PETER BARKER REMEMBERS.....

Another period of inactivity from me - this time the result of a period of poor health. Hopefully things are on the mend and I should be starting the article on my uncle Stanley Bayliss very soon and this will include information on his wife Gladys's family.

Some of you, I know, bought and read Sidney Day's wonderfully evocative book about growing up in the Dartmouth Park Hill area so when my second cousin, Peter Barker, provided me with his own memories inspired by the book I asked if I could share them with the rest of the family. Peter, who shares my Great Grandmother Mary "Polly" Abbotts, grew up in exactly the same area as Sidney Day so it is good to compare their memories. I have decided to put the piece on my companion blog DOWN THESE STREETS and you can read it either by clicking on the title here or by the link in the right hand column.

JOE SLATER'S BIRTHPLACE

As soon as I'd finished the previous post I decided to write to The Norwood Society and see if I could find any more about The Rescue Society Maternity Home where Joe Slater was born. They kindly passed my e-mail on to Jerry Savage at the local library and he confirmed something that we suspected - that there had been a change in the street numbers and 89 Central Hill, originally built as The Red Lion public house and later taken over as a home for unmarried mothers, particularly, domestic servants, was renumbered as 99 and is now private flats.So, with the help of Google Maps, here is a picture of the house where Joe Slater was born in 1911.

99 (formerly 89) Central Hill

THE MYSTERY OF JOE AND JOSEPHINE

Well, it's not actually Joe who is the mystery but his mum, Josephine. I met her a few times as a very young child but have no clear memories of her. Her son, my uncle Joe, I remember very well as I am sure all the cousins of my generation do. Joe, as we saw in a previous article, was married to Esther, my mother's sister.
Joe was a big man, an ex-merchant seaman, and I always thought he looked a bit of a tough guy - I certainly remember the clip around the ear he gave me once for being cheeky! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

This post will be different from ones that have gone before in that it is really a report on the unanswered questions about Joe's mother and the circumstances surrounding his birth and childhood that both I and his daughter-in-law, Adrienne Slater, have encountered.

Joseph Frederick Slater was born on 10 June 1911 in London and baptised at St.Mary's Church in Eltham.
The place of Joe's birth was 89 Central Hill, Upper Norwood in South London which is The Rescue Society's Maternity Home Reformatory which may or may not have had connections with the Virgo Fidelis Convent which is situated nearby. Josephine is listed on the April 2 Census for 1911 as Josephine Slater, a domestic servant, single, born in Wexford, Ireland about 1891.

St.Mary's Eltham

Joseph was baptised at St.Mary's Church Eltham. On 20 May 1919 Joseph was placed in the Nazareth House Convent Orphanage in London Road, Southend on Sea. According to the Convent Records his parents were Frederick and Josephine Slater with Josephine's maiden name being Byrne. Frederick, who was deceased by 1919, had been a soldier.  The problem is that there is no record of a marriage between Frederick and Josephine.  There were, of course, lots of soldiers named Frederick Slater who perished during the Great War but without further clues it is impossible to even guess which one may have been Joseph's father. The reason for Josephine placing her son in Nazareth House seems to have been that as a single mother she needed to work and she had a position in service in London, possibly with one of the directors of the P&O shipping line.

Nazareth House, Southend-on-Sea

 So what was Josephine's story?  The truth is we don't really know. Adrienne, who is married to Joe and Esther's son, Ian, has been the primary researcher and I know that one of the problems has been that there are several different spellings of the name (just as there is with Bayliss) but Adrienne is a diligent researcher and believes she has tracked Josephine's birth to Wexford in Ireland in 1890 with a father named Joseph and a brother of the same name. On the census for 1901 she appears as Josephine Breen. The family were Roman Catholic.  Did young Josephine become pregnant and was sent to England to have the child which was not un uncommon occurrence?

Joseph Slater with his mother Josephine

Each step in the story simply throws up new questions. If Josephine got pregnant in Ireland, who was the soldier Frederick Slater?  His name, as we have seen does not appear on Joe's birth certificate and there is no record of a marriage between him and Josephine. Did Frederick ever exist?

Joe's son Robin once suspected there may be some connection between Josephine and Guernsey in the Channel Islands. While nothing concrete has ever come of this I did discover on the 1881 census a six year old Josephine Byrne living in Joseph Street with her mother Margaret and a younger brother named Joseph!
Again, not our Josephine, but a strange coincidence.

Young Joe stayed at Nazareth House in Southend until 1925 when he was transferred to the Nazareth House in East Finchley. Very soon after this Joe left the orphanage to go to sea as a steward on the P&O line. His son Robin believes this was achieved by a letter of introduction from Josephine's employer. Why Joe chose to make his land base in Southend is unknown but we know that he lodged with a family named Beal or Beale who lived in Whitegate Street off Southend High Street. Young Joe made his first of many voyages to Australia at the age of seventeen. He met and married Esther Bayliss (as told in a previous post about Esther) and they made their home in Southend. During the 1939-45 war Joe was at sea serving on convoys to Russia and later to Australia taking Australian troops to Cape Town in South Africa for training.

Joe as a steward  on the P&O line

Josephine continued to work in London. After leaving service she worked for the BBC and had a flat in Fitzrovia not far from the Broadcasting House which Robin remembers was above a fishmongers shop. She died in 1958.

Joe (right) on board ship with a friend (no not Bing crosby!)

I have many vivid memories of Joe and Esther and happy holidays spent at their house in Pleasant Row in Southend. But the times I remember most were the family parties at my grandmother's when Joe, after a few drinks, would roll up his trousers to his knees and mince across the room singing a song that would be regarded as very unpolitical today - which began with the words "When you get down Leicester Square all the boys are girls down there, you'll find them all doing the pansy walk."  Of course the fact Joe looked like he could have easily gone a couple of rounds with Henry Cooper added to the effect.

Joe as I remember him from my childhood striding down Pier Hill, Southend.

I don't remember seeing Joe after he and Esther moved from Pleasant Row to Ditton Court Road in Westcliff although, ironically I now live only a very short distance from their flat. I believe Joe's health was poor at this time and he passed away in 1974. He was only 63.  Esther continued to liive is Westcliff until her death in 1990, Esther and Joe's sons continue to live in the area today and one of his grandchildren is named Joe after him.

That there are so many unanswered questions here is one of the frustrating but unavoidable problems of any genealogical research but just as with my grandmother's second husband the truth will hopefully be revealed
someday.

I have done very little original research on this post and most of it is a combination or Adrienne's research and information from Joe's sons Robin and Ian. The photographs of Joe and Josephine come from their collection.

AS PROMISED.....

As I reported recently I have made contact with Peter Barker who is the grandson of Mary Ann Abbotts who was the elder sister of my grandmother, Esther. I've always been very curious about my grandmother's brothers and sisters and although I have information on most of their families I particularly wanted to know what they looked like. Now, at last, thanks to Peter, I can put faces to two of them, three if you add Daisy who some of use will remember and whom I already had a photo of. Pat kindly told me a bit about his early years and his memories of his grandmother.

"I was born in the rear first floor room at 23,Doynton Street,N.19.  I am the youngest of six children born to Lilian Maude Timms. I recently lost my remaining sibling,Tom, who was the eldest, he was eighty nine and my hero  - he was a navigator on Lancaster bombers during the war. I went to Hargrave Park School, which has featured in your blog, and then on to William Ellis, in Highgate Road,N.W.5. I well remember shopping with my mother in Junction Road, and in particular buying fish at the wet fish shop. Also, I remember Tommy Tapping, at my local sweet shop,in Dartmouth Park Hill. I remember little of my grandmother, Mary Ann, I must have been pre school when I used to visit with My mother. She lived on the upper floor of my Aunt Rose's house, on the corner of Dartmouth Park Hill and Hargrave Park. I think that it may have been 108 Dartmouth Park Hill. She seemed to be very old, but in truth was probably only in her late sixties. She used to sit in front of a large black cooking range in which she heated a poker to red heat, and plunged it into her glass of stout."

Left to Right : Liliam Maude Timms (with baby Peter), Elizabeth Sarah Abbotts, Mary Ann
Elizabeth Abbotts, Daisy Timms.

Lilian Maude Timms (1903-1987) and Daisy Timms (1907-1989)) were both daughters of Mary Ann Elizabeth (1872-1951) and her husband Charles Timms.  Elizabeth Sarah Abbotts(1879-1945) was Mary Ann's sister.

I have to thank Peter (who is my second cousin) for sending me this wonderful picture and putting another piece of our family history jigsaw into place. I know he has some other fascinating pictures and hopefully there will be a chance to see them in the future.

 sister. I'm assuming that this picture was taken outside St.Peter's Dartmouth Park Hill.

EXCITING NEWS

It is difficult to gauge how excited people get when a picture of a long lost relative is found but I know it gives me a real thrill to be able to present such pictures. Since I have been doing my research and since I began this blog to share things with you there have been certain areas of family history that have held a particular fascination for me. One, of course, was the long sought after picture of my grandmother's second husband - the man known as Richard Barrett - and after years of searching it turned out that cousin Alvin had one all the time, so thanks to him I was able to show the picture on this blog. Likewise cousin Alva came up with some wonderful pictures of her mum's family that I never expected to see.

Only today I received a communication from a grandchild of Mary Ann Elizabeth Abbotts. Mary Ann was the sister of my grandmother, Esther, who is, of course, a central figure in our family history. They said they were an avid reader of THE BAYLISS LINE blog. This, of course, gave me great satisfaction but what really excited me was that their family tree contained a picture of Mary Ann Elizabeth Abbotts and also her husband Charles Timms.  Until now I couldn't even begin to guess what any of my grand aunts looked like with the exception of the youngest, Daisy, of whom we have one picture.  I hope to be able to bring you the picture of Mary Ann (who my mother remembered as "Aunt Polly") in the near future.

Next week I'm meeting with cousin's Robin and Ian and soon after that I will be able to bring you the promised article on Joe Slater, their father.

KENNETH ERNEST BOOTH

British Paratroopers at Arnhem, September 1944, with German
prisoner.

I know very little about Kenneth Ernest Booth beyond the fact that he was my uncle Billy Booth's younger brother and he died while serving as a paratrooper on 20th September 1944 at the Battle of Arnhem. As
tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday I did a little search on the internet and found the following which refers specifically to the 11th Battalion Parachute Regiment, in which Kenneth served, at the time of his death. I thought it might be appropriate to publish it here. Army records give Kenneth's age at the time of his death as twenty - he was actually only eighteen.

"When the battalion landed outside Arnhem on 18 September they were detached from the brigade and sent to reinforce the 1st Parachute Battalion and the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment, trying to fight through to the 2nd Parachute Battalion which had captured the northern end of the Arnhem road bridge. The two battalions were located in the town about 1,100 yards (1,000 m) short of the bridge. They were just about to start another attempt to break through to the 2nd Parachute Battalion. With no appreciation of the ground the 11th Battalion was held in reserve playing no part in the attack. Under heavy fire the attempt stalled and to relieve the pressure on the assaulting troops, the 11th Battalion was asked to carry out a left flanking attack on the German positions. Orders were being issued for the assault, when the divisional commander Major General Roy Urquhart personally intervened, forbidding the battalion to take part in what he now considered a futile attack. The 2nd South Staffords had been decimated with only their 'C' Company surviving as a unit. The 1st Parachute Battalion were in an even worse state and only numbered about 40 men.

The battalion was gradually worn down withdrawing through the city and casualties mounted. A move to gain some high ground to the north was discovered and the battalion was caught in the open and decimated, with only around 150 men left. One of the casualties being the commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel George Lea. The second in command Major Richard Lonsdale now took command of the battalion and the remnants of the 1st, 3rd Parachute and 2nd South Staffords battalions. Forming them into an ad-hoc force which became known as Lonsdale Force.They were withdrawn to Oosterbeek where the division was forming a defensive perimeter, digging in on the south eastern side with their right flank on the river. Lonsdale addressed the men before the Germans arrived;

You know as well as I do there are a lot of bloody Germans coming at us. Well, all we can do is to stay here and hang on in the hope that somebody catches us up. We must fight for our lives and stick together. We've fought the Germans before — in North Africa, Sicily, Italy. They weren't good enough for us then, and they're bloody well not good enough for us now. They're up against the finest soldiers in the world. An hour from now you will take up defensive positions north of the road outside. Make certain you dig in well and that your weapons and ammo are in good order. We are getting short of ammo, so when you shoot you shoot to kill. Good luck to you all.

The defenders were involved in a number of desperate actions, and hand to hand fighting keeping the Germans out of the divisions perimeter. One of the men Lance-Sergeant John Baskeyfieldof the South Staffords anti-tank platoon, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. By the 21 September pressure from the German attacks had squeezed the perimeter to less than 1,000 yards (910 m) across.

On the 22 September the bulk of the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade were dropped south of the river. This drew off some of the Germans from around the divisional perimeter to confront the new threat. The defenders now had to cope with over 100 German artillery guns firing onto their positions.

On 24 September the decision was made by Lieutenant-General Horrocks commander XXX Corps to withdraw what was left of the division south of the Rhine. On the morning of the 25 September units of the 9th SS Panzer Division attacked the battalion in force, attempting to cut the division off from the river. The initial attack was stopped by bayonets and hand grenades. Following attacks were driven off by direct fire from the guns of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery and the 64h Medium regiment, XXX Corps dropping their shells on the battalions positions. The remnants of the battalion were evacuated over the night of 25/26 September. The casualties sustained by the battalion were never replaced and it was disbanded after the battle of Arnhem."

Reprinted from Wikipedia.

ESTHER BAYLISS : Part Two

An old postcard showing the Oyster Fishermen's cottages on the north side
of Pleasant Row. Esther's house faced these buildings and would stand on
the far left of the picture. What look like allotments vanished with the
building of new houses in Pleasant Road (marked by the railings on the
right.

I suspect that Esther and Joe Slater's house in Pleasant Row, Southend, has a very special place in the memories of many people - especially those of my generation. I doubt if there are any of my first cousins and certainly none of  our parents who did not visit it on many occasions. The only place that is any comparable is Bert Bayliss's bungalow on Canvey Island and for very similar reasons - to have relatives who lived at the seaside was very special and added an extra dimension to a visit to the beach.  Pleasant Row itself has an interesting history. It was originally a row of small cottages built in 1767 to house Southend's Oyster fishermen - making it one of the oldest streets in Southend. These cottages, although uninhabited as far as I know, survived well into the Sixties and were a familiar sight on my visits to "Auntie Esther and Uncle Joe" in the 1950's.

The Oyster Fishermen's Cottages built by John Remnant in 1767
just before they were demolished in the 1960's.

Unlike Bert's wooden bungalow at Leigh Beck, Canvey, Pleasant Row and the Slater home survives to this day - the house itself virtually unchanged. You won't find it, however, on any modern map of Southend. If you walk along the seafront you will come to Pleasant Road on the left.  Up Pleasant Road you can still see the factory on the right that used to produce so many of the famous and familiar Southend "rocks" - pink on the outside, white inside with the town name running through it.  On the left The Black Cat Cafe fondly remembered by many of the family is gone although the shell of the building lingered until only a few years ago.  When you get to the top of the hill on the left there is a small road called "Ash Walk" - Ash Walk was the new name given to Pleasant Row during the redevelopment of the area.

No.9 Pleasant Row, Pleasant Road, Southend.

Of course, as reported in the previous article, originally Esther and Joe only rented the upstairs flat (9a), the downstairs being the home of Thomas Douglas and his family. It wasn't until the late Fifties, probably nearer 1960 that the Douglas family left and the Slaters bought the whole house.

Esther and Joe's first child was born in 1948. He was named Brian Robin, although he has always been known as Robin in the family. I certainly did not know his name was Brian until I began my research. A second son, Ian Joseph Roger, followed in 1955.

After the war Joe gave up the seafaring life, although a love of boats and the sea has certainly continued in the family through his sons

. Esther had a series of jobs throughout her life, certainly working as a barmaid at one period. One job that I know she particularly enjoyed was working as an usherette at the Odeon Cinema in Southend High Street. The manager at the time was Arthur Levenson.. Many years later while talking to my partner Terry's son I discovered that as a teenager he had begun his career in cinema management as an assistant at the Odeon and had known Esther.  In her last job she worked at Southend's Alexandra Yacht Club. While staying with Robin and his wife in nearby Prittlewell Square in the early Eighties a girlfriend and I visited Esther at the Yacht Club and were treated to a slap up English breakfast.  Perhaps because of the times I had breakfast at the house in Pleasant Row, the smell of crispy bacon cooking is one I always associate with Southend.

This picture taken in the garden at Pleasant Row shows Left to Right :
Ethel, Esther, Joe, Ivy Seamons. Ian and Robin in front.
(sorry about the quality)

 After Robin and Ian grew up and left home Esther and Joe sold the house in Pleasant Row and moved to a flat in Ditton Court Road, Westcliff. Joe passed away in 1974 but Esther became a regular sight around Westcliff - she was a regular in The Melrose pub in Hamlet Court Road and she would often pass the time of   day on her favorite bench outside the Kosher grocery/bakers (now Zen City Chinese restaurant) in Hamlet Court Road where she chatted to her friends. In 1986, Esther's sister Ethel came to live close by in Westcliff and the two were often seen around together. I remember an incident once when I found a note from my mother saying that she and Esther had gone to sit on the cliffs. When I found them they were just setting their deck chairs up. I began to help my mother as Esther sat down. The ground was uneven and Esther's chair toppled over depositing her into the bushes. Luckily she was unhurt and was able to laugh about it. To this day I can't pass the spot without imagining I can see Esther's legs sticking out of the bushes.  Esther's health began to deteriorate and this wasn't helped by another fall - this time more serious - in Hamlet Court Road.
I saw Esther often at weekends although, obviously, she spent more and more time with her sons. I last saw Esther in 1990 in Southend Hospital (although she did not die there) shortly before her death. She was a lovely lady, generous in all ways and always ready to give wise advice. I am sure that she is lovingly remembered by all members of my generation. I believe it was Esther's death that was the trigger for the rapid decline in my own mother's mental condition. I know she missed her greatly.

Esther and Joe's sons still live in the Southend area with their families, Robin in the Pagelsham area and Ian in Leigh on Sea.

But the story isn't quite finished. I have deliberately not said to much about Esther's husband Joe. His story is a fascinating one that his sons and I have been trying to piece together for years - a real detective story with lots of clues and no real answers...yet.  My next big article will be about Joe.