Ha ha ha, Thank you, Brevitas.... It's one part of my family that I am interested in, although I have been known to read research papers about social history on very rare occasions....
Around 1908, something happened in my family that lead to all of them except my GGF staying in institutions for ten or more years. There are lots of fanciful stories about my GGF, but none of them mention that he suddenly moved with his family to Bournemouth, as I recently discovered, shortly before he went a.w.o.l. from his family. He was a bricklayer, so I maybe he thought that the Bournemouth housing boom seemed attractive.... But my family's stories about his fate don't make mention of this move - They had been in S.E.London / Croydon and that's where they went after being in the workhouse. GGF was born in Horsham and after two spells in Christchurch workhouse, the family (minus GGF) were sent there.
I checked out Dorchester Archives, and there was no sign of GGF going into the Christchurch workhouse, (as GGM and children did), or going to Jail or lunatic asylum. (No address or discharge dates for GGM and children, although the second admission was just GGM
and youngest child, suggesting that someone was looking after the other children).
I can find no good match for GGF's death in BMD. (William [no middle names] CHAMPION, B: DQ1882 Horsham 2b322).
For me, there is some uncertainty that he had the where-with-all to do anything more elaborate than move in with another woman, (leaving has wife and five children to the Poor Law!). GGF is not in 1911 census, but did he vanish/emigrate, or is it the paucity of records for 'ordinary' blokes from nearly 100 years ago?
My life is about to become busier than ever, and I had told myself that I was going to draw a line under the family tree, so to speak.... But I seem not to be able to let dead GGF's lie, just yet.
All the best,
Timoth
