I hadn’t visited Miss Jenner’s shop for many years. I wasn’t even sure if it was still open or whether Miss Ellen had taken over the running of the business after her sister’s death.
As Sunday schoolteacher at the Railway Mission I’ve patronised Miss Jenner’s establishment on countless occasions, buying bibles and prayer books, scripture cards and presents for the children on prize giving day. Now that seems like another place, another time.
We have lost so many of our young men in the Great War. Members of our congregation who worked on the railways and in the GWR factory. Young boys, barely men; boys I taught in the schoolroom at the Railway Mission; boys I remember well.
And now that it’s all over, where is the solace. Sadly, I find it less and less in the word of God. What comfort can a text from Miss Jenner’s shop provide for a grieving mother, a bereaved wife, an orphaned child?
Miss Jenner died before the horror of war erupted. I decided against a visit to her shop today. Perhaps that has been lost as well.
August, 1914
God said, “Men have forgotten Me:
The souls that sleep shall wake again,
And blinded eyes must learn to see.”
So since redemption comes through pain
He smote the earth with chastening rod,
And brought destruction’s lurid reign;
But where His desolation trod
The people in their agony
Despairing cried, “There is no God.”
Vera Brittain
The facts …
Sarah Ann and Ellen Mary Jenner were the daughters of William, a farmer and his wife Mary. Sarah Ann was born in Linley, Tisbury and her sister in Bremhill, Wiltshire. By 1871 the family had moved to Swindon where William farmed at Okus Farm.
Following William’s death in 1879, Sarah and her mother lived at 21 Victoria Street where Sarah opened her first stationery shop.
By 1891 the women were living at 12 North Street where Mary, Sarah Ann and her sister Ellen Mary described themselves as ‘Stationer & Bookseller.’
In 1901 they had moved to 29 Commercial Road. Sarah was described as head of the household, her occupation ‘Shopkeeper Books Tract Depot’. Her widowed mother, by then 75 years old, was described as a ‘retired farmer’ and Ellen as a ‘Tea Merchant.’
Mary Jenner died in 1908 and is buried in plot A2484. At the time of the 1911 census Sarah Ann and Ellen Mary are living at 14 Dowling Street. Sarah’s runs a Bible & Tract Depot while Ellen works as a ‘Dealer in Tea, Coffee, Cocoa etc.’
Sarah died in February 1913 and was buried with her mother in plot A2484 on March 1. Another sister, Annie Sophia Smith died in December 1930 and was buried in the same plot on January 1, 1931. Ellen Mary died in 1937 and was buried on March 20 with her mother and two sisters.
A trip away from Swindon is a good excuse to go cemetery crawling and during a recent visit to Pembrokeshire I managed to squeeze in a quite a few.
The church of St Ishmaels was founded in the mid 6th century by the son of a Cornish prince. A notice in the church tells how Ishmael and two of his brothers along with SS Teilo and Aidan founded a monastery at St. David’s. The small church has been much enlarged across the centuries. A short walk leads to Monk Haven cove, named after a monastic settlement that once existed here.
St Ishmael’s churchyard was very overgrown but it was still possible to catch a glimpse of some of the headstones. Online parish registers are available dating back to 1761 but I wasn’t able to see any memorials that old.
One that did catch my eye was a headstone dedicated to Margaret Davies who died in 1869. Someone had made sure that it was mentioned on her headstone that she was ‘Late of Great Hoaten.’ Great Hoaten Farm has been associated with the Davies family since at least 1792 and a mortgage drawn up by Joseph and Dinah Davies.
The last census on which Margaret appears is the 1861 when she was living at Little Haven and described as a retired farmer. Living with her was her 12-year-old son Thomas, the youngest of her 10 children.
Margaret was born at Penally Court Farm in about 1810, the daughter of Rev Thomas Rowe and his wife Patty (Martha) Cornock. Margaret married farmer Thomas Davies in the church of St. Ishmaels on August 17, 1829 and after several years living at Gilton Farm, Walwyn’s Castle, the family make their appearance at Great Hoaton Farm on the 1841 census. The establishment at Great Hoaton comprised approximately 140 acres and in 1841 Thomas employed four female servants, two male servants and a governess to teach his rapidly growing family.
When Margaret died in 1869 her last address is given as Bicton. Despite having such a large family, the sole executor of her will was William John, a grocer from Quay Street, Haverfordwest.
However, the Davies family connection with Great Hoaten Farm continued and in 1939 Margaret’s grandchildren were running the farm. Thomas 55 and his brother Claudy 51 along with their sisters Maud 54, who was housekeeper and Elsie 40, who worked as a dairymaid.
I’m not convinced that this headstone has not been moved. It looks as if it is leaning up against the tree rather than being in situ.
Reminds me how lucky we are to have access to so much information regarding Radnor Street Cemetery.
Sometimes a headstone with a comprehensive inscription can still take a bit of unravelling. Take the one on Arabella Dunbar’s grave.
In loving memory of
Arabella
Widow of the late
David Dunbar
Sculptor
(of London)
Who died December 27th 1885
At New Swindon
Aged 77 years
Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty;
They shall behold the land that is very far off.
Isaiah 33
So, how did it happen that the widow of a celebrated Scottish born sculptor ended up buried in Radnor Street Cemetery?
Arabella Riddiford was born in Uley, Gloucestershire, the daughter of Daniel and Susanna Riddiford and was baptised at the parish church on January 8, 1809. Little is know about her life before she married David Dunbar and even this evidence is confusing.
David Dunbar was born in 1793 in Scotland but when he married Arabella (his second wife) the details on their marriage entry are at variance with the other known facts. The couple were married at All Souls Church, St. Marylebone (where they are both described as living in the district) on July 15, 1844. David Dunbar describes himself as a widower and sculptor aged 28, the son of Stewart Dunbar a [stone] mason. Arabella Riddiford was also aged 28 a spinster the daughter of Daniel Riddiford Tea Grocer (deceased). Now by my reckoning David was at least 51 years old and Arabella 35.
At the time of the 1851 census the couple were living at David’s home, 9 Ranelagh Place and again the ages recorded are incompatible with other records.
The couple are difficult to locate on the 1861 census. They may have been living in Scotland at the time, where David died in Dumfries in 1866.
A lengthy obituary was published in national newspapers in both England and Scotland. (See examples below). His life’s work was obviously more important than his private life as there is no mention of a widow or any surviving children, however there appears to have been at least one son, David Dunbar Jnr who turns up in Swindon.
On June 25, 1849 David Dunbar a bachelor of full age (that is over 21) occupation Draper, address Ranelagh Place, father David Dunbar Sculptor, married Eleanor Cogdon. The two witnesses to the wedding were John Cogdon (presumably Eleanor’s father) and Arabella Dunbar (presumably David’s mother).
Later that year there is a Notice of Indenture of Assignment published in The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, Tuesday, January 3, 1850 (see below) which names David Dunbar, Linen and Woollen Draper of Swindon and David Dunbar, Sculptor. All this adds weight to why Arabella ended up in Swindon where she died. Or does it?
The clue to this mystery is Charles Thomas, a 5 year old boy who is visiting Arabella at the time of the 1871 census when she lived in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.
Charles Riddiford Thomas was the son of William Thomas, a beerhouse keeper, and his wife Arabella, who lived in Swindon. The couple had married at Christ Church on September 30, 1854 where we discover that Arabella’s maiden name was Riddiford and that she was the daughter of Charles Riddiford. Charles Riddiford was born in Uley, Gloucestershire the son of Daniel & Susanna Riddiford and was therefore Arabella Dunbar’s brother.
At last the connection is made between Arabella Dunbar, widow of a famous sculptor, and why she ended up buried in Radnor Street Cemetery. She was living in Swindon with her niece Arabella at the time of her death.
The entry in the burial registers record that Arabella was living at 6 High Street, New Swindon in 1885, (before it was renamed Emlyn Square). Her funeral took place on December 30, 1885 and she lies in plot A1039. The inscription on her headstone says it all, well nearly!
The facts …
The Late Mr David Dunbar, Sculptor
It is with deep regret we record the death of this genial and talented gentleman, which sad event took place here on Sabbath morning last, after a very short illness. We cannot allow so eminent a fellow-townsman to pass away without some tribute to his memory, and record of his active life.
While serving his apprenticeship as a stone-mason with his father, he shewed symptoms of that taste for sculpture which ultimately led to the adoption of that art as his profession. So great was his reputation as an ornamental carver among the building trade that he obtained an engagement in his seventeenth year to execute the capitals and other decorative parts of Lowther Castle, then in course of erection, at a wage of 7s per day. After following for a few years this, the lightest and most elegant part of the masons’ trade, he had his early aspirations of seeing Rome and studying in Italy realised through the kindness of some friends who had long watched with sympathetic interest the budding genius of the embryo sculptor.
During his sojourn in the “land of poetry and song,” he diligently pursued his studies in the fine arts, and on the eve of his return to England the Royal Academy of Cararra elected him a member of their body in recognition of his artistic genius – his “diploma study” being the “Sleeping Child,” a charming work, which long adorned the vestibule of St Michael’s, calling forth the admiration of countless visitors.
On his return to this country, he entered the studio of Sir Francis Chantry, where, during a number of years, his services were of great importance to that distinguished sculptor. Upon leaving London, he began business on his own account in Newcastle on Tyne, and during a lengthened residence there executed many works of great excellence. It was at this period he carried out a series of “Fine Art Exhibitions,” two of which were held at Dumfries, and contributed to the development of a taste for the plastic arts that was then arising among the people. Carlisle, too, was much indebted to Mr Dunbar for a healthy stimulus it received in favour of popular education; and so marked were his services in connection with the foundation of a Mechanics’ Institute in that city, that the principal inhabitants presented him with a substantial token of their gratitude and esteem.
During the last few years of his career he found employment for his chisel in various parts of the country, and it was while engaged upon some classic work in Edinburgh, that he took a journey to his native town for change of air and relaxation, of which he stood in much need: it was his last visit – he returned only to die – and his latest breath was drawn among the kindred he loved so well.
His best works are busts from the life; and some copies in marble, from the antique, one of which we lately saw in Carlisle (which was executed nearly half a century ago), and was to our enamoured sense truly a thing of beauty. He was honoured with sittings from Earl Grey, Lord Brougham, Lord Durham, and other eminent statesmen; and he executed a much admired bust of Grace Darling, which was several times reproduced in marble for the Bishop of Durham and other admirers of the heroine. The statue of Sir Pulteney Malcolm at Langholm, also by the deceased artist, is a fine memento of his genius and skill.
Mr Dunbar was full of emotional warmth, generous, and benevolent. He had a rich fund of anecdote and humour, and great stores of general information, from which he could draw at pleasure to delight the social circle. On all these accounts the announcement of his demise will be received with deep regret by numerous friends in Dumfries and other parts of the kingdom.
Dumfries and Galloway Standard and Advertiser, August 15, 1866.
Dunbar’s bust of Elizabeth Stephens, better known as Mrs Gaskell, author of Cranford, Mary Barton & North and South.
Notice is hereby given, that by Indenture of Assignment bearing date the 24th day of December, 1849 David Dunbar, of Swindon, in the Country of Wilts, ‘Linen and Woollen Draper, (trading under the firm of Dunbar and Company) assigned all his Estate and Effects unto William Ford, of No. 282, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Line Draper, and David Dunbar of No 9, Ranelagh Place, Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, Sculptor, upon trust for the benefit of all the creditors of the said David Dunbar, of Swindon aforesaid, who should Execute the said Deed, as therein mentioned. And that the said Deed of Assignment was duly executed by the said David Dunbar, of Swindon aforesaid, on the said 24th day of December, 1849 by the said William Ford, on the 27th day of December, 1849, and by the said David Dunbar, of No. 9, Ranelagh Place aforesaid, on the 1st day of January, 1850, in the presence of and attested by Richard Marriott Freeman, of No. 4, Great James Street, Bedford Row, in the County of Middlesex, Attorney at Law, at whose office the said Deed of Assignment now lies for execution by the Creditors. – Dated this 2nd day of January, 1850
R.M. Freeman, Solicitor to the Trustees,
4 Great James Street, Bedford Row.
The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, Tuesday, January 3, 1850.
The Katherine Losh mausoleum in the church at Wreay, Cumbria. Katherine was the sister of Sarah Losh, architect and designer.
David Dunbar, sculptor 1797-1866
When the opportunity arose in February, 1845, for carving the most prestigious statue in Victorian Cumberland, David Dunbar was staying at Woodside. He wrote to the committee offering to execute the statue of the Earl of Lonsdale in either bronze or marble. On discovering that his one-time pupil, Musgrave Lewthwaite Watson, was competing for the memorial, he wrote again offering ‘to resign any pretensions of mine in favour of that gentleman’. At Woodside he was probably engaged in sculpting the statue of Katharine Losh which was to be placed inside the mausoleum at Wreay. His hand would be guiding the chisel, but it would have been Sarah Losh’s imagination which was creating the image. He had once been an artist of rare ambition and considerable energy. David Dunbar had been born in Dumfries in 1793, the son of a stonemason. His father had taught him his craft, but he displayed an exceptional aptitude. At the age of seventeen he went to work on the building of Lowther Castle, one of the greatest building projects of the age. Paul Nixson, from Carlisle, employed him in carving the capitals which graced the inner court of this extravagant Gothic fantasy. Dunbar’s ambition took him to London where he married and became one of several assistants in the Pimlico workshop of Francis Chantrey, the most successful and accomplished sculptor of his day. There he acquired exceptional skills and began to exhibit at the Royal Academy. He left this promising situation to return to work for Paul Nixson in Carlisle in 1820. Nixson had a monumental workshop in Finkle Street, but offered little demanding work for the young sculptor beyond the carving of funeral monuments and marble fireplaces. However, Dunbar, Nixson and a young painter, Matthew Nutter, began The Carlisle Academy of the Arts. Their aspirations were embodied in the sculpture of the Genius of Carlisle which stood above the workshop entrance. Dunbar busied himself with carving the busts of local professionals and industrialists and occupied himself in educating the working men in the city and promoting a remarkable series of eight annual art exhibitions. In the small provincial city of Carlisle, Dunbar was showing works by the great masters from Titian to Rubens and Rembrandt and displaying plaster casts of sculptures from the antique and after Renaissance masters. He was also attracting exhibits from leading contemporaries throughout the country, including Edwin Landseer, John Varley, Frederick Watts, James Ward and members of the Norwich School, and from a school of proficient local artists. In 1826, he went on an extended tour of Italy, visiting the workshops of Thorwaldsen and Joseph Gott, among others, in Rome and being deeply impressed by the work of the late Canova in Possagno. On his return, he sought to extend his reputation. When he was refused entry to the Newcastle Exhibition because his statue of Musidora was considered indecent, he took the unprecedented step of staging a one-man exhibition in the city and then a second one in Durham. He found work among the liberal and radical community in the North-east. He sculpted the young Elizabeth Stephens, who in later years became the novelist Mrs Gaskell. He was also commissioned to make busts of Earl Grey and of James Losh, but the leading commissions did not come his way. His work lacked the individuality and imagination of Lewthwaite Watson. It was probably at this time, in 1832, that he carved busts of Sarah and Katharine Losh. Dunbar’s bust of James Losh was placed in the library of the Literary and Philosophical Society in Newcastle, but it was also used as a model for John Graham Lough, then working in Rome, to create a full-length statue of Losh in a Roman toga. It was Lough’s work which took pride of place on the staircase of the society. In 1839, he sought money and reputation by making the first bust of Grace Darling and selling plaster casts of the popular heroine of the Islands. His work and his income declined. In his last years he was a peripatetic stonemason and carver, repairing the stonework on colleges and churches. He died visiting his home town in 1866. His most popular and admired work was an image of his infant daughter, Elizabeth, which he made shortly after her death in 1822. There is a copy in Carlisle Cathedral, but he was prepared to sell the original even after he had donated it to his home church in Dumfries. His statue of Katharine Losh was recreated from the image of the bust he had already created from the life, from Sarah’s drawing and from Sarah’s memories and imagining. He rendered in marble that sense of gentleness, of sweet compliance, that sense of love between two sisters so embracing and so essential to each that they never thought of being apart. In carving the statue of Katharine, David Dunbar was touched by an art more profound than he had known before.
David Dunbar was born in 1793. He was the son of Thomas Dunbar, Stonemason and his wife Janet Johnstone. David Dunbar married first Ann Stokes and second Arabella Riddiford. He died at Academy Street Dumfries on the 12 of August 1866. His nephew George Dunbar registered his death
Grace Darling, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper who rescued the survivors of the shipwrecked Forfarshire in 1838 and gained national fame.
Working in the GWR factory was a dangerous affair. Serious injuries were commonplace and even fatal accidents occurred such as the one that highlighted poor safety practise in the works in 1896.
Fifteen-year-old Matthew William Fox Burton had been working as a rivet boy for just seven weeks when he was involved in an horrific accident early one Tuesday morning. Matthew – known as William – was the second son of Matthew and Mahalah Maud Burton. He was baptised at St. Mark’s Church on August 9, 1880 when his father’s occupation was given as Engine Fitter. And like just about every other boy living in New Swindon at that time, William followed his father into a job in the railway works.
His duties as a rivet boy included cleaning out the rivet forge when on that morning an hydraulic pressure riveter weighing 35 cwt, suspended by chains from an overhead crane capsized.
published courtesy of Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.
Men working nearby carried William to the Medical Fund Hospital.
“But it is feared that he has sustained very serious internal injuries and that he will not recover,” reported the Advertiser.
William died in the hospital five days later; the cause of death was shock following the injuries he had sustained.
An inquest attended by Works Manager G.J. Churchward held at the Cricketer’s Arms on Monday March 2, 1896 heard how the accident in V1 (Boiler) Shop happened just after the men returned to work at 9 a.m.
Mr R.L. Dyer, the foreman of the shop, suggested that a very slight leak in the valves could have caused the machine to drop to the ground when the water was turned off while the men were at breakfast. The subsequent slackness in the chain may have caused it to slip from one of the two hooks that supported it.
The coroner adjourned the proceedings in order to inform the Inspector of Factories.
When the inquest reconvened on Wednesday afternoon the jury heard how as the machine was lifted off the boy it slipped again, landing on him for a second time.
Dr Simms, the assistant to GWR medical officer Dr Swinhoe, said the boy had a fracture of the upper jaw and left arm and extensive bruising of the chest and back.
The jury asked to examine the machine and the inquest was adjourned for a second time, much to the consternation of Mr Churchward.
When asked when the machine had last been officially inspected, Churchward replied that Mr Dyer and himself “would see it each time they passed it.” It became apparent that inspections were done on an ad hoc basis. Mr Maitland, the Inspector of Factories, said there was no definite period for examination or visits to factories.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death but recommended greater precautions should be taken to prevent accidents with machines of this kind.
William’s funeral service was held on March 5 at St Mark’s, the church where he had been baptised. He was buried in grave plot C771, an unmarked public grave, with four other unrelated people.
My thanks to Debra and Peter Melsom who first brought this story to my attention. The story of Matthew Burton was originally published in the Swindon Advertiser on April 1, 2011.
In 2016 we all got very excited when Make Architects produced an ambitious £22m design concept for our town’s much needed new Museum and Art Gallery. But sadly, the bid for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant that would make this possible was unsuccessful and it was back to the drawing board.
And then four years later Covid struck. In March 2020 the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery closed its doors, like everywhere else, as the country shut down in an attempt to halt the spread of Covid 19. But when other museums and galleries nationwide reopened in May 2021, Swindon’s didn’t.
Swindon Borough Council subsequently announced that the Grade II listed Apsley House property wasn’t fit for purpose (which we knew anyway) but what was their solution. The top floor of the Civic Offices in Euclid Street was to be converted into a museum and art gallery while selected artefacts and paintings were to go on tour around Swindon. The long-term plan is to build a new museum and art exhibition facility in the centre of town but when they say long term, they really do mean long term. The estimated timeline is in the region of 10 years.
So why am I telling you this sorry saga?
This is the last resting place of Charles Herbert Henry Gore and his wife Clara. As a ten-year-old boy Charles found the fossilised bones of a prehistoric animal on the site of the Queen Street gasometer and this discovery began a lifetime’s interest in geology and natural history. But of course, what career opportunities were there for the son of a house painter in the 19th century.
By 1881 14-year-old Charles had finished his education and was working as an apprentice coach body maker in the GWR Works according to the census taken that year. In 1890 he married Clara Downs at St Mark’s Church and they set up home just round the corner from here at 31 Radnor Street.
By the turn of the century ill health had prevented him continuing his job in the Works and by 1911 he was working as a Draper’s Traveller. The 1911 census also describes him as a ‘part time student.’ It can probably be safely assumed that his studies involved his interest in fossils and geology.
By 1919 Charles had accumulated an extensive collection, which he offered to the Swindon Corporation on condition that it provided a building in which to accommodate it all (sounds familiar).
It was decided to use the Victoria Hall, a property in Regent Circus, which had just be vacated by the Roman Catholic congregation awaiting completion of their new church at Holy Rood.
Victoria Hall is the building on the extreme right of the photo – published courtesy of the Swindon Society
Charles was appointed curator, cataloguing and displaying his collection, which opened to the public on October 27, 1920.
Ten years later Charles packed up his collection again and moved it all up to Apsley House where it remained until 2020, when the museum closed it doors for the last time.
Where is Charles’s collection now? Well to be honest we don’t actually know. ‘In storage’ is the official comment – it certainly isn’t on display, that we do know.
Charles’s wife Clara died in 1912 aged 44 and was buried here on May 1. Charles died in 1951 aged 84 years.
There is one last fact concerning Charles Gore who was born in Newbury in 1867, the son of Frederick and Hepzibah Gore. By 1881 the family were living in Swindon at 4 East Street where Frederick died on Tuesday, August 2. Frederick Gore was the first person to be buried in the new cemetery which opened in 1881. His funeral took place on August 6.
Radnor Street Cemetery supporter and local historian Mandy Lea added this fascinating extra to the Charles Gore story.
Charles Herbert Henry Gore – founder/curator of the Swindon Museum. After he left the GWR (due to injury) he owned a draper’s shop in Granville Street. He was also a medium and an artist. His love of fossils and is what started off his geological collection and became a Fellow at The Geological Society – he even had two ammonites named after him – Perisphinctes Gorei and Crendonites Gorei. He and others donated their collections as the Museum was founded; he also sourced the gharial (we all call it crocodile!) and the mummy. The Museum has a bust of him somewhere, but when we asked to see it they couldn’t find it. He was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Swindon. It appears he led a rather colourful and varied life!
Mother liked to favour Mr Pocock with her all her butchery requirements. She said he knew a thing or two about beef, which you would rather hope so, as a butcher and a farmer, but my sister thought there was more to it than that.
My sister believed that Mother might be ‘sweet’ on Mr. Pocock.
“He does have very twinkly eyes – for a butcher,” she added.
My brother and I looked up from the copy of the newspaper we were perusing at the kitchen table.
“Father passed away several years ago and Mr Pocock is also a widowed gentleman. There would be nothing inappropriate in a ‘friendship’ developing.” said my sister. “And as the eldest I think you should suggest that she invite him to Sunday lunch,” she declared.
“Yes,” my brother piped up. “I think you should take the bull by the horns.”
I remember mother being very upset when Mr Pocock passed away. Perhaps my sister was right after all.
The facts …
Death of Mr S.J. Pocock
Swindon has lost a well-known resident by the death of Mr. Samuel Johnson Pocock, who passed away at his residence, 17, Wood Street, on Saturday night.
Mr Pocock, who was 68 years of age, came of a well-known family of farmers in West Wilts, and more than half a century of his life was spent in that part of the country. In 1900 he came from Melksham to Swindon, and in conjunction with is son, Mr Percy Pocock, took over the old-established purveying business of Keylock & Co. The deceased was acknowledged to be one of the best judges of cattle in the district, and his services as an adjudicator were greatly in request at the Christmas shows. He was the first president of the Swindon Master Butchers’ Association.
Some six months ago Mr. Pocock’s health showed signs of failing, and it became necessary for him to go to London to undergo an operation. This proved so far successful that the patient experienced considerable relief and was able to return to Swindon. He did not, however, resume business pursuits, but for a while took up his residence with some friends at Corsham. Eventually he came back to Swindon, and it has for some time been apparent that his life could not be prolonged. He finally took to his bed about a fortnight since.
Mr Pocock, whose wife pre-deceased him 14 years ago, leaves a son and a daughter.
North Wilts Herald, Friday, February 9, 1917.
Burial Registers
Samuel Johnson Pocock 68 years 17 Wood Street burial 7th February 1917 grave plot E7508
He is buried with:-
Evelyn Mary Edwina Pocock 81 years died St Margaret’s Hospital, Stratton – home 72 Croft Road, Swindon. Burial 5th November 1969.
Percy Johnson Pocock Butcher 48 years 17 Wood Street, burial 11th October, 1925.
Ellen Pocock, wife of – Pocock 53 years 17 Wood Street, burial 29th May 1902.
Laudanum was the 19th century go-to drug for – well, pretty much anything really. The opium tincture was used to relieve everything from diarrhoea and the common cold to heart disease. It was a pain suppressant, induced sleep and was very, very addictive.
It was also very popular in Victorian artistic circles. One of the many victims of laudanum addiction was Elizabeth Siddal (1829-1862) a talented artist in her own right but better known as the muse, mistress and eventual wife of Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Lizzie died of a suspected overdose of laudanum following the birth of her stillborn daughter.
Laudanum was readily available, cheaper than a bottle of gin and in Swindon in 1888 could be bought over the counter by a 14-year-old girl, apparently.
This is the story of Henry Simpson who also died from an overdose of laudanum taken to relieve back pain.
Henry Simpson was born in Lechlade in about 1837, the son of plasterer John Simpson and his wife Sarah. Henry married Ellen Clifford in 1857 and throughout his life worked as a slater and plasterer, eventually adding grocer to his list of occupations, so obviously a hardworking man. The couple had two children, a daughter Lydia and a son William. In 1861 the family were living in Kempsford. By 1871 they had moved to Poulton in Wiltshire and by 1881 they had arrived in Swindon and were living at 21 Oriel Street, described on the census returns of that year as a Grocer Shop.
Death Through an Over-dose of Laudanum at New Swindon
Yesterday (Friday) Mr W.E.N. Browne (Coroner for North Wilts) held enquiry at the “Whale” Inn, Princes-street, New Swindon, touching the death of Henry Simpson, plasterer, who was found dead in bed on Thursday morning at his residence in Oriel-street. Mr. J. Maylott was chosen foreman of the jury.
After viewing the body, the first witness called was Richard James Page, who stated that he had lodged with deceased for 10 years. Deceased was at work on Wednesday last, but went home in the afternoon, complaining of pains in his back. He had been suffering all the week. On the previous Saturday someone recommended deceased to take a dose of laudanum to ease the pain. Deceased obtained a bottle, and on Sunday evening he took 30 drops in some water. Witness counted the drops. Deceased then went to bed, and got up as usual on Monday morning. He took about the same quantity of laudanum again on Monday night. Witness did not see the bottle again until Thursday. It was then empty, but was quite full when deceased bought it.
Minnie Browning, 14, a young girl residing in Oriel-street, proved going to Mr Smith, chemist, of New Swindon, and obtaining a bottle of laudanum and some opodeldoc, for which she paid 1s, and told the chemist it was for Mr. Simpson.
Hannah Browning gave evidence, stating that she was called to deceased’s house on Thursday morning about 11 o’clock, and between twelve and one she was asked to go and call deceased, as he had not got up. She did so but received no answer. She went half an hour afterwards and went into the room, and saw deceased in bed. She felt his hand and found it quite warm, but stiff. She then sent for some one, and she felt sure he was dead.
Dr Arnold, MB, FRCS, LRCP, stated that he was called to see deceased about three o’clock on Thursday afternoon. He found him dead, lying in the position of natural sleep. He examined the body of deceased, but found no marks of violence. In his opinion deceased had taken an over-dose of laudanum. The bottle produced would hold about eight drachms. Two drachms would be sufficient to kill a man who was not used to taking it.
The jury returned a verdict that deceased came by his death through taking an overdose of laudanum.
The Swindon Advertiser, Saturday, July 21, 1888.
From the evidence given at the inquest by Richard Page it was stated that Henry was suffering from back pain, causing him to take to his bed. Perhaps today the verdict arrived at by the jury might have been a more empathetic ‘accidental overdose.’
Henry was buried in grave plot B1575 on July 23, 1888. This was most probably a public grave at the time of his death but was subsequently purchased in 1948 for the burial of Edward Richard Green and his wife Emma Selina who died in 1952.
Administration of Henry’s will was granted to Ellen and his personal effects were valued at £147 6s 9d. Ellen moved to Chester after Henry’s death where she lived with her daughter Lydia and son-in-law Charles Arthur White. She died at their home on June 14, 1890 and was buried in Overleigh Old Cemetery, Chester.
For those of you interested in the story of Elizabeth Siddal you can read more here. This is one of the many portraits Rossetti painted of her.
Elizabeth was buried in the Rossetti family plot in Highgate Cemetery.
In the Spring of 1918 the Spanish flu began its insidious spread around the world, although we weren’t calling it that then – it was just influenza.
Transmitted by the movement of troops and exacerbated by malnourishment and poor hygiene somewhat surprisingly the virus preyed not upon the vulnerable young or the fragile elderly, but upon fit and healthy young adults. My friend Elsie took ill in October of that same year.
Elsie and I began work together in the Telephone and Telegraph Department in the Works on New Year’s Day 1912. We finished our training three weeks later and became qualified operators in the Engineers’ Office. We were both ambitious, but in point of fact there were few opportunities for promotion once inside the claustrophobic telephone exchange. I stayed there until I got married, and to be honest I wasn’t sorry to leave.
During two long years the Spanish flu killed an estimated 20-50 million people – 228,000 in Britain alone. Later it would be revealed that October 1918 would be the month with the highest mortality rate of the entire pandemic.
They published a little piece about Elsie in the Great Western Railway Staff Magazine. They said she passed away as a result of an attack of pneumonia following influenza.
The facts …
Elsie Annie Moody was born on March 25, 1896 the daughter of Caleb Charles Moody a painter labourer in the Carriage Works and his wife Ellen. Elsie was one of only two surviving children from their family of five.
UK Railway Employment Records 1833-1956
Elsie entered the GWR as a Telephone & Telegraph Learner on January 1, 1912. She completed her training on January 22 and worked as a qualified operator in the Engineers Office on a commencing salary of 4/- a week rising to 26/- shortly before her death.
Miss Elsie Moody, of the Staff of the Swindon Works Telephone and Telegraph Office, passed away on October 23rd, 1918, as the result of an attack of pneumonia following influenza. Her cheery disposition had made her very popular with the staff.
Great Western Railway Magazine
Radnor Street Cemetery Burial Registers
Moody, Elsie Annie 22 years 19 Islington Street 28th Oct 1918 (burial) plot E7824.
Elsie’s parents were later buried with her in the same grave.
Following yesterday’s Remembrance Day service in Radnor Street Cemetery we continue with our series of stories – Tell Them of Us.
Sometimes it can be frustratingly difficult to find out much information about the soldiers buried beneath the Commonwealth War Graves headstones in Radnor Street Cemetery.
Local and military historian Mark Sutton had a vast knowledge of all aspects of the Great War and during our guided cemetery walks was able to describe details about the action in which the soldiers had been involved. Quoting from his book Tell Them of Us Mark tells us that John Wilfred Goodwin was a Lance Sergeant in the Welsh Horse Yeomanry and that he died on January 5, 1918 aged 35 years.
John Wilfred Goodwin was baptised at St John the Evangelist, Farnworth, Lancashire on February 12, 1882, the eldest of James and Elizabeth’s five sons. James worked as a grocer and in 1891 he was Manager at the Co-operative Stores in Bisley, Gloucestershire.
In 1899 John Wilfred enlisted with the Royal Artillery. He was 18 years old. However, by the time of the 1911 census, twelve years later, he had left the army and was lodging at 68 Curtis Street and working as a grocery assistant.
As a former member of the regular army he would have been on the reservist list and recalled for service when war broke out in 1914. Unfortunately his military records have not survived, but we do know that he was discharged on Jul 21, 1916 due to a disability.
John’s last address in January 1918 was at his former lodgings 68 Curtis Street. The funeral took place on January 9 when John was buried in grave plot B1931. His initials were incorrectly recorded as W.J. Goodwin in the burial registers, but even a search under this name does not reveal any further information.
We would like to purchase the death certificate of the people we research, but sadly with the amount of research we conduct this is impossible.
John’s youngest brother, Samuel Colin Roy Goodwin, served with the Somerset Light Infantry and survived the war. He later emigrated to Australia following elder brother Josiah, and served as a Leading Aircraftman with the 13 Aircraft Depot, Melbourne during WWII.
Image kindly provided from the funeral records of A.E. Smith & Son, Funeral Directors
Sometimes the death of a soldier received a lengthy obituary in the local newspaper. One such case was that of Thomas Tugby.
Swindon Soldier’s Funeral
Man Who Was Wounded at Ypres
Great sympathy has been extended to Mrs Thomas Tugby in the loss she has sustained by the death of her husband, which resulted from wounds sustained in action. Pte. Tugby was the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Tugby, of 9 Gooch Street, Swindon, and was only 29 years old. He joined the Army at the age of 17 and became attached to the South Wales Borderers, and on taking his discharge, some years later, he entered the employ of the GWR Company and worked in ‘V’ Shop (Loco. Dept.) of the Swindon Works. On the outbreak of hostilities, he was called up on reserve, and went to the front with his old regiment. He was a participant in the heavy fighting at Mons and on the Aisne, and was wounded at Ypres by bursting shrapnel. On Nov. 1st he arrived in England with a batch of wounded, and was sent to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, Rochester, and hopes were entertained that he would recover from his wounds. On Wednesday last, however, his condition gave cause for anxiety, and his relatives were summoned. They were in time to see him before he died later in the day, and on Saturday his body was brought to his home in Swindon.
The remains were interred with full military honours at Swindon Cemetery on Monday afternoon. A large number of the Royal Field Artillery stationed at Swindon were present, and formed a guard of honour as the body was borne from the house in Gooch Street to St. John’s Church. The coffin was of plain oak and was covered with a Union Jack. The service at the church was impressively conducted by the Rev. W.H. Walsham How, who also officiated at the graveside. After the coffin had been lowered into the grave, the firing party fired three volleys and the “Last Post” was sounded by the buglers. The inscription on the breastplate of the coffin read:-
Pte. Thomas Tugby
Died Feb. 17th, 1915.
Aged 29.
The chief mourners were the widow, Mr. and Mrs. J. Tugby (father and mother), Mr and Mrs E. Lewis, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs Lewis (sister), Mr J. Tugby and Miss Lily Tugby, Mrs W. Turner and Mrs. J. Green (sisters) Sergt. J. Green (brother-in-law) Mr W. Turner (brother-in-law) Miss Ivy Lewis (sister-in-law), Mr. W. Lewis (brother-in-law), Messrs. J. Smith and A. Whale (representing deceased’s old shopmates), Mr C. Hill, Mrs. W. Gleed and Mrs Skeates (aunts) and Mrs W. O’Neil (cousin). Beautiful floral tributes were placed on the coffin from the widow, Mrs and Mrs Tugby, Mr and Mrs. Turner, St. Mark’s Ward of the Hospital at Rochester, Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Cooper, Mrs Dance and Mrs Gleed, ‘The family at 1 Linslade Street,’ Sergt and Mrs Green, Shopmates in ‘V’ Shop, Loco, Dept. GWR Works.
It is interesting to note that Sergt. Green was with deceased in the early days of the war. He has been invalided home, and is shortly to return to the front.
North Wilts Herald, Friday, February 26, 1915.
But after the funeral what happened to the family left behind?
His widow Alice was just 24 years old when he died. On April 22, 1916 she married for the second time. The wedding took place at St Mark’s Church, the groom was Thomas Henry Walter Archer, himself a widower.
The UK World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards 1914-1923 record that sadly Alice’s second husband died on September 10, 1925, also as a result of the war.
Quite what happened to Alice after this second bereavement remains difficult to discover. The impact of that terrible war can never be under estimated.
featured image is a view of the Railway Mission
Radnor Street Cemetery 