Missing links

A happy connection on one of NWR’s Facebook pages helped Jill Lucas of Crewe and District NWR to fill in some of the missing links in her family tree.

My Dad, William, and his brother, Horace (always known as Ray), were brought up from the age of five and three respectively in an institution. Although they knew their parents were living they rarely saw them. There has always been a mystery as on their birth certificates their “father” James had been officially crossed off.

Both my brother and I had tried to research William and Ray’s family background, but had made no progress. The only detail we were able to trace was their mother’s maiden name. Then lockdown arrived and research definitely came to an end.

As a long-standing member of NWR, I use and enjoy our Facebook pages. During lockdown another member, Candice Clarke, asked if anyone needed help with their family history because her husband, Steve, loved researching genealogy. Little did I know what surprises were in store for me and my family!

I duly contacted Candice and Steve and our adventure began. Steve had had similar problems to those experienced by my brother and me. Then, almost as a last resort, he thought to try newspaper archives. Bingo! My grandmother, Elsie May, had been involved in two court cases

A blithe ballad

The NWR Facebook Chat forum has a new alphabetical challenge. Members post positive comments or images about their hopes and dreams for 2022, using as many words as possible that start with that week’s letter.

Banish the Bland and the Boring The Burned out frontline workers Bereavement sans family and friends Let Bankrupt, Busted Businesses and Those Barren supermarket shelves Be committed to our memory as Things that Belong in the past Bring Back Bold coloured Bouncy castles, See children’s Boundless energy run free Let me Browse for hours in a Bookshop Because that’s a great Balm to my soul Let’s have Balance in all things we do Not the imbalance we surely felt When Barred from mixing with others connected with her family. Here is the information he discovered: ■ Elsie May married her husband Albert

James at St Pauls, Foleshill in December 1917. James was born in 1888 in Foleshill, and Elsie May in Beeston in 1893. ■ They had their first child, Elsie May junior, in 1918. She married and had four children, three of whom are still with us. She died in 1987. ■ Then, in 1920, along came Alfred James, followed by William (Bill) in 1921 and

Jessie May in 1924. ■ Alfred James, who was a miller, was found dead in the canal at Hatton in 1943. He had been in a mental hospital. ■ Jessie May married and had three children. Jessie died in 2007. ■ My grandmother, Elsie May, had another child, Mabel, in 1929 but sadly she died in 1930.

As for the court cases, the first one was after Elsie May left Albert James with four children in 1924—there was an issue about desertion and maintenance of the children. Since my Dad was born in 1927 and Ray in 1929, their mother had by that time left Albert James, hence the official crossing out of his name on their birth certificates.

On the second occasion, the institution

Image by Eukalyptus from Pixabay

No more Black moods, induced by restrictions Which Banned us from hugging our friends Those rules Brought folks down, down, so Let me plan with my Beloved family Some day trips to Beautiful Beaches I want to enjoy Brioche Brimming with

Butter In a Bistro with my favourite Buddies Bring on a Better and Brighter 2022! Hilary Hiscox Congresbury NWR where she and the two boys lived took her to court after she had run away, leaving their care to be paid for by the city of Coventry. The orphanage wanted payment for their upkeep which she reluctantly agreed to, stating that she couldn’t have them with her as she was living in one room and there was no room for them. On the grounds that she would take care of her children at some future time, she was discharged. The unnamed institution was said to be “in danger of becoming a cuckoo’s nest with women absconding and leaving their children to be cared for at the ratepayers’ expense”.

So, from being one of two, Dad was actually one of seven! We think we know who Mabel’s father was, but we still can’t put a name to Dad’s or Ray’s.

The orphanage in Easenhall where Dad and Uncle Ray ended up trained them to be farm hands, but Uncle Ray didn’t like that so he joined the air force. Dad went on to work on farms for most of his life. As a farm hand he was in a reserved occupation and so wasn’t called up. On Uncle Ray’s return from the forces he met and married Margaret, and they had three boys together. Unfortunately, he didn’t live to see the third boy as he was killed in a motorcycle accident when Margaret was eight months pregnant. She wasn’t allowed to go to the funeral on medical grounds but was surprised by a knock on the door afterwards. It was Elsie May! This was the one and only time Margaret ever met her mother-in-law.

My Mum also met her only once, when she and Dad took me and my elder brother to see her. She slammed the door in our faces.

Since learning all this, I have been in touch with the son of Elsie May and Albert James’ oldest child, the second Elsie May. He has done a lot of work on his family history but was unaware of Dad’s and Ray’s existence.