Hello Mick,
I read your post some time ago and this reply might be too late, but Robert Beaton was my godfather and the best friend of my father who also lived, during the war years in the Caledonian Club in Endsleigh Gardens.
Uncle Robert, as I knew him, was a wonderful person - kind, generous, and great fun. I loved it when he visited. He gave me many presents, including an articulated wooden Scottie dog on wheels which I pulled everywhere and called Beaton! And it was Uncle Robert who called me by the nickname Paddy.
He was in the business of manufacturing and selling costume jewellery. I still have a very small amount of this - he regularly gave pieces and sets to my mother and her sister.
I do hope you still visit this site, six years down the line, and that this information is helpful to your friend. I still remember the day Uncle Robert died. I was 10 at the time. We were eating breakfast one day when my father received a phone call from the hospital - I think he was effectively named as the next of kin and was responsible for Uncle Robert's funeral arrangements. That was the first occasion on which I ever saw my father cry. (The only other time was at the funeral of my maternal grandmother.)
With every good wish, Patricia
