Introduction
This article is a micro-study of Albert William Roskelly, a naval pensioner who moved to Hardington shortly after the estate sale on 18 October 1920.
Childhood in Yeovil
In the early 1860s, Albert’s father, Samuel, moved from Closworth to Yeovil to work as a leather dresser in the gloving industry.[1] In 1863, Samuel married Ann Andrews at Ryme Intrinseca, and she joined him in Yeovil.[2] Albert was born on 7 December 1865, as their second child.[3]
He grew up in Park Street, an unhealthy part of the town known for its many drinking establishments.[4] Tragically, three of his siblings died in infancy, and his mother died when he was fourteen. After her death, his father remarried the following year.[5] After leaving school, Albert worked as a carpenter’s apprentice and then, at the age of 17, joined the Royal Navy.[6]
Naval career
Albert’s naval career began on 13 January 1883, when he joined the crew of HMS St Vincent. On 7 December 1885, he embarked on ten years of continuous service. Between 1883 and 1895, he participated in eighteen voyages on twelve different ships.[7] Throughout his naval career, the Royal Navy consistently rated his character as “very good.”[8]
Marriage to his cousin
While in the Navy, Albert began a romance with his first cousin, Thirza Mary Roser, of Tunbridge Wells. Thirza’s mother, Jane, was the older sister of Albert’s father. In her twenties, Jane moved to London to work in domestic service, where she met George Roser, a coachman from Tunbridge Wells.[9] They were married in London in 1861 and moved to Tunbridge Wells a year or two later.[10] Unfortunately, George died in 1873 at the age of 44, leaving Jane to raise one son and three daughters on her own.[11] It must have been a hard struggle, as her only income came from cleaning and working as a housekeeper.[12] She probably kept in touch with her Roskelly family, as two of her daughters married Roskelly relatives. In 1894, her oldest daughter, Edith, married William Richmond Roskelly, the oldest son of her brother Thomas, and in 1897, Thirza and Albert were married.[13]
Coastguard Service
On 10 September 1895, Albert joined the Coastguard Service, which stationed him on the Kent coast near Dungeness for nine years and at Bournemouth for five.[14] In March 1901, Albert and Thirza lived at the Coast Guard Station, Lydd, near Dungeness.[15]
Tunbridge Wells
In July 1909, Albert retired from the Navy, and he and his family moved to Tunbridge Wells.[16] By April 1911, they lived at 64 Clifton Road, sharing their home with Thirza’s mother.[17] Albert received his Navy pension and worked as a wheelwright’s labourer.[18]
War Service
On 2 August 1914, at the age of 48, Albert re-joined the Royal Navy, serving until 4 February 1919.[19]
Return to Tunbridge Wells
After leaving the Royal Navy, Albert returned to Tunbridge Wells for a short time.
Hardington
Following the death of Thirza’s mother in 1919, Albert and Thirza were free to choose their next move.[20] It was only natural for them to return to Somerset. The family moved into a cottage at Broadstone, Hardington. Albert’s brother-in-law, Fred Moon bought the cottage on his behalf in the estate sale of 1920.[21] By June 1921, Albert and Thirza were living there with three of their five children.[22] Two of their daughters remained in Tunbridge Wells, working as servants in middle-class households.[23]
On 21 February 1934, Albert made his will, leaving his estate to his trustees, directing them to permit his wife to use the estate during her lifetime, after which the capital should be divided equally among their five children.[24]
Albert died at Broadstone on 19 April 1940, at the age of 74, and Thirza died in 1955, at the age of 87.[25] After Thirza’s death, their daughter, Dorothy, bought their home from Albert’s estate.[26]
Children
Albert and Thirza had six children:
- Dorothy Mary Roser, who married Fred Lock;
- Gertrude Edith, who married an Exeter postman;
- Thirza Georgina, who married an Exeter gardener;
- Albert Charles, who married Nora Evelyn White (sister of Ron White);
- Mildred Lily, who married Richard Chiplen of Sherborne, a bookkeeper and Methodist preacher;
- Sidney, who died in infancy.
Their daughter, Mrs Lock, lived at Broadstone until she died in 1971 at the age of 73.
References
[1] RG10, piece 2419, folio 7, page 5
[2] Ryme Intrinseca marriage register.
[3] 1939 Register; Civil Registration Birth Index; ADM 188/158/121740 (but year of birth erroneously recorded as 1867).
[4] RG10, piece 2419, folio 7, page 5; RG11, piece 2393, folio 44, page 22.
[5] Civil Registration Death Index; St John’s, Yeovil, marriage register.
[6] RG11, piece 2393, folio 44, page 22; ADM 188/158/121740.
[7] ADM 188/158/121740.
[8] ADM 188/158/121740.
[9] RG9, piece 83, folio 116, page 12; RG9, piece 41, folio 99, page 4.
[10] St Marylebone marriage register.
[11] Civil Registration Death Index; RG11, piece 913, folio 96, page 1.
[12] RG11, piece 913, folio 96, page 1; RG12, piece 677, folio 110, page 26.
[13] Civil Registration Marriage Index.
[14] ADM 188/158/121740.
[15] RG13, piece 857, folio 42, page 2.
[16] ADM 188/158/121740.
[17] RG14, piece 4058.
[18] RG14, piece 4058.
[19] ADM 188/158/121740.
[20] Civil Registration Death Index.
[21] Copy of the Sale catalogue in the author’s possession.
[22] RG15, piece 11308, schedule 20.
[23] RG15, piece 4173, schedule 265; RG15, piece 4185, schedule 200.
[24] The will of Albert William Roskelly, dated 21 February 1934, proved Bristol 10 July 1940.
[25] Civil Registration Death Index; the grant of probate for Albert’s will.
[26] The will of Dorothy Mary Roser Lock, dated 24 August 1955, proved at Winchester on 30 September 1971.
