The Hall Family History
1786 - 2008
(Please note that the census forms and certificates may be difficult to read online, if you would like copies of them please let me know and I will send you them out to you)
Thomas Hall (1786 – 18??)
Thomas Hall was born in about 1786 in Preston; he married Mary. Looking at the 1841 census he had 2 sons, John and William and a daughter, Mary, they lived on Ratcliffe Street in Preston and Thomas was a labourer.
Mary was born in about 1796. I don't know anything more about Mary yet.
John Hall (1820-1890)
John Hall was born in about 1820 in Preston; he was the son of Thomas Hall and Mary. He married Mary Barker on 23rd November 1844 and they lived at 61 Pleasant Street in Preston. Looking at the 1861 census he had 3 sons, Henry, Edmund and Robert and a daughter, Martha A, they lived at 9 Pleasant Street in Preston and John had a job that was something to do with Iron, I can't quite make out what it says on the census form.
Mary Barker was born in about 1821 according to census forms and was from Chorley. Her father was called Richard, he was a bookkeeper. I don't know anything about her apart from the fact that at some point she was a servant.
According to the 1871 census John and the family lived at 6 Knowsley Street in Preston and John was an Iron Dresser (A Foundry Worker who cleaned sand and impurities from cast metal from a mould). In 1881 John was a General labourer and lived with Mary and a lodger called Edward McCann (a 51 year old musician).
John died on 28th May 1890 aged 70 and was interred at Preston Cemetery on 31st May 1890 - Grave E606. (Uncle Leo's notes show that John Hall was 65 years old when he died but on the actual gravestone it clearly shows that he was 70 years old, this also ties in with his birth year given on all the census forms – they clearly state that he was born in about 1820/1821).
Mary died on 15th January 1884 aged 67, if this was right it would make her birth year 1817 so could the gravestone read 1888? Mary was interred at Preston Cemetery – Grave E606.
Mary's age is not on the marriage certificate so I cannot confirm this as yet.
William Hall (1828 – 18??)
William Hall was born in about 1828 in Preston; he was the son of Thomas Hall and Mary. According to the 1841 census he lived on Ratcliffe Street in Preston and he was a cotton picker/packer?
Mary Hall (1832 – 18??)
Mary Hall was born in about 1832 in Preston; she was the daughter of Thomas Hall and Mary. According to the 1841 census she lived on Ratcliffe Street in Preston.
Henry Hall (1845-1918)
Henry Hall was born at 61 Pleasant Street in Preston on 2nd August 1845. He was the son of John Hall and Mary Barker (I have a copy of his birth certificate).
According to the 1861 census Henry was an Apprentice Wood Turner and lived with his family at 9 Pleasant Street in Preston, in 1871 they lived at 6 Knowsley Street in Preston and at that time Henry was a Cabinet Maker.
Henry Hall married Margaret Mary Southworth in 1872 in Preston and they had 3 sons, Robert Augustine, John Edward and Stephen and 2 daughters, Mary Alice and Margaret Mary. In 1881 the family lived at 20 Dawson Street, Henry was a Joiner by trade and they had a lodger called Ellen Gamlet (a 24 year old Cotton Weaver). In 1891 Henry was a Cabinet Maker and the family lived at 28 Peel Hall Street in Preston , they no longer had a lodger.
Margaret Mary Southworth was born in 1846 in Preston , her mother was called Mary who was a descendent of Southworth's Samlesbury Hall; Father John Southworth was a Martyr. Originally Samlesbury Hall belonged to the D'Ewyas family and was situated on the River Ribble but it was destroyed by Robert the Bruce after the Battle of Bannockburn, it was rebuilt in 1325 by Gilbert de Southworth from Warrington as he married Alice D'Ewyas in the early 1320's. A John Cooper bought the Hall in 1850 when Margaret was just 4 years old! (More information will be revealed when I trace the Southworth's family tree.)
In 1881 Margaret was a Cotton Weaver but she seemed to have ceased work by the time the 1891 census was filled in.
The 1901 census shows that Henry was a Joiner/Carpenter and the family lived at 11 Dove Street in Preston, Alice Little (aged 50) was living with them and it states on the census that she was widowed and was Henry's sister-in-law; I presume she was Margaret Mary Southworth's sister?
Henry died on 6th December 1918 aged 73 and was interred at Preston Cemetery on 12th December 1919 – Grave E606.
Margaret Mary died on 2nd February 1911 aged 65 and was interred at Preston Cemetery on 6th February 1911 – Grave E606. Margaret's mother, Mary Southworth, is buried in the same Grave; she was born in 1814 and died on the 9th June 1873 aged 59.
Edmund (Ted) Hall (1850-19??)
Edmund Hall was born in about 1850 in Preston, the son of John Hall and Mary Barker. In 1861 he lived at home with his parents at 9 Pleasant Street in Preston and in 1871 he was still living with his parents but at 6 Knowsley Street in Preston , at this time he was a Tailor. I can't seem to find out anything about him in 1881 so he could have lodged somewhere until he married. Edmund married Mary Laton on 30th April 1882, in 1891 they were living at 12 Elizabeth Street in Preston and had 2 sons, Edmund and Joseph and a daughter Margaret Mary, they also had two lodgers, Margaret (a 31 year old Cotton Throstle Spinner – someone who attended a spinning machine known as a Throstle, the machine was used for the continuous spinning of cotton or wool onto long rows of pins or bobbins) and Mary Bulger (aged 5).
Mary was born in Preston in about 1853, the daughter of Joseph. In 1881 Mary lived at 12 Egan Street South in Preston. In 1891 Mary was a Brush Drawer (someone who fixed the bristles into the stock or handle of a brush). I don't know anything more about her.
In 1901 two more daughters were on the census, Elizabeth and Mary. Margaret Mary was no longer on it, neither were the lodgers.
It took me a long time to trace Edmund as the only information I had at the time was that John Hall married someone called Mary and had two sons, Henry and ‘Uncle Ted' and that ‘Uncle Ted' had a daughter called Elizabeth. I presumed that ‘Ted' was just short for Edward so I was looking for an Edward whose parents were John and Mary Hall with a brother called Henry but I couldn't find anything so I started searching for Henry Hall and the only John and Mary from Preston who had a son called Henry that I could find also had a son called Edmund. I presume ‘Ted' can also be short for Edmund! I tried searching for an Edward Hall who had a daughter called Elizabeth but couldn't find anything again but I eventually came across an Edmund from Preston who had a daughter called Elizabeth . I can now confirm that this Edmund is Uncle Ted as I have his marriage certificate.
Martha A Hall (1852-19??)
Martha A Hall was born in about 1852 in Preston . She was the daughter of John Hall and Mary Barker. In 1861 she lived at home with her parents at 9 Pleasant Street in Preston and in 1871 she was still living with her parents but at 6 Knowsley Street in Preston, at this time she was a Brush Drawer and I think she may have worked with Mary (Edmund's wife) who was also a Brush Drawer, this is probably how Edmund got to know her. Martha and Mary were about the same age so they could have even gone to school together.
I can't seem to find out anything more about her; maybe she left home and married?
Robert Hall (1856-18??)
Robert Hall was born in about 1856 in Preston . He was the son of John Hall and Mary Barker. In 1861 he lived at home with his parents at 9 Pleasant Street in Preston but he is not on the 1871 census, I can only presume that he died between 1861 and 1871 (aged between 5 and 15 years).
Robert Augustine Hall (1874-1946)
Robert Augustine Hall was born on 16th May 1874 in Preston; he was the son of Henry Hall and Margaret Mary Southworth. In 1881 he lived at 20 Dawson Street in Preston with his family. In 1891 Robert was a Cotton Weaver and lived with his family at 28 Peel Hall Street in Preston . In 1901 he lived at 11 Dove Street in Preston – still with his parents.
I seem to have been told that Robert Augustine was a Rubber Worker by trade and resided at 123 North Road in Preston but this doesn't seem to fit, I suppose he could have done this when he left home although the information I have says he was a retired Cotton Weaver? Did he live at 123 North Road in Preston? (Uncle Leo says that according to the Preston Directory for 1922 123 North Road was listed as a Catholic Repository shop run by Aunties Maggie and Cissie – Unlce Leo says he and Uncle Frank were once taken there in the late 1920's and he thought it was closing down, he thinks there was living accommodation in the premises).
Robert married Mary Barwise at St Ignatius Church in Preston in 1910. I presume they then went to live at 70 Meadow Street in Preston .
Mary Barwise was born in 1880 in Meadow Street in Preston, the daughter of William Barwise and Ann Fort, she was baptised in St. Ignatius Church. (I will have more information when I trace the Barwise family tree.)
I was told Robert was unfit for the 1914-18 war. (Uncle Leo says that Robert did Rubber work in Leyland during WW1 and he cut his thumb rather badly in the course of his work).
Robert and Mary had a son called Henry Aloysius. Henry Aloysius stayed with Robert Augustine's sisters, Cissie and Maggie, when Mary died and ended up living with them due to family friction when Robert Augustine remarried.
Mary Barwise died at home at 70 Meadow Street on 1st July 1914 aged 34 from a blood clot just 2 weeks after giving birth to Henry Aloysius; she was interred on 4th July 1914 at Preston Cemetery – Grave B133. I presume the undertakers were J. Barwise & Sons as they were Mary's relatives.
Robert married Elizabeth Mary Gee on 7th August 1919 at St Ignatius R.C. Church in Preston by Father E. Ratcliffe, Margaret Mary Hall and James Hayhurst were witnesses. I think they then lived at 2 Dove Street in Preston .
Elizabeth Mary Gee was born on 17th December 1887, the daughter of Thomas Gornall and Alice Ann Rigby. Elizabeth was a Tailoress; she was a widow and had 2 children, John and Winifred Gee. (I do have information about the Gee's if anyone would like a copy.)
Robert Augustine and Elizabeth Mary had 4 sons, Francis, Joseph Leo, Robert and Robert .
Robert Augustine retired as a Cotton Weaver. He died in Ribchester House, Ribchester Road , Longridge on the 4th April 1946, aged 72 from Myocarditiris and Arteriosclerosis, he was interred at Preston Cemetery on 9th April 1946 - Grave BB664, Burial No. 6716, and the undertakers were J. Barwise & Sons (relatives of his first wife Mary).
Elizabeth Mary died on the 19th July 1965 in Preston Royal Infirmary from Bronchopneumonia, aged 78; she was interred at Preston Cemetery on 23rd July 1965 – Grave BB664, Burial No. 78030. The undertakers were J. Barwise & Sons.
Mary Alice (Cissie) Hall (1878-1958)
Mary Alice (Cissie) Hall was born in 1878; she was the daughter of Henry Hall and Margaret Mary Southworth. In 1881 she lived at 20 Dawson Street in Preston with her family and in 1891 she lived at 28 Peel Hall Street in Preston, by this time she was a Cotton Weaver. (Uncle Leo says that according to the Preston Directory for 1922 123 North Road was listed as a Catholic Repository shop run by Aunties Maggie and Cissie – Uncle Leo says he and Uncle Frank were once taken there in the late 1920's and he thought it was closing down, he thinks there was living accommodation in the premises).
Mary along with her sister Margaret Mary (Auntie Maggie) brought up her nephew Henry Aloysius Hall from when he was a baby until he married at the age of 25 because there was a lot of friction in the family caused by Henry's father's second marriage to Elizabeth Mary Gee. Mary Alice died on the 24th January 1958 aged 80 (the undertakers were J. Barwise & Sons), she was interred at Preston Cemetery on 29th January 1958 – Grave E606.
John Edward (Jack) Hall (1880-1928)
John Edward (Jack) Hall was born in about 1880 in Preston , the son of Henry Hall and Margaret Mary Southworth. In 1881 he lived at 20 Dawson Street with his family. Sometime before 1891 the family moved to 28 Peel Hall Street in Preston and by 1901 they had moved to 11 Dove Street and John had become a Grocers Assistant.
John married Mary Swarbrick in February 1907 in Preston and in 1909 they had a son, John Francis, unfortunately he died when he was just 3 months old. Some years later John and Mary adopted a daughter, May.
John was a Commercial Traveller (in provisions so Uncle Leo thinks) which is how he would have met Mary as her family had a little shop on Meadow Street . When John married Mary they took over the running of the shop (at 96 Meadow Street ) which was noted for its ‘Everton Toffee'.
Mary Swarbrick was born in Preston in 1878; I think she was the daughter of John Swarbrick.
According to Uncle Leo's notes John died in 1928 aged 50, this would have made him Mary Alice Hall's twin brother which we know he wasn't. On all the census forms it shows that John was born in about 1880 so if he did die in 1928 he would have only been 48 years old. John was interred at Preston Cemetery – Grave T848. When John died he left his eldest brother, Robert Augustine, £15 (apparently Robert and Elizabeth bought a second hand piano with the money).
Mary died in 1927 aged 49 and was interred at Preston Cemetery – Grave T848.
Stephen Hall (1882-1884)
Stephen Hall was born in 1882 and lived at 20 Dawson Street in Preston; he was the son of Henry Hall and Margaret Mary Southworth. Stephen died on the 29th August 1884 when he was just 21 months old; he was interred at Preston Cemetery on 2nd September 1884– Grave E606.
Edmund Hall (1883-19??)
Edmund Hall was born in 1883 in Preston. He was the son of Edmund Hall and Mary Laton. In 1891 he lived at home with his parents at 12 Elizabeth Street and in 1901 he was an Apprentice Moulder.
Joseph Hall (1885-19??)
Joseph Hall was born in 1885 in Preston . He was the son of Edmund Hall and Mary Laton. In 1891 he lived at home with his parents at 12 Elizabeth Street and in 1901 he was an Apprentice Clogger (Joseph either made wooden shoes ‘clogs' or he worked in the Cheshire Salt Mines – a ‘Clogger' would insert ribs in the base of a salt tub which supported the raised perforated base plate to facilitate drainage).
Margaret Mary (Maggie) Hall (1887-1963)
Margaret Mary Hall was born on 4th February 1887, the daughter of Henry Hall and Margaret Mary Southworth. In 1901 she lived at 11 Dove Street with her family and she was a Cotton Weaver. (Uncle Leo says that according to the Preston Directory for 1922 123 North Road was listed as a Catholic Repository shop run by Aunties Maggie and Cissie – Uncle Leo says he and Uncle Frank were once taken there in the late 1920's and he thought it was closing down, he thinks there was living accommodation in the premises).
Along with her sister Mary (Auntie Cissie) she brought up her nephew Henry Aloysius Hall from when he was a baby until he married at the age of 25 because of friction in the family caused by Henry's father's second marriage to Elizabeth Mary Gee. According to Uncle Leo Auntie Maggie used to play at being Father Christmas when her nephew's came to see her and Auntie Cissie – on these occasions Henry Hall would be with them but Elizabeth Mary Gee never accompanied them. Margaret Mary died on 2nd February 1963 aged 76 and was interred at Preston Cemetery on the 7th February 1963 by J. Barwise & Sons – Grave E606.
Margaret Mary Hall (1890-19??)
Margaret Mary Hall was born in 1890 in Preston. She was the daughter of Edmund Hall and Mary Laton. In 1891 she lived at home with her parents at 12 Elizabeth Street but she was not on the 1901 census, I can only presume she died sometime between 1891 and 1901. A sister Mary was born in 1892 so maybe Margaret Mary died before she was born?
Mary Hall (1892-19??)
Mary Hall was born in 1892 in Preston. She was the daughter of Edmund Hall and Mary Laton. In 1901 she lived with her family at 12 Elizabeth Street in Preston .
Elizabeth Hall (1895-1962)
Elizabeth Hall was born the daughter of Edmund Hall and Mary Laton in Preston in 1895. They resided at 12 Elizabeth Street in Preston in 1901. Elizabeth had a son Francis Joseph Embery on 26th February 1915. On the 3rd June 1915 she married Francis Embery in Preston.
Francis Embery was born in 1896 and I think he was the son of Thomas Embery and Annie. I think Francis was killed in action in WWI in 1915.
On 27th February 1924 Elizabeth married William James White and they lived at 1 Park Avenue which was opposite St. Gregory's School in Preston, they had two sons, William M and Edmund Aloysius.
William James (Bill) White was born on 6th May 1893, he was an Engineer.
Elizabeth died in 1962.
May (Mary) Hall (19??-19??)
May (Mary) Hall was adopted by John Edward (Jack) Hall and Mary Swarbrick. May was sent to a Convent Grammar School in Preston and then she went to Teacher Training College . She taught at St Gregory's School where she taught Standard One (7+ Children), she left in 1929 when she married William Ignatius Richardson (from St Gregory's Road) – which was apparently the custom in those days. They lived in Meadow Street.
John Francis Hall (1909-1909)
John Francis Hall was born in 1909, the son of John Edward (Jack) Hall and Mary Swarbrick. John Francis died in 1909 when he was just 3 months old; he was interred at Preston Cemetery – Grave T848.
Henry (Harry) Aloysius Hall ( 1914-1999)
Henry Aloysius Hall was born on the 15th June 1914 in Meadow Street , the son of Robert Augustine Hall and Mary Barwise. Henry was baptised on the 21st or 22nd June 1914 at St Ignatius R.C. Church and was confirmed in the same church, his confirmation name was Patrick. Henry Aloysius' mother, Mary Barwise, died from a blood clot at home in June 1914 just 2 weeks after giving birth to Henry. He was brought up by his two Aunts, Mary (Cissie) and Margaret Mary (Maggie); this was due to friction in the family caused when his father, Robert Augustine Hall, married Elizabeth Mary Gee, apparently the friction was caused because Elizabeth Mary Gee was widowed in 1918 and married Henry's father, Robert Augustine, in 1919! Henry remembered being taken by May (Uncle John/Jack's daughter) and William Ignatius Richardson to watch the Wedding car containing his dad and step-mother after their marriage.
Henry went to St Ignatius Boys Primary and Elementary School in Preston and left when he was 14, during this time he suffered from a nervous disease called St. Vitas Dance (a disease known as Sydenham's chorea which can be a complication of Rheumatic Fever. The disease affects children between the ages of 7 & 14 and causes face grimacing and jerking movements which eventually disappear). When Henry was 9 he had to be wheeled out in a pram, he says he used to pull faces at all who passed (so that's where he got those funny faces from!). He had his last attack when he was 14 when he was working for Blackburn Pawnbrokers as an assistant.
Henry said he had a good upbringing and that his dad used to visit him every week. Money was scarce but he never went short of anything. His Aunts took in a lodger who lived with them until he got married. Henry said they all had a good time at home. Henry and his best friend, Frank Thompson, served the Nuptual Mass at St. Gregory's (Uncle Leo thinks this was at St Ignatius but Grandad definitely wrote St Gregory's).
Henry left home when he was 25 when he married Margaret Agnes Marsden on 22nd June 1939 at St. Ignatius R.C. Church in Preston , they had a daughter Margaret Mary and a son called Michael.
Margaret Agnes Marsden was born the daughter of John Marsden and Margaret Agnes Rigg on 12th September 1910 at Kent Street in Preston. (There will be more information about her when I trace the Marsden and Rigg family trees.)
Henry served in the Special Constabulary during the war; he also worked at Blackburn Clothing Club, a Gents Outfitters in Lancashire, the Cheshire Rubber Company and the Lancashire Steel Corporation. Henry and Margaret resided at 12 Willow Crescent in Warrington.
Henry (Harry as Grandma used to call him) said he enjoyed life with Margaret for 69 years until her death in 1992. Harry moved to Camellia Court, Green Park Nursing Home, Great Sankey, Warrington where he stayed until he died on 14th September 1999 aged 85; he is buried with his wife in Christchurch Graveyard in Padgate.
Margaret Agnes died on 16th September 1992 from Carcinomatosis aged 82. She is buried in Christchurch Graveyard in Padgate, Warrington .
It's difficult to describe how I will remember Harry (my Grandad), he was a complicated man – on the one hand he could be very funny, always pulling funny faces and trying to make us laugh with his knee and hand squeezes, I remember sitting on his knee while he was smoking his pipe and I remember him trying to tickle my sister Janet because she was so ticklish and she hated it…..on the other hand he was very strict – always shouting at us to mind the flowers when we played in the garden, sometimes you couldn't tell if he was joking with you or being serious….he could be very grumpy and complained about his ailments all the time. Another thing I remember him for was his thing for washing up – he would be up from the table and be washing the pots before you had even eaten your dinner, if you didn't watch out he would take your plate from right under your nose!!!
September 1990 - Henry & Margaret Hall
Francis (Frank) Jo seph Embery (1915-1984)
Francis (Frank) Joseph Embery was born on the 26th February 1915, the son of Francis Embery and Elizabeth Hall – his parents were not married when he was born and he was baptised Frank Joseph Embery Hall.
I have at last found him in my searches but have no idea if he married or had a family anywhere. From the Death Index I found out that he was called Francis Joseph Embery and not Frank Joseph Embery Hall as I was led to believe through Uncle Leo's notes. Francis died in January 1984 aged 68 in Preston.
Francis (Frank) Hall (1920-2005)
Francis Hall was born the son of Robert Augustine Hall and Elizabeth Mary Gee on 6th May 1920 in Preston. The family is quite complicated due to his father's first marriage to Mary Barwise and his mother's first marriage to Leonard Gee. Frank's brothers and sisters were Henry (Harry) Aloysius Hall - his half brother, Joseph Leo Hall, Robert Hall, Robert Hall, John Gee - his step brother and Winifred Gee - his step sister.
I found out about Francis' Army life completely by accident, when I wrote to family members asking them for information I discovered that Francis had been in the war, I was intrigued by this – when I was growing up I had never heard him mention it once. I couldn't quite believe that this quiet giant of a man fought in the war! We started corresponding by letter and I managed to put this story together with the help from other family members. I have now added to or corrected some more of this information thanks to Uncle Leo's ‘Extra Addendum' to his ‘In Memory' notes.
The family resided at 2 Dove Street in Preston. Francis was baptised in May 1920 at St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church in Preston. In 1921 his brother Joseph Leo was born and in 1922 his brother Robert was born but he sadly died in 1925 from Diphtheria and Whooping Cough. Francis apparently hovered between life and death as a baby, a weakness in his kidney/bladder, he was given TLC by both his parents 24 hours a day to make him comfortable and he was encouraged to breast feed as normal. His mum prayed to St Joseph for the welfare of her sick child and it paid off (Uncle Leo says that he was rather frail and anaemic when they were growing up but he soon changed). Francis started School with Joseph Leo (Leo as he was to be known) on the day St. Gregory's opened in August 1926, they both left on the same day as their mother thought they were not learning enough, actually Uncle Leo says that their parents were disgusted that Francis had not been entered in the eleven-plus exam so their dad had a word with the headmaster of St Ignatius and they both went there together.
In 1927 or 28 Francis was confirmed, his confirmation name was Joseph. In 1927 his brother Robert was born but sadly he died in 1931 from Meningitis, in the same year both Leo and Francis started school at St. Ignatius Elementary School .
Francis (or Frank as we all came to know and love him) said he didn't ever remember seeing his grandparents Henry and Margaret Mary Hall but he did remember an Uncle Ted that used to visit occasionally and he thought he was his fathers Uncle (I know that this is correct and Uncle Ted was actually Edmund, Henry Hall's brother). Frank says he was no more than 10 years old and didn't really know but he said he remembered an Uncle Jack ( John) and Aunty Mary and that they ran a shop in Meadow Street and adopted a girl called May who was in her early 20's (this is correct, Uncle Jack and Auntie Mary were his dad's brother and sister-in-law and they adopted a girl called May but she was younger than 20 when they adopted her).
Frank left school at the age of 14 and became a general dogs body until he was called up for Military Service on 15th August 1940 at the age of 20, he was 5ft 11inches tall and weighed 143.4lbs, his chest measurement was 35.5ins and he had brown hair and blue eyes, his medical classification was B1 (he failed for the Royal Navy but served 4 years out of 6 at sea). Frank (1560550 Gunner Frank Hall, Royal Artillery) did his training in the Light Anti-Aircraft (Ack-Ack) Gunnery of about 10 weeks at Saighton Camp in Chester and in October 1940 he served on Gun Sites at Cambuslang in Glasgow and an Airfield in Dumfries .
Frank Hall - On the reverse it says: “All my love Frank xxxxxx”
In early 1941 men were being shanghaied for a new Force ‘Army & Navy' to man guns aboard Merchant Ships, Frank volunteered (according to Uncle Leo this was astonishing, apparently it was a well known fact in the Army that you didn't volunteer for anything) and went to Middlesbrough (for briefing and training) with about 40 men, 10 men left there and went onto Falmouth. After 2 weeks in Middlesbrough Frank boarded a Coaster, the ‘Limberg', about 340 tons bound for Glasgow carrying Granite, it had a crew of 8 – a Captain, a Chief Officer, 2 Engineers, 2 Seamen and 2 Gunners. Gunners (Army & Navy) were signed on as Deckhands and were paid a princely sum of 1 shilling a month (5p); Naval Ratings came to be called D.E.M.S Ratings (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships), Army Ratings – Maritime A.A. Regiment. Frank got a stripe, L/BDR (Lance Bombardier – he says he has no idea how……) when he joined the 1st Maritime A.A. Regiment, Royal Artillery. Three days later Frank arrived in Glasgow and joined another ship called the ‘Baron Elphinstone' in Dundee in April 1941, on 24th April 1941 he met Anna Fenwick and was in Port for about a week before sailing for Glasgow again. The next ship (in about May 1941) was the Irish Ferry (Burns, Laird Line) called the ‘Lairds Rose', Frank was on this ship for about 3 months sailing between Glasgow and Londonderry twice a week, he said that they lived like fighting cocks……
After some leave Frank and a pal of his did a trip to Melilla, Spanish Morocco on a Tramp Steamer where they picked up a cargo of Iron Ore for Middlesbrough, they were attacked 3 nights on the trot by U-Boat packs, they lost 11 ships out of a convoy of 22 between Gibraltar and the UK. Frank then sailed as a Deckhand on a Royal Mail Ship called ‘H.M.V. Pampas', they landed in New York about 8 days after USA declared war on Japan and Germany. On 22nd December 1941 Frank got his Alien Registration Card (No. 9185066) from the Untied States Justice Department, Washington DC.
In 1942 while Frank was in New York $1.50 was equivalent to 7 shillings and sixpence, Whisky cost between 40 and 60 cents per nip, Beer cost between 10 and 25 cents per glass and the sizes of glasses varied as there was no standard measure. The Beer was very cold and too much would give you violent pains in your stomach. The standard price of a journey on the subway or on a bus was 5 cents, a visit to a New York nightclub would have cost about 2 weeks pay and a visit to the top of the Empire State Building cost 50 cents or was free on a Wednesday and Sunday.
From New York they sailed to the Bahamas and then landed in Trinidad on 15th January 1942, they got to Capetown on 3rd February 1942 and from there they went to Durban – through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal – to Port Said where they unloaded and sailed to Alexandria where they loaded for Malta, from there they set sail in a convoy of a Naval Supply Ship, 4 Merchantmen with an escort of 5 Cruisers and 17 Destroyers or Corvettes, they lost a ship when it hit a mine 1 day out of Alexandria, from then on everything was thrown at them, they had air raids in plenty, the Italian Battle Fleet turned out but were kept at bay by Royal Navy Escorts, they made it to the Grand Harbour but not before they were hit by 2 bombs which did little damage. In Harbour they were not allowed to fire any of their guns in case they got caught up in the crossfire between the Dive-bombers and the shore A.A. Batteries, they were allotted an air raid shelter – a huge cavern with 40ft of rock above them, after three days while Frank and the other 3 Army Gunners were ashore the ‘Pampas' was hit by Junkers 87's and 88's. In the shallow water of the harbour the ‘ Pampas ' settled on the bottom so Frank and some crew went and rescued kit, guns and anything else they could find. A Launch came to pick up all the Gunners (Army 4 and Navy about 12) and took them to Naval Shore Bases, Frank and the 3 other Army Gunners were taken to a Marine Base at Fort St. Angelo for about a week and were then brought home to the UK on ‘HMS Aurora' and not without incident, the ‘Aurora' carried her own crew and part of 6 other crews of survivors, about twice the amount it should carry.
Frank was taken to Liverpool and given 14 days ‘survivors' leave and then went back to the ‘Maritime' at Leslie in Fife, he and the 3 other Army Gunners from the ‘Pampas' had to give an account of the Malta convoy to the C.O. of the Regiment, he must have thought they had done ok because he gave the 3 Gunners a stripe and promoted Frank to Bombardier (two stripes), Frank said ‘it was to steady their nerves, ha ha……'
On 17th January 1943 Frank was in the Med and joined the Shore Base ‘Canopus II' where he was given room B; his rank was Lance-Sergeant with the Royal Artillery (L.A.A.). In February 1943 Frank found himself on a Troopship with about 3 or 4,000 men, he was with a contingent of 100 Gunners, during the trip they crossed the ‘LINE' (Equator) and things were quiet at the time so they had a ‘LINE Crossing Ceremony', it lasted about an hour. Young 2nd Lieutenants still wet behind the ears were put through their paces…..‘An enjoyable afternoon with plenty of hosing down being done'. On the 12th February 1943 Frank received the following certificate (VENI VIDI VICI) from the ships Master:
“We Dolphinius, Secretary of the Seven Seas, demand and ordain in the name of His Oceanic Majesty Neptune, Defender of the Deep, all those Whales, Sea Serpents, One-eyed Steaks, Eels, Sharks, Barracouta, Mermaids, Octopi, Crustaceans, Polliwogs, Tiddlers and other denizens of the vasty deeps to refrain from playing with or otherwise maltreating our Loyal Shellback…
Frank Hall
And he, having been this Twelfth day of February, in the year of grace, Nineteen Hundred and Forty-Three, duly and with all time-honoured ceremony, initiated into our watery mysteries, be allowed to pass freely throughout our Domains without let or hindrance and be afforded every help and protection of which he may stand in need, whereof nor you nor any of you shall act to the contrary as ye shall surely answer to your peril.
Given under our standard flipper in His Britannic Majesty's Troopship, in latitude 00 00, neither North nor South in the Atlantic Ocean , Dolphinius.
G Goold
Master”
On the 13th May 1943 Frank changed Troopship to the ‘Devonshire' at Durban, after staying there under canvas for 3 weeks he went to Port Said and from there he signed on ‘S.S. St. Lawrence' ready for invasion of Sicily – although at the time Frank said they didn't know where. They were in at dawn, first light, and dropped hook on the South East Tip of Sicily with many more ships like them; they carried Jerry cans in No. 1 hold and were glad to see the back of the Petrol. All the ships discharged cargo at Anchorage onto Amphibians of all sizes, it lasted about 4 days and nights and they were bombed and lit up with Star Shells at night. Leaving Sicily they sailed to the Algiers to drop Italian P.O.W's and a few Yanks who had been caught in the crossfire between the Italians and the Brits. The trips at the time ran between Durban, Sicily (Syracuse & Catania), and Port Said and down to Lourenco Marques (Portuguese East Africa about 250 miles from Durban). Frank said he didn't know how many times they went up and down that coast but he visited Mombasa , Aden , Massawa and Sudan , sometimes more than once on his travels, he also sailed to Taranto 3 or 4 times in November 1943. Frank earned £5.10 between 13th May 1943 and 24th April 1944 – after deductions he received just £1.41.
The next ship Frank sailed on was the ‘Empire Unicorn' (his official No. was 180067) from Port Said to Beirut ready for the invasion of the South of France on 26th June 1944, Frank said he managed to see his brother John Gee whilst he was in Jerusalem but he had to be back aboard the ship the next day in Beirut, they had a cargo of drivers and their trucks aboard and some French/Syrian Troops, they dropped the hook about half a mile from the shore near Toulon and apart from a few E-Boat scares it was an uneventful trip. Frank's wages on the ‘Empire Unicorn' from 26th June 1944 to the 22nd August 1944 were £3.12, his deductions were £3.76!!!! Frank got home leave after being abroad for over 2 years.
The next trip was to New Zealand on the ‘Empire Grace' which could do about 20 knots (much the same speed as the ‘Pampas' and about 10 to 12000 tons), it took 5 weeks to get there going through the Panama Canal and calling at Pitcairn Island to deliver mail (it took 5 weeks to get back going the same way, they didn't have a convoy). They spent 2 to 3 weeks in Auckland and Wellington and then back to Auckland. Frank worked unloading ships in Auckland and got 1 shilling 9 (8 or 9p in new money) per hour (Uncle Leo says ‘Not bad pay!'). A Dutch Coaster, 340 tons – the same as the ‘Lindberg' was the next Tramp, the English translation of the name was the ‘Two Brothers', (Frank wrote that he needn't tell me what everyone used to call it – I don't know what he meant!!!! Uncle Leo said it was called the ‘Two Buggers' by all aboard – you see I didn't know what Uncle Frank meant!), they called at Blyth, Seaham Harbour or South Shields to pick up coal and take it to one of the power stations further south like Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Ipswich or Harwich, they had the same number of crew as the ‘Lindberg' (8), the Gunners did the cooks job so they made a few bob for themselves. The next few trips they took supplies into Antwerp from London Docks on the ‘Fort Chippy-y-ain' (Frank said that was not the right spelling but it sounded like that), here they were introduced to the V1 and V2 rockets on both sides of the Channel, the rockets stopped on about 1st May 1945 and the war with Germany stopped on the 8th May 1945.
‘Now for the Japs' (yes that is exactly what Uncle Frank wrote), Frank did a months course in Southport (Uncle Leo says it was probably aircraft recognition, Kamikaze attacks, land combat, technical and procedural advances) and joined the crew of the ‘Empress of Australia' and sailed from Liverpool through the Panama to Hawaii (Honolulu), on their way to Okinawa, a recent US capture, an atom bomb was dropped on Japan and then another about 2 days later (Uncle Leo says ‘to the great relief of all service personnel') and so the war ended, Frank's ship was diverted to Hong Kong to drop off the RAF Troops they had aboard and replace them with ‘our own lads' – POW's in the Far East, Frank said they were such a sorry sight that they took the long way round to come home to give the lads some time to put some meat on their bones! (Uncle Leo says that the men would weigh about 7 stones each on average, they would gain weight quickly, the new flesh taking the same shape as pre-starvation muscle, but would lack even minimal strength and be painful to squeeze. The men would eat ravenously, the obsessive desire of hunger being to pass large gobbets of food down the gullet, leading to violent pains of stretched stomachs and surrounding muscles which had been greatly shrunk during their starvation captivity.)
Frank had been called up on the 15 th August 1940 and the war ended on the 15 th August 1945, the day he celebrated the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – a memorable day for Francis Hall.
Frank returned from his around the world trip sometime in November. Before he went to Brussels to serve in the BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) he spent some time in Ostend in a Transit camp, Uncle Frank said he couldn't remember being so cold in all his life, in Brussels it was just as bad except that it was brick built instead of a Tin Nissan Hut that they had to live in, in St. Anne's Barracks about half a dozen of them went from Ostend to Brussels and one by one they had to go and see the C.O, Frank thought that before they left Ostend all the jobs were sorted out for them, Frank landed being Lance Corporal of the town guardroom, one of his jobs was to patrol the street with the Regimental Police from 2300 hours every night, attend Jerker's (accused) parade every morning, attend Court Marshals 3 or 4 times a week, escort ‘our lads' from one place to another and be a general dogs body. A few of the charges for the court marshals were falsified Pay Books and knocking off blankets and Jeeps or anything one could get his hands on – these usually got a sentence of about 6 months to a year but Uncle Frank said he had one man that got 20 years, he was working in the NAAFI when he was taken prisoner and was persuaded to broadcast on the German Radio, he served his sentence in the UK. Another man got a similar sentence; he was caught by the Jerry's and was persuaded to fight for the ‘Free British' on the Russian Front. Frank only went to Germany once, himself and 9 more guards or escorts took 9 of ‘our lads' serving detention from Brussels to a detention centre in Bielefeld, they had them handcuffed in 3 lots of 3, Frank said that he was glad when the bodies were handed over to the guards in Bielefeld – whilst this was happening the Rhine was in full flood and at the crossing at Cologne it was very precarious, they crossed on the train on a track of Bailey Bridging and found out when they got back that the crossing was unsafe so they were stranded for about 3 days around Dortmund until it was safe.
While Frank was with ‘Maritime' he was promoted L/Sgt (Lance Sergeant), A/Sgt (Acting Sergeant) and W/Sgt (Warrant Sergeant) which came automatically. On 3rd December 1945 Frank (No. 1560550, Rank Acting Sergeant) was awarded from the War Office the following ribbons:- 1939/45 Star, Africa Star, Pacific Star, Italy Star, Atlantic Star and the France & Germany Clasp and the Victory Medal.
Frank said that the last 9 months seemed longer than the other 6 years put together.
By 1946 Frank was a Warrant Sergeant. On the 4th April 1946 Frank's father died from Myocarditiris and Arteriosclerosis. Frank was demobbed on about 1st July 1946 at Ashton-Under-Lyme, after a few days at home he went back to Dundee and arranged for Anna to become a Catholic to which they had both agreed. Frank went to St. Andrews Cathedral and one of the priests arranged for a Sister Catherine to give Anna instructions, Anna was received in the Church and was confirmed at the same time, her confirmation name is Mary.
Anna Irvine Fenwick was born on the 22nd July 1922 in Dundee, the daughter of James Irvine Fenwick and Florence Annie McDonald. Anna went to Victoria Road Primary School and Stobswell Middle School in Dundee .
Anna Hall aged 26
On 1st August 1946 the Army Pay Office in Oldham deposited Frank's pay into a Post Office Savings Bank, he received the following:-
War Gratuity 70 months as W/Sgt £49.00
Post War Credits from 01/01/42 to 30/06/46 £41.01s
TOTAL DEPOSITED £90.01s
On the 17th October 1946 at St. Gregory's R.C. Church in Preston Frank married Anna Irvine Fenwick, they lived at 18 Castleton Road, Preston until his mother passed away on 19th July 1965 from Bronchopneumonia. Frank and Anna then moved to 8 Tinkerfield, Fulwood in Preston, a brand new bungalow with a garden at the front and rear – at last Frank could do what he loved the most, his gardening!
Frank was a Plasterer and Tiler and retired in March 1982.
Anna is a retired Secretary; she retired on 16th September 1984.
Frank said that he visited his brother John Gee every week to take him some soup or baking (I presume that Aunty Anna had baked) or anything else that was going, he also said he used to go and see his brother-in-law Bill Dobson every month (Winifred Gee's husband); it sounds like he spent a lot of time visiting and helping others.
Frank (my Great Uncle Frank – my Grandad's half brother) died suddenly from a stroke on Wednesday 16th November 2005 aged 85 and was buried on the 23rd November 2005 in Preston Cemetery– Grave BB664.
I will always remember Uncle Frank as the big quiet man with a massive smile. I used to love visiting Uncle Frank and Aunty Anna - for their great hospitality (they managed to seat us all around their table in that little kitchen!). Uncle Frank was the quiet man outside in his garden (I remember Janet and I playing out in the garden and Janet falling in the Rose bushes!!!) or sat in his chair in the front room. Aunty Anna was the one that always made me laugh, always had an apron on and in and out of the kitchen; she was the noisy chatterbox type and she never seemed to sit down!!! She still chatters and makes me laugh and she still doesn't sit down!!!!
Every Christmas we always got a present from Aunty Anna and Uncle Frank, later I found out that they gave mum and dad money and they bought each of us a present with it, as we got older we always got some money in an envelope in our Christmas card, Aunty Anna still does this as both Uncle Frank and Aunty Anna regarded us (the O'Toole children and the Hall children) as an extension of their own family. They were a lovely couple and Uncle Frank is sadly missed by all.
Joseph Leo (Leo) Hall (1921)
Joseph Leo Hall (Leo as we all came to know him) was born at 2 Dove Street in Preston, the son of Robert Augustine Hall and Mary Elizabeth Gee on 26th April 1921. He was christened Joseph Leo because Father Joseph Leo Prescot christened him at St. Augustine's (but Uncle Leo says that his mum was adamant that she did not name him after the priest, he says it is highly unlikely that he was baptised at St Augustine's as 2 Dove Street was in the parish of St Ignatius. Apparently he was named Joseph after many prayers to St Joseph to make Francis – his older brother – well, his mum promised in her prayers to St Joseph that the baby she was having would be baptised Joseph, and that is what happened. Uncle Leo says that he thinks he was named Leo after his mum's first husband). Francis (Frank) was just a year older than him (and two brothers called Robert – both didn't survive). Frank and Leo played together, fought, quarrelled and laughed together as they were growing up; Leo says they even wept together in 1931 when their brother (the second Robert) died from Meningitis.
Leo started School with Frank on the day St. Gregory's opened in August 1926 and they both left on the same day as their mother thought they were not learning enough.
In 1927 Leo remembers being taken by his dad to view Auntie Mary (Uncle John's/Jack's wife) on her death bed, she lay as if asleep, in full health and motherly beauty, totally un-dead to Leo – this being his first experience of a corpse. Uncle Jack died the following year and left his dad £15. Leo believes that his mum had the family budget so starkly penny balanced that breaking into that £15 was both immoral and an affront to her management skills. According to Leo his mum asked what they should do with it and his dad said that he had always wanted a piano; his mum asked who was going to play it? Leo was sent to lessons for 7 years even though he had no particular interest in music!
In 1931 both Leo and Francis started school at St. Ignatius Boys Middle School. Leo passed his 11+ exam and went to St. Ignatius Central School. Leo says that he and Frank holidayed together, they would have a week in Fleetwood or on the Knowles' farm in Alston or at the Smith's smallholding on the banks of a busy brook at Hurst Green, he doesn't know how his cash-strapped mother did it but she always managed something – even if it was only a ten-shilling run-about Railway ticket for the holiday week. Leo says the highlight of the year was Christmas evening at Dover Street (Auntie Cissies' and Auntie Maggie's) where they would get high tea – laid out in such luxury! Here they would be welcomed by their half-brother Harry (Henry Aloysius) Hall and his friend Frank Thompson, their dry humour and imitations of the various St Ignatius priests provided a night full of mirth. They would be served a slice of tongue, meat paste sandwiches, pickles and HP Sauce! Auntie Cissie would pour half an inch of whisky in his dad's cup of tea, there were cake shop cakes, tinned peaches, jellies', trifle, Fussel's cream and Carnation milk. Then the gas-light would be dimmed and in would come Auntie Maggie as Father Chris tmas, carrying a tea chest decorated as if a chimney; gifts for all. With all this going on there was still sadness as his mother wasn't with them and he didn't understand why. (Leo has written a little about the sadness that caused the split between Dove Street and Dover Street . It wasn't as I understood it, that Robert Augustine Hall married too soon after being widowed; it was to do with the fact that Elizabeth Mary Gee had only been widowed in 1918 and married Robert Augustine in August 1919. Frank was born in 1920 and Leo was born in 1921 – Leo says it was - as Wellington would say – a close run thing and that the union was bitter-sweet. The split caused great secret heartache for Robert Augustine. Leo says that his mum did once tell him that the original intention was to bring up Harry as a member of the Dove Street family comprising of Hall's and Gee's but it wasn't to be and Harry stayed with his Aunties which, apparently, his mum found difficult to accept.)
Leo left school in 1935 to work as an apprentice French Polisher. Leo played the organ at St Gregory's twice a night for Benediction, exposition and deposition, and prayers or peace but he says his mind was certainly not given to its purpose as the continuation of the war spelt adventure for him – he says he still played happily enough to lead the singing of the people whose hearts differed. In 1941 he was called up for service to Sunderland in the Signals Branch of the Royal Artillery as a gunner, he was Field Artillery. In 1942 Leo says he caused consternation by wanting to marry his Leyland sweetheart, Walburga and settle in Leyland after the war, they married in November 1942 at St. Mary's Church in Leyland – Uncle Frank was the best man, Leo was a Lance-bombardier at this time.
Walburga Swift was born the daughter of Joseph Wilfred Swift and Elizabeth Ellen Forshaw on 4th July 1923 in Nelson. Her dad was in the Leyland business. Walburga and Leo had two sons, Allan and Ian.
Leo joined the Paratroops sometime during his training and spent time in North Africa and Italy then he came back to the UK to prepare for the Battle of Arnhem. At the Battle of Arnhem Uncle Leo says that a few of them at the Bridge were truly clobbered by German armour, eventual starvation as POW's and having to do a death march of 400 miles which had it's own personal consequences, this stretched the historians ‘9 days' of the Battle to a lifetime for many of them. I have a copy of the newspaper article about this called ‘A Bridge Too Far' that Uncle Leo wrote for the Lancashire Post in 1978. If anyone would like a copy please let me know. Below is a Poem that Uncle Leo wrote about Arnhem .
Written by 1118511 Bdr Leo Hall with 1st Brigade, Para, 1st Airborne Division at the Bridge.
After Leo's P.O.W leave he was called to supervise German P.O.W's who were camped at Quorn, while he was there he took a course to train to be a teacher.
Leo spent 2 spells of 3 months recuperating in a clinic in Davos, Switzerland with T.B. During his convalescence in 1945 Leo defected from the Faith and much of what it stood for, the news swept round families and friends by word of mouth – like Chinese whispers, Leo was still in the Army and judgements were made.
Leo Hall – Convalescing - May/June 1945
When Leo returned home he had to face the music, fortunately Uncle Frank didn't confront him but told him that Auntie Cissie and Auntie Maggie had given up on him. Leo says he expected absolute family banishment but it never quite reached that and he was glad his father had been spared it all as he had failing health and was hardly aware of life – he died in 1946.
(Uncle Leo cannot explain the cause-and-effect sequence of it in any way. He says there were no answers to why? His Faith just switched off without warning as he was on the road to Ashford, just like St Paul's switched on as he went along the road to Damascus. His Faith merely switched off without any regard to its content, he says he had no quarrel with the Faithful whose loyalty to their beliefs were emotionally or spiritually important, consequently he was often asked to play an organ, keyboard or piano in various Leyland Churches, Churches that could see in the fullness of time that his defection didn't make him a Satanic Mole.)
After his student teaching days Leo spent the rest of his teaching career at Wellfield School in Leyland where he has lived all his married life (11 Yewlands Avenue, Leyland, then 17 Regent Road, Leyland). In the 1970's Leo was writing Musicals, chiefly Biblical and in the style of Gilbert & Sullivan. He used to provide entertainment for the Round Table Charities at Association dinners, here he met Bill (William M) White, his second cousin (the son of Elizabeth Hall), with his wife Teresa – somehow they recognised each other and they formed a precious friendship through Church and School. Leo became great friends with their daughter Pat (Patricia) through Church music (maybe she can tell us about her Grandma, Elizabeth Hall, and her Grandad, William J White). Leo ran St. Mary's Choir and is an organist, he plays at Wymott & Gareth Prison Service – Uncle Frank said ‘he is a very busy lad!!!
Doing all that he does Leo still finds time to write and has done for many years, his writings on Arnhem came on request from historians or newspapers that realised that his wireless work at the Bridge had an importance, unfortunately his accounts were contrary, often contradictory, to those of his Major at the Bridge. Nevertheless he persisted and was able to establish that the Major's post war memory (after POW experience) was mentally disturbed. Leo wrote ‘Signals from Arnhem Bridge' followed by ‘Target Mike One' and in 2005 he decided to write the whole story about the Airborne Service, Parachuting, Arnhem, POW, the Death March etc, Leo is calling it ‘Fit to drop' and I hope that he sends me a copy when he has finished it.
In Leo's musical writings for the Liturgy Leo tried to escape from the hymn-book offerings of Kyrie, Gloria, Holy Holy, Lamb of God and various acclamations, most of which he finds unsatisfactory. In order to provide lengthier interest he favours Macaronic pieces, these use two languages for an offering usually Latin and English or for the Kyrie, Greek and English. Some hymns may be thought Macaronic, ‘As I kneel before you' with its Ave Maria chorus for example, but a much better one is ‘In Dulci Jubilo' using English and Latin, or in its early form German and Latin. In his pieces he tries to weave the Latin and English to a pattern.
Leo said he used to visit Tinkerfield every fortnight or so and he regrets missing good opportunities to talk about Uncle Frank's war service, he says Uncle Frank wasn't reluctant to talk about it but it was probably not in his nature to initiate it. Leo says he missed the opportunity to tell him to write his memoirs – I know that what I managed to find out through my correspondence with Uncle Frank has rectified that a little. Apparently I impressed Leo to astonishment with my ‘scoop' of Uncle Frank's memoirs.
I met Uncle Leo at Uncle Frank's funeral, I sat with him discussing the family tree and I would like to thank him for the information he gave me on that day. I know that Uncle Frank's death prompted Uncle Leo to write about him and look up the Hall's in Preston Cemetery , I hope my information will help him further and fill in any blanks he may have. I have to thank him for sending all the information to my Mum (Margaret O'Toole – nee Hall) as this filled in the many blanks that I had on my family tree. (He has since sent me my own copy of all the information he has collected and we keep updated via the post)
Leo and Walburga Hall
Leo Hall (in Asda)
Robert Hall (1922-1925)
Robert (Bobby) Hall was born in December 1922 in Preston, the son of Robert Augustine Hall and Elizabeth Mary Gee. Robert died in Deepdale Isolation Hospital in May 1925 aged 2 years 5 months from Diphtheria and Whooping Cough, he was interred at Preston Cemetery on the 28th May 1925 – Grave E606, and the undertakers were J. Barwise & Sons.
William M White (1925-1990)
William M White was born on 1st April 1925 in Preston, the son of William James White and Elizabeth Hall. William was known as Willie as a young boy and he went to St Gregory's Elementary School in Preston and then to Preston Catholic College . He got an AA Dip. (Hons) (Also something to do with ARIBA Architect of the Building Design Partnership) and was a professional Architect.
William married Teresa Smith and they had two sons, Anthony and Stephen and a daughter, Patricia (who was born in 1961). William died at home in Leyland on 5th September 1990 and is buried in St Mary's Cemetery in Leyland.
Robert Hall (1927-1931)
Robert (Bobby) Hall was born in November 1927 in Preston, the son of Robert Augustine Hall and Elizabeth Mary Gee. Robert died aged 3 years 6 months in April 1931 from Meningitis and was interred on 15th April 1931 at Preston Cemetery – Grave BB664, Burial No. 58998.
Edmund Aloysius White (1930-19??)
Edmund Aloysius White was born on 21st September 1930 in Preston, the son of William James White and Elizabeth Hall. Edmund married Eveline Margaret Hindle and they had a son, Philip John and a daughter Catherine Mary.
Eveline Margaret was born on 30th March 1937.
I have more information about the White family which I will add to the family history at a later stage. The following information I am adding just to put the Whites up-to-date.
Philip John White was born on 8th April 1960, he married Jaqueline Marshall who was born on 16th February 1966 – they had a son, Christopher Philip White who was born on 29th April 1995.
Catherine Mary White was born on 9th August 1964, she married Philip Eric Burgess who was born on 27th August 1960 – they had a daughter, Chloe Marie Burgess who was born on 31st December 2001.
Margaret Mary Hall (1941)
Margaret Mary Hall was born on the 4th August 1941 at 22 Jutland Street in Preston , the daughter of Henry Aloysius Hall and Margaret Agnes Marsden. She was baptised a Roman Catholic on the 10th August 1941 at St Ignatius Church. Margaret thinks she started school at St Ignatius School in Preston, she moved to Padgate in 1947 and went to St Oswald's Primary School, she was confirmed at St. Oswald's Church and her confirmation name is Agnes. Margaret's brother was born in 1945.
In about 1954 to about 1957 Margaret went to Notre Dame in St Helens in Cheshire. Margaret wanted to be a nurse so she went to Chester School of Nursing and was at the Royal Infirmary and Chester City Hospital between 1959 and 1963.
Margaret met Joseph O'Toole in the street; she was with 2 friends on the way home from confession one Saturday evening. 2 young soldiers asked the way to the Forces Club – the girls showed the young men the way – the story continues something like this…….one young man (Joseph) asked one of Margaret's friend to go out, she couldn't make it so Margaret went instead – I will get his story clarified and see if Margaret (my mum) can fill in any more blanks…..
Joseph (Joe) O'Toole was born on the 12th October 1938 in Jackson Street in Spennymoor, County Durham, the son of James O'Toole and Catherine Ann McCormack. (Information about the O'Tooles will be added to the family history eventually!)
Margaret Mary Hall married Joseph O'Toole on the 21st November 1964 at St Oswald's in Padgate (they had their Wedding Day recorded on Cine Camera and it has since been converted and put onto Video Tape) and they lived in Bathgate in Scotland, they had a daughter in 1965, Helen Mary, and a son Andrew Joseph in 1967. They moved to Blackburn in Scotland and had another daughter, Janet Margaret, in 1968 and another, Karen Ann, in 1969. In 1972 Julie Teresa was born and the family moved back to England to 54 Park Edge Close in Roundhay, Leeds . Margaret worked at the Parc Mont Hotel in Roundhay Park as a Chamber Maid. In 1978 their son, Peter Michael, was born. The family moved to ‘Eddystone' 3 Hollyshaw Walk in Whitkirk, Leeds and Margaret went back to nursing, she worked at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds from 1987 until 1995, she worked on E.N.T, Ward 8, she was a Senior Staff Nurse (a State Registered Nurse, now known as a Registered General Nurse).
Margaret and Joe celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1989 and celebrated their Ruby (40th) Wedding Anniversary in 2004 when they renewed their Wedding Vows at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Leeds.
Margaret is a retired nurse; she is very active in her church and school and helps out with her many grandchildren.
This story will be updated when I can sit down with my mum and write it all down but for now I will just add some information about the O'Toole children to bring this family up-to-date, full information about each child will be added to the O'Toole family history.
Helen Mary was born on 18th August 1965, she married Clifford Farrar (born in 1954) on 3rd June 1989. They divorced.
Andrew Joseph was born on 17th March 1967; he married Sarah Cockill on 25th May 1996. They divorced. Andrew met Alison J Tams (born 12th September 1977) and they had a son, Peter Edward O'Toole on 24th April 2003. On 30th August 2003 Andrew and Alison married. On 20th May 2004 they had another son, Christopher Andrew O'Toole.
Janet Margaret was born on 19th April 1968; she married Andrew Ireson in May 1988. They divorced. Janet met Kevin Young (born 5th December 1957) and they had a daughter, Frances Margaret Young on 15th October 1998. In 2001 Janet and Kevin married. On 25th December 2002 they had another daughter, Imogen Elizabeth Young and in May 2004 Alice Teresa Young was born.
Karen Ann was born on 9th June 1969; she met Glen Barry Parker and they had 2 sons, Robert Joseph Parker (born 16th April 1989) and Tomas Zak Parker (born 1st August 1991). Karen and Glen married on 30th May 1992. They divorced. Karen married Carl Rose (born 11th December 1965) on 19th October 2002 and they had a daughter, Rebecca Ann Rose on 28th December 2002.
Julie Teresa was born on 20th January 1972; she met Neal Garry Riggs and they had a son, Daniel Michael Riggs (born 5th March 1991). Neal and Julie married on 8th August 1992. They divorced. Julie met Nigel D Hewson and they had a son, James Hewson in September 2003 - they married in 2004. Sometime in 1999 Julie became the guardian of Billie Jo O'Toole who was born on 5th April 1999. In 2000/2001 Julie, as her Foster mum, was given legal guardianship of Billie and her name was changed to Molly. In about 2004 Molly became Molly Hewson and Julie and Nigel Hewson were given legal guardianship. (I will update this with the facts once Julie has read this and corrected it as I can't really remember all the dates etc.)
Peter Michael was born on 2nd July 1978; he met Rachel Haigh, they separated when Rachel was pregnant – we know she had a son called Keiron David Haigh in November 1998. Peter met Donna Mitchell and they had a daughter, Billie Jo O'Toole who was born on 5th April 1999 – see Julie. Peter met Dawn M Booth (born 12th January 1983) and they had a daughter, Heather Vivian May O'Toole on 16th May 2002, they married on 7th September 2002 and had a daughter, Olivia Lisa Ann O'Toole on 3rd May 2004.
Michael Hall (1945)
Michael Hall was born on the 25th May 1945, the son of Henry Aloysius Hall and Margaret Agnes Marsden and lived at 22 Jutland Street in Preston , they moved to Padgate in 1947.
Michael met Heather Puddephatt in the late 1960's and they got married on the 12th June 1971.
Heather Puddephatt was born on the 31st August 1948, the daughter of Herbert Puddephatt and Lillian Warner. (I have done a little bit of research for Aunty Heather about the Puddephatt's and we will continue to do so so she can pass on the information to her children.)
Michael and Heather had three children – Rebecca Mary, Matthew Hedley and Patrick Lawrence. They reside at 34 Thetford Road, Great Sankey in Warrington .
I am hoping that Uncle Michael can fill in about his life and Aunty Heather can provide some background to hers once they have read this!!!!!
Allan Hall (1947)
Allan Hall was born in 1947, the son of Joseph Leo Hall and Walburga Swift. Allan married Margaret and they had two daughters, Louise Walburga and Nicola, they lived in Navenby in Lincoln. Allan was a Lt. Colonel in the R. C. Signals and got a Military MBE (Northern Ireland). Allan and Margaret divorced and he married Sheilagh in 2007.
Both Louise Walburga and Nicola married and divorced, I don't know anything else about them yet.
Ian Hall (1953)
Ian Hall was born on 17th March 1953 in Chorley Hospital; he is the son of Joseph Leo Hall and Walburga Swift. He got a BSc at Leeds. Ian married Carol and they had a son, Peter Graham Leo. Ian and Carol Divorced. Ian is a Senior Software Manager fro the M.O.D.
Rebecca Mary ( Bex ) Hall (1973)
Rebecca Mary Hall ( Bex as she likes to be known) was born on the 5th May 1973, the daughter of Michael Hall and Heather Puddephatt. Bex got engaged to Patrick (Pat) Watt on 24th May 1997 and she married him on the 21st August 1998 at 2.30pm at St. Joseph 's R.C. Church, Penketh in Warrington, they had their reception at Walton Hall in Warrington. Bex and Pat divorced. Bex now lives with Roman Wieckowski and their two cats.
Matthew Hedley (Maff) Hall (1975)
Matthew Hall (Maff as he is known to everyone) was born on the 17th January 1975, the son of Michael Hall and Heather Puddephatt. Maff plays in a band – or rather has played in several, in 1995 he was in a band called the Bogtrotters and played at his dad's 50th birthday party in 1995. After spending 30 years living at home in the loft Maff has now left home and shares a house with a friend in Northwich.
Patrick Lawrence (Patch) Hall (1979)
Patrick Hall (Patch is what we all call him) was born on 15th July 1979, the son of Michael Hall and Heather Puddephatt. Patch got engaged to Mary Watt in 2005 (Mary Watt is Bex's first husbands sister). Patch and Mary live in Northwich with their cat.
Peter Graham Leo Hall (1983)
Peter Graham Leo Hall was born on 16th August 1983; he is the son of Ian Hall and Carol, he got a BSc at Leeds and is (as Uncle Leo put it) a WEB Computerist!
