The Marriage of Fred and (Gertrude) May HEMSWORTH

12 Broughton Road Hillsborough Sheffield 1907

The photograph was taken in the garden of a house in Broughton Road Hillsborough Sheffield. For many years I did not  have an exact date for the wedding but I have eventually discovered that it was in the June quarter of 1907. The house where the photograph was taken is believed to be the home of the bride's parents, Mr and Mrs Travis. The bride's maiden name was Gertrude May Travis but she was known to everyone as May. At the time of the marriage she would have been about 25 years old. Prior to the marriage she was employed as a "book seller paper" whilst Fred worked in the Hemsworth family business of coach building. 

FROM THE LEFT

FRONT ROW: Constance: Sydney (My Grandad), James Willmore ("Bimmy" who was the son of Thirza Willmore nee Hemsworth, Fred's eldest sister) The girl on the right not known to us

Kneeling behind the front row is Harry (Fred's twin brother) and next to him is his wife Beatrice nee Nockalls. The man on the right is John Travis (May's brother). The woman to the right of centre is not known to us

BACK ROW: Sid Siddall: The man to the left with the moustache is not known but the woman to the left is Gertrude Siddall (Sid's wife): Mary Anne Hemsworth (My Great Grandmother): Thirza Willmore ("Bimmy's mother"): Alonzo Hemsworth (My Great Grandfather): FRED and GERTRUDE MAY HEMSWORTH nee TRAVIS (The Bridal Couple): The man in the middle of the couple may be May's father: To the Bride's left is her mother: The two people to her left are not known to us but the woman was called Blanche

Alonzo and Mary Ann HEMSWORTHS' Family

My great grandparents Alonzo and Mary Ann had a total of ten children six sons and four daughters. The 1891 Census Extracts discloses the following information and shows that Alonzo and Mary already had seven of their ten children. 

• THIRZA HEMSWORTH was born in 1879 and was the eldest child of Alonzo and Mary. THIRZA married a JAMES HERBERT WILLMORE in the December quarter of 1900 (GRO Ecclesall Bierlow Volume 9C Page 669). At the time of the marriage JAMES was 23 years old and was employed as a Silversmith. JAMES and THIRZA had two children. James Herbert ("Bimmy") who was born in the December quarter of 1901 (GRO ref volume 9c page 458) and Phyllis. Both children married. James to a Annie Stones) and Phyllis to Reverend Norman Collinge the only instance I can find to date of the family marrying into the clergy. From the very sparse information I have to date Norman Collinge may have been born in Lancashire.

JAMES and THIRZA are buried together in Sheffield's Abbey Lane Cemetery

WILLMORE, James Herbert (Retired, age 89).Died at 16 Norton Lees Lane; Buried on October 9, 1965 in Consecrated ground;
Grave Number 9640, Section O of Abbey Lane Cemetery, Sheffield.

WILLMORE, Thirza (Wife of James, age 52). Died at Royal Hospital; Buried on September 19, 1932 in Consecrated ground;
Grave Number 9640, Section O of Abbey Lane Cemetery, Sheffield.

After the death of THIRZA, JAMES remarried in 1935 a widow CONSTANCE DICKINSON nee HEMSLEY. She is also buried in Abbey Lane but in the grave of her first husband HERBERT DICKINSON

WILLMORE, Constance (Domestic duties, age 76).Died at Middlewood Hospital; Buried on June 12, 1969 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 3910, Section E of Abbey Lane Cemetery, Sheffield.

Their only son is buried in a nearby grave, together with his wife

WILLMORE, James Herbert (Retired, age 87). Died at Northern General Hospital; Buried on February 28, 1989 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 9647, Section O of Abbey Lane Cemetery, Sheffield.
WILLMORE, Annie (Wife of James Herbert, age 46). Died at Claremont Place; Buried on March 19, 1949 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 9647, Section O of Abbey Lane Cemetery, Sheffield. (Annie' s maiden name was Stones)-

• HARRY married BEATRICE NOCKALLS in the March quarter of 1908 (GRO reference Ecclesall Bierlow Volume 9C Page 468). Beatrice was 25 at the time of her marriage and was employed  as a Dressmaker (1901 Census). She was the daughter of MARTIN (1856 - ) and FANNY NOCKALLS nee ROBINSON (1859 - ). Her mother Fanny was from Sheffield but her father Martin was from Norwich, Norfolk.  

• FRED married GERTRUDE MAY TRAVIS in the June quarter of 1907 - see above photo

• MARY ANN ("Toll") married a CHRISTOPHER BEVERIDGE in 1916 and lived in Kirkcaldy, Fife.  They had two children MARY (1918 - 2003) and JOHN (1922 - .  

• GERTRUDE married SIDNEY SIDDALL (PRO reference September 1909 quarter Ecclesall Bierlow Volume 9C Page 630).

• ALONZO ("Sonny") (1889 - 1954) married ALICE (1877 - 1965) and had a son also called ALONZO (1917 - 1941). This part of the family was slightly more complicated. ALICE had previously been married before to a WALTER JOSEPH LAWLESS - 

  Surname First name (s) District Volume Page Marriages Mar 1897 Lawless Walter Joseph Rotherham 9c 784 Orgill Alice Rotherham 9c 784. They were married for 17 years before WALTER died at the age of 46 (Deaths Mar 1914 Lawless Walter 46 Rotherham 9c 976). ALICE then married ALONZO - Marriages Jun 1915 Hemsworth Alonzo Lawless Alice Rotherham 9c 1494

  ALONZO and ALICE had two children 
  Births Mar 1916 Hemsworth Constance Orgill Rotherham 9c 1442
  Births June 1917 Hemsworth Alonzo Orgill Rotherham 9c 1336

  She used her married name for the marriage certificate but reverted to her maiden name for the birth of her two children

  Alonzo was a Sapper in the 278 Field Company Royal Engineers but killed on active service on 23rd February 1941 and is buried in Whiston (St Mary Magdalene) Churchyard, Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

  HEMSWORTH, ALONZO
  Nationality: United Kingdom
  Rank: Sapper Regiment: Royal Engineers Unit : 278 Field Coy.
  Date of Death: 23/02/1941
  Service No: 1923169 - Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
  Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. B. Row 6. Grave 111. Cemetery: WHISTON (ST. MARY MAGDALENE) CHURCHYARD

  Rather intriguingly, his death certificate was issued in Rochford, Essex (GRO Ref Death 1941 Hemsworth Alonzo Age 20 Rochford Volume 4a Page 1545). Rochford is on the outskirts of Southend on Sea and saw much activity in the early years of WW2 as it was close to the fighter station RAF Hornchurch and was on the main route the Luftwaffe took to bomb London. Given that Alonzo was a sapper in the Royal Engineers I speculated as to whether or not he was in a bomb disposal squad and a victim of a UXB

  In January 2013 I eventually came across information that had eluded me. I was correct in my supposition that Alonzo was in a bomb disposal unit but incorrect about a UXB, it was a landmine. The excellent Rotherham War Memorials site gives the following information

  " Alonzo Hemsworth was born in Rotherham in the second quarter of 1917 to Alonzo Hemsworth and Alice May (nee Orgill) of 79 Sandringham Avenue, Whiston.
  He enlisted in the Army and was a Sapper in 278 Field Company, Royal Engineers, serial number 1923169. On 23 February 1943 Sapper Hemsworth and another sapper were working in a minefield at Wakering Stairs, when a landmine exploded killing Alonzo Hemsworth and injuring the other sapper who was taken to Shoebury Military Hospital. (Wakering Stairs is on the shoreline of Essex east of Southend-on-Sea.)
   

  And straight after that I received the following e-mail

  " I have been researching my father's (Harry Falconer) military history - he was in the Royal Engineers 278 Field Coy.
  
  I thought you might be interested in one of our family stories.
  
  Harry was a week late for his marriage to my mother Betty (they eventually married on 7/3/1941) because he was involved in an incident where one of his mates was killed when they were on manoeuvres near Southend. I found a list of incidents in Essex where was based and found the reference to your relative Alonzo Hemsworth being killed on 23/2/1941 and wonder if this was the incident Dad was involved in. Harry died in 2000 but Betty is still going strong at 92 years."

  

  

  

  The Whiston churchyard also contains the last resting place of his parents ALONZO and ALICE - the epitaph on his parents grave reads

June (and Eddie) I believe are Alonzo's and Alice's grandchildren

• GEORGE married MABEL TURNER in the September quarter of 1915 (GRO ref Ecclesall Bierlow Vol 9c Page 809)  and had two children MAVIS (GRO ref June 1920 Sheffield Vol 9c Page 1089) and ERIC (GRO ref December Sheffield Vol 9c Page 818)

After the 1891 census Alonzo and Mary had three more children OSCAR, CONSTANCE and SIDNEY

• OSCAR married MABEL BRIDGE in 1914 . MABEL was the daughter of WORTHINGTON (1854-1933) and ALICE JANE BRIDGE nee BUTTERFIELD (1856-1907 ).

• CONSTANCE ("Connie") married ERNEST MILNER and had two children MARY and PETER. The family lived at 2 Southey Hall Drive,  Sheffield. It was at this address that ERNEST died on Sunday 21st February 1954. He was cremated three days later at Sheffield's City Road Crematorium. CONNIE lived to be just a few weeks short of her 100th birthday (1898 - 1998).

She is the longest living of all the family I have come across to date.

Connie spent most of her life in Sheffield but her last years were spent with her daughter MARY in Exeter, Devon where she died 

The above photograph shows my grandad's two elder sisters Connie (on the left) and Toll out shopping in the late 1940's

• SIDNEY (1900 - 1973) - my Grandfather married LILY SHIRT and had two children Jack and Jean, my Mum. My grandfather was born at 67 Sherrington Road Sheffield and attended St Barnabus Church School in the Highfield's area of Sheffield. It was situated on the corner of Cecil Road and Horner Road. For a number of years he was the manager at Reuben Thompson's at 535 Queens Road, Heeley, Sheffield before becoming a self employed taxi driver based in Bradway, Sheffield. After retiring my grandparents moved to Greenhill Main Road, Sheffield. It was at 84 Greenhill Main Road that my grandad died. His death from a heart attack on Friday 6th July 1973 was sudden and unexpected. His funeral was  held six days later on Thursday 12th July 1973 and he was interred at Abbey Lane Cemetery alongside his mother and father    

In April 2008, whilst researching a related topic I found purely by chance the following burial record

"Enseworth, (Stillborn Child, age ).  Died at 58 Sherrington Rd; Buried on June 18, 1895 in Consecrated ground;
     Grave Number 10636, Section W of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Parent or Next of Kin if Available: H Enseworth."

This is undoubtedly the child of ALONZO and POLLY which explains why they is a gap between the birth of Oscar and Constance

Notes

From the 1911 Census Alice Lawless
Relationship to Head of Household Wife
Condition / Years Married Married / 14 Years
Total Children Born Alive 8
Children Still Living 2 Children Who Have Died 6
Gender Female Age 33 Estimated Year of Birth 1878
Occupation Assisting In The Business
Employed Yes Working at Home No
Place of Birth Hilltop Staffordshire
Enumerator Information
Address Greasboro Road Rotherham Parish Rotherham Town Rotherham
Type of Building Public House Number of Rooms 8
Inhabited Yes
Reference RG14PN28075 RG78PN1604 RD511 SD3 ED2 SN175 Administrative County Yorkshire (West Riding)
Registration District Rotherham Registration Sub District North West Rotherham Enumeration District 2

The pub was called the Duke of Wellington and it looks as though ALICE was there for 10 years

1909-14 Walter Lawless
1915-16 Alice Lawless
1917-18 Alice Hemsworth 

From the 1891 Census

Name Alice Orgill
Age 13 Estimated Year of Birth 1878
Relationship to Head of Household Daughter
Occupation Juvenile
Address 48, Tusmore Street District Rotherham, Rotherham Parish Rotherham Administrative County Yorkshire (West Riding)
Birth Place West Bromwich 

Sources

Rotherham War Memorials

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This page was last updated on 12/05/17 15:01