Joseph Challis of Ramsgate

As I mentioned in my last Blog, Joseph Challis was born on the 5th April 1758 in Witham, Essex and was christened at St.Nicolas parish church on the 23rd April 1758. He was the eldest child of Joseph Challis and Sarah Havers. Joseph’s father died when Joseph was only 10 years old, his brother William was 8 years old and his youngest sister Ann was only 2 years old. His mother Sarah didn’t remarry so I assume that she had enough funds to support herself and her children.

As I also mentioned in my last Blog, Joseph’s younger brother William signed up for Military service in 1776 when he was 16 years old. Joseph would have been about 18 at this time but I have no idea whether he also joined the military or was working to help support his Mother and siblings. In Joseph’s later life he was the proprietor of a coach service between Ramsgate and Canterbury, could he have had his beginnings in this line of work as a young man ? Witham is located on the main thoroughfare between Colchester and London which is now the A12 and would have had a regular coach service to London. One of Joseph’s relatives, James Challis of Bocking was recorded as being a carrier, did Joseph work with him ?

The first definite mention that I can find of Joseph after his father’s death is that of his marriage on the 3rd April 1796 to Ann Pritchard at St. George’s, Hanover Square, London. Joseph was 37 at the time of his marriage so it is highly likely that this was his second marriage and it was also possible that it was also Ann’s second marriage as she was aged 29. No mention is made on the marriage record whether they were single or widowed, both were recorded as living in the parish and both signed their own names, their witnesses were W.H. Jones and T.H.Thompson.

The area around Hanover Square was quite a prestigious and wealthy area though of course Joseph and Ann could have been residing there as servants. An interesting fact is that there was another Challis family living close by to Hanover Square on Carpenter Street. This was the family of William Challis and his wife Sarah, they had eight children, seven sons and one daughter born between 1761 and 1782. Could William Challis have been an uncle of Joseph?One of his sons was also named Joseph, could he have been a cousin to our Joseph?

About 6 months after their marriage, Ann gave birth to twins, on the 29th September 1796, they were both christened on the 18th December 1796 at St. Marylebone’s Church and named Joseph and Sarah after their Grandparents. From the record of Joseph Challis’s future Testament we know that he also had an elder daughter named Ann, who was born between 1790 and 1794 several years before his marriage. As yet we haven’t been able to find the record of Ann’s birth and christening though it is very possible that she was a daughter from her mother Ann’s previous marriage and that she took her stepfather’s surname later in life. Shortly after the twins were born Joseph and Ann and their three young children moved to the seaside town of Ramsgate, on the Isle of Thanet in Kent.

During the mid 18th Century doctors had started to advocate the health benefits of sea bathing and places like Ramsgate began to attract more visitors, in 1790 a new safe harbour and pier had been completed and then during the Napoleonic wars the naval harbour and garrisons on both cliffs changed the town from a small fashionable watering hole to a place of some military and social consequence in Regency society. If Joseph was already working as a carrier then he probably saw the advantage of starting a coaching service to Ramsgate. In a pre 1815 guide book to Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs, it states that coaches and diligences are run from Ramsgate to London every morning and evening and that a light waggon belonging to Mr. Challis goes every Tuesday and Friday to Canterbury and returns the next day.

On the last day of the year 1797 Ann gave birth to their fourth child, she was christened Elizabeth at St. Lawrence’s church in Ramsgate on the 11th February 1798. Joseph and Ann went on to have nine more children including another set of twins. The year 1810 was a difficult year for the family, in the March, 13 year old Sarah, one of the elder twins, passed away (she is recorded as being Ann on the burial record but this is most probably a mistake). Then in April 1810, baby John, one of the second set of twins passed away and was followed by his twin sister Maria in August. On the 3rd July 1812 at the age of 45, Ann gave birth to their youngest child whom they named Johnson after the husband of Joseph’s sister Ann who lived in Hatfield Peverel. Sadly baby Johnson died at eight months old.

In September 1820, Joseph’s loving wife Ann passed away, she was 53. The youngest three boys were still under the age of 16 so it is possible that this is when Joseph’s mother Sarah who was already 83 years old came to live with him, though it is possible that she had moved to Ramsgate earlier even though her daughter Ann and son William still lived in Essex. Ten months earlier their 18 year old son Charles had married Amey Cooper and a month later in the December of 1819 the young couple departed with the Dyason Party on board the Zoroaster to settle a colony in South Africa. The Dyason Party consisted of about 21 Ramsgate men and their families, they arrived at Algoa Bay on the 15th May 1820 and settled on the right bank of the Torrens river, they named their settlement Lushington Valley. After complaints about inadequate food and clothing on the one part and insubordination and idleness on the other, most of the labourers deserted their masters or were dismissed, and the partnership was dissolved in June 1821. Charles eventually returned to Ramsgate and later became a publican, sadly his mother had passed away during his absence.

On the 18th May 1823 Joseph decided to make his Last Will and Testament even though he lived for another 11 years. In his Will he makes known that his honoured mother Sarah Challis should be paid thirty pounds and that his daughter Elizabeth should also be paid thirty pounds above what the other children would inherit. The residue of his money was to be divided equally between his nine children, Ann wife of Charles Smith, Joseph, Elizabeth, William, Charles, George, Francis, Henry and James. The share for his two youngest sons Henry and James was to be placed in a Savings Bank until they reached the age of 21. Later in a codicil he also left all of his plate, table spoons and a pair of sugar tongs to his daughter Elizabeth. At the beginning of May 1826 one of his horse and carts was waiting on the Quay in Ramsgate for a load of coals when the reins became entangled with the shafts of the cart causing it to fall over the edge of the pier into the harbour which sadly resulted in the death of the horse which was worth 30 guineas.

In March 1828 his mother Sarah passed away at the grand old age of 90. Joseph went on to live six more years and died in the February 1834 aged 75, he was buried at St. Lawrence’s Church on the 5th of February. After his death his freehold property was auctioned off on Monday 28th July 1834 at Thanet Auctioneers. His property consisted of three Lots, a substantial brick built dwelling house, nr. 46 King Street, with three airy bedrooms, a good kitchen, large cellar and backyard which was presently rented out. Lot 2 was three excellent well built cottages situate in Portland Court and Lot 3 was his own dwelling house, situated at the top of King Street next to the Liberty Road with extensive premises where a profitable concern in the van trade between Ramsgate and Canterbury had been carried out for many years. The property consisted of a dwelling house with parlour, three bedrooms and kitchen. A chaise house, stables and lofts. A large yard and garden with a well of fine spring water.

An interesting side note is that Joseph’s house and residence was most probably located next to the entrance gates to the Estate of Albion House which was owned during this same period by Lady Augusta d’Ameland or the “Duchess” as she liked to call herself, who had previously been married to Frederick Augustus, the sixth son of King George III before he divorced her.

Five years later Joseph’s sister Ann passed away in Hatfield Peveral, Essex in the February of 1839, a few months earlier she had made her Last Will and Testament in which she left everything to the seven children of her deceased brother Joseph Challis of Ramsgate, (she writes seven children but there were in fact nine surviving children.) It was this Testament that confirmed to us that Joseph was originally from Witham, Essex and belonged to the same family as Ann.

Joseph’s eldest son Joseph also went into the coaching business, he eventually became a driver of the postal carriage carrying the mail. After his marriage he lived in Dartford and later settled in Dover. His second son William died less than ten years after his father of a protracted illness, he was only 45, he left a widow and six children. As mentioned earlier, Joseph’s son Charles had tried his luck in South Africa but ended up returning to Ramsgate, he and his wife didn’t have any children but his spinster sister Elizabeth lived with them for awhile, his occupation was publican. A couple of months after Joseph’s death his fourth son George got into trouble with the law and was charged with assault and was sentenced to three months imprisonment. Later he became the publican of the Neptune Arms in Dover. Fifth son Francis was also convicted for assaulting a constable in 1836 and was sentenced to two months imprisonment. Francis was also a coachman and received a fine for mistreatment of a horse in 1856. Joseph’s sixth son Henry, my 3rd great grandfather, was also a carrier like his father and later became a Fly proprietor. The youngest son James was a Sadler but later became a Railway Porter, the era of Steam had arrived and travel by trains would take over the coaching services of the past.

More about Joseph Challis and his family

Throughout the last year myself and a distant cousin Clive Boyce have been researching the Challis family. As noted in a previous post we were finally able to prove that our joint 4x great grandfather Joseph Challis of Ramsgate, Kent was born in Witham in Essex on the 5th April 1758, the son of Joseph Challis and Sarah Havers. In this article I want to fill out his life with a little more background information, and to surmise about which Challis family he was connected to.

In the area around Braintree in Essex there were quite a few Challis families who were most probably all related to each other though as yet we have been unable to find a direct link because of missing, damaged or unreadable parish registers. Joseph’s father died in April 1768 and was buried in Witham on the 20th April 1768, the age that was recorded at his burial was 40 which would mean if this age was accurate that he was born around 1728.

In Finchingfield which is located about 15 km north of Braintree and 25km north of Witham, we have the family of Joseph Challis (b.abt 1697) and Susanna Fryer (b.1702) who were married in 1724. They had a total of 11 children, the oldest being named Joseph after his father, he was christened 14th April 1725, three years before the proposed birth of our Joseph, but still a possibility.

Another Challis family was that of Daniel Challis (the elder) born about 1664 and living in Bocking which is a small village about 2km to the north of Braintree and 15 km from Witham. Daniel married Rebecca Livermore in 1684 and had 10 children by her, after Rebecca’s death in 1707 he remarried a year later to Mary Bickner, a widow of Purly and had three more children by his second wife. At least one of Daniel’s sons Thomas born 1698 had a child who was named Joseph, who was born around 1730 and christened in 1733, this time a year or two after our Joseph’s proposed birth. Another of Thomas’s sons named Daniel after his grandfather was married in 1760 in Faulkbourne to Ann Havers, the sister of our Sarah Havers ! Creating a tangible link between our Joseph Challis and this family. Daniel the Elder’s son Joseph, born on the 18th June 1704 was married in Braintree to Hannah Puckle or Buckle on the 12th June 1728, as yet I have been unable to find anything else about Joseph and Hannah, did they also have a son named Joseph?

Yet another Challis family in the area is that of Daniel Challis (another Daniel) and Ann Wenden of Panfield, located about 3 km north of Bocking. This Daniel married Ann Wenden around 1699 and had a total of 10 children all born in Panfield between 1700 and 1719, none of his children were named Joseph. I am sure that all of these families are related to each other but which of the three our Joseph’s father belonged to is yet to be confirmed and may always remain a mystery.

What is certain is that Joseph Challis was married on the 21st October 1756 in Witham to Sarah Havers the 19 year old daughter of Andrew and Ann Havers. Joseph would have been about 27 depending on his actual birth date, so quite a bit older than his wife.

Sarah Havers was christened on the 10th May 1737 in Faulkbourne, a small parish just north of Witham. She was the third child of six children though her eldest brother John had died in infancy. Sadly when Sarah was 12 years old her father passed away, he was buried on the 6th May 1749. Four years later her mother Ann also passed away, leaving 5 young children, the eldest Ann being 19 and the youngest Andrew being only 6 years old.

Three years later Sarah married Joseph Challis and together they had four children. The eldest was our Joseph who was born on the 5th April 1758 and christened in St.Nicolas parish church in Witham on the 23rd April 1758. Three more children followed, William in 1760, Sarah in 1763 and Ann in 1766. Sadly baby Sarah died in 1765 aged 18 months and then 3 years later father Joseph also died and was buried in Witham on the 20th April 1768. His eldest son, our Joseph had just celebrated his tenth birthday and William was 8 years old whilst the youngest Ann was only two years old. Joseph’s wife Sarah never remarried but brought up her children on her own and thankfully lived to be 90. My next Blog will be about her eldest son Joseph and his further life but very briefly I want to write about his siblings William and Ann.

His brother William signed up for Military service in 1776, he was aged 16 at the time and served in the 3rd Regiment of Foots, also known as the Buffs, he served for about 9 years until he was released from service by an injury to his leg. During his time of service the Buffs fought in the American War of Independence (1775-83) and, apart from a return to Flanders in 1794, spent much of the 1780s and 1790s in the West Indies.

According to military records he was 5ft 6in tall, had a fair complexion, a long face, grey eyes and light hair and was born in Witham and was a labourer. In the records of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea he was 25 at the time and had served for 9 years and had a mutilated leg which had been amputated. On this record his place of birth is given as Braintree and his occupation as maltster. Sometime after his service William married someone called Ann but I have been unable as yet to find a record of his marriage. In 1841 he and his wife Ann are living in Bocking, he is recorded as being 80 and an army pensioner and his wife Ann is 75. William Challis died on the 14th June 1841 of natural decay, aged 82, he was recorded as being a Chelsea Pensioner. I have been unable to verify if William and Ann had any children, in 1841 they were living with Hannah Row and her son William and Hannah was the person who was in attendance at his death, was she maybe their daughter?

Joseph’s sister Ann was 8 years younger than him, she was born on the 11th March 1766 in Witham and as I mentioned earlier she was only two years old when her father died. Ann married quite late in life, she was 34 years old when she married 45 year old Johnson Howes in St. Nicolas church Witham. Johnson Howes was from Hatfield Peverel which is about 5km further along the London Road from Witham and it is there that they lived after their marriage. Fifteen months after their marriage Ann gave birth to a baby girl whom they named Ann but sadly their daughter only lived for a few days, she was christened on the 23rd January 1802 in Hatfield Peverel and buried in Witham on the 28th January 1802. Johnson and Ann don’t seem to have had anymore children.

In 1810 they were living at World’s End Farm which was located near the River Chelmer in Hatfield Peverel. Johnson Howes passed away on the 11th August 1838 at the respectable age of 83 and his wife Ann passed away a year later aged 72.

It was through the Last Will and Testament that Ann made shortly after the death of her husband that gave us the proof that our Joseph Challis belonged to this family, in her Testament Ann leaves everything to the seven children of her deceased brother Joseph Challis of Ramsgate!

In my next Blog I will try to go into more detail about Joseph Challis’s life and what caused him to end up in Ramsgate. Joseph and Ann’s mother Sarah Challis née Havers also ended up living in Ramsgate where she died and was buried on the 16th March 1828 at the grand old age of 90.

Maria Bishop of Dalham, Suffolk

My 3rd Great Grandmother Maria Bishop lived in the beautiful little village of Dalham in the county of Suffolk. A village which is filled with lovely thatched cottages and is watched over by Dalham Hall which was previously owned by the Affleck family and is located next to the village church of St. Mary, where Maria and her family probably attended. She was the seventh child of Frederick Bishop and Anne Fitch. Frederick was a journeyman Miller and during his life he worked in the Windmills of nearby Gazeley, Barrow and in Dalham. One of Dalham’s windmills is still standing though unfortunately it has lost its sails, could this have been the mill where Frederick worked? Frederick was born in Worlington, Suffolk, a little village near Mildenhall, right on the boarder of Cambridgeshire, he was the youngest son of John Bishop and Elizabeth Webb. On the 9th February 1801, aged 26, he married Anne Fitch in the large church of St. Mary’s in Mildenhall. After their marriage they lived in the little village of Gazeley, where their first four children where born and christened and Frederick most probably worked in the Windmill in Gazeley.

When their fifth daughter Harriet was born they were probably living in the nearby village of Barrow as Harriet and their next two children, Robert and Maria where all christened at the All Saints Church of Barrow. Whilst the children were still young the family probably moved to Dalham where Frederick was able to work in the Windmill there. All three villages, Gazeley, Barrow and Dalham are very close to each other so it is also possible that the family lived in one location and that the children where christened at different churches. Maria’s mother Ann died around 1820 whilst Maria was still a small child and father Frederick remarried a few years later to Elizabeth and had a daughter named Jane by his second wife. Maria eventually married William Henry Tozer on the 27 August 1837 in Newington, South London. Even though though William was born in Dartford, Kent and was living and working in London it seems that he too had connections to Suffolk. In a previous Blog I wrote about his mother Elizabeth Archer, a few years after William’s father died his mother remarried a William Rashbrook, William Henry Tozer was 14 years old at the time and his brother Charles was 11. Their new step father William Rashbrook was born in Barrow, Suffolk, one of the villages where Frederick Bishop lived and worked. Did William Henry Tozer maybe visit Suffolk with his mother and stepfather and did he meet his future wife Maria Bishop during one of these visits? His younger brother Charles also married someone from Bury St. Edmunds, the main town of the area and lived and worked in Bury St. Edmund’s as a Corn and Seed Merchant. The house that Charles Tozer and his family lived in on Risbygate Street is still standing. After William Henry Tozer and Maria Bishop married they lived in London for several years where William Henry worked as a painter, grainer and decorator. Eventually they moved to Northampton where he set up his own business together with his sons. More about their life together in another Blog.

Where was Joseph Challis (1758 - 1834) of Ramsgate from?

By Debra van Driel Kluit and Clive Boyce

The first Challis family we have found living in Ramsgate, Kent is that of Joseph and Ann Challis and their children in the early 1800’s.  Joseph made his will in 1827 in which he refers to his honoured mother Sarah Challis. She died shortly after in March 1828 and was buried at St Lawrence, Ramsgate aged 91.  We know from Joseph’s will that he left nine surviving children: Ann Wife of Charles Smith, Joseph, Elizabeth, William, Charles, George, Francis, Henry, and James share and share alike”. We are direct descendants of Henry and Francis. Seven of the children were baptised at St Lawrence, Ramsgate. As the will puts them in order of baptismal dates it is very likely that all children are cited in strict order of age in the will and that Ann and Joseph were the first two children. Census data establishes that daughter Ann who married Charles Smith was born in London around 1790. We have not found her baptism and it is doubtful whether she was daughter of both Joseph and Ann. We suspect that she was daughter of a previous marriage. The next child, Joseph, had a twin sister Sarah, and they were baptised at St Mary, Marylebone in 1796. Sarah must have died young as she is not mentioned in her father’s will. She probably died of fever on 29 April in 1810, recorded as Ann Challis , aged 13. 1810 was  annus hornbills  for Joseph and Ann as their son John died in infancy on 29 April and their daughter Maria also an infant died “of bowels”on 27 August. There appear to be no baptisms for John or Maria but we presume that they were twins. There was another son Johnson born in 1812 who died in infancy. He was probably named after his paternal uncle Johnson Howes (see below). Joseph Challis was buried in Ramsgate on 5 Feb 1834 aged 76 So, we know he was born about 1758 and his mother, Sarah, was born about 1737. The consensus in family trees online is that Joseph was  baptised 25 Apr 1762 at Southminster, Essex son of Joseph Challis  and Sarah Lingley who were married 12 Oct 1761 at Sourthminster but there is no convincing baptism for Sarah around 1737 so the evidence for Jospeh coming from Southminster is very weak. We propose an alternative that establishes beyond doubt that Joseph Challis came from Witham, Essex. There was a Joseph Challis/Chalice was born 5 Apr 1758 and bap 23 April 1758 at Witham Essex son of Joseph and Sarah Chalice. Joseph Chalice senior married Sarah Havers on 21 October 1756 at St Nicholas, Witham. The transcript records her as Haven but she was actually Sarah Havers who was bap. Faulkbourne, Essex (about 2 miles from Witham) on 24 April 1737 dau. of Andrew and Ann Havers. Sarah married Jospeh Challice in 1732 when she was 19 which is reasonable given that both her parents were dead. Sarah had an elder brother John born 1733, and sister Ann born 1734 so we presume her parents were married about 1732 but their marriage has not been found nor has the baptism of Andrew Havers which we presume would be about 1710. Andrew Havers was buried at Faulkbourne in 1749 and his wife died in 1753, but their ages were not recorded. Joseph and Sarah Challis had a second son, William b 1760, who went into the army, was seriously injured and became a Chelsea pensioner. He married but there is no evidence of children. Joseph and Sarah also had two daughters; Sarah  b 1763 and Ann b 1766. Ann married Johnson Howes at Witham in 1800 and they live in nearby Hatfield Peverel. Johnson Howes died in 1838 and Ann made her will very shortly after his death. She left her estate to the eight children of her late brother Joseph Challis of Ramsgate. This establishes beyond doubt that Joseph Challis of Ramsgate was a son of Joseph Challis and Sarah Havers of Witham, Essex.

Heroic Harry - More facts from William Henry Orwin’s life.

My last blog was about my great uncle William Henry Orwin and his First World War experiences. Whilst searching through the British Newspaper Archives I discovered some more heroic deeds from his life that I would like to share with you. At the end of the war he returned to his family in Hull after his harrowing time as a Prisoner of War in Germany. On the 16th May 1921 his father William Orwin passed away after suffering a Haemorrhage, he was only 54 years old. Being the eldest son, Harry became the man of the house, his younger brother Arthur was only 12 years old. Harry’s occupation was Stevedore, that is someone who works at the docks loading and unloading ships. Harry was in the employ of the Bulk Oil Steamship Co. Ltd.

At the end of 1923 he married Anne Margaret Fox and a year later on the 4th October 1924 their first child was born, Joyce Theresa Orwin. At the beginning of 1927 their second daughter was born, Dora Anne Patricia Orwin. A couple of months after Dora’s birth the family decided to take a little break together with some of their extended family. It was a sunny Whitsuntide weekend in June 1927 so they decided to rent a Houseboat on the River Hull, they were located near a little place called Hull Bridge which is a few miles outside of Beverley.

According to a report in the Hull Daily Mail, Whit Monday, 7th June 1927 “Hull Bridge near Beverley was the scene of some thrilling rescues on Monday evening when a rowing boat containing a party of holiday makers suddenly turned turtle. Fortunately there were a number of houseboats about and the whole party were saved from drowning.” According to the article the members of the party were - Mr & Mrs West of 24 Bourne Street, Hull and their two children, Harold 4 and Stella 2. (This was Anne Fox’s sister and her husband and children) Mr & Mrs Ainley of New George Street, Hull and their daughter Sadie 3. Mr Reuben Waddington of Grange Street, Hull. Mrs Teresa Orwin of 28 Bourne Street, Hull (Harry’s Mother) Dora Morfit, aged 1 of Symons Street, Hull (Harry’s niece). Mrs Alice M Lilley and her five year old daughter Jocelyn and another gentleman. Mr William Henry Orwin, 28, Stevedore, of Bourne Street who alone was responsible for saving the lives of six or seven of the party. As can be seen several of the party were family to Harry and the others were maybe friends or neighbours.

To quote further from the Newspaper report which describes in perfect detail what happened. “Shortly after 5’0 clock on Monday at Hull Bridge, 2 miles out of Beverley the party of holiday makers were about to go for a row in a small boat. As the boat was about to start a gentleman of rather weighty proportions stepped aboard and the little boat immediately turned turtle, throwing the occupants into the water. The depth of the river at that point is said to be about 20 ft deep. “ I was sat in a houseboat near by” declared Mr Orwin “When someone shouted” He immediately went out and was horrified to see the neighbouring boat upside down and the party including his Mother in the water. “I jumped in after them and as soon as I got in I heard my Mother shouting for me - I got hold of her, I think I saved about six or seven.” “When I was holding my Mother, Mrs West and I noticed Mrs Ainley drifting down the river, so I dived after her, I did not think I could swim so fast, there was a strong current at the time.” When the accident occurred it was fortunate that there were a number of other boats nearby. The occupants gave valuable assistance, one of the rescuers was a young mid shipman who plunged in from the opposite bank. After the whole party had been recovered from the water they were taken aboard the neighbouring houseboats where they were supplied with blankets and hot drinks. Drenched to the skin, Orwin and the three men of the party drove back to Hull in a motor and after effecting a quick change returned to Hull Bridge with dry clothing for the remainder of the party. None of the party appear to be much the worse for their “ducking” except Mrs Orwin senior, who lies in bed suffering from shock and her son William who caught a severe chill and is practically speechless.”

Shortly after this article appeared in the Newspaper a thankyou letter was also published from one of the rescued. It is titled ‘The Unlucky Thirteen’

“Sir - Will you please allow me a little space - I would like to thank Mr H. Orwin for dragging my daughter Josie and myself safely to the bank, and also the man who assisted us to a houseboat and then put my daughter in blankets. I also thank Mrs Wilkinson for her kindness and the occupants of other houseboats for hot drinks and dry clothing etc. “ Alice M. Lilley 11 June 1927 Funnily enough the report of the boating accident wasn’t just reported in the Hull Daily Mail but was also reported in several other Newspapers throughout Britain, so it was real national news.

Sadly Harry’s second heroic rescue attempt wasn’t as successful, this occurred a year later in February 1928 and was at the docks were Harry worked. The accident occurred at about 8.30 in the morning, 42 year old George Hirst, a foreman of the Trent Navigation Company was superintending the removal of tinned fruit when he apparently slipped and fell into the water between the side of the quay and the forepart of the S.S. Hull Trader which was discharging bulk oil at the time. Stevedore Harry Orwin and Seaman Harold Hill who where aboard the S.S. Hull Trader at the time, heard the shouting and lowered themselves over the side to where Hirst was struggling. They got hold of him but Hill lost his hold and also fell into the dock and being unable to swim was soon in difficulty himself. Orwin was unable to hold Hirst alone and the latter Orwin states “sank like a stone” probably through the suction of the vessel. Hill managed to grab hold of the rope on which he had been lowered and was pulled on board the ship in a very weak condition. Hirst’s body was later brought to the surface and though artificial respiration was applied and the man was hurried to the Royal Infirmary he was found to be dead on arrival. Even though this was a very sad outcome Harry had been prepared to risk his life to save the man.

It is fascinating what you can find in old Newspaper reports that can give more colour to our ancestors lives. Through the report about the boating accident I was able to see that my Great Grandmother enjoyed having a day out with the family, even if this activity almost ended in disaster! She had her one year old granddaughter with her, daughter of her eldest daughter Dora, thankfully this young child was also safely rescued. My Mum was born in August 1926, she would have been 9 months old at the time, I have no idea whether her parents Herbert and Violet Orwin where also there in one of the other Houseboats with their three children or maybe they had decided to stay at home with such a young child.

William Henry (Harry) Orwin - soldier and prisoner of war 1918

Just about every family in Great Britain and the Commonwealth was effected in some way or another by the First World War, many lost sons or husbands or brothers and every village has a war memorial with the names of the fallen from that village. I have written earlier about my paternal Grandfather Robert Strickland and his injuries and survival in the Ypres Salient. My maternal Grandfather Herbert Cyril Orwin was too young to be called up to serve in the First World War as he turned 18 just a few months after the armistice, but his older brother Harry did serve and was also taken as a prisoner of war.

William Henry Orwin or Harry as he was called was born exactly two years before my Grandfather on the 6th April 1899 in Hull. He was named after his father William and his Grandfather Henry Bromby. According to his Military papers Harry joined the army when he was 16 though he must have lied about his age as the minimum age for all recruits at the time was 18. He joined the East Yorkshire Regiment and in December of 1915 he was serving in Egypt. According to Wikipedia “The 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th (Service) Battalions were raised in September 1914 from men volunteering in Kingston upon Hull. These units were additionally entitled 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th City of Hull battalions and were known as the Hull Pals, nicknamed the 'Hull Commercials', 'Hull Tradesmen', 'Hull Sportsmen' and 'T'others' respectively. They formed the 92nd Brigade in 31st Division, and landed in Egypt in December 1915 and then moved to France in March 1916 for service on the Western Front.”

Harry was in the Lewis Gun Section of the East Yorkshire Regiment, he would have fought in many battles along the Western Front, in the Ypres Salient and in France. According to Wikipedia at the end of May 1918 his Regiment was in the Aisne Department of France “In late May 1918 50th Division was moved to a 'quiet' sector on the Chemin des Dames ridge to relieve French troops. The sector was indeed quiet, but intelligence warned of impending attack, and on 26 May the battalion was alerted. A Company held the front line on the extreme left of the divisional sector, with B Company in close support and the other two companies in brigade reserve. Enemy gas shelling of Battalion HQs began at midnight and shellfire increased until it reached a crescendo at 01.00 on 27 May. At 06.00 the German infantry launched the Third Battle of the Aisne. There was no direct attack on 150th Bde, but successful attacks on the neighbouring French division and the rest of 50th (N) Division left the brigade to be enveloped on both flanks by 06.30. All communications to Brigade HQ were cut by shellfire, and nothing more was heard from 1/4th East Yorkshires' HQ; most of the battalion was overwhelmed, and rearguard actions were fought by small parties who worked their way back to the bridge over the River Aisne at Maizy. The battalion quartermaster attempted to hold the bridge with his men and the battalion transport details but was forced to withdraw. During 28–31 May the remnants of 50th (N) Division acted as a composite battalion (four officers and 105 other ranks from 1/4th East Yorkshires) under Lt-Col Stead. This served in 'Marshall's Force', holding the line while the German offensive was eventually stopped.” On the 29th June 1918 an article appeared in the Hull Daily Mail with a list of soldiers from the East Yorkshire Regiment who were reported as missing since May 27th 1918, one of the missing was Private Harry Orwin. This must have been a terrible time for my Great Grandparents, not knowing whether their son was still alive or whether he was injured and taken as a prisoner of war.

Finally three months later another article appeared in the Newspaper announcing that Mr and Mrs Orwin had received a postcard from their son Lance Corporal H. Orwin that he was a prisoner of war in Germany and that he was well. What a relief that card must have been for them though I can imagine that they would still have worried about how he was being treated as a prisoner of war.

According to military records Harry had suffered a wounded finger on his left hand.

Thankfully Harry eventually returned home and in 1924 he was married to Anne Margaret Fox.

Sitting on the far left of this photo is my great grandmother Theresa Orwin née Bromby and the handsome man standing to the left of the groom is my grandfather Herbert Orwin, younger brother of Harry. Their father William Orwin had passed away in 1921.