Great x3 Uncle Thomas 'Tom' Yeo

My Great x3 Uncle Tom (1863 - 1904) was a farm servant, general labourer, a nursery garden, father of about five, and the older brother of Great Great Grandmother Annie Sandford (nee Yeo) (1868 - 1948).

Tom was born in Jul/Aug/Sep 1863 in the district of Okehampton, Devon, to George Yeo (29), an agricultural and quarry labourer, and Ann Yeo (nee Gliddon) (about 24), a housewife.

Tom was the eldest of six children (one son and five daughters) and the only son:

• Thomas 'Tom'  1863 - 1904  (40 or 41 years old)
• Mary 'Mary Anne' Gliddon  1864 - 1941  (76 years old)
• Emily Ann  1867 - 1872  (5 years old)
• Annie  1868 - 1948  (80 years old)
• Ellen  1869 - 1937  (68 years old)
• Harriet  1872 - 1893 (21 years old)

Tom also had an older half brother, Joseph Gliddon (1860 - 1928) (67 years old), his mother Ann's illegitimate son born before her marriage. Joseph lived with his maternal grandparents.

Tom and his younger siblings grew up around Meldon, just outside Okehampton.

1871 Census:

In October or November 1872, when Tom was eight, his younger sister Emily Ann passed away aged only five years old. Emily Ann was buried on 8th November 1872, in Okehampton. About three months later, Tom's father George passed away, aged thirty-nine, in 1873, in Okehampton. He was buried on 30th January 1873, in Okehampton. And about three months after that, Tom's mother Ann also passed away, aged thirty-three or thirty-four. She was buried on 30th April 1873 also in Okehampton. I wonder if they all succumbed to the same disease. 

Unless relatives took them in, Tom and his five remaining siblings (aged zero to nine) would likely have ended up in the workhouse. Indeed, in the next census (1881 Census), Tom's youngest sisters Ellen (11) and Harriet (9) can be found living in the Union Workhouse in Okehampton. I wonder if Tom and the other older siblings also entered the workhouse after their parents' early deaths, but by thirteen years old were deemed old enough to go out and work. 

Seventeen year old Tom can be found on the 1881 Census, living and working as an indoor farm servant at Westlake Farm in Inwardleigh, for farmer of 120 acres Richard Rich and his family.

1881 Census:

On 26th April 1886, Tom (22), a farm servant and labourer, married Elizabeth Ann Vallance (20), in Okehampton.

Elizabeth Ann had given birth to a son called Edgar, in January or Febuary 1886, in her native Northlew. On the 1891 Census, Edgar is described as Tom's son and has his surname of Yeo; however, when Edgar passed away, aged only eight, in October or November 1894, in Okehampton, his name was given on his record of death and burial as Edgar Yeo Vallance.

Tom and Elizabeth Ann had five or six sons (including Edgar):

• Edgar  1886 - 1894  (8 years old)
• Leon Thomas  1889 -
• Evelyn Stanley  1891 -
• Charley 1892 -
• William Wallace  1893 - 1917  (23 years old)
• Cecil  1896 -

Their middle son Charley only appears on the 1901 Census and, unlike his brothers, I cannot find record of his birth and he doesn't appear on any later censuses. It might well be passed away as a child; or the 1901 Census was incorrectly recorded, and 'Charley', given his age, was actually his own brother Evelyn.

1891 Census:

1901 Census:

In October 1901, when Tom was thirty-seven, his wife Elizabeth Ann passed away, aged only thirty-five, in Okehampton. Elizabeth Ann was buried on 25th October 1901, in Okehampton. Her burial was certified by Tom.

Newspaper articles from 1904 described Tom is his forties as working a nursery or jobbing gardener.

Less the three years after his wife's death, on the afternoon of Wednesday 1st August 1904, Tom himself was killed, aged only fortyor forty-one, whilst riding his bike near the farm of Clannaborough Barton, Bow. He was on his way from visiting his younger sister Annie Sandford (nee Yeo) in Bow, and making his to the Eggesford Flower Show with friend and fellow cyclist Thomas Rice. Annie thought Tom had been drinking, but could not say he was drunk; she had asked him not to go. The two men were descending a steep decline near Clannaborough Barton, when they met a couple of horses being taken to the smith by a lad called Cecil Ward. Cecil was riding one horse and leading the other; when he saw the cyclists coming, he pulled in. Rice was in front and passed the horses safely. One of the horses then became restive, and our Tom, unable to stop his bike it time, ran it straight into the horse, his petal reportedly getting caught one of the horse' hind legs. Tom was throw violently onto the hard ground, striking his head, rendering him unconsciousness. Rice immediately went to assist his friend and young Cecil went for the doctor, but it was all too late: though taken to Bow, where he received every attention by Dr Haycroft, Tom never regained consciousness and passed away about twelve hours later.

From the Western Evening Herald of 2nd August 1904:

The above article says Tom leaves a widow and four young children; however, records show Elizabeth Ann pre-deceased Tom, and I cannot find record of Tom remarrying. It might well be that only four of his sons were alive on his death: if the Charley recorded on the 1901 Census, was not in fact an additional son, but his other son Evelyn mis-recorded.

From the Western Times of 3rd August 1904:

From the Western Times of 5th August 1904:

Tom's death left his surviving sons, aged eight to fifteen, orphans. It seems a sad case of history repeating itself, as Tom and his siblings had themselves been left orphans, thirty years before, when their parents passed away at a similar age. Whilst back in the 1870's, Tom's younger siblings had ended up in the workhouse, and the older siblings were separated, sent out to work on different farms; thankfully in the early 1900's, Tom's sons were taken in by their maternal grandparents, Thomas and Selina Vallance. Thomas was a farmer at Heath Farm, at Northlew. The 1911 Census shows Thomas and Selina have many of their grandchildren living with them in the farm, including Leon, William and Cecil Yeo, who are shown to work on the farm.

Over a decade after Tom's death, his son William would serve and sadly be killed in the First World War. He had enlisted before the start of the war, on 26th August 1913, as a private (service number Ply/16358) in the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion of the Royal Marine Light Infantry Naval Division. On 1st January 1914, he transferred to the Plymouth Division. From 27th to 31st August 1914, he was with the Plymouth Division at Ostend, a coastal city in Belgium. From 7th October 1914 to 6th February 1917, he served on the H.M.S Donegal. He was back with the Plymouth Division from 7th February to 8th May 1917. On 9th May 1917, he joined the Victory Brigade (or RM Brigade). He was killed on 26th October 1917 in Belgium, aged twenty-three. His name appears on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Zonnebeke, Arrondissement leper, West Flanders, Belgium. After his death, his medals were issued to his older brother Leon.

His Service Record gives a physical description of William as a young man: he was 5'3 1/4'', had a fresh complexion, fair hair and blue eyes. His character is repeatedly described as 'very good' and his ability 'satisfactory'. I wonder if William was like his father.

Great x3 Uncle Henry 'Harry' Sandford

My Great x3 Uncle Harry (1884 - 1917) was a general labourer, horseman on a farm, corporal in the First World War, and the younger brother of my Great Great Grandfather Mark Sandford (1872 - 1945).

Harry was born in Jan/Feb/Mar 1884, in Zeal Monachorum, Devon, to George Anley Sandford (40), a farm labourer, and Sarah Ann Sandford (nee Willis) (about 43), a lacemaker and housewife.

On his record of birth, as well as on censuses, his forename is recorded as Harry. In his case, it seems Harry was likely not short for Henry. Yet on his Army Service Record and the Bow War Memorial, his foreman is given as Henry.

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

• William Willis  1864 - 1922  (58)
• Mary Willis  1868 - 1937  (69)

William and Mary lived with their maternal grandparents.

Harry was the youngest of five children born to George and Sarah Ann (two sons and three daughters):

• Mark  1872 - 1945  (73)
• Jane Mary  1873 - after 1911  (at least 38)
• Alice  1877 - 1943  (65)
• Susan  1881 - after 1939  (at least 57)
• Henry 'Harry'  1884 - 1917  (32 or 33)

Sometime in the late 1880's, when Harry was but a boy, the family moved from Zeal Monachorum, five miles east to Morchard Bishop.

In the 1880's and 1890's, Harry's older half-brother William Willis served as a gunner in the Royal Artillery. He would served for twelve years, including six years (from 1886 to 1893) in Gabraltar.

1891 Census:

In Jul/Aug/Sep 1897, when Harry was only thirteen, his mother Sarah Ann passed away, aged fifty-seven, in the district of South Molton.

By 1901, Harry and his family had moved to Bow, where some members of the Sandford family live to this day.

1901 census:

In the 1890's and early 1900's, both Harry and his older brother Mark, like their older half-brother William before them, served in the army. In 1896, twenty-four year old Mark enlisted as a private in the 4th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He served for three years. On 17th June 1901, eighteen year old Harry enlisted as a private, also in the 4th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. Harry completed a 49 day drill on enlistment. He gave his religion as congregational.

Mark and Harry seemingly looked alike as young men: their Army Service Records reveal both had fresh complexions, fair hair and blue eyes. Both were also on the small side: Mark was 5'5 1/4'' and 9st 6lb, and Harry was 5'4 3/4'' and 8st 6lb. Whilst Mark had a scar on his forehead, Harry had a large scar on his left forearm.

When not in the army, as a young man, Harry lived and worked as horseman at Burrow Farm in Bow, for widowed farmer R.I. Gibbings.

1911 Census:

Having served a private in the early 1900's (service number 6687), Harry was re-conscripted as a corporal (service number 3/6687) in the 8th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, in the First World War. He was listed as wounded on the casualty list of 31st January 1915, and again on the casualty list of 28th February 1915.

Sadly, Harry was killed in action, aged about thirty-three. His date of death is given as 25th March 1917.

The war diary of the 8th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment shows that on 25th March 1917, they weren't fighting, but at 'road work' - as they had been the previous few days. However, over the following few days "the division edged forward towards the Hindenburg Line in the wake of the German retirement" (from Visiting the Fallan Arras-South (2015) by Peter Hughs) and on 26th experienced nine casualties at Mory. It seems likely Harry was one of these casualties. His exact place of burial was not known and the 25th may have been the last day he was known to have been alive.

He has a headstone at the Mory Abbey Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. His headstone is listed as a special memorial - a special memorial is placed when the person's exact place of burial is unknown. However, his records state he was known to be buried (somewhere) in that cemetery. The badge of the Devonshire Regiment appears at the top of Harry's headstone.

My mother says her uncle, Bert Sandford, Harry's great nephew has visited the French cemetery to pay his respects.

'6687 Corporal
H Sandford
Devonshire Regiment
25 March 1917

Their glory shall not
Be blotted out'

Harry's headstone, Mory Abbey Military Cemetary, Pas-de-Calais, France

His name also appears on the Bow War Memorial at St Bartholomews Church, Bow.

Bow War Memorial, 2015

Great x3 Half Aunt Mary Pike (formerly Gill; nee Willis)

My Great x3 Half Aunt Mary (1867 - 1937) was a housewife, mother of three, and an older half sister of my Great Great Grandfather Mark Sandford (1872 - 1945).

Mary was born in Jul/Aug/Sep 1867 in Colyton, Devon, the illegitimate daughter of Sarah Ann Willis (later Sandford) (about 27), a lacemaker.

Mary was baptised on 12th July 1868 in Colyton, Devon.

Mary was the second of two illegitimate children born to Sarah Ann, before her marriage:

• William Willis  1864 - 1922  (58)
• Mary Willis  1867 - 1937  (69)

Young Mary and William lived with their maternal grandparents, Sarah Ann's parents, James, a blacksmith, and Mary Willis, a lacemaker. The couple also took in another daughter Mary Ann's illegitimate son William John James Willis.

1871 Census:

On 7th May 1871, Mary's mother Sarah Ann (30), a lacemaker and single mother of two, married George Anley Sandford (27), a farm labourer, in Colyton. Before they married, George had lodged with Sarah Ann, her parents and family.

Mary had five younger half siblings - the legitimate children of his mother Sarah Ann and George Sandford - :

• Mark Sandford  1872 - 1945  (73)
• Jane Mary Sandford  1873 - after 1911  (at least 38)
• Alice Sandford  1877 - 1943  (65)
• Susan Sandford  1882 - after 1939  (at least 57)
• Henry 'Harry'  1884 - 1917  (32 or 33)

1881 Census:

In February 1885, when Mary was seventeen, her only full sibling, her twenty-one year old older brother William, left their grandparent's home of Parkhayne Cottage in Colyton, to enlist as a gunner in the Royal Artillery. He would serve for twelve years, including six years (from 1886 to 1893) in Gibraltar.

His Army Service Record gives us a physical description of Mary's brother as a young man: he was just short of 5'8'', ten stone, had a fair complexion, light brown hair and blue eyes. His character is described as 'exemplary'. His habits and conduct are 'regular, very good, temperate'. I wonder if Mary was like her brother in looks or temperament.

Whilst William was away in the army, their guardians/grandparents passed away. In 1886, when Mary was about nineteen, her maternal grandfather James passed away, aged about seventy-six, in the parish of Axminster. Two years later, in 1888, when Mary was about twenty, her maternal grandmother Mary passed away, aged about seventy-five, in the parish of Axminster.

I am yet to find Mary on the 1891 Census, but by late 1891 she had seemingly found her way all the way to Pontypridd in Wales, where she married.

In Oct/Nov/Dec 1891, Mary (24) married her first cousin William Gill (27), in the district of Pontypridd, Wales.

Within a few years, they had moved back down to Devon, living around the Zeal Monachorum and Bow area.

Mary and William had at least two children:

• Arthur Harry  1894 - 1918  (23 or 24)
• Gwendoline Mary  1897 - 1922  (25)

Both of these children were born in Zeal Monachorum, Devon.

In Jul/Aug/Sep 1897, when Mary was about thirty, her mother Sarah Ann passed away, aged fifty-seven, in the district of South Molton.

Only a few months later, in Oct/Nov/Dec 1897, Mary's husband William also passed away, aged only thirty-three, in the district of Crediton.

Widowed, Mary sought relief from the parish to support herself and her young children. Come the 1901 Census, they lived with her widowed step-father George Sandford. Though no records confirm the identity of Mary's biological father, George may have been the father figure in her life. For example, on the 1901 Census, Mary is simply described as his daughter, and her children as his grandchild.

1901 Census:

Living Mary, her children, step-father George and younger half-brother Harry on the 1901 Census, is a William George Sandford, who is described as George's grandson. William was born Jan/Feb/Mar 1895, in the district of Crediton - his mother's maiden name was Sandford. One of Mary's younger unmarried half sisters - either twenty-one year old Jane or seventeen year old Alice - was William's mother; however, William seems to have remained closer to his Aunt Mary Pike, for it is Mary, rather than Jane or Alice, whom he puts as his next of kin on his World War One Army Service Record.

Mary's younger half brothers, Mark and Harry Sandford, also served in the army. In 1896, twenty-four year old Mark enlisted as a private in the 4th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He served for three years. In 1901, eighteen year old Harry enlisted as a private, also in the 4th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment.

Mark and Harry seemingly looked alike as young men: both had fresh complexions, fair hair and blue eyes.

A decade after her first husband's death, Mary remarried. In Jan/Feb/Mar 1908 (40), Mary married Samuel James Pike (or Pyke) (28) the younger brother of her half-sister Jane Mary Pyke (nee Sandford)'s husband Edward Pyke.

Mary was twelve years older than Samuel; however, on the 1911 Census her age is given as the same as his. I wonder if Samuel really knew how much older his wife was than him.

Mary and Samuel had one daughter:

• Ruby J  1910 -

1911 Census:

(I have since realised I made a typo in the above census transcript: Ruby was born in 1910, not 1901)

On the 1911 Census, the family live at 6 Four Ways, Eggesford. But by 1937, the family home would be three doors down at 9 Four Ways, Eggesford.

Mary's only son Arthur and younger half-brother Harry both served and were sadly killed in action during the First World War.

Harry, having served as a private in the early 1900's (service number 6687), was re-conscripted as a corporal (service number 3/6687) in the 8th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He was listed as wounded on the casualty list of 31st January 1915 and again on the casualty list of 28th February 1915. He was killed in action on 25th March 1917, aged thirty-three. Harry's name appears on the Bow War Memorial; as well as at the Mory Abbey Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France.

Arthur's service number was 71781. He was private in the 5th Battalion (Territorials) of the Devonshire Regiment. He was killed in action on 27th September 1918, less than two months before the end of the war, aged only twenty-three or twenty-four. Arthur's name appears on the Eggesford War Memorial; as well as on the Vis-en-Artois (British Cemetery and) Memorial at Haucourt, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.

During the First World War, as well as losing her only son and younger half-brother, Mary's step-father George passed away. In Apr/May/Jun 1917, George passed away, aged seventy-four, in the Crediton district.

Mary's nephew William George Sandford (the illegitimate son of one of her younger half sisters, Jane or Alice Sandford) also served in the First World War, but survived. He was a private (service number P/15805) in the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regimant. He had actually enlisted before the start of the war. He served at 'Home' from 28th March 1914 to 25th July 1916; then from 26th July 1916 to 8th August 1917, served in the British Expeditionary Force; and finally from 9th August 1917, served at 'Home' again. He was awarded the British Medal for Bravery in the field in 1917. In 1918, he had transferred to the Military Foot Police, in which he served until January 1920.

In Oct/Nov/Dec 1920, Mary's eldest daughter Gwendoline sadly also passed away, aged only twenty-five, in the district of Crediton.

On 8th May 1937, Mary herself passed away, aged sixty-nine, in the Exeter district. She was survived by her second husband Samuel and younger daughter, Ruby.

Her funeral on 11th May 1937 at All Saints Church, Eggesford, appears to have been highly attended by family and friends.

From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 14th May 1937:

From the Western Times of 14th May 1937:

A year later, and she was still greatly missed by her husband Samuel and their daughter Ruby.

From the Western Times of 6th May 1938:

Samuel and Ruby posted the same notice a year later in the Western Times of 5th May 1939, two years after Mary's passing. 

Great Great Half Uncle Percy Vernon

My Great Great Half Uncle Percy (1915 - 2002) was an under foreman at a dairy, father of one, and a younger half brother of my Great Grandfather Walter Charles Vernon (1892 - 1965).

Percy was born on 28th February 1915 in Whiddon Down, Devon, to Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon (46), an agricultural labourer and farm carter, and Ellen Vernon (nee Tonkins) (39), a former domestic servant and now a housewife.

Percy had four older half siblings (one half sister and three half brothers) - the children of his father Harry and his first wife Lucy James - :

• Edith Ellen  1891 - 1971  (79)
• Walter Charles  1892 - 1965  (73)
• William John 1894 - 1895 (1)
• Frank 1896 - 1897 (6 months)

And nine full siblings (seven brothers and two sisters):

• Frederick 'Fred' (born Tonkins, later Vernon)  1897 - 1915  (18)
• Mabel Ellen  1898 - 1993  (94)
• George  1900 - 1900  (0 - 3 months)
• George Henry  1901 - 1973  (71)
• Ernest Isaac  1904 - 1997  (93)
• Isaac Harry (went by Henry)  1906 - 1964  (58)
• William Harwood  1908 - 1972  (64)
• Florence Emily  1911 - 1993  (82)
• Sidney 'Sid'  1913 - 2004  (91)
• Percy  1915 - 2002  (86)

Percy was the youngest of his many siblings.

Around 1912 to 1915, the family lived at Turnpike Gate or Toll Bar House in Whiddon Down. A toll-house, which often had a gate across the turnpike road, was a cottage on which the charges for the turnpike were often displayed on the side of. Percy and his closest in age sibling, Sid, were both born at this house.

Percy was born in the middle of the First World War. His older half brother Walter and older brother Fred both served in the war. Whilst Walter, an experienced soldier survived; teenage Fred was not so lucky. He was killed on Thursday 30th September 1915, during (or just after) the Battle of Loos, aged only eighteen. His name appears on the Men of Dunsford war memorial.

Later in life, Percy and Sid recalled the family lived between Bow and Down St Mary, around 1919. By 1922, they have moved to Westwood, between Exeter and Cullompton.

In Apr/May/Jun 1936, Percy (21), an under foreman at a dairy, married Dorothy Studley (21), in Taunton, Somerset.

Though born 'Percy', on his record of marriage and the 1939 Census he goes by 'Percival'.

By the time of the 1939 Census, the young couple had moved to Oxford. It was the dawn of the Second World War and Percy was in his mid twenties - the age called up to fight. I wonder if Percy served? If he did serve, he survived.

1939 Census:

Ten years into their marriage, Percy and Dorothy had one son:

• Andrew H  1946 -

Their son Andrew was born back in Taunton, implying they may have moved back there come the mid 1940's, only to later return to Oxfordshire.

In Jan/Feb/Mar 2002, Percy passed away, aged eighty-six, in Oxfordshire.

Great Great Half Uncle Sidney 'Sid' Vernon

My Great Great Half Uncle Sid (1913 - 2004) was a farmery hide rounder, fish and chip shop owner, father of three, and a younger half brother of my Great Grandfather Walter Charles Vernon (1892 - 1965).

Sid was born 7th April 1913 in Whiddon Down, Devon, to Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon (44), an agricultural labourer and farm carter, and Ellen Vernon (nee Tonkins) (37), a former domestic servant and now a housewife.

Sid had four older half siblings (one half sister and three half brothers) - the children of his father Harry and his first wife Lucy James - :

• Edith Ellen  1891 - 1971  (79)
• Walter Charles  1892 - 1965  (73)
• William John 1894 - 1895 (1)
• Frank 1896 - 1897 (6 months)

And nine full siblings (seven brothers and two sisters):

• Frederick 'Fred' (born Tonkins, later Vernon)  1897 - 1915  (18)
• Mabel Ellen  1898 - 1993  (94)
• George  1900 - 1900  (0 - 3 months)
• George Henry  1901 - 1973  (71)
• Ernest Isaac  1904 - 1997  (93)
• Isaac Harry (went by Henry)  1906 - 1964  (58)
• William Harwood  1908 - 1972  (64)
• Florence Emily  1911 - 1993  (82)
• Sidney 'Sid'  1913 - 2004  (91)
• Percy  1915 - 2002  (86)

Around 1912 to 1915, the family lived at Turnpike Gate or Toll Bar House in Whiddon Down. A toll-house, which often had a gate across the turnpike road, was a cottage on which the charges for turnpike were often displayed. Sid and his younger brother Percy were both born at this house.

Sid was born with a clubbed foot. And was one of the first person in the South West to have a certain operation related to it. Due to his clubbed foot, he did not have to fight in the Second World War.

Sid was only a baby, when the First World began. His older half brother Walter and older brother Fred both served in the war. Whilst Walter, an experienced soldier, survived; teenage Fred was not so lucky. He was killed on Thursday 30th September 1915, during (or just after) the Battle of Loos, aged only eighteen. His name appears on the Men of Dunsford war memorial.

Later in life, Sid and Percy recalled the family lived between Bow and Down St Mary, around 1919. Sid remembered that, whilst the family lived there, their father would often send Florence and himself (about eight and six at the time) into Bow to get cider and tobacco for him.

By 1922, the family had moved to Westwood, between Exeter and Cullompton.

In Apr/May/Jun 1936, Sid (about 23) married Vera Louisa Hurved (18 or 19), in the district of Tiverton.

1939 Census:

I recall being told a story by my father: that in the Second World War, Sid's house (or the house next to it) was hit by a bomb. Sid survived, because he hid under the dining room table (which may well have been a Morrison shelter).

Sid and Vera had one surviving son:

• Roger J K  1948 -

Speaking with Roger in 2019, he sadly reported that his mother had alas suffered many miscarriages and/or stillbirths. For this reason, he was cherished by her the more.

Roger told us how, when was very young, Sid abandoned his wife and son, and soon sought a divorce. A shocked and saddened Vera was left to bring up their son, with support from her side of the family. Meeting my father and me in 2019, was the first time Roger had met any members of his father's side of the family.

Yet, when my father had done family research in the 1990's, the story he was told was that Roger's birth was the result of an affair, and that was why Sid sought a divorce. Speaking with Roger, getting his side of the story, and learning of his mother's soft-hearted personality, of her heartbreak at the break-up of her marriage, of her not remarrying but putting all her efforts into bringing up her one surviving child, of the sigma endured by her at being a divorced woman with a child; the Vernon side of the story seems the more unlikely and perhaps more of a cover up by Sid for his own actions.

Still that a divorce was granted meant there was deemed sufficient evidence of one or other party having committed adultery, cruelty, desertion (of at least two years) and/or having incurable insanity (such were the only reasons one could be granted a divorce before the Divorce Reform Act of 1969).

After his divorce, Sid soon remarried. In Oct/Nov/Dec 1951, Sid (38) married London-born Eva Fanny Midmore Hurcum (about 29), in Exeter.

Sid and Eva had two daughters:

• Linda W  1953 -
• Vanessa A  1961 -

Both daughters were born in Exeter, but the family at some point relocated to Exmouth. They lived there into old age.

At some point, Roger recalled the couple ran a fish and chip shop in the town, which he visited once or twice.

When my father began conducting his own family tree research in the 1990's, he paid a visit, along with my mother and myself as a baby, to his Great Half Uncle. A photograph taken that day, of myself as a baby held by an elderly Sid was the only photograph we had of him; but talking to Roger and learning he didn't have a single photograph of his father, and his earnestly asking if we had one, of course my father and I agreed he should have it.

My parents, my sister and myself moved to Exmouth in the summer of 2003. Along with our childminder, and the other minded kids, my sister and I would daily walk down the hill, on which an elderly Sid and Eva lived, on our way to primary school. As I walked, I would often look to the house.

In Oct/Nov/Dec 2004, Sid passed away, aged ninety-one, in Exmouth.

Great Great Half Aunt Beatrice 'Beattie' Mary Victoria Easterbrook (nee Yeo)

My Great Great Half Aunt Beatrice 'Beattie' (1885 - 1973) was a domestic servant, cook, housekeeper, housewife, mother of one or two, and the older half sister of my Great Grandfather George 'Len' Leonard Sandford (1902 - 1976).

Beatrice 'Beattie' Mary Victoria Yeo was born on 11th December 1885 in the union workhouse in Okehampton, Devon, the illegitimate daughter of teenaged orphan servant Annie Yeo (seventeen or eighteen years old). We don't know who Beattie's father was. Beattie was baptised on 15th January 1886 in Okehampton as 'Beatrice Mary Yeo', however her middle names vary on later documents.

In 1889, when Beattie was two, her mother Annie gave birth to another illegitimate daughter called Alberta 'Florrie' Florence W Yeo. Though Florrie was also born in Okehampton workhouse, Annie's residence was listed as Northlew, which is seven miles north of Okehampton.

A report in the British Medical Journal on the conditions of Okehampton workhouse in the 1890s noted the female ward, which held "fourteen beds", where Annie herself likely gave birth to Beattie in 1885 and Florrie in 1888, and its adjoining dayroom appeared "comfortless and bare". The dayroom "was warmed by an oven stove which smoked persistently". The report continued:

"the walls are whitewashed, and without any attempt at decoration, unless the dado of matchboarding in the dayroom may be considered such; the roofs are pitched, with transverse beams, and from these are suspended some temporary bed-pulls made with cords and a bit of wood. We were struck by the absence of armchairs; there might have been one or two, but many of the patients were seated on a bench against the wall. There were no pictures, no plants, nothing to relieve the weary monotony.

The bedsteads are narrow (33 inches) and low; the bedding is chaff, changed twice a year, or oftener if necessary. It was sufficient, and quite clean.

The ward is heated by an open fireplace at one end. The ventilation is by means of the windows, which are swung sashes, and there are some apertures in the roof, but we suspected that these were blocked by an accumulation of dust and dirt"

Photograph of Okehampton Workhouse

Another Photograph of Okehampton Workhouse

It was into these surroundings that Beattie and her little sister Florrie were born.

Whilst Beattie's father is unknown, Florrie's father was one John Worth, a labourer from Germansweek, who twenty-year-old Annie bravely summoned to court for child maintenance.

It seems Annie strove to support her young daughters and keep them together. The 1891 Census shows Annie continued to work as a servant on a farm, whilst Beattie, five, and her little sister Florrie, two, stayed with widow Elizabeth Stratford and her two daughters in East Street, Okehampton. Elizabeth's maiden name was Yeo, so she may have been related somehow to Annie.

The 1891 Census gives Beattie's full name as 'Beatrice Florence Victoria Yeo'.

1891 Census:

In 1893, Beattie's mother Annie gave birth to a third illegitimate child, a son called Archibald John Weedon Yeo, in Okehampton. Archibald was baptised on 15th September 1893 in Okehampton. Annie is once more described as living in Okehampton. Sadly in 1899, Archibald passed away, aged only six, in North Tawton. Archibald was buried on 14th December 1899, in North Tawton. 

In the late 1890s Beattie and Florrie attended Okehampton County Primary School. Under the column 'name and address of parent or guardian', no parent's name is given, and their address is sadly given as the workhouse in Okehampton.

Though we have evidence she stayed for some time at East Street with the Stratford family, did Beattie and Florrie otherwise live at the workhouse? If so it would have been under these conditions (again from the above mentioned report):

"The nursery is... a small room with [a] fireplace and two windows, a boarded floor, and some most antiquated wooden boxes on rockers, the remains of the ancient cradles which in the old days  were placed on a frame against the walls... Here, as elsewhere, we noted with regret the absence of toys or picture books for the little ones, nor did we see any children's chairs or low seats for their use...

The children in this workhouse seem badly housed; they are sent to the village school, but have no satisfactory playroom when in the house."

After leaving school, teenage Beattie followed in her mother's footsteps and went to work as a domestic servant on a farm. The 1901 Census shows Beatrice, aged fifteen, working for the Morris family on Binneford Farm in Stockleigh English, which is about twenty miles north-east of her native Okehampton.

1901 Census

Later in 1901, Beattie's mother Annie married carter Mark Sandford, and settled in Bow.

Annie and Mark would have five children - Beattie's younger half siblings - :

• George 'Len' Leonard Yeo  1902 - 1976 (74 years)
• 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)

Sadly four out of five of Beattie's little half siblings passed away young.

By the time of the 1911 Census, when my great grandfather Len was about nine, his older half sister Beattie was working as a domestic cook for farmer John Hing at Paschoe House near Bow. John Hing and his wife had five live-in servants, so they must have been quite well off. For Beattie, having been born in the workhouse, the illegitimate daughter of a teenage servant; then worked herself as a teenager as a general domestic servant on a small farm - notably the only servant in a household with four infant children - ; to become a cook in a large house, surrounded by other servants, would have been a big step up. Beattie must have been a good worker to have achieved this. As there seems to have been no butler or housekeeper, as the cook, Beattie, though only twenty-five, would have been considered the senior servant. Today Pashoe House is a hotel - I must make sure to visit it one day.

Modern Photograph of Paschoe House

Though the name given on the census is 'Mary Yeo' we can be sure that it is our Beattie, for the age and place of birth, I have checked, only fit her - and her name often changes slightly on records anyway.

1911 Census:

By the time of the First World War, it seems Beattie had left Paschoe House behind. In January 1917, Beattie (30 or just 31), formerly a domestic cook, married Sidney James Easterbrook, who was in the army, in the district of Crediton. On their record of marriage, Beattie's full name is given as 'Beatrice Mary Victoria Yeo' - I told you it changes around a bit. The couple settled in Coleford.

A newspaper article says that Beattie and Sidney had two children; however, I can only find record of one:

• Pamela B  1919 -

Their marriage was seemingly a happy one for two years, until in early 1919 letters started to arrive at their home. The sight of the first, though addressed to Sidney, made a pregnant Beattie curious, for it was written in a woman's hand. When she spotted kisses on the back of the envelope, she had to open it. She found it was from a young woman asking Sidney what he intended to do about their child. When confronted by Beattie, Sidney denied being the father and she, it is reported, believed him. Yet at some point in 1919, Sidney moved out of the family home to Woolwich. Also in mid 1919, Beattie gave birth to their daughter Pamela. Later in 1919, further letters arrived from a second woman, with whom Sidney had at some point been living in Chiswick. After a brief correspondence with her, Beattie discovered this woman was under the impression that Sidney was a single man. Beattie had save £30 and put it into the bank in Sidney's name; he had then took out all these savings and reportedly spent them on this woman at Chiswick. From Woolwich, Sidney then wrote several times to Beattie that he would not live with her again as they could not agree. He was also failing to send child maintenance, thus why Beattie brought him to court and this case was reported upon.

Surprising, under oath, Sidney produced a very different story. He claimed he himself had written the letters so Beattie could divorce him.

From Exeter and Plymouth Gazette of 29th September 1919:

From then on it seems Beattie and Sidney lived separate lives. Come the 1939 Census, twenty years later, Beattie was back working a cook. Now she was cook and housekeeper to Mr and Mrs Studholme at Perridge House in Holcombe Burnell. Interestingly her status is listed as married, implying she and Sidney did not divorce.

An Old Sketch of Perridge House

Whilst Beattie was a bride of the First World War, her daughter Pamela was a bride of the Second World War. In 1940, Beattie's daughter Pamela (21) married Corporal Charles C Haines (R.A.F).

Pamela and Charles had two sons (Beattie's grandsons):

• Antony Charles 1941 -
• Michael J  1944 -

Alas I know little of Beattie's later life, other than its close. In Jul/Aug/Sep 1973, Beattie passed away, aged eighty-seven, in the district of Plymouth.

Though her names changes around a little on records, it was her half nephew, my grandfather, George Leonard Sandford, who remembered her as always being known to himself and the family as 'Auntie Beattie'. Beattie, though not brought up with her mother's later legitimate children, was not hidden away as some illegitimate children were, but was considered a member of the family. A local newspaper article from the time shows she was a mourner at the funeral of her youngest half sister Barbara Sandford in 1927 - and most notably the newspaper lists her as her sister - ; and, as stated, she was always an aunt to her younger half brother Len's sons.

Great Great Grandmother Annie Sandford (nee Yeo)

My Great Great Grandmother Annie (1868 - 1948) was a domestic servant, charwoman, and mother of eight.

Annie Yeo was born on 4th February 1868 in Meldon, near Okehampton, Devon, to George Yeo (33), an agricultural and quarry labourer, and Ann Yeo (nee Gliddon) (29). Annie does not appear to have been baptised, though all her siblings were.

Annie was the fourth of six children (one son and five daughters):

• Thomas 'Tom'  1863 - 1904  (40 or 41 years old)
• Mary 'Mary Anne' Gliddon  1864 - 1941  (76 years old)
• Emily Ann  1867 - 1872  (5 years old)
• Annie  1868 - 1948  (80 years old)
• Ellen  1869 - 1937  (68 years old)
• Harriet  1872 - 1893 (21 years old)

Annie also had an older half brother, Joseph Gliddon (1860 - 1928) (67 years old), her mother Ann's illegitimate son born before her marriage. Joseph lived with his maternal grandparents.

Annie and her siblings grew up just outside Okehampton.

1871 Census:

In October or November 1872, when Annie was four, her older sister Emily Ann passed away aged only five years old. Emily Ann was buried on 8th November 1872, in Okehampton. About three months later, Annie's father George passed away, aged thirty-nine, in 1873, in Okehampton. He was buried on 30th January 1873, in Okehampton. And about three months after that, Annie's mother Ann also passed away, aged thirty-three or thirty-four. She was buried on 30th April 1873 also in Okehampton. I wonder if they all succumbed to the same disease. 

Unless relatives took them in, Annie and her five remaining siblings (aged zero to nine) would likely have ended up in the workhouse. Indeed, in the next census (1881 Census), Annie's younger sisters Ellen (11) and Harriet (9) can be found living in the Union Workhouse in Okehampton. I wonder if Annie and the other older siblings also entered the workhouse after their parents' early deaths, but by thirteen years old were deemed old enough to go out and work, as Annie can be found to be in the 1881 Census, living and working at Clarkestown Farm in Broadwoodkelly as a domestic servant.

1881 Census:

In 1886, aged seventeen or eighteen, a pregnant Annie was back in the workhouse. There she gave birth to an illegitimate daughter called Beatrice Mary Victoria Yeo or Beatrice Florence Victoria Yeo. Beatrice 'Beattie' was baptised on 15th January 1886 in Okehampton.

A report in the British Medical Journal on the conditions of Okehampton Workhouse in the 1890s noted the female ward, which held "fourteen beds", where Annie herself likely gave birth in 1886 and 1888, and its adjoining dayroom appeared "comfortless and bare". The dayroom "was warmed by an oven stove, which smoked persistently". The report continued:

"the walls are whitewashed, and without any attempt at decoration, unless the dado of matchboarding in the dayroom may be considered such; the roofs are pitched, with transverse beams, and from these are suspended some temporary bed-pulls made with cord and a bit of wood. We were struck by the absence of armchairs; there might have been one or two, but many of the patients were seated on a bench against the wall. There were no pictures, no plants, nothing to relieve the weary monotony.

The bedsteads are narrow (33 inches) and low; the bedding is chaff, changed twice a year, or oftener if necessary. It was sufficient, and quite clean.

The ward is heated by an open fireplace at one end. The ventilation is by means of the windows, which are swung sashes, and there are some apertures in the roof, but we suspected that these were blocked by an accumulation of dust and dirt."

Photograph of Okehampton Workhouse

Another Photograph of Okehampton Workhouse

In 1888, aged nineteen or twenty, a pregnant Annie was back again in the workhouse. There she gave birth to another illegitimate daughter called Alberta 'Florrie' Florence W Yeo. Florrie was baptised on 23rd July 1888 in Okehampton. Florrie's father appears to have been a labourer called John Worth. I wonder if the W in Florrie's name stands for Worth. John Worth was summoned by Annie to the petty sessions and ordered to pay 2s a week to Annie until Florrie reached thirteen years old. This was reported in the Western Times on 10th August 1888:

The report shows that, though Annie went to Okehampton workhouse to give birth, she lived in the late 1880s in Northlew, seven miles north of Okehampton.

In the early 1890s, in her early twenties, Annie was back working as a servant. She worked for the Webber family at Yeo Farm in North Tawton, about eleven miles west of Northlew.

1891 Census:

Whilst Annie was working, where were her young daughters, Beattie (5) and Florrie (2 or 3)? At the time, Beattie and Florrie lived with an Elizabeth Stratford and her daughters in Okehampton. Elizabeth's maid name was Yeo, so she may have been related to Annie.

1891 Census:

In 1893, twenty-five year old Annie gave birth to a third illegitimate child, a son called Archibald John Weedon Yeo, in Okehampton. Archibald was baptised on 15th September 1893 in Okehampton. Annie is once more described as living in Okehampton. Sadly in 1899, Archibald passed away, aged only six, in North Tawton. Archibald was buried on 14th December 1899, in North Tawton.

Sometime in the 1890's, Annie moved from North Tawton to Colebrooke.

1901 Census:

Annie's future husband Mark Sandford appears on the next page of the 1910 Census, meaning they lived close to each other. Mark is described as a horseman on a farm. I wonder if he worked as a horseman on the same farm where Annie worked as a servant.

In late 1901, Annie (33) married Mark (29) in the Crediton district. Annie would have been between five and eight months pregnant when she married.

In the 1900s, Annie and her family moved about three miles west from Colebrooke to Bow.

Annie and Mark had five children (three sons and two daughters):

• George 'Len' Leonard Yeo  1902 - 1976 (74 years)
• 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)

Sadly four out of five of their children passed away young.

Times were tough. To get by, Annie attempted to steal wood; whilst her husband Mark may have turned to drink.

From the Western Times on 14th April 1905:

From the Western Times on 13th May 1909:

1911 Census:

Two of Mary's nephews, as well as her brother-in-law, served and died/were killed in the First World War.

Her half nephew James Henry Gliddon (the eldest son of her older half brother Joseph Gliddon) served as a seaman in the Royal Navy. He had enlisted before the war, in 1910, serving on many ships. He passed away in 1916, aged twenty-six, of cirrhosis of the liver, on board the hospital ship Somali.

Her nephew William Wallace Yeo (the son of her older brother Tom) served as private in the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion of the Royal Marine Light Infantry Plymouth Division. He had also enlisted before the war, in 1913. He served for two and half years on board the H.M.S Donegal, from late 1914 to early 1917; he also served with the Victory Brigade (or RM Brigade) in Belgium. He was killed in action in 1917, aged twenty-three, in Belgium.

Her brother-in-law Harry Sandford (the younger brother of her husband Mark) served as a corporal in the 8th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He was re-conscripted, having previously served as a private in the early 1900's. Harry served on the Western Front. He was killed in action in 1917, aged about thirty-three, in France.

Sometime in the 1910s or 1920s, the family moved about two miles north from Bow to Zeal Monachorum.

When Annie was fifty-nine, her youngest daughter Barbara passed away, aged only fifteen, on 8th August 1927. Barbara's death was reported in local newspapers.

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

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

Annie's surviving son, Len (28), became a widower in 1930, when his young wife Rhoda passed away in childbirth. Their baby son, Frederick, also passed away shortly after birth. Len's older son Archie (2 or 3 years old) - named for Len's younger brothers Archibald, who passed away as babies - went to live with Annie and Mark. The couple brought Archie up.

Sometime in the 1930s, Annie, Mark and Archie moved back to Bow.

1939 Census:

In 1945, when Annie was seventy-seven, her husband Mark passed away, aged seventy-three.

In 1948, Annie herself passed away, aged about eighty.