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Great Website! I thought you might find the
enclosed extract interesting.
I am the daughter of John
Charles Bradshaw, late of Crossbank House, and went to school in
Cottingham in the 1950's.
Extract from a letter sent from Alfred
Bradshaw of Hill Top Farm in about 1918 to his brother-in-law George
Sturman in London, where his son John Charles Bradshaw was living.
Alfred’s first wife Annie Louisa Sturman died
a month after John’s birth. Alfred then married Sarah Simpson and they
produced a son, The Late Fred Bradshaw, of Blind Lane. In the meantime,
John’s brother Tom, died at about the age of 4 from Dyptheria.
"....Have
had a man and 3 government horses a month, but they went away last Monday.
We are all very glad the war is over. So far Fred Inchley is home. He has
been one of the favoured ones. (?) Cookswell, is just as weak, and one of
the pothoe boys, Bill, he’s not very grand. Mrs Mark Firth would send him
to a good home and pay all expenses, but I think he belongs to the old
gang - sooner go Publick house. Hope you have got the potatoes all right.
I paid the carriage. All being well we shall be sending a parcel next
week. The plague (influenza) that is about has taken W. Foster, Tom Cannam's
youngest son and poor old Bill Crain the highstrung boy, off very quickly
and a great many been seriously ill. W. Reynolds was married on Wednesday.
Had Fred Simpson home for 18 days leave. It
would not be so bad going back now the firing is done. He looked better
than last year. We shall be soon looking out for xmas.
p.s. They are shifting some horses out of
the army now - hundred every week."
The style of writing is quite difficult to
decipher, so any of the above names may be inaccurate - comments welcome!
Annie Johnson
(daughter of the late John Bradshaw
mentioned above)
7 October 2003
Hello Annie
How lovely to hear from you!
The extract from the letter you have sent really brings to life what it
must have been like living in Cottingham/Middleton just after the war.
I've looked up the names that
are mentioned in your letter on the 1901 Census.
So far, I have found the following:
Frederick Simpson, Blind Lane,
Cottingham, a mason's son who would have been 38
in 1918.
Fred Inchley, Middleton, aged
20 in 1918
William Foster, Middleton,
working as an errand boy
in 1901, aged 32 in 1918
Annie Sturman, Rockingham
Road, Cottingham, dressmaker aged 28 in 1901.
Can't find any of the other
people at the moment. I only have the full listing for Cottingham and I
expect quite a few of the people mentioned are from Middleton. Some of
them may not have been born in 1901 of course!
Thanks so much for your
e-mail.
Jane
Smith
cottinghamhistory.co.uk
10 October, 2003
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