Betty Ethel Manley nee Taylor (1921-94)

Betty Ethel Manley nee Taylor was a half-sister of my father, Eric William Taylor, who both had the same father, William Taylor. Eric’s mother (Gertrude) was William’s first wife who died in the influenza pandemic in 1919. She was a younger sister of Betty’s mother (Ethel).

Betty was born on 31 December 1921 in Woolwich, the only child from the marriage of William Taylor to his second wife Ethel Suter nee Wilkins. William and his family lived at 16 Brewer St, Woolwich. 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 electoral register shows William living at the address from 1921 until 1933.

Betty recounted that, as a small child, she slept in a room full of “knocked off” goods from the dockyard. One of her earliest memories was of her father taking the labels off stolen canned food (stored under her bed) to resell !  She also remembered seeing big, boxed dolls one Christmas, but she was not allowed to have one, just the usual piece of coal, a satsuma, some nuts and a coin.  The only real present she remembered receiving was a watch from her elder half-brother Eric for a birthday.

Ethel (Betty’s mother) died on New Years Day 1933 aged 51 when Betty was 11. She then brought up herself with help from her half -sister Doris Suter, who lived in Seddlescombe, a small rural village in Sussex. When Betty was about 15, her father (William) found her a flat in Woolwich above a greengrocer’s shop. William married Eleanor Mary Bateman (known as Nell or Nellie) in 1938 when Betty was 16. One morning he produced a little box with a ring inside it and told Betty "I am going to marry Nell today". Betty was surprised and also hurt that she wasn’t invited.

     

Before the war Betty was apprenticed to a tailor, a skill she kept all her life. With the onset of World War II she went to work in a factory making swivel eyes (aircraft parts), which is where she met her future husband Frederick Cecil Manley.  He was an engineer by trade and as such, kept at home during the war. Fred was Betty’s foreman and he used to come her bench and help her knock out a nights work and then they would spend the rest of the night in the broom cupboard ! 

 Betty, as a young woman

Betty was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her half-brother Eric to Grace Ivall (my parents) in Cambridge on 12 Feb 1944. Betty was also a witness on the wedding certificate. Her address at this time was 1A Conduit Way, Stonebridge Park, Willesden, London NW10.

When the war was over Fred was called up (to the RAF) and he decided that they should marry on his return.  However, Betty and Fred had a row about the wedding arrangements.  Betty did not hear from him for several days but he eventually returned, complete with a special license and they were married on 30 November 1946 at All Hallows Church, Greenford, West London. He was aged 25 and she was 24. The witnesses were Betty’s father William and her half- brother Eric.

Initially the couple lived with Betty’s half sister Vera and her husband Frank but their first home together was Orchard Cottage, a rented property in the grounds of a large house in the village of Seddlescombe, East Sussex. They moved here to be near Betty’s half-sister Doris and husband Arthur Moore. He and Fred started a bakery machinery servicing business. Betty and Fred’s first two daughters were born in Seddlescombe. Eventually the large house was acquired by the Pestalozzi Children’s Village and the cottage was required for staff quarters. By this time Doris and her family had moved to Emsworth in Hampshire, where their third daughter was born.  Betty and Fred brought a bungalow here in 1958 for £1800.  In 1971 Fred died of lung cancer leaving Betty to bring up her three daughters alone. She knocked five years off her age and obtained a job in a factory making seatbelts for Ford cars. 

In 1981, when Betty was 59, she had a stroke from which she never fully recovered.  However she did improve sufficiently to live on her own and continue with a full and active life.  She was a well known figure in Emsworth riding a large adult three wheel tricycle around the village causing traffic chaos!!

 

 Betty in 1988

Having had three daughters but always wanted a son, Betty was delighted to be presented with a first grandson in 1989 and despite her disabilities she was a very hands on Grandma. She suffered a major heart attack in June 1994 and died on 2 July aged 72.

Eric William Taylor (1913-2003), local government officer

Eric Taylor was my father. This profile contains information he told me, from my mother’s life story and from family history research.

Eric was born on 31 August 1913 in Woolwich, the eldest child of William and Gertrude Taylor. He was baptised at Holy Trinity Church, New Charlton on 19 October 1913. William and Gertrude later had two other children namely Vera Gertrude (1916-2002) and Ronald Albert (1918-88).

Gertrude, Eric’s mother, died of influenza in 1919 when he was aged 5. His father married Ethel, Gertrude’s elder sister, in 1920. They had a daughter, Betty Ethel in 1921. The family lived at 16 Brewer St, Woolwich until 1933.

When he was a child, Eric used to spend holidays in Sedlescombe (a village in Sussex) with Doris (b1903), Ethel’s daughter from her first marriage, who was married to a car mechanic. He used to cycle there on his own – quite a distance !

Eric was a bright boy and won a scholarship to Shooter’s Hill Grammar School. The admissions register of the school shows that he started there on 29 Sep 1924 (when he was 11) and left on 13 March 1931 (when he was 17½). I have a leather bound dictionary given to Eric in July 1928 as a school prize for Geography. He passed the London County Council (LCC) entrance exam and started work at County Hall in Central London, becoming a wages clerk.

Ethel, Eric’s stepmother, died in 1933. William Taylor and his family then moved 105 Brookhill Road, Woolwich. He got married again in 1938 to Eleanor Mary Bateman, a widow with four children from her first marriage. They all moved to 116 Sandy Hill Road, Woolwich in 1938.

The 1939 register shows Eric (a LCC general grade assistant) living at 116 Sandy Hill with his father William (a labourer, munitions work), stepmother Eleanor, brother Ronald (a grocery porter) and stepsister Constance L Bateman (a glass operative). There is also a closed record, which is presumably Eric's half sister Betty (born in 1921).

Eric met his future wife, Grace Evelyn Ivall (who also worked at County Hall) at an office dance in April 1940.

I obtained Eric’s war record from the Army after my father’s death. Eric joined the Home Guard in June 1940. He was enlisted into the Army on 22 October 1940 aged 27. He joined the Royal Artillery and was posted to the 907 Defence Battery at Southend on 20 November 1940. He spent the next 18 months in East Anglia and when granted leave he would hitch hike to visit Grace, who by then was living in Cambridge. Eric was appointed Unit Clerk Class IIIb on 12 April 1942. He was subsequently sent to North Africa, travelling on a troop ship that left England on 14 July 1942, sailing via Cape Town and arriving at Egypt on 3 September 1942. This was at a time that German U-boats were sinking a lot of shipping, so it must have been an interesting journey ! Eric was in a gun crew in the Eighth Army that fought under General Montgomery and won the battle of El Alamein, 23 October to 2 November 1942, one of the first allied victories and a turning point in the war. The German and Italian Armies were subsequently driven out of North Africa. The allies invaded Sicily on 10 July 1943 and the fighting to capture the island was over by 17 August. Eric was in Sicily between 17 July and 28 August 1943. He then returned to North Africa and was later sent back to the UK, embarking on 27 November 1943 and arriving on 9 December 1943.

Eric married Grace Evelyn Ivall on 12 February 1944 at the Church of St Andrew the Great in Cambridge. He was aged 30 and she was 22. The witnesses on the marriage certificate were Eric’s half sister Betty (who was also a bridesmaid) and Albert Ivall (Grace’s uncle). Grace was working as a St John’s Ambulance nurse at the Gresham Road Convalescent Home in Cambridge. I have a wedding photo showing the other nurses holding up splints to form an arch for them to walk through. They had a short honeymoon in Lyme Regis.

Eric and Grace in about 1944

Soon after his marriage, Eric fell ill with malaria that he had caught in North Africa or Sicily. He was admitted to Colchester Military Hospital (in Black Notley) on 7 March 1944.and discharged to the Gresham Road Convalescent Home on 20 March 1944, where he stayed until 20 April 1944 when he was sent back to his unit, the 64^th Medium Regiment R.A. On his return, he was promoted from Gunner to Lance Bombardier. He had another attack of malaria and was admitted to Colchester Military Hospital on 13 May 1944, returning to his unit on 5 June 1944, the day before D-Day. Eric was sent to Normandy on 8 July 1944 and later took part in the fighting in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. He received a head wound on 12 December 1944 and was wounded again on 13 March 1945 but both times remained on duty. After Germany surrendered on 7 May 1945, Eric was part of the occupation force in Germany. He was promoted to Sergeant on 4 January 1946 and was sent to back the UK on 21 February 1946. Eric’s discharge paper stamped 26 February 1946 describes his military conduct as exemplary and his commanding officer has written “An exceptionally hardworking and sober NCO. He has a first class brain, plenty of initiative and is an extremely efficient organiser. I consider that he should have held commissioned rank.”

After he was discharged from the army, Eric had three months leave, which he spent in Cambridge with his wife at her mother’s house, 33 Paradise Street. Eric then returned to work with the LCC (who had made up his army pay to his full salary during the war). He and Grace stayed with Alec Henderson (who also worked at the LCC) and his wife Betty in Potter’s Bar, North London for a few months and then bought 309 Parkside Avenue, Barnehurst in September 1946 for £1,195. The house was a mid terrace house built in the 1930’s. Parkside Avenue was a long straight road and 309 was about a mile from Barnehurst Station. Eric walked there to catch a train to work (County Hall is close to Waterloo Station).

In 1949 their daughter Evelyn was born and in 1953 a son, Philip (me). In 1957, Eric and his family moved to 92 Barnehurst Avenue, which was a detached house with a large garden. They lived there for forty years. In 1958, Grace’s widowed mother came to live with them (she had the downstairs front room as her own). She was disabled as a result of a fall and broken hip joint and stayed at Barnehurst Avenue until her death in 1970.

Eric had a successful career with the LCC (which became the Greater London Council). He rose to a senior managerial role in the Highways and Transportation Department, working in the section that organised road improvements. In 1977 he was awarded the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal for Outstanding Service. He retired in 1978, aged 65, having worked for the LCC / GLC for 47 years.

When living at Barnehurst Avenue, Grace and Eric kept their garden in first class condition – it won prizes in the “Bexley in Bloom” competition. Eric produced large amounts of fruit and vegetables in the garden and he grew pot plants in a conservatory. Other interests included botany, classical music and history. Grace and Eric attended evening classes on these subjects over many years. They also enjoyed walking in the countryside.

Grace and Eric in their garden at 92 Barnehurst Avenue, c 1990.

Eric had an active retirement until his health deteriorated in the last five years of his life. In 1997, Grace and Eric moved to 24 Fern Court, Bexleyheath, a flat in a block designed for retired people. A combination of medical problems  resulted in Eric becoming less physically and mentally able and he died of bronchopneumonia at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup on 28^th May 2003 aged 89.

Ernest Edward Taylor (1879-1944), explosives worker

My grandfather William Taylor had nine siblings (six brothers and three sisters). However, he doesn’t seem to have had much to do with them during the latter part of his life. I am trying to find out what I can about their lives. Ernest Edward Taylor was one of my grandfather’s elder brothers.

His birth certificate shows that Ernest was born on 28^th March 1879 at Weedon Barracks, Northamptonshire. His father George Taylor was a bombardier in the 4^th Brigade, Royal Artillery. Ernest’s mother was George’s wife Margaret Taylor nee Smiles. George was posted to Woolwich, where Ernest was baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich on 26 November 1880. George was then sent to India (where his daughter Harriet Jane was born in 1881) then back to Woolwich (where his son Charles was born in 1885). I don’t know whether Ernest went to India with his parents.

It appears that George left the army in 1886 and the family moved to Charlton. The 1891 census shows George Taylor (aged 41, a labourer) and Margaret (36) living at 9 West Street, Charlton with their children George (14), Ernest (12), Harriet (9), Charles (6), Margaret (4) and Thomas (2) and William (10 months). This was an area of poor housing.

In 1900, Ernest married a local girl Annie Edith Bradley (born in Charlton) in Woolwich. He was aged 21, she was 22. The 1901 census shows them living at 74 Church Street, Woolwich. Ernest’s occupation was general labourer.

By 1911, they were living in 3 rooms at 17 Monk Street, Woolwich. Ernest, aged 32, was an explosives worker at Woolwich Arsenal. The census return says that they had one child who had died. In 1916 they had another child, Hazel Marion Florette Taylor, who was born in Woolwich. 

Electoral registers show Ernest and Annie living at 15 Woolwich Common in 1919. 

The 1921 census shows Ernest (aged 42) living at 310 High Street, Plumstead with his wife Annie (43) and daughter Hazel (5). Ernest was a “Technical foreman, explosives” at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. Also living at the address was Annie’s sister Florence Lily Atley (31), her husband William Henry Atley (27, a cable worker at Siemens Bros, electrical engineers, Woolwich) and their children William Edward (3) and Florence Lily (1). Also listed are Jane Bradley (72), Annie’s mother. Also, Ralph Edward Winter (22), who was an orphan and is described as Ernest’s adopted brother. Finally, Alice Wood (44), a visitor. The house (which is opposite St Nicholas Gardens) still exists.

The next record I can find of them is not until 1932, when Electoral Registers show Annie (but not Ernest) living at 310 Plumstead High Street. Annie and Ernest were at this address from 1935 to 1938. That year their daughter Hazel (by then of voting age) is also listed with them. She married Frank A Thouless in 1939.

The 1939 Register shows Annie living at 310 Plumstead High Street with her sister Florence Atley plus Florence's husband William and their two children. I can't find Ernest in the Register.

Ernest died on 16^th Aug 1944 in Hammersmith Hospital aged 65 and was buried in grave H / 1334 in Plumstead Cemetery. Annie died in 1953 (also in Hammersmith) aged 75 and was buried in the same grave, which has no stonework on it.

Stanley Hugh Jenkins (1911-44), RAFVR flight engineer who died in WW2

Stanley was a son of Elizabeth Jane Jenkins nee Wilkins (1876-1953), who was the eldest sibling of my grandmother Gertrude Taylor nee Wilkins. He was therefore a cousin of my father.

On 26^th March 1900, Elizabeth Jane Wilkins married Walter Hugh Jenkins at St Thomas, Charlton. She was aged 23, he was 24, born in Plumstead, a son of William Henry Jenkins, a blacksmith. Walter’s occupation was given as machinist on the marriage register. The witnesses were Elizabeth’s brother Albert and sister Ethel. Walter’s occupation was given as bookkeeper in the 1901 census and their address was 11 Elm Street, Plumstead.

The 1911 census shows Walter (35, a bookkeeping clerk at the Royal Arsenal) and Elizabeth (35) living in three rooms at 17 Piedmont Road, Plumstead. The census return says that they had two children but that both had died before the census date. One of these was Walter Leslie Jenkins, who died in 1907 aged 3. Elizabeth later had two more children, Stanley Hugh Jenkins (born May 16th 1911) and Winifred Jenkins (born April 11th 1913).

Walter Jenkins died in 1920 aged 44, when Stanley was aged 8. The 1921 census shows Elizabeth Jenkins (aged 44, a widow) at 17 Piedmont Road with her children Stanley (10) and Winifred (8). There is no occupation listed for Elizabeth, so it is not clear how she had enough money to support her family

Electoral registers show that Elizabeth continued to live at 17 Piedmont Road with her children. Stanley is listed at the address from 1933 (when he reached the age of 21) and Winifred from 1937. The 1939 national register shows Elizabeth Jenkins living at 17 Piedmont Road with her children Stanley (a vehicle builder) and Winifred (a florist). Winifred married Norman William Sutch in 1943 in Woolwich.

Stanley joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), which was formed in July 1936. The object was to provide a reserve of aircrew for use in the event of war. By September 1939, the RAFVR comprised 6,646 Pilots, 1,625 Observers and 1,946 Wireless Operators. When war broke out the Air Ministry employed the RAFVR as the principal means for aircrew entry to serve with the RAF. A civilian volunteer on being accepted for aircrew training took an oath of allegiance ('attestation') and was then inducted in to the RAFVR. Normally he returned to his civilian job for several months until he was called up for aircrew training. During this waiting period he could wear a silver RAFVR lapel badge to indicate his status. By the end of 1941 more than half of Bomber Command aircrew were members of the RAFVR. Eventually of the "RAF" aircrew in the Command probably more than 95% were serving members of the RAFVR.

WW2 service records have not yet been made public so I don’t have full details of Stanley’s time in the RAFVR. However, I do know that he was a Sergeant and served in 578 Squadron as a flight engineer. 578 Squadron was formed at RAF Snaith, East Riding of Yorkshire on 14 January 1944. It transferred to RAF Burn, North Yorkshire in February 1944 and was disbanded there on 15 April 1945. It was equipped with Halifax Mk III bombers which had four Hercules engines and a crew of seven - pilot, navigator, wireless operator, bomb aimer, flight engineer and two gunners - mid-upper and rear. 578 Squadron carried out 2,721 operational sorties with the Halifax for a loss of 219 aircrew and 40 aircraft.

On the right hand side of the Halifax cockpit was a fold down seat that the flight engineer used. The centre mounted throttles could be reached by both the pilot and flight engineer. On take-off, the flight engineer handled these while the pilot concentrated on keeping the heavily laden aircraft straight. The flight engineer was there to assist the pilot, monitor the engines and fuel levels and transfer fuel to maintain the balance of the aircraft.

Halifax Mk III bomber

The 578 Squadron Association have supplied me with information on five operations that Stanley took part in during 1944, including 3 attacks on Berlin and one on Leipzig. On 15/16th March 1944, the squadron attacked Stuttgart. It was a night raid, the planes took off at 18.52 on the 15^th. Stanley’s Halifax bomber later returned having completed its mission, but went out of control within sight of RAF Burn airfield and crashed at Selby Brickworks, killing him and most of the other crew. Only the navigator and wireless operator survived. The cause of the crash was never established. Stanley died on 16^th March 1944 aged 32 and is buried in a war grave in Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery.

The grave is inscribed

126234 SERGEANT

S H JENKINS

FLIGHT ENGINEER

ROYAL AIR FORCE

16TH MARCH 1944 AGE 32

DUTY DONE

RIP

There are 988 WW2 burials in this cemetery, nearly all of airmen. Probate records show that Stanley’s mother was granted administration of his estate (£545).

Elizabeth Jenkins lived at 17 Piedmont Road until her death on 28 April 1953 aged 77. She was buried in Plumstead Cemetery in the same grave (K / 2222) as her husband. Probate on Elizabeth’s estate (£2001) was granted to her daughter Winifred, who died in 1981 (in Tunbridge Wells) aged 68. As far as I can tell, Winifred had no children.

Vera Gertrude Pullum nee Taylor (1916-2002)

Vera was a sister of my father, Eric William Taylor (1913-2003). This profile contains information from Vera’s daughter Valerie.

Vera was born on 22 February 1916 in Abbey Wood, Erith. She was the second child of William Taylor and his wife Gertrude (nee Wilkins). They also had two boys, Eric (b1913) and Ronald (b1918).

In 1919 William, Gertrude and their children were living at 51 Charles St, Woolwich, which was the address of Gertrude’s older sister Ethel Suter nee Wilkins (b1881), whose husband had died in 1914. Ethel had a daughter, Doris (b1903), and a son, Herbert (b1906).

Herbert Suter died of influenza on 12 February 1919 aged 12. A week later, Vera’s mother Gertrude also died of influenza, aged 29. They were victims of a pandemic that killed many millions of people across the world.

In 1920 William married Ethel Suter in Woolwich. He was 30 and she 39. William and Ethel had a daughter, Betty Ethel Taylor, who was born in 1921. William and his family continued to live at 51 Charles Street until 1933 although in 1921 it was renamed 16 Brewer St. 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).

In 1922, when aged 6, Vera contracted diptheria and was in hospital for over 1 year. She was back in hospital aged 8 years for an operation to treat mastoiditis (a serious complication arising from ear inflammation), which left her totally deaf.

Vera told Valerie some childhood memories. She recalled sitting at the dining table with Eric and Ron eating a meal and was not aware that a row was taking place until a shoe thrown by her stepmother Ethel at her father William, passed her face! Also, Vera and her brothers were made to play in the street every day and so used to pray for rain so they could go indoors! Ethel died in 1933 aged 51, when Vera was 16.

Vera attended Oak Lodge School for the Deaf in Clapham, London, first as a day pupil, then as a full time boarder. Vera recalled that on her first day at Oak Lodge, her father took her on the bus, leaving her to return on her own. She got lost and finally arrived home to find her father standing in the middle of the road outside their house in the dark looking for her. She was very clever, despite her disability, attaining a scholarship. Vera was taught dressmaking, like all the girls at the school. She then worked as a dressmaker near Piccadilly Circus for a few years.

Vera and her family moved to 105 Brookhill Road, Woolwich in 1933, where her father ran a confectioner’s shop. The house was close to the junction with Angelsea Road. It no longer exists, its site is now occupied by the garden of a block of flats.

On 11 September 1937, Vera married Frank Adolphus Pullum at All Saints Church, Newington in South London. He was a French polisher aged 24, she a dressmaker aged 21. Frank was also deaf. They lived at 43 Bannockburn Road, Plumstead and then purchased 111 Willersley Avenue. Sidcup on 26^th February 1941 for £462-7-6d.

Their daughter Valerie was born in 1944. They had another baby girl who lived only a few days (Vera also had several miscarriages). Vera and Valerie were evacuated to Leeds for a number of months in 1944 to get away from bombing in London.

Frank, Vera and Valerie c1946

Vera’s husband Frank died of bronchopneumonia in 1964 aged 51. She continued to live at 111 Willersley Avenue, with her daughter Valerie. Vera worked at the dressmakers “Rhodes”, The Oval, Sidcup until 1981, when she retired aged 65.

In May 1979 Vera moved to 126 Greenvale Road, Eltham with Valerie and her second husband. They lived there until June 2000 when they moved to Tankerton, near Whitstable in Kent. Vera died on 10 December 2002 aged 86.

Valerie and Vera in 1988

I remember Vera as a small, pleasant lady. Because of her deafness, she wasn’t able to hear her own voice, which made it difficult for her to speak clearly. However, she could lip read well and seemed to enjoy life (with the help of Valerie) in spite of her disability.

Harriett Jane Himbury nee Taylor (1881-1947)

Harriett was my great aunt, she was an elder sister of my grandfather William Taylor. This profile of her life contains some information and photos supplied by Christine Hughes, her granddaughter.

Harriett was born on December 21st 1881 in India, while her father George Taylor, who was a soldier in the Royal Artillery, was serving there. Her mother was Margaret Taylor nee Smiles. Harriett was the fourth of their ten children (seven boys and three girls). The GRO index of regimental births spells her name as Harriet, but most other documents that refer to her record it as Harriett, so this is what I shall call her. Harriett was baptised on January 22nd 1882 in Nowgong, a town which was an important centre during British rule of India. Nowgong is in central India, 550 km SE of New Dehli. The baptism record says that George Taylor was a Corporal.

George left the army in about 1886 and moved to Charlton (in SE London). The 1891 census shows George Taylor (aged 41, a labourer) and Margaret (36) living at 9 West Street, Charlton with their children George (14), Ernest (12), Harriett (9), Charles (6), Margaret (4) and Thomas (2) and William (10 months). From their address and George’s occupation, it seems that the family didn’t have much money.

By 1901 the family were living at 7 West Street, Charlton and consisted of George (aged 50, a labourer local board), Margaret (47), George (24, a covering machinist), Harriett Jane (19, a covering machinist), Charles (16, a covering machinist), Margaret (14, a daily servant), William (10), Samuel (9) and May (6). Margaret’s father died in 1903 aged 54.

Harriett married Edwin Alfred Himbury on August 18^th 1910 at All Saints Church, Plumstead. They were both aged 28. Edwin was born in Woolwich and was a milkman. The 1911 census shows the couple living at 141 Sellincourt Road, Tooting and Edwin as a “milk roundman”. Electoral registers show them at 137 Sellincourt Road in 1913 and 1915.

Harriett and Edwin in 1910

Edwin joined the army on 12^th November 1915 to fight in the war. As this was before conscription was introduced, he must have volunteered. By then he had three children, Edwin Terence (1911-99), Percy (1913-69) and Lucy Gertrude (1915-2000).

Edwin Alfred, Percy, Edwin Terence, Harriet Jane and Lucy Gertrude Himbury in 1915.

Edwin was wounded in the leg during the war, but survived and was discharged from the army in 1919. He moved to 86 Princes Road, Plumstead where he and Harriett had three more children, Alma Margaret (1920-82), Leslie John (1921-83) and Frank Leonard (1923-99). 

The 1921 census shows Edwin (aged 38), Harriett (39), Terence (9), Percy (8), Lucy (6) and Alma (1) Himbury at 86 Princes Road. Edwin was a general labourer in the Royal Artillery Stores at Kidbrooke.

Apparently Harriett was a strong character. She was quite small but ruled her household with an iron fist ! She kept her sons in order and also told her husband what to do.

Electoral registers show Edwin and Harriett at 86 Princes Road until 1938 (when their children Edwin and Percy were also listed here).

The 1939 Register records that Edwin (a fitter's labourer) and Harriett were living at 68 Charlton Park Lane in Charlton. The 1945 Electoral Register shows that shows that their son Frank and his wife Alice were also living at this address.

Harriett died in 1947 aged 65 at St Alfege’s Hospital, Greenwich. She was buried in Charlton Cemetery. The grave (Q / 62) has kerbstones which are inscribed

In loving memory of a dear wife and mother, HARRIETT JANE HIMBURY who died 5^th July 1947 aged 65 years.

In loving memory of Dad, EDWIN ALFRED HIMBURY who died 10^th August 1965 aged 83 years.

The grave of Harriett and Edwin Himbury (in 2012)

Probate records state that authority for administration of Harriett's estate (£296) was granted to her husband Edwin, a retired armourer’s assistant. The fact that probate was required shows that she had some money registered under her own name. Edwin continued to live at 68 Charlton Park Lane until he died in 1965. He was buried in the same grave as his wife.

David Herbert Cornwell (1829-87), tailor

David Herbert Cornwell was a son of James Cornwell (1791-1870), who was a brother of Job Cornwell (1780-1869), my great, great, great grandfather on my father’s side.

David was born during 1829 in the Essex town of Kelvedon and baptised on 7 June 1829 in St Mary’s Church. He was the fourth of six children born to James Cornwell, an agricultural labourer who had married Mary Martin in 1823. James is thought to be one of the gang of men who destroyed the village cage (prison) in 1809 and he later spent time in prison for fraud and theft.¹

The 1841 census of Kelvedon records James Cornwell (aged 50, an agricultural labourer) in the same household as his wife Mary (45) and their children David (11), Jonah (9) and Charles Cornwell (7).

David was apprenticed as a tailor. The 1851 census shows James (aged 60), his wife Mary (50) and their son David (21, a tailor) living in Kelvedon. The address is not given but was probably Church Hill (from comparison with information in the 1861 census).

On 22^nd June 1854 David married Ann Braybrook (who was born in Great Braxted, near Kelvedon) at St Mary Stratford by Bow, Poplar. He was aged 25 and she was 36, the daughter of a gardener. They had three children namely Charles (b1855), Eliza (b1856) and Alfred (b1858).

The 1861 census shows David H Cornwell (aged 31, a tailor employing 1 man and 1 boy) with his wife Ann (42) and their children Charles (6), Eliza (5) and Alfred (3), living in High St, Kelvedon.

John Nichols (1820-89, a land steward) and his brother Henry Nichols (1829-1902, a builder and carpenter) lived in Kelvedon and took many photos of Kelvedon and its inhabitants between 1858 and 1871. The Essex Record Office has 198 of their glass plate negatives. Photographs from these are printed in a book “Victorian Kelvedon”.² One is a street scene (shown below) which includes David Cornwell standing next to a horse and cart. His right hand is touching the wide-brimmed hat (known as a “wide-awake”) he is wearing.

 In 1871 David (aged 41) was listed as a tailor (employing one man) and a seedgrower of 13 acres (employing one man and 2 boys). Also at his address in High St, Kelvedon were his wife Ann (51) and children Charles (16, a carpenter’s apprentice) and Eliza (14). The soil and climate of Kelvedon were particularly favourable to growing seeds for flowers, which were becoming increasingly popular in the suburbs of large towns. A number of farmers and smallholders chose to produce seeds and often ran another business at the same time.³

David Herbert Cornwell, tailor is recorded in the Kelvedon section of Kelly’s Directories for Essex issued in 1871, 74, 78, 82 and 86. The 1886 edition also lists David Cornwell, seed grower.

Apparently David also used his skills to sew up flesh wounds and his most regular client for this service was Mr James Gerard, who ran a butcher’s shop nearby ! This story was told by his grand daughter to Graham Wheldon, a local historian.¹

In 1881, David Cornwell (aged 51, a tailor) is listed as living in Church Street, Kelvedon. In the same household were his wife Ann (63) and son Alfred (23, a seed grower). Also listed were Clara Braybrook (6), a visitor (who was presumably related to Ann) and two boarders.

David’s address is given as High Street in 1861 and 71, Church Street in 1881. Examination of the names of nearby properties in the census shows that the address referred to is the same one in each case, being in what is called St Mary’s Square at the western end of the High Street. David’s house was approximately opposite the Angel Inn and was between London Road and Church Street, roads that lead off St Mary’s Square. The censuses do not say whether where he lived was also where he ran his tailoring business, but it seems likely that it was.

David died at Kelvedon in 6 April 1887 aged 58. He had made a will in 1874 in which he left everything to his wife Ann and appointed her as the sole executrix of his estate. However, the probate records describe David as a widower and say that Ann died in his lifetime. Administration was therefore granted to his son Alfred Cornwell of Witham, a tailor. The gross value of David’s personal estate was £578 15s which is equivalent to about £250,000 now (estimated in relation to average earnings then and now).                                                             

Information Sources

1. G H Wheldon (1999) Church Street Chronicles

2. G H Wheldon and R V Carter (2005) Victorian Kelvedon : The Photography of the Nichols Brothers

3. J Colquhoun (2001) A Short History of Kelvedon and Feering