I have always emphasised my interest in the "ordinary" people of History, the "you's and me's" who have made the past tick. I have no love for the so-called great and good, all of whom have flaws and, for the most part, have reached places of exaltation on the backs of others, or by the luck of birth, or by being in the right place at the right time.
It is intended as a matter of pride, and as a compliment, that I should call Glemsford " an ordinary village inhabited by ordinary people".
I feel humble and proud at the same time to have been able to stand, on Remembrance Sunday, by Glemsford's War Memorial,
and to have read the names of the fallen as the Two Minutes ticked by.
I feel honoured to have been allowed to lay a wreath on behalf of the Local History Society,
in memory of those who did not return, from either War.
It is very hard even to imagine the faces and voices and thoughts of those who marched away, and died.
It is a hard task, too, to imagine the voices and faces and grief of those who were left behind.
Martin Edwards' work on the War Memorial names at last makes it possible to peer through the mist and catch a glimpse of the men who gave everything.
Now, with the help of the 1901 Census, I have tried to add just a little more detail. What follows is by no means complete -
the 13 years between the last available census and the outbreak of War makes it inevitable that there will be gaps.
Families moved on, after all.
Nevertheless, my apologies for those details which are missing.
There are also some inconsistencies and a few confusions - some names are quite common!
My apologies if my mistakes cause problems: please let me know.
Any omissions are simply a result of information not being available.
Just to emphasise, my notes relate to the Census of 1901, when so many of those who were to go to die were just children in school.
George Bradenham |
was 12 in 1901. He had been born in Camden Town. He was living on Tye Green in the house of his grandmother, Mrs Ellenor Bradenham, a widow. Also there were Ellenor's son Shephard, and daughter Jane. The family all worked in the Horse Hair Industry. Spelling variation, but the birthplace confirms. |
Henry Charles Brewster |
could be one of three of similar names living in the village in 1901, on Egremont Street and Bells Lane.
From the information available, it is difficult to tell which is the correct one, so I will not speculate for the time being. |
Walter Brewster |
was 9 in 1901, living on Bells Lane with his mother Sarah and father David. He was the youngest child, had two brothers and three sisters |
George Brown |
There were three boys called George Brown in 1901, living on Skates Hill, Angel Lane and Brook Street. |
Ernest Brown |
One Ernest Brown lived on Plum Street, another on Angel Lane. In both the Brown families it is difficult to be more precise. |
George Clarke |
was possibly the 5 year old grandson of Emma Pearman, a widow of Bells Lane, where he lived with her son, another grandson, a granddaughter and a boarder. |
William George Clarke |
lived on Egremont Street with his widowed father, Frederick Oscar, and two younger brothers.
He was 8 in 1901. His father worked, like so many, in the matting industry. |
Eaton Cross |
was 4 in 1901. He lived with his widowed mother, sister and two brothers on Brook Street. He had been born in Liverpool, although his younger brother and older sisters were each born in Glemsford. We know that he was admitted to Glemsford School, aged less than 4, on 11 January, 1901. |
William Debenham |
was 19 in 1901, working as bricklayer and living on Tye Green with his mother and father, Alfred and Julia, and his younger sister, Annie |
Cyril Game |
was 8 in 1901, when his father and mother, Walter and Anna, were running the Crown Hotel on Brook Street. |
Dennis Golding |
lived on Bells Lane in 1901, with his mother, father and 4 sisters and a brother. He was 12 at the time of the census, and still at school. He is one of those not mentioned on the Memorial itself. |
Lambert Goody |
was 12 in 1901, an "assistant fishmonger", living with father, mother, three sisters and a brother at Silk Factory Yard on Brook Street. His father was a "Hammer Man in Iron Foundry". Further research (through the National Archives) has revealed that Lambert joined the Navy in September 1912, initially for 5 years. At the time of joining up, he was a Foundry Labourer, which probably helped him in his naval career as a stoker. He first served with HMS Pembroke (which I think was a shore-based training establishment) - I'm ready to be corrected on that - and had two spells aboard Vanguard - from February 1913 until April 1916, and again from May 1916 until his death in July 1917. Since Vanguard took part in the Battle of Jutland, which started on 31 May 1916, we can assume Lambert was part of that great sea battle. The story of the sinking of the Vanguard is well-told on the internet: this link is as good as any. One sad footnote tells us that Lambert had a tattoo above his right wrist, with crossed hands and "I love E.N.". The human side of war. |
Albert Hartley |
was 8 in 1901. He lived at 3 New Cut with his mother (Mahala), father (Harry), one brother and 4 sisters. |
Eliazer Hartley |
was already at work in 1901, as a "Hair Tipper", aged 15. He lived on Brook Street with his father (a mat maker) and mother, 4 sisters and two brothers. Not named on the memorial. |
George Honeywood |
was born in Stanstead, the son of Eliza Elliston who, in 1901, was living on Brook Street. In 1901, George was living in Stanstead with an uncle and aunt. |
Walter Jarmin |
was probably the son of George and Agnes, of Angel Lane, although there are other possibilities in 1901.
Walter was 10. Not named on the memorial. |
Lambert Jarmyn |
As so often, there is some confusion over surname spelling, and Lambert appears as "Jarmyn" on the census, but the other factors agree that he was 22 in 1901,
a journeyman baker and the son of Charlotte, a widow, living on Pump Lane (opposite the Cock Inn). Not named on the memorial. |
Edwin Keefe |
In 1901 he was the 2 year old son of James and Julia, living on Egremont Street with their younger daughter. James was an "immigrant" from London |
Harry Lorking |
lived on Hunts Hill. He was 11 in 1901, still at school and living with mother, father, two sisters and two brothers. Not named on the memorial. |
Harry Mizon |
Although he was living in Walthamstow by the time he died, he was, in 1901,
living on New Cut, with his father and mother (Walter and Ruth) and 4 brothers. He was 16 and a "Coker yarn winder". Not named on the memorial. |
Frederick Oakley |
He was 17 in 1901, living on Chequers Lane, with his father and mother (James and Emma)
and 3 brothers and 3 sisters. He was a "fibre yarn puller". Further searches reveal that Frederick married Alice Morris on the Isle of Wight in the March quarter of 1910. His own parents, James and Emma (née Boreham), had married in the June quarter of 1878. |
Ben Oakley |
Aged 10 in 1901, Ben lived on New Street, with his mother (Emma - a widow), brother (Frank Maxim) and uncle (David Slater). |
Edwin Piper |
There is no information as yet about his death, but in 1901 Edwin lived with his grand-parents,
William and Eliza Stammers, their son, Arthur, and a boarder, on Egremont Street. Edwin was 9 in 1901. Since writing this, I have received the following from Mark Couchman, for which, many thanks: Like you I believe that the E. Piper on the war memorial is Edwin Piper
as you noted from the 1901 census. The CWGC lists: |
Wallace Playle |
Again, there is no military detail yet, but Wallace was an 18 year old school teacher in 1901, living on Fair Green with father and mother (William and Sarah) and brother Walter (28) and sister Polly (15) |
Samuel George Smith |
By the time Samuel died, his father Abner and family lived in Leeds, but in 1901, they lived on New Cut. Samuel was 11; there were 2 brothers and 3 sisters (Samuel was the 4th child), and the whole (working) family worked at weaving of one sort or another. |
Ambrose Suttle |
Living on Egremont Street in 1901, Ambrose was the 8 year old son of John and Ellen. John was a matting weaver, Ellen, a hair weaver, working at home. They had a 2 year old daughter, Emily |
Albert Twinn |
Possibly, this was Albert Twinn of Egremont Street, son of John Henry and Ellen Twinn. This Albert was 24 in 1901, and had a younger brother and sister. |
Arthur CandWallace W Twinn |
Wallace Twinn was a Carpenter and Builder, living (in 1901) on Tye Green with his wife, Alice, 3 sons and 2 daughters. The sons, Robert, Arthur and Wallace were aged 1, 3 and 6, respectively. There are no details for the death of Wallace W., and only sketchy details for Arthur C., but the correlation seems likely. |