Molly was born on 3rd January 1942 at Dulwich Hospital, an only child to her father William O’Donoughue, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and mother Mary, a nurse, from Dublin born in to an army family.  Molly trained to be a teacher and qualified in 1963 taking a post in London.  In 1964, Molly was a volunteer for the Women’s Naval Reserve, a role she maintained for 8 years and was awarded as a competent helmsman and becoming a 3rd officer during her service.  Molly met Doug when they were both in the Royal Navy Reserve and they married in Lewisham in 1969.

Their first home was a bungalow in Southend; then two and a half years later they upsized to a house with a third of an acre. Doug had a passion for gardening, he was very dedicated and Molly joined in wholeheartedly as his lackey.  In 1979, they were ready for a bigger garden with a challenge to match. After a long search they found Shipwrights, a very special 1930’s house, one of only two residential properties designed by Wells Coates, a leading pioneer of modern industrial design, which was in great need of repair. So much so, that Essex County Council put a preservation order on it and the house was listed grade 2 star rating. This made the renovations considerably more challenging and in Molly’s words ‘they were rather miffed.’  The house was fully restored and furnished to its original 1930s appearance (see photo, right) and the property is much visited by enthusiasts and academics for the era.

In order to find a holiday that they could take their dog along, they came up with hire boat holidays as the solution. This started their love affair with narrow boat holidays on the inland waterways.  After four years, in 1978, they bought “Pegasus” a 46ft narrow boat which they enjoyed for 18 years.  Also in 1978 they joined IWA.

The restoration work was completed within budget and on time within the two years.  It was formally reopened as part of one of IWA’s largest and most successful National Trailboat Rallies, held in Chelmsford on the river Chelmer, below the lock.  Throughout this period the owners of the Navigation, the original Company of Proprietors, formed by a 1793 Act of Parliament were in declining financial health.  Doug, supported as always by Molly, set about raising large sums of money for intensive capital works on the Navigation, including a substantial Heritage Lottery Fund grant, and then oversaw the expenditure with a tight rein, often to the exasperation of the Navigation Company.

When the Navigation Company’s finances failed completely and the company went into Administration in 2003, IWA appointed Doug as it representative and to the Creditors Committee, and an IWA team led by Doug Beard and Roy Chandler persuaded the Administrator to hand over management of the Navigation to Essex Waterways Ltd, a subsidiary company set up by IWA for the purpose.

During this period, whilst Molly played a leading role with IWA Chelmsford Branch, Doug became chair of IWA’s South East Region and a trustee from 1996 to 2011 with a break in 2007 / 8.  Doug was initially appointed as chair of Essex Waterways Ltd, but soon stepped down, and was suffering declining health, first throat cancer, then needing a pacemaker and finally liver cancer before his death in late 2011.  In the wake of Doug’s death, Molly stepped down as acting branch chair, but was soon persuaded to take up the reins again.  Molly suffered poor health for the final six years of her life, but kept going as branch chair until 2023 when night time driving to evening meetings became too much.  Molly and Doug were intensely loyal to each other, and they made a good double act, with Molly’s kindness and warmth compensating for Doug’s American-style management tendencies.

[Photo right shows, left to right, John Gale, Molly Beard, Michael Cole, Graham Brown and Roy Chandler, celebrating the arrival of a new trailer for Essex Waterways Ltd in 2015, funded by IWA Chelmsford Branch.]

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