Hull Seamen's Orphanage 1904 to 1908

[JoberG]

Hi folks and, in particular, Carol., 

Some of you are old friends who I’ve met before, there are some new ones among you who I have not read before.  No one among you will know that I suffered an horrendous heart attack last June – the reason you have not heard from me since then.  This involved 2 operations including the first unsuccessful one to repair a hole in my heart.  The second was almost successful – so I’m left with a heart with a slight weepage left to right ventricle.  I was not expected to live but miraculously I survived thanks to a wonderful team of heart specialists in Leeds.
Now back in the fray I am still concerned in finding the details for my father- in- law , William Percy Collins, and his siblings in the Hull Seamen’s Orphan Home.  He came out of the orphanage aged 14 to start work as a butcher’s boy on 11 May 1909.  His father, Henry Collins, a coastguard at Barton-on-Humber had died suddenly with an embolism, aged only 42, on 16July 1904.   His wife, Elizabeth Ann Collins (née Robins), must have been unwell but lived on in Hull until 1914 when she committed suicide by hanging (on 17 March 1914).  The coroner’s report was “of unsound mind”.  My wife, Lydia, and I were always told in the family that Elizabeth Ann died of breast cancer – that, of course might have been contributing factor to her suicide.
At the end of June 2010 I had arranged to come to Hull with a friend to visit the new heritage centre in Sutton at the old school (I lived in Sutton as a lad until His Majesty demanded my Service.  My own grandfather was a pupil in the school and I have his leaving report dated 1890 in my possession.  Thereafter beyond the age of 18 I never went back to live in Hull though my family was still there until 15 years ago when my parents died in their 90’s).  My heart attack and the following 4 months in hospital put an end to visiting places for some time.     I cannot now say when I’m likely to get over to Hull as I am not driving yet, and also  following heart surgery an embolism in the retinal artery to my right eye has completely demolished the retina of that eye.  I have another laser eye operation in Leeds on Friday of this week.    I should be able to drive on my one good eye though but it will be many months before I get to that.
Finally are there any readers who had relatives in the Seamen’s Orphan Home with match the dates of my father-in-law.?

Good wishes to all of you who read this,
Bernard

[Treetotal]

Hi Bernard,
I'm so sorry to hear of your health problems and hope life is kinder to you in 2011.
I have been visiting the Carnegie Heritage Centre which holds a file for the orphanage along with information on the Cottage Homes and Newland.

There are some quarterly journals dating from 1892 with information of children who were voted for admission to the orphanage and the circumstances under which they were admitted.

There are also some photos but these are largely unidentified children.
but interesting all the same.

If you would care to give me the names of the Collins children and the year they were admitted I will pay a visit and seen if there is any information on their entry.

http://www.carnegiehull.co.uk/news.php


The centre is run by volunteers and the staff are very helpful.


Take Care.

Carol

[JoberG]

Hi Carol, thanks for coming back into touch with me so quickly.  I do appreciate that.

Henry and Elizabeth Ann Collins had three children:Harold Henry Collins,  William Percy Collins (Lydia' father), and Gladys Lilian (or Lilian Gladys ) Collins.  They were born 1892 Great Yarmouth), 1894 (Great Yarmouth) and 1897 Margate, Kent) respectively - all in coastguard properties.

So Harold Henry would not be in the Orphan's Home so very long because they put them out to work and look after themselves at the age of 14.  Harold, in the East Yorkshires, was killed at the Battle of the Somme on 10 July 1916 - he'd been married  less than a year.  His name appears on the Lutgyens Memorial in that wonderful peaceful park at Thiepval ( Lydia and I visited in 2001)   It presents the names of some 70000 soldiers (mainly British but some French) who died at Thiepval, or nearby, with no known grave, fighting for several days for the top of a small rise in the land. 

By 1911 Harold was working as a waiter in Manchester.  The two brothers joined the army in 1914 at the outset.  William (Lydia's father became a regimental serjeant major in Hong Kong  and thoroughly enjoyed his life in WW1, so much so that he volunteered again for service on Day One of WW2.  Being too old then for active service he spent the whole of WW2 training soldiers for battle  at Catterick.


Good to be back with you Carol,
I send yo my Best wishes,
Bernard

[Treetotal]

Hi Bernard,
I have looked through the documents at the centre today but found no information regarding the Collins children so I think any further information would be held at The Hull History Centre:

http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/

However...I did manage to get some photocopied extracts from the book "Our Orphans" by John Hicks on both the Hesslewood Orphanage and The Seamen's General Orphan Asylum of which there is a copy at the Carnegie Heritage Centre.

If you would like copies of this useful  info and would care to P.M. your email address I will happily send it to you.

Carol