Are you connected to the HIGHLEY or CARR families from Littleborough in Lancashire?

I recently found this lovely old photograph of a mother and daughter, as below, taken in Lancashire with a written note on the back that reads:

Mary HIGHLEY and Miriam friend of Grandmas – Great War Widow

Could I find a connection to a soldier who died in World War 1?

I started by checking the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website and found eleven matches to the surname of men who had died during World War 1 – after checking more closely the likeliest match was for Charles William HIGHLEY who died on 22nd June 1917 aged 28 who was the son of John and Mary Ann Bray HIGHLEY of Walsden and the husband of Mary HIGHLEY of 33 Rock Nook Summit in Littleborough in Lancashire.

Link to the information on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website file:///C:/Users/simon/Downloads/Private%20Charles%20William%20Highley%20-%20CWGC%20Certificate.pdf

Using this information I found that Charles William HIGHLEY married Mary CARR on the 5th April 1915 in Walsden, as below, when he was aged 25 and she was aged 24 – they were both weavers and their father’s names were John HIGHLEY a weaver and William CARR a Cardroom worker.

Using the mother’s maiden name of CARR I found that Charles and Mary HIGHLEY had a daughter Miriam HIGHLEY born in the September quarter of 1916 in the Rochdale Registration District.

I then found the World War 1 pension record for Charles William HIGHLEY, as below, which confirmed all the above information and stated that Miriam was born on 23rd May 1916 – so her father had died only weeks after her first birthday.

I also found a possible old photograph of Charles William HIGHLY,as below:

Do you have connection to the HIGHLEY or CARR families?

If you do please send me an email or message as it would be great to reunite this old photograph with a family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

Are you connected to the ALDER or FERGUSON families from Hersham in Surrey?

Another recent lovely old photograph find was this wedding one below which had the names Lilian Edith ALDER (nee FERGUSON) and Frank ALDER written on the back.

After some quick searches I found their marriage entry online, as below, which showed that Frank James ALDER aged 38 had married Lilian Edith FERGUSON on 5th May 1930 at St Peter’s Church in Hersham in Surrey.

Source Citation: Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers Source Information: Ancestry.com. Surrey, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1937 

Frank James ALDER was the son of Charles Henry ALDER and Lillian Edith FERGUSON the daughter of George FERGUSON – Frank’s occupation was shown as a male nurse.

I then found them in 1939, as below, living at Mayfield in Epsom and Ewell and Frank’s date of birth is given as 23rd March 1891 and Lilian’s as 4th January 1895 – I have found no children born of this marriage.

I also found the nursing directory entry for Frank James ALDER, as below in 1928 which shows he qualified as a male nurse specializing in mental health on 16th October 1925.

Frank James ALDER died in the April quarter of 1979 aged 88 in Worthing Registration District and Lilian Edith ALDER died in the July quarter of 1964 aged 69 in the Surrey Mid Eastern Registration District.

If you are related to these families please send me an email as it would be great to reunite this lovely old wedding photograph with a family member of possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

Are you related to the ARROWSMITH or RACE families from Gateshead in Tyne and Wear?

In a bundle of old photographs I recently found two images, although taken at different times, of the same lady and child – on the back of one was written: Malcolm born 24th June 1926 month old and they were both taken at Photographers Frank & Son at 81 West Street in Gateshead – could I possibly identify Malcolm to research him further?

Also written in pencil was ARROWSMITH Sepia – was this a possible surname and link to the people shown in the photograph?

I started by researching births in the Gateshead Registration in 1926 District firstly trying Malcolm ARROWSMITH and the Malcolm births with mother’s maiden name ARROWSMITH and I struck lucky!!

I found the birth registration of Malcolm RACE in the September quarter of 1926 in Gateshead Registration District with mother’s maiden name ARROWSMITH.

Malcolm RACE’s parents were Wilfred Dowson RACE and Lily ARROWSMITH who married in the September quarter of 1924 again in the Gateshead Registration District – Lily ARROWSMITH was born in the January quater of 1900 in Gateshead and Wilfred Dowson RACE in the September quarter of 1895 in Auckland in Durham.

I then found that Wilfred Dowson RACE served with Canadian Army during World War 1 as his attestation papers below show:

Lily RACE nee ARROWSMITH died in 1964 and Wilfred Dowson RACE in 1965, as their probate records below show and their son Malcolm RACE is named as an Executor, which shows that his occupation was a Journalist.

Using Google to search Malcolm RACE a Journalist I found a very interesting newspaper article from 2020 where he is discussing his long newspaper career and there is a link to it here https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/telling-stories-teesside-life-gazette-17203042

If you have a connection to these families please send me an email as it would be great to reunite these lovely old photographs with a family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

Are you related to William FOX from Little Dunham in Norfolk who died on H.M.S Vanguard on 9th July 1917

Among my recent finds was a memorial card ‘In Loving Memory’ of William the beloved and youngest son of James and Julia FOX who was sunk on H.M.S Vanguard on 9th July 1917 aged 18 years, as below:

After some quick research of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website I found the certificate of Ordinary Signalman William FOX Service number J/39564 and an address of Recton Road, Little Dunham near Kings Lynn in Norfolk and a native of Sporle in Swaffham in Norfolk – file:///C:/Users/simon/Downloads/Ordinary%20Signalman%20William%20Fox%20-%20CWGC%20Certificate.pdf

There is more information about the Roll of Honour in Little Dunham in Norfolk and William’s entry here http://www.breckland-rollofhonour.org.uk/lt_dunham.html

William FOX was born on 28th May 1899 and baptised on 18th June 1899 in Sporle in Norfolk, as his baptism record below shows:

Source Citation:Norfolk Record Office; Norwich, Norfolk, England; Norfolk Church of England Registers Source Information: Ancestry.com. Norfolk, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1919

The 1901 census, as below, shows William FOX aged 1 living in Sporle in Norfolk with parents James aged 29 and Julia aged 27 and siblings Julia aged 9, Mary aged 6 and James aged 4 – also living with the is his Grandfather James FOX aged 56. William’s father’s occupation is shown as an Agricultural Labourer.

Source Citation: Class: RG13; Piece: 1897; Folio: 6; Page: 3 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census

The 1911 census, as below, shows the FOX family now living in Little Dunham in Norfolk with father James aged 39, mother Julia aged 37, sibling James Daniel aged 14 and William aged 11 and at School. James and Julia FOX had been married 19 years and had had five children four of whom were still living.

Source Citation: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census 

James FOX married Julia FOX (more investigation needed to see if they were related) on 29th February 1892 in Bale in Norfolk, as per the marriage certificate below:

Source Citation: Norfolk Record Office; Norwich, Norfolk, England; Norfolk Church of England Registers; Reference: PD 550/7 Source Information: Ancestry.com. Norfolk, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936

If you have connection to the FOX family from Norfolk please send me an email as it would be great to reunite this old card with a family member if possible.

The final words in the memorial card read as follows;

A light from our household gone,

A voice we love is stilled,

A place is vacant in our home,

Which never can be filled.

Mnay thanks

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@charnwoodresearch.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

Are you related to the GADSBY family from Winteringham in Lincolnshire?

UPDATE: Many thanks to my friend Terry Whenham who has sent me the two photographs below of John William GADSBY’s grave in Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium – Terry undertakes lots of World War 1 research and also organises tours of the battlefields and more information can be found on his website https://www.terrystours.co.uk

Simon – 1st April 2022

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Another interesting old photographic postcard find in an Antiques Centre in Horncastle in Lincolnshire was of a very smart man, as below, with the intriguing writing on the back saying – J W GADSBY missing Oct 17th 1917 – was this young man a casualty of World War 1 and could I discover more about him?

I started by checking the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website looking for casualties with the surname GADSBY and quickly found a record for a J W GADSBY who had died on 9th October 1917 and who is Remembered with Honour at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium – unfortunately no age, location or family details were included – https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/462831/j-w-gadsby

Could this be my man in the photo and someone has written the date of 17th October incorrectly on the reverse or was this the date the family had received news about him?

However now having a date of death of 9th October 1917 I carried out some searches on Ancestry and found records for a John William GADSBY who had died during World War 1 in 1917 and who was from Winteringham in Lincolnshire – bearing in mind that I had found this old photograph in Lincolnshire there had to be a link surely!!

John William GADSBY was born on 1st January 1884 in Winteringham in Lincolnshire and the 1891 census, as below, shows him aged 7 living with parents Stephen and Elizabeth GADSBY and siblings Tom, Edith, Rose and Clara – father’s occupation is given as Police Constable.

Stephen GADSBY had married Elizabeth ANDREWS on 12th August 1880 in Hull in Yorkshire and in total they had seven children including John William who were Tom Henry in 1881, Edith Andrew in 1882, Rose Eleanor in 1886, Clara Gertrude in 1886, Mabel Florence in 1891 and Ruth Pretoria in 1900.

The 1911 census, as below, shows John William GADSBY aged 27 working as a Farm Labourer in Louth in Lincolnshire and he was living with his parents Stephen and Elizabeth and siblings Mabel and Ruth.

Source Citation: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census 

As we know John William GADSBY died on 9th October 1917 and he was a Private in the Price of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment with a Regimental number of 307666, as below, and was aged only 33 when he died.

John William GADSBY is remembered on the War Memorial in Welton Le Wold in Lincolnshire and there is more information about this memorial and photographs at this link https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/20490

If anyone has a family connection to John William GADSBY please send me an email as it would be great to reunite this lovely old photograph with a family member if possible and also to find out more information about him or see other family photographs.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

UPDATE – Photo Reunited: Are you related to the SADDEN family from Portsmouth in Hampshire?

Another recent lovely old photograph find, as below, showed three young children with the message ‘With Christmas Greetings’ from Southsea – the message on the back read, as below:

“Wishing you all a very Happy New Year – C or E & A SADDEN“

After some initial research I became more convinced that the first initial was an E rather than a C and I found a possible match on the 1911 census, as below, for Edward John and Amy Caroline SADDEN living at the Coast Guard Station in Portsmouth with one son Edward William SADDEN aged 1. Father’s occupation was shown as a Rigger on the Royal Yacht.

Source Citation: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

Further research showed that Edward John SADDEN married Amy Caroline WILDE in the July quarter of 1907 in Portsmouth in Hampshire – after their first child Edward born in 1910 they then had further children Amy Hilda SADDEN in 1911, Cyril E SADDEN in 1913, Olive Grace SADDEN in 1918 and Dorothy Margaret SADDEN in 1921.

Could my old photograph possibly have been taken of the first three SADDEN children and posted for Christmas 1913?

If you have a connection to the SADDEN or WILDE families from Portsmouth in Hampshire please send me an email or message, as it would be great to reunite this old photograph with a family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

Are you related to the HURLEY family from Rochester in Kent?

I have recently found this lovely old family photograph which had very useful information written on the reverse as follows;

“With best wishes for Xmas 1915 from Mr & Mrs W T HURLEY – Langdale, York Road, Rochester”

Having a name and an address I was able to quickly find the 1911 census record in Rochester in Kent, as below, for William Thomas HURLEY aged 40, his wife Mary aged 34 and their son Ian Edward HURLEY aged 1, which fitted exactly with the people in my photograph.

Source Citation: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

William and Mary had been married for six years and just has the one child – William’s occupation was given as as Outfitters Accountant and he had been born in Dartford in Kent and his wife Mary in Aberdeenshire in Scotland

William Thomas HURLEY had married Mary EDWARDS in the July quarter of 1904 in Medway in Kent.

William Thomas HURLEY died on the 22nd March 1939 in Rochester in Kent and his probate record, as below, shows he was living at 11 Maidstone Road – his son Ian was described as a Commercial Clerk.

Sadly I quickly discovered that Ian Edward HURLEY was a civilian casualty of World War 2, as below, and died on the 19th December 1941 aged 31 at Huntsman’s Corner in Chatham so more investigation is needed to find out what happened.

I have found this information so far that he was a Firefighter in Kent and there is some more details at this link https://www.theonlinebookcompany.com/OnlineBooks/FirefighterMemorialTrust/Celebrations/FirefighterMemorial/2314

However in the meantime if you have a connection to the HURLEY family please send me an email as it would be lovely to reunite this old photograph with a family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

Can the power of the internet link me to Brazil and the owner of the mystery photograph relating to the OLDFIELD family?

Back in November last year I received an intriguing message relating to an old baby photographic postcard I had for sale on eBay at that time, as follows:

Hi Simon, I’m sorry English is not my first language,but I really need to know if you have any kind of information about this picture. I don’t know where to search, and this postcard that you posted was the only thing I found,
I’m from Brazil and I have a postcard with the same baby, but it’s a different photo.. he’s looking at the camera, and since I can remember my grandma, that gave me the postcard, said that this was her grandfather. He wrote behind the photo ‘1913’, but it was not the date that the picture was taken. It was the date that he gave the postcard to my grandma’s mother. Nobody paid attention to the mention ‘rotary photo London’, and my grandma is 92 now so.. I think she can’t remember the details if it was really her grandfather or it was just a postcard that he gave to her mom. I’m sorry to bother you, but if you have any kind of information could you tell me?

Here is the photograph that I was sent to compare to my own photograph and after matching closely with my own photographic postcard, below it, there is definitely a match!!

What do you think?

VICTORIA’S PHOTOGRAPH

MY PHOTOGRAPH

I then wanted to see if my old photograph had any information or clues on the back and as below you can see that it was sent to a Miss J OLDFIELD at Clifton Lodge, Humphrey Street in Old Trafford in Lancashire and the message reads:

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with love your loving Sister Edith OLDFIELD – the postmark date reads 23 December 11 – assuming this to be 1911?

I responded to Victoria’s original eBay message with this information and waited to hear more from her, although unfortunately eBay do not allow the sharing of personal information or contact details so Victoria had trouble replying to me again for a few days – I then heard further as below:

Hi, Simon! It’s me Victoria. I didn’t replied to you before, because after I send you the message talking about this picture, eBay banned my account, so I had to create a new one.
Well, I want to start saying thank you! I really appreciate how kind you were and how you offered to help me search for information about this picture.. also for trying to communicate in Portuguese.
I have a lot of things to say, but I can’t because they banned me for 3 times. Well, anyways i would like to say thank you again,for all the information. I will search for the names u wrote for sure! the pics u send,I couldn’t even see because I was banned,and now I just learned that I was banned again while writing this message, so i can’t write anything I discovered.
Thank you!
Victória

I investigated the OLDFIELD family further and hoped that maybe Victoria would be able to find me through my Charnwood Genealogy website, but sadly I have heard no further from her to date.

I found that the OLDFIELD family were living at 113 Humphrey Road in Old Trafford in Lancashire on the 1911 census, as below and as you will see there are two sisters Edith and Jessie, who I believe to be the sender and recipient of the postcard.

Making assumptions could this baby in the photograph be a child of Edith OLDFIELD the sender?

Source Citation: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census 

I can see that Edith OLDFIELD married a William D MENZIES in the July quarter of 1913 in the Barton upon Irwell Registration District in Lancashire – 1913 is the year that Victoria mentions about her own photograph, so is there a connection?

Searching the MENZIES family I have found them living at 114 Humphrey Street in Old Trafford, as below, so they would have been next door neighbors of the OLDFIELD family and this must be how Edith and William met and fell in love.

Source Citation: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

I have searched the records for a corresponding birth registration under OLDFIELD with mother’s maiden name OLDFIELD before 1913 and after this time using MENZIES and mother’s maiden name OLDFIELD, but I can find nothing to match, to possibly identify the baby in the photograph.

I am therefore hoping that the power of the internet and the fact that Victoria in Brazil found and matched the photograph once, she will possibly see this blog post and be able to contact me further to share information and discover more about the possible family connection.

If she does I will post an update accordingly and I am keeping my fingers well and truly crossed!!

Many thanks

Simon LAST

Charnwood Genealogy

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

UPDATE – Photo Reunited: Are you related to the SPANTON or SANDS families from Aylsham or South Repps in Norfolk?

UPDATE: The lovely old family photograph in my original blog post has now been reunited with a family member Frances who lives in Canada – they very kindly shared further information and a photograph of Sarah when she was younger, as below:

Frances said:

I have written lots on the SPANTON /SANDS family. Sarah was deaf – something I learned when following up on a court case for which she was a witness. She had great difficulty hearing questions, the article said. Thank you again. You truly have made my day!

I can only conclude that the photo was sent to a relative in the UK.  The SPANTON’s and SAND’s relatives were wide-spread in Norfolk, and further south in the UK.  It is propitious that three of the sisters, Marianne, Ethel and Mabel, returned to the UK (from Canada) for a holiday, probably spending Christmas 1910 with their parents, as this would have granted them the last opportunity to see their mother and their brother Frank, who died at Cambridge on March 14th the following year.  They returned to Canada, sailing from Liverpool onboard the Dominion on the 12^th January 1911.  Listed in the ship’s manifest: Ethel, a governess, Mabel, also listed as a governess and Marianne SPANTON, a teacher.  The fourth sister, Nancy, came to Canada with their father in 1920.  He died in Toronto. 

Sarah SPANTON nee SANDS

Update – 22nd March 2022

Simon LAST

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A recent old photographic postcard find had a very poignant message on the back – I found this lovely old photograph of a lady surrounded by beautiful flowers, but on the reverse was written:

My mother taken in December 1915 – about 14 days before she died. These flowers were soon to be beside her coffin in this greenhouse

Someone else had written Mrs SPANTON of Stalham Norfolk – could I discover more about this lady and her family?

I started by looking through the SPANTON death registration in the December quarter of 1915 and quickly found a record for Sarah SPANTON aged 72 in the Erpingham Norfolk Registration District and using this information I soon found a burial record for her on Ancestry, as below:

Source Citation: Norfolk Record Office; Norwich, Norfolk, England; Norfolk Church of England Registers Source Information: Ancestry.com. Norfolk, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1995 

Sarah SPANTON from South Repps in Norfolk had been buried on 23rd December 1915 in the Parish which was indeed the same month that the photograph of her had been taken – there is more information about South Repps here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southrepps

Using this information I then found Sarah SPANTON aged 68 on the 1911 census, as below, living with her husband Alfred Francis SPANTON also aged 68 and his occupation was a Poultryer – they had been married 44 years and had had eight children five of whom were still living.

Source Citation: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

I then found that Alfred Francis SPANTON had married Sarah SANDS of Aylsham in Norfolk on 19th November 1866, as below and her father was John SANDS a Butcher and Alfred’s father was Francis Humphrey SPANTON an Innkeeper – Alfred Francis SPANTON’s occupation was a Grocer.

Source Citation: Norfolk Record Office; Norwich, Norfolk, England; Norfolk Church of England Registers; Reference: PD 602/10 Source Information: Ancestry.com. Norfolk, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936

Francis and Sarah SPANTON had the following children:

Annie Sophie SPANTON in 1872, Marianne Sarah SPANTON in 1876, Frank SPANTON in 1872, Edwin Nichols SPANTON in 1874, Annie Elizabeth SPANTON in 1877, Ethel Carrie SPANTON and Alfred John SPANTON in 1880 and Mabel Violet SPANTON in 1884.

Therefore the writing on the reverse of this old photograph was written by one of these children, but which one?

Do you have a family connection to the SPANTON or SANDS families from Aylsham and South Repps in Norfolk – if you do please send me an email as it would be great to reunite this old photograph with a family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon

Charnwood Genealogy

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

Are you connected to the WILKIN or BLUNDELL families from Newcastle upon Tyne?

Another lovely old photographic postcard find was this one below that shows a young baby with a nurse taken by photographers F W Tassell & son in Carlisle and on the back is written:

Ronald George WILKIN born 23rd May 1922 and photographed 2nd June 1922

Some quick investigation found the birth registration for Ronald Gordon WILKIN in the June quarter of 1922 in Carlisle Registration District (RD) and his mother’s maiden name was BLUNDELL.

His father John George WILKIN had married Gertrude Margaret BLUNDELL in the June quarter of 1921 in Carlisle RD and as well as having their son Ronald they also had a daughter Joan M WILKIN born in the June quarter of 1924 in Carlisle RD.

I then found John and Gertrude WILKIN in the 1939 World War 2 Registers, as below, living with her father Samuel BLUNDELL at 1 Otterburn Terrace in Newcastle upon Tyne – John’s date of birth is given as 3rd May 1893 and his occupation is a Managing Clerk at a Solicitors and Gertrude’s date of birth is given as 2nd October 1896.

I then looked for other records for their son Ronald Gordon WILKIN and very quickly discovered that sadly he had been killed aged 21 during World War 2 on 17th January 1944, whilst on active service in Italy. Below is his probate record that again shows the family address as 1 Otterburn Terrace

I then found further information relating to 240676 Captain Ronald Gordon WILKIN and that he was awarded the D.S.O on 4th December 1943, as the information on this website link explains http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/240676-captain-ronald-gordon-wilkin-dso-1st-bn-royal-irish-fusiliers.75662

Ronald Gordon WILKIN is buried in Bari War Cemetery in Puglia in Italy and below is a photograph of his headstone

If you have a connection to the WILKIN or BLUNDELL families please send me a message as it would be fantastic to reunite this lovely old photograph with a family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com