Fred was born on 30th August 1888 in Exeter, Devon, to William Edworthy (about 36), a railway guard and horse keeper/groom/carman, and Bessie Staddon Edworthy (nee Nott) (about 28), a housewife.
Fred was privately baptised on 5th October 1888 in Exeter.
Fred may have been named for two uncles: his mother's older brother, Fred's maternal uncle, Frederick Nott; and his father's younger brother, Fred's paternal uncle, Frederick Edworthy.
Fred was the fifth of six children (four girls and two boys):
- Edith Florence Jessie 1878 - 1895 (16)
- William Gilbert John 1880 - 1949 (69)
- Beatrice May 1882 - 1969 (86 or 87)
- Cora Agnes 1886 - 1907 (21)
- Frederick 'Fred' Cecil 1888 - 1975 (87)
- Winifred Violet 1895 - 1982 (87)
At the time of Fred's baptism, the family were living at Hoopern Street, Exeter, but sometime in the early 1890's, they moved to 64 Howell Road, near the railway station. On his younger sister Winifred's 1895 baptism record, their father's occupation is listed as a railway guard. Previously William senior had been a carman, and many carmen were employed by the railway for local deliveries and collections of goods and parcels. Fred and his brother William would both go on to work for the railway.
By the time of the 1901 Census, Fred's home life was quieter. His older siblings, William and Beatrice, had left home in search of work - William worked for the railway in Surrey for a time, whilst Beatrice worked as a housemaid in a country house. Sadly, their eldest sister Edith had passed away, aged only sixteen, in 1895, when Fred was six; and their sister Cora (closest in age to Fred) had been born mentally deficient and by 1901 was in an asylum - she would pass away, aged twenty-one, in 1907, when Fred was nineteen. This left only Fred, his younger sister Winifred, and their parents, living at the family home in Exeter.
The 1901 Census also shows, at some point in the late 1890's, the family had moved from 64 to 54 Howell Road.
1901 Census:
In January 1911, when Fred was twenty-two, his father William passed away, aged fifty-nine, in Exeter. Fred's father, and sisters Edith and Cora, are all buried at Exeter Higher Cemetery in Heavitree, Exeter, but being poor their graves appear alas unmarked. After their father's death, it was Fred who initially financially supported his mother and younger sister Winifred, as his father and brother had done before him, working for the railway.
By 1911, they had moved from Howell Road to Park Road, which is just around the corner from Exeter Higher Cemetery.
1911 Census:
At some point in the 1910's, Fred's widowed mother and young Winifred went to live with Fred's sister Beatrice in Paignton; whilst Fred made the big move to London.
Fred was in his twenties, during the First World War; however I cannot find evidence that he served. His older brother William did, and thankfully survived the war.
In Apr/May/Jun 1917, Fred (28), a carriage examiner for the railway, married Elsie May Crofts (about 24), a milliner's assistant at a drapers, in the district of Wandsworth, London. Their eldest son Reg was born in the December, meaning Elsie was likely a few months pregnant, when they married.
Fred and Elsie settled in Sutton, Surrey, and had four children (two boys and two girls):
- Reginald 'Reg' F 1917 -
- Doris C 1921 -
- Stanley Wilfred 1922 -
- Audrey L 1931 -
On 3rd April 1919, when Fred was thirty-one, his mother Bessie passed away, aged about sixty, in the district of Totnes.
1939 Census:
In October 1941, when Fred was fifty-three, his wife Elsie passed away, aged forty-eight. She was buried on 22nd October 1941 in Sutton.
Fred remarried a year later. In Oct/Nov/Dec 1942, Fred (54), a carriage examiner for the railway, married Winifred Frances L Harding (46) in Surrey.
Fred's son Stanley served in the navy during the Second World War.
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| Photograph of Frederick (about 65), with his daughter-in-law Josephine 'Jo' Edworthy (nee Lilley) (wife of Stanley), baby Grandson Douglas 'Doug' Edworthy, and possibly his second wife Winifred, in August 1953 |
In Apr/May/Jun 1964, when Fred was seventy-six, his second wife Winifred passed away, aged about sixty-eight, in Surrey.
In Jul/Aug/Sep 1975, Fred himself passed away, aged eighty-seven, in Sutton, Surrey.
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