Edward David (1899-1971) and Maud Louise (1896-1981, nee TILLBROOK) ANTHONY of London
Page created December 2010; slightly revised 5 October 2014
Links:
Immediate ancestors: Henry and Maria ANTHONY; Charles and Emma TILLBROOK (link not working until I make the page...)
The Anthony story - ANTHONY research notes
index of surnames
I have been given the names and most of the details about this couple by their living descendants. That is my source of all the information on this page except as otherwise noted.
Edward's parents were Henry and Maria ANTHONY - this is given on his birth certificate (1899 Q4, Bethnal Green 1c 191), which is the only one matching the name, age and birthplace given by his descendants. Both the birth date and place and the parents' names are confirmed by the 1901 and 1911 censuses (see his parents' page). Henry's name and occupation are also given on Edward and Maud's marriage certificate.
Maud's parents were Charles and Emma Tillbrook - again descendant information is supported by censuses and certificates (her birth is 1897 Q1, Bethnal Green 1c p181).
In 1911, at the census, Maud, aged 14, was living with her TILLBROOK family at 75 Somerford Street, Bethnal Green. She was working as a leather belt maker. She was said by descendants to be working in a clothing factory called Poliakoff's in Bethnal Green about 1919 or 1920. By 1921, when she married, she gave the same address as she was at in 1911 - the easiest assumption is that she was still living with her parents at that date. She didn't at that point give an occupation.
Edward joined the Navy in 1917, when he was aged 18. Until then he had been working as a hot metal stamper and I've no evidence of address so I guess he lived with his parents (at 69 Somerford Street, just three doors down from the TILLBROOKs).
If I'm reading his service record correctly, he began as a Stoker 2nd Class at HMS Pembroke (a shore barracks at Chatham - presumably for training) until 5 March 1918. Then he served on HMS Africa from 6 March to 7 November 1918. HMS Africa was a pre-dreadnought battleship, which is to say that, although only launched in 1905, she had been rendered obsolescent by far superior ships built on the lines of HMS Dreadnought from 1906 onwards, and wasn't really effective in main fleet engagements. HMS Africa was detached from the main British fleet during the war and, while Edward served on her, was with the 9th cruiser squadron, based mainly in Sierra Leone, and escorted convoys between there and Cape Town. In October 1918, she returned to the UK. On 1 November 1918, Edward was promoted to Stoker 1st Class.
On 8 November 1918, Edward was transferred to HMS Pembroke II, which (as far as I can tell from an internet search) was some kind of shore base in eastern England, perhaps the naval air station at Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey (I think part of the RAF by this date). In any case, he was only there for about four days before the armistice was signed, and my best interpretation of this, the three following assignments (of which the two I think I can read, HMS Thames and HMS Hermione, were 19th-century cruisers that were to be sold off in the early 1920s, one of which had already been removed from fighting duties before the war), and his final assignment back at Pembroke II in August-September 1919, is that they are part of a process of demobilisation.
Following the war, he worked in the same factory as Maud. However, by the time of their marriage, he gave his occupation as meat porter. He also gave his address as 75 Somerford Street, Maud's family home.
I have it from relatives that as a young man, Edward was keen on sports, and a champion swimmer (London, backstroke) and boxer. This was 'before the children were born' - so it may have been just after his marriage, but he was presumably active from his teenage years so I will note it here.
There doesn't seem to be any space for one - see above
Edward and Maud married in St Bartholomew's church, Bethnal Green, on 26 February 1921. Both gave the same address, as noted above. The witnesses to the marriage were Edward's sister's husband George EADES and his brother's future wife Emma COLNUTT.
Edward and Maud had three children, a girl several months after they were married, a boy in 1924, and another girl in 1927. I'm not giving much detail about this generation in any of the lines on this site, because some of this generation in my family are living persons.
Edward was employed for most of his life as a London bus driver. He started at least by the time of the General Strike in 1926, and continued until he retired aged 65 - about 1965.
Soon after their third child was born (1927) he moved to Holloway bus garage and the family therefore moved to Islington, where they lived in a block of flats (I'm being a bit more vague about the addresses now, again for the privacy of a generation that includes living people). Then in the 1930s (around the start of the war or early in the decade, depending which telling of the family story I go by) he moved to Muswell Hill bus garage, where he stayed until he retired. About then, the family moved to a house in Highgate which they rented, and then sub-let part of.
Maud returned to work as well, when the children were older and she is thought to have worked in a shirt factory during the second world war.
In 1950 their younger daughter married, and she and her husband lived at the Highgate house - either as the sub-tenants or just sharing Edward and Maud's part of the house. In the early 1950s they had a child of their own. Later in the same year, Edward and Maud's landlord said that he wanted to sell the house. Edward and Maud had the opportunity to buy it for 600 pounds, which in those days they couldn't afford, but in hindsight looks to have been a great investment opportunity - I am told that a family member saw in 2009 that the house in question had been converted into 4 flats, each of which (it was reckoned) would have gone for at least 300,000 pounds even after the credit crunch. In the event, they moved out. The younger generations found their own place and Edward and Maud moved to Hornsey (see below).
Once all their children had left home, Edward and Maud lived at 151A Northview Road, Hornsey.
Edward was a staunch trade unionist, and I will here quote from a note given to me by one of his grandchildren:
"I think in latter years his involvement with the union meant he didn't actually drive [London buses] very often! Grandad was in the TGWU, and I have a photo of him paying out strike pay in a bus strike in around 1958. He was involved with the Sports Committee - when I was a child the Bus Sports Day at Osterley was a highlight of the year, we were picked up by bus (red London ones of course) from Muswell Hill or Golders Green and given packed lunches in white cardboard boxes. The mile walk and the Hop Skip and Jump always fascinated me, and everyone's favourite was the Tug of War. Nanny and Grandad knew lots of people there so it was a real social event. There was also a combined London Transport Sports Day, but that was larger and not so much fun. Grandad was very involved with the Manor House Hospital near Hampstead Heath, this was left from pre-NHS days to give medical attention to union members and their wives (and children?). He was also on the committee for the convalescent home, Capel le Ferne, in Hastings, and used to have to spend time down there - a fortnight or a month at a time and sometimes Nanny went down with him. When we lived in Rye we used to visit him there. I remember a big house with a drive lined by lavender bushes. My brother and I used to be thoroughly spoiled by the patients, who might be away from their families for several weeks at a time. I have another photo of him there, with the Matron (a very formidable looking lady) and someone who looks like Nye Bevan. Grandad was also involved in social events at Muswell Hill garage, and they used to go to various dinner dances and events. They used to organise outings, and every Christmas the children were taken to the pantomime at Golders Green Hippodrome. Again we would be picked up by off-duty buses, and we were each given a brown paper bag with an apple and a tangerine and some sweets in it, this was a real treat. I remember one panto with Cliff Richard and the Shadows doing Aladdin, and another with Jimmy Clitheroe."
I think from further conversations that he was involved in organising the pantos and dances. As the union was most of the social life for Edward and Maud, they apparently lost touch with the East End side of the family a bit.
Edward died in 1971. Maud lived in the same flat until late 1980 or more probably early 1981, when she had to go into a residential home. She died not long after, in 1981.
I haven't looked into any wills etc.
If you are interested in this family I'll be pleased to hear from you. Click this link to email me at deletethis.ianwilliamson161@gmail.com but delete everything up to and including the first dot, leaving just my name and number @ service provider. Please do not delete the automatically-generated subject line, so that I know your email is not spam. You can add more to the subject but if you delete what appears I may not read your mail.
Links:
Immediate ancestors: Henry and Maria ANTHONY; Charles and Emma TILLBROOK (link not working until I make the page...)
The Anthony story - ANTHONY research notes
index of surnames