Hello Jane,
As a descendant of one of the Tilley families
of Cottingham, I thought I should drop you a line in the hope of someone
possibly making contact. My grandfather was
John James Tilley, first child of John James and Clara Tilley who are
jointly buried in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalene. They had eight
children altogether, the youngest being Francis
Omar Tilley, a young soldier who died during the Great War and who is
remembered on the village war memorial.
Omar was an acting sergeant in the Leicester
Regiment and died on the 14th of December 1917 most probably during the
German counter offensive at Cambrai. He was the holder of the Military
Medal. He is buried in the British Commonwealth war graves at Abbeville
Communal Cemetery Extension in France.
My grandfather who for some mysterious reason
lived with his grandmother Martha Tilley until he was about 14 years old
when he left to become a Grimsby trawler engineer. He had two sons, James
Alfred my father and John (Jack). He died in 1959.
Hope this may be of interest to one or two of
your readers.
Incidentally, wonderful website and such a
lovely village. After a recent visit it is nice to know that my family
once lived there.
David Tilley
Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire
11 November, 2005
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