Great Grandfather George 'Len' Leonard Yeo Sandford

My Great Grandfather Len (1902 - 1976) was a farm carter and father of five. 

George 'Len' Leonard Yeo Sandford was born on 22nd January 1902 in the district of Crediton, Devon, to Mark Sandford (29), a horseman and farm labourer, and Annie Sandford (nee Yeo) (about 33), a charwoman.

Len had three older half siblings, his mother's illegitimate children born before her marriage:

• Beatrice 'Beattie' Mary Victoria (or Beatrice Florence Victoria)  1886 - 1973 (87 years old)      
• Alberta 'Florrie' Florence W  1888 - after 1927  (at least 39 years old)                    
• Archibald John Weedon  1893 - 1899  (6 years old)

Len was the eldest of five children born to Mark and Annie:

• George 'Len' Leonard Yeo  1902 - 1976
• Archibald Arthur Yeo  1903 - 1904  (15 - 21 months)
• Archibald Arthur Yeo  1906 - 1906  (0 - 3 months)
• Pearl May Yeo  1909 - 1909  (0 - 3 months)
• Barbara May Yeo  1912 - 1927  (15 years)

Alas Len's four full siblings all passed away young.

Len grew up in Bow, Devon.

Times seemed tough when Len was young. To get by, his mother Annie attempted to steal wood; whilst his father Mark may have turned to drink.

From the Western Times on 14th April 1905:

From the Western Times on 13th May 1909:

             
1911 census:

Sometime in the 1910s or 1920s, Len and his family moved about 2 miles north from Bow to Zeal Monachorum.

In the summer of 1926, Len (24) married Rhoda Maud Bird (17) in the Crediton district.

Len and Rhoda had two sons:

• Archibald 'Archie' Leonard Bird  1927 - 2000
• Frederick G  1930 - 1930 (0 - 3 months old)

It appears Len named his eldest son Archibald after his younger brothers who passed away in infancy.

On 8th August 1927, when Len was 25, his youngest sister Barbara passed away aged fifteen. Her death was reported in local papers.

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on 19th August 1927:

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on 19th August 1928:

Sadly, a few years later, when Len was twenty-eight years old, his wife Rhoda also passed away, aged twenty-one, giving birth to her second son Frederick in 1930.

One year later, Len remarried. In the summer of 1931, Len (29) married Violet Grace Mutters (37) in the Exeter district. Violet was between three and six months pregnant at the time.

Len and Violet had three sons:

• Ronald 'Ron' G  1931 - 
• George Leonard  1933 -
• Bertram 'Bert' Charles  1934 -

Photograph of Len's young sons, c 1935

In 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, Len and his family lived at Kymett Cottage in Bow. At the time, Len was a farm carter.

Christmas 1939/1940, Len's sons attended Bow Church Sunday School's annual party, and won second prize. The event was reported in the local newspaper.

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on 19th January 1940:

20th Century Photograph of Bow

Len lived near the church in Bow for most of his life.

Len's son, George, remembers his father watching locals go to church on a Sunday and then sending his three young sons to sit and act as watch, whilst he off in the opposite direction to catch rabbits with their ferrets.

Len could be a little strict as a father. He would sent his cheeky sons up to bed, but they would sneak out the window and across the field.

But overall Len was a very friendly and chatty man. His sons would be much the same. Len was a regular at the local pub. Len's son, Bert, recalls a story he was told: one time a stranger came into the pub and Len bet his friend that he could get the stranger to buy him a drink; so Len went up to the stranger and was so welcoming and chatty and friendly to him that when the stranger went to order his next drink, he indeed bought one for Len.

From one friend in the pub, Len was left a collection of old coins and three medals from the First World War. Len himself left these to his granddaughter, Julie, who showed an interest in the artefacts as a young girl.

Len did not serve in the Second World War, as he was in his late thirties and in a reserved rural occupation. During the war, he kept two pig in his cottage garden, though he was legally only suppose to have one.

In 1945, when Len was forty-three, his father Mark passed away aged seventy-three.

In 1948, when Len was forty-six, his mother Annie passed away aged about eighty.

In 1953, when Len was fifty-one, his wife Violet passed away aged fifty-eight.

Six years later, Len married for the third time. In the summer of 1959, Len (57) married Dinah Bessie Luxton (formerly Batchelor, nee Easterbrook) (56 or 57).

Later in life, Len lived in Crediton. His daughter-in-law and step-daughter, Bette, would daily visit Len and her mother, Dinah, to clean and cook. She would often take her youngest daughter, Julie, along with her.

In his later life, Len would do the shopping, not just for himself and Dinah, but for their elderly neighbour Mrs Leonard.

Len's wife Dinah passed away aged seventy-three in 1976. Len passed away later that year aged seventy-four.

Photograph of Len (60) at his son George's wedding, 1962

Julie remembers her grandfather having bright blue eyes, which she also inherited.