Ethel Suter then Taylor nee Wilkins (1881 – 1933)

Ethel was an elder sister of my grandmother Gertrude and became the second wife of my grandfather William Taylor after Gertrude died.

Ethel Wilkins was born on 29th September 1881 in Woolwich. Her parents were Henry Wilkins (1851-1915) and his wife Jane nee Cornwell (1851-1934), who married in 1875.

The 1881 census (performed before Ethel was born) shows Henry Wilkins aged 29, a greengrocer and dairyman, living at 21 Prospect Place, Woolwich with his wife Jane (29) and their children Elizabeth (5), Albert (3) and Alice (1).

In 1891 the Wilkins family were living at 31 Kidd St (a shop), Woolwich Dockyard and consisted of Henry (aged 41, a grocer), Jane (40), Elizabeth (15), Albert (13), Alice (11), Ethel (9), Cecilia (7), Annie (5), Herbert (3) and Gertrude (1).

The 1901 census lists Henry Wilkins aged 50, a coffee house keeper, living at 11 Church Street, Woolwich Dockyard with his wife Jane (49) and children Albert (23, machinist shell factory), Alice (21, shirt machinist), Ethel (19, cook domestic), Cecilia (called Bessie, 16, shirt machinist), Annie (15), Herbert (13), Gertrude (11) and Mabel (9).

Ethel married William Henry Suter on 31st December 1902 at St Michael and All Angels church, Woolwich. The marriage record shows that she was aged 21. He was aged 22, a carman (meaning someone who conveys goods in a cart). His father was Walter John Suter (deceased), a coal merchant. The witnesses were Ethel’s father Henry and sister Cecilia. Ethel and William later had a daughter, Doris Florence (b1903) and a son, Herbert William (b1906).

The 1911 census shows William Suter (aged 30, a self-employed coal merchant), Ethel (29), Doris (7) and Herbert (4) living in 3 rooms at 144 Kingsman Street, Woolwich.

Ethel’s sister Gertrude married William Taylor in 1912. The image below is from a group photo taken at the wedding.

Ethel Wilkins in 1912

William died on 12th October 1914 aged 33 of tuberculosis at St Luke’s House, 14 Pembridge Square, Notting Hill Gate. This establishment was called a 'Home for the Dying Poor' and was a forerunner of the hospice movement. Ethel was with William when he died. Their address on the death certificate was 51 Charles Street, Woolwich.

In February 1919 Ethel and her children were still living at 51 Charles St, Woolwich. With them were Ethel’s sister, Gertrude Taylor nee Wilkins and her children Eric (b 1913), Vera (b 1916) and Ronald (b 1918). Gertrude’s husband, William Taylor, was in France, serving in the army. An influenza pandemic, known as Spanish flu, killed many millions of people across the world, mainly in 1918 and 1919.  Ethel’s son, Herbert Suter caught the disease and died on 12 February 1919 aged 12. William’s wife Gertrude also caught influenza. William was granted leave on the 15th February to come home but she died on 19th February 1919, aged 29. Gertrude’s death certificate says that William was present at her death. Herbert and Gertrude were both buried in Plumstead cemetery.

William’s children continued to live at 51 Charles St, Ethel Suter’s house, after Gertrude’s death and William joined them there after he was demobilised from the army in May 1919. According to a family story, Ethel threatened to stop looking after his children if William did not marry her. On 30th November 1920 William married Ethel Suter at Woolwich Registry Office. He was 30, a labourer at the Royal Arsenal and she was 38. The witnesses were Ethel’s eldest brother Albert Wilkins and his wife Beatrice. Until 1907, it was forbidden in the UK for a man to marry his dead wife’s sister. An Act of Parliament passed that year made it permissible.

William and Ethel’s marriage certificate

William and Ethel had a daughter, Betty Ethel Taylor, who was born 31st December 1921. 51 Charles Street was renamed 16 Brewer St in that year. The house was at the northern end of Brewer Street, not far from St Mary’s Church. The site of the house is now occupied by John Wilson Street, a dual carriageway that forms part of the South Circular Road (A205).

The 1921 census shows William Taylor at 14 Hibernia Street, Ramsgate as a boarder in the house of Arthur Gower (aged 40) and his wife Helen May (33). The census was recorded in June 1921, so William and his family were probably in Ramsgate on holiday. William is shown as aged 32, an explosive worker at Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. Also listed are his wife Ethel (38) and children Eric (8), Vera (5) and Ronald (2). Ethel's daughter Doris Suter, aged 17, a machine hand in "Shirt Stores, Wood St, Woolwich" and Gladys Sullivan (17) are also listed. Gladys had the same occupation and place of work as Doris, they were probably friends.

Ethel died on New Year's Day 1933, aged 51, of lobar pneumonia. This is a form of pneumonia characterized by inflammation that affects a large area of the lobe of a lung. It is caused by a bacterial infection, which would now be treated with antibiotic drugs, but these were not available when Ethel died. She was buried in Plumstead Cemetery in the same grave (which is unmarked) as William's first wife Gertrude. Probate records state that Ethel Taylor of 16 Brewer Street, Woolwich (wife of William Taylor, a coffee stall keeper) died on 1st January 1933 at St Nicholas Hospital, Plumstead. Administration of Ethel's estate (£407 14s) was granted to William. The fact that probate was needed shows that Ethel held some money (probably from her first husband) in her own name.

Ethel’s story shows that infectious diseases were a major problem when she was alive. They resulted in the death of her husband, son, sister and herself.

Ethel’s older daughter Doris married Augustus Arthur Moore in 1925 and they later had 5 children. She died in 1985 aged 81.

Ethel’s younger daughter Betty married Frederick Cecil Manley in 1946 and they went to have 3 children. She died in 1994 aged 72.