Tom Branson

## Mr.Tom Branson

Boston, Massachusetts, United States (formerly)
Dublin, Ireland (formerly)
Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland (formerly)

Tom
Branson
Mr. Branson
 The Chauffeur
 A grubby little chauffeur chap (by Larry Grey)
The Firebrand (by Mr. Molesley)
Tommy (by Kieran Branson)
 A Dangerous Revolutionary (by Charles Carson)
Daddy (by his children)

Peter Pelham, Earl of Brancaster
Lord Theodore Pelham
Arthur Crawley, Viscount Downton
Lord Benedict Crawley
 Lord Christopher Crawley
Lady Diana Crawley
Lord Edmund Crawley

Maud, Dowager Baroness Bagshaw (first cousin-twice-removed-in-law/mother-in-law)
 Patrick Crawley, 6th Earl of Grantham † (grandfather-in-law)
Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham † (grandmother-in-law)
Lady Rosamund Painswick (aunt-in-law)
Mr. Marmaduke Painswick † (martial uncle-in-law)
 Miss Delilah Mellark (marital aunt-law)
 Lady Mary Crawley (sister-in-law)
Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham (sister-in-law)
 Alexander Crawley, 8th Earl of Grantham (brother-in-law)
Mr. Matthew Crawley † (brother-in-law)
 Herbert Pelham, Marquess of Hexham (brother-in-law)
 Josephine Crawley, Countess of Grantham (sister-in-law)
 Mr. Isidore Levinson † (grandfather-in-law)
 Mrs. Martha Levinson † (grandmother-in-law)
 Mr. Harold Levinson (uncle-in-law)

## Affiliations

### Occupation

Chauffeur (formerly)
Journalist (formerly)
Manager of the Downton Estate
Co-0wner of Talbot and Branson Motors

### Loyalty

Sybil Branson
Lucy Branson
Sybbie Branson
Violet Branson
 Aidan Branson
Branson Family
Crawley Family
Alexander Crawley
Downton Abbey

## Fan Cast

### Portrayed By

Allen Leech

**Mr. Tom Branson** (b. 27 September, 1885), is the former chauffeur and the current estate manager for Downton Abbey. He was the widower of the late Lady Sybil Branson and the now husband of Mrs. **Lucy Branson**, He is father of Sybbie, Violet, and Aidan Branson. He is a member of the Branson Family through birth, and became a prominent member of the Crawley Family through his marriage.

## Biography

* Early Life
* Chauffeur at Downton
* Relationship with Sybil

Tom was born on the 27 September, 1885 in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. He is the youngest child and son of Mr. and Mrs. Branson, and the younger brother of **Kieran Branson**.

He has a female cousin, **Nuala**, who had an illegitimate child that was raised as her sister. He also spent some time at his grandfather's sheep farm in Galway during his youth.

Tom arrives at Downton in May 1913 as the chauffeur, replacing Taylor, who left to open a tea shop. He tells Robert Crawley that he will miss Ireland, but not his previous job.

He immediately becomes curious about Lord Grantham’s youngest daughter, Lady Sybil, when he overhears her mother, Lady Grantham, talking about her needing a new dress and implying that she has an interest in rights for women. Branson is very political, and once he discovered that Sybil is too, he sets out to increase her interest.

By May 1914, Sybil seems to have become more involved with politics. Since there are no politically enthusiastic members of her family with whom she could talk openly, she turns to Branson. Branson tells her it is not just women's rights and Irish freedom, but chiefly the gap between the aristocracy and the poor he would want to change if he did go into politics. Knowing Lord Grantham is a member of this "oppressive class" and not wanting to offend her, he hastily makes amends by saying her father is a good man and a decent employer.

By November 1916, Branson is still at Downton and his love for Sybil is again confirmed when he attentively watches her baking with Mrs. Patmore and Daisy. Sybil is to become a nurse, but before that she wants to learn some basic skills, like cooking. It is things like this that Branson has always admired as it shows her spirit and determination. He decides he has one chance to tell her he loves her, before she leaves to train as a nurse, to tell her how he feels. He asks her to bet on him, determined that he will make something of himself. He knows that she is too far above him, but believes that the world is changing as a result of the war and if her family did disown her, they would come around, but until then he would devote every waking minute to her happiness.

By 1919, Sybil is bored of her life, now that she is back in the same old routine that she was stuck in before the war. The war has changed her irrevocably and she knows it, she cannot and will not return to her mundane existence of waiting around for a suitable bachelor, whom her parents approve of, to stumble her way. But she still doesn’t have an answer for Branson, which disappoints him, but her affections for him are increasingly showing as she reaches up to touch his cheek.

When Matthew and Lavinia announce that their engagement is back on and that they are going to get married at Downton, Sybil realizes that the war is well and truly over and it is time for her to move on. Branson has waited so long for her to say those words that he cannot believe he is finally hearing them, she tells him he can kiss her, but that is all until everything is settled, that doesn’t matter to him as it is enough that he could kiss her.

Sybil tells everyone that she is ill but actually she and Branson are on their way to Gretna Green to get married. Mary, Edith and Anna find them and convince Sybil to return to Downton with them. She decides to try to gain her parents’ forgiveness instead of sneaking away like a thief in the night. Still trying to convince their sister to see sense, Mary and Edith are horrified to hear she has invited Tom over in order to tell the rest of the family that evening about their plans. Tom is now a journalist, which will hopefully, according to Sybil, sound better than chauffeur to Violet, but nevertheless they are all stunned. Robert orders them to break it off, but neither of them waver in their love and determination.

He informs that he is staying at the Grantham Arms until Matthew and Lavinia are married and Sybil is ready to leave for Dublin. Later, her father and her grandmother both try to talk Sybil out of her plans, but the young lady explains that she couldn't care less what the aristocratic world will think of her and she vows to her father and grandmother that she *will not give him up*. Robert then warns her that there will be no more money, and that her life will be very different if she stays with Tom, but this is exactly what Sybil wants. Robert then went to see Tom at Grantham Arms and tried to bribe him into leaving Downton without Sybil, but is swiftly rejected.

Tom attended Lavinia's funeral in order to pay his respects and to see Sybil. After realizing that there is nothing he can do to stop them, Robert agrees to part as friends, giving them his blessing and says he will give them some money. Giving him a friendly warning of the consequences of mistreating his daughter, Tom tells him he would expect no less. They shake hands then Tom and Sybil walk away hand-in-hand. Violet rejoins Robert asking him if he has finally given in. Like many aristocratic generations before them, they plan to minimize the scandal of **the Lady and the Chauffeur** by giving Tom a made up back story.
* Marriage and Children
* Estate Manager
* Second Chance in Love

Tom and Sybil eventually got married on the 16 April, 1919 and they are now living in Ireland. Only Sybil's siblings Mary, Edith, and Alex attended the wedding, as Cora was unable to attend—as she had not fully recovered from the Spanish Flu. While both Robert and Violet chose not to attend feigning illness.

By Christmas 1919, Robert later gives Cora a letter from Sybil. Cora who gasps in delight with the news that she and Tom are expecting their first baby. After the servants ball, a few days later, The Countess tells Robert that she will not be kept away from her first grandchild. She admits it wasn't the lifestyle that she wanted for their daughter, but it is what happened and they all must accept it.

On the 10 April, 1920, Tom was at Sybil's side when she went into labour, he discussed with her, that he thinking about their future, and that his brother, who lives in Liverpool, might be having opening at his place at work, meaning he will be working with cars again, but Sybil insisted that they must go forward, and he must promise her that. Tom felt so helpless, and seeing her in pain, but Sybil was pleased that he was with her. Later, Doctor Clarkson became worried when Sybil started showing signs of eclampsia, which endangered her life. Whilst Sybil gave birth, Tom waited with Robert, Matthew and Violet in the library, until Mary entered to announce that Sybil had given birth to a baby girl, and that both mother and daughter were doing well. Tom immediately went to see his wife and daughter, telling Sybil how beautiful their child was, and that he loved her so much. He then left to allow Sybil to sleep.

However, later that night, Sybil became dangerously ill. Tom was present at her bedside as Cora and Robert were summoned, and pleaded to know what was wrong with Sybil and asked for help. As Sybil's symptoms became worse and she started to have seizures, Tom became more fearful and devastated, as Doctor Clarkson informed him and the family that it was eclampsia and that, sadly, nothing could be done to save Sybil's life once the fits started. Tom pleaded for the doctors to help Sybil as she suffocated, as Matthew too questioned how in that day-and-age, no medical help was possible. With nothing else to do, Tom held Sybil's hand, assuring her that he was there, asking her to breathe and not to leave him as she continued to seize. Sadly, Sybil suffocated and died, with Tom, her parents, her siblings, and her brother-in-law at her bedside, leaving all of them devastated and heartbroken.

Tom chose to name his daughter Sybil, admitting though it would be painful he felt "it's right" because he wanted to remember her mother whenever he looked at her. He announced to the family that he wished to have her baptized Catholic like himself, stating that she was Irish. Robert was opposed to the idea, wishing for the child to be instead baptized Anglican. He invited Reverend Travis to dinner, and the reverend began insulting the Catholic faith, which did not sway Tom. The rest of the family came to his aid, and the matter was settled when Mary announced that before Sybil died, she had told her she had no objection to the child being Catholic. Robert still protested, he stopped fighting it after Cora silenced him, and when Mary later told him he would not win and that Sybil wanted Tom to be happy, that she "loved him, very much you know. We all need to remember that."

He then made arrangements for his daughter's christening at the Catholic church in Ripon. He was initially going to invite from among his in-laws only Mary and Matthew, but Mary asked for him to give them a "chance to behave properly." He asked Mary to be Sybil's godmother, and planned to make his brother, Kieran Branson, godfather. Kieran came from Liverpool, and was invited to stay at Downton, but sought to dine with the servants. Tom told him he was not going to let him snub his mother-in-law's invitation, so Kieran joined him upstairs. Carson praised Tom's respect for Lady Grantham's invitation.

Matthew began to include Tom in his plans for Downton, in which Tom surprised him with some knowledge about business and land. He reveals that his grandfather was a tenant farmer in Galway, specializing in Blackface sheep. When Downton's financial agent Jarvis resigned, Violet suggested Tom replace him. Tom was going to move in with Kieran at the latter's invitation at his garage in Liverpool, but Violet asked Robert if he wanted his granddaughter to grow up with Kieran, a drinker.

Tom did replace Jarvis, and moved with his daughter and her nanny in the agent's house. Later he and Matthew began a plan to buy farmland in order to build up an income for Downton. Their father-in-law was very upset about Matthew's and Tom's plans for modernizing the management of the Downton estate in order to make it a financially sound enterprise. In a heated exchange with his sons-in-law who are backed by Cora and Mary he threatened to withdraw from the whole operation and "take a back seat" from now on. Afterwards Tom was able to convince Lord Grantham that there still is an important role for him to play, and that they will be able to turn things around together, if each of them, i.e. Lord Grantham, Tom and Matthew, do the best they can do for the family and the estate—all while Alex, who is the heir apparent, was still young. Lord Grantham was very impressed by Tom's eloquence.

In 1927, he met his future wife, Lucy Smith upon her arrival at Downton Abbey; she is unsure where to go and he asks if he can help her. She tells him who she is as he directs her in the right way. The two then met again after the Royal parade. She asks if he works at Downton, and he tells her Lord Grantham is his father-in-law.

She immediately tries to apologize, but he assures her she doesn't need to. When he tells her he started at Downton as a chauffeur, Lucy immediately recognizes that he is Lady Sybil's husband, citing that she and Lady Bagshaw followed the story of Sybil's death, and how sad it was. She asks Tom if it was hard becoming a member of the family and moving up as he did. He tells her it was, but that he's made it through the transition between his old and new worlds and now knows who he is. When he asks her why she asked him, she replies it was out of curiosity.

Tom tells Edith at dinner he likes Lucy, and she encourages him to pursue her. When Edith tells Violet Tom was praising Lucy, Violet assumes Lucy "contrived" to make Tom's acquaintance, despite Tom insisting she didn't and that their meeting was purely chance. Violet also remarks to Isobel that she believes Lucy has Lady Bagshaw "wound around her little finger". At the Royal Ball at Harewood, Lucy brings a handkerchief for Maud as an excuse to see the dancing. Tom offers to take it to Lady Bagshaw, expressing his wish that they could dance and kissing her hand. After Lucy leaves, Tom gives Maud the handkerchief and leaves himself. He finds Lucy on the veranda and dances with her.

On the 28 June, 1928, the two eventually got married her in a lavish ceremony held at their new home, which Lucy will inherit from her biological mother, Maud Bagshaw. A year later, it is revealed that Lucy is pregnant and she later gives birth to a baby girl, whom they named Violet—after the late Dowager Countess. In 1933, they welcomed a son, whom they named Aidan.
## Appearance and Personality

Tom's main interests are history and politics, something which amuses Robert at first but leads to regret when he influences his youngest daughter, Sybil to be a rebel. By the time of the war, Tom believes Sybil is in love with him, but that she is too scared to admit it. He is very persistent and blunt in the early seasons; Sybil tells Mary that he is frightfully full of himself.

He takes great pride in his Irish heritage and his Catholic faith. He has a good heart and is deeply saddened when he hears that the Tsar’s family have all been shot, but he believes in progress and thinks that sometimes the future needs terrible sacrifices in order to get better. Tom appears to be well-read and loves reading. He knows what he wants and will wait for however long it takes to get it. He also has a strong will and is not easily swayed when tempted, such as when Travis and Robert oppose him over his daughter's christening or when Edna tried to blackmail him. He has been proven at times to be easily manipulated, as he is very conscientious. For example, when Edna seduced him and tried to make him feel he was responsible, he later remarked to Mrs. Hughes it was all his fault; she corrected him by saying that it was only partly his fault.

When he was the chauffeur, he did not appear to have made any close friends at Downton other than Sybil, although he seemed to have a cordial relationship with most of the staff, many of whom later seemed unsure about how to treat him after his change in status; most continued to treat him with respect.

Over time, he grew extremely close to people upstairs, especially Mary, Cora, and Isobel and found a good friend in downstairs' Mrs. Hughes. Tom was initially against the English and aristocrats, but by 1922, as he tells Sarah Bunting that he "does not believe in types, but in people". He notes that he no longer sees things only in black and white. Nevertheless, he does not consider himself one of the aristocracy. Even though he at first had his differences with Robert, Tom has always respected him, saying to Sybil that he is a good man and a decent employer, he is also grateful to him for letting him marry his daughter and saving him from going to prison.

## Name Etymology

* **Tom** is a male name Aramaic origin, meaning *"twin"*.