Thursday 26 June 2014

52 Ancestors - Herbert Ward, WW1 hero

Herbert Matthew Ward 1893 - 1966


It is hard to feel confident when writing about my relatives and their roles in WW1.  Unlike some family historians, I have no letters from the front, or tales passed down through the generations to help guide me.  All I have are the somewhat stark service/pension records.  (I am lucky to have these given how few survived WW2.)

So I shall have to use a little journalistic licence when writing about my gt gt Uncle Herbert, who, as far as I can tell, was a WW1 hero who was lucky to escape the trenches with his life.

Overdramatic?  Maybe a little.  But his records clearly state that he was wounded in action in France in 1915.  He received gunshot wounds to his neck and right side, and they were serious enough for him to be sent back to Blighty just four days later, and to need six months recuperation.  He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal - the trio affectionately known as the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.  Wounded, yet returned to battle, and the receipient of three medals - definitely a hero as far as I'm concerned.

To start at the beginning, Herbert was born in 1893 in Wakefield, the son of Matthew Ward and Sarah Womersley, and the brother of my gt grandmother Clara.

He joined the Kings' Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, a Territorial Force, when he was just 17, starting as a private and working his way up to sergeant.  This battalion was part of the 49th (West Riding) Division.  Apparently the units of this Division had just departed for annual summer camp in 1914 when emergency orders recalled them to home base.  All units were mobilised for full war time service on August 5 1914.  On 31 March 1915 the division was warned it would go on overseas service, and on 13th April Herbert embarked from Folkestone, headed for Boulogne.

Influenza must have done a round of the trenches in 1915, as in July Herbert spent two weeks in hospital with it.  Just 13 days after returning to the field, on August 7, Herbert was wounded in action.  He was sent back to England four days later.

Maybe his brush with death made him more appreciative of his loved ones, for three months later, on November 3, he married Nellie Green at the parish church of Darton.

Herbert returned to the trenches in February 1916, but only for two months. In April his five years with the army had come to an end, and so he was able to leave and return to his job as an electrician.

I don't know much about his life after this.  I know he had a daughter named Dorothy and a son named Geoffrey, and I also know that he was at my Mum and Dad's wedding.  A photo of Mum and Dad, surrounded by relatives, is the origin of this photo of Uncle Herbert, smiling as he peeks out from behind Mum's voluminous veil.  It's lovely to think that he will be remembered for his heroism and that happy smile.


Monday 23 June 2014

52 Ancestors - It's never too late

Ada Womersley 1856-1943

I can't help but admire the pioneering spirit of my 3 x great aunt Ada Womersley.  At the age of 50, after living in pretty much the same place in Yorkshire, she took the courageous step of emigrating to Canada.

Just the start of her adventure must have been a hardship.  Saving for three tickets (for herself, her husband Richard and her son Alfred) from a meagre income.  Trying to decide what to take with them and what to leave behind, bearing in mind the tiny amount of baggage they would have been allowed.  Travelling on a noisy steam train, presumably for the first time, to Liverpool.  And worst of all, saying goodbye to the rest of her family, thinking she may never see them again.


Then there was the journey itself, aboard the SS Tunisian (pictured). Nine days stuck in dreadful conditions below decks.  An unimaginable smell of hundreds of unwashed people, many of whom were suffering from sea sickness.  The over-crowding, the enforced medical examinations and vaccinations, and almost certainly some questionable behaviour from travellers.  

"To me the most noticeable thing about the life was the ease with which the yoke of civilization was thrown off,"  says a first-hand report from a similar journey eight years earlier.   "If conditions be favorable, I opine that a large proportion of the steerage passengers throw back to their Darwinian ancestry about the third day out. Away from home, country, and religious influences, unrestrained by custom and conventionality, bound by no laws of action, and separated from all that force of opinion so strong in the world ashore, they let themselves go, and allow their baser natures to run riot. 

"No sooner has the seasickness left them than they growl and snarl over their food like dogs, scrambling for the choice pieces, and running off to their bunks with them; they grow quarrelsome; their talk is lewd and insulting; brute strength is in the ascendant; and, without shame, both sexes show the animal side of their natures. But most apparent and obnoxious are the filthy habits into which many of them fall."  *

It is worth pointing out that this account came from a single man who would have been staying in the single men's quarters; and that my 3 x great aunt would have been in the married quarters and hopefully older and wiser than a good many of the passengers! Even so, you can imagine people getting irritable and quarrelsome, and doing their utmost to get the best bits of food.

On her arrival at Quebec, there would have been more medical inspections, and potentially quarantine, before Ada, Richard and Alfred were able to travel to Winnipeg, where they then had to start another hard process - building new lives for themselves.

At least this was made a little easier by one thing.  I found out, after wondering what on earth would make Ada choose to emigrate to Canada at her age, that her eldest son John and his family had emigrated there two years earlier.  I'm guessing they must have written home to say just how much they loved it there!

Sadly, Ada's husband Richard didn't get long to enjoy his new life, he died just two years later.  Ada, however, was joined in Canada by all her children, and when she died in 1943, aged 86, had 14 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. There is no doubt she took a gamble when she left her home in Huddersfield, but it seems that it definitely paid off.

NB - for anyone trying to to keep track of which ancestor is related to which, Ada Womersley is the sister of Sarah Womersley, who was featured in last week's post.

* Steerage Conditions in 1898 - A First-Hand Account:   http://www.gjenvick.com/Steerage/1898-SteerageConditions-APersonalExperience.html#sthash.68JqiAoU.dpbs#ixzz35TGR6yki

Monday 16 June 2014

52 Ancestors - the woman responsible for my genealogical obsession!

Sarah Womersley 1860 - 1942

Although I never met her, my great great grandmother Sarah Womersley is the one who is to blame for my obsession with family history.  I was given a photograph of her several years ago, so that I could include it in my scrapbooks.  But I didn't feel able to do a scrapbook layout about her without knowing something about her as well - and so the journey along my family tree began.



 Here is the photo, showing Sarah in what I assume is her backyard in Wakefield, Yorkshire.  Note the trellis and the flowers - it looks as if either Sarah or her husband enjoyed a little bit of gardening in their spare time.

Sarah, like so many of my ancestors in this particular branch of the family, was born in Kirkburton, which is about five miles south of Huddersfield.   The daughter of Ephraim and Ann Womersley, she was born on 28th March 1860, and was baptised on 28th December 1862 at All Hallows in Kirkburton.  You may remember her father from a previous blog post - he was the one who escaped death a couple of times.

The 1861 census shows Sarah’s family living at 3 New Mill, Fulstone.  She was the youngest of six.  Her siblings were Henry, Ann jr, Ellen, Ada and Ephraim Jr.

Ten years on the family had moved to 121 Bay Hale Lane, Huddersfield.  Henry had already left home.  Ann and Ellen were both working, and Ephraim Jr and Sarah were both at school.

In 1881 Sarah seems to have been the only one still living with her father.  Her mother had died, and Ephraim had re-married.  They were living in Brighouse, and Sarah was a dressmaker.

Four years later, on 13th August, Sarah married Matthew Ward, a groom, at the Holy Trinity church in Wakefield.  By 1891 they were living at 174 Mount Pleasant, Wakefield.  Matthew, aged 30, a was now a warehouseman for a chemist, and they had a daughter, Elsie.  Ten years on, the family was living at 39 John Street, Wakefield.  Matthew, 40, was now a maltster. Elsie was already at work, aged 14, as a woollen weaver.  The family had been joined by son Herbert M, 7, and daughter Clara, 5.

In 1911, they were still in John Street, Primrose Hill, Wakefield, but at number 17.  Matthew, 50, was a maltster's labourer.  Elsie, 24, was a worsted drawer, Herbert, 17, was an armature winder (probably also in the wool business), and Clara, 15, was a worsted spinner.  Also living with them was nephew Willie Sykes, 32, single, and a self-employed piano tuner and repairer.

As is so often the case, little is known about Sarah after 1911.  Family recollections tell of her being a demanding tyrant in her old age, although I suspect this may be partly, if not largely, due to the senility mentioned on her death certificate.  She used to live back to back to her daughter Clara, and would bang on the shared wall to summon her.  Each time poor Clara would have to go out of her house, down the road, round the side of the terrace, and back up the road to see what Sarah wanted.

Sarah died on 20th Sept 1942 at 61 Flanshaw Crescent, Wakefield.  The doctor gave causes of death as being cardiac failure, myocardial degeneration, senility and obesity.  She was buried two days later at Saint Paul's Church, Alverthorpe, Wakefield.

.

Monday 9 June 2014

52 Ancestors - Tragedy and Scandal

Ella Muir/Hadfield/Israel/Fleming  1854-1939


 Poor Ella - you can understand her looking unhappy in her photo, she certainly had a hard life, filled with tragedy and scandal.  She was certainly no stranger to bereavement - she lost 11 of her 16 children before she was 45.  But perhaps the worst thing to happen to her was to be accused of killing at least one of those children for a few pounds of insurance money.

In January 1891 Ella's seventh child John Harold Hadfield died aged one year and eight months after a short illness.  But despite Ella doing exactly what most mother's would do - take care of their child and get them checked by a doctor - rumours started spreading that she had deliberately neglected him so she could claim the insurance money.  

A report in the Huddersfield Chronicle says that the coroner "received a report from the police saying that a great many children had died, and that they were all insured - six had died under the age of three years - and it was therefore thought desirable to have an inquest.  (The police) knew that a great deal had been said on the subject of infant insurance and a good many cases had arisen where there had been reason to suspect that children had been insured and had died either from neglect, or worse, in order to get the insurance money."

The coroner made it clear, however, that this was not the case in this instance.  A post mortem carried out on the child showed without doubt that he died from bronchitis, accelerated by convulsions.  The coroner also pointed out that the police were wrong in saying six of Ella's children had previously died, she had in fact buried three before John Harold.

The insurance money, by the way, was just £6 - about £360 in today's money.  

This hearing wasn't the first time Ella had had to go to court.  At one point, just after her first marriage, she was pleaded guilty to assault - she attacked another girl, grabbing her haid, tearing her bonnet and slapping her in the face.  Ella said the girl had lied during a bastardy case against Ella's father.  She also had to give evidence when one of her lodgers committed suicide by drowning herself in a local canal.

And now for the more basic details of Ella's life for those who are interested.  She was born in 1854 in Kirkburton, but spent much of her life in Huddersfield.  Aged 19, she married James Hadfield at Huddersfield Parish Church, and they went on to have a number of children.  

In the 1911 census, Ella is listed as having had 16 children, with 11 of them having died.  Maybe this is why she is no longer with her husband James.  He is still alive, and living with his daughter Florence.  But Ella is living elsewhere with two of her daughters and three boarders - including her husband-to-be Michael Thomas Israel, a 44 year old widower and brickworks labourer. 


James Hadfield died in June 1916, and just three months later Ella married Michael T Israel.  He died in 1924, and a year later Ella married Robert Fleming.


Ella, who is my first cousin four times removed on my mother's side of the family, died in September 1939, aged 74, in Huddersfield.

Tuesday 3 June 2014

52 Ancestors - Sleepy sickness, the forgotten epidemic

Gertrude Gwendolen Alice Garner 1910 - 1944



After World War 1, many people fell victim to a viral epidemic which killed over a million people, and affected many more.  Yet this illness has been overshadowed, understandably, by the 1918 flu pandemic, and consequently has been largely forgotten.

Encelphalitis lethargica, also known as sleepy sickness, cases began appearing as early as 1916, and reached its peak in the 1920s.  It claimed about half of its victims in its first stages, but many survivors ended up developing neurological problems later in life that would either lead to death or lock them in a coma for years on end.

My Great Aunt Gwen was one of those who fell prey to this terrible disease.  I have no idea when she contracted it or how it affected her.  Apparently she was prone to having "problems with her nerves", but then that was a common excuse for all sorts of ailments back then.  Her marriage to William (Bill) Neale didn't seem to last long, and I can't help but wonder if the illness was to blame. Not necessarily the final stage of it - as far as I know she left him before that began - but the middle period between the apparent recovery and the relapse.  This phase could be marked by a general loss of concentration and interest in life, which can't have been good for their relationship.

However this stage was usually the calm before the storm.  Many suffers, including Gwen, went on to develop post-encephalitic parkinsonism.  Symptoms could include a decrease in facial expressions, loss of control of movement, tremors, confusion and memory loss and there could be severe psychiatric changes.  Some victims lapsed into a catatonic state, and remained in a coma for years.

Gwen, my Dad's aunt, died in Leicester's mental hospital aged just 33.  I'd like to think that she and her family didn't suffer too much, but sadly I suspect that may not have been the case.  It was a dreadful disease, and a dreadful place to die.

*  Cases of encephalitis lethargica still arise, but fortunately are now very rare.  Scientists now believe it may be linked to a form of streptococcus bacteria, which commonly causes sore throats, or perhaps to flu viruses, but nothing appears to be conclusive and I suspect there will be a question mark over the real cause for some time to come.