News from the Brandon, Bretford & Wolston History Group
The history group are currently working on a number of projects. Most recently, we have been interviewing some local residents and ex-residents, who remember life in the villages in the 1930’s-50’s. We hope to put all this information together to gain a view of village life during this time. There have been some interesting stories on local families, events in the villages and life during WWII. If you or someone you know lived in the villages during this period, we would love to hear from you.
One of our history group members is looking into the 1911 census and creating a snapshot of life for this year. He has been looking at all the families listed in the census and where they lived. It is hoped that we can compare the location of buildings in 1911 with the current layout of the villages. It is also a great foundation for our work researching the men who served in WWI.
We have also been busy continuing our research for WWI. The list of men who served from the villages is nearly at 200. We have included everyone that had a connection with the villages; whether they were born here, lived here when they enlisted or were connected with someone who lived in Brandon, Bretford & Wolston. This provides us with a broad viewpoint of the effect the war had on the villages and makes sure we don’t miss anyone from our research. We have recently found a couple of women who served as nurses during the war; both who worked in hospitals in this country.
Our research for WWI relies heavily on the documents that still exist and unfortunately many British Army service records were burnt during a WWII bombing raid on the War Office in London, where the records were stored. To support our research, we had been looking at the local newspapers including the Coventry Herald, Coventry Standard, Coventry Graphic, Coventry Evening Telegraph and Rugby Advertiser. As an example of the gems of information that can be found in the newspapers, we recently found the roll of honour supplied by Bluemel Bros. Ltd (published by the Coventry Herald on 7th May 1915):
BLUEMEL BROS., LTD.
FIRM’S ROLL OF HONOUR
[Exclusive to “Coventry Herald”]
The following is a complete roll of honour of the employees of Messrs, Bluemel Bros., Ltd., who have joined H.M. Forces since the outbreak of the war. Two of the former workmen have been unfortunately killed, and nine have been promoted:
Employees
8 Warren, Isaac.
32 Williams, William.
41 Elliott, Frank.
43 Gilbert, Frank (Corporal).
44 Watkins, William.
63 Webb, Thos. (Lance-Corporal).
65 Davies, John.
67 Worsey, George.
69 Gothard, Fred.
75 Flowers, William.
76 Tompkins, John.
84 Reed, Sidney.
85 Robbins, Fred.
88 Barton, George.
98 Davies, Walton.
99 Thetford, Thos. (Bombardier).
111 White, William.
115 Essex, John.
129 Edmans, Percy (Sergeant).
133 Brookes, William.
139 Clarke, Walter.
140 Newcombe, Robert.
142 Smith, John.
144 Smith, James.
149 Murden, ames.
151 Woodley, Alfred.
152 Jeacock, James.
154 Hobday, Fred.
156 Dunbar, Alex. (Sergeant).
161 Powis, Walter.
173 Knutton, H.
175 Colledge, Walter.
182 Compton, Robert.
195 Walton, Thomas.
196 Ward, Sidney.
203 Allen, George.
204 Fawdry, James.
205 Roberts, William.
207 Hirons, Fred.
209 Jameson, Richard.
212 Richardson, Chas.
217 Lott, Edwin.
222 Woodley, Herbert.
226 Smallwood, Owen.
232 Edmonds, William.
233 Watts, George.
235 Newcombe, Chas.
236 Lixenfield, Chas.
237 Hopkins, Frank.
238 Orton, Harry.
239 Webb, Frederick.
241 Wells, Robert.
242 Webb, John.
244 Butlin, Roland.
247 Owen, George.
248 Jones, Thomas.
249 Howard, Fred. (killed).
252 Willets, James (killed).
258 Owen, Walter.
259 Hancox, Walter.
261 Cox, Edward.
262 Treen, Sidney.
269 Hirons, Herbert.
270 Bottrill, Wallace.
271 Wells, William.
272 Wells, Frank (Lance-Corporal).
275 Buggins, Percy.
277 Hancox, Charles.
286 Rowe, Sidney.
Staff.
Bluemel, F.W.
Bluemel, Neville (Corporal).
Bluemel, Roland (Corporal).
Newman, J.E.
Woodings, Chas. (Sergeant).
Do you recognise any names on the list? We would love to hear from you, if you have any stories, photographs or documents. We are also looking for any photographs of the villages from the beginning of the 20th Century.
For more information on the history group, please have a look at our web site: http://www.bbw-history-group.co.uk
We also have a Facebook page (search for Brandon, Bretford and Wolston History Group).
