David Beckham Family History

Overview

David Robert Joseph Beckham was born on May 2nd, 1975 to Ted and Sandra Beckham in Leytonstone in east London.

He attended school in Chingford. He later said: ‘At school whenever the teachers asked, “What do you want to do when you’re older?” I’d say, “I want to be a footballer.”‘ He went to church every week with his parents because that was the only way he could play football for their team.

Ted and Sandra Beckham were fanatical Manchester United supporters. David inherited his parents’ love of the team and he signed schoolboy forms for them on his 14th birthday.

He started out with Manchester United as a trainee in 1991 and was one of the famous group of young players that won the FA Youth Cup in 1992. He became a regular in the first team in 1996. Honors for club and country followed and he captained the England team between 2000 and 2006. His football playing career continued until 2013.

His public profile exploded after his marriage in 1999 to the Spice Girls singer Victoria Adams (known as Posh Spice). And he has remained in the spotlight ever since. Netflix released a four-part documentary series about him in October 2023.

Beckhams in London

These Beckhams may have been from Jersey in the Channel Islands. John Beckham, born in 1846, was in London and was employed by the council in Walworth as a scavenger or street-sweeper. His son William, born in 1870, found work as a carman, delivering goods on a horse and cart. The family lived at 3 Victory Cottages in Walworth.

William married Harriet Fletcher in Walworth in 1891. They had two sons, William and Edward. But tragedy came in 1912 with the death of William, aged just twelve. On August 3, he was one of twenty-four young Scouts of the 2nd Walworth Scout Troop that sailed from Waterloo Bridge down to Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey on their cutter. A sudden gale caught them and the boat capsized. William was one of the eight young Scouts who drowned.

Edward, his younger brother, became a seaman and, later, a Chief Petty Officer. His elder son and David’s grandfather Aubrey (known as Ted) also became a seaman; while David’s father Ted was a kitchen fitter and his mother Sandra a hairdresser. By that time the Beckham family had moved north of the river and settled in Leytonstone.