CONTENTS.

Section Three

The Copleys ( 1757-1922 )

The ancient town of Tickhill is situated in a vale, some 11 miles from Rotherham and 4 miles from Blythe, in Nottinghamshire. Both of these towns will feature in our history, especially Rotherham. Tickhill boasts a Castle which was probably built by William the Conqueror though it has seen much change in later centuries; not least the 17^th century when it failed to escape the attention of parliamentary forces during the English civil war and suffered the loss of its circular tower. The 14^th century church of St Mary is very grand with an impressive tower, and a pleasant churchyard, in which the memorials to several Copleys can still be seen.

The name of Copley, in one or other of it’s various different forms, was very common in the town from at least the 16^th century. The first Copley that we can reliably call an ancestor is one John Copley, a tailor, who married Elizabeth Parkin at St Mary’s church on the 29^th of May 1757. John and Elizabeth had at least four children. Richard was born circa 1759, followed by Ann, then Mary and lastly Robert.

Richard Copley was 24 years old when he married Sarah, the daughter of Richard Hammond a weaver. During their 58 years of marriage the couple had seven children, three girls and four boys. The eldest son was named Richard, no doubt after his father, and he was born circa 1787 and baptised at Tickhill on February 15^th 1788. When Richard grew to manhood he made his living as a carpenter and on the 26^th of January 1815, at the age of 27 or thereabouts, he married a 23 year old local girl named Fanny, the daughter of John and Mary Pagdin.  Fanny gave birth to her son William on the 18^th of December that year. During the couple’s 55 years of marriage, they would have eight more children and at the time of the 1841 census, when couple were living in Tickhill on North Gate, seven of their offspring were recorded at that address. William was by this time, 25 years old. He was still unmarried and it seems that he had followed in his father’s footsteps and worked as a carpenter. He did not marry until he was 39 and his bride, Sarah was ten years his senior. It is therefore of small surprise to note that their union was childless. The census evidence suggests that the couple lived with William’s parents on Sunderland Street. Richard and Fanny’s second child John was christened at Tickhill on February 6^th 1818. John married Mary Giles of Blyth in Nottinghamshire and we shall here more concerning them later. The other Copley children were Mary (b c 1820); Richard (b 1822); Thomas (b 1824); Fanny (b c 1826 d 1839); Edward (b 1829); George (b c 1832) and Alfred (b 1834). Our history concentrates upon the two brothers John and George, however it may be of interest to divert from our course for a brief while to follow the fortunes of two other brothers namely Thomas and Alfred, Who by 1861 were both living at Hope Place, Gorton, Manchester. Thomas, a blacksmith by trade, lived with his wife Mary and their two young children, John and Ann. His younger brother Alfred also had two children and a step son named Alfred, the child of his wife Sarah by a previous liaison. We cannot know the precise reasons, though it may have been economic pressures, that led Alfred and his family to emigrate to New Zealand at some time prior to 1877.

Thomas and Mary’s daughter, Ann, was born on 28 June 1856 in Hope Place, Gorton and was christened on 12 April 1857. She married Peter Carter in 1875, and the family emigrated to Australia in 1884, sailing on the “Earl Derby” an 1100 ton bark that left Plymouth on 27^th October 1883 .arriving at Maryborough, Queensland, Australia on the 22^nd of January 1884

The family later moved to New Zealand; perhaps encouraged by letters from Ann’s uncle Alfred. Ann died on the 6th May 1932 aged 76. At the time of her death she was living at 63 Taylors Road, Avondale, Auckland. Ann was buried at Waikumete Cemetery, on 7 May 1932 in plot 49 Block C Section 7 of the Non-Conformist portion of the cemetery.

But now we must continue with the main thrust of our history and remake the acquaintance of George and John Copley. John was the elder by fourteen years and as stated earlier he married in 1844. His bride Mary, a year younger than he, was the daughter of William Giles a Potter of Blyth. John was a Blacksmith by trade and Mary is recorded as a dressmaker in the 1851 census returns for Tickhill. They appear to have set up home on Sunderland Street. Their first child, Elizabeth, was born a little over nine months later. This Elizabeth, In later years, married a railway engineer from Derby by the name of William Norman. John and Mary’s second child was born on the 26^th of August 1846. Little hope can have existed for her survival as she was Christened “Fanny” that same day. Four days later this infant was buried in Tickhill churchyard. There is however a slight anomaly here. The burial register for Tickhill Yorkshire shows a Fanny Copley was buried on August 30th 1846 aged 3 days. However, many years later she is mentioned on her father’s gravestone as being born on August 25th 1840 and the date of her death is recorded as the 28^th of August 1840. I believe there is little doubt that the parish registers are correct.

 About two years after Fanny’s death the couple’s first son was born. He was christened William on the 4^th June 1848 at St Mary’s church, Tickhill. This William, like his father before him, took to the trade of a blacksmith. He was still living at home in 1871 and no doubt he was able to help his father whose health at this time may have been already failing. In 1851, the couple were blessed with another girl whom they named Mary Jane. After her father’s death in 1873, Mary seems to have been the head of the household. This suggests that her brother William had left the house on Sunderland Street. The 1881 census shows the 29 year old Mary as being a school teacher. She lived with her widowed mother. Her elder sister, Elizabeth, and her family were at Sunderland Street on census night though they may only have been paying a visit. Two other sisters were also living there at this time. Catherine ( who seems to have preferred the name Kate ) was then 24 years of age, but it is her sister Alice Maud who figures most prominently in our story. Alice was only 16 and is recorded as being a teacher. We will take our leave of Alice for the moment and return to her father’s younger brother George . George Copley was born circa 1832 possibly at North Gate , Tickhill. He married Mary Gaunt, a girl from Leeds, circa 1857 and their eldest son Alfred Ernest, was born soon after quickly followed by another boy. In 1861 the family appear to have been one of several families that shared accommodation on the upper floors of No 50 Westgate. Westgate was the main route out of Rotherham towards Sheffield and, at this time, the lower floors of Number 50 were the premises of one Joseph Crossby a grocer and flour dealer. A yard separated these premises from the Wellington pub and at some point prior to 1865 this yard became Wilfred Street and the family moved into No 7. It was here that George died in 1865 of a fever - which appears to have lasted 24 days - brought about by ulceration and leading to perforation of the bowels. An article in the Rotherham Advertiser, dated June 30^th, 1865 gives a good account of his funeral. -MILITARY FUNERAL - On Sunday last, the remains of Corporal Geo Copley, who had been an active member of the 36th W.R. Rifle Volunteers, were interred at Rotherham Cemetery. The procession was headed by the band of the 19th and 36th Companies, and a firing party ( who marched with reversed arms ) under the charge of Colour - sergeant Foster. A large number of the members of both companies under the command of Capt Harrison, Lieut Hirst and Lieut Parker, also attended. The deceased had been for some time acting secretary of the 36th Company, and was very much respected. He was also a clerk to the Rotherham County Court Office, and F,W, Hoyle, Esq, Mr Bellamy, (the High Bailiff) Mr Tummond, and others attended to pay their last tribute of respect. A large concourse of spectators assembled at the Cemetery to witness the ceremony. The Rev Mosley, vicar of Rotherham, and Chaplain to the Corps, officiated.-  The unrest of the middle 19th century in continental Europe, and the emergence of the French Second Republic and Second Empire added fuel tothe  British mistrust of France. This  gave rise to a revival of the volunteer movement, which had its roots in the old militia system of the16th century and before. In most towns throughout the country, the middle classes, and in the north rich industrialists, formed "Rifle Volunteer Corps" which were recognised by the government . In 1860-63 there units were organised into administrative battalions. These formed the basis for what became the modern Territorial Army.

George and Mary’s eldest son, Alfred Ernest, in later years, became a sidesman of Rotherham parish church .He made his living as an accountant, and it is interesting to note that a firm of accountants bearing the Copley name was still doing business in the area in 1959. He and his wife Florence lived at Broom House in Rotherham until 1893 when they moved to Wickesley. Although their son Alfred Beresford Copley is recorded as being born in 1890 at Whiston, it is likely that both their daughters, Jessie and Kathleen, were born in Wickesley. Kathleen died in 1997 at the age of 100 years and 15 days. It is she that we have to thank for keeping several photographs and assorted documents pertaining to the Copley family of Rotherham, which are, at the time of writing, in the possession of Mr Martin Upton of Great Rollright Oxen. By 1899 the family were living at 16 Sandy Mount Auckland Rd ( this may have been in the Wheatley district of Doncaster ) where they stayed at least until 1903. The last residence in Rotherham that I have been able to verify was Hill Crest Moorgate in 1917. Alfred and Florence lost their son Alfred in 1917. Alfred Beresford Copley had been commissioned that year and he embarked for France as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 101st Machine Gun Company attached to the 34^th Division. He was killed in action on 26^th August. In 1925 Alfred and Florence moved to Quarry Pits farm Shutford, Oxen, and it was at Shutford that he died a year later. Both Alfred and Florence are buried in the pretty churchyard of nearby Swalcliffe. Albert William, the second child of George and Mary, earned his living as a gas rate collector, however, he had earlier been employed by a local firm of solicitors as a clerk. His father was also employed as a solicitors clerk, latterly with the county court, it may be that the idea that Albert was a solicitor, which has long been believed by his descendants, stems from these facts. Albert Copley himself a native of Rotherham was born at 98 Westgate on November 27^th 1859. The 1871 census notes that the family were still resident at 7 Wilfred St and Albert is mentioned as an errand boy. Ten years later the Copleys lived in Rotherham on the Mansfield road. Living at home at this time was Albert's elder brother, Alfred; a younger brother named George, who in later years was a clerk to the Rotherham Corporation, and a sister, Mary Evelyn. The census notes a third son of Mary Copley nee Gaunt, one William Pollard Copley, then only eight years of age and still in education. This child cannot be the son of George Copley because he would have been born some eight years after George’s death. Albert's sister, Mary Evelyn was fifteen at the time of the census and therefore it is likely that she was born after George’s death.

We should now re–introduce Alice Maud Copley to the reader for it was on February 12^th 1890, in the church of St Mary, Tickhill, that Albert William Copley married his cousin. Albert and Alice settled in Wharncliffe Street Rotherham and it appears that Alice's widowed mother lodged with them. The couple had two children, their son Albert Percival and a girl, born at 37 Wharncliffe street on July 17th 1894, and she they named Winifred Mary. It is asserted by family members that Winifred was orphaned at an early age and that she settled in Nottingham with an aunt who opened a paper shop. It is certainly true that her father Albert died when Winifred was only one year old. The death certificate states that he died of natural causes probably accelerated by alcohol and indeed this appears to be supported by the findings of an inquest held in Rotherham on August 9^th 1895 ( see appendix). The report of the inquest in the local newspaper seems to suggest that he and his wife may not have been on the best of terms at this time. Albert is buried in Moorgate cemetery Rotherham. As to the fate of Winifred’s mother I have as yet no definite  information, however the 1901 census for Derby records Winifred living with her Aunt and Uncle, Elizabeth and William Norman at 45 Becker Street. The fact that her brother Albert is also listed as living in Derby and that Alice is not mentioned may give some credence to the assertion that she too was by this time dead.

Winifred Mary Copley was twenty-two years of age when she married Hezekiah Downs. Family oral tradition alleged that she inherited her aunt’s shop when that lady died but again I have found no proof of this. Winifred is however mentioned, along with her brother Albert, in the will of her Grandmother dated 1906( see appendix). What is certain is that at the time of her marriage to Hezekiah she was living in Moria Street, Loughborough and working as a machinist for a hosiery Company. The Electoral register for 1919 shows that for a time they occupied a house in Court B Moria St, later they moved to number 11 Queens street where in November 1918 their son Albert was born. Hezekiah and Winifred would have nine more children but the most important of these for the purpose of our particular history was their third child Margaret Jessie who was born at Queens street on January 26^th 1922.

The Downs and the Moores ( 1761 - 1971 )

Two miles or so due north of the Lincolnshire town of Stamford lies the pleasant village of Ryhall. Walking through the small village square and past the Green Dragon pub the visitor comes upon an iron gate which gives access to the church of St John the Evangelist. In the well kept graveyard almost directly opposite the church door is a memorial to Robert Downs who died on October 25th 1823. Robert’s father was named Thomas and he seems to have hailed from the nearby parish of Uffington. Thomas married Catherine the widow of Thomas

Francis at St John’s on the 20^th October 1761. It may be that there was an epidemic in the locality in 1761 as Catherine’s daughter Ann died in March of that year, Thomas, her first husband, died in the May and his their son Thomas followed in July. Catherine would have at least five children by her second husband. Their son Robert, whose own grave has such a prominent position near to the church door, was born in 1767 and baptised on the 26^th of May in that year. He married a girl named Elizabeth and their son Robert was born in 1798. This Robert earned his living as a labourer but later he seemed to have taken up carpentry. He married Mary Pask, a 20 year old girl from Barnack, on October 20^th 1823;(see inset). The marriage was perhaps the last function his father attended for just five days later Robert Downs senior was dead. Robert and Mary had at least six children, five sons and only the one daughter. Their son Edward was baptised on September 26^th 1824 in this quiet backwater, which lies on the old road to Borne. Some three years later, in the small community of Rippengales, thirteen miles further north a girl was born to the Shield family who was destined to become Edward's wife. Mary Ann Shield worked as a domestic servant for a household in the village of Morton by Borne, which lies just south of. Rippengales .How she came to meet Edward Downs is of course a matter of speculation, however, Edward, like his father was a labourer and no doubt travelled widely in the locality looking for work, it is possible that he met Mary whilst working in or around Morton.

Morton itself is rather disappointing. The village has little charm and most travellers these days pass by on the busy A15 without a second glance. The church of St John the Baptist at the end of the high St is perhaps the only interesting feature with its solidly built tower dominated by a huge clock face. It was here on November 24th 1845 that Edward and Mary married . Though it is impossible to know what the wedding  was like, a  few clues can be gleaned from marriage customs of the day. The event was likely to have involved most of the village community.  Mary probably wore her best dress; for it was only five years earlier that Queen Victoria set the trend of the bride marrying in white. In any case it is unlikely that many brides from rural areas could afford a special wedding dress. Most probably the couple had a wedding breakfast together and this would have included alcohol to get them in the mood for the festivities. They would arrive at the church with their family and friends and indeed most of the village. Few churches in England had an organ at this time and so a church band and perhaps a choir would provide music in the church. The whole event would have been less formal than today. The couple would possibly be married  in  the middle of  the nave and not standing  at the altar as is done today.  After the wedding the couple would walk from the church and often, local young men would make great efforts to get the brides garter sometimes running races for the privilege. What we now term the reception was held like as not in a local barn. There may have been a bride cake ( more common in Yorkshire) and if so it was probably broken over Mary’s head. It would have been chilly in November and no doubt there would have been copious quantities of beer to warm the guests. Finally the couple would be escorted to their bed by many of the revellers, on the whole, it is pleasant to speculate, a rather enjoyable occasion. It seems that the couple settled down at Morton for their first child, Mary, was born in the village. Soon after their daughters birth the family moved to Eight Acres in Stamford where Edward Downs, in later years, appears to have set himself up as a shoemaker.

In 1848, their son Robert was born followed a year later by another son, Edward. Both these boys were baptised at St Michaels church Stamford on July 10th 1853. The couple had at least three more children all of them born in Stamford. Susan was born in the January of 1850 then a gap of nine years separates her from her brother Massey. Rachael, probably their last child, was born in 1860. At the time of the 1871 census, which was taken on April 2nd Robert, the eldest son of Edward and Mary Downs, was lodging at an Inn in Eight Acres. The landlord was a Loughborough man by the name of John Wade and perhaps it was a suggestion by Wade that prompted Robert, many years later, to try his luck there. It was, however, to Peterborough that he initially went and possibly married there circa 1880. In 1881 he fathered a son and named him Harry. As to Harry's mother I have at the time of writing no information.

Robert Downs became a salt dealer and moved with his son to the Leicestershire village of Shepshed where he married a local girl named Mary Ann Moore who was thirteen years his junior. The couple, were married on January 19th 1891, and lived on Chapel Street which was then situated on the edge of the village. Mary had six children by previous liaisons and on September 4th 1891 the birth of their son Hezekiah increased the ranks of their already considerable family. They appear to have had four more children the last of which was Mark Downs D.S.M. who died on convoy escort duty during the Second World War and whose name is inscribed upon the Carillon war memorial in Queens Park Loughborough.

Mary Ann Moore was born at Shepshed in 1860. She was the daughter of Enoch Moore, a Framework knitter, and his wife Mary. Enoch Moore married Mary Danvers on May 5th 1850 at Shepshed. Prior to the marriage both Enoch and Mary were living in Pick street and it is likely that the couple remained there for many years, indeed the 1871 census records Enoch Moore still living at Pick street. Although, as previously mentioned in an earlier chapter, the Framework knitting industry was by this time in serious decline, it still remained as an important source of work for many in the locality. Enoch's father Samuel Moore earned his living in this way, as did William Danvers who was Enoch's father in law. The 1881 census records that Enoch was by that time a widower. He lived on Chapel St with Sarah bailey, described as his housekeeper and Sarah’s son seven year old Sam. Ten years later Enoch was still living in Chapel Street and still working his frame. Others in the house at that time were Charles Foxon of Hinckley a lodger and Sarah Bailey was still keeping house. The 1901 census provides us with an insight into Enoch and Sarah relationship for the then 71 year old Enoch was living in Factory St in the home of Samual Bailey and his status is recorded as that of Samual’s father.

To return to Mary Ann,it seems more than likely that prior to her marriage to Robert Downs, Mary Ann Moore had been living in Loughborough. The fact that five of her six previous children were born in Loughborough would appear to support this theory. What is beyond doubt is that the Downs were living in Chapel Street Shepshed during the early part of the last decade of the nineteenth century. It is believed that the family moved to Loughborough and the Electoral register does indeed show Robert Downs living at number 6 Warner Lane in 1914. It is also maintained that Robert worked as a groom for a large household situated in what is now Southfields park, however, as yet I have found no evidence to either support or disprove this. What is certain is that Robert Downs, immediately prior to his death, was working in the boiler house of a hosiery factory, probably the Nottingham manufacturing company. It is equally certain that he was still living at number 6 Warner Lane in 1915 as it was here that he died after suffering a heart attack on the 29th of September of that year. The burial register for Loughborough cemetery records his interment in plot 15719 on October 2nd he was sixty seven years old

An accident which allegedly took place circa 1903 on the Great Western Railway line had  deprived Robert's son Hezekiah of his right arm - the grim price he paid for scrounging coal-however, his incapacity never prevented him in later years from holding down his job at Herbert Morris Limited on North Rd Loughborough. Hezekiah remained at Morris's all his working life, at first he worked as a general labourer and painter, later he was employed as a slinger . In an interview with the writer an old Morris Employee remembered Hezekiah as being a hard working and conscientious man.

On August 19th 1916, Hezekiah married Winifred Mary Copley at Loughborough registry office. Both gave their address at the time of their marriage as 27 Moria Street. They had ten children the third eldest being Margaret Jessie who was born at Queens street on January 26^th 1922. It was she who would, in later years, give birth to Georgina Kay Stanbridge, the wife of the present writer.

As early as 1870 a new education act set up the Loughborough school board who, in 1879, caused Cobden Street School to be built at a cost of £4695. The school could accommodate two hundred boys and one hundred and eighty girls; also there was an infants school at the rear. The school was severely damaged by fire in 1902 and was later rebuilt as a two storey building. It was here in 1926 that Margaret Jessie Downs began her education and it was also where she first met her future husband George Herbert Stanbridge. At the age of eleven she attended the then newly built Limehurst School on Bridge Street where she completed her schooling in 1936.  Jessie's ( she is hardly ever called Margaret ) first job took her to Curzon Street and the home of Mr Downey a bookmaker. The Downeys had two children and Jessie was employed as a nanny though she was little more than a child herself. When Mrs Downey was expecting her third child she asked Jessie to live in but her parents would not give their consent. Eighteen months later the Downey family made plans to emigrate to America and asked Jessie to consider working for them there. Her parents understandably would not hear of her travelling to the USA for it must be remembered she was still very young. When the Downeys eventually left England Jessie found employment with the Quorn laundry working as a presser. It was at this time that the Downs family were evicted from Queen's street for rent arrears. Jessie and a sister lodged in Queens street with friends and the rest of the family moved to a hostel for the homeless on Regent Street. Eventually the family was reunited when Hezekiah took a house on Manell road in Quorn and here they stayed for about a year. Just before the outbreak of the Second World War the Downs family returned to Loughborough taking up residence at 21 Moria Street. Jessie continued to work at the Quorn laundry until 1940. She then took a job as a lathe operator with Herbert Morris Ltd.

Towards the end of 1940, Jessie began a relationship with George Stanbridge, a young man she had known since her early schooldays at Cobden Street School and they married a little over two years later. In 1942 Jessie left Herbert Morris Ltd to work on the night shift at the Brush engineering works, doing her bit for the war effort by making ammunition.

Hezekiah and Winifred Downs were not a happy couple though the fact that they had ten children might appear to contradict that statement. As their family grew up the tensions at home increased and often resulted in violent exchanges. It was during one such clash that Jessie's father accidentally struck her in the mouth and this served to bring forward her marriage plans.

Hezekiah John Downs died on March 17th 1962 following a heart attack. He was found some hours later in the outside lavatory of the house on Moria Street, I can't help but feel it was an undignified end for this hard working man. After a time, Winifred left Moria Street and moved to Bottleacre Lane. In 1971 she was taken to Leicester city general hospital suffering from a twisted rap, she died in hospital on August 28th. Both Winifred and Hezekiah are buried in the Leicester road cemetery in Loughborough. Some twenty years after Winifred's death, their children erected a stone commemorating their lives

The Stanbridges ( 1844 - 1944 )

The 7th of March 1994 was, as I recall, a rather warm day for the time of year. As I sat in the small chapel of Loughborough crematorium and reflected on the years I had known the deceased I felt somewhat hypocritical being there, for I had not always thought, or indeed spoken, kindly about the old lady. The service, which took place at 11 o clock, was short but tasteful and as her coffin passed through the screens and out of sight I could not help recalling our last meeting which had taken place many months previously. On that occasion we discussed her childhood and the early years of her marriage. She was in a very good mood and for once very amiable. Gertrude May Stanbridge passed away at 6.20am on March 2nd 1994 in Leicester general hospital, just sixty four days before her ninety fourth birthday. Her final years were spent in a small council flat just off Moor lane in Loughborough. Here she lived with her widowed daughter Phyllis. Gertrude herself had been a widow for almost fifty years, since the death of her husband William Albert Stanbridge in 1944. The story of how William Stanbridge came to meet and subsequently marry Gertrude May Hill - Adams begins with an earlier marriage in the county of Bedfordshire in the first quarter of the 19th century.

Lidlington is a small village in Bedfordshire a few miles from the pretty Georgian market town of Ampthill. The parish church, dedicated to St Margaret, is a most attractive building. It was built at the end of the last century to replace an older church which stood on the hill opposite. All that remains now of that earlier church are some foundations covered in bracken, even so it is not hard to imagine the scene as it must have been here on February 5th 1822. On that long ago Tuesday a young labourer by the name of William Taylor and his new bride Mary left the church and walked down the slope between the avenue of trees and out through the churchyard gates into the village. Though only a young man this was William's second marriage his first wife, Mary Neale, appears to have died soon after their marriage in the spring of 1813. In 1829, Mary Taylor gave birth to a daughter who was christened Catherine at Lidlington on April 19th. 

In 1850 Catherine Taylor then in her 22nd year married Thomas Stanbridge a bricklayer from Ampthill. At the time of her marriage Catherine was working as a domestic servant probably in Ampthill although in Later years she earned a living as a Straw Bonnet sewer. Her husband Thomas was born on May 6th 1827 the son of William and Mary Stanbridge. William Stanbridge, a mason journeyman from Maulden, had married Mary Wildman three years earlier on July 2nd 1824 at the church of St Andrew the Apostle in Ampthill and the couple appear to have lived and raised their large family in the town. By 1841, the family were living at the Church St Rabbitry. Ten years later they were still there. Also living at the Rabbitry at this time were Mary's parents John and Elizabeth Wildman. At some time prior to the 1861 census William and Mary moved to Woburn St where they appear to have lived out their lives. The couple had at least nine children of which Thomas appears to have been the second eldest.

Thomas Stanbridge and his wife Catherine also had a large family. Their daughters Elizabeth, Sarah, catherine and Caroline all earned a living by making straw bonnets. Georgina, the youngest girl, worked in the shoe trade and Edwin their son became a drapers Assistant.

By 1881 the family were living in Bedford St where they remained for at least ten years during which time Catherine died.

Frederick, the elder son of Thomas and Catherine Stanbridge, became a Blacksmith. He married Elizabeth Stapleton at Ampthill parish church on February 18th 1877. The couple set up home in Park St where Elizabeth gave birth to at least five children. Their son was named Frederick George and in later years he married a girl named Polly from Wellingborough. His sister, Kate, who was probably the eldest of the Stanbridge children became the wife of a bricklayer by the name of William Boddington and the couple lived in Rushden a few miles to the north of Ampthill. Another sister, Beatrice, married the manager of the Electric Cinema in Rushden.

At 8.00 pm on the 17th of September 1891, Elizabeth was delivered of a baby boy and within the hour a twin sister was born. Forty one days later she registered the births of her son William Albert and daughter Lilian Rose. 

The earliest information on the life of William Albert Stanbridge ( apart from the registration of his birth ) that I have been able to find dates from November 1907. He was then working for Morris and Company Ampthill in the capacity of stable boy, a position he held for a year. His mother had died the previous year on July 11th 1906 and his father began a relationship with a widow named Susan Smith. William could not get on with this woman and eventually he left home to join the Bedford light infantry, signing on as Private 9400 William A Stanbridge on January 5th 1909. His father married Susan Smith eighteen months later. Frederick Stanbridge died on January 4th 1926 at Alameda walk Ampthill.

William Stanbridge was stationed at Colchester, where incidently, he spent some time in the hospital suffering from Dyspepsia. In 1912 he was posted to South Africa where he served for almost three years

At 11 pm on August 4th 1914 Britain declared war on Germany and a month after, the British expeditionary force landed at Boulogne, William's Battalion was recalled from South Africa embarking on HMT Kemilworth Castle at Cape Town bound for Southampton. The Kenilworth Castle docked on the 19^th of September and the Battalion joined the 89^th Brigade attached to the 7^th Division at Lyndhurst. Two weeks later, on October the 4^th William’s Battalion was transported to Southampton and the next day half the men embarked on the SS Winefredian bound for Belgium. The rest of the Battalion sailed the following morning on the SS Cornishman.  Which vessel William sailed on is unknown as the Winefredian was recalled due to a submarine alert  and sailed from Dover on the same day as the Cornishman left Southampton. The Winefredian arrived at Zeebruge on October 7^th and the troop were promptly moved by train the short distance to Bruges. Where a final march brought them to their billets at St Croix. They were joined here by the other half of the Battalion at 6 o clock that same evening. A week later the men of the 2^nd Battalion the Bedford Regiment relieved the 8^th French Regiment along the Menin road, eventually coming under fire from a German field gun that inflicted several casualties. The first battles for Ypres had begun.

The"Old Contemptibles" was the title, adopted with perverse pride, by the men of the British Expeditionary Force, known as the BEF,  who saw service before 22nd November 1914. They were mostly regular soldiers or reservists. They derived their title from the famous "Order of the Day" given by Kaiser Wilhelm II at his headquarters in Aix-la-Chapelle on the 19th August, 1914:- "It is my Royal and Imperial Command that you concentrate your energies, for the immediate present upon one single purpose, and that is that you address all your skill and all the valour of my soldiers to exterminate first the treacherous English; walk over General French's contemptible little Army." Unfortunately for the Kaiser The Contempable little army fought the Germans to a standstill. On the 21^st  of October William was sent to Zonnebeke where the Battalion was to form part of the reinforcements for the 22^nd Brigade. So it was that by Christmas the men were at Fleurbaix. On Christmas Eve his Battalion was ordered to the front line and so William would have no doubt witnessed “The Truce” on Christmas Day, a time that has been talked about ever since , at time when enemies came together to celebrate as best they could this Christian festival. All to soon the fighting was resumed and the 2^nd Bedfords held the trenches at Fleurbaix until March 2^nd 1915 when they were relieved.

On March 8th  William’s Battalion marched to Laventie in support for the attack at Neuve Chapelle. The battalion was not in the initial attack but late in the afternoon of March 10^th they advanced through the old British and German trenches where they dug in They remained in action until relieved on March 15^th. April and May passed with sporadic fighting which nevertheless was costly in men. Throughout June the battalion took part in the actions near Givenchy where individual distinguished themelves. Mentioned in the war diary of the battlion is Corporal Milne  who, until wounded,  doggedly threw back enemy bombs that landed near him. Also Sergeant Bishop managed to shoot a German sniper who it seems was disguised as a tree. Much of August was spent behind the line in reserve at Estaminet Corner.

The Battle of Loos opened on the 25^th September  following a four day artillery bombardment during  which an estimated 250,000 shells were fired. The offensive was a failure and it was called off three days later. During the course of the battle, the British released 140 tons of chlorine gas from 5,100 cylinders. The gas proved to be a double edged sword for in some places the wind blew it back into the british lines resulting in 2,632 casualties. William Stanbride suffered a gunshot wound in the right shoulder during the first day of the engagements He was taken to the 8th Stationary Hospital and later transferred to St Thomas's hospital London. On November 30th he was sent to a convalescent hospital at Woodcote park Epsom from which he was discharged ten days later. William was given ten days sick leave, the bullet was still in his shoulder. Five months after sustaining the wound he was again overseas and soon to be involved in some of the fiercest fighting of the war

On July 1^st 1916 began perhaps the bloodiest battle of the war. Certainly the ghastly casualty figures for the first  day reflect the carnage of that distant summer day, for the allies suffered approximately 60,000 dead, missing or wounded. It is not within the scope of this book to analyse the battle ( in reality a series of battles ) which came to be known as the Battle of the Somme, however some background information is necessary in order to understand William Stanbridge’s  involvement. Stated briefly, the offensive was to take place on a broad front stretching from just above Gommencourt in the north to Montauban in the south. It’s objective was to relieve the pressure on the French at Verdun and it has to be said that in this respect it was a success. The battle proper was, as usual, preceded by an artillery onslaught which opened on June 24^th and continued, though with varying intensity, until the troops moved out of their trenches at 7.30 am on July 1^st.  By March 1916 William had returned to active service though in his absence the battalion had been transferred to the 30^th Division and throughout April he spent his time training at Grovetown Camp.

At 7.30am on July 1^st the guns ceased firing and an all too brief silent fell upon the battlefield. Then whistles blew, orders were snapped out from platoon or section commanders and the British guns opened up again on targets behind the German front line, the battle of the Somme had begun. William Stanbridge and his mates, weighed down with their 66 LBs of equipment, moved out from their assembly point at Maricourt for the attack on Montauban. The 2^nd Bedfords were 100 yards behind the attacking battalions. Within an hour the Bedfords had consolidated the gains made by their comrades in the first wave. Favieres and Silesia trenches near German Wood were taken. The Bedfords dug in until relieved on July 4^th. By July 10^th they had reached the “Sunken Road” opposite La Briqueterie. The next day they were fighting in Trones Wood but withdrew after heavy losses.

The battle would continue for another 129 days. Haig’s troops had advanced on average approximately six mile, the casualtiy figures for the British losses alone are estimated at 400,000 but Private W. A. Stanbridge had survived, however he would need all his courage and luck in the months to come,

During the early months of 1917 William and his battalion moved north in stages from Berles to Ypres The Flanders offensive opened on July 15th 1917 with two main objectives: to advance along the Belgian coast and to break out of the Ypres area which was hard pressed on three sides by German troops. The offensive lasted over three months The rains came in October and the attacks were literally bogged down in a sea of mud. When a halt was finally called in November the British had sustained 250,000 casualties. Private 9400 Stanbridge was one such casualty. He was wounded near Passchendale on October 9th and taken to the 37th casualty clearing station where his near useless left arm was dressed. Afterwards he was transferred to Rouen and later, on October 16th, to the County of Middlesex war hospital Napsbury .. William received eight operations on his left arm and remained at Napsbury for eight months before being transferred to Tooting military hospital where his wound finally healed. He stayed at Tooting until he was discharged from the service as permanently unfit on November 29th 1918. William went home where on January 1^st 1919 he commenced a course of treatment at Bedford county hospital which improved his condition, however, he remained partially paralysed in his left arm.

In 1920, William moved north in search of work. He found lodgings at 47 Burder St Loughborough and work with Loughborough College as a French polisher. His landlady was Ann Adams, a widow, who lived with her daughter Lizzie and son in law Bill Stop. Two of Ann Adams granddaughters were also living at Burder St at this time they were Ethel Adams, a daughter of Lizzie's by an earlier relationship, and the 20 year old Gertrude May Hill-Adams who, only a few months later, would become William Stanbridge's wife.

What of Gertrude's roots? Her great grandfather, Ben Adams, was an agricultural labourer from Cotes, a hamlet just outside  Loughborough on the road to Nottingham. A mile or so further along that road lies the village of Hoton. These days the church here is hardly noticed by busy travellers making their way to Nottingham and beyond. The church has been derelict for many years and the fabric of the building is somewhat dilapidated; yet it is easy to picture how it must have looked when on July 20th 1844, Ben Adams, then 35 years old, and his wife Ann arrived here for the christening of their son Ben. This child grew to manhood and like his father he earned his living as an agricultural labourer. Circa 1869 he married a young girl from East Leake by the name of Ann Sharpe and became a father to Ann's year old son Sam. They set up home at school green East Leake where their first child Frederick was born in 1870. Ben and Ann moved to Mere hill; not far from the village of Hoton where Ben's parents lived, and where Ben had secured a position as a shepherd, their home being a tithed cottage. Ann had nine children who were ( apart from Sam and Frederick ) all born at Mere hill and baptised at Hoton.

The most important of these children for our purposes was Sarah who was born in 1875 and baptised on September 26th of that year. As a young woman Sarah worked as a servant for a large household at Thornborough near Whitwick. She was courted by a road gang foreman by the name of Charles Hill and it seems they intended to marry. In 1899 Sarah became pregnant, but Charles Hill was crushed to death in an accident at work and never lived to see his daughter Gertrude, who was born on May 6th 1900.

Sarah Adams seems to have left her infant daughter in the care of Ben and Anne Adams. She herself obtained employment in Loughborough, working as a domestic servant in the household of Henry Clemerson a local cabinet maker.  On Boxing day 1903, at Prestwold church, Sarah married Harry Grudgings ( real name Henry Ernest Grudgings ), a local man two years her junior. The couple moved to Radmoor cottages in Loughborough taking little Gertude with them, but Harry Grudgings was rather cruel to his stepdaughter and after a short time Gertrude returned to Mere Hill to live with her grandparents, remaining with them for the rest of her childhood.

During the next few years Sarah worked as a cleaner at the Loughborough Hotel and Harry was employed by Tailors Bell Foundry on Freehold St until he was dismissed for being drunk. He walked to Coventry looking for work but as the result of a petty theft he spent 18 months in prison.

Harry and Sarah produced five children and the family lived in a small house in a court off High St in Loughborough. In time Sarah and Harry moved to 27 Meadow Ave where they spent their remaining years. Harry Grudgings died circa 1928 and Sarah on June 2^nd 1932. Sarah was buried in Loughborough cemetery on Leicester Road.

Sarah had little time for her daughter Gertrude and it seems Gertrude grew up with a far greater attachment to her grandparents. She attended Burton school until the age of thirteen at which time she started work as a Day-girl for a family named Murrey who lived at 105 Toothill road Loughborough. She was at this time still living at Mere Hill and this meant a two mile walk to work and back every day until her grandparents, forced to vacate their home, moved to 47 Burder St Loughborough.

Gertrude took a job at H.E.Adcock's Box factory on Meadow Lane where she remained for three years before taking a job at Hammonds needle factory situated in the area of Loughborough known as the Rushes. It seems that the young Mr Hammond was smitten with Gertrude and, had his parents agreed, he would no doubt have proposed, however, a factory girl was not suitable for their son and the romance was nipped in the bud.

Late one Saturday afternoon in the spring of 1919 a local carrier found Ben Adams in a collapsed state in the field where he had been tending his sheep. He was carried home to Burder St where he died the same evening. He was buried in plot 16923 Loughborough cemetery on April 9th.

Gertrude Adams married William Albert Stanbridge on September 4th 1920 at Loughborough registry office and for a time the couple continued to live at Burder St but before to long they moved to 13 Cross St where they occupied two rooms in the house of Gertrude's Aunt Jane. Their son George was born at the house in Cross St on St Valentine's day 1921.

After the births of two more children the family moved in with Mr and Mrs Stringfellow at 44 Hartington St and here again they occupied two rooms. George Stanbridge during an interview with the writer recalled the house in Hartington St thus: " The house was at the bottom of the street and towering above the garden wall was the railway embankment. When the old steam trains came along the house shook. It was sometimes quite frightening." 

Whilst living at Hartington St the family heard of a vacant property on Moor Lane. They squatted in this house ( No 19 ) for several months until the owner, Mr Streets finally accepted them as tenants.

William and Gertrude had a very large family, six boys and five girls. Soon the house on Moor Lane became to small for their needs and so in 1939 the Stanbridge's were offered a six bedroom

council house in Manor Drive Shellthorpe. The family were moved by council dustcart to their new home just two months before the outbreak of the second world war.

Because of his disability William had found difficulty in obtaining work. There had been odd jobs of course such as eight months work ( between February and October 1927 ) as a labourer in the Rushes Loughborough and there had been twelve day as a Brush hand at Stamford Hall. For a week in the August of 1928 

he worked for Leicester County Council helping to take a traffic census but apart from this the family's only real source of income was William's disability pension of twenty four shillings a week which he supplemented by cleaning windows or potato and pea picking for local farmers. On Friday evenings Gertrude would appear before a charity board to ask for poor relief, if successful she would be given tokens to exchange for goods at local retailers.In the early war years William got a job in the scrap yard of the Brush engineering factory in Loughborough. It was his first real job since leaving the army and ironically it would be his last.

In 1943 William Stanbridge became ill and over the next twelve months was increasingly forced to take to his bed. Because of the incompetence of the doctor who was treating him the seriousness of his condition was largely ignored and it was only when another doctor was consulted that William was taken to Loughborough hospital suffering from the Dropsy.

William Albert Stanbridge died of Cardiac failure at 1.45 pm on July 17th 1944 at Loughborough hospital. His 23 year old son George was with him at the end. Of his father, George recalls: " He spent most of his time at home pegging rugs which were made from old coats etc. He was also a great one for knitting. One of his sayings, when we were misbehaving was, yes you devils wait till I've finished this row. I don't think he ever finished his row. Although my father never had a suit he always had a flower in his lapel. Sometimes I have known him to wear a Dandelion. He also wore a Nicky hat ( a Trilby ) but on sundays he wore a black Bowler. On Sunday evenings he would take four or five of us to the market place to listen to the Salvation Army and their service. This would last about three quarters of an hour. Then he would take us to the back of the Unicorn public house. He would have a half pint of beer. We never had anything. It was always something to look forward to on Sunday evenings”. William was a popular local figure. He is remembered as a skittles player of some ability. He liked a drink and it seems he was rarely short of someone to buy him one.

CONTENTS.

Section Four