Willie - Installment One

This is a tough one. For the last  four years, I’ve never failed to upload any of Harry’s letters on time. I’ve managed to do enough research to put his experiences into a sensible context. Now, I’m finding it easy to put off writing the last two entries onto the blog. Maybe there’s an element of not wanting to end this wonderful journey. 

Willie is still alive. It’s not simple to connect my father, aged 94, with the small boy who was so important to Harry. I’ll try. I’m sure that I’ll write and re-write but, clearly it has to be done.

William Lamin was born on March 23^rd 1916. He was the second son of Ethel and Harry. Arthur, the first born, was born two years earlier and had died in infancy. I’m quite sure that  Willie (I don’t even know what to call him “Willie”, “Dad or, as he’s been generally known for all my lifetime, “Bill”) knew nothing of Arthur’s existence. I stumbled across a christening card from Ilkeston Parish Church and confirmed his existence through a reader locating the birth and death records.

Willie (lets stick with that for the moment ) must have been precious to the couple. It must have been desperately difficult for Harry to leave his 9 month old baby son when conscripted in late.December 1916.

For three years, Willie only saw his father for one leave in September 1918. As far as I can work out, he was brought up by Ethel with the help of Harry’s sister Sarah Anne (Annie). Annie had a son who was old enough to join up and fight but, at this time, no husband. George had never lived with Annie – he was conscripted from Manchester, where he lived with the Lacey family.

An important element in Willie’s life would be little Connie. She was six years older and suffered from cerebral palsy and so couldn’t walk. I don’t know how well she could talk, but Willie and Connie are reported as “good friends”. In 1918, Connie was sent away to boarding school in Liverpool.

I can’t pretend to know more. He spent some of his time at the relatively “posh” Whitworth Road, – Annie’s House - returning to Mill Street when Annie married. Then I suppose Ethel was on her own with Willie, supported from a distance by Kate and Jack.

The crucial first three years of Willie’s development  was without his father.

Friday morning, January 9^th 1920 Willie got his father back. I can imagine the scene as he walked in at 9am and greeted Ethel and young Willie. I can do nothing but weep at the image. Willie, aged 3 years 9 months would have to get used to this stranger. I’d guess he’d hide behind Ethel as this unfamiliar man walked into the house. You can make up the picture yourself.  To help you, you can see the house on the BBC video. Click

I think that is enough for now. I’ll publish this first instalment and then I’ll just have to continue with the next phase of Willie's life.

Update - and even more information on George

Apologies, I am struggling to finish off Willie's story. It's very difficult to write a sensible account about my father. Sister Anita has some information that she's sending to me to help. 

Since Ken's correspondence, I've had even more information about George from Frances. (Frances, I'd like to thank you personally for your stirling efforts, but have no contact details.)

Frances wrote; Although George emigrated to Australia, he did come back to England for a time. He and his new wife, Nell, travelled on the Demosthenes, (there’s a picture of the ship on the Encyclopedia titanica website) and arrived into London on 4 April 1924. He was 27, and a bootmaker; Nell was 19. Their “country of last permanent residence” is unsurprisingly listed as Australia, but more interestingly, their “country of intended future permanent residence” is given as England. “Permanent residence” is defined as being “a year or more,” so they clearly intended to stay for some time.

Their address is given a 10 Geoffrey Street, Chorlton on Medlock, Manchester. Perhaps George came back to introduce Nell to the Laceys?

They seem to have stayed for about 5 years, as the next record is for their departure for Melbourne on 3 September 1929, aboard the Barrabool, (there’s a picture on the Photoship website) under Captain Sheepwash. This time, 2 year old Ken is travelling with them, having being born during their stay. George’s occupation at the time is recorded as “Salesman.”Meanwhile, 


I've heard from Ken, George's son, from Australia. You may remember that George was the illegitimate son of Annie, Harry's sister.

Ken knew little of his father's story and so has learned a great deal of his own family's history by following the blog.

Ken has emailed me with the following information;

"My Father George was a shoe maker by trade, as I understood from my mother and from my later observation.

George emigrated to Australia about 1921 and landed in Melbourne.  He told me that his first job in Melbourne was with Dunlop Rubber, see Chas. Macintosh of Manchester, and opened a boot repair shop in the suburbs some time later. Also a member of the Lacey family, I guess a son, had already emigrated and opened a shoe repair shop elsewhere in Melbourne. Shoes were a family tradition!  Close by near to that shopping centre lived the Tooth family, who would have known the Lacey’s, where I surmise my father would have met my mother to be, Nell Tooth.


Nell’s Father, son Fred and a younger son Sydney all served in the Australian army. The father was returned to Australia for health reasons and served as guard until 1920, Fred after training in Egypt went to France and went to action in the infamous battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916. Over 3 days there were over 5,000 Australian casualties, including Fred who was wounded and managed to return. Brother Syd was posted to France in early 1917 and was wounded and declared unfit for action and returned to Aust July 1917.  Fred, after more action in France, went into action in Polygon Wood and was killed on 26 September 1917. I guess Fred’s forces would have relieved Harry’s forces and George would have been about there according to the blog.


Arthur Lacey as Guardian is interesting. Again nothing was said by George and Nell referred to them as friends. I only became aware of Arthur’s role as executor of my fathers, although, we, as children, were well aware that he didn’t have a registered father."

Jack - John Ernest Lamin 1870 - 1945

Harry’s brother Jack  was born in 1870 to Henry Lamin and his wife Sarah.  He was  17  years older than Harry.  In 1891, the census tells us that he is an assistant schoolmaster, living in Awsworth. We can only assume that he was teaching at the same village school that he attended as a child. 


One of the photographs I have looks about right for a young schoolmaster in his early twenties.

I have quite a few photographs of Jack as his career progressed, but now, thanks to Frances, know little more of the detail of what happened to him.  After some impressive research, Frances said...

On the 1911 census, he was living at 149 Church Street, Kimberworth. He was a lodger in the property, and living alone. His occupation is recorded as “Clerk in Holy Orders, Established Church.”

I consulted Crockford’s Clerical directory for various years, which gave me some more information on Jack’s career.

He went to St Catherine’s College in Oxford, where he got his BA in 1905. He was awarded his MA in 1916.  A  PhD online allows you to learn more about history.

He became a deacon 1905, and a priest in 1906. From 1905 until 1911 he was Curate of Kimberworth, Rotherham. In 1906, his address is recorded as 98 Regent Street, Rotherham.

From 1911 – 1912, he was Curate at St Marks, Broomhall, Sheffield.

From 1913 – 1915, he was Vicar of Grimethorpe, Barnsley. His address (unsurprisingly) was the Vicarage.

From 1916 – 1923, he was Curate of St John, Newland, Hull. His address is recorded as 20 Ryde Street, Beverley Road. Hull. There is a reference in the East Yorkshire archives for St John’s dated 8 December 1916 which reads “Licence for assistant curate John Ernest Lamin.”

From 1923 – 1936, he was Vicar of North Dalton, again living at the Vicarage. North Dalton is small village south west of Driffield, in the East Riding of Yorkshire (where, coincidently, some of my ancestors lived).

From 1936 onwards, he was at Newton-on-Ouse, again in Yorkshire, this time north west of York. His address is the Vicarage. In 1938, he became the Officiating Chaplain at the nearby RAF Linton-on-Ouse. From June 1937 until April 1940, the Station was also home to Headquarters No 4 (Bomber) Group, which controlled the bomber stations in Yorkshire.
May 14, 2010 

Thank you Frances. Fills many of the gaps.   to my efforts. BL
By the 1901 census he was an “elementary schoolmaster” (Not an assistant)  living in Oxford, with young Harry staying with him. Oxford is mentioned in quite a few of Harry’s letters so Harry must have stayed there for a while.

By 1917 John had been ordained into the Anglican Church and was was a curate, a  novice clergyman, living in Newland, Hull, Yorkshire.

He spent quite a time in Hull and was, at some time, was given title of  Canon (an honourary title in the Anglican Church, given to senior, well respected members of the clergy) attached (probably the wrong word) to York Minster. I have discovered that the Canons attached to a Cathedral or Minster (as York) are allocated a pew – a seat in the church – that is for their use whenever they attend a service. Maybe that is where the family story of him having a plaque  came from.

I know that he retired with Agnes to Rugely in 1943.  He had married her  in late 1917, aged 47.  It was the same Rugeley where Harry did his basic training before the Flanders battlefields.

Willie knew "uncle John"  quite well and always referred to him in a respectful manner.  Jack officiated at Willie, my father’s wedding, in 1941. He died in 1945 aged 75.

The “Bill” referred to in Jack’s letter to Kate, is Willie, my father. I don’t know if he made the visit.

The Vicarage,

Brereton,

Rugeley

Staffs

27^th Feb 1944

Dear Kate

We made a mistake over the date of my birthday – we made it the 24^th instead of 25^th.  Your pork pie came on the right day and we are enjoying it very much. We are expecting Bill on next Sunday. I hope we shall have better weather than it is (to)day for it has been snowing very heavily all day!

I see they have got a new vicar at last at Newton – when are you thinking of coming to see us? The Curry’s …… We are both very well just now and  we both   send our best love.

Yours affectionately

J.E. Lamin






I can't really give a better picture of John Ernest Lamin. I have no access to anyone who knew him apart from Willie, and I'm afraid his memory gives us no help.


More information from blog follower Veda.

The remaining piece of information missing from your added comment to the blog is that he was Canon and Prebendary of Husthwaite from 1940.


"Prebendary" means that he was given this honorific title as a senior parish priest. The connection with Husthwaite will have been non-existent, and simply a random title which became vacant and which the cathedral Chapter decided to bestow on Jack. In the medieval period it seems to have been fairly significant, with legal jurisdiction:
   Link to guide 1
  Link to Guide 2
Although some canons have a specific role in relation to a cathedral which means that they live in cathedral houses and are part of the cathedral's day-to-day life, a canon with a title like Jack's had been given this office pretty much as an honorary distinction in recognition of long and faithful service. He might have been involved in some of the Minster's business as member of a council or committee, and may have been invited to preach very occasionally. As you said of his Oxford degree, well done Awsworth!


Thank you, Veda.


I'm really grateful that Jack kept Harry's letters safe so that they could be handed on to Ethel. Followers of the blog owe much to him and to Kate.

Photographs and images (Click to enlarge)
There are no dates with any of the pictures so the reader can make their own judgement.  The only exception is the last photograph,  taken at Willie's wedding to my mother, Nancy Satterthwaite, in 1941.

Thanks to readers' efforts and the Church of England's detailed records, we seem to have arrived at a good account of Jack's career.

The next post - Willie

Catherine Lamin (Kate) 1876 -1948

Harry’s sister Kate was born on 22nd April 1876, the year after the family sold the “New Farm” at Annesley, about 8 miles (5km) North of Awsworth. On the birth certificate, her father, Henry, still recorded his occupation as a farmer, but by the 1881 census he had accepted the status of farm labourer. Catherine was the fourth child as far as records show. John was the oldest, 7 years older, followed by Mary Esther and Sarah Anne at 2 year intervals. Catherine was identified as a “scholar”. As she was only 4 years old, this may have been an error.

We can see at the 1881 census that the family was living with Harry’s grandmother, the widow Sarah Brown (evidently she must have lost two husbands).

In the 1891 census, the family, now having lost their mother, was still living in Awsworth in Towsons Row. (Farmer Towson – farmer of 54 acres - lives at number 1). Catherine, called Kate on the census, has no recorded occupation but, at 14, was probably occupied in looking after 3 year old Harry.

I have no further information about Kate until the 1901 census. In the intervening time, she would have been helping to bring up Harry and will have endured the loss of her elder sister Mary Esther who was 17 when she died in 1889.

By 1901, Kate was living with her father in a different house, this time in Kimberly Lane Awsworth. We know that Annie was in service and Harry was living with brother Jack, now a school teacher in Oxford. She has no recorded occupation. Her father Henry, was a chemical labourer.

Still nothing more that I can find until 1910 when Connie was born. Catherine’s occupation was recorded on the birth certificate as a school teacher. I had always assumed that Connie was the result of some youthful indiscretion – or perhaps some “gentleman” had taken advantage of her youthful inexperience. Of course, at 34 years of age, neither was the case. Connie was born at 145 Nottingham Road Ilkeston, I believe it was where sister Annie lived later, maybe then. The only clue as to the father’s identity is Connie’s middle name - Constance Wilkinson Lamin.

By 1913, Kate had moved to London and had become a qualified midwife. I have no information about what happened to Connie. Ethel and Harry weren’t married until March the next year. 24th January 1913, “Kate Lamin entered the service of the Guardians of the Poor of the Parishes of St GILES-IN-THE FIELDS AND ST GEORGE, BLOOMSBURY, as Midwife”. She was described as “A qualified and certificated midwife. Kind and considerate to her patients.”

Her employer changed their name on amalgamation to the Holborn Union. In November 1916 became Kate became a Health Visitor, becoming qualified as an “Inspector of Nuisances” by taking an examination mentioned by Jack in a letter to her at that time. (Coincidently written on the same day that Harry took his first examination as a front line soldier at the battle of Messines Ridge.)


A testimonial written in October 1917 confirms that she resigned from the London job and moved 200 miles North to Leeds in Yorkshire. I’m not too sure about the detail, but the family story is that she worked at Leeds Infirmary and, eventually, became a Matron there. Maybe. She certainly left Connie behind with Ethel and Harry in Ilkeston.

Then we lose track of her. She appeared for Connie’s funeral in 1929, as she registered her death. We can see her at Willie and Nancy’s Wedding at Greenodd, North Lancashire (now Cumbria) in 1941. Her last will and testament was signed in 1946, before her death in July 1948 aged 70. She was buried in the same grave as her daughter Connie in Ilkeston Cemetery.

The family always referred to her in quite respectful terms. I got the impression that she was quite well off, if not wealthy. My sister Anita, who hadn’t quite reached her fifth birthday when Kate died, can remember her. She recalls “a formidable woman.”

Pictures (Click on any picture to enlarge) From the top.
1. The poster for the farm sale 1875.
2. Kate's cross-stitch sampler produced at Awsworth Board School.
3. Funeral cards for Harry's mother and sister, Mary Esther.
4. Employment record for her London job.
5. Wonderful velum certificate "Inspector of Nuisances".
6. A studio photograph of Kate in her nurse's uniform.
7. On holiday in Blackpool in 1925. (Actually, on holiday in front of a picture of Blackpool!)
8. Kate at Willie's wedding to Nancy 1941.


Final word - my daughter was named Catherine, after my great Aunt Kate. She is now a school teacher in London - quite successful, it appears. BL


Next Post, Jack.

More news.

Marek Vašut has approached me asking if I would mind if he produced a Czech version of Harry's Blog. Mind? I'm delighted.

Marek has made a start and his initial efforts can be found  Here

Finding that the current version of audio book is not available outside the European Union, I am recording readings of each of Harry's letters. This, rather than an audio version of the whole book, could act as a companion to the book.

I should have the right sort of accent as I was born and brought up in the same town as Harry. Watch this space for details and availability.