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Messages - hatofthecat

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 ... 55
1
The Lighter Side / Re: Herbert Barber - cinema organist 1947 or was he ?
« on: Friday 21 February 25 22:04 GMT (UK)  »
Please ignore this extra message, its junk - but I can't see how to delete it  ::) ???

2
The Lighter Side / Re: Herbert Barber - cinema organist 1947 or was he ?
« on: Friday 21 February 25 21:54 GMT (UK)  »
This thread is a bit of a "blast from the past" from 2014 !

AnMiMo it is wonderful that you met him, its very likely my late father (born 1925) met him as he told me about the spinster sisters (there were actually three altogether).

I actually managed to track down Herbert and just exactly how he was related to my Norris family.  Herbert's aunt Elizabeth Barber (born in Footscray a suburb of Melbourne, Australia) married Thomas Morcomb Norris in 1882 in Little Ilford, Essex.  Thomas was an elder brother of the three spinster great grand aunts of mine that he was executor of two of their wills for.  Their father being my 3x great grandfather Henry Norris who was a civil engineer specialising in lighthouse construction (there's a Wikipedia page for him).   Two distant cousins of mine from the Morcomb (St Merryn, Cornwall) side were told all sorts of wonderful stories about my Norris family in Stratford, London by their maternal grandmother who was raised by the spinster sisters and their mother after her own mother's early death in Cornwall.  Herbert would regularly stay with my Norris family in Stratford east London before the war when he was playing at local picture houses or for his many appearances on the BBC. I also managed to find a signed example of one of his publicity postcards showing him at the organ.  The Barber family were rather interesting,  Elizabeth's younger sister Martha Edith Barber (1864-1953) was a Titanic survivor along with her daughter Elsie Edith Bowerman (1889-1973) who was also one of the very first lady barristers in England and a celebrated suffragette honoured with a blue plaque in her home town of St Leonards-on-Sea (again she has a Wikipedia page).

3
Northumberland / Re: Wark "something" - farm near Simonburn
« on: Tuesday 11 February 25 19:56 GMT (UK)  »
Stephen - think I have "Warks Wood" for you  ;D  It was just hiding under spelling as "Warkswood" and was & is a farm about 1km northwest of Wark.  You can see it on modern Ordnance Survey map here
https://streetmap.co.uk/map?x=384834&y=578051&z=120&sv=384834,578051&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map&searchp=ids&dn=859&ax=384834&ay=578051&lm=0

I managed to find it by a roundabout process as on this page
https://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/Wark-on-Tyne_C15.htm
you'll see right down in bottom left of the page a "Tithe Award" from 1840, open it up and about half way down first column you'll see the name "Charlton William John" (and  few Charlton before so are they all yours ?) and he is owner of two properties, the second of these is "Warks Wood South Farm" and the first is "Hesley Hirst" which I found quite quickly on this 1860s map
https://maps.nls.uk/view/102346425
then on the basis then that probably his land holdings were close to each other I looked to south of Hesley Hirst and bingo there was "Warkswood".... to find these two farms on this map look along the top margin to where it says "BELLINGHAM" then just to left of that near top edge of the sheet you'll see "Hesley Hirst" just on left edge of the woods, then look down below that and between the "A" & "R" of "WARK" you'll see "Warkswood" farmstead.

Found some modern photos of Warkswood farmstead here
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/814387

Its just too small to show up on any older maps than these unfortunately.
 

4
Essex / Re: Canning Town - old street maps?
« on: Monday 29 July 24 16:18 BST (UK)  »
RATHBONE STREET - still exists though wholly redeveloped, but you'll find it on this 1916 published OS street map, look down right hand border of the sheet about halfway down where its says "WEST HAM" and you'll find Rathbone Street running north-south just in from the edge of sheet.

https://maps.nls.uk/view/104194818

5
Thanks ColC, good old FREEREG  8) Still wondering may be just a little more detail from register (i.e. plot no. ??).  Yes, I've every last bit of info on the accident (newspaper reports, mine inspectors report and entries from the Coal Owners ledgers for funeral payment).  Unfortunately my late uncle always thought Ralph was buried at Earsdon so spent years on goose chase there, but more recently I found the death announcement in newspaper (hadn't found it before as image text is faint so it didn't get indexed properly for searching).

6
My great grandfather Ralph Waugh was killed in a coal fall at Seghill colliery 11th April 1904.  In death announcement in Newcastle Evening Chronicle of 13th April 1904 it says simply "Interment at Cramlington on Thursday" - so 14th April 1904 - Am I right in assuming this would have been at St Nicholas cemetery, as the Mayfield cemetery had not yet opened then ?  Would anyone be able do a look up at Woodhorn for the burial info as the records don't appear to online anywhere and are only accessible at the archive.  I doubt there is any kind of headstone as the Coal Owners Mutual Protection paid out just £6 for funeral costs 6 months later.

7
World War Two / Royal Navy WW2 record "A1"
« on: Friday 30 April 21 19:45 BST (UK)  »
Does anyone know what "A1" would mean under "Ship/Shore Establishment" on Royal Navy service record obtained from MOD. 

I'm guessing its some sort of absence/leave as its about 7 weeks in mid 1943.  Its immediately after landing craft training and before deployment to landing craft flotilla.

8
London and Middlesex / Re: Frederick Gorringe Limited - Buckingham Palace Road
« on: Wednesday 28 October 20 13:26 GMT (UK)  »
"Yes she is on the third page - she is listed as Carrie Norris."

Thank you montereyjack, that's great  8)  I've never seen my 2x great grand aunt recorded as Carrie before so its a lost snippet of her life as now I know what name she actually used.  Caroline started at Gorringes in 1875 and didn't retire until mid 1930s when she was in her 70s.  For most of that time she lived in staff accommodation at the top of building which was otherwise occupied by young single staff so I assume she acted as some sort of "house mother" to the youngsters.  She was one of three spinster sisters or "the maiden aunts" as my father called them, he told me once they'd turn up to any family event... no invite required  ;D

9
London and Middlesex / Re: Frederick Gorringe Limited - Buckingham Palace Road
« on: Saturday 03 October 20 17:14 BST (UK)  »
happy to check if a relative's name is in this book.

I just spotted this.  Can you check if my 3x great aunt Caroline Norris is in the book, she was definitely working there at that time.

thanks in advance

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