Balderson's Wharf

Roy has kindly supplied an update on Balderson's Wharf, Hemel Hempstead.  It appear that the person after whom the wharf was named was actually born with the surname Osbaldeston!

Detailed account of the Death of Lieutenant Colonel A C Gordon

Hemel Hempstead Gazette, 22^nd December, 1917

The Battle of Cambrai

... ...

While the 235^th Brigade was supporting the Guards Division, the 236^th  Artillery Brigade, under Lieutenant Colonel A. H. Bowring, were allocated to help the 20^th Division on the Welsh Ridge in the neighbourhood of La Vacquerie.

Over the next week the Germans shelled indiscriminately in the area, including Havrincourt Wood. They killed a mess carthorse on 8^th December, while the A/235 Battery lost two horses killed and three men wounded on the 10^th, and the wagon lines moved to a safer position at Fins. On the 12^th there was a major regrouping of artillery and the C.R.A. war diary records that “The Divisional front is from 4 p.m. today covered by one Field Artillery Group, under the command of Lt. Col. Bowring, consisting of 77^th (Army) Brigade R.F.A. and 235^th  and 236^th Brigades R.F.A.” The war diary also reports that there was very little hostile fire with “only a few rounds on Havrincourt and our trenches.” Unfortunately, half an hour after the regrouping of the Divisional artillery one of the few shells to fall on Havrincourt that day found a target in the B/235 Battery position. Captain Pilditch recorded what happened in his diary:

December 12^th. ... I was just going comfortably to bed when a message came from Brigade to say that Colonel Gordon had been killed and Major Hatfield badly wounded. It was a great shock, the worst I’ve had since Gorell’s death, especially as everything seemed reasonably quiet in front and we had had no casualties to speak of since we came into action here. It was not so much surprise at a Colonel being overtaken by the fate more commonly reserved for gunners and subalterns, (a year of Ypres had scattered all illusions and put us all on a level as far as that was concerned) but Gordon was certainly a man whom one unconsciously thought of as one who goes on and prospers and is not killed. He has done splendidly during the last week as C.R.A. to the artillery covering the Guards, and after ten days’ momentous action with so few casualties in our immediate circle, one had, as so often, become lulled into a false sense of security and hardly gave a thought to the tragic side of war. Now that pleasant illusion was shattered. The two senior officers of the Brigade had been hit, Hatfield was reported very badly wounded, and the Doctor [Hebblethwaite] had had a miraculous escape. It could, we felt, have been quiet on our front, but it was a reminder, as in the case of Kimber, and again when Gorell was killed, that on the quietest, sunniest days, death lurks quietly unseen and unthought of, but never absent and never asleep, I felt very miserable for some days after this. Gordon was a fine C.O. and a good friend to our Battery and to me personally. I slept badly, thinking of Gordon and that the last important link with the old days was gone.

December 13^th. ... Flynn rode back with me along the cord-wood road to Trescault for the funeral at Havrincourt. There were ten officers from the Brigade there. He was buried in a little graveyard by the side of the road [at Ruyaulcourt]. Eighty men and two trumpeters followed. As at all funerals I felt profoundly miserable. I think at such times most of us feel ‘which one of us will be the next?’  There is one thing, however, about deaths out here. There is too much action and work in one’s life to allow of much worrying and brooding over sad happenings. One man goes, another takes his place, and still the war goes on, full of vital interest and concern for the survivors. We shall, I expect, those of us who are alive when the war stops, feel the deaths far more then than now. Also, I think, we feel that a proportion of us (in the Infantry a majority) will soon pass the same way, and the consciousness that it is but a step forward is stronger, here and now, than in the piping times of peace. So after the funeral, at which we all felt very miserable, we came back to our pigsty billet and had a good dinner and cheery game of bridge and personally I slept like a log. Gordon is not forgotten but God is merciful and blunts the edge of these sorrows while we have other hard things to bear.

The Brigade Chaplain wrote a letter of condolence to Gordon’s widow, Irene, which, in the light of Pilditch’s diary and General Fielding’s letter, seems more genuine than many which were sent to grieving relatives:

He was one of the finest commanding officers that any brigade could have. He had all the qualities which go to make the ideal leader of men, and they would have followed him anywhere. He died just after the accomplishment of the greatest achievement in his military career, having done something with his brigade which it is given to few artillery officers to be able to do. His name has been on everybody’s lips in this division, and not in this division alone. Further honours would certainly have come to him in the near future. I have known him for over two years now, and I have lost a much respected and large-hearted friend. I shall always remember him as one who inspired, by his example, the boys and men whom he led (and whom I have worked among and love) to achieve things which seemed almost impossible.

The news soon reached Hemel Hempstead, as one of the gunners formerly billeted in the town wrote with news from the front on 15th December:

We are now billeted in a village, which our boys have named “The Better Hole” on account of its being but a heap of ruins. I regret to say we have lost Colonel Lowe, who had been made a Brigadier-General, and was posted to another Division. He had been there only a month when a piece of shrapnel pierced his lungs. ... Lieutenant Colonel Gordon, D.S.O. was also killed a few days ago. No doubt you will remember him when he was at Hemel Hempstead. He was Major at that time. Corporal Gilman  was also wounded this morning but not very badly. He used to be in the Battery office at the Manse [in Alexandra Road] in the old days.

The London Gunners Come to Town Chapter 23, pages 199-201

The London Gunners Come to Town describes life in a Hertfordshire market town [Hemel Hempstead], its overnight transformation into a garrison town, and the war’s impact from three very different viewpoints. ... ... "The Soldier's Tale" describes life in the town, and military training in the surrounding countryside, as recorded by the soldiers at the time. To emphasize the reason why they had come to Hemel Hempstead, the book briefly follows the military career of Major Gordon of the 2^nd London Division (later the 47^th Division) on the Western Front. The battle of Loos is described by men from the town. The book also reports on the local men who joined the Hertfordshire Regiment and marched out of town in August, 1914

Book: The Deacons of Cornerhall, Hemel Hempstead

pdf copy

I am delighted to say that this excellent family history study, first published in New Zealand in 2001, has been updated (2016) and is available online as a pdf file, which also gives a contact address for paper copies.

Formation of the Volunteer Rifle Corps in 1860

Poem on the Volunteer Rifle Corps Meeting at Berkhamsted

 In January 1860 there were  meetings at Ashridge, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring to form a combined Rifle Corps. For details (and the full poem) click on the poem.

For the historic background see Wikipedia

Another Brick Pit Hole at Hemel Hempstead?

The sink hole in High Street Green, Hemel Hempstead, 2017

Oatridge Gardens, 2014

Two years ago I gave a posted "Forgotten" St Albans Brick Pit Rediscovered, followed a year later by What lies under Bernards Heath - and posted the slides of my talk "Brick Pits and other old holes" on the main web site. 

The notes for the talk also included brief details of another hole that appeared in Oatridge Gardens, Hemel Hempstead,  in 2014. which was also due to building on the site of a former brick pit which had been infilled - almost certainly with local town rubbish. See Hemel Hempstead sinkhole ‘may have been caused by building homes on former clay pit’ and Sinkhole latest: Landlord defends decision to build Hemel Hempstead homes on former clay pit. The later reference included the following

A life-long Hemel Hempstead householder has fuelled speculation that the sinkhole near his home may have been caused by building on former clay pits and chalk mines. Noel Swinford, 78, said they lined Wood Lane End between its junction with Briery Way, where he now lives, and Maylands Avenue. He said he used to play in them as a child. He said: “There must have been 50 or 60 of them holes along that road and them houses should never have been built there. “There were also big mines underneath there, where they mined the chalk. “I have lived here all my life, for 79 years nearly, and used to play in that area when I was a kid. I remember seeing trucks of chalk being taken out of the mines – that would have been in the late 1940s. “It was not an operational brickworks then – it was just used for taking out chalk.”

Another hole, 14 metres deep, appeared in nearby High Street Green in May this year and current estimated suggest that the road may be closed for about 5 months - Sinkhole in Hemel Hempstead may leave road shut for another two month. The new hole is in the road north of the Saracen's Head on the 1897 OS map, while Oatridge Gardens is in the area of the brickworks shown to the east of the Saracens Head. The depth of the hole suggest that, like some of the other collapses, the problem could be due to a very deep well or a shaft into a chalk mine.

See also The Leverstock Green Brickfields

German POW at Hemel Hempstead & a link with Florence Nightingale

Cemmaes Court in 1897

In my book, The London Gunners come to Town I mentioned that after the war Cemmaes Court had been used to house German prisoners of war.

I have now had a request for a picture of the house and decided to find out more about it and who lived there.

It appears to have been built as a retirement home for Dr James Vaughan Hughes - who had been Surgeon Major in the Crimean War - and not only treated Florence Nightingale when she was ill, but was nursed by her when he was ill.

The information I have on Cemmaes Court has been posted at

CEMMAES

If you can add anything about the history of the house, and particularly if you can provide a photograph of it I will be very grateful.

Dating the early photographs of William Coles of Watford

CDV back circa 1889

William Coles (1853-1938)

In 1881 William Coles was an assistant chemist working for Theophilus John Piggot, photographer, at Leighton Buzzard. By the late 1880s he was trading as a photographer in Queens Road, Watford, and was still trading there in 1926. For a short time around 1890 he also had a studio on the Broadway, Chesham, and by 1899 had a studio in Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, which continued for about 10 years. His carte de visite and cabinet cards usually have a negative number and the time line below suggests dates for various backs. Later backs say "by special appointment of Princess Eulalia of Spain - possibly after the Princess's visit to Watford in 1899. As a result if is possible to assign approximate dates on his Victorian photographs from the negative numbers and printing on the back.

Cabinet back circa 1900

Unknown Mother & Child

Unfortunately few of the wonderful portraits are identified - but perhaps, if your ancestors came from the Watford area you may be able to suggest a name.

He was also selling views of many local towns and villages by the early 1890s, and was producing a wide range of view post cards in the 1900s - some of which may have been from earlier negatives. He also produced a number of post cards of news events, which are normally dated.

More Information

A German Watchmaker in Hemel Hempstead (Update)

The ever expanding British Newspaper Archive is always coming up with vital new information. A recent email about the family reminded me that some of the early years of the Hemel Hempstead Gazette had come online since the last update. I found this advert which, for the first time links Englebert directly with the Wurtenberg Guild of Watchmakers.

Read More about this Interesting Germany Family

The Hall at Lockers Park School, Hemel Hempstead

The Hall at Lockers Park School

Yet another view of this interesting school, published by P. A. Buchanan in the 1930s

Are you sure that "find" is really your ancestor?

Many beginners, when researching their family tree, find a name and approximate date which seems to fit and assume that they have found their ancestor - and stop looking. A recent inquiry relating to someone called William Howard turned up the following entries in the Hemel Hempstead baptismal register which clearly demonstrates why you have to be careful:

It shows that two different babies called William Howard, with different fathers also called William Howard, were baptised in the same church 8 days apart ....

For many more similar examples see 

Right Name, Wrong Body

The Half Moon and Holloway's Brewery, Hemel Hempstead

Breweries

Alister has provided a useful update on the history of the Half Moon public house, High Street, Hemel Hempstead, at the end of the 18th into the early 19th century. The earliest known owner was a Dr Hugh Smith (does anyone know anything about him), and through marriage the pub became part of the estate of the Holloway's Brewery. On the death of George Holloway in 1827 the brewery was sold but the following pubs were transferred to Weller's Amersham Brewery.

Bull, Markyate

Half Moon, High Street, Hemel Hempstead

Leather Bottle, Leverstock Green

Queens Head, Corner Hall, near Two Waters

Red Lion, Nash Mills

More about the Half Moon

Sales details of Holloway's Brewery, 1827

A "Food Bank" in Hemel Hempstead is nothing new

The Food Bank for the needy poor of Hemel Hempstead, currently provided by DENS had a Victorian predecessor - as this advert shows.

Click Here for more information.

See who donated funds in 1876 and then visit the DENS page to see how you can support the modern poor.

Hertfordshire Military Records on the British Newspaper Archive

The Army & Navy Gazette is currently being loaded onto the British Newspaper Archive and so far they have loaded the years 1860-66 and 1869-71 and I expect more years will soon appear online. I did a quick check and found many such as the following which relates to the formation of the 1st Hertfordshire Battalion.

Army & Navy Gazette, 4th August, 1860

Unfortunately the machine transcription left a lot to be desired - and errors in the above example meant that it would not have been found in searches for the place names Ashridge, Hemel, Hempstead, Tring and Watford or for the surnames Dorrien, Cust, and Pearce. Unfortunately such errors occur in all automatically scanned newspaper archives and you have to use your imagination when searching and try alternative search names.

However the accuracy of the surnames and places in the following item relating to the double marriage of the daughters of the late Mr John Beale, of Cheshunt, was satisfactory.

Army & Navy Gazette, 4th November 1869

Was there an early Harley Street connection with Gadebridge House, Hemel Hempstead ???

Can you help?

Gadebridge House was occupied by Sir Astley Paston Cooper, surgeon at Guy's Hospital, London, in the early 19th century, and he may well have had it (re)built in the form shown in this photograph. The book The History of Hemel Hempstead states that William Wigg, physician, lived there in the early 18th century.

Mark has just contacted me about the death of an ancestor, Robert Neale, who is reported to have died at Gadebridge House, Hemel Hempstead, on 18th September  1790, aged 39. A quick look online (Discovery) shows that in 1790 insurance on the house was paid by Thomas Latter, who also had an address of 22 Harley Street, London. 

Gadebridge House, Hemel Hempstead, circa 1900

There are many possible reasons why Robert might have been visiting Gadebridge House - but one is of wider interest. Later Harley Street had become famous as being the area in London where the top doctors practiced - supposedly because it was not too far from a number of railway stations. There were 20 there by 1860 and almost 200 by 1914. However there must have been some doctors there before 1860 and the area around Cavendish Square was the abode of the rich and wealthy by the end of the 18th century - and the occupants would have wanted the best doctors to live nearby. This raises an interesting possibility. Could Thomas Latter have been some kind of doctor and could Robert have been a patient who at gone to Gadebridge House to avoid the noise and stench of London?

I am currently rushed off my feet and don't have time to follow up this story - especially as it could mean looking at London Records. So if anyone out there can throw some light on the issue both Mark and I would love to here from you.

Right name - but are you sure he is really your ancestor?

Mike came up with another good example of the situation where a John married an Elizabeth - but were there one or two (or even more) families? This is a common problem, particularly in the 18th century when there is no census to help, and beginners often assume that the first "matching" couple they find must be the right one and end up on a wild goose chase after someone else's ancestors. Click here to see how I was able to show Mike that there were two different families or read Right Name, Wrong Body to see other examples where our ancestors seem to have been trying to confuse us!

Photographer updates

Post Cards

Updates, in most cases involving new CDV images, have been made to the following Victorian or Edwardian Photographers, to help with dating examples of their work.

Atherstane Basebe of Hertford, Hemel Hempstead and Watford
Misses M & A Austin of St Albans
Thomas Milburn Cooper of St Albans
Fred Downer of Watford
Thomas Benwell Latchmore of Hitchin
William Norman of Royston
Samuel Glendenning Payne of Aylesbury, Thame and Tring

Recent Correspondence (May 2015)

Charles Campbell Ridgway was a pupil at Lockers Park School, Hemel Hempstead, in 1915. Following a query from Alan, who is related to him, I have added Charles' obituary from the Times. See Ephemera - an empty envelope.

Thanks to information received from Christine I have placed a link to the Chidwickbury Stud on the Childwickbury page.

I have had two queries about photographs taken by Thomas Latchmore of Hitchin, relating to people in the pictures. In neither case was there sufficient clues to be able to identify the individuals. (The more dateable examples of work by Hertfordshire photographs the more I can help people date their old pictures.)

Solomon Willis, Hemel Hempstead Cricket Captain 1868-1880

Solomon Willis, Captain of Hemel C.C.  1860-80

About two years ago I posted details of Solomon Willis, who was until 1897 the Under Bailiff of the ancient Pie Poudre Court of the Bailiwick of Hemel Hempstead. He was also a keen cricketer and Andy Turbutt has kindly sent me a copy of the photograph which proudly hangs in the Hemel Hempstead Cricket Pavilion. He was their Captain between 1860 and 1880,

Since the original posting copies of the Hemel Hempstead Gazette have appeared on the British Newspaper Archive - and there are a number of references to him as the Under Bailiff, as a cricketer, and as the publican of the Compasses Public House in the High Street. I have added some brief extracts to Solomon's Time Line, including a reference that shows he had a special uniform as under bailiff - and the picture I earlier posted is almost certainly genuine, and not merely fancy dress. 

> > > The Full Story.

Hemel Hempstead Gazette (selected years) now Online

The Hemel Hempstead Gazette was first published in 1867 covering Hemel Hempstead, Great Berkhamsted, Boxmoor, Two Waters, Nash Mills, Kings Langley, Abbots Langley, Chipperfield, Watford, Bovingdon, Chesham, Gaddesden and Tring.

The years 1872, 74, 75, 76, 79, 81, 82, 86, and 91 are already on the British Newspaper Archive and more will undoubtedly follow shortly.

February Report - Stats and additional updates

There has been a lot of email correspondence and other activities related to the site during February, complicated by the fact that I have moved all correspondence onto my newest computer - while the master web site has had to remain (due to software incompatibility) on my old system. The following is a summary of the more important activities that have not already been covered in this Newsletter.

Statistics

Activity on the main site and the newsletter have been comparable with recent years, but the number of emails I have received appears to have gone up. The only disappointing thing is that while there have been over 230 visits to the "Donations" page there has not been a single donation into the online collecting box for the mentally ill in Hertfordshire.