I inherited a large number of family photos from my paternal grandmother Jessie Stocking (nee Ephgrave). Her mother Phoebe features in many of them along with other family members. Some are of special occasions such as weddings, others are more informal. What can they show us about 1930s-1950s life? A short summary of Phoebe's life … Continue reading Phoebe Caroline Ephgrave: Later life in photos
World War II
My great grandmother’s four surviving siblings
My great grandmother Susan Caroline Hill had seven siblings, but only four survived beyond their third birthdays. Research into the surviving four reveals stories of further loss and survival, changing circumstances, military and civilian war casualties and emigration. Some of them are told here. Loss and survival My 2xgreat grandparents, Elsted-born Labourer John Hill and … Continue reading My great grandmother’s four surviving siblings
Susan Caroline Stocking (1896-1971): A move to Tingewick and family tragedies [Updated]
Susan was 15th of 19 children. She was left with three youngsters of her own when her ex-serviceman husband Fred Smith died after ten years of marriage. In the early 1940s, she moved with her second husband Harry Catlow to Tingewick, Bucks, where they ran The White Hart. Tragedy struck when both her daughter and … Continue reading Susan Caroline Stocking (1896-1971): A move to Tingewick and family tragedies [Updated]
Alexander Edward Stocking (1902-1971): A career in the Tank Corps and WW2 PoW
Alexander was the youngest of 19 children, born in the Coronation year of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, after whom he was perhaps named. He joined the regular army aged 16 (lying about his age), married while based in Dorset, later being a Prisoner of War in Germany during WW2. Records of his life … Continue reading Alexander Edward Stocking (1902-1971): A career in the Tank Corps and WW2 PoW
Violet Rose May Ivy Stocking (1900-1963): A life of loss
The youngest daughter of my 2xgreat grandparents, Violet suffered the loss of two brothers and both her parents by the time she was 20, and her only child died in infancy. She worked for a stationer before marrying a Stockbroker. He may have been a WW2 prisoner of war, and worked in the same street … Continue reading Violet Rose May Ivy Stocking (1900-1963): A life of loss
Lavinia (Lily) Stocking (1888-1968): Five Monk sons
Known in her early years as Lily, she was a witness to at least two of her sisters' weddings before marrying, in 1909, Frederick James Monk, a stationer's Card Cutter. He suffered ill-health after serving in the Remount Company during WW1, but continued to work. They had five sons between 1910-1919. What records did they … Continue reading Lavinia (Lily) Stocking (1888-1968): Five Monk sons
Catherine Alice (Kate) Stocking (1885-1967): Tingewick and turbulence of War [Updated]
Kate, the eighth child of my great grandparents, grew up with her many siblings in South London. Before marrying Tramways Engineer Charles Hall in 1908, she worked as a Shirt Machinist. They stayed together through two world wars, moving from London to Buckinghamshire to run The Crown Inn at Tingewick. But their family stories illustrate … Continue reading Catherine Alice (Kate) Stocking (1885-1967): Tingewick and turbulence of War [Updated]
John Arthur Stocking (1882-1957): Telephone Engineer
Years ago, in conversation with my Dad about his family, he recalled his 'Uncle John' who used to play the piano whenever Dad visited their Beechfield Road home in Catford. 'Uncle John' was actually his father's uncle; it's strange to think that, when I hold Dad's hand, there's a personal connection back to my great … Continue reading John Arthur Stocking (1882-1957): Telephone Engineer
William Henry Stocking (1880-1966): Master Builder
Building trades are very much part of my Stocking ancestry. My Dad worked for his father's firm of J Stocks & Sons in the 1950s. His great uncle William Henry Stocking built up the firm of W Stocks & Sons, creating an earlier dynasty of builders and decorators in the 1900s, one for which several … Continue reading William Henry Stocking (1880-1966): Master Builder
Harriett Elizabeth Stocking (1879-1945): A large family
Harriett was the fourth of my 2xgreat grandparents' 19 children and had her own large family of ten with her husband Alfred Edmund Ilott Bishop. They lived their lives in Camberwell and then Norwood in London, dying in the final throws of WW2. They gave a home to her widowed sister and their ten children … Continue reading Harriett Elizabeth Stocking (1879-1945): A large family
My Stocking Roots 