30
Sep
2019
Allen Basil Bratton
Allen Basil Bratton was born in Shrewsbury in 1890 the son of Doctor James Allen Bratton. His father died when he was 3. Continue reading →
Photos
10
Jun
2019
Beacon Lodge Photos, 1920s
Here is a collection of 1920s photos from Mary Downing‘s album “Beacon Lodge & Surroundings”. After the First World War the Beacon remained a shooting lodge for William Edmund Downing. But more pictures of picnics and walks suggest that it also became a regular place to visit for Noel and Molly Downing and their young family until 1939. Continue reading →
27
Jan
2019
First Western General Hospital, Birkenhead, 1917
On 15 Mar 1917 Molly Evans resumed her nursing service at the First Western General Hospital in Birkenhead. She was joined there by her two friends and colleagues Clarice Molloy and Frances Ashlin. All three had already been working together in France for the best part of a year at the No 2 General Hospital, Le Havre. Continue reading →
06
Jan
2019
The Grosvenor Family of Broome House
George William Grosvenor, the head of Woodward Grosvenor & Co, Kidderminster Carpet Manufacturers, and his family lived in Broome House in Broome to the West of Hagley from about 1875 to 1899. He was a JP, Deputy Lieutenant and in 1897 High Sheriff of Worcestershire.
Broome House was sold in 1904 for £6500 and the family then moved first to Elmley House in Blakedown and finally to Park House, Hagley, where he died in 1923. The four children feature in some of the photos and correspondence held by the Downing and Evans family of Hagley. Continue reading →
30
Dec
2018
The Hatton Family of Hagley House
The family of George Hatton moved into Hagley House in about 1912. Hagley House was a large Georgian building on the corner of the Birmingham and Stourbridge Roads. The previous occupant recorded in the 1911 census was Henrietta Moore, the grandmother of Hal Barlow. Henrietta’s husband Joseph Moore, a brick manufacturer, had died there in 1901. Continue reading →
28
Nov
2018
Constance Ellen Loveridge (née Neve)
Constance Ellen Neve was godmother to Molly Evans. She was almost certainly a good friend of Florence Evans. She married Walter Loveridge in 1884 but was widowed after only three years of marriage. Continue reading →
31
Oct
2018
Future Officers, 4th Public Schools Battalion
The 4th Public Schools Battalion, 21st Royal Fusiliers, did not land in France until Nov 1915, approximately one year after they first gathered in Ashtead, Surrey as newly enlisted recruits. We have pieced together from the photos in Noel Downing‘s (PS/2581) collection, the names and identities of some of his comrades in arms. Continue reading →
12
Oct
2018
21st Battalion (4th Public Schools) Royal Fusiliers
Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, Noel Downing enlisted and joined the 21st Battalion (4th Public Schools) Royal Fusiliers. In early Oct 1914 he arrived in Ashtead, Surrey where he was billeted. Noel kept a series of postcards that illustrate the new recruits’ arrival and early training and the construction of a vast encampment of huts in Woodcote Park, Epsom. Continue reading →
27
Feb
2018
Wilmot Evans at Shrewsbury School, 1903-1909
Wilmot Evans was an Old Salopian. He was at Shrewsbury School from 1903 to 1909. His School House was Haydon’s now Rigg’s Hall. Captain C.W. Evans MC is remembered by the School among those who were killed in the First World War. Continue reading →
24
Feb
2018
John Burke’s Afghan Military Photograph, 1880
Among the photos in the Evans’s family archive is a formal group portrait of British Army Officers by John Burke known for his photographs of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880). Most likely it came from General Charles Richard Ogden Evans‘s military memorabilia. Continue reading →
12
Feb
2018
A.K. Gibbs to Mary Downing Letter, Nov 1917
Annie Katharina Gibbs’s letter to Mary Downing dates from 17 Nov 1917. She congratulates Mary on receiving her decoration (Royal Red Cross) and as an ‘old friend’ uses the opportunity to catch up with the family’s news. The letter is part of a number of congratulatory letters preserved in Mary’s Writing Box. Continue reading →
12
Dec
2017
Photo Books and Calendars
A few years ago we stared to print photo books and calendars for ourselves and close circle of family and friends. Each one contains the best pictures featuring people we met, places we visited and events which happened in the previous year. Continue reading →
08
Nov
2017
Studley Court Hospital, Stourbridge, 1914-1915
Studley Court Hospital in Stourbridge was opened in Nov 1914 as a direct response to the outbreak of war. The building is now owned by the council and forms part of Mary Stevens Park. Continue reading →
30
Sep
2017
Florence Marten’s Photo Album
Florence Eliza Marten collected a large photo album of her relatives in the late 1870’s and 1880’s. Some descriptions are annotated by her but most appear to be done at a later date by her daughter, Molly Evans. Here is a list of the individual photos a number of which can be found posted on this web site. Continue reading →
31
Aug
2017
Donald Morgan in India 1946
Donald Cecil Morgan a Warrant Officer in the British Intelligence Corps set sail from England for India on 29 Dec 1945, aged 23. He had been called up and spent an initial period at Bletchley Park from Oct 1943 to Oct 1945 and was to spend the next ten months in India where tensions were high as it embarked on the road to Independence and eventual Partition. Continue reading →
03
Oct
2014
No 2 General Hospital, Le Havre
In July 1915 Molly Evans, a VAD nurse, left Studley Court Hospital and in Nov 1915 moved from Stourbridge to Le Havre, France to join the No 2 General Hospital. Continue reading →
27
Mar
2014
Beacon Lodge Photos, 1910s
These photos of Beacon Lodge and the surrounding area above Llangunllo Station, Powys are part of the large collection of photos taken during the period from 1910 to 1939 when the lodge was owned and used by William Edmund Downing and his family. These early pre-WW1 photos of shooting parties show family members together with local beaters and gamekeepers. Continue reading →
26
Feb
2013
Downing Sisters 1920s Photos
These pictures of Pamela, Hazel and Jill Downing, daughters of Noel and Molly, were taken by a professional photographer A. Clara Cooper, 203, Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham roughly at annual intervals in 1920s. Continue reading →
29
Jun
2010
Evans Daguerreotypes
We have a collection of nine daguerreotypes of the Evans family – mostly of youngish men. It has long been presumed that they are the sons of Richard Evans (b 1797) and Mary Evans (nee Shaw-Hellier). They were in the possession of Mary at her death in 1878 and passed to her children Sarah and Henry. However, there are major problems with identification and the precise identity of each is difficult to determine. The issues are as follows. Continue reading →
15
Jun
2010
Mulgrave Castle School
Noel Downing attended the small private prep school called Mulgrave Castle School from 1899 to 1902. It was based in Mulgrave Castle near Whitby, the seat of the Phipps family. We have about thirty photographs of his time there – some official school photographs as well as his own snaps. Continue reading →