the appreciation of British television, including classic and cult programming. No ...
, 2005 #Updown.org.uk – ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' Fansite {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellamy, James Fictional people from London Upstairs, Downstairs characters Television characters introduced in 1971 English male characters in television Fictional World War I veterans