Henry William Morey, tailor – Hardington History

Introduction

Henry William Morey was a tailor at Hardington from about 1861 until his death in 1895. He also served as the parish clerk and church organist. He married Elizabeth Tizzard, a nursemaid at the rectory, and they had ten children. After Henry’s early death, Elizabeth continued to live at Hardington for about eleven years before moving to Thorncombe. Tragically, their daughter, Ethel, died from tuberculosis in 1907, two of their sons lost their lives in the First World War, and Elizabeth’s adopted daughter, Bessie English, was killed in an accident shortly after the war ended.

Childhood

Henry was born at Hardington in 1849, the third of five children born to George and Anne Morey. His father, George, was a tailor.

By the age of eleven, Henry was working alongside his father as a tailor. He has not been found on the 1871 census.

Marriage

On 27 November 1874, Henry married Elizabeth Tizzard at Hardington Mandeville. At the time, Henry was 25, and Elizabeth was 27. Both signed the marriage register.

Henry met Elizabeth while she was working as a nursemaid at the rectory. She originally came from West Chinnock, where her father, James, worked in a sailcloth factory. When Elizabeth was three years old, her mother died, and her father remarried two years later. By April 1871, he was working as a foreman at the Tail Mill sailcloth factory, Crewkerne, indicating a level of intelligence and responsibility.

Family life

Henry and Elizabeth settled in a house next to his parents. Over the next nineteen years, they had ten children, though two died in infancy: Edward George in March 1879 at the age of one month and Edith Mary in July 1879 at the age of sixteen months.

The two oldest children were the first to leave home. In April 1891, Henry William lived with his uncle and aunt in Hove, while Elizabeth Annie worked as an under-housemaid for Mrs Vassall at Godalming.

Church organist and parish clerk

From 1887, local newspapers mention Henry as the church organist. On 22 December 1892, he played the violin at a temperance society concert at Hardington School.[1]

An 1895 trade directory lists him as the parish clerk.

Death

Henry’s mother died on 6 August 1895, and his father on 21 August. George was unable to attend their funerals because he was ill himself with rheumatism and heart disease, but he witnessed what he could from his bed.[2]

Henry died on 1 September 1895 at the age of 46, leaving eight children, five of whom were dependent on their mother.[3]

Elizabeth’s later life

Widowhood at Hardington

In March 1901, Elizabeth lived at cottage 317 in Hardington and was a nurse to Bessie May English, the illegitimate daughter of Augusta English. Bessie was born on 2 March 1901 and was only 29 days old at the time of the census.[4] Elizabeth ended up looking after her permanently.

On 12 December 1904, their son, Leonard, enlisted in the army at Yeovil at the age of 18, serving as a private with the Coldstream Guards.[5] He probably served actively for seven years before transferring to the Reserves.

Move to Thorncombe

By February 1907, Elizabeth had moved to Thorncombe. In April 1911, she lived at Winards Hill, Thorncombe, with her sons, George and Frederick, and Bessie English. Another son, Leonard, worked as a cowman on a farm in the parish.

Shortly after the family moved to Thorncombe, Elizabeth’s daughter, Ethel Blanche, died from tuberculosis on 9 February 1907 at the age of 15.[6]

First World War

At the outbreak of the war, Leonard was recalled to his regiment and sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force. He was killed in action at Zonnebeke on 23 October 1914 at the age of 28 and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial.[7]

Leonard’s death may have prompted William Cecil to enlist. By January 1915, he was serving with the Highland Light Infantry.[8] He survived the war, but his older brother, Frederick James, who fought with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, was not as fortunate.[9] He was killed on 22 August 1917 at the age of 35 and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot memorial.

Tragic death of Bessie English

On the evening of Friday, 6 September 1918, at around 8 p.m., seventeen-year-old Bessie English was cycling towards Birdsmoorgate when she encountered a traction engine pulling a carriage loaded with timber. The engine was headed to the Chard Junction Saw Mills, owned by Messrs Salter & Stokes, the firm that also employed her. A couple of children ran alongside the machine, which was carrying three baskets. It would have been an impressive spectacle as this leviathan ground towards her, with its bellowing smoke, thunderous noise and towering stack of timber.

Bessie did not see the danger. Although the road was narrow, she chose not to dismount and continued riding as she passed the engine. As she rode by, she looked up to and spoke to the man in charge of the engine. At that moment, as her attention was diverted, her front wheel turned into the ditch. She was thrown off her bicycle, and her head collided with the moving front wheel of the timber carriage. She died almost instantly. An inquest held the following Monday concluded that her death was the result of an accident.[10]

It is difficult to say whether this account is fair. Traffic accident analysis at the time was rudimentary, and the main witness was the driver of the engine, who was unlikely to incriminate himself. Unanswered questions remained about why three baskets were on the engine and whether they contributed to the accident.

Move to Martock

When Elizabeth’s youngest son, William, married at Martock in July 1920, she moved in with him and his wife. By June 1921, she was living at Bower Hinton.

Death

Elizabeth died at Church Street, Martock, on 3 March 1937, at the age of 89.[11]

Children

Henry and Elizabeth had six sons and four daughters. One son and one daughter died in infancy. Two daughters became servants for Mrs Vassall. Two of their sons were killed in the First World War.