Do you have CREED’s from Norfolk or WILDSMITH’s from Warwickshire in your family tree?

A lovely old photograph I found on my travels in London in 2018 was of a young man with the name Stanley Norman CREED 13 years written at the bottom.

It is such a good clear photograph I decided to buy it to research later – during the current lock-down I have discovered it again and have now decided to see what I can discover about the CREED family.

I quickly found that Norman Stanley CREED’s birth was registered in the October to November quarter of 1902 in the Hendon Registration District in Middlesex and his baptism took place on the 17th November 1907 when he was aged 5 and his date of birth was confirmed as 14th August 1902.

I then discovered the BREED family on the 1911 census, as below, living at 11 Malden Road in Boreham Wood in Hertfordshire – Stanley CREED was aged 9 and living with his parents Thomas and Agnes CREED both aged 51 and his siblings Fred aged 14 and Queenie aged 12. Thomas was a Coachman and had been married to Agnes for 30 years and they had had eight children, 2 of who had died.

Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 7131; Schedule Number: 156 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

 Thomas CREED was born in Norfolk and Agnes in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire – using this information I found the marriage of Thomas CREED to Agnes WILDSMITH in the July to September quarter of 1882 in Warwick Registration District.

I then looked for more information about Stanley and could find nothing apart from a death record in the January quarter of 1916 in Downham Registration District in Norfolk – as his father Thomas had been born in Norfolk there was a link to this county.

Quickly I discovered that Stanley’s mother Agnes CREED nee WILDSMITH had died in the July quarter of 1912 aged 53 in Hertfordshire, so maybe Thomas had moved back to Norfolk to be closer to his family.

The sad thing is Stanley Norman CREED was aged 13 when he died and that is the age written on the old photograph I found – so is this a photograph of him taken when he was a bit younger and written on and kept as a memorial to him when he died aged only 13?

I have searched the old newspaper archives online to see if I can find any information about Stanley, but unfortunately nothing so far.

Therefore if anyone has a family li k to the CREED family from Norfolk or the WILDSMITH family from Warwickshire please send me a message as I would love to reunite this old photograph with a family member if possible.

I look forward to hearing from you….

Thank you

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

Are you related to the BLANDFORD family from Risca in Monmouthshire, Wales?

A while back I found a lovely old photograph postcard, as below, of three boys, possibly brothers, with the names T BLANDFORD, Alf BLANDFORD and H BLANDFORD on the back and today decided to start trying to research it further.

I decided to set a Bank Holiday challenge on Twitter to see if anyone could make a family connection before I could and within minutes a Twitter follower Allie Nickell @alliethinks came back with the possible match of Thomas, Henry and Alfred BLANDFORD in Risca in Monmouthshire in the 1901 Census records born c.1880-1885 and they appeared to be the three eldest sons of Thomas and Ellen BLANDFORD.

After receiving this super information from Allie I studied the 1901 census record, as below, in more detail and could see that Thomas was aged 21, Henry was aged 18 and Alfred was aged 16, meaning that if this was a match to my old photograph it must have been taken before 1901 – their father Thomas BLANDFORD aged 44 was an Assurance Assistance Supervisor and their son Thomas was an Assurance Agent, whilst both Henry and Alfred were Coal Miners working underground.

Source Citation: Class: RG13; Piece: 4964; Folio: 81; Page: 38 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1901 Wales Census

They also had other siblings including Nellie, James, Herbert, Phyllis and Mary.

I also found the BLANDFORD family on the 1911 census living at 11 Oak, The Cross Keys in Newport Mons in Wales and Thomas and Ellen had been married for 32 years and they had had ten children in total, seven of whom were still living – the male family members were all now shown as Coal Miners and Thomas was the only son from the old photograph shown living at home on this census.

Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 32014; Schedule Number: 91 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 Wales Census

 Thomas BLANDFORD senior married Ellen PARSONS in the January quarter of 1879 in the Newport Wales Registration District and Thomas was born in 1879, Henry in 1882 and Alfred in 1884.

I therefore wondered seeing the ages of the BLANDFORD brothers if any of them had been killed during World War 1, but thankfully they all survived and died in later life – however their brother James, born in 1889,  had a son called Ernest Arthur BLANDFORD who was sadly killed on 6th May 1944 during World War 2, which I found very poignant with the 75th Anniversary of V.E Day approaching tomorrow.

Ernest was the son of James and Minnie BLANDFORD and the husband of Edith Irene BLANDFORD (nee LEAMAN) and they had two daughters Edwina and Christine and a son called Colin.

Ernest served as a Lance Bombardier in the Royal Artillery with Service No. 14248182 – his funeral took place on 10th May 1944 and he was buried in Danygraig Cemetery in Risca in Monmouthshire – more information here Commonwealth War Graves Commission information

I also found more information about Risca in Monmouthshire and its history which can be read here Risca Monmouthshire

If anyone has a proven family link to the BLANDFORD family or any other old family photographs that could be used to compare to my photograph, it would be great to hear from you – please email me as if possible I would love to reunite this lovely old photograph with a family member if possible.

Many thanks and a big thank you to Allie Nickell for her very prompt reply and for setting the BLANDFORD research ball rolling………

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

Could Albert LUKINS be Charles Albert LUKINS born in Shirehampton Gloucestershire in 1894?

On a trip to see family in Bristol last year I was able to visit an Antiques Fair and picked up a few old postcards and photographs whilst there, which is so unlike me!!

One of the lovely old photographs that I found was of  a smart young man in uniform taken by Carr’s Naval Portraits at 38 Arundel Street in Portsmouth – on the back is written in pen Albert LUKINS circa 1912 and in pencil Mrs LUKINS and at the top is written 2797 Bristol as photo – possibly?

As always I was keen to find a connection if possible and I started searching Ancestry for any records that might help me make a match.

The first record that I found was a British World War 1 Pension record which showed an Albert LUKINS as Head married to Annie and the record was for his son Edward LUKINS at Sea Mills Shirehampton near Bristol – therefore this Albert seemed to old to be the man shown in my photograph although the area seemed to fit.

Source Citation: WO364; Piece: 2173 Source Information: Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920

However on searching Albert, Annie and Edward LUKINS further I found them on the 1911 census record, as below,  living at Bean Acre Cottage in Shirehampton in Gloucestershire and saw that Edward LUKINS had other siblings including Charles, Sidney, Ethel and Ellen – on further investigation of birth registrations for these children I found that Charles LUKINS’s full name was Charles Albert LUKINS born on 11th April 1894.

Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 15102; Schedule Number: 95  Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

Could this be the Albert LUKINS in my photograph who would have been aged about 18 in 1912 it if was him?

I have also found the LUKINS family on the 1901 census as below:

Source Citation: Class: RG13; Piece: 2404; Folio: 38; Page: 8 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census

Albert LUKINS senior aged 30 married Annie GRAY aged 25 on 10th February 1894 in Pilning in Gloucestershire, as below:

Source Citation: Bristol Archives; Bristol, England; Bristol Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: P.Pil/R/2/a Source Information: Ancestry.com. Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935

Charles Albert LUKINS married Florence L MARSHFIELD in the July quarter of 1922 in Bristol and they had eleven children: Wesley S LUKINS in 1921, Margaret M in 1923, Lilian F in 1925, Barbara J in 1927, William C in 1929, Doris B in 1930, James A in 1932, Leonard V in 1933, Rosemary M in 1934, Mildred E J in 1935 and Wesley S in 1941.

I wondered why they had called two sons Wesley S LUKINS and after some further research I discovered that their first son Wesley born in 1921 was killed in action during World War 2 on 11th September 1941 aged 20 in the Merchant Navy on S.S. Stonepool,       more information here S S Stonepool ) as below:

Source Citation: Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Author: Peter Singlehurst; Series Title: British Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1918; Archive Name: London, United Kingdom Source Information: Ancestry.com. UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947

This additional information proved that there were Naval links within the LUKINS family and I also found Charles LUKINS on the 1939 World War 2 Registers, again as below, which showed his occupation as a Plate Layer at the Port of Bristol and also a Naval Reserve.

Source Citation: The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/5038A Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register

Charles Albert LUKINS died in the October quarter of 1966 in the Bristol Registration District aged 71.

Coincidentally when I bought this lovely old photograph I also bought an ‘In Memoriam’  card and when I looked at it during this research it remembers a Kate FENNELL who died on 13th February 1922 aged 37 years and who is buried at Shirehampton Cemetery – there has to be  a family connection to the LUKINS family somewhere and also helps to possibly confirm some of my research above!

If you have a family connection to the LUKINS or FENNELL families from Shirehampton in Gloucestershire then please send me an email, as I would be delighted to reunite these items with a family member or connection if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

 

UPDATE: A postcard sent from Italy in 1910 to Henry LONGLEY in Tunbridge Wells and a link to a Vice-Admiral

Update: Last weekend I received a lovey email from a direct descendant of Henry LONGLEY whose mother had  come across my original blog post whilst browsing/searching the internet for family information.

Henry LONGLEY was her Great Grandfather and she was thrilled to read about the old postcard I had found and researched – the postcard has now been sent on to her and her family for their own archives.

They also very kindly shared three beautiful old family photographs with me of Henry LONGELY and his family that Paul has very kindly given me permission to include in this update of my original blog post:

Henry LONGLEY with his wife Susannah and his workers taken in Henfield in Sussex sometime in the late 1800s

This is a photograph of the christening of Paul’s grandfather Joseph A D  LONGLEY born in 1904 – Henry LONGLEY born in 1833 is to the far right and his great grandfather John (Jack)  A D LONGLEY born in 1873 is the younger man in the middle. The ladies are Jack’s wife Sara and two maiden aunts.

John Arthur Dick LONGLEY born 1873 – son of Henry and Susannah LONGLEY

A great outcome and many thanks to Paul and his family – I am so pleased to have found, researched and reunited this fascinating old postcard.

Paul also sent me this article from the Guardian newspaper that mentions Vice-Admiral Eric LONGLEY-COOK and his warning to Whitehall about Russia and US in the Cold War – the link is US was set to bomb Russia first….

Simon LAST – 1st May 2020

———————————————————————————————————————————————

Sorting through some old postcards today I found this card sent from Rome in Italy in 1910 to Henry LONGLEY at Tower House in Tunbridge Wells in Kent – in these strange days of Coronavirus this postcard struck a chord with me as so so many people across the world are unable to travel at this time and very few postcards will be sent home to relatives and friends.

What could I discover about the LONGLEY family and the sender of the postcard his loving Grandson Eric W L COOK?

I was quickly able to find the 1911 census record as below which showed Henry LONGLEY as Father in  Law and a Widower aged 78 living at Tower House in Tunbridge Wells in Kent with his Son in law Herbert William COOK aged 40, his daughter Alice Gertrude COOK nee LONGLEY aged 42 and their children Eric William Longley COOK (the sender of the postcard) aged 12, Enid Margaret COOK aged 9 and Laurence Herbert COOK aged 1.

Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 4046; Schedule Number: 319 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

Herbert William COOK’s occupation is shown as a Director of Education for the County Council – had his son Eric been on a school trip in 1910 when he sent the postcard as he would only have been aged 11 years?

The LONGLEY family originated from Henfield in Sussex and Henry LONGLEY had married Susannah Margaret DICK in the Chelsea Registration District in 1865 – they then had the following children including:

Susan Mary LONGLEY in 1867, Alice Gertrude LONGLEY in 1868, Lucy Margaret LONGLEY in 1870, John Arthur D LONGLEY in 1873, Frank Ernest LONGLEY in 1880 – the 1881 census record shows Henry LONGELY’s occupation as a Draper and Farmer of 28 acres employing 34 hands in Henfield in Sussex.

Source Citation: Class: RG11; Piece: 1105; Folio: 47; Page: 5; GSU roll: 1341260 Source Information: Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 England Census

Then I made an amazing discovery when researching Eric William Longley COOK further – he was born on 6th October 1898 and died on 20th April 1983 and he had a Naval career as shown on Wikipedia and became a Vice-Admiral as per the information here Eric Longley-Cook

On another website I have been able to find a photograph of Eric and further information about his Naval career during World War 2 at this link Eric Longley-Cook

Eric married Helga M LOWLES in the September quarter of 1920 in the Windsor Registration District and I will now investigate further to see if he had children.

As I always say to people you need very little information to get your family research started as this postcard very well proves!

My next mission is to try and reunite this lovely old postcard with a family member for their family archive – so if you have a connection please send me a message or email as I would love to hear from you.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

 

 

 

 

 

Are you connected to the COWLISHAW or CUTTS families from Sheffield?

This recent old photographic postcard find was postally unused although it had a name and address on the back – the photograph shows what could be a father. mother and possibly their three daughters standing in their garden – could I discover more?

The postcard was addressed to a Mr & Mrs COWLISHAW at 257 City Road in Sheffield and written at the bottom was ‘from Tom & Lizzie to Tom & Harriet’ – could it be a family member sending a photograph to another family member possibly?

I quickly found the COWLISHAW family on the 1911 census, as below, living at 257 City Road in Sheffield and the family members were Thomas Henry COWLISHAW aged 55, his wife Harriet aged 49 and children Elizabeth aged 27, Albert aged 21, Cyril aged 19, John aged 16, Harold aged 12, Frank aged 9 and Edna aged – could the daughter Elizabeth be the sender of the postcard?

Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 27904 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

However I quickly found that this Elizabeth COWLISHAW never married and died aged 75 in 1959 so it could not be her.

Thomas Henry COWLISHAW married Harriet CUTTS in the April quarter of 1882 in the Sheffield Registration District in Yorkshire.

Harriet CUTTS was the daughter  of Thomas and Elizabeth CUTTS and had siblings including an Elizabeth aged 8 on the 1871 census record living in Sheffield.

This sister Elizabeth Ann CUTTS married a Thomas BOWER in the October quater of 1888 in Sheffield and the 1911 census, as below, shows her and her husband living at West Leigh in Walton in Wakefield Yorkshire with three daughters Jessie aged 18, Ethelwyn aged 12 and Gladys aged 11.

Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 27366 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

This seemed to be a very good fit to the family as shown in the photograph and the names Tom and Lizzie fit with the postcard message from ‘Tom & Lizzie’, so I think we have a match!

Do you have a family connection to the COWLISHAW or CUTTS families from Sheffield – if you do please send me an email as it would be great to reunite this lovely old photograph with a family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

 

 

Are you related to the HILLS family from Enfield Wash?

A recent old photographic postcard find was this lovely image of a smartly dress young man which had written on the back Mr C HILLS, 34 Uckfield Road, Enfield Wash – could I find a family link?

I started by looking for the address on the 1911 census records and quickly found the HILLS family living at 34 Uckfield Road in Enfield, Edmonton, as below:

Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 7437; Schedule Number: 202 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

The head of house was Thomas HILLS aged 49 living with his wife Laura Annie aged 48 and children Olive Hilda aged 24, Clifford Thomas Oswald aged 22, Ivy Kathleen aged 17, Vera Madeline aged 14 and Dora Edna aged 11 and I therefore believe that possibly my old photograph could be of Clifford Thomas Oswald HILLS.

Clifford was born on the 10th December 1888 and his birth was registered in the Orsett in Essex Registration District – I have also found him on the 1939 World war Registers, as below, living in Enfield, where his occupation is shown as a Skilled Labourer employed On Rifle Work At War Department. The 1911 census shows his occupation as a R S F A Viewer so Clifford was already working at the Royal Small Arms Factory before World War 1.

Source Citation: The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/753G Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register

Enfield was well known for the production of guns and most well known for the Enfield Rifle and there is more information here Royal Small Arms Factory

Clifford’s father Thomas HILLS married Laura Annie MADDER in the July quarter of 1885 in the Orsett Essex Registration District.

Clifford Thomas Oswald HILLS died aged 73 in the April quarter of 1962 in Worthing in Sussex.

If you have a link to Clifford HILLS or his family please send me an email as it would be fantastic to reunite this lovely old photograph with a  family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com

Do you have a LUCKETT from Reading in your family tree?

One of my recent old photograph postcard finds was this lovely old image of a mother and son and on the back although there were no names there was an address and a month and year:

The reverse of the postcard had the address 61 Coventry Road Reading and the date June 1917 – would this be enough to identify the lady and boy in the photograph?

I decided that my fist area of reach would be the 1911 census and I quickly found the address 61 Coventry Road in Reading, which showed the family LUCKETT living at the address, as below:

Source Citation: Class: RG14; Piece: 6602; Schedule Number: 316 Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census

The family were William LUCKETT aged 26, Elizabeth LUCKETT aged 27 and Frank LUCKETT aged 2 – William and Elizabeth had been married for three years and only had one child Frank, Williams occupation was a Clerk at the Huntley and Palmer Biscuit factor in Reading – could this be the mother and child in the photograph?

There is more information here Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Factory

William Augustus LUCKETT married Elizabeth BUSBY in the October quarter of 1907 in Henley Registration District in Oxfordshire and Frank William LUCKETT was born in the October quarter of 1908 again in Henley Registration District in Oxfordshire.

I then searched the 1939 World War 2 Registers for the address 61 Coventry Road in Reading and found that William and Elizabeth LUCKETT were still living at the same address and with them were two boys Leslie and Hubert – were they Grandchildren?

Source Citation: The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/2039A Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register

Frank William LUCKETT married Gladys M VIVIAN in the July quarter of 1930 in Reading Registration District and they had a son Anthony N V LUCKETT in the October quarter of 1931, so who were the two children above living with William and Elizabeth in 1939.

On further investigation it turned out that Leslie C LUCKETT born in the January quarter of 1920 and Hubert R LUCKETT born in the April quarter of 1926 were in fact brothers of Frank William LUCKETT.

Frank William LUCKETT died in the April quarter of 1955 in Reading Registration District aged 55.

Do you have a family connection to the LUCKETT or VIVIAN families, if so please send me a message as it would be great to reunite this lovely old photograph with a family member if possible.

Many thanks

Simon LAST

charnwoodresearch@virginmedia.com

http://www.charnwood-genealogy.com