Tag Archives: Newhampton Road

Charles Theodore Nicholls

20 Thursday Oct 2022

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The son of William and Eliza Nicholls, Charles was born in Wolverhampton on 5 September 1890, and baptised in St John’s Church, Wolverhampton, on 5 October 1890. In 1891 they were living in Church Lane, Wolverhampton, along with Charles’s siblings William and Henry. By 1901 they were at 251 Newhampton Road, Wolverhampton, with two additional siblings, Eliza and Agnes. In the same year, Charles started attending Ss. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Junior School in Wolverhampton.

Charles enlisted in the 4th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment (service number 11543), and was serving in India with his regiment at the time of the 1911 census. Unfortunately he was wounded at Gallipoli and died of those wounds in Mudros in Greece on 17 August 1917. He is buried in East Mudros Military Cemetery in Greece.

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The research for this blog post was carried out by remote digital volunteer, Jacky de Escofet.

Percy Degenhart Guggenheim

21 Tuesday May 2019

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In 1914 there was only one family with the name Guggenheim in Wolverhampton. Mrs Guggenheim and her two eldest daughters attended Queen Street Congregational Church (Gertrude, the eldest, became a member in 1914), and the names of P D and G H Guggenheim appear on the church’s 1914-1915 Roll of Honour.

Percy’s father Gustave George (sometimes George Gustave) was born in Oxford in 1866, the son of Jules Guggenheim, a photographer, from Pest, Hungary. Gustave was also a photographer who preferred to be called a photographic artist. His work was well respected with the profession. He appears to have had businesses on his own or in partnership as well as working for others in both Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

The family probably moved to Wolverhampton soon after Percy’s birth, as his mother, Elizabeth (nee Cowern) came from the town. Percy had an older sister Marjorie (1892), and younger siblings all born in Wolverhampton: Annie (1895), Hans Gustave (1896), Louis (1898), Olive (1900), Ida (1901), Winifred (1903) and Thomas (1904). In 1901 they were at 18 Allen Road, Wolverhampton. In 1911 they were at 101 Newhampton Road and by 1914 they were at 57 Compton Road.

Percy was born on 23 March 1893 in Handsworth (registered in West Bromwich). With his second name, Deganhart, he was probably named after Deganhart Moll, a young Prussian artist who was visiting his parents on the 1891 census. He attended St Jude’s school and Wolverhampton Higher Grade School. On the 1911 census he is recorded as a photographer. He was 5ft 10ins tall.

On 24 January 1914 Percy joined the 1st Staffordshire Yeomanry, a territorial force (Regimental numbers 2785 and 300175) . He was called to its Burton depot on 5 August. On 27 October he embarked for Alexandria, arriving 10 November. On 8 September 1916 he attended a machine gun course at the Imperial School of Instruction in Cairo and passed with all his badges. He sailed back to England on 6 December to start at a cadet unit in Bisley at the beginning of 1917. On 25 May 1917 he was given a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the Machine Gun Corps. Captain Arthur Mander of the D Squadron, 1st Staffs Yeomanry, certified to his moral character. In fact he served in the Tanks Corps, becoming a Lieutenant from 25 May 1918, and was stationed in Ireland. The commission was relinquished with effect from 9 March 1920. However this was not the end of his army career as he joined the Indian Army with a temporary commission as Captain with the 2nd Battalion Napier Rifles, who were based overseas from India. From 1922 onwards he is not mentioned in the Indian Army Lists.

Percy Degenhart Guggenheim changed his name to Peter Graham by deed poll in 1923, which appears to coincide with his marriage to Marjorie Morton in Warwick the same year. The National Register 1939 lists him as traffic manager, also an Indian Army reserve captain. Percy (now Peter) died in Warwick in 1975.

Alfred Edward Banks

17 Sunday Feb 2019

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Alfred was born in Wellington, Shropshire, on 24 September 1860, the son of James and Mary Ann Banks. Alfred married Christiana Readdy in Madeley, in 1890, and by 1891 they were living at 131 Horsley Fields, Wolverhampton, along with Christiana’s sons Christopher Charles and John Walter Readdy, and their baby son James Alfred Banks (who unfortunately died in 1892). Alfred was working as a grocer. By 1901, they were at The Croft, Newhampton Road, Wolverhampton along with their children, Christiana Annie and William Edward. Alfred was working as a butcher. In 1911, they were living at 57 Sherwood Street, Wolverhampton, and Alfred was a meat salesman.

Alfred would have been in his 50s by the time war broke out, so he does not appear to have enlisted with the armed forces. However, he served with the special constables in Wolverhampton during the war. He died in 1941 in Bilston.

 

Matthew George Browne

21 Friday Dec 2018

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Matthew was born in Leicester in 1872. By 1891, he was living with his aunt, Frances E. S. Browne, at 35 Compton Road, Wolverhampton. Because he was living with his cousin in 1881, and with his aunt in 1891, it is possible that his parents died when he was young. He was working as a lawyer’s clerk. By 1901, he was living at 263 Newhampton Road, working as a lock manufacturer’s clerk.

Possibly because of his age, Matthew does not appear to have served with the armed forces during the First World War. However, he did serve locally as a Special Constable for Wolverhampton Borough Council.

Matthew married Louisa M. Hodgkiss in Wolverhampton in 1916. Louisa died in 1935, and Matthew died on 8 March 1940, by which date his address was 78 Skidmore Avenue, Wolverhampton. The value of his effects was £255 6s. 6d.

Norman Geoffrey/Jefferey and William Leslie Robinson

15 Sunday Jul 2018

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Norman was born in Wolverhampton in 1896, and William in 1892, the sons of William and Lizzie Robinson. In 1901 they were living at The Hollies, Upper Penn, along with their sister Marjorie G. From September 1904 until Easter 1907 Norman attended Wolverhampton Grammar School, before going to Wellington College, Shropshire. Norman and William’s parents died within three weeks of each other in November 1908

In 1911, he was a boarder at Grove House, Stratford on Avon. William also attended Wolverhampton Grammar School, and appears to have been with his aunt and uncle at 206 Newhampton Road, by 1911, when he was working as a clerk.

robinsonNorman joined the D Squadron of the Staffordshire Yeomanry as a Trooper (number 2638). He became an orderly to Viscount Lewisham, before going to Egypt with his regiment on 10 November 1915. Unfortunately, he succumbed to heart apoplexy and died on 4 June 1916 in Esbet-el-Kargat, Fayum. He appeared in the Midland Counties Express on 23 December 1916. He is buried at Cairo War Memorial Cemetery.

William served as a Private and later a Sergeant with the Lancashire Fusiliers (number 7179). He was discharged on 2 May 1916. He married Elizabeth P. Edwards in Wolverhampton in 1925. His address after the war was care/of the Macfarlane & Robinson company, which was presumably a merger with his father’s hollowware manufacturing company.

Thomas Claude Killin

03 Friday Feb 2017

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Thomas was born in Wolverhampton in 1894, the son of James and Sarah Ann Killin. In 1911 he was living with his parents at 244 Newhampton Road, together with sisters Bessie Goldie, Janet, Madeline Grace and Phyllis Mary, and brothers Harry and Allan Montgomerie. Thomas was a clerk with the London and North Western Railway.

Thomas enlisted with the Royal Fusiliers (number PS/6915), first entering the war on 14 November 1915. According to his medal card, he died of wounds on 11 November 1916, but I have been unable to find him on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site, even with variations on the spelling of his surname. His death was registered in Lambeth in December 1916, and his name was included in a list of men who died in the Express & Star on 18 November 1916. He may be the “C. Killin” listed on the memorial of the Wolverhampton Higher Grade School.

Norman Malcolm Bates

17 Thursday Sep 2015

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Norman Malcolm Bates was born in Wolverhampton in 1889, the son of Arthur and Marianne Agnes Bates. In 1901, they were living at 32 Merridale Road, together with Norman’s brothers Arthur D. and Joseph W. H., and his sisters Agnes E. and Gwendoline M. By 1911 they had moved to 10 “Glassaber” Newhampton Road, and Norman was joined by his parents, brother Joseph William Harold, sister Gwendoline Marianne and a servant, Harriet Wilcox. By this date, Norman was a Solicitors articled clerk with G. R. Thorne, Son & Co.

Norman enlisted with the 5th South Staffordshire Regiment and became a Second Lieutenant. The Wolverhampton Chronicle of 20 October 1915 reported that he had been wounded in the leg. However, he does not appear to have died and did survive the war. He married Matilda Craddock in 1917, but she died at the age of 28 in 1918. Norman remarried an Iris M. G. Jackson in 1921. With his second wife, he went on to have three children – Diana, John and Roderic – between 1924 and 1933. Norman died in 1950 at the age of 60.

Joseph Deans

10 Saturday Jan 2015

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This blog post has been prepared by volunteer, Ann Eales.

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A J. Deane is mentioned on page 3 column 3 of the Express & Star of 7th May 1917, under the heading “Midland Men who have fallen.” We read that he was with the Worcestershire Regiment, that his Regimental Number was 241758, and that he had been wounded.

A WWI Medal Rolls Index Card, shows Joseph Deans, of the Worcestershire Regiment, Regimental Number 241758, with an earlier Regimental Number, 5042. The Worcestershire Regiment’s Roll of Individuals entitled to the Victory Medal and/or British War Medal granted under Army Orders 301 and 266 of 1914, dated 8 September 1920, also shows him as Joseph Deans. There is no mention of his death on either record, nor in the Commonwealth War Graves records, suggesting that he survived the war.

The record for another local man named Joseph Deans, the husband of Alice Mary Deans, of Mount Pleasant, Coven, Wolverhampton, a Gunner, Regimental Number 152559 in the Royal Field Artillery “B” Bty. 82nd Bde. shows that he died 30th September 1917 at the age of 35 and was buried at Dozinghem Military Cemetery.

The births of two Joseph Deans were registered in Wolverhampton in 1881, one in the 2nd Quarter, and the other in the 4th Quarter. Either one could be the Joseph Deans under consideration.

The 1891 Census record has a Joseph Deans age 9, born Bilston, living with parents William and Rosannah and siblings Job, Charles, Hannah, George, and Bertha at New Hampton Road, Wolverhampton but could refer to the Joseph Deans who died in 1917. The 1901 Census shows the family still living at New Hampton Road but without Charles, Hannah or Joseph, and the addition of Louise, age 10. Perhaps Joseph had joined the army by now, if this is his family.

There was no trace to be found of Joseph Deans in the 1911 census records, but the Joseph Deans who died in 1917 was living at Mount Pleasant Coven with his wife Alice Mary and their children Dorothy Alice age 2 and Florence Edna age 11 months. The marriage of Joseph to Alice Mary Etheridge was recorded at Wolverhampton in the 1st Quarter of 1908.

Registration of a Marriage or the Death of Joseph Deans at Wolverhampton were not to be found despite numerous on line searches being made. A Joseph Dean of Jubilee Villa, Ettingshall Road, Wolverhampton died 8 May 1959 and administration was granted to his widow Harriet Dean. Could this refer to the same man?

Reverend Wilfred Ellis

24 Wednesday Sep 2014

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Chaplain's Courage1Following the sinking of three Royal Navy ships (HMS Aboukir, HMS Cressy and HMS Hogue) by a German submarine on 22 September 1914, the Express & Star featured the story of Reverend Wilfred Ellis, formerly curate of St Andrew’s Church in Wolverhampton, who had been chaplain on the HMS Hogue.

He had volunteered for service on the outbreak of war, and had joined the HMS Hogue (which comprised 600 men) a fortnight previously. Fortunately, Reverend Ellis was one of the lucky ones, and by 29 September 1914 he was back in Wolverhampton and able to tell of his experiences. According to the newspaper, he was “looking wonderfully fit and well, but feeling somewhat stiff and a bit nervy, which is not surprising having regard to his exposure to the cold and the buffetting he received in the sea.” He had received a wonderful reception as he walked from his home in Newhampton Road to St Andrew’s New School in Gatis Street, with numerous parishioners stopping him to shake his hand.

Chaplain's Courage2On the night of 22 September, he heard reports that the Aboukir was sinking, so he put on his pyjamas, trousers and coat and picked up his Prayer Book “which is perhaps the only book saved from the three cruisers”. Before they could take further action, the Hogue itself was hit by two torpedoes in quick succession, and Reverend Ellis estimated that “she sank in about five minutes”. He expressed amazement at the lack of panic, as the lifeboats were lowered and all the timber and furniture was thrown overboard. Men jumped overboard and made for the pieces of wood to keep afloat, but as Reverend Ellis could not swim very well he stayed on board “and went down with the ship”. By chance a spar hit him on the nose, and he caught hold of this and another one under each arm so he was able to float. He was in the water for about twenty minutes before he was rescued, along with twenty or thirty other men. At this point, the Cressy, which had been firing at the submarines, was also hit.

The sinking of the final cruiser led to some men giving up hope, but Reverend Ellis was able to use his Prayer Book to keep up their spirits, singing hymns and songs like “Its a long, long way to Tipperary”. After four hours they were picked up by a Dutch merchant ship and taken to Holland. As some of the men “hadn’t a stitch on”, Reverend Ellis had given away his coat and trousers, and was left in his pyjamas.

Howard Raymond Davies

14 Sunday Sep 2014

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Howard R. Davies on an AJS motorcycle, c. 1920s

Howard R. Davies on an AJS motorcycle, c. 1920s

Howard Raymond Davies was born on 27 June 1895, at 351 Ladypool Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham, to parents Bertha and Frank (a carriers clerk). They moved to Wolverhampton where Howard attended Wolverhampton Municipal Grammar School in Newhampton Road. In 1911, he was living with his parents, Frank and Bertha, brother Frank Conrad, and sister Norah Gwendoline, at 39 Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton.

His interests were swimming, music and horses. He left school and obtained an apprenticeship with A. J. Stevens (A.J.S.), but was more interested in racing than motorbike mechanics, and later joined Clyno to get on to the Subeam racing team. After coming back from the Scottish six day trial as a member of the Sunbeam team, he was sacked for unauthorised extended absence. He managed to get back into Sunbeam, and finished in second place at the Isle of Man Senior T.T. races in 1914.

When war broke out, Howard joined the Royal Engineers as a despatch rider in France. He then trained as a pilot, and his flying certificate was taken on a Maurice Farman Biplane at Military School, Ruislip on 29 July 1916. He was posted back to France where he was shot down and taken prisoner. Further details appeared in the Express & Star on 19 Apr 1917:

About a fortnight ago Flying Lieutenant Howard R. Davies, formerly employed at Sunbeamland, Wolverhampton, was at the works, and among his experiences he told how while flying at the front the controls of his machine were shot out of his hand, but he managed to spiral down and drop in No Man’s Land. He got back to the British lines.

Information was received by telegram on Wednesday that Lieutenant Davies has been missing since the 14th inst.

Express & Star, 19 Apr 1917

Express & Star, 19 Apr 1917

This article also talked of his many triumphs on the moto cycling circuit prior to the war, including winning a gold medal in a trial from Birmingham to York and back.

He returned to Wolverhampton after the war and got a job with Aston Motor Accessories, before starting to ride for A.J.S. He joined the A.J.S. racing team for the 1920 Isle of Man Junior and Senior T.T. races, but had to retire early due to mechanical problems. However, in the same year he won a gold medal on an AJS machine in the Scottish six day trial, and another in the A.C.U. trial around Darlington, along with other speed events. Amongst the other events of 1921, on 24 May, Howard also broke four world records at Brooklands. Later he set up his own motorcycle company. He died in 1973 from cancer. His wife Maisie died two days later, and they had a joint funeral at the Robin Hood Crematorium in Solihull.

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