‘Some say it was a futile war, a pointless war, an unjustifiable war. Tell that to Kate Crocker, that’s what I say.
When the old Queen married off her children into European Royal households she did it to create one big family. Well, we all know what families are like – there are favourite children and jealous cousins and an interferring aunt and uncle – but it’s something quite different when family members fall out on the world wide stage. Some people don’t know when they’re well off.
The First World War began when Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, but of course there was more to it then that. The causes of that Great War were many. Tell that to Kate Crocker.
By the time Kate took possession of her son’s war medals she was alone in this world, her immediate family gone, her husband and both her children dead. Europe was a different place as well. The old Queen’s plans for her family had come to nothing. Just like Kate’s.’
The inscription on the headstone reads:
Also George Augustus
only son of G.A. & K. Crocker
Died of wounds received on Active Service
March 15th 1918 Aged 29 years
Interred in St Seves Cemetery Rouen
The facts …
George Augustus Crocker and his sister Edith were baptised together at St. Mark’s on December 3, 1888. The family home at that time was at 28 Reading Street. In 1901 the family are recorded as living at 63 Exmouth Street.
George followed his father into the Works and a job as a railway clerk in the Operating, Traffic, Coaching Depts. He began his employment as a 16 year old on an annual salary of £25 on May 16, 1904.
George Augustus Crocker enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps at Swindon on May 10, 1915. He later transferred to 6th Cyclists Bttn Field Ambulance. He died on March 15, 1918 from wounds received in action (Gas) in No 9 General Hospital Rouen. He was 29 years of age. He had served a total of two years and 310 days – a year and 280 days at Home and 1 year and 30 days in France. He is buried in St. Sever Cemetery extension, France. The inscription on his headstone reads – They died that we might live with Mother’s fond love.
He left effects valued at £125 to his mother. Property returned to Kate included letters, photographs and a diary.
Kate Crocker died on June 8, 1938, She is buried in plot E8506 with her daughter Edith who died in 1908 aged 21 years and her husband George Augustus senior who died in 1921. Their son George Augustus is mentioned on their memorial. Ada Emily Jane Crocker, the widow of Rowland Augustus Crocker, George Augustus senior’s brother, was buried in the same plot in 1967.
In the neighbouring grave plot E8507 lies William Crocker, George Augustus senior’s brother, his wife Martha and the aforementioned brother, Rowland Augustus Crocker.
St Sever Cemetery and St. Sever Cemetery Extension are located within a large communal cemetery situated on the eastern edge of the southern Rouen suburbs of Le Grand Quevilly and Le Petit Quevilly. – see www.cwgc.org.
Friday January 3, 1908 proved to be a busy day for North Wilts Coroner Mr A. L. Forrester – Inquests in Swindon – Five on one day – A Record for the Borough. Three of the inquests took place at the Frome Hotel, Hythe Road. The first was described as ‘an extraordinary case’ and involved the sudden death of Mrs Ann Smith, aged 72 and some ‘remarkable evidence’ given by Eliza Adams during which she traded insults with the attending doctor, Dr Hirsch.
The second inquest was that of Charles Joseph Birchell, aged 25, a groom. Evidence was given by Frederick Goddard, 17, of Newport Street Swindon, who said ‘last Friday he was leaving his house, when he heard a pony gallop by. He looked along the house, and saw Burchell fall from the pony’s back. He ran to the spot and found Burchell unconscious. He picked him up and carried him into his (witness’s) house. Dr. Reid was sent for, and he on arrival ordered his removal to the Victoria Hospital. The pony did not stop, but galloped on up the street. Deceased lived at Prospect Villa, Wroughton Road.’
Dr J.C. Reid said on Friday last he was called to see deceased, who was suffering from concussion and laceration of the brain due to an accident. Burchell died at the Victoria Hospital on Wednesday evening as the result of secondary hemorrhage of the brain, owing to the shock caused by the accident.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
Charles Joseph Birchell was buried in grave plot B2095, a public grave, on January 6, 1908, with three other unrelated persons.
The third inquest was into the sudden death of Charles Hillier, employed as a coachman by Captain T. Hooper Deacon, JP, of Kingshill House.
Hillier was waiting to convey his employer home after a New Year’s Eve party in Overton when it transpired that Hillier had fallen from the Brougham and died instantly.
A post mortem examination revealed that Hillier’s heart was “twice its ordinary size” and that he had died due to “valvular disease.”
Coroner A.L. Forrester now headed off to the Committee Room at the Town Hall and the inquest of John Mason, aged 72.
A former railway labourer, John had suffered “a stroke of paralysis” some seven years prior to his death. Dr. Waters was called to John’s home in Byron Street. He pronounced “the cause of death was in his opinion, heart failure brought on by paralysis.”
John was buried on January 7, 1908 in grave A2470, a privately purchased family grave.
The final inquest on this busy day was that of Sarah Birch aged 83 who died peacefully in her sleep at her daughter’s home 46 Eastcott Hill. A verdict of “heart failure” was given.
No doubt Mr Forrester was pleased to have concluded the day’s business and returned to his home!
Lethbridge Road published courtesy of P.A. Williams and Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.
After a lifetime of hard graft, Joseph Williams had to face the humiliation of bankruptcy and the end of his business. Ultimately it proved too much to bear.
Joseph Williams was born in Shrivenham in 1841, the second son of Charles Williams, a carpenter and joiner, and his wife Lucy. He married Sarah Jane Painter at Christ Church on December 26, 1866 and the couple had two children, Frederick born in 1870 and Florence born five years later.
Joseph’s brother Charles combined two jobs, recorded as the licensee at the Dolphin, Rodbourne in 1881 but also working as a builder.
Both brothers worked hard, building their business, and building Swindon. By the 1880s both were well established. Elder brother Joseph was working in Stafford Street, Lethbridge Road, and Springfield Road. At the beginning of the 1890s he built more houses in Lethbridge Road, 17 in Albion Street and 22 in Morrison Street.
Charles was equally busy where he built 24 cottages in 1888 on the newly available Rolleston Estate. During 1897 he built a school in Euclid Street, 7 houses in St. Paul’s Street and 40 Houses in Redcliffe Street.
Perhaps the brothers were over ambitious. Perhaps they were not fully acquainted with their financial situation; too busy working.
In 1902 Charles built 28 houses in Morrison Street and in 1905 Joseph built 12 houses in Lansdown Road and that seems to be the end of the Williams’ building empire.
In 1906 Joseph sadly took his own life.
1904 map of the Rolleston Estate held in Local Studies, Swindon Central Library
Suicide of Mr Joseph Williams
Found Hanging in a Loft
Inquest and Verdict
Shortly before 11 o’clock on Friday morning a shocking discovery was made in a loft adjoining Clifton House, Devizes Road, [Lethbridge Road] Swindon, the body of Mr Joseph Williams being found hanging from a beam. Immediately the tragedy was revealed, Mr S.W. Filtness, who was engaged at his oil stores opposite, was summoned by Mr Williams’ daughter, and he at once proceeded to the loft and cut the body down, life being found to be extinct.
Mr Williams was missed for about half an hour. He had partaken of breakfast, and appeared as usual, and in cheerful spirits. After the meal he read his newspaper and shortly afterwards went out to fetch some wood. As he did not return, his daughter – Mrs Dismore – went to search for him. When the dreadful discovery was made, Dr. Lavery, who happened to be attending a case in Winifred Street, was called in and subsequently Dr. Reid, but they were only able to pronounce life extinct.
Needless to say, the news caused a good deal of sensation and spread with remarkable rapidity through the town. The deceased’s recent misfortunes have for some time been occupying general interest, and the incidents associated therewith had gained him the greatest sympathy. There is not the slightest doubt but that his mind had become seriously affected as the result of his troubles in this direction, and it will be remembered that prior to his examination in the Bankruptcy Court the state of his health was so distressing that he was compelled to leave the town to recuperate. He never completely regained his physical and mental strength, however, and, although his relatives had never heard him threaten to take his life, the news of his untimely end did not occasion absolute surprise amongst those who were painfully aware of his state of mind.
Mr Williams had resided in Swindon nearly the whole of his life, and, as a builder and contractor, was widely known and respected. He had, until latterly, led a very active life – in fact, his career had been one of hard work, with no indulgences, which makes his tragic end the more painful. Mr Williams has been responsible for many extensive contracts in Swindon and district, and was of course, a large employer of labour. Until within the last twelve months his upright, active and almost youthful bearing hardly betokened a man who had left three score years behind him. For the relatives of the deceased the deepest regret is felt.
Deceased, who is 63 years of age, was prominently connected with the Victoria Road Congregational Church, and was for many years a superintendent of the Sunday School.
The enquiry into the sad circumstances was held at the Fountain Inn, Devizes Road, on Friday afternoon. Mr Alfred Bowker was chosen foreman of the jury. Mr G.M. Butterworth watched the case on behalf of the relatives, of whom Mr C. Williams, deceased’s brother, was present. Supt. Robinson was also in attendance.
The formalities were of the briefest possible description, and the Coroner dispensed with his usual preliminary address to the jury.
Mrs Sarah Jane Williams was the first witness, and said: I live at Clifton House, No. 1 Lethbridge Road, Swindon, and I am the wife of the deceased, whose name is Joseph Williams, and his age was 63 last birthday. He was a builder and contractor. He has been ill for more than twelve months. At times he has been very quiet, and very depressed. He has never expressed the intention of doing harm to himself. He was perfectly well last night, and at breakfast time this morning, only depressed. He had been attended by a doctor, who saw him either on the previous Monday or Saturday.
Stephen William Filtness said: I was in a yard opposite to where Mr Williams lives, on Friday morning, when the deceased’s daughter, Mrs Dismore, came and fetched me about 11 o’clock. She asked me to see what was the matter with her father. I went into deceased’s workshop and up the ladder into the loft. I saw Mr Williams with the rope round his neck. He was suspended, and his feet were touching the ground. I cut him down, and went and found a policeman. Deceased was just warm, but I am quite certain he was dead.
P.C. Walter Shergold said: From information I received I proceeded to Joseph Williams’ loft I found the deceased lying on his back with a rope tightly round his neck. I slackened the rope round his neck and examined him to the best of my ability, and I found he was dead.
P.S. Buchanan said: From information I received I proceeded to the house where Mr Joseph Williams had lived. I found these papers written for his wife. I have read the papers.
Dr Charles Lavery said his partner (Dr. Rattray) had been in medical attendance upon the deceased for some time, chiefly for nervous breakdown. He never expressed any intention of taking his life.
The jury returned a verdict of “Suicide whilst temporarily insane.”
Extracts from the Faringdon Advertiser, Saturday, April 14, 1906.
Joseph was buried on April 11, 1906 in grave plot D1578. His wife Sarah Jane died in April 1929 aged 85 years and is buried with him. Their daughter Florence Mary Dismore joined them when she died in 1956 aged 80 years.
When probate was granted to his widow in 1919 Joseph’s effects were valued at £15.
At the time of the 1911 Charles Williams, Joseph’s brother, appeared living at the County Ground Hotel with his son, another Charles, who was the Hotel Proprietor. Charles was 62 and still describes himself as a builder. He lives with Mary, his wife of 43 years and the couple declare that of their five children, Charles (the hotel proprietor) is the only one still living.
Witty, outrageous Diana Dors provided the media with a whole raft of risqué quotes. Born in Swindon in 1931 she went on to become our very own blonde bombshell, Britain’s answer to Marilyn Monroe. She was bold and brassy and lacked the vulnerability of Marilyn Monroe and sadly, today her sleazy lifestyle is better remembered than her considerable acting ability. But it could be said that Diana like Marilyn was a product of her success and the men who used and exploited her during a lucrative career in the 50s and 60s.
24th October 1953: Film star Diana Dors (1931 – 1984)
She seldom returned to Swindon having left the town behind and following the death of her parents there remains little trace of Diana. Or does there?
Diana’s mother, Winifred Maud Mary was born in Chewton Mendip, Somerset in 1890, the daughter of Mercy Georgina and Elijah Payne. Her first husband, William George Padget, was killed in action in 1916 during the First World War. In 1918 she married for a second time. Albert Edward Sidney Fluck was a railway clerk in the GWR Works. Their only child, Diana Mary Fluck, was born in a nursing home in Kent Road and grew up in a house in Marlborough Road. Her ambition to act, sing and dance became apparent at a very early age and was encouraged by her mother. Her precocious beauty and ambition saw her enrolled at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Art at just 14 years old. Diana would later say:
“They asked me to change my name. I suppose they were afraid that if ‘Diana Fluck’ was in lights and one of the lights blew …” A classic Diana quip. The surname Diana chose was her maternal grandmother’s maiden name, Dors.
Diana’s father Albert Edward Stanley Fluck was born on October 10, 1893 in Swindon and baptised on November 12 at St. Mark’s Church, Kingsholm, Gloucester, the church in which his parents had married in 1892. His father Albert Edward Fluck was a railway clerk and had moved to Swindon in around 1889 and can be found lodging with the Jones family at 40 Oriel Street at the time of the 1891 census.
November 1968: Diana Dors (1931-1984) with her husband Alan Lake in a car after their wedding. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
By 1901 the Fluck family were living at 11 Poulton Street, Gorse Hill – Albert E. Fluck 35 a clerk at the GWR Works, Ada 34 and Albert E.S. aged 7. Lodging with the family was George J. Sarwell 37, a Church of England clergyman.
Albert Edward Fluck died on January 24, 1907 aged 40 years. His funeral took place on January 30 and he is buried in Radnor Street Cemetery in plot C1800.
The area in which grave plot C1800 is located
Ada went on to marry widower Albert Ausden a scaffolder employed in the GWR Works. At the time of the 1911 census the family were living at 19 Cambria Place with Albert’s three children Rupert, Florrence and George and her two children Albert, then aged 17, and Gweneva Fluck 7.
Ada died in 1948 aged 81 years and is buried with Albert Fluck in plot C1800. Their daughter Gweneva died in 1966 and is also buried with them.
There does not appear to be a headstone on the Fluck family grave. Probably back in 1907 there was not the money to pay for one. I suspected their granddaughter Diana Dors probably had something big and showy, but surprisingly she hasn’t. Diana died in 1984 aged 52. She was buried in Sunningdale Catholic Cemetery. Her third husband Alan Lake took his own life just five months later. He is buried alongside her and the two have identical headstones.
Some said John Riley was an intimidating character, but I never found him so. Yes, after a drink or two he could get a bit lairy, but I knew how to handle him. I suppose I had a bit of insight into what he had been through.
I don’t think anyone came back from the war the same person they had been before it. I’d argue with anyone who said they hadn’t known fear, hadn’t seen sights that made their stomach churn, done things that haunted them.
John Riley had known a fear and a horror the like of which few experienced and the only way to blot it out was to drink.
Aged just twenty, John had left the safety of a job as a storeman in the Works to join the army and have an adventure. Mostly all John saw were the bowels of the earth, like a rat in a sewer.
John liked to drink and he liked to gamble. His life was one big gamble. Would he be blown to pieces or buried alive? Would it happen today or tomorrow? The odds weren’t good.
The facts …
John had little time for military protocol, he was outspoken and insubordinate and for this he was awarded Field Punishment No. 1. Sounds pretty innocuous, doesn’t it, but it was a torture metred out to rebels, those who wouldn’t abide by regulations. It was used to set an example to others who baulked at military discipline.
In September 1917 John went missing. He was absent while on active service for 34 hours and 55 minutes, and was charged with breaking out of camp at 9.30 pm on September 14 and breaking back in at 8.55 am on September 16. His punishment was to forfeit three days pay and 14 days Field Punishment No. 1.
So, what was Field Punishment No 1? The soldier found guilty was placed in fetters and handcuffs (sometimes spread eagled in a form called ‘crucifixion’) and tied to a fixed object such as a gun wheel or fence post, for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Although this punishment was supposed to take place behind the front line in a field punishment camp, it was sometimes applied within range of enemy fire. When a unit was on the move, the unit itself would administer the punishment.
It wasn’t the first time John had been so punished. In September 1915 he had been ‘awarded’ as if it was an honour, 96 hours Field Punishment No 2 for “when on active service missing 8 am parade.” Field Punishment No 2 was a lesser punishment and involved the prisoner being placed in fetters and handcuffs, but not attached to a fixed object. Both sentences included hard labour.
In the summer of 1918, he was sentenced to 7 days Field Punishment No 1 for ‘misconduct’ on 24 August and on 31 August he received a further 7 days Field Punishment No 1 for leaving the lines without leave and missing a Medical Board as a consequence.
And a final insult, 12 days after the guns were silenced, John was demoted to Private by his Commanding Officer for “Neglect of duty.”
John’s audacious and fearless attitude, the qualities that made him a good tunneller, were the very characteristics that frustrated his Commanding Officers.
No one was more surprised than John when he survived the war and returned to the same job in the Works that he had left behind in 1914.
Did he enjoy the security, the safety, the daily routine? Surely, he didn’t miss the claustrophobia of the tunnels.
When John enlisted it was for three years or the duration of the war. It turned out to be a life sentence.
View across Section C where Edwin John Riley is buried.
(Edwin) John Riley was born c1895 in Rodborough, Gloucestershire, the only one of John and Sarah Jane’s three children to survive to adulthood. By 1901 the family had moved to 11 Folkestone Road, where John’s father worked as a builders’ plumber.
As a sixteen-year-old John worked as a fishmonger but by 1913 he had secured a job as Storeman in the Works
John enlisted in the 1st Battn Grenadier Guards at Caterham on December 19, 1914, aged 20 years and 34 days. His military records reveal that following eight months service at home John joined the Expeditionary Force in France from August 11, 1915 until January 10, 1918. By May 1916 John was attached to the 177th Tunnelling Coy RE (Permanent) Authy. For more information about the work of the tunnelling companies and the 177th see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/177th_Tunnelling_Company.
He married Daisy Sweeper in 1919. John was discharged on demobilization on March 31, 1920 and their daughter Stella was born in 1922. A second daughter Jose was born in 1927.
In 1939 John was working as a Stores’ Issuer in the Railway Works and living in Harcourt Road, Gorse Hill with Daisy and their two daughters Stella and Jose.
Edwin John Riley died in October 1945 and was buried in plot C1678 on October 16.
It was usually the wind that caused the horses to be skittish but that early morning in June there was not so much as a breath of air. Brayhead, a handsome chestnut stallion, was looking agitated as Tom led him out of the stable into the yard. Most of the horses were already on their way to the gallops on Russley Downs, but I held back.
Tom was an experienced stable lad and perfectly capable of handling the horse, but I was just a little concerned. Brayhead was edgy, stepping backwards in circles each time Tom tried to get into the saddle. Eventually he was up and slipping his feet into the stirrups.
“A bit frisky today,” he laughed as he pulled on the reins to guide the animal’s head in the right direction. I followed behind as we joined the string of racehorses heading out across the Wiltshire countryside. Once on the open downs Brayhead took off in an explosion of speed. I wondered if Mr Robinson had noticed.
On our way back to the yard I noticed the horse was sweating profusely, yet the exertion had failed to exhaust him. In fact, quite the opposite and Tom continued to have difficulty keeping him under control.
Again, I was at the rear of the string of horses returning to Foxhill House. It was normal practice to take them to their stable and rub them down after their exercise, but when I arrived back at the yard the other horses and riders were being led into the paddock.
I could hear Brayhead snorting and stamping in his stable, but otherwise it was eerily quiet in the yard, despite the number of people gathered around the figure on the ground.
Tom died from his injuries three days later. Afterwards, I wished I had voiced my concerns that morning, approached Mr Robinson, done something.
views across Liddington Castle, Wiltshire.
The facts …
Serious Accident at a Racing Stable – On Monday morning an accident which proved to be of a serious nature occurred at the well known Foxhill Stables at Lydington, near Swindon. It appears that while the horses were out for their morning exercise Mrs Langtry’s Brayhead started rearing, and fell back on a lad named Tom Whiteman. Assistance was soon at hand, but it was easily visible that a serious accident had happened. Dr J. Campbell Maclean, from Swindon, was sent for, and his assistant (Dr. C. Carew Webb) was soon at the stables, and made an examination, which proved that the lad was suffering from a fractured pelvis, and was badly injured in the abdomen. He ordered his removal to the Swindon Victoria Hospital. The patient lies in a very dangerous condition, and his recovery is not expected.
The Warminster and Westbury Journal Saturday June 17, 1899
Brayhead was a chestnut stallion owned by the actress Lillie Langtry. Mrs Langtry is remembered for her numerous affairs, most famously with Albert, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Prince Louis of Battenberg.
Mrs Langtry owned a number of racehorses, purchased under the name of Mr Jersey. In 1899 the five-year-old Brayhead was one of several horses in training with William ‘Jack’ Robinson at Foxhill. Wiltshire.
Tom Whiteman 39, died in the Victoria Hospital on June 15. He was buried two days later in Radnor Street Cemetery in plot C1237, a public or pauper’s grave, with five other unrelated people.
Mr W.J. Robinson and the Foxhill stables – published courtesy of the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, March 11, 1899.
When James Pinchon completed the 1911 census form he was required to state next to his wife’s name the number of years they had been married, how many live births she had had, how many children were living and how many had died. At the time of the 1911 census James and Ann lived at 1 Cyrus Cottages, Rodbourne Cheney. James was 69 years old, a retired Herald Painter (i.e. a coach painter). Ann was 70 years old, an old age pensioner. James and Ann had been married for 46 years. They had had 8 children of whom 2 were still living and 6 had died. One of those children was Joseph Robert who aged 14 had sustained fatal injuries in an accident in the Works.
Much has been written about the GWR Medical Fund, a health care system established in 1847 and credited with informing the foundation of the NHS a hundred years later. The Accident Hospital was opened in 1872 in a building which had previously been the drill hall and armoury for the XI Wiltshire Volunteer Rifle Corps. The new hospital had four beds, an operating room, a bathroom, a surgery, a mortuary and accommodation for a nurse in an adjoining cottage.
Following the accident, Joseph Pinchon’s workmates carried the boy to the nearby Accident Hospital where he died ten hours later. Joseph Robert Pinchon of 16 Reading Street was buried in grave plot E8072 on September 25, 1888.
Medical Fund Accident Hospital – image published courtesy of Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.
Fatal Accident in the GWR Works – On Thursday morning in last week a sad accident happened to a youth named Joseph Pinchon, residing in Reading Street, New Swindon. He was working in the brass finishing shop in the GWR Works, and had occasion to go to the carriage department. In attempting to pass between two tracks of a train which was engaged in shunting operations, the buffers caught him in the chest and back and severely crushed him. He was immediately picked up and conveyed on a stretcher to the GWR Medical Fund Society’s Hospital, where he lingered till midnight and then expired.
On Saturday morning Mr Coroner Browne held an enquiry into the cause of the death of deceased, at the Cricketer’s Arms, New Swindon. Mr J. Bradbury was chosen foreman of the jury. Mr W. Mole represented the GWR Company.
James Pinchon, father of deceased, said his son was 14 years of age, and had only been employed in the Works two or three months. Dr. Cleveland (Messrs Swinhoe, Howse and Bromley), stated that death was due to internal injuries accompanying collapse.
Walter Martin, shunter in the Works, stated he was engaged in shunting operations when the accident happened. When the coaches were about two yards apart he saw deceased attempt to pass between them. It was impossible to stop the coaches when he saw deceased. – The jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death.”
Swindon Advertiser, Saturday. September 29, 1888.
Our volunteers have revealed the Pinchon family grave. Young Joseph Robert was the first to be buried in this plot and it is likely there was no permanent memorial at the time of his death. The kerbstone would appear to have been erected after the death of his parents with an inscription which included his details. Ann died at her home in Rodbourne Cheney in 1928 aged 87 years. James died in 1930 aged 88 years. They were both buried with their young son who had died some 40 years earlier.
Shirley and her friend have been joining our cemetery walks for several years but it wasn’t until we all met at a recent Swindon Society Open Day that Shirley elaborated on her family history, telling us about her hard working parents Maud and Stanley and their Westall and Lafford families. And at our subsequent cemetery walk Shirley brought along some precious family photos.
Maud and Stanley Lafford ran a shop in County Road on the corner of Gambia Street, with their front room at 142 Clifton Street doubling as a storeroom. Here is a photo of Maud standing outside the shop. The couple are both pictured with their delivery van, which was actually a chassis built over a motor bike. Stanley used this vehicle to deliver to the surrounding villages. He also collected slabs of ice in this vehicle which Maud used to make ice cream. Stanley then had deliver it pretty smartish to the ice cream parlour in Old Town.
Shirley’s grandparents David Lafford and Susan Clara Page were married in Barnsley, Gloucestershire in 1902. Sadly, their first child Clara born in Durrington, Glos on February 6, 1905 died just 2 days later. By 1907 the couple had arrived in Swindon where David worked as a carpenter and the family lived at 126 Clifton Street where their children Stanley, Alfred and Ivy grew up.
Among the family photos is a tiny image of Shirley’s other grandparents, James Westall and Annie Day.* In about 1911 they moved from Hereford to Swindon with their daughter Maud. In 1912 they were living at 22 Omdurman Street when they had their 2nd daughter Edna Muriel baptised at St. Barnabas Church, Gorse Hill.
There is another precious photo of James and Annie Westall with their three young daughters -Maud standing, baby Mavis on her mother’s lap and Edna Muriel seated on the left of the photograph. Edna died aged 6 not long after this family photograph was taken. Shirley remembered her grandmother had an enlargement made of the section with the pretty little girl with bows in her hair. In amongst the family photographs there is also one of the elegant Annie Westall.
Young mother Susan Lafford is pictured with her baby son Stanley on her lap while a much later photograph shows David and Susan Lafford, possibly on a seaside promenade. There are even photographs where Shirley herself makes an appearance in the back garden at 126 Clifton Street.
Shop corner of Gambia Street
Maud Lafford nee Westall pictured in 1932
Stanley Lafford
Stanley Lafford
James and Annie Westall nee Day*
James and Annie with their three daughters, Maud standing, baby Mavis and Edna seated
Annie Westall
Susan Lafford with baby Stanley – 126 Clifton Street
Susan and David Lafford
Susan and David Lafford with Shirley
Susan and David Lafford with Shirley
Both sets of Shirley’s grandparents are buried in Radnor Street Cemetery. Shirley remembers as a child visiting the cemetery with her aunt and seeing the grave of James Westall where a wooden cross once stood.
James Westall died aged 49 years in the Isolation Hospital. He was buried on May 26, 1934 in graveplot C3553 with his little daughter Edna Muriel who died in 1918. The glamorous Annie died in 2002 aged 91 and is buried in the same plot.
Susan Clara Lafford died aged 73 in 1951 and was buried in grave plot E7850 where David joined her in 1955.
*This small format portrait looks to be an example of a so-called “stickyback” photograph produced c1915 at a studio at 15 Regent Street. These photographs had a gummed back and were cheaper than others available at the time. Swindon Photographers & Postcard Publishers by Darryl Moody and Paul A. Williams.
Supposed Suicide – An inquest was held on Wednesday evening on the body of Mr James Prater, found that morning in the Coate reservoir. Mr Prater for many years carried on a good business in Old and New Swindon as a bootmaker, and for some time past has lived retired. During the past three weeks he has been somewhat strange in his manner. On Saturday he accompanied his wife shopping and whilst she was in a shop he suddenly disappeared. His dog, which was with him, returned home on Monday. On Tuesday deceased’s hat was found on a bush by the side of the reservoir, and the next day his body was found in the water near. – The jury returned a verdict of found drowned.
Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, Saturday, June 23, 1888.
James Prater Personal Estate £745 2s 10th August 1888
The Will of James Prater late of 47 Cheltenham Street New Swindon in the County of Wilts who died 18 June 1888 at Coate in the Parish of Liddington in the said County was proved at Salisbury by Maria Prater Spinster the daughter and Harry King Noble Railway Clerk both of New Swindon two of the Executors.
James was buried on June 13, 1888 in Radnor Street Cemetery plot E8587. He shares the grave with his wife Harriett who died in July 1901, his daughter Maria who died aged 80 years in March 1941 and Maurice Prater Evans. Maurice was the son of Caroline A. Gunnell, the Prater’s granddaughter, who lived with her grandmother at 47 Cheltenham Street. Maurice’s funeral took place on May 29, 1974.
Julia Ann Barnes and Dawn Rose were best friends and next door neighbours. That day in March 1963 the two girls were excited – they had a birthday party to go to. The school bus stopped at the junction of Wolsesly Avenue and Thornbridge Avenue where the girls jumped off and ran behind the bus to cross the road. They were struck by a school bus travelling in the opposite direction.
The news of their deaths reverberated through the Park South community and 60 years later is still remembered by one of the families who lived on that road.
In 1962 a series of articles in the Evening Advertiser featured families who had made their homes here in Swindon during the town’s expansion programme. George and Violet Phillips, who had moved from Bermondsey, South London, were interviewed. They spoke about how much they enjoyed living in Swindon, however, Violet said: “My only grievance is the schooling.”
Park South was built during the 1950s but by 1962 the area was still without a designated school and children were bussed to schools outside the area. The Phillips’ young daughter Cheryl aged 7 was one of those children ‘bussed’ to King William Street School in Old Town and George was concerned for her safety. As a member of the Park South Tenants Association George campaigned for building work to begin on a school in the area – and he took his concerns higher – first to the Mayor of Swindon and the Education Committee and then to Francis Noel-Baker, Swindon MP and eventually to the Minister of Education when members of the Park South Residents Association delivered a petition to the House of Commons.
It was anticipated that Park South Infants School would be ready for use by August 1963 and the Junior School a year later – but tragedy struck before then.
In June 1963, following the deaths of Julia Ann and Dawn, George made an official request that his daughter be transferred from King William Street School to Lawn Junior. He then withdrew his daughter from school in protest. George faced a hearing held by the Child Care Sub-Committee with the threat of a possible prison sentence if he did not return his daughter to school. But the campaign waged by George Phillips and the Park South Tenants Association did see changes implemented on the schools transport service. Children were accompanied and supervised on the buses; bus stops were relocated and a warning notice ‘Caution Children Alighting’ was displayed on the back of the vehicles.
Angie Phillips writes: “Ironically, even when the Park South Infant and Junior Schools were completed, our house, being in Thornbridge Avenue was not in the catchment area and all the children in our house subsequently attended Lawn Junior School … but not by bus!”
Julia Ann aged 6 and Dawn 5 and 1/2 were buried on March 20, 1963 in a joint funeral service; their graves side by side with identical memorials.
Unfortunately, the graves had become overgrown in recent years but in the autumn of 2023 cemetery volunteers Kevin and Jonathan cleared and tidied them up. It is the wish of the Phillips’ sisters Cheryl, Gina and Angie that the story of the two young friends is remembered and today they regularly attend the graves.
Radnor Street Cemetery 