I’m so lucky to have such lovely friends and followers. This wonderful album packed full of family photos was a gift to me from Diana, she thought I would enjoy it and hopefully be able to research the families mentioned in this album. I would dearly love to actually identify the mystery Midwife/Sister/Nurse too if anyone has any ideas.

It was given as a gift originally to ’Sister’ from Patricia ‘Mummy Dodo’? I thought at first she was a sister at a small maternity hospital, but now I’m thinking that she was maybe a private midwife and that these photos were gifted to her by grateful parents for the care and kindness that she gave them during the births of their children. She obviously kept in touch with ‘her families’ throughout the years and they sent her photos of the children, growing up.

I wanted to take my time with the research as I thought it would be good if possible to write a little about each family and maybe find out more about ’Sister’

I’ve used Ancestry, Find My Past and of course Free BMD to search for clues about the families within these pages.

Mr and Mrs Griffin and Anthony, Patricia and Robert. Searching in 1948 I found 16 possible births for Patricia Griffin, then comparing them side by side I found only 4 possible Robert Griffin‘s in 1952. But 2 matched with a mother’s maiden name of Jones. But I can’t find a matching Anthony yet who was obviously born earlier than Patricia.

2nd quarter of 1948. Griffin Patricia M. JONES Abergavenny 8c 58
3rd quarter of 1952. GRIFFIN Robert I. JONES Stoke 9b 749.

The Beale Boys. George Gerard, John Joseph, Robert Roger and Walter William. First I looked for Walter as I had his birth date in 1939. Then I looked for Robert and found a match in 1935.

Name Walter W Beale
Reg Date 1939. Quarter Apr-May-Jun. Registration district Chelmsford, Essex. Mother’s Maiden Name Adamson
Volume Number 4a. Page number 1097.

First name(s) Robert R Beale
Volume 4A. Birth quarter 1
Page 917. Birth year 1935
Mother’s maiden name Adamson
District Billericay, Essex.

I found George G Beale born in 1930 in Billericay, Essex. Ann M Beale was born in 1931 in Billericay, Essex. John J Beale was born in 1934 also in Billericay, Essex.

Most likely parents are George R Beale married Isabella M Adamson in the first quarter of 1930 in Holywell, Flintshire?

So now I know that ‘Mrs Beale at Ann’s Wedding’ was referring to her daughter Ann.

“My Largest Family” Here’s ‘Sister‘ with The Beale’s.

Ann and Robert Collins. Jan 1948.

David Woodward. 1943.

Mr and Mrs Bellamy and Family. Peter, Timothy and Francesca.

Name Francesca J Bellamy. Registration Date 1951
Quarter Apr-May-Jun. Chelmsford, Essex.
Mother’s Maiden Name Porter. Volume Number 4a
Page number 648.

A possibility is Albert Bellamy married Phyllis Porter in the third quarter of 1939 and registered in Dewsbury, Yorkshire.

“Francesca 1951” Another photo of ‘Sister‘

Olivia and Richard Abbott. 1943 and 1944.

Anne Olivia Abbott was born in the 2nd Quarter of 1943 and Richard J B Abbott was born in the 4th Quarter of 1944, both in Upton on Severn, Worcestershire. Mother’s maiden name is Hardaker.

In the third quarter of 1942 Barry A Abbott married Myrra O Hardaker, registered in Upton on Severn, Worcestershire.

Deirdre was maybe another family member, but not a sister.

Sarah Daphne, Nicola Margaret, Twins and Andrew.

St Joseph Family. I first found Andrew K M St Joseph born in 1949 Last quarter. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire with mother’s maiden name March. Then found Daphne Sarah St Joseph born in Pershore, Worcestershire, in the first quarter of 1947 and also Nicola Margaret St Joseph, same quarter, same place. So the family moved from Pershore to Granchester before Andrew was born.

John K S St Joseph married Daphne M March in the third quarter of 1945, registered in Pershore, Worcestershire.

Mr and Mrs Edward Jay and Family. Mrs Parry, mother-in-law, or another family member? As I didn’t have the twin’s names I searched for Stella first as the most unusual name 1943 +/-2 years and there was only one. Stella V Jay was born in the last Quarter of 1942 and registered in Upton on Severn, Worcestershire, with her mother’s maiden name of Parry. Catherine I Jay was born in the first Quarter of 1945. Then the Twins were Elizabeth M Jay and William J E Jay born in the third Quarter of 1948, all in Upton on Severn, Worcestershire, with mother’s maiden name of Parry.

Edward Leslie Jay married Nora Parry in 1941, in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Edward was Katherine Iona Jay‘s brother (further down the Blog)

Jacqueline, Priscilla and Edward Thompson.

A possible first Quarter of 1940 registered in Ledbury, Herefordshire for a Jacqueline A H Thompson with mother’s maiden name of Thompson. Then a match for Priscilla J H Thompson in the second Quarter of 1942, again registered in Ledbury and mother’s maiden name of Thompson. Also, I found the most likely Edward B Thompson, registered in Hereford, Herefordshire in the second Quarter of 1944 also with mother’s maiden name of Thompson. A Thompson married a Thompson.

Mr and Mrs Keith Thompson, Susan and Jane.

There is a Jane M Thompson registered in the first Quarter of 1948 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire with the mother’s maiden name being Frost. I haven’t found a match for Jane yet.

Elizabeth McKerrow. Elizabeth A McKerrow was born in the first Quarter of 1946 and registered in Worcester, Worcestershire with the mother’s maiden name of Gilling.

Rosemary Halcomb. Miss Johnson?

Rosemary M Halcomb was born in the second Quarter of 1949, registered in Upton on Severn, Worcestershire. Leslie M Halcomb was born in the second Quarter of 1952 and again registered in Worcestershire but Worcester this time. Mother’s maiden name for both was Jones.

Likely parents are Reginald J Halcomb and Margaret M Jones whose marriage was registered in Upton on Severn, Worcestershire in the second quarter of 1944.

Anne and Stuart Wilson. Joyce and Family. I cannot be certain of matches for these families.

Mrs McKay. Donald and Gordon.

Gordon W McKay was born first Quarter of 1943, registered in Upton on Severn, Worcestershire with his mother’s maiden name of Denys.

As I haven’t found a matching birth for Donald yet my theory is that it was the mother’s son from a previous marriage which would explain why I’ve not found a marriage for a McKay marrying a Denys too.

Bobby Collins. Bobby maybe Robert Collins on a previous page.

Two Lewis Families. Related as children were cousins.

Freida E Lewis‘s birth was registered in Ledbury, Herefordshire in the second Quarter of 1945 with the mother’s maiden name of Pudge. There are five births registered with the family name of Lewis in Herefordshire and all with the mother’s maiden name of Pudge. So I think looking at the photo above dated September 1944 with two couples, the mothers were sisters Pudge and maybe the Lewis fathers were related too?

Mr and Mrs Hayley. Mrs Hosburn and Stuart. Judith Warren. Katherine Barnett.

Dorothy F Hosburn was born in the second Quarter of 1948 her birth was registered in Wokingham, Berkshire and her mother’s maiden name was Hayley, so Mr and Mrs Hayley were Dorothy’s grandparents.

John C Hosburn married Frances M Hayley in the second quarter of 1947 registered in Wokingham, Berkshire.

Sarah Rosalind Hill. September 1950. Sarah’s birth was registered in Worcester, Worcestershire in the third Quarter of 1950 and her mother’s maiden name was Morris.

In relation to the baby in the bottom right photo above dated 1955, I believe this was John J Hill born in the third quarter of 1955, registered in Worcester, Worcestershire with the maiden name of Morris. A brother for Sarah.

Sarah and Simon Briarley. David, Felicity, Elizabeth and Martin Edwards. Nigel Morgan. Charles Morgan.

I’ve found a Nicholas M Brierley b1948, James D Brierley b1956, and a Simon A Brierley b1950 all registered in Worcester, Worcestershire with the mother’s maiden name of Denys. Not found possible parents yet.

Nigel, Howard and John Neville, March 53, bottom centre photo. I found a John Neville born in the last quarter of 1953, registered in Burnley, Lancashire with a mother’s maiden name of Neville. Then Howard A Neville born third quarter of 1950 registered in Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales. Also with the mother’s maiden name of Neville. I’ve not found a match for Nigel, the eldest but maybe he was a child of a previous marriage with a different mother?

Deborah and Katherine Barnett. I’ve not found two matching sisters yet?

Above centre Wedding. Eleanor J B Sandall married
David R Mortimer first quarter of 1954, registered in Harrow, Middlesex. On this page with more lovely photos of children from various families.

Penelope, Judith and Peter Thompson. I’ve found a Penelope Thompson born in the second quarter of 1948, registered in Upton on Severn, Worcestershire with her mother’s maiden name of Hughes. Also a matching Judith A Thompson, the same mother’s maiden name, Hughes, but this time registered in Martley, Worcestershire. Then Peter G L Thompson born in the first quarter of 1955, registered in Worcester, Worcestershire also with mother’s maiden name of Hughes.

The Norrest. There’s a place called The Norrest, Leigh Sinton, Malvern, Worcestershire WR13 5EH. It’s certainly a matching area for this album and this Thompson Family but obviously, I can’t be sure.

Alan and Margaret Mapp and Family. Wendy and Peter. Peter A Mapp born in the first quarter of 1952, registered in Worcester, Worcestershire with the mother’s maiden name of Dippie. Then Wendy P Mapp registered in the last quarter of 1948 also in Worcester, Worcestershire, and with the same mother’s maiden name of Dippie.

Lovely to see another mix of young children including Robert Roseveare, from different families. Judith Hargreaves is one not seen on other pages.

More from one of the Thompson families.

Betty and Jean Wildman. Vera Elm Patricia Kingswood. Derek and Gordon Everitt. Valerie Carter.

Hilary Harvey. Trevor Harvey. Anthony Carter. Gordon Everitt.

Judith Warren. Rosa Pratt. Elizabeth Gibbs. John Hargreaves.

Jean and Barbara Barrett. Claire Jennings.

Who were Ray and Janet I wonder who married on the 14 June 1952, could these be relatives of ‘Sister’?

John Brandon. John Nesbitt. Sarah Hill. Christopher and Elizabeth Davis. Jane Barlow. Susie and Robin and Joanna Doorbar.

As you can see I haven’t researched every one of the children mentioned here in this album, because it would have taken me weeks! But I am hoping that maybe some of the Surnames might jog people’s memories of being among their Ancestors. Or if anyone would like to research someone, here please feel free to let me know what you find, and then I will add it to this Blog for others to read, any extra information would be wonderful.

Harold Wilkes. Joyce (Mum) Joan, Betty and Christine maybe Wildman?

Lady Katherine Ione Roseveare and Robert. May 1949. Because I had a Lady I couldn’t help but find out a little more about the family, I’m so glad I did. I compiled a very small family tree for this couple and found that the names Pudge and Parry and of course Jay, which was her maiden name, in this Album are related to them. Katherine Ione had five siblings, three sisters and two brothers.

“Robert (Bob) Roseveare met his future wife in Hut 6, Ione Jay, full name Katherine Ione Jay. They married on 7 August 1947, with Derek Taunt as best man.” After I read this I was spurred on to find out a little more and my best find was this Obituary in the Times, so I had to share it as it’s just so interesting, what a fascinating life he and his family had and how wonderful to have these photos of the family.

Obituaries Robert Roseveare (1923 – 2004) Published on January 07, 2005 from The Times online. Bletchley Park cryptographer foiled every attempt by the Germans to keep their signal traffic secret. The mathematician Robert Arthur Roseveare was recruited, as soon as he finished school, to work as a cryptographer at the Government Code and Cipher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, north of London. He was one of the early codebreakers who, during the Second World War, after a short period of training, joined a team that deciphered messages encoded by German Enigma machines. The German Navy, after a number of improvements, secretly adopted the Enigma machine in 1926. In 1928, the German Army took it on and in 1935 so did the German Air Force. The German secret service, the railways and other German government departments also used it. Throughout the war, the various German users made modifications to their Enigma machines and a number of significant changes were made to operating procedures. These changes complicated the job of Roseveare and his fellow codebreakers. Their task was, in any case, a very difficult one. The Enigma machine was a complicated device. It had a keyboard, similar to the one on a typewriter, containing all the letters of the alphabet. Each letter was connected electrically to one of three rotors. Each rotor was provided with a ring that also carried the letters of the alphabet. Finally, the rotors were electrically connected to 26 illuminated letters. When the operator of an Enigma machine pressed a key, an electric current turned one of the three rotors mechanically. Every time a key was pressed, the first rotor would rotate one letter. After 26 times, when the first rotor had made a complete revolution, the second rotor would start to rotate, and so on. The pressing of a key would result in a light coming on behind the cypher text letter that was different from the original letter in the plain text. The series of illuminated letters made up the coded message. The person decoding a cypher message would use an Enigma with identical settings to that used by the coder. Pressing a key corresponding to a letter in the cypher text message would cause the letter in the original plain text message to light up. The procedure was repeated for all the letters in the coded message. The series of illuminated letters gave the original plain text. The Enigmas used for the most sensitive messages were provided with a device called a ‘plug board’ containing 26 holes, similar to a telephone switchboard. A plug board enabled extra switching of the letters to be made both before entering and after leaving the rotors. An Enigma machine equipped with three rotors and with, say, six pairs of letters connected with the plug board, provided more than 105,000 different combinations of the alphabet. The Enigmas used by the German military after the end of 1938 were typically provided with up to six rotors. Given the huge number of different combinations their machines provided, it is not surprising that the Germans believed that their most sensitive messages could not be decoded. But they had not taken into account the brilliance of Roseveare and his fellow cryptographers at Bletchley Park. With very good reason, Winston Churchill called them “the geese who laid the golden eggs and never cackled”. Bob Roseveare was born on May 23, 1923, at Repton, Derbyshire, the only son of a family of five. His father, Sir Martin Roseveare, taught at Repton School. Later, the family moved to Haileybury, where his father also taught. In 1936, Bob Roseveare won a scholarship at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. In 1942, Gordon Wellchman who led the codebreakers at Bletchley Park with Alan Turing, a fellow brilliant mathematician, recruited him. Nigel Forward, a friend of Roseveare at Marlborough, was also recruited. Some 10,000 people worked at Bletchley. They could not all be accommodated in the mansion in the park and so many other buildings were constructed. These temporary buildings were called the ‘huts’. Huts 4 and 8 analysed German naval Enigma messages; hut 5 handled German Army intelligence; and hut 6 dealt mainly with the cryptanalysis of German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Enigma messages. Roseveare worked, with Forward and about 23 other cryptographers, in Hut 6 under Wellchman. He began working in the so-called Watch, a group that worked 24 hours a day. He later moved to the Quatch (sic), a small backroom group that decoded non-current messages; he was particularly gifted at this work. In 1943, the Hut 6 people moved into Block D, a much more comfortable building. After the end of the War with Germany, Roseveare moved to the Japanese Section and worked there until the end of the war with Japan in August 1945.

Roseveare and Forward, and three others, met their future wives in Hut 6 at Bletchley. The five marriages proved to be exceptionally stable. After leaving Bletchley, Roseveare took up a scholarship he had won in 1941 to St John’s College, Cambridge. Forward was a fellow undergraduate at St John’s. Roseveare was awarded a degree in mathematics in 1947 and was then recruited again by Gordon Wellchman who had become the personnel director at the John Lewis Partnership. He was a Hockey Blue at Cambridge and in 1948 toured South Africa and Rhodesia with a mixed Oxford and Cambridge hockey team. During the tour, he accepted an offer of a teaching post at Hilton College, Natal, South Africa that he began in May 1949.

In 1951, he moved to Michaelhouse School in Natal, becoming head of mathematics. In 1961, he moved to St Martin’s School, Johannesburg, and then to Swaziland to help set up a multiracial school at Waterford, now one of the groups of International Schools. While there the Archbishop of Cape Town licensed him as a lay reader. In 1965, the family returned to England where Roseveare taught at Epsom College. In 1970, he moved to Uppingham School, Rutland, becoming the head of the mathematics department in 1980. He retired from Uppingham School in 1983 and then taught at the Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls for a year. Bob Roseveare was fundamentally a very serious person with a deep sense of responsibility, anxious to help and serve others. He had a cheerful personality, a ready smile and a jovial but balanced view of life.

He was the mathematics teacher and housemaster of Matthew Parris, the Times columnist when he was at Waterford School. Parris remembers Roseveare affectionately as a man of “gentle merriment” with “a passion for Gilbert and Sullivan” and with “a giggle like an ack-ack gun”. He also remembers his great patience when teaching boys who had less ability in mathematics. Unfortunately, the last few years of Bob Roseveare’s life were blighted with Parkinson’s disease. His wife and a son survive him. Robert Roseveare, mathematician, was born on May 23, 1923. He died on December 8, 2004, aged 81.

This is the last page of photographs and we still don’t know who ‘Sister‘ is, very frustrating.

Last page of Album: David Edwards. David Woodward. Brian Wilks. Olivia Abbott. Robert Rowland. Joanna Doorbar. Margaret Davis.

Joanna S Doorbar was born in the second quarter of 1940 and registered in Worcester, Worcestershire with the mother’s name as Underwood.

Wishing all my friends, followers and readers of my Blog a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy 2024.

Till next time then……….