This post is about my grandfather, John William Frederick ALLEN. There's so much to record about the ancestors we actually knew, and I am already behind with the "52 ancestors in 52 weeks" so I am going to keep this fairly short and just introduce the key facts. I am sure I shall be returning to John many times!
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| John William Frederick ALLEN, with 'Jack' |
He was the second of four children to John Prosser ALLEN jnr and Caroline NAYLOR. His siblings were Amelia Bessie, Albert Edward and Robert.
Their names caused some confusion for my mother, when she first began her family history research. Amelia had always been "Aunty May", and her uncles had always been referred to as "Bert" and "Bob". It might seem obvious now which is which but, when starting from the shortened versions, especially "Bert", which can represent several names, the early research was not easy.
And, of course, they are all common first names. Combined with a fairly common surname, as well, identifying the correct civil registration entries was quite a problem for Mum - in fact, it is only since the advent of the GRO's own online indexes, with the inclusion of mother's maiden names before 1911, that I have finally managed to identify Albert's birth registration.
Even my mother's Dad's name caused her an issue when she was younger - it was discovered that, whilst he always seemed to be known as "John William Frederick" and that is what is on my grandparents' marriage certificate, his birth certificate actually shows his name as "John Frederick William".
Thinking that this might mean the marriage was not legal, I gather Mum asked, "Does that make me a b......?"
She told me that comment earned her a "clip round the ear"!
We all have our own perspectives on other people, based on our experiences. To me, my grandfather was a happy man - in all the photographs, he seems to be smiling and having a good time. I have memories of him and others together in my grandparents' house, larking around on an out of tune piano, (frequently singing a song that involved “more beer”!)
He passed away in 1967, when I was still a child.
So it was only when I was older, speaking to Mum about her experiences growing up, that I learnt about other aspects of his life and possibly why there might have been more to the "more beer" song.
Grandad fought in the 1st World War. He had actually enlisted before the war, in 1909 and served with the Colours for three years before being transferred to the Reserve. He was then mobilised and served again from 1914 - 1919. For some reason, he was recalled to the Colours again in 1921 and served for another five months.
At some stage, he met his first wife, although he didn't marry her until their son was almost four. Sadly, she died in 1918, of TB, barely nine months after the wedding. John was serving in Salonika at the time - Mum believed he did try to get home, but was told by his officer "there's no point, she'll be dead by the time you get there". And when he asked what would happen to his son, he was reportedly told not to worry - he'd be put into an orphanage!
Fortunately, John's son was not put into an orphanage, but looked after by John's parents - but would it be any surprise if Grandad felt bitter towards those in charge?
I don't know when John met my grandmother, Maud Emily Alice DOWDING, but they were married in 1926. My mother was their only child. She's passed on a few stories of her childhood, being brought up by 'older' parents, and effectively as an only child, since her half brother was seventeen years older than her. But they can wait until another time.
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| John William Frederick ALLEN with his daughter. |
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