Wales

This was taken early in 1958, I was about seven months old at the time. The location is Llanrwst in Wales. The river behind me is the Conwy.


I traced the pub/hotel in the background (it was a Trumans pub back then) which is the “Pen-y-Bont” on Bridge street. It is still there as of writing.

We were on holiday, either staying in Llanrwst or down the road in one of mum and dads favourite places, Betws-y-Coed.

I wasn’t impressed back then, but I am now, of the coachwork of these old prams. The front part is hinged and I believe one of my earliest memories of this life was looking out through that portal when the hood was up. In the picture I’m holding a star shaped rattle. What can’t be seen is the two point leather harness that was often used to hold seven month old babies captive in these tanks.

Arthur and Dorothy had a long love affair with Wales, spent time there before they were married and later the family had many happy holidays all around Wales.

In the late 1970s they both moved to North Wales to retire.

The Magnet, Toys and Fancy Goods

My mum and dad, Arthur and Dorothy Weldon ran a shop on Wavertree Road, Liverpool 7.

The Kelly's Street Directory of Liverpool shows that the Magnet Supply Stores (Liverpool) Ltd, (described as a grocers), is listed between 1958 and 1966 at 179 Wavertree Road. It was situated between Wynne Street and Scourfield Street.


The shop sold toys, fancy goods, greetings cards and various other things, we had a Dinky Toys franchise and were one of the first shops in Liverpool to sell Action Man.


It was around 1967 or so that a bus strike caused a lot of the Wavertree Road shops to suffer and eventually, customers were lost and the business was closed.

Forward in Time to 1967

The year is 1967 and I was 9, my brother Robert 12.


In the picture is dad, Arthur, me, Rob and mum Dorothy. The missing fifth picnic member is my grandad, Jack Edwards (John Edward Edwards). In those days he had a polaroid Land camera, state of the art. Seconds after taking this picture he would have had the photo, held between two aluminium (because it was England) plates, developing for thirty seconds.

Actually, it probably was not England, more than likely we where in Wales, near Ruthin.

The fine vehicle in the background was Arthurs pride and enjoy and perhaps the first new car he had ever owned. A Vauxhall Victor estate.

Huyton Quarry Station

At school I was taught about George Stephenson and his "Rocket" and never related any of it to the family history or experiences, the advent of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the effect on Huyton, Prescot and the excitement around the Rainhill trials must have been at the core of many events in the Weldon, Hardman and Stockley family histories.


Here is an extract from Subterranea Britannica :

The earliest known company timetable is 1st March 1831, this did not show times at the intermediate stops but did list stops in fare tables. The company minutes of 26th September 1832 did give a full list but no further list was given until January 1846.

There were many early changes of stopping place and name so the early history of intermediate stops is patchy. At first trains stops at, for example, level crossings where the gatekeeper issued tickets; perhaps a room in his cottage was available as a shelter. Many of the stations consisted of little more than a basic cottage. In 1841 platforms and nameboards were added to stations lacking them. Huyton Quarry was initially called Bottom of Whiston Incline.

Certainly by the mid 19th Century Huyton Quarry had been developed into a two platform station with station house and booking facilities on the Liverpool platform and substantial waiting facilities on the Manchester bound platform.

From the beginning the station would have been served by local trains running between the two cities or on shorted journeys. A steady stream of express and goods services would have passed through. Just to the west of the station a number of sidings where located to serve a small branch line that ran down to the Quarry from which the station took its name. The branch also served a number of local collieries the last one only closing in 1983.

The 1830 Liverpool to Manchester line is still a busy railway but over the years many of its intermediate stations, including Huyton Quarry have closed to passengers. Huyton Quarry was closed on the 15th September 1958.

Huyton Congregational Church

A discussion about Huyton Congregational Church.


The United Reform Church, (formerly the Congregational Church), in Seel Road, Huyton. Built in 1890, it succeeded the original Congregational Church (Park Hall), in Huyton Hey Road, which had become too small for the growing population.

Park Hall, the original Congregational Church was built in 1856 with stone from Huyton Quarry.


Both are listed buildings.

The Lost Children

The marriage of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman produced a vast descendant tree, and I've not been able to research everyone from just this one couple.

I'm going to move forward in time for several posts, to my fathers siblings, so in review I'd like to list the Weldons from Joseph and Rachels descendant tree.

William Hardman, born abt 1884. "Billy Weldon"
Arthur Sandiland Weldon. My grandfather. born April 25th, 1886
Richard Weldon. born December 30th, 1888
Amy Gertrude Weldon, born abt Sept 1890.
John Weldon, born abt 1893
Ellen Weldon, born abt 1894
Jane Weldon, born abt 1896
Rachel Weldon, born September 28th, 1899
Joseph Weldon, born abt 1901
Alice Weldon, born abt 1903
Frank Weldon, born abt 1906

That is 11 children, but the full story would have to include several other young Weldons that did not survive, I know of two, an Alice and a Thomas, which makes 13, but other information indicates that Frank Weldon was the youngest of fifteen children.

Inconclusive research shows that a Joseph Thomas Weldon, born abt Sept 1890, died before March 1892 and a Thomas Welding, born abt March 1898, died abt March 1899. There's an Alice Welding that was born abt December 1887, died March 1888

In time, with paperwork, facts can be verified, but for now, the identity of the lost children will remain a mystery.

Jane Weldon

Jane Weldon was born abt 1896 in Whiston, Lancashire and died about 1973. She was the daughter of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman. She married James Lunt abt 1931 in the Church of England, St. Nicholas, Windy Arbour Road. James Lunt was born abt 1892, he was the son of John Lunt and Margaret Jones.


Jane was known to the family as Jinny, and she took over the Fish and Chip shop on Hall lane, Huyton Quarry, from her mother.

Janes daughter, Jennie said that her mum took over the shop from her mother which was around the time that Frank Weldon was 14, Alice was 16 and Joe was 18. Joe was born in 1901 which would mean that Jane was running the Fish and Chip shop around 1920.

Her mother, Rachel, died in February 1922.

A visit to the War graves commission website lists Rifleman Richard Welding as brother of J.Welding from 11 Hall Lane, Huyton. Richard, who was killed on the 30th November, 1917, listed Jane as his next of kin. The War Memorial in Huyton, was unveiled in February 1921.

A devastating time for the family, the death of Richard in 1917 would have broken his mothers heart, the so called "Great War" would never be over in this family and within seven years both Rachel and Joseph would be dead.

"God be with you till we meet again"

James Lunt

James Lunt was born abt 1892, he was the son of John Lunt and Margaret Jones. He married Jane Weldon abt 1931 in the Church of England, St. Nicholas, Windy Arbour Road. she was born abt 1896 in Whiston, Lancashire and died about 1973. She was the daughter of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman.


Jim was an electrical/mechanical engineer and worked at BICC in Prescot.

A search of records of the Whiston and Prescot area shows that the Lunt name is very popular. James and Jane (or Jinny) lived at number 1, Dragon Lane in Whiston. This was a corner house and at some point, by council decree, the address changed to 2 Stoney Lane, Whiston. Same house, different line on a map.

Jennie Lunt

Jennie Lunt, born July 1932 was the daughter of James Lunt and Jane Weldon. She married Edward Charles Martin Harker in 1965 at Whiston Methodist Church. He was born July 1915 and died abt 1991. He was the son of Edward Harker and Florence Maude Mary Harker.


Jennie went to Whiston Central School which was a segregated boys and girls school on Portico Lane. She left when she was 14 years old, just after the war in 1946.

This coincidently was the same school that I attended when the family moved back to Whiston, from Liverpool, in 1969.

Jennie worked as an Electrical Assembler at BICC in Prescot, Lancashire. It was there that she met Edward Harker, who was working at the same type of job.

When Jennie and Edward were first married, they lived with her mother Jinny Lunt (Jane Weldon) on Hazel Avenue, Whiston.

In a side story, when I was talking to Jennie she told me that her dog is called Jane and it is a common misconception that she named the dog after her mother, it wasn't so, the dog already had this name when she chose her at the Freshfield dogs home.

She remembers visiting her late husbands grave and being horrified that a part of the slab had been broken off, she worried about this for a while but then imagined what Edward would have said "they've pinched part of the slab, but they haven't pinched me" which made things seem alright.

The name game.

I've discussed the fun involved with names in any genealogy process, and the information provided bt the Grandson of Alexandra Davies, Stanley Hill, highlights this quite well.

Alexandra Davies and Amy Weldon had three children, Jane, Isaac and Marjorie. If you look at the obituary, they are all represented.

Marjorie Davies, Stans mother, is there, she married Thomas Hill.

Jane Davies is also there, the second daughter listed is A.J.Riley and my assumption is that Janes first name was perhaps Amy, after her mother. She married a Mister Riley.

At first glance, Isaac is nowhere to be seen, and this is where information from family members is essential in the geneology process.

A few years back, I talked at length to the daughter of Frank Weldon, Doris. She now lives near Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada and she told me about "Alec Davis" who married Amy Weldon and had three children, two daughters and "Sonny" who was a sargeant in the Air Force, he emigrated and served with the New Zealand Air force.

In my notes I wrote "Alec Davis" because, that's what I heard Doris say. It's that soundex complication once again.

It was through Doris that I managed to talk to Jennie Lunt who told me more about Marjorie, Jane and Isaac, who was called Sonny.

The name game, thats the trick again, Stanley Hill told me that his grandfather had three children, two girls Madge and Jinny and one boy who was known as Sonny.

Madge was Stans mother. Jinny his Aunt went on to marry into the Lunt Family and lived in Rainhill, Lancashire and Sonny was in the R.A.F. and after World War Two joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force and moved out to New Zealand.

So, within the family, Marjorie becomes a Madge, (Amy) Jane becomes a Jinny and Isaac, for some reason, becomes a Sonny.

Alexandra Davies

Alexandra Davies was born January 1892 and died abt June 1963. He married Amy Gertrude Weldon abt June 1916 at Prescot, Lancashire. She was born about 1891 in Whiston, Lancashire. I have in my notes that she died in 1937. She was the daughter of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman.


Alex worked at the brickworks for most of his life, he served during World War One and following that he was one of Tushinghams long serving employees and a well loved man which is evident from the newspaper obituary:

The Rev. C.S.Brown conducted a service at Huyton Congregational Church for Mr. Alexandra Davies (Aged 71), 6 Seel Road, Huyton, who died in Sefton General Hospital. Interment took place at Huyton Cemetary. The organist (Mrs. Brown) accompanied the singing of the 23rd Psalm and "The day thou gavest Lord is ended."

Mourners were : Mesdames M.Hill and A.J.Riley (daughters). Mr.T.H.Hill, Miss M.Riley, Mesdames T.Lunt and R.Wright. Messrs. D.Cowen, J.Weldon, A.Weldon and J.Daniels. Mesdames E.Baker and F.Webley, Messr. W.McVinnie, T.Lawton sen., T.Lawton jun., and C.Murdock.

Bearers were : Messrs. J.Baker, J.Griffiths, R.Roberts, and F.Moores.

Also present in church were : Messrs. T. and K. Tushingham, E.Tinsley and Mrs.V.Marron.

Floral tributes were sent by Marjorie, Tommy, Geoffrey and Stanley; Sonny [1], Joan and family (New Zealand), Jinnie, Joe, Marjorie, Pat and Joey; Jinnie and Jenny; Jack Daniels; Mrs. M.Turner; Mr. And Mrs. A.Hill; Tushingham Metallic Brick Co,; workmates (Tushinghams); friends, Huyton Quarry Recreational Club; Vinnie and Owen (Quarry Inn); Wallace, Rita and Colin; Joe, Margaret, Tom and children; Mr.Lawton and Tom.

Ethel, Arthur and children; Florrie and Harry; Dave; Rachel, Mary and derek; friends and neighbours, Seel Road, Hey Road and St.Gabriels Avenue;Lil, John and Charlie; Mr. And Mrs. Griffiths and John; Mr. And Mrs. Riley; Mr. And Mrs. A. Weldon.

Undertaker: T.Berry, Warrington Road, Prescot.

[1] Isaac Davies

William Weldon

It was with great luck that I had discussions with the family and discovered some of the history of the first child of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman.

In this day and age, there is little shame with a child born out of wedlock, but back in 1884, although common, it was something that was often hidden from view.

In this example, the family tree history becomes convoluted and without direct information, a puzzle that cannot be solved.

William Hardman lived at the bottom of Pottery Lane in Whiston at the turn of the century. Although a Weldon, William was born in 1884 before Rachel Hardman was married and they lived in her fathers house, it is probably no coincidence that he was named after his grandfather.

The young William was the first born and therefore the oldest of the large brood of Weldons from the Joseph and Rachel marriage. He was, as they said back then, "born out of wedlock" which was perhaps frowned upon, Joseph and Rachel were not living together so it was arranged that the baby would live with Rachels parents, he was brought up by his grandparents, William and Jane Hardman (nee Barron).

It may have just made economic sense for William to live with his grandparents while Joseph and Rachel found their footings in life.

He is shown in the 1891 census as a seven year old, living with the Hardmans at the Pottery at Whiston. 1881 census data shows that this was the residence of the Hardman family for a generation before.

He was brought up as William Hardman although when he was around family he was often called Billy Weldon.

William was still living at home, Whiston Pottery, with his grandparents at the age of 17. He was working in nearby Prescot, as a Watch Movement Maker. The census then lists him as William Welding.

Tushingham Brickworks

There appear to be many links to the Weldon family and Tushingham Brickworks, or "Tushies" as it was nicknamed.


This picture, from the Knowsley website, shows the Huyton Quarry works viewed from Ellis Ashton Street, Huyton. The original plant opened in the 1890's in Whiston. A brickmaking plant was later opened in Huyton Quarry in the 1920's.

The Tushinghams being quite famous for other things than bricks, the actress Rita Tushingham is a relative and also Harry and Tom ran Tushinghams Club in Whiston village.

Tushinghams made their bricks from clay and shale, which tied in to the local pottery and mining industries of Huyton and Whiston, other industries that involve the Weldon family and warrant another article here.

The factory was within a short distance of the Liverpool to Manchester railway line, plus had their own railway system for moving materials on site.

The brickworks closed in the 1970's and the land was sold to Knowsley council who used it as a landfill site.

This is the time that my immediate family moved to Pottery Lane and I discovered the place, finding bike frames and old radio speakers for projects, long summer days spent exploring the area that (unknown to me) was once a major employer for the family.

The area around the brickworks, old colliery and pottery is now Stadt Moers Park.

Joe Weldon

Joseph Weldon was born in 1901, he was the son of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman, he married Margaret Cox on February 5th, 1927 in the Wesleyan Chapel, Huyton Quarry. She was born in 1904 and was the daughter of Isaac and Annie Cox.


He worked as a Railway porter at Huyton Station, keeping the Station spotless, people actually thought he was the Station Master according to his son, Stan Weldon.

He also worked at Tushinghams Mettalic Brickworks which was located in Whiston.

Context

The last picture of Joseph and Stanley Weldon was a crop of a bigger picture, and it deserves to be here, as it shows the context and part of the lives of the people involved.


This great picture was sent to me by Stan Hill, it's a classic, a bunch of working class men, clustered around a table full of brown beer bottles, having a laugh and enjoying life.

Left to Right, George Longworth, Harry Gore, Thomas Hill (who married Marjorie Davis, daughter of Alexandra Davis and Amy Gertrude Weldon). Unfortunately, the chap behind Thomas, and to his left are not knowm, then Joe Weldon and his son, Stanley Weldon.

A piano in the background, complete with sheet music, awaits the inevitable Saturday night sing song.

Uncle Joe and Uncle Stan

I've mentioned that names can be a complicated thing when researching the family tree, soundex issues, people called John calling themselves Jack and so on. Another twist is just plain old familiarity within families.


I had an Uncle Joe, and an "Uncle" Stan. In real terms, Joseph was my granduncle and Stanley was my first cousin, once removed. Until I delved into the family tree, I mistakenly thought that Stanley was my dads longtime friend who was best man at the wedding.

The other complicated thing when researching the family tree is waiting until almost everyone has died before deciding there's something interesting there....

Frank and Doris Weldon - Canada

Frank and Doris emigrated to Canada just after World War Two.

He served in the Navy during the war and decided to travel to Canada with his wife Doris. Their daughter, "Little Doris", told me that the link to Canada was from her mothers side of the family, she had two Aunties, Jane (the oldest) and Isabel who had already emigrated and were established in Canada.

Here is a picture from 1958 on a visit to Hollywood, California.

Frank Weldon

Frank Weldon, born June 25th, 1906 in Huyton Quarry, Lancashire. died September 1981. He was the son of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman. He married Doris Byron on December 23rd, 1930 in St. Mary's Parish Church, Prescot, Lancashire. She was born August8th, 1909 and died February 24th, 1989. She was the daughter of James Byron and Emma Fayle.

Rachel Weldon

Rachel Weldon was born on September 28th, 1899 in Whiston, Lancashire. She was the daughter of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman. She married John Wright who was born around February 1894.



Her daughter, Mary Wright (Who married Derek Hennin) told me that Rachel was "in service" at an upper class college in Huyton, and her father, John Wright, fought in the 1st World War and later worked at the BICC in Huyton, probably the same cableworks where Arthur Sandiland Weldon worked.

HMS Thetis

The HMS Thetis was a Group 1 Class T submarine that sank during sea trials on the 1st of June, 1939.

The following is an extract from Wikipedia :

Thetis was built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, England and launched on June 29, 1938. After completion, trials were delayed because the forward hydroplanes jammed, but eventually started in Liverpool Bay under Lieutenant-Commander Guy Bolus. Thetis left Birkenhead for Liverpool Bay to conduct her final diving trials, accompanied by the tug Grebecock. As well as her normal complement of 59 men she was carrying technical observers from Cammell Laird and other naval personnel, a total of 103 men. The first dive was attempted on June 1, 1939 at about 14:00. The submarine was too light to dive, so a survey of the water in the various tanks on board was made. One of the checks was whether the internal torpedo tubes were flooded.

Lieutenant Frederick Woods, the torpedo officer, opened the test cocks on the tubes. Unfortunately, the test cock on tube number 5 was blocked by some enamel paint so no water flowed out even though the bow cap was open. This combined with a confusing layout of the bow cap indicators - they were arranged in a vertical line with 5 at the bottom - 1,2,3,4,6, and then 5; and the shut position for tube 5 on the dial was in a different position to the other torpedo tubes - led to the inner door of the tube being opened. The inrush of water caused the bow of the submarine to sink to the seabed 150 feet below the surface.

An indicator buoy was released and smoke candle fired. By 1600 Grebecock was becoming concerned for the safety of Thetis and radioed the HMS Dolphin submarine base at Gosport. A search was immediately instigated.[2] Although the stern remained on the surface, only four crew escaped before the rest were overcome by carbon dioxide poisoning caused by the crowded conditions, the increased atmospheric pressure and a delay of 20 hours before the evacuation started. Ninety-nine lives were lost in the incident. In addition to the normal crew of 53, there were 26 Cammell Laird employees, another 9 naval officers, 4 Vickers-Armstrong employees and 2 caterers.


On a small road above Liverpool Bay, a 12 year old boy and his 10 year old best friend watched the saga unfold.

It was my dad, Arthur Weldon and his Cousin, Stanley Weldon who were going on holiday, travelling along the Mersey Estuary in a bus when the driver stopped.

Stan Weldon, who lives near Prescot, remembers that June day quite vividly :

In Liverpool Bay, HMS Thetis, was seen with her stern raised above the waterline, her nose buried in the sea bed.

Stan has told me that they could see a few boats sailing around the stern of the ship and lots of activity in the water and on the shoreline. It was an exciting and somewhat fascinating time for all the children on that bus, many of whom did not realize what history was happening before them.

The saga of this submarine did not end there, it was salvaged, renamed the HMS Thunderbolt and eventually was lost during valued service in World War Two.

Joseph and Rachel Weldon

Their first born was William and was named after Rachels father.

William was the first, but certainly not the last as Rachel would go on to give birth to fifteen children in the following twenty-two years. Sadly, all did not survive childbirth. Rachel named a couple of her lost daughters Alice (prior to the surviving Alice's birth around 1904) and also a son, Thomas. God Bless them.

The family settled near Huyton Quarry, and the 1901 census shows that they lived at 29 Elm Street. In the next few years the family would also live at 11 Hall Lane, Huyton. This was not only a residence for a few of the Weldons, but a working shop.

Rachel was responsible for the day to day running of the shop, selling primarily Fish and Chips. Open for lunch, teatime and into the late evening for the locals from the pub. This was turn of the century England, where the only daily deliveries of supplies would arrive at the nearby Huyton Quarry train station on the Liverpool to Manchester line.

The younger members of the family were recruited to pick up fresh food, delivered from the city market, from the Station in their lunch time from school. It is also of note, that in the 1901 census, the Weldings were living on Elm Street (close to Hall Lane) and one of their neighbours, Charlie Harding, was a fish dealer. they may have known, or even have done business with each other.

Rachel used to joke that, as fast as she made money in the Fish and Chip shop, husband Joseph would spend it in the pub over the road.

In her mid fifties, Rachel passed over the responsibility of running the shop to her daughter Jane (who was known as Jinnie) it was about this time that they had the tragic loss of their son, Richard who fell at the battle of Cambrai in France.

Rachel Hardman

Rachel Hardman, born December 22nd, 1861 in the Pottery, Whiston, Lancashire. died February 10th, 1922 in Huyton, Lancashire. She was the daughter of William Hardman and Jane Barron.

She married Joseph Welding on June the 2nd, 1884 at the Parish Church, Whiston. He was born on June 5th, 1859 at Toll Bars, Prescot, Lancashire and died January the 4th, 1924 in Huyton, Lancashire. He was the son of James Welding and Alice Stockley.

Whiston Pottery

At the rear of what is now the Quarry Inn Public House on Pottery Lane, once stood Whiston Pottery. The Pottery, which dates from 1798, produced everything from coffee pots to chamber pots. It ceased production in the early 1900's.

The houses of Victoria Row, and those now standing at the corner of Whiston Lane were the homes of both pottery workers and local coal miners. The road in this vicinity (still existing) leads to a tunnel under the railway at Ridings Colliery Bridge, which gave access to a colliery of that name.

The 1881 census data shows William Hardman (50) his wife, Jane (38) and their children, Rachel (19), Richard (17), Ellen (14), Jane (12), John (7), Margaret A. (5) and Ann (3) living there. Rachel was listed as a Potter and her brother Richard was a Labourer at the Pottery.

Rachel Hardman, my great-grandmother, was born on December 22nd, 1861 at the Pottery, Whiston, Lancashire.

It was probably directly through the Pottery business that Rachel met the young Joseph Weldon, or Welding as he is listed on some documents. Joseph was from nearby Prescot (about three or four miles away) and occupation (in the 1881 census listing) was also that of a Potter.

Joseph Weldon was born on June the 5th, 1859 at Toll Bars, Prescot, Lancashire.

Within three years of the 1881 census on the 2nd June 1884, Rachel and Joseph were married at the Whiston Parish Church

My Birthplace

Rewind somewhat here, back to my origins in this life :


53 Botanic Road was bought for something like 900 pounds in the mid 1950s. Arthur Weldon and Dorothy Weldon (nee Edwards) lived there and had two sons, David (that's me, the good looking one) and Robert.

In the early 1960s Dorothy's father, John (Jack) Edwards moved in after his wife Betsey died. At some point around then the Cuban missile crisis went unnoticed as Arthur tried to carry my concrete filled Noddy tricycle up the steps at dusk.

The days seemed to be spent eating rissoles, drinking dandelion and burdock, watching the coalman drop the heavy sacks into the hole in the front path (about ten pounds for a ton of coal) and accidentally burning our best knitted cardigans on three bar electric fires while playing with our Bayko construction sets.

Not forgetting "bum-bum-bum-bum-Esso blue" and stinky paraffin heaters and if my memory serves me right, gas street lights.

It really doesn't get better than that. In 1966, England won the World cup and I went with Robert to Botanic park with the baseball bats that our Grandad had bought for us, I recall hitting Robert on the foot with my bat and him hopping around. A while later, Pickles the dog found the Jules Rimet cup in a hedge somewhere in London. The country breathed a sigh of relief.........

I made a return visit to Liverpool, It was a strange feeling being back at Botanic after over 40 years especially as I had not seen the development behind the road. I knew that Ridgeway Street and the subsequent streets had been demolished but I had not prepared myself for the state of decay over those years. Time (and tenants) have done a number on the entire area.

The railings on Botanic Park, once intimidating and twice my height are now level with my shoulders, I walked up to 53 Botanic, originally with the thought that I'd ask the inhabitants if I could have a photo taken on the steps in front of my old front door, to be shocked that the door was a sheet of galvanised steel with writing scrawled all over it. The houses felt smaller, because I was taller, but also because of the ugly wheelie bins and satellite dishes everywhere.

But it was a very warm feeling to stand in Botanic park, to have a flood of childhood memories and to take a few (well positioned) photo's of the area.

The family Church was rumoured to have gone from Beech Street, but I just didn't believe it. Of course, it was gone, replaced by a vanilla block of low rise flats.

How can they do things like that?.

They've erased my primary school (Clint Road), my dads shop (179 Wavertree Road, The Magnet, Toys and Fancy Goods) my church and my secondary school (Whiston County) and by the looks of things Botanic Road won't be that far away from the wrecking ball.

Botanic Park has lost it's sandpit and clubhouse, which when I was a youngster was a safe place to shelter during thunderstorms, the old toilets at the park entrance have long since gone, my mum always warned me away from that area. The dogs home has been dismantled and the bus repair depot, where we used to go on raids to grab ball-bearings, has long gone. It was a happy moment however, to still find one of the fountains standing, albeit in decay, the memories of climbing over the pristine cast iron monster as a boy were rekindled.

I’ll add stories to this blog about those early years, it’s going to be like this folks, backwards and forwards, sideways and every direction imaginable, and still, if I do this blog for the rest of my life it will never be complete, never be everything.

But it will be something.

Technicolor

A technicolor moment, from around August 1969, there's me, David, spreadeagled on the lawn with an 8mm camera in hand, my mum, Dorothy, holding my new younger brother, Paul and behind, for some strange and dangerous reason, Jack Edwards is mowing the lawn, regardless of human obstacles.

Photo taken at Pottery Lane, Whiston, Lancashire.

The trouble with names.

I've already indicated that, on the Weldon side of the family there are various soundex issues with the surname, Weldon, Wheldon and Welding all come to the surface during research.

There's not just trouble with surnames, as for some reason, there was a definite trend towards people having different and unique first names, that confuse the research process.

This can be demonstrated with the previos couple, John Edward Edwards and Betsey Cottrill, the names that appear on the actual wedding and birth certificates.

There are family Photo's with other spellings of this family name. Her daughter, my mum, Dorothy, wrote "Nan Cotterell" on the reverse of a photo. Another, in pencil, has "Cottrell" or "Coltrell" whereas Betsey's birth Certificate appears to be Cottrill, her Wedding certificate was Cottrill and Dorothy's birth certificate is Cottrill.

As for her first name, the Marriage Certificate is Betsy, there is a signed photo saying "Yours Sincerely Betty" which is reinforced on the back with the inscription "To John, with fondest love from your own, Betty", her daughter Dorothy's birth certificate is Betsey and the her own death certificate is Betsey. To add another twist, there is a photo of a young soldier, on the back it says "To Bess and Jack with lots of good wishes, Bill" - using two names that are likely to be aka for John and Betsey.

I always knew my Grandad as Jack Edwards, but in fact his true name was John.

All wrinkles in the process that make this type of research very interesting.

The Wedding Day

May 19th, 1929. Earle Road Presbyterian Church, West Derby, Liverpool.

The love of his life.

John Edward Edwards, or 'Jack" as he became known to family and friends went to School in central Liverpool. In 1919, at the age of 13 years he was attending Tiber Street Council School.

He courted and married his sweetheart, Betsey, in those years between the World Wars and in 1930 they had their first and only child, Dorothy Weldon.

In World War Two Jack volunteered for the Liverpool Fire brigade, attending many of the fires during "The Blitz" that bombarded downtown Liverpool and the dock area.

Their marriage was a good one, they travelled around England and Wales, from Lands End and to John O'Groats. Betsey would be Jacks "love of his life" as after her tragic death in 1961 he never remarried.

Grandparents, Edwards side.

John Edward Edwards, born May 27th, 1906 in West Derby, Liverpool, died September 19th, 1987 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Rhyl, North Wales. He was the son of Thomas Edwards and Annie Gertrude Holden.

He married Betsey Cottrill on May 19th, 1929 at Earle Road Presbyterian Church, Liverpool. She was born on December 17th, 1907 at 29 Havelock Street, Liverpool and died May 31st, 1961 at Walton Hospital, Liverpool. She was the daughter of George Cottrill and Charlotte Knight.

An old tune...

That was a good example, some story that your mother used to tell people about what happened one time or what you did when you were little, or when you were bigger, but some story that really did not have a punchline or an ending, a sort of story just about, well, just about life.

You know, when he was a little lad he used to pretend he was Ringo Star and play the drums, he used to play with the hosepipe in the back yard, he used to dress up as a pirate and smoke your fathers Players extra strength in the back alley.


That sort of thing.

The thing is, when your parents, grandparents and all those other special people are gone, lost in time, it would be nice to sit and listen one more time to all those lovely none stories, hear the music of your mother or fathers voice, laugh at the melody, not the punchline.

A five minute moment would not seem so trite if it was played by the original characters in your life, it would not matter about the outcome or the meanderings of fact, it would be just magic.

So, every so often, in the midst of all these facts about the family, I'll drop in an ordinary piece of magic.

The lighter side of life

The blog should be lightened up every now and again, personal stories, things that would be lost forever, stories of nothing really, but a smile in anyones life.


In these days of almost 24 hour shopping, the following is quite funny in the life of the hairdresser (Dorothy) and the taxi driver (Arthur).

Stanley Weldon, who was Arthurs lifetime friend and that best man at the wedding, tells the story of the move from Whiston in Lancashire to Wales as being a nightmare as the volume of stuff was underestimated, especially from the garage and various storerooms, plus there was the wrapping (in newspaper) of all the frozen goods from a 17 cubic foot chest freezer from my mums "buy a cow and pay on the never never" venture.

Dorothy was a member of a frozen food club, and that freezer was always full.

They emptied the huge freezer, loaded it into the van, wrapped all the food and packed it all back in. Then a 90 minute journey to Rhyl and the reverse process, unpack, unload, unwrap and repack.

The big problem down in Wales occured when it was realised that the power cord from the freezer wasn't long enough to reach the socket in the new garage, and of course, it was either after five o'clock or half day closing and the only available extension cord was hidden in a packing crate somewhere.

It's another one of those stories where you would have to be there to see the funny side of it all, another reason for my mum to break out a bottle of Malibu.

If only she could find it.....

In loving Memory.

In family history research, tombstones or gravestones can provide valuable information. I asked a friend of mine to search in Huyton for the memorial to my great grandparents, Joseph and Rachel Weldon.


The inscription reads :

In loving memory of Rachel, the beloved wife of Joseph Weldon who died February 10th 1922 aged 60 years, also their son Richard Weldon, Private 5th South Lancashire Regiment who was killed in action at Cambrai November 30th, 1917 aged 30 years, also of the above Joseph Weldon who died January 4th 1924 aged 65 years. "God be with you till we meet again" also their daughter Alice who died September 21st 1945 aged 41 years.

The friend, Brendan, while walking in the graveyard with his camera, noticed an older gentleman laying flowers at a nearby gravestone, for some reason they chatted and the man told him that he remembered the Weldon family fish shop from when he was a boy, that they also sold milk and farm produce.

The gravestone reverts to the family spelling of Weldon for Richard, not the soundex version.

Huyton War Memorial

This Great War memorial was presented to Huyton-with-Roby Urban District Council by Mr.George Hinde Nisbett JP, an Electrical Engineer at the British Insulated & Helsby Cables who had the structure erected at his own expense. Mr Nisbett's son was one of the local soldiers, along with Richard Welding, who died during the conflict.


The Memorial was unveiled without ceremony in February 1921. It was originally positioned in front of the old HUDC buildings in Derby Road but today occupies a position facing the Huyton Suite in Civic Way.

The following picture shows Richards name on the bronze panel :

Rifleman Richard Welding

While I’m on the subject of my grandfather, I’d like to add some information to the family site about one of his brothers, my dad's uncle Richard who was killed in the First World War, fighting for the freedom of a nephew he'd never see.

Richard Welding was a Rifleman, number 241411 in the 1st/5th Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment. He died on Friday the 30th November 1917 . Age 29 .


Richard Welding, pictured around 1909 with his younger brother, Frank. Richard was born on December the 30th, 1888 and his brother was born on June the 26th, 1906.

The CAMBRAI MEMORIAL in France commemorates more than 7, 000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South Africa who died in the Battle of Cambrai in November and December 1917 and whose graves are not known. Sir Douglas Haig described the object of the Cambrai operations as the gaining of a 'local success by a sudden attack at a point where the enemy did not expect it' and to some extent they succeeded. The proposed method of assault was new, with no preliminary artillery bombardment. Instead, tanks would be used for the first time to break through the German wire, with the infantry following under the cover of smoke barrages. The attack began early in the morning of 20 November 1917 and initial advances were remarkable. However, by 22 November, a halt was called for rest and reorganisation, allowing the Germans to reinforce. From 23 to 28 November, the fighting was concentrated almost entirely around Bourlon Wood and by 29 November, it was clear that the Germans were ready for a major counter attack. The next day, a month before his birthday, Richard was killed.

Richards name is also on the War Memorial in Huyton Village in Lancashire. One family story is that he couldn't see properly out of one eye (a common Weldon affliction that I have inherited) and was refused entry to the Army. However, he was determined and eventually was accepted at a St Helens recruitment office. He joined to serve with his friends, for his country, to fight for what was right.

Thank You.

Richard Welding (December 30th 1888 – November 30th 1917)

Old Mother Riley

A more human side to this factual blog, actually a bit of a gem of family history, especially as I have early memories of my Grandad performing this party piece.

Arthur Sandiland Weldon, like the rest of the Weldon clan, had a great sense of humour, was raised in hard times and worked hard for a living, yet still had time to put on a dress and grab a handbag to amuse the family.


The party piece was to dress up as 'Old Mother Riley' who was an old Irish washerwoman made famous on stage and screen by Arthur Lucan (Born, Arthur Towle, in Boston, Lincolnshire in 1887).

Natal Day, 1909

A little piece of history from 1909, a card sent from Margaret Rebecca Edwards to Arthur Sandiland Weldons parents, Joseph and Rachel Welding.


“Accept this small card of esteem on this great natal day to show that although I am but a friend my love does not decay, with every wish for a Merry Xmas 1909 and best wishes for a bright and prosperous new year – From Maggie To Mr and Mrs Weldon and Family”

Natal day could refer to someones birthday, or a local annual holiday. The reference to Christmas indicates that it was sent later in the year.

Margaret Rebecca Edwards

Margaret Rebecca Edwards, born March 14th, 1890 in Walton, Liverpool. died about March 1972.

She was the daughter of John Edwards and Mary Ann Bird.


A photo from 1956 with Margaret, my brother Robert and my dad, Arthur. This was taken in the garden at my grandparents home at 67 Saint Gabriels Avenue, Huyton.

I have not established a relationship between Margaret, my grandmother and Dorothy, my mother. They were both originally Edwards and the families focus around the West Derby, Liverpool area. It is undeniable that social networks revolved around families and there could be a direct or indirect family connection to be discovered.

Arthur Sandiland Weldon

Arthur Sandiland Weldon, born April 25th, 1886 in the Potteries, Whiston, Lancashire. died about September 1969.

He was the son of Joseph Welding and Rachel Hardman. In my research this is a popular soundex form of the Weldon name.

He married Margaret Rebecca Edwards on August 5th, 1911 at the Presbyterian Church, Earle Road, West Derby, Liverpool.


A photo from 1956 of Arthur with his grandson, my brother Robert.

In 1911, Arthur worked as a Cable setter at the Cable works in Huyton, prior to marrying Margaret he lived at the family Fish and Chip shop, run by his mother, Rachel. The shop, which also sold milk and some fresh supplies was at number 2 Hall Lane in Huyton Quarry.

Grandparents, Weldon side.

The family Tree can be quite complicated, especially as I'm presenting this in a blog format. However, we'll approach the Weldon side first with my Grandparents and hope it all makes sense.

Lets go back to that small group wedding photo and isolate my father's parents :


From left to right, Dorothy Weldon (nee Edwards) and Arthur Herbert Weldon, his father, Arthur Sandiland Weldon and his mother, Margaret Rebecca Weldon (nee Edwards) with the best man, Stanley Joseph Weldon their nephew.

The next couple of posts will focus on Arthur Sandiland and Margaret Rebecca Weldon.

The Wedding Day

March the 29th, 1952



It was a blustery day, and the family gathered at the Sefton Park Presbyterian Church, on Croxteth Road, Liverpool.

Stanley Weldon recounts that the Wedding car broke down on the way to the Church.

They broke down on Smithdown Road, Liverpool and had to push the car. It was a cold and blustery March day and there was actually snow on the ground at the time, which was quite a miserable start to the day.

They did however, get to the church on time.

And so their story began.

It was post war England, rationing and a sense of victory over evil.

Arthur had been demobbed, given his suit and suitcase.

After his "demob", Arthur was employed as a french polisher and recounted the times when he would travel to Liverpool docks to work on ships of the Cunard line. This was a time when the Liverpool overhead railway was in operation, the trains running from Seaforth to the Dingle. The usual job involved a quick turnover on the incoming ships, a wash down and the repair and fixing of numerous listed problems on the woodwork.

Dorothy working in a Liverpool Hairdressing salon, met this young man at the Grafton Club one weekend, she subsequently turned down the lucrative Cruise ship hairdresser job for this likely lad from Huyton and their long journey together was about to begin.


Here a picture from 1948, a holiday in Wales.

Dorothy Margaret Edwards

The hairdresser of the family, my mum Dorothy.



Dorothy told stories of the local actors and actresses who frequented the salon she worked for around St. Georges Place in Liverpool Town centre.

They were from the Empire Theatre, New Shakespeare Theatre and often gawdy, sometimes openly homosexual which was very much a taboo back in the late 1940s. They did have money though, and she said that they tipped well. She recounted events at the Adelphi Hotel and wild parties that stretched into the night although she said she never witnessed these first hand.

She used to buy her cigarettes from a small tobacconists at number 16, in between the Imperial and Washington Hotels at St. Georges Place. These were probably unfiltered Woodbines which were her cigarette of choice.

Dorothy was offered at job working on the Cunard line on a cruise ship out of the Port of Liverpool, but declined as she had met the young cheeky Arthur Herbert Weldon.

Arthur Herbert Weldon

In the middle of the 1950s, my dad the taxi driver, was employed at the Meccano toy factory, Binns Road, Liverpool. The job of paint tester was basically quality control for the enamel paints that were used on the Meccano construction kit parts, toy trains and Dinky cars. Paint would be sprayed onto glass and the drying time, consistancy and colour checked



It was around this time that Arthur, during lunch and tea breaks, would sell shirts and ties to the many female employees. This was a practice that was looked down on by the bosses and may also have affected his timekeeping.

He used to cycle from Botanic Road to Binns Road via Edge Lane on his old boneshaker, which would usually take 30 minutes or so, and was warned about his timekeeping. After a bout of what Arthur called dysentry, he was late one more time and was sacked.

This was a transitional point in his life and the last time that he would work for an employer, in the process of eventually becoming a taxi driver, dad would be a barrow boy market trader, shop keeper, prawn and seafood salesman and do anything he could to "earn a note" and keep the family machine running.

Derek Hennin

Derek Hennin, who was born on the 28th December 1931 in Prescot and died in January 1989, was an English professional footballer who played as a wing half. He was part of the Bolton Wanderers side that won the 1958 FA Cup Final against Manchester United.

Hennin was a product of the St Helens Combination league, having left hometown club Prescot Cables for Bolton Wanderers in June 1949. He had to wait almost five years for his league debut against Tottenham Hotspur. He went on to make 164 league appearances for the club, with his first of his eight goals arriving against Blackpool in January 1957.

The following season saw him help Bolton reach the FA Cup final, where he was selected for the 2–0 win over Manchester United.

In February 1961 Hennin joined Chester, making his debut in a 2–1 derby win at Wrexham. He was installed as captain the following season but left the club at the end of the season after they again finished bottom of the The Football League. This marked the end of Hennin’s professional career, as he joined non-league side Wigan Athletic.

The cables by the way, was where my grandfather, Arthur Sandiland Weldon, worked as a cable setter or splicer.

Mary Wright

The lady who was a witness at my mum and dads wedding was Mary Wright, I'm assuming that she was a good friend of my mum, Dorothy, and I'm certain that she was a member of the extended Weldon family in Huyton Quarry.

She was born in Tarbock, and later, still as a baby, the family moved to Huyton, which is where the family association began. The Wright family initially lived on Hall lane in a flat over a shop that was opposite our family Fish and Chip shop.

In addition, when she was about two years old (around 1935) the family moved to St. Gabriels Avenue in Huyton, the same Avenue that my Grandparents, Arthur and Margaret, lived on.

In 1954, a year or so after my mum and dad's wedding, Mary married a footballer called Derek Hennin.

Dorothy Edwards - 1946

1946. Dorothy, Jack (John) and Betsey Edwards.

The family was living in West Derby, Liverpool and young Dorothy was sweet sixteen.


This picture was taken in Llangollen in North Wales, a lovely little market town on the edge of the river Dee.

The second World War had been over for almost a year and Dorothy was reunited with her mum and dad after being evacuated to North Wales. Around 130,000 people were evacuated from Merseyside during the war. Most came from around areas Germany was expected to target, like South Liverpool, the docks and oil storage sites, West Derby was in the expected blitz zone.

In 1939, at the age of nine, she was placed on a train at Liverpool Lime Street, along with a large group of her school friends, a name tag attached to her coat. It was true that a lot of children had a difficult time when away from their families during the war years, but Dorothy remembered those years, billeted with a family in a small village outside of Chester, as some of the most exciting and adventurous of her life, she was a self confessed tomboy and loved the country life and escapades with her new found friends.

John Edwards, who was called Jack had volunteered during the war as a part time firefighter, he was working during the day as a van driver, delivering furniture, evenings and sometimes late nights spent fighting blazes throughout the heavily bombed streets of south Liverpool.

Fusilier Arthur Weldon - 1944

Arthur was called up for his British National Service in September 1944 when he was 18 years old and was officially enlisted on the 16th November 1944.


He served in the Royal Irish Fusiliers and told me stories of being a "half track" driver in Palestine, this was a type of vehicle that had wheels at the front and tracks at the back. His service with the "Middle East Force" was from the 16th September 1945 thru to the 4th September, 1947.

He told stories of the heat, of driving those half track vehicles and of the constant threat from scorpions, terror attacks and chafing. The rule about scorpions was to always check your boots before slipping them on....

14875099 Fusilier Arthur Weldon was "A young soldier who works well in the right job. He is both sober and honest, also very clean. Should be a useful type of man" according to his testimonial from Officer Brady of Ballykinlar, the commanding depot of the Royal Irish Fusiliers (dated 2nd January 1948). If any of you out there have more information about the depot, please let me know.

Arthur was released to the Royal Army Reserve on the 23rd of March, 1948 when he received his demob suit and cardboard case.

His final discharge from Reserve liability did not arrive until the 30th June, 1959.

Total Service with the colours. 16th November 1944 thru 22nd March, 1948.

Thanks Dad.

Arthur Weldon. (1926 – 2000)

Dorothy Margaret Edwards - Tree

Here is my mums immediate family tree:

Arthur Herbert Weldon - Tree

So, before we get carried away, lets drop some facts into the process. This is my dads immediate family tree :

The Blog Concept

I've introduced the core family, and now I'd like to introduce the concept of this blog, which, hopefully, will have a defined direction, unlike some of my other attempts at blogging.

Arthur Weldon, the fine young man who was married in the photo, was my father and he died on June the 9th, 2000. The lovely lady, Dorothy Edwards, who was now a Weldon, died less than two years later on February the 24th, 2002.

In the years that followed I became somewhat of a family historian, researching through the family tree, trying to answer a lot of the questions I should have asked when they where alive, trying to fill a void that was left when they died.

The blog will be a scrapbook, of facts, stories, anecdotes and my memories of the Weldon family and friends, hopefully a precursor to a book that I will write one day.

Introducing the core Family - 1952

Introducing some of the people discussed or to be discussed in this blog:




Front and centre, the Hairdresser and the Taxi Driver. Dorothy (Edwards) and Arthur Weldon. Their wedding day, March 29th, 1952

The tall guy at the back, left hand side is my Grandfather on my mums side, "Jack" Edwards, his wife is far left "Betsey". The chap peaking over my dads shoulder is his father, my other Grandfather, and his wife Margaret, dressed in that big fur coat, is standing proudly in front.

There are three more people in the photo, peeking out of the church is my Auntie Alda and the best man, Stanley Weldon is at the top right and the maid of honour, Mary Wright is front left, next to my mum.