Before the Buses

CHARLES HENRY MARSHALL (1911–1987)

Charles was born on 30th April 1911 at Newport in Monmouthshire, and was Christened at the town’s St. John the Evangelist’s church soon after on 9th May. He was the only child of Charles Henry John Marshall and Alice Maud Needs. When the 1911 Census was taken just a few weeks before his birth, his parents are found living at 24 Llanwern Street in Newport, his father’s occupation being recorded as a Barman (Ref: RG14 Piece 31983 Schedule 18).

Charles Henry John Marshall was born on 4th January 1871 at Kettering in Northamptonshire. He was the son of William Henry Marshall and Susan née Johnson who were married on 17th November 1869 at the church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Kettering. Their fathers were William John Frederick Marshall (a Solicitor and Attorney), and John Johnson (a Publican and Farmer of 20 Acres). When the 1871 Census was taken on 2nd April, William Henry and Susan Marshall are found living at Green Lane Terrace in Kettering (Ref: RG10 Piece 1503 Folio 13 Page 17). In this Census, Charles was a little under 3 months old, while his father was a 25 year-old General Servant, and his mother was 21 years-old, both parents having been born at Kettering.

Charles had two siblings, both sisters, who were born at Kettering. The first was Alice Evelyn (born 10th November 1872), and the second was Ellen Margaret Dorothy (born 12th August 1874). Tragically, their mother Susan passed away in the spring of 1877, she was just 27 years-old.

At some point over the next few years, William Henry Marshall moved to the Bristol area, where on 17th March 1881 at the church of St. Nathanael at Redland he married Eliza Martin (formerly Limbrick) of Zetland Road. Their wedding took place in the presence of Richard Wickham Arnold and Sarah Godwin, their fathers being named as William John Frederick Marshall (a Solicitor), and Richard Limbrick (a Yeoman).

Eliza Limbrick was born at Westerleigh in Gloucestershire, and was Christened at the town’s St. James the Great church on 1st March 1846. She was the eldest daughter of Richard Limbrick and Susannah née Lawrence who were married on 28th December 1843 at the church of St. Mary in Redcliffe, Bristol. At the time of the 1851 Census, the Limbric family were living at the Dodmore Farm in Westerleigh (HO107 Piece 1956 Folio 18 Page 28). Her father was a 32 year-old Farmer who had been born at Hawkesbury in Gloucestershire, her mother was 27 years-old and born at Westerleigh, and her siblings were Edmund Orchard (born in 1847), and Emma Jane (born in 1848). Ten years later when the 1861 Census was taken, the Limbrick family were found living at Westerleigh Street in Westerleigh (Ref: RG09 Piece 1743 Folio 9 Page 12). Her father was recorded as a 42 year-old Victualler, her mother was 36 years-old, and her siblings were 12 year-old Emma Jane, 10 year-old Elizabeth Ann, 8 year-old William, 6 year-old George Lawrence, and 3 year-old Jane Ann. Eliza’s first husband was John Henry Martin of Cardiff, who she married on 22nd February 1866 at the church of St. James the Great in Westerleigh, their fathers being named as John Henry Martin and Richard Limbrick.

Just a few weeks after William Henry and Eliza’s wedding, the 1881 Census was taken on 3rd April. They are found at the White Lion Hotel at Yate near Bristol, his occupation being recorded as a Licensed Victualler (Ref: RG11 Piece 2512 Folio 52 Page 16). Charles Henry John Marshall is a 10 year-old Scholar at Christs Hospital Hertford School in Hertfordshire (Ref: RG11 Piece 1425 Folio 108 Page 1). His 8 year-old sister Alice Evelyn is recorded as the adopted daughter of Emma Maria Jane Higgs née Wilson at 13 Thornfield Road in the Hammersmith area of London (Ref: RG11 Piece 60 Folio 85 Page 99), while his 6 year-old sister (enumerated As Dora) is found at the St. Cyprian’s Orphanage at 4 Allsop Mews in the St. Marylebone area of London (Ref: RG11 Piece 157 Folio 33 Page 14).

Just a few months after that Census, a daughter was born to William Henry and Eliza Marshall, named Maud May. She was Christened on 25th September 1881 at the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Yate. A few years later, another child was born, a son named Richard Bertram, who joined the family on 5th November 1885, and was Christened on 9th January 1886 at Wotton Under Edge, his father being recorded as the Innkeeper of the Crown Hotel.

In late 1886, William Henry Marshall passed away at the age of 41 in the Dursley area of Gloucestershire. His widow then married Albert John Butt on 7th November 1887 at the church of St. Nicholas in Bristol. Their wedding took place in the presence of James Heal and Agnes Elizabeth Heal, their fathers being named as John Butt and Richard Limbrick (who were both Farmers).

By the time of the next Census on 5th April 1891, Charles Henry John Marshall had moved to Walsall in Staffordshire, where he is found boarding with the Purvis family at 105 Rutter Street, his occupation being recorded as a Brown Saddler (Ref: RG12 Piece 2256 Folio 57 Page 7). Alice Evelyn is now 18 years-old and is again recorded as the adopted daughter of Emma Higgs, this time their address being given as 71 Upper Grosvenor Road at Tunbridge in Kent (Ref: RG12 Piece 678 Folio 85 Page 6). Their sister, enumerated as Eleanor Margaret Dorothea Marshall, is a 16 year-old Pupil at the St. Mary’s Home, situated on the Dyke Road at Brighton in Sussex (Ref: RG12 Piece 815 Folio 127 Page 2).

Charles Henry John Marshall married Fanny Frances née Noake on 3rd July 1894 at the church of St. Paul in Walsall. Fanny Frances had been Christened on 6th March 1872 at Walsall, and was the daughter of Joseph Noake and Emmeline née James who were married on 23rd June 1866 at the church of St. Luke in Cannock, Staffordshire. The witnesses to their wedding were James Arthur and Helen Noake, their fathers being named as Joseph Noake (a Harness Maker), and Leonard James (a Sawyer). In the 1891 Census, the Noake family were living at 4 Rutter Street in Walsall (Ref: RG12 Piece 2256 Folio 62 Page 18). Joseph is a 48 year-old Harness Manufacturer, his wife Emmeline is 45 years-old, and their children are Joseph (a 23 year-old Harness Manufacturer), Emmeline (aged 20), Fanny Frances (aged 19), Florry (aged 15), Nelly (aged 11), Lizzie (aged 9), Ada (aged 7), Tom (aged 6), and Adeline (aged 1).

Their only child, a son named Charles Joseph, was born on 1st April 1895 at Walsall. Soon after his birth, Charles Henry John Marshall, a Brown Saddle Manufacturer of 140 Wednesbury Road in Walsall, filed for bankruptcy.

When the 1901 Census was taken on 31st March, the Marshall family are found living at 7 Bright Street in Wolverhampton (Ref: RG13 Piece 2677 Folio 50 Page 5). Charles is recorded as a 29 year-old Carter, his wife is 28 years-old, and their 6 year-old son is enumerated as “Laddie.” Charles’s sisters are found together at Sunny Side on Reading Road in the Pangbourn area of Berkshire (Ref: RG13 Piece 1142 Folio 119 Page 32). “Evelyn” is said to be 28 years-old, and “Margaret” is 26 years-old, both of them recorded as Living On Own Means.

At some point between the 1901 and 1911 Censuses, Charles Henry John and Fanny Frances Marshall appear to have seperated. He moved to Newport in Monmouthshire, while their son found work as a Grocers Assistant at Alma Crescent in Birmingham (Ref: RG14 Piece 18240 Schedule 278). His brother-in-law and sister, Maurice Wilfred and Alice Evelyn Saunders are found at Horseshoe Road in Pangbourne, Berkshire, along with their children Evelyn Gladys (aged 7), Margaret Joyce (aged 3), and Wilfred Thomas (aged 1).

It was in southeast Wales that Charles Henry John Marshall met Alice Maud Needs (born 26th March 1885 at Newport). Obviously they couldn’t get married as legally he had a wife and son, but they still had a relationship, with Alice taking on the Marshall surname. And as mentioned at the outset, they also had a son named Charles Henry. Alice Maud Needs was the daughter of George Needs and Sarah Ann née Corbin who were married on 19th February 1872 at the church of St. Paul in Newport, their fathers being named as Edward Needs and John Corbin. In the 1891 Census, the Needs family are found at 7 East Market Street in the St Woollos area of Newport (Ref: RG12 Piece 4373 Folio 73 Page 37). George is a 42 year-old Plasterer, his wife is 36 years-old, and their children are Emma (a 16 year-old Dressmaker), Mary (a 14 year-old General Servant), Sarah (aged 13), Richard (aged 7), Alice Maud (aged 6), Frances (aged 3), and Hilda May (aged 4 months). Also with the family is George’s 69 year-old father-in-law, John Corbin who was born in Somerset.

Charles Henry John Marshall passed away at the age of 46 on 31st October 1917 at Brynmawr. He was laid to rest at the Brynmawr Cemetery on 5th November.

A little over a year later, Alice Maud (using the surname Marshall) married Thomas Jeffs in early 1919. Thomas had been born on 8th July 1869 at Nantyglo, and was the son of Thomas Jeffs and Elizabeth née Rees who were married in the spring of 1866. Thomas and Alice Maud had one child together, a son named Roy, who was born on 18th April 1919.

When the 1921 Census was taken on the night of 19th June, Thomas and Alice Maud Jeffs are found living at 61 Garn Road in Nantyglo (Ref: RG15 Piece 26082 Schedule 109). Thomas is a 52 year-old Miner, Alice is said to be 38 years-old, and with them are “Charlie” Marshall (aged 10), and Roy Jeffs (aged 2). This Census also shows that 26 year-old Charles Joseph Marshall was boarding at 31 Beresford Road in Reading, Berkshire, where he worked as a Motor Mechanic for the Pulsometre Engineering Company at their Nine Elms Ironworks at Reading (Ref: RG15 Piece 05964 Schedule 395).

Electoral Registers record Charles Henry Marshall at 14 School Avenue in Nantyglo from 1931 onwards. In late 1933, he married Gertrude née Williams (born 2nd July 1909 at Peterchurch in Herefordshire). Gertrude was the daughter of William Williams and Leah née Holmes who were married in late 1894 in the Crickhowell Registration District. At the time of the 1921 Census, the Williams family were living at 1 Ebenezer Cottages in Blaina (Ref: RG15 Piece 26088 Schedule 37). Her father was a 49 year-old Underground Colliery Labourer who had been born at Dorstone in Herefordshire, her mother was 47 years-old and had been born at Blaina, and her siblings were George (a 23 year-old Collier Helper), Edith Jane (aged 20), and Emrys Llewellyn (aged 14).

When the 1939 Register was taken at the outbreak of World War II, Thomas and Alice Maud Jeffs are found living at 14 School Avenue in Nantyglo, Thomas being recorded as a Retired Miner (Ref: RG101 Piece 7455D Schedule 395). Meanwhile, at 22 Tennyson Road in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, are the Marshall family (Ref: RG101 Piece 2645C Schedule 184). Charles is recorded as a Lorry Driver for Pickford’s, and their son Howard (born 25th July 1938) is under school age.

The 1939 Register also shows Maurice Wilfred (a Retired Butcher) and Alice Evelyn Saunders living at 12 Horseshoe Road in Pangbourne (Ref: RG101 Piece 2070E Schedule 229). Also, Charles Joseph Marshall was living at 12 Coniston Drive in Reading with his wife Edith Gertrude née Pocock (born 2nd January 1901 at Mortimer in Berkshire) who he married in 1925 (Ref: RG101 Piece 2030C Schedule 161). Edith was the daughter of George William Pocock (a House Carpenter) and Jane Hannah née Hanby who were married in early 1900. In the 1911 Census, the Pocock family are found living at Windmill Road in Mortimer (Ref: RG14 Piece 6546 Schedule 262). Following the death of her husband in late 1914 at the age of 41, Jane Hannah married George Frederick Marshall in early 1918. In the 1921 Census, Edith was living at Briarlea Road in Mortimer with her step-father and mother, George Frederick and Jane Hannah Marshall (Ref: RG15 Piece 05948 Schedule 98).

The South Wales Gazette of Friday 13th December 1946 reported that Thomas Jeffs of 14 School avenue in Nantyglo had passed away at the Blaina and District Hospital. He was described as “a well-known Nantyglo inhabitant,” and also said that “He was a well-known musician and was a member of the Gwent Glee Singers who won national honours and sang before Royalty.” He was laid to rest at the Hermon Baptist Chapel Graveyard in Nantyglo, and was 77 years-old. Alice Maud Jeffs née Needs survived Thomas by a little more than 9 years until she passed away in January 1955. The South Wales Gazette of Friday 14th January, reporting on her death, stated that she “had resided in the district for over 40 years.” She was also laid to rest at the Hermon Baptist Chapel Graveyard, and was 69 years-old.

On 12th July 1955, Charles Joseph Marshall, of 26 St. Michael’s Road, passed away at the age of 60. He was laid to rest on 19th July at the St. Michael’s churchyard at Tilehurst in Berkshire.

Unfortunately, the South Wales Gazette of Friday 19th September 1958 mentioned the number of court appearances for motoring offenses that Charles Henry Marshall had made up until that time:

Some of the court appearances he made over more than 27 years include: Summoned for driving a motor bus without an efficient silencer (1931); Summoned for overloading a public service bus by carrying 8 passengers more than the seating capacity (1932); Fined for permitting a vehicle to be driven with a defective tyre (1950); Driving without due care and attention (1952–dismissed); Fined for driving a bus without due care and attention (1956–licence endorsed); Fined for using a lorry without a mirror, and with defective handbrakes, and for failing to exhibit the registration mark, fined for permitting a bus to be on the road without lights during darkness, parking the vehicle on the offside during darkness, and using two buses without current excise licences (1957); Fined for using a lorry without insurance, a warning instrument, and two reflecting mirrors, fined for using a lorry with a defective braking system and speedometer, and without a windscreen wiper and two fitted mirrors and warning instrument, fined for using a bus without a current excise licence (1958).

Alice Evelyn Saunders née Marshall, of 180 Shinfield Road, passed away at the age of 87 on 31st January 1960, and was cremated on 3rd February at the Henley Road Crematorium in Caversham, Berkshire. Her sister, Eleanor Margaret Dorothea Marshall, passed away unmarried at the age of 86 on 16th December 1961, and was cremated at the Henley Road Crematorium on 20th December. Maurice Wilfred Saunders survived his wife by almost 5 and-a-half years until his own death on 8th July 1965, at the wonderful age of 92. He was cremated on 12th July at the Henley Road Crematorium.

Gertrude Marshall née Williams passed away locally at the age of 60 in early 1970. Edith Gertrude Marshall née Pocock survived her husband by more than 23 years until she passed away in late 1978 at the age of 77. Charles Henry Marshall survived his wife by more than 17 years, until he passed away in the Ogwr area of Glamorgan in the summer of 1987, he was 76 years-old.

CREDITS

The Marshall coat of arms is by houseofnames.com