THOMPSONS by Jo Ellis , Apr 1994

THE THOMPSON'S

Written by Josephine Mary Ellis (nee Folwell) in April 1994.

(B26/4/1930 – D9/9/2008)

1^st husband Mark Gilbert (Gigiera), 2^nd husband Robert Ellis.

Mother to: Alexander, Boris, Antonia, Katherine and Andrew Gilbert

(Words in italics, are additions made by Kath Harpley.                                          Photos and scans inserted in 2019)

Mary Olive Thompson

My mother, Mary Olive Thompson, was born in Bamburgh, Northumberland on 2^nd February, 1904. She was the oldest child of four, and the only girl.

Grandpa, Thomas Thomson was born in the 1870's at Wallsend on Tyne. I have been told that he had a strong Geordie accent until the end of his life. He had brothers and sisters (according to uncle Maurice), but contact was lost with them before the war.   (My guess is that this would be common.  This would be before phones became the norm so if you moved to another area, letters would be the only communication channel.) 

Grandpa had served an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator, and sign writer. He did much work in churches. At the beginning of the 1900’s, he was employed in the refurbishment of Bamburgh castle, as foreman. Temporary wooden bungalows were built along the coast road to house other workers so employed. My grandparents lived there, and all their children were born there. My mother recalled living at Bamburgh as an idyll. Just across the road, the dunes and the sea. She recalled walking across to Holy Island (it's quite a distance), and of course, no tourists in those days. 

Bamburgh village above.

Bamburgh Castle left.

The wooden cottages in 2019 below.

Its worth mentioning here, Lord William George Armstrong who purchased and renovated the castle. His accomplishments in life were great and he is up there with the great industrial Victorians of his day.

Mary Olive Thompson. The wall behind her looks very grand, maybe its at Bamburgh Castle?

Mary was 12 or 13 when the family moved to Birmingham. I don't think she was ever so happy again. We as children were brought up to the story of Grace Darling, the Keel Row, and Bobby Shafto, all north country songs and stories. My cousin on holiday in Northumberland in the late 1970's investigating where the Thompsons had lived, met an old man who still lived in the bungalows, who remembered going to school with mother.  

When Jim and I visited for a holiday in 2019, there was a local garage with the name Thompson above it and there are lots of Thompson's in the graveyard at Bamburgh.  Maybe this suggests that Thomas Thompson was not the only one from his family working on the castle and that he had other family there.

Grandpa was a staunch catholic of Irish descent. He once broke up a friendship between mother and a non-catholic boy. My grandmother-Mary Elizabeth Smith, converted to Catholicism, and was very devout.

Grandpa also dabbled in oil painting. He executed a number of small canvasses of country scenes which are extremely pleasing. I have one, and am extremely fond of it. He was less successful with copies of old master religious paintings. They tended to be rather large. Uncle Maurice commented that grandpa's father was a far better artist. He painted church interiors. (Catholic churches at that time had elaborate stencil designs, with gold leaf). All this work came his way. When I was a small child, I used to love to go to his workroom. The smell of the paint, the colours, all the things that I mustn't touch (but did), like statues; I knocked one as big as myself over once. It came from a convent, and was waiting to be painted. I got a good telling off from grandpa who had a temper which he was known to lose, so woe betide if you were in the wrong. I loved to stay at that house in Birmingham, 5 St Mary's Road, Bearwood.

Thomas Thompson right-referred to as grandpa.

Left-unknown friend.

The first world war saw grandpa in the army. He served in Italy (where he brought back pieces of polished agate, several of which are now in brooches), and then in France. Whether he was actually in action I do not know, but he did serve as a field cook for a time, as he could cook better than the cook. I have a photo of him and a friend in uniform at that time (above).

After the war, grandpa went to Australia on his own, with a view to the whole family emigrating. He didn't like it so came home. They lived on Lightwoods Road, Bearwood for a number of years, (these were only rented houses up to this time), and again, I have photos taken of the family in the garden in the 1920's. My father is on some of them as the years progressed.

Lawrence & Frank Thompson & Joe Folwell

Mary (my mother) and Anthony Thompson. 
Family in garden 1920's Lightwoods Road, Bearwood 

I loved to go and stay with my grandparents. Grandpa took me for walks and to the park. We used to pass a Woolworth's on the way, so he bought Devonshire cream toffees (I've never had the same ones since), and cowboy books for himself. I'd have a session on the swings, and then we would walk round Shakespeare garden. This was the walled garden and was lovely. He had a friend who was deaf and dumb, and they talked together in sign language.

I doubt that grandpa enjoyed my visits as much as I did. It was a busy household. Three sons and a brother-in-law still at home (Uncle Maurice, grandma's youngest brother). Grandma had Mrs Stone to come and clean and I'm sure she needed her.  At this house in Bearwood, was a lovely dolls house, Ivy Cottage, that grandpa made and painted. I believe he also made the furniture. It was very Victorian and supposed to be a replica of grandma's house at Stonebridge. I'm not certain that it was. My cousin Janet has it now. Grandpa died in the summer of 1939 of cancer. He would have been in his 60's; I'm not sure if he was retired. He was operated on in St. Chad's hospital on Hagley Road, in Birmingham, but never came round from the anaesthetic. Although I believe their marriage was not the happiest, grandma was grief stricken.

A bit about mother's brothers. All three were younger than she was. Frank, Lawrence and Anthony in that order. The two oldest went to St.Philips Grammar School, and then on to teacher training colleges. Laurence went to Dudley where he met his future wife, Lorna Greaves. A strong minded girl. Laurence, before his marriage, had gone on cycling trips to Germany, (in the early 1930's) and had also tried to make contact with his father's family in Wallsend on Tyne. They had not wanted to know, so he didn't pursue it.

Laurence and Lorna were married in about 1937. They were very modern, buying a new house on a new site at Quinton. They had the garden laid out and were very happy. Their daughter Janet, was born in 1938 or 9, when her mother gave up work. It was a great treat to visit Auntie Lorna and see the new baby, and perhaps be allowed to hold her. The war came and Laurence carried on teaching. He did not seem to have too good health. He collapsed and died quite suddenly in 1941 or 42. He was just 32.

I don't know any of the details of Laurence's death, but everyone was devastated, most of all, of course, Lorna, who had a toddler, a mortgage, and no husband. She got a job teaching, where it was possible to take Janet with her. This worked well until Janet was old enough to go to School.

Lorna became a catholic before her marriage, and was devout. Both she and Laurence were friends with the local clergy, and I think this was a great help to her when she was bereaved.

Lorna always had the idea she would like to have here own school. In about 1950, her goal was in sight. She had got in mind a large Victorian house in spacious grounds going for £5,000. She couldn't sell her own house for as much as she wanted, so grandma sold her house, and bought Lorna's, thus releasing the necessary capital. There followed years of hard work. Lorna's sister, Joan came into the school, and it is still running and flourishing. (Kath's note - I remember going to this school several times as a child with mum, dad, Antonia and Andrew. It felt like a treat going there as it was quite different and we always came away with notebooks, pencils and pens-simple pleasures and cheap to please us children in those days).

Lorna brought her daughter up single handed, and carved out a satisfactory career for herself out of the adversity of her early sorrows. I admired her very much. She died in the 1970's, and Janet continues to run the school. Her aunt too died some years ago, so Janet is sole head, and I'm sure, very capable. She has three sons (and a husband Eric, also a teacher), two of whom won scholarships to Oxford.

The next brother, Frank, a teacher, married before the war, a girl from Croydon called Phyllis Gingell. I just remember her being dark and pretty. After his marriage, Frank lived and taught in Crowdon. He too, collapsed and died suddenly, within a year of his brother's death. (Kath's note  - begs the question if this is hereditary as my Uncle Anthony collapsed and died in 1979 when he was just 46, and my brother Andrew had his first heart attack in his early 40's and has had several subsequent scares. I too have a heart problem and have had several scary moments (AF). Luckily medicine has moved on). Within three years, grandma had lost a husband and two sons. Naturally she felt all the more for Anthony, her youngest, and this embarrassed Anthony. Frank and Phyllis had one daughter, Carole. After the war, Phyllis remarried and had a son. The family emigrated to Australia. Phyllis and Lorna corresponded, and so did Janet and Carole. Since I never met Carole, I had no contact. Janet told me Carole liked painting and was quite good at it. Some years ago she was diagnosed as having a heart problem. I heard some time ago that she had died during 1991. She would have been in her early 50's.

Anthony, the youngest brother was the one I remember best, of course, it is not so long since he died. He was in his 70's. In his youth he was into motorbikes and cars. He always had sporty little numbers. He never passed a driving test as he learned to drive before tests were obligatory. He worked in the car industry most of his life, in the precision engineering side. He had a dry sense of humour, and a very pleasant manner, but was a bit indecisive. He visited us after his wife Gwen's death, together with Janet and Eric. He was most interesting to talk to, and spoke with a soft Birmingham accent. His ambition as a young man was to do a ton up the Bristol Road in Birmingham. He never achieved it.

He married Gwen just before the war and was in reserved occupation for all the war. Gwen was a lively jolly women, another convert to Catholicism. She wasn't too bright, and asked quite embarrassing questions at awkward moments. Their only son Christopher, went to Auntie Lorna's school, but was not a star pupil.

Against all advice they bought a house that was just being built. This was the best thing they did. They lived there until Gwen died. Anthony lived there a little longer, but then bought a bungalow. They still had their 1930's furniture that was new when they married. All the 1930's cups and saucers kept in immaculate condition. A real time capsule.

Christopher, their only son had an accident when he was on day release from his engineering apprenticeship. He was in a coma for days, and it seems some part of his brain is damaged. He is married and has two young daughters.

I'll mention Uncle Maurice here but also when I talk about grandma. He was the youngest of eight brothers and sisters, and never married. In his youth, he had been an engineer, but after the 1926 General Strike, he couldn't get work. Finally, mother who worked for Midland Red, got him a job as a bus conductor. He stayed at work until he was about 70, and had done 40 years with Midland Red in order to get a totally free bus pass. Unfortunately he was too old to enjoy it. He was ten years older than my mother. I'm not sure when he came to live with grandma, but he was there for as long as ever I could remember. When grandpa died, and all the three sons were married, the house was far too big for two of them. Grandma bought a modern semi detached house, 33 Castle Road, Warley. She tried to sell furniture. There was lots of Victorian stuff, much of which was inherited. There were books (calf bound and old) in bookcases, a large wind out table, beds, wardrobes etc. Maurice said they couldn't sell them. They were chopped up and burnt. At this point I'll leave Maurice and come back to him later.

Mother said grandma was always coy about her age. After her death in 1950, it was established she was born in 1875, thus she was 75 when she died. She was the oldest of eight children, and Uncle Maurice was the youngest. She was born in Hampton in Arden in Warwickshire. Shakespeare's Forest of Arden encompasses this village.

Although she was not born in it, her family occupied a cottage at Stonebridge, Warwickshire, and she certainly lived there for most of her childhood. Uncle Maurice said that the family had lived there for about 100 years prior to 1913, when his father died and they had to vacate it.

Their father was a blacksmith at Packington Hall and their grandfather had been a gamekeeper. The cottage of course, was an estate cottage and was quite substantial (the doll's house was based on it), and stood where a large roundabout now is-A45 and the A452, on the Birmingham to Coventry road. The cottage was demolished in the early 1970's. This was very rural and isolated in those days. Maurice remembers fetching cows for milking before going to school, and grandma told of tedious hours spent churning butter.

(Packington Hall, is a 17^th century mansion at Great Packington CV7 7HG. It is the seat of the Earl of Aylesford.)

 In the family bible that I had rebound (Kath now has this), there is a family tree (See end of document for family tree entries). With the research that I have undertaken, I can link up what I know to the entries in the bible,  although at the time of writing, (Jan 1994), still more research needs to be undertaken. Grandma's maiden name was Smith, and her mother's family were Jones. It is this family that lived and worked at Stonebridge and that I am so interested in. I have a photo of Mr M Jones (Left) with a leather apron and blacksmith's tools. I think it is great grandmother's brother, but who knows.

Many years ago, I remember being told of a young Welshman looking for work on a farm, who ended up marrying the daughter, somewhere in the family. Grandma's mother had a reputation for hard work. I suppose, putting together lots of bits of information, that the Jones-Smith's had some sort of small-holding that went with the job. Maurice mentions cows, grandma, butter. Great grandma made and sold butter. There was a pony and trap she used to deliver this in. The story goes that she delivered some butter to a farm just outside Coventry (It was still there 20 years ago), and was paid for it, but on getting home, she had not got the money, in fact she had lost a sovereign, a lot of money in those days. She went back the next day to inquire, and found the money in the grass verge where she had been talking to the farmer's wife.

Grandma had a sister, Olive, who died in infancy, then there were Pat and Nancy. Her brothers were Will, Ephraim, Sydney and Maurice. Will went to Shropshire. I remember him staying with grandma when I was small. He was a widower, and was stone deaf. It was hard to communicate, and it was done by writing. He worked on road construction, and this was said to have caused the deafness. I know nothing of Sydney. Ephraim seems to have been the black sheep. I didn't know of his existence until after Maurice's death. Family members who knew him seem to have disowned him. He was a blacksmith, and was reputed to be pretty strong. The story goes that when he was drunk, he was apt to lift up the anvil and throw it.

Late 1920's wedding. 
Back row: 4th&3^rd from right-grandpa and grandma Thompson.

Back row:  2nd&1^st from right:  2 of grandma's brothers. 

Bride is grandma's niece-Rene (Irene) and mother's cousin. 

Front right:  Brides mother-my great aunt Pat.

I remember Gt Auntie Pat and Gt Auntie Nance vaguely. Nance never married, and she was the first to die. This seemed to cause a rift between Pat and grandma, and it was years before they spoke again. Pat had a daughter, Irene, she and my mother, were great friends in their youth. I have a photo of her wedding (left).  She died of pernicious anaemia in the 1930's.

Irene had a brother, Leslie (Leslie – not on the family tree. There is a Percy. Not sure if this is an error or an omission?), who visited mother periodically. I remember him as a grasper.

Grandma went into service at Cragside.                                                       (now a National Trust property in

Northumberland, formerly another Lord Armstrong home  and the first house in the world to have hydro electric powered lighting and many mod cons). I don't know if this was her first position, but she seems to have been happy. I have a photo taken in the garden with four other young women dressed in black (grandma is top left, she would have been a maid) looking very smart. It is a fairly safe conjecture that she met my grandfather through working at Cragside. I had her engagement ring, now lost (sadly it was either Antonia or Katherine that lost it when they were children) but the box it came in declares that it was bought in Alnwick. I don't know where they married, but grandma converted to Catholicism, and of course lived at Bamburgh, where the castle is another Armstrong home.

My mother, the oldest child, was born in 1904, when grandma was 29. When the family finally came to Birmingham, they stayed at Stonebridge. My mother did not enjoy this. I wonder if the conversion had caused a conflict in the family. It may well be so.

The family eventually settled in Bearwood, a pleasant Victorian suburb. They rented a couple of houses, and finally bought 5, St Mary's Road, Bearwood, the house I remember. I know very little of these years. I don't know when Maurice joined the family

Both grandma and grandpa were keen for their children to have the best education available. Mother had gone to a convent school, but didn't take any exams that I know of, but she learned shorthand and  typing at a time when most girls either went into service or a factory. The boys all went to grammar schools, and did well as I have indicated.

Grandma would have been 55 when I was born, and always seemed an old lady to me. She wore a shapeless dress with a modesty vest in the front. She was a lovely cook, I can smell her dinners now. She didn't have a vacuum cleaner, and not carpets as we have today, but she and Mrs Stone (her cleaning lady), donned their dust caps, covered the furniture with dust sheets, and brushed the stairs, rugs and carpets that there were. They scrubbed and polished. The house was cold in winter, and the smell of the paraffin stove in the kitchen was pervasive.

I used to go to stay in Birmingham and some of my earliest memories are of being ill there. This was when my brother Anthony was born. I was on the settee in the living room, the hub of the house. Frank and Lawrence rigged up a gadget to speak to me through wireless. I never tired of this, but they did. I remember this time before the war (WW2) with affection, grandma must have worked jolly hard, with all these men about, and then me. She loved whist drives (a trick taking card game, apparently still played today), and there were lots of them. I remember going to a garden party at a convent. There was a baby in a crib, that the nuns were hoping would be adopted. I tried to persuade grandma to take it.

She used to go shopping in Bearwood. There was the fish shop. The slab was on a child's level, so I was looking directly at the fish. They were decoratively laid out, mostly whole fish, still with their eyes which looked at me. I was fascinated. Baines the bread and cake shop where grandma was on friendly terms with the manageress, and I was announced as 'Mary's eldest'. The butchers which always had a queue. There would be several people cutting up and serving. Once, a women with a flat cap was endlessly sharpening knives. On the down to Dolloways the greengrocer. This was like a market stall and quite different from any greengrocer I knew. There was the Majestic cinema, and Clutterbucks the shoe shop. Grandma always took me to church (I was used to going). Once apparently, the priest was proceeding round the church in a long white gown and I asked why he had his nightie on. I really must have been quite a hindrance but I loved it.

The sons of course, got married and left, and grandpa died, and that left Uncle Maurice and grandma in this large house. She sold up and disposed of a lot of furniture as I have said. They moved to a brand new house at Warley about a mile and a half further out of town, just at the beginning of the war. She was a very keen gardener, and planted a row of cordon apples, of which she and Maurice were very proud of. He too loved gardening, but it was only a small plot. Grandma would go to somewhere like Woolworth's to buy daffodil bulbs, and pick them over looking for ones with two heads. She had a pretty garden. Something was always in flower, she would take me a walk round it and show me various plants. I wasn't really interested, but I know how she felt about it.

Mary Elizabeth Smith - Grandma with my sister Margaret

Grandma was a very good manager, and was careful with money. She was generous to her grandchildren, and indeed, left us all £150 in her will. She bought remnants of material that took her fancy, and had a chest full of it together with knitting wool. She knitted a lot of her underwear, vests and knickers. I remember these bright green long legged knickers, loosely knitted. There was still a pair in a drawer when Maurice died. Maurice of course, still worked for the Midland Red, and came and went at irregular hours. She had meals ready for him when necessary. Grandma had to take a lodger during the war. This was compulsory. She had a couple of short stay people, and then Mr Turner. He was a middle aged widower, who worked at Longbridge. Of course, he was on war work, and worked long hours. Grandma got him his meals, but he always went to the Holly Bush in the evening. This seemed to suit all parties, and he stayed after the war, as I presume he had no other home. When grandma moved house to assist Lorna, she asked Mr Turner to leave. He was pretty upset, and asked if he found temporary accommodation whilst the move took place, could he lodge at the new house. This he did. All parties seemed happy with this arrangement. He was there when grandma died in 1950. This left Maurice and Mr Turner. Mother went to stay with Maurice, taking Alex who must have been 4 or 5 at the time. She commented on the two old men, and how they shared the 2d delivery charge on the newspapers.

Maurice nursed Mr Turner before he died, and I believe was quite lonely when he was gone; they were two old men who rubbed along together without much interest in each other, but Maurice missed him.

When grandma died in 1950, Maurice opted to buy her house and contents that had not been left to specific people, or contents that mother and uncle Anthony wanted. Consequently, he and Mr Turner carried on as before. Maurice died intestate, in the early 1970's. He had lived a quite life; keen on the garden, clean in his person and clothes, but the house was dingy in the extreme. No paint since grandma died and nothing replaced when it wore out. He visited us once a year, and he was a great source of information on life at Stonebridge. He was quite indecisive, however, and would not make a will, which caused confusion at his death. Numerous relatives including Leslie turned up and took over. I had some things from the house, Anthony (my brother) had some of the nicest. Partly due to mother, who had them when grandma died. There was an oak chest, quite plain, probably 17^th century, and three miniatures, one of Sarah Boucher, mentioned in the family bible as having died in Dublin.

Uncle Maurice (Smith) holding Alex Gilbert, 

Mary Thompson (nee Smith-grandma) and 

Mark Gilbert. October 1950, shortly before grandma died.

Grandma had suffered increasingly from angina, and I had once been with her when she collapsed in a shop. We had a taxi home, much to Maurice's annoyance. He was only worried about her. When Alex was a few months old, we took him to Birmingham and had photos taken with grandma and Maurice (above). When Maurice died in 1971, that was the point when Mark and I became the older generation. There was only Uncle Anthony left, and we hardly saw him.

Back to my parents: After grandpa Folwell died in 1942, life moved slowly, as the war was on. Food rationed. We were all at grammar schools. Grandma paid the fees of £3.3.0 (three pounds and three shillings) per term for me until the 1944 Education Act abolished fee paying. I left school in 1946 and went to work in Coles nursery garden at Thurnby. I loved it. My parents were adjusting to having the house to themselves (without grandpa), and things gradually became normal again, although rationing didn't finish altogether until the early 1950's.

My father had an accident in 1949 from which he died. He was cycling and collided with another cyclist at speed, and was thrown from his heavy bike. He struck his head on the curb and was rendered unconscious. He died a week later, never having regained consciousness. Mother never really got over this. She carried on but we children (now in our late and mid teens) had no idea how difficult it must have been for her. Margaret left college and got a job, and enjoyed a full social life. Anthony stayed at school and took his School Certificate.

Mother was only 45 when father died, She suffered increasingly from ill health. We were inclined to dismiss it and think she was exaggerating. She 'limped' on for several years. Alex being a great comfort to her. She adored him. Eventually she went into hospital for a laporotomy as nothing definite could be found to be the matter. She died a few weeks later in 1958, aged just 54, of a post operative pulmonary embolism. It was established that she had had a diseased gall bladder which didn't show on any tests. With hindsight, she must have been increasingly lonely, as Margaret married and Anthony went into the Merchant Navy.

Jo Ellis

April 1994

From the family bible:

FOLWELLS By Jo Ellis, Apr 1994

THE FOLWELL FAMILY

Written by Josephine Mary Ellis (nee Folwell) in April 1994. 

(B26/4/1930 – D9/9/2008)

Jo's  1^st husband Mark Gilbert (Gigiera), 2^nd husband Robert Ellis.

Jo is Mother to: Alexander, Boris, Antonia, Katherine and Andrew Gilbert

                      (Words in italics, are additions made by Kath Harpley.                             Photos and scans inserted in 2019)

 There were 3 Folwell shops in Leicester. 

Established in 1848.

Butchers and ham and bacon curers.

My grandfather, William Henry Folwell was born 21^st July, 1861 at Great Glen in Leicestershire. He was the third child and oldest son of his parents who had seven children in all.

I know very little of his early life, except that there was often not enough to eat, and that he got many a good hiding. When, as an old man he lay in hospital, another old man in an adjoining bed, asked if he knew Billy Folwell, (he was known as Billy or Uncle Billy in the family), It transpired they had played football together in their youth. The family moved to Leicester sometime in the early 1870's where his father started a small coal business. They moved to various parts of Leicester, gravitating to the Sanvey Gate and Soar Lane side of the city.

Whilst a young man, grandpa joined the Leicester constabulary, after trying a spell as a blacksmith. This hadn't suited him too well by all accounts, as it was too much like hard work. He rose to the rank of sergeant, and was in the force for many years. He was present at the opening of the Abbey Park by the then Prince and Princess of Wales, later King Edward V11 and Queen Alexandra.

He married (date unknown) Louisa Smedley. They had three children, my father Joseph being the youngest. More later.

Grandpa as I saw him was a straightforward sort of man who never had a day's illness in his life. He was no good at 'little jobs', but this was long before the days of D.I.Y.  In his person, he was meticulously clean and smart. He pottered around the house in shirt sleeves and braces, but was always smart when he went out, which was often. He wore a suit and bowler hat, (a top hat at Christmas) and well polished shoes. Much of his time was spent cleaning and supervising mother's cleaning activities. He was a bit of a tyrant in this respect, and they had many an argument (She was his daughter-in-law).

This is Sarah Ann Smedley in 1929 or 1930.  She is the mother of Uncle George and Aunty Vina and of my grandmother-Louisa Folwell.

My grandmother (Louisa, nee Smedley) died in the early 1920's and consequently I never knew her. The three children she and my grandfather had were Harry the oldest, about ten years older than my father, Eva who also died in the 1920's. Eva had been married to one, Charlie Marlow, who died before her. They had two children, Keith and Joan, who of course, were orphaned. Keith was apprenticed to a butcher where he lived in. It was expected that he would marry one of the daughters, but he didn't. When WW11 came, he went into the army and served in Italy, either landing at Anzio or Salerno. When he was demobbed, he set up in business on his own and

married a girl he had been at school with, who was widowed and who had a son. She was a nice women named Margaret; she helped him a lot in the business. Joan, Keith's sister, as a child had been fostered by her father's relatives. Grandpa obviously couldn't look after these children, but he contributed financially, as did other members of the family. Joan, when she was older, told my mother that relatives bought clothes for her which were taken from her when they had gone, and given to their own children. She worked in Freeman Hardy and Willis shoe shop in Leicester until she went into the W.A.A.F.'s during the war. She spent years in Lincolnshire, I believe in Bomber Command. She married a chap called Leslie (I don't remember his surname) whom she had met during the war. He came from Durham, and she went to live up there. I last saw her in 1950.

I understand that when Keith retired, he too went to live in Durham, where he had a leg amputated, and that he has since died.

My grandfather took great interest in these two, and they visited regularly. Although they were cousins, they were much older than we were, and we were in awe of them. Keith liked to play cards as did grandpa, so they often played when Keith came.

Joseph Lesley Folwell circa 1910

Harry, my grandparents oldest child, I gather, was a disappointment to them. There had been some unpleasantness with the Smedleys relatives, for whom he worked, and he had been dismissed. This was a shame as it was at that time a thriving coal business, and my father would have liked to go into this business, but they were not keen to employ another relative. Harry served in the army during the first world war, and was gassed. He was also a heavy smoker. He never appeared robust in health. He served in Sierra Leone at some point, and later married a women called Evelyn who was divorced, a heinous crime in those days. He always seemed to be at cross purposes with people. He and his wife seemed to be trouble makes, although I have heard since that he was not as black as I had been led to believe. He outlived my father by a  number of years, and had  no children of his own.                                       

L. Harry Folwell-L Corporal in Army

R. Joe Folwell-Cadet during WW2  

My father, Joseph was the youngest, born on 27^th February, 1903 at 159 Tudor Road, Leicester, when his father was in his 40's. More of him later. The Smedley's, my grandfather's in-laws, lived at 227, Fosse Road North, Leicester. A substantial house owned by uncle George. My great grandmother and great grandfather Smedley and family also lived in the Sanvey Gate, Soar Lane area of

Leicester. They had five children that I know of; Louisa, Emma, Vina, George and James. GG-father Smedley was a carter, but GG-mother bought coal and sold it at 1d per bucket to her neighbours. This was the beginning of the family business, which was sold in the 1950's. Smedley's horse and carts were a familiar sight in my childhood in Leicester. GG-mother Smedley however, was a tyrant. She ran the business (I don't know anything about her husband), and her two sons went into it. James was married with two or three children. One day he just left home and never went back. Emma was an invalid and she and Vina never married, neither did George. He had a fiancee who was a school teacher. His mother sent someone to vet her, a move she very much resented. She broke it off.                                                                                                                                                                            Joseph Lesley Folwell circa 1927

                                                                            

George and Vina lived together in his house, until their deaths in the late 1950's and early 1960's. GG-grand mother died in the early 1930's. I'm told I saw her as a baby, but of course I don't remember. Emma too died in the 1930's. My grandmother had been a cigar maker before her marriage. She made the hand rolled kind somewhere in Leicester.

Grandpa Folwell was very close to these relatives, and went to play cards with them every Monday night. My father went, and Keith sometimes as well. Grandpa was also close to two brothers and one sister, Arthur, Ernest and Eliza. Arthur had been married twice. His first wife had had twins and had died. They were brought up by their aunt Eliza. She (Eliza) had been a staunch socialist all her life, and had visited Russia in the early 1920's. Arthur remarried (Auntie Lizzie) a nice round cheerful lady, and they had two sons, Alan and Roy. Roy was a bit older than me, (I have since found out that he is only about 6 months older) and Alan about 11 years, having been born in 1919. 

Alan was in the RAF (746844) during WW2 and was a flight sergeant. He went early in the war to South Africa to help train aircrew. On returning to England, he was out with a trainee pilot, he was the navigator. They took off from RAF Swanton Morley, Norfolk, in a Mosquito HR179 when they ran into trouble. The weather was reported as bad. This resulted in a crash at Oaklands Farm, New York, Boston. Both Alan and the pilot F/Lt (48791) Frank Dare Holdsworth were killed along with the farmer who was in his barn. Having made it through the war it seems unjust to be taken out at the last post.

He had been engaged to be married. The family lived at 18, Andrews Street, off King Richard's Road, in Leicester. I loved to visit, as they had a cellar. I was fascinated. I don't remember much about Ernest, but he had a son about my father's age, and a daughter who went to Newarke Girls School as I did, but years before. What I remember about Arthur and Ernest was their likeness to each other, and they had the same timbre of voice. The voice particularly.

After leaving the Police Force, my grandfather ran an off licence at the corner of Flora Street and King Dicks Road. He was not a serious drinking man, but enjoyed a glass of beer. He was very sociable and visited all the relatives I've described, and they all visited him. I remember, just before the war being allowed to stay up. Grandpa was giving a supper at Christmas time to some of his relatives. The table groaned under the pork pies, ham, turkey, pickles, cake, tarts etc. A very jolly family affair

                                                                                                                           

                               

    Joseph and Mary Folwell                                      Joe,  Grandpa (William),                 July 1929                                              Mary and Josephine (baby)

                                                                25 Upperton Road, Leicester. 1930

25 Upperton Road, Leicester                               Anthony, Josephine, Margaret         Grandpa (William,                                                   Folwell 1936

Josephine, Margaret  Folwell

           1/3/1934

When my parents married in 1929, the arrangement was that they should live with Grandpa. Mother to keep house, and he would leave the house to them when he died. It was not so common to own houses in the 1920's and 30's as now; grandpa had done well considering his childhood, and so had his relatives.

Grandpa made it plain when we were small, he would not look after us or take us out, but as we got older, he would do so. He would give mother money to buy us a coat or whatever, and take us to visit his relatives. Many a scratchy horse hair chair have I sat and squirmed on in consequence. They were good kind people. Their houses were dark with coal fires in the grate, tables with chenille cloths, ornamental over-mantels, mirrors and sofa's covered in plush velvet. Cold when you moved from the fire, outside lavatories and cellars. The two abiding pictures I have of this grandfather, are sweeping snow whilst it is falling, and dressed in a top hat to go Christmas visiting. He always walked to relatives houses, to town, and anywhere else he wanted to go.

He was not a reader, indeed, the News of the World and the Leicester Mercury were his sole reading material. In 1931, he accompanied my parents to Paris for a holiday. As far as I know this was the only foreign travel any of them took. They went to the Opera House, for a Wagner performance. Heavy going for a music lover, never mind grandpa. Halfway through the performance, he asked my father if he had the Mercury on him. He had. So grandpa sat in a box at the Paris Opera House reading the Leicester Mercury. He had the forethought to save coins of the realm when they became obsolete; thus he had a sovereign, a half sovereign, a crown and four shilling piece. I now have the sovereign and the crown. I don't know what happened to the half sovereign, but Joan had the four shilling piece.

25 Upperton Road, had typically Victorian furniture in my childhood, a lot of which was disposed of when he died. I had a chest of drawers and a small pretty inlaid wooded box which had been my grandmother's work box. There was also a superb writing box which contained a secret drawer, and the list of policeman present at the opening of Abbey Park which has already been mentioned. Anne Folwell (my brother's wife) now has this. Grandpa's much decorated truncheon now belongs to Greg Folwell (my brother's son), grandpa's great grandson and the only direct male Folwell descendant of his (incidentally this branch of Folwell's dies with Greg as he has no male heirs. A search on Facebook reveals that Folwell is by no means an unusual name and there are many Folwell's).

The Folwell's at the beginning of the 19^th century, lived in Fleckney, and it is believed they came north from the Northampton-Leicestershire border. That they had been drovers (droving is the practice of moving livestock over long distances, possibly to market, by walking them, often with the aid of dogs), and moved north with the coming of the canal or railway. More research needs doing on this point.

The first recorded couple, Sam and Anne lived in Fleckney and had several children, one of whom was another Sam. Sam no. 1 and his wife were both alive in 1841. He was dead by 1851 census, he died about 1845 in Fleckney. Anne his wife, was still alive in Fleckney in 1851, but I can find no further mention of her.

Son, Sam married another Anne and fortunately for us, he moved to Great Glen. He was there by the time his family were born. He seems to have worked as a railwayman, and my father told me that he worked on the construction of Swannington Tunnel near Ashby de la Zouch. He too came to Leicester, and worked with coal. He died as a result of an accident. He was crushed by coal wagons 27th Jan 1877.

Abner, Sam and Anne's oldest son was born 4^th April 1834, and was married to Eliza Wickens who was a year older than he, at the County Register Office in Leicester, and his witnesses were his younger brother, George and George's fiancee, Kezia Mugglestone. (Around the 1850's). Abner and his growing family moved to Leicester in the early 1870's. His brothers George and James had already moved there. He then became a coal merchant in a small way of business in Charnwood Street before starting the Co-op coal business in Leicester.

Back to grandpa. He had a stroke in 1940, I think. The first illness he had ever had. He was, before his illness about 6ft tall and weighed around 16-17 stones. He always walked and without a stick. However, he lost a considerable amount of weight, when he then resembled his brothers Arthur and Ernest. The district nurse came and did the necessary, but grandpa had diabetes which, with the stroke caused gangrene in one foot. He was admitted to hospital, where he had the offending leg amputated. He was in a lot of pain, and mother found it difficult to look after him. He went to Harry's, but wasn't there long before he was admitted to Swain Street, the workhouse. I never saw him again after he left hospital. This must have crushed him, as this was the fate that everyone of his generation dreaded and feared most. He died in 1942. A sad and unfortunate end to a proud and independent man.

Joseph Folwell mid 1920's, back row, 2nd from right.

My father, Joseph Leslie Folwell went to grammar school in Leicester. The City Boys school I think. He took no exams, and I believe he worked as a clerk for several years. I know very little about his early life; he played the piano rather well, and football. He followed the Test Matches before the war. As a boy he had sung in Leicester cathedral choir. He loved music. Where this came from is a mystery as no one else in either the Folwell or Smedley family seem to have had much regard for it. It seems that he had not got a true ear as indeed neither have I. He later learned to play the cello, and it could be truly excruciating to listen to him, but he enjoyed it. His big passion was chamber music, in which we children were expected to participate. I'm afraid I did so with an ill grace, as it was no pleasure to me then or now. I particularly must have been a disappointment on this level. However, he and mother had friends who played and were happy to play. They mostly came to our house. This was after grandpa died and we were a bit older. I particularly remember Arthur Fields who played the clarinet. Schubert's clarinet quintet was often our lullaby. It went on interminably. Mother was a competent viola player by this time and they both belonged to local orchestras. Margaret too, as she got older.

Sherbourne 1946. Margaret Folwell (front left). Leader of the orchestra.

My parents met when my mother, Mary Thompson, took lodgings in the house next door. She came from Birmingham in about 1923-4 to work in the Midlands Red Offices. She was a secretary with the Midland Red at their head office in Bearwood, Birmingham near her home. I don't know what the circumstances were under which she came to Leicester, but she and my father courted for five years before finally marrying in 1929 in Birmingham and honeymooning in Cornwall. My father was a difficult man to know. Fine whilst we were small, but seeming to become aloof and remote with a communication problem as we grew older. Anthony found this too, but Margaret never did. As grandpa (and we children) grew older, he became more tetchy and he and mother had many a battle. Dad would walk out and leave them to it, never taking sides.

Dad became a catholic before marrying mother; whether this was by conviction or because mother wanted him to, I do not know. He certainly practiced his religion, but he didn't hold with the introspection of the Catholic church at that time.

As we children grew older, we were taken to concerts at the De Montfort Hall, bike rides out into the countryside and Sunday evening walks, when we behaved abominably, shoving and pushing each other, tripping each other up. We were truly awful. Summer Sunday afternoons spent at Kenwood swimming pool were wonderful. This was an open air pool which drew Leicester on hot days. How we loved it. During WW2 local girls brought G.I.'s there. They thrilled us with their diving displays, the likes of which we had never seen.

 

Josephine (oldest), Margaret and Anthony Folwell. 1936

Mary, Josephine, Anthony, Margaret & Joseph Folwell - 1940 or 1941

            (you can just hear Mary saying to her daughter Josephine -                               don't cross your legs!)

I do not know in what circumstances my father left school and went to work. He was an insurance agent for all of the years I knew him. Mother said that he would have liked to go into Uncle George's coal business, but after the uncle Harry affair, George would not employ relatives again. Uncle George however vouched for dad when he approached one of the local charities that help young people start out in life. He bought an insurance book. A practice that no longer exists. He plodded on with this until his death. He toyed with buying a motor bike, but mother was not keen. I think his work bored him, but he was thoroughly conscientious. Fridays and Saturdays were the busiest days of his week. He often didn't get home until 11.00pm, as he said you had to call whilst people still had money after being paid for the week. He had a lot of calls on Braunstone Estate, a pre war slum clearance of some of the worst slums in Leicester. When WW2 came, he was too old for military service, but volunteered for the Civil Defence. He worked at this full time, and employed a women to do a good lot of his collecting. He did some, and I did a monthly round at Wigston, on a Sunday morning for the princely some of 6d  (pre 1971 currency, equivalent to 2.5p).

Towards the end of the war, he was drafted to Power Jets at Whetstone as a storekeeper. This was one of the sites for testing jet engines, where Sir Frank Whittle was a frequent visitor. (Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, FRAeS was an English Royal Air Force air officer. He is credited with single-handedly inventing the turbojet engine.)  At the end of the war, of course, he resumed full time insurance work. This left him time early in the week for other enterprises. He started to collect books and music in a modest way. He and mother both read a lot. He had collected quite a range of sheet chamber music, which he had bound in individual parts, thus a Haydn quartet was half bound in leather and buckram. There was a lot of music. Some of this was destroyed in a fire we had soon after the end of the war. It proved difficult to replace as the music had been printed in Leipzig, Germany,  before the war, and was just not available. After mother's death, we were told the University was interested in acquiring this music. As none of us particularly wanted it, that's where it went to. Gregory Folwell said recently, he had played from this music at the university. That must have been quite something, knowing this was his grandfathers collection.

At some point, my father bought himself an Italian Cello and had lessons from his friend, Harry Biggs who was a good cellist. He taught Anthony later on and he performed quite proficiently. Anthony kept the cello and played from time to time. Gregory now has it and I believe plays in much the same way. Mother played the violin and had done so since girlhood. She took up the viola when we were children and became proficient enough to be in demand for local orchestras and chamber music groups.

Dad bought or commissioned a viola (Made by Richardson's in Devon) from a renowned violin and viola maker before or just after the war. They had to wait about five years for this instrument as he had such a full order book. This too was sold when mother died.

When Richard Strauss the composer made his final concert tour after the war, performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London, dad went on his own. Mother wasn't even asked if she would like to go. I think she was rather hurt by this. (Kath's note:  On a visit to see Aunty Margaret in 2020, she added to this tale.  Apparently, my mother's dad did not go alone to London.  He went with a Miss Brown. No wonder his wife Mary was not a happy bunny.   I will just leave that revelation hanging there).

As children, we were taken to parks, museums, concerts, swimming and cycling more so than most people took their children out. We walked to town, seldom riding on bus or tram. We had a happy childhood, were well fed and cared for and educated to the best of our parents ability. We had much to be thankful for, but as children of course, were unaware of this. There were dreadful slums and ignorance until well after the war. TB was prevalent. Infectious diseases were killers. Margaret had diphtheria and had to go into the isolation hospital, and the house was fumigated. Cousin Joan had something wrong with her eyes as a result of childhood measles.

Mother of course, gave up work when she married. However, we three children were born in fairly quick succession. Mrs Shilton, grandpa's cleaning lady stayed on, coming twice a week. She gave the house a going through every week. Coal fires, two a day in winter were hard work, as was washing. This took the best part of a day, from lighting the fire under the copper, filling it with water, before starting washing. You couldn't see across the kitchen for steam in the winter. There was washing for three adults and three children, plus drying and ironing. Not the doddle it is nowadays with automatic washing machines and dryers. Mother worked quite hard, despite not going out to work. Shopping though was easier. Sid came in the morning for an order. He was 'the boy', although he was probably 40. He rode a traditional delivery bike with a basket in the front. He waited while mother gave the order and delivered it later in the day. Bread was delivered every day before the war, and on alternate days during and after the war. Milk also of course was delivered. Mother did call at the butchers. She would place an order and it would be delivered as required. She did call at the greengrocers for vegetables, or we were sent on errands as they were only around the corner.

 Anthony Folwell and Ann (their children are Gregory and Rachael)

Jo Ellis

April 1994

FAMILY TREE: