My parents were Harry Watson, born Hartlepool, 23rd April 1928, and Joyce Young, born Hartlepool 10th October 1929. Harry's parents were James Sedcole Watson, from Jarrow, and Kate Loughborough from The Headland in Hartlepool. Until my late fifties, when I started this research, I knew nothing about James, except that he had died in 1943. I have vague memories of Kate, who lived with my parents for some time, between 1960 and her 1967 death.
Harry & Joyce moved to South London soon after their Christmas wedding in 1950. Following various flats in South London, they ended up in Dartford, Kent. Harry was a bank clerk, eventually rising to branch manager. In December 1964 Harry & Joyce, along with me and my brother, born 1960, moved from Dartford to Eastcote.
I was born on 26th July 1957, followed by a brother and twin sisters over the next 8 years.
Harry had two older sisters, May and Connie who I saw frequently throughout my childhood. Auntie May lived with her husband Uncle Peter Lampard in Guildford and they had no children. My father’s other sister, Auntie Connie, was married to Uncle Vic Palmer, and they lived in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and they had two children, Derek and Frank. I was a page boy at Derek's wedding in the very early 1960s, and saw very little of him because he worked in what was then Tanganyika. Frank was several years older than me and we saw him at least once or twice a year. I remember inheriting hand-me-down clothes from him, in particular pajamas with much-chewed collars!
My mother, Joyce had an older sister, Marjorie and a brother, older still, Fred Jr. Marjorie was married to Uncle Stan Evans, and they had six children, David, Stephen and Paul, (all older than me, and very much bigger), Mark, about the same age as my brother Graham, and the twins, Hillary and Leslie. They all still lived in Hartlepool as well. I only met my uncle Freddie and his wife Evelyn a very few times and I have no memories of their children who were named Lynne, Susan and Stephen.
My mother’s parents, Frederick and Margaret Young, also lived in Hartlepool. I remember 12-hour drives to visit them, all the way up the A1, with occasional stops for me to be car sick. Sometimes they would travel by coach, being collected from Baldock by my father, before the coach completed its journey into Victoria Coach Station.
In 1982 I had a row with my parents resulting in me not seeing them again. In mid-2015 I became interested in my family history. That just about sums up my knowledge of my family history in the summer of 2015. Within 6 months of starting my research, a lot of this family tree was turned, perhaps not upside down but in need of severe rearrangement.
Harry & Joyce moved to South London soon after their Christmas wedding in 1950. Following various flats in South London, they ended up in Dartford, Kent. Harry was a bank clerk, eventually rising to branch manager. In December 1964 Harry & Joyce, along with me and my brother, born 1960, moved from Dartford to Eastcote.
I was born on 26th July 1957, followed by a brother and twin sisters over the next 8 years.
Harry had two older sisters, May and Connie who I saw frequently throughout my childhood. Auntie May lived with her husband Uncle Peter Lampard in Guildford and they had no children. My father’s other sister, Auntie Connie, was married to Uncle Vic Palmer, and they lived in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and they had two children, Derek and Frank. I was a page boy at Derek's wedding in the very early 1960s, and saw very little of him because he worked in what was then Tanganyika. Frank was several years older than me and we saw him at least once or twice a year. I remember inheriting hand-me-down clothes from him, in particular pajamas with much-chewed collars!
My mother, Joyce had an older sister, Marjorie and a brother, older still, Fred Jr. Marjorie was married to Uncle Stan Evans, and they had six children, David, Stephen and Paul, (all older than me, and very much bigger), Mark, about the same age as my brother Graham, and the twins, Hillary and Leslie. They all still lived in Hartlepool as well. I only met my uncle Freddie and his wife Evelyn a very few times and I have no memories of their children who were named Lynne, Susan and Stephen.
My mother’s parents, Frederick and Margaret Young, also lived in Hartlepool. I remember 12-hour drives to visit them, all the way up the A1, with occasional stops for me to be car sick. Sometimes they would travel by coach, being collected from Baldock by my father, before the coach completed its journey into Victoria Coach Station.
In 1982 I had a row with my parents resulting in me not seeing them again. In mid-2015 I became interested in my family history. That just about sums up my knowledge of my family history in the summer of 2015. Within 6 months of starting my research, a lot of this family tree was turned, perhaps not upside down but in need of severe rearrangement.