Ernest Richard Eastabrook and Edith Mary Pope

St George's Church in Portsea
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Steve Daniels - geograph.org.uk/p/5462454
Located almost opposite the entrance to Gunwharf Quays. The church is known as the shipwrights' church having been built by 15 shipwrights from the dockyard in 1753.

Ernest Richard Eastabrook (b. 15 Mar 1886) Engine Room Artificer, then of 42 Union St, Portsea, son of Samuel Ebenezer Derry Eastabrook and Eliza Back, married Edith Mary Pope (b. 30 Sep 1889 on Portsea Island), daughter of Robert William Pope and Mary Georgina Robins, on 27 Dec 1909, at St George's Church, Portsea. Witnesses were both the bride and groom's fathers, Samuel Ebenezer Derry Eastabrook and Robert William Pope.

Ernest and Edith had one son:

1. Ernest Kenneth Eastabrook b. 17 Jun 1916 S Quarter in PORTSMOUTH Volume 02B Page 625 and baptised at Portsea, St George.

Ernest Richard Eastabrook from Devonport, Devon, born 15 Feb 1886, then 21, had joined the Royal Navy as a Fitter & Turner on 6 Dec 1907. He was then 5 ft 5½ in with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

In 1911, Edith Mary Eastabrook (21) was living at 13 Butcher Street, Portsea, with her widowed father, Robert William Pope (49) Plumber & Decorator, while her husband was at sea with HMS Liverpool (1909). 

From 19 Aug 1915 until 13 Apr 1917, Ernest Richard Eastabrook was assigned to HMS Barham (04), so that on 31 May - 1 Jun 1916, like his elder brother, he took part in the Battle of Jutland. HMS Barham was hit six times during the battle, five times by 30.5 cm shells and once by a 28.3 cm shell, suffering casualties of 26 killed and 46 wounded. Following repairs, HMS Barham was also involved in the Action of 19 August 1916, in which his brother's ship was one of those damaged and subsequently lost.

On 14 Apr 1917, Ernest Richard Eastabrook was promoted to Acting Artificer Engineer and on 6 Aug 1917 to Acting Mate (E).

In 1921, Ernest Richard Eastabrook (35) Engineer Leiutenant RN was living at 95 Shadwell Road, North End, Portsmouth with Edith Mary Eastabrook (31), Ernest Kenneth Eastabrook (5) and they were able to employ Gladys Mildred Saxby (15) General Domestic Servant.

In 1939, Edith Mary Eastabrook was at 12 Padwick Avenue, Portsmouth. She was listed as married, but her husband was not in the household.

Ernest Richard Eastabrook died, aged 87, in 1973, in Hampshire.

Edith Mary Eastabrook of St Mary's House, St Mary's Road, Portsmouth (former workhouse) died, aged 86, on 25 May 1975.

(Ernest Kenneth Eastabrook married Agnes May Phimister (Nancy) Mitchell (b. 30 Jul 1921) in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland on 10 Jun 1944. They had two daughters, born in Portsmouth. Ernest Kenneth Eastabrook died, at 77, in Q4/1993 in MARKET HARBOROUGH (6021) Reg 24B Entry Number 29. Agnes May Phimister Eastabrook died, at 83, on 20 Sep 2004, in 2004 in SOUTH AND WEST DORSET (4321A) Reg A7E Entry Number 178.)

John Martin Mullarkey and Elsie Aitchinson

Church of St Jude, Plymouth
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/5813993

John Martin Mullarkey (b. 10 May 1890), son of Anthony Joseph Mullarkey and Maria Gloyne, married Elsie Aitchinson (b. 7 Feb 1890), daughter of John George Aitchinson and Emma Bolt, at St Jude's, Plymouth on 9 Jul 1918.

(Elsie's parents had married, on 29 Jun 1885, at Charles Church, Plymouth. John George Aitchinson of 16 Guldford Street, Plymouth was a Shipwright, son of John George Aitchinson, Petty Officer RN. Emma Bolt was from 10 Guildford Street and her father, John Bolt, was a Shoemaker.)

John Martin Mullarkey (20) enlisted in the Royal Navy on 19 Jun 1909 and in 1911, was bobbing about in Malta Harbour on HMS Medea. On 31 May - 1 Jun 1916 John Martin Mullarkey was serving as a Leading Stoker on HMS Tiger at the Battle of Jutland. Tiger was hit a total of 18 times during the battle. John Martin Mullarkey stayed with Tiger until 30 Sep 1921. 

John and Elsie Mullarkey had three children:

1. John George Anthony Mullarkey b. 1 Oct 1920
2. Lilian Kathleen Mullarkey b. 15 Oct 1922
3. Martyn Mullarkey b. 15 Aug 1930

In 1921, John M Mullarkey (31) Leading Stoker RN; Elsie Mullarkey (31) and John G Mullarkey (0) were living at 182, Beaumont Road, Plymouth, Devon.

After leaving the Royal Navy on 1 Apr 1928, John Martin became a Merchant Seaman. John's naval record says that he had a scar on his left thigh and a heart tattoo on his right forearm. His Merchant Navy record states that the top of his left index finger was crushed. It doesn't say when, where or how.

In 1939, living at 54 Ocean Street, Plymouth, John M Mullarkey's occupation is described as "Greaser Cable Ship Maker Louisa Mackay" (Louisa Mackay was the name of his ship). Son John G A was a Turner And Fitter Apprentice; Lilian K a Shop Assistant and Martyn was at school. Living with them was John G Aitchinson, Retired Shipwright, Widowed (who died in 1941). 

Elsie Mullarkey died in Plymouth, in 1963, aged 73.

John Martin Mullarkey died in 1974.

• John George Anthony Mullarkey married Lilian K Clarke in 1958. Born Lilian Kathleen May Hood on 18 Apr 1914, Lilian was probably a widow at the time of this marriage. She had previously married Herbert J Clarke in 1933 and potentially brought with her four children from this marriage. John George Anthony Mullarkey of 15 Dundas Street, Stoke, Plymouth, died on 8 Nov 1974. Lilian Kathleen May Mullarkey died on 25 Jun 1991.
• In 1945, Lilian Kathleen Mullarkey married William George Matthews. They appear to have had one child later that year. Lilian Kathleen Matthews died in 1996.
• In 1951, Martyn Mullarkey married Margaret A Pepper and they appear to have one child in 1952. Martyn Mullarkey died, in Plymouth, in 2005.

Charley Stone and Ellen Jones

St George's Church, Tiverton

Charley Stone (known as 'Char') (b. 6 Jun 1898 in Tiverton, Devon), son of Charles Stone and Emma Middleton, married Ellen Jones (Nell) (b. 23 Apr 1894 in Rushbrooke, Cobh (Queenstown as it was then), County Cork, Ireland), daughter of David Jones and Laura Elizabeth White, on 3 Jul 1922, at St George's Church, Tiverton, generally considered to be the finest Georgian church in Devon, and one of the best examples in England. Witnesses were Francis Stone, the groom's uncle; William Henry Middleton, the groom's elder half-brother and their mother, Emily Stone (former Emma Middleton). Given that line up, my feeling is that Bill was best man, while Frank gave away the bride as her own father was back in Ireland.

Charley Stone born 6 Jun 1898 at 1 Silver Street, Tiverton, and baptised on 20 Jul 1898 at St Peter’s Church Tiverton, lied about his age when he enlisted in the Royal Marines at Exeter on 18 Jan 1915, which is why this and many subsequent records suggest he was born a year earlier in 1897. The marines can't ever have discovered the one year discrepancy though, because his record notes the 139 days he was underage, from 18 Jan 1915 to 5 Jun 1915, but 6 Jun 1915 will only have been his 17th birthday, not his 18th.

Char did his training at the Royal Marine Depot, Deal, until 18 Aug 1915. Then after a brief period at Plymouth Division, was assigned to HMS Revenge (06) on 1 Feb 1916 and stayed with this ship until 24 Jan 1918, being promoted to Corporal on the 1st day of that year, at age 19.

Revenge (left) and the battleship Hercules (right) at the Battle of Jutland

Consequently, on 31 May - 1 Jun 1916, just five days before his 18th birthday, Charley Stone took part in the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the First World War. "In the course of the battle, Revenge had fired 102 rounds from her main battery [...]. She also fired 87 rounds from her secondary guns. She was not hit by any fire during the engagement."

British battleship HMS Glory at Murmansk

From 23 May 1918, until 16 Jul 1919, Char was assigned to HMS Glory (1899), of the British North Russia Squadron, which took him to Archangel and Murmansk during the North Russia intervention. "Glory was based at Archangel to protect supplies that arrived there for the Russian Army. The squadron's mission evolved after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 into preventing the supplies that had been delivered from falling into the hands of the Red Army." He arrived just in time for A Fire, a Riot, a Bombing, and a Mutiny. Like most who went through these events, Char never spoke about his experiences, except to a brother who was also a Marine, and what I've been told only intimated that things were really bad (understatement) up there.

The Allied Intervention at Archangel and Murmansk in 1918

HMS Royalist (1883)

Continuing his amazing ability to turn up in all the wrong places at the right times, from 12 Feb 1920 to 15 Mar 1922 Char was sent to HMS Colleen (formerly HMS Royalist (1883)), which was then the depot ship at Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland, at the height of the Irish War of Independence. Being hulked (stuck in one place), allowed more opportunity to fraternise with the locals, obviously. The 1921 Census shows Charley Stone (24) [i.e. still maintaining he was a year older than he really was], Corporal R M L I, was with the Royal Navy, Armed Forces Overseas.

Nell and Char's only child, Charles Francis Stone (Frank) was born, on 17 July 1923 at The Military Families Hospital, Devonport and christened at The Anglican Church of Saint Paul, Durnford Street, East Stonehouse on Sunday, 5 Aug 1923. This was the day after the wedding of Char's first cousin Frederick Thomas Stone and Kathleen Mullarkey, at which Char was best man and could have been the new baby's first "social engagement" - not that he'd have remembered it - but it feels like a real connection to the past to imagine that maybe Maria Mullarkey, the bride's mother, may have fawned over the new infant (as you do). The family's address then was 36, Admiralty Street, East Stonehouse (flat above presumably). Now The Fig Tree Restaurant, this was once a shop.

Eastern Kings Battery, Plymouth, taken Friday, 30 June, 2023
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Alan Murray-Rust - geograph.org.uk/p/7538232
This was built on the site of a late 18th century battery in 1849 as the Prince of Wales Battery and includes later alterations up to WW2, such as the observation post visible in the view.
Still in military occupation. Designated a Scheduled Monument.

The rest of Char's Royal Marines' career was spent mostly at Plymouth Division - they lived in the Eastern King battery (dad said it was damp and cold), where Frank and his cousins played football on the landings, climbed on the roof and generally got into trouble - and at HMS Impregnable training establishments in Devonport: the former HMS Black Prince (1861) in late 1922 and the former HMS Ganges (1821) in 1923/24. Char was promoted to Sergeant from 9 Aug 1924, Colour sergeant from 2 Apr 1931, and Quartermaster sergeant (QMS) in Aug 1932, retiring on 5 Jun 1936.

Charley Stone's uniform tunic now in the possession of the Royal Marines Museum

Here's an exhibit you wouldn't see on display, even if the Royal Marines Museum wasn't currently homeless, so I consider myself fortunate that I was able to visit when it was still housed in the former officers’ mess on the Eastney Barracks (reportedly to be turned into a five-star hotel) a few years ago and had made arrangements for a private viewing of the tunic pictured.

Nell and Char's only child, Charles Francis Stone (Frank), aged around three.

Nell and Char on their
25th Wedding Anniversary
in 1947, in the garden of 117,
Corisande Road, Selly Oak.

After he retired from the Royal Marines, Char took a job as a Post Office Van Driver in Birmingham, which is where we find the family in 1939, at 117 Corisande Road, Selly Oak with Charley Stone, Postman Driver (Heavy Work) still listing himself as a year older and Ellen still trying to close the four year age gap and be two years younger. Frank (16) was working as a Stationery clerk at the Screw Works.

Char had worked as a gardener before he'd joined the marines, having worked in the kitchen garden at Knightshayes Court in Tiverton. In Birmingham, he grew soft fruits - I remember being sent up the garden to pick raspberries and blackcurrants - and he had a greenhouse stuffed full of his favourite fuchsias that, in his Devon accent were always pronounced foosherrs.

Charley Stone died on 10 May 1973 at Selly Oak Hospital. He was 75.

Ellen Stone died on 31 Jan 1993 in Highcliffe, Dorset (DOR Q1/1993 in BOURNEMOUTH (4271A) Reg A2D Entry Number 254), in her 99th year, although the death certificate doesn't reflect that because at that time we'd actually had no idea exactly when or even where she had been born.

Anthony Charles Mullarkey and Mabel Sarah E Manley

Central Terrace
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Roger W Haworth - geograph.org.uk/p/333311
Central Terrace: built as Police Quarters for those guarding the depot at Chattenden

Anthony Charles Mullarkey (b. 12 Jan 1893), son of Anthony Joseph Mullarkey and Maria Gloyne, married Mabel Sarah Elizabeth Manley (b. 16 Jan 1904), daughter of William Manley and Jessie Hammacott, in Devonport, in 1926. They had one child, Barbara May Mullarkey, born in 1929.

Anthony Charles Mullarkey had joined the Royal Marines as a Bugler at around 14½ on 18 Sep 1907, becoming a Private when he turned 18 in 1911. On 22 May 1913, he was assigned to HMS Centurion (1911), with which he stayed until 10 May 1919, which means, that on 31 May - 1 Jun 1916, Anthony also took part in the Battle of Jutland, as had his elder brother, John Martin Mullarkey. (As did his future father-in-law, William Manley.)

Anthony left the Royal Marines on 11 Jan 1932. However, in 1939, Anthony Charles Mullarkey, Royal Marine Police and wife - listed as Mabel on official forms, but on Anthony's service record as Sarah, so was presumably known by her second name in the family - were living at No 3 Central Terrace, Chattenden, Upper Upnor, Kent. Central Terrace was built as Police Quarters for those guarding the depot at Chattenden.

Barbara May Mullarkey (1929-2008) married Ronald Stephen Lyons (1927-2014), in Chatham, in 1947 and had three children between 1947 and 1952. 

Anthony Charles Mullarkey, his service record shows, was discharged dead from the Royal Marines Police on 23 Jan 1968. He will have been 75, so I assume he was still engaged as something like a watchman. His Royal Marines and Royal Marines Police service put together add up to a total of 61 years. This surely has to be some sort of record? He is buried at Hoo St Werburgh.

Mabel Sarah Elizabeth Mullarkey of The Elms, 77 Main Road, Hoo, Kent (Residential Home), died on 27 Nov 1990, aged 86. 

The Parish Church of St Werburgh, Hoo
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ifor R Griffiths - geograph.org.uk/p/267759

William Ebenezer Eastabrook and Mary Connolly

Victorian villa, Marionville Road
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © kim traynor - geograph.org.uk/p/1606980
The house stands in the grounds of St. Ninian's and Triduana R.C. Church.

William Ebenezer Eastabrook, second son of Samuel Ebenezer Derry Eastabrook and Eliza Back married Mary Connolly, in 1909. Listed in Scotland Roman Catholic Parish Marriages in Edinburgh, Restalrig, Midlothian, this is likely to have taken place at Ss Ninian & Triduana R C Church. 

William and Mary Eastabrook had four children:

1. Mary Magdalen Eastabrook b. 1910 J Q in MEDWAY Vol 02A Page 771
2. Eliza Winifred May Eastabrook b. 1911 J Q in MEDWAY Vol 02A 782
3. William Ebenezer Eastabrook b. 13 Jan 1913 in MEDWAY Vol 02A 1452
4. Thomas James Eastabrook b. 1917 J Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 1178. Died 25 Jun 1917 J Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 999 and is buried at Grange Road Cemetery, Gillingham.

In 1911, William Eastabrook (29) Plumber Royal Navy, was living in Gillingham, Kent, with Mary Eastabrook (25) from Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, and Mary Eastabrook (0), born in Gillingham, Kent. 

(The only birth of a Mary Connoly (sic) - other records use Conley and even Connoloy - is in 1882 D Quarter in BERWICK Volume 10B Page 374, which does compute with age given at death, with mother's maiden name of MORAN. Although, I haven't [yet] found a corresponding family.)

William Ebenezer Eastabrook, born 28 Mar 1882, from Devonport, Devon, naval record shows that he enlisted in the Royal Navy on 20 Nov 1906, as a Plumber and served for 22 years, until 19 Nov 1928. Although there has to be an earlier record, as he was already with the Royal Navy At Sea and in Ports Abroad, Ships and Overseas Establishments, at 18, at the time of the Census of 1901. Notably during his career, he was assigned to HMS Falmouth (1910) from 23 May 1914 and from 24 Feb 1915 to 26 Aug 1916. HMS Falmouth was heavily engaged during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May - 1 Jun 1916, survived that, but sank off Flamborough Head, after being damaged during the Action of 19 August 1916. William was then assigned to HMS Pembroke (Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham) on 27 Aug 1916.

In 1921, William Eastabrook (40) Plumber Royal Navy was living at 19 Christmas Place, Gillingham, Kent with Mary Eastabrook (37), Mary Eastabrook (11), Winnie Eastabrook (10), William Eastabrook (8), Sarah McCrudden (15) Boarder and Bernard Marren (2) 'Nursing Child'.

However, Mary Eastabrook died, at 40, on 27 Mar 1923 M Quarter in MEDWAY Volume 02A Page 902 and was buried, curiously, as Mary Ann Eastabrook, on 31 Mar 1923 at Grange Road Cemetery, Gillingham. 

William E Eastabrook remarried in 1933 to a May Cheeseman. They had a daughter, Rita Nancy Eastabrook, born in 1933, with the mother's maiden name of Yalden. Born May Yalden in 1893 in Medway, as Mary Yalden, she had married Henry Cheeseman in 1915. May had five children, born between 1913 and 1927, from her first marriage. Henry Cheeseman, born 1880, had died on 31 Dec 1930 and was buried at Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

In 1939, William E Eastabrook and May Eastabrook were living at 147 Railway St, Gillingham.

William Ebenezer Eastabrook died, aged 78, on 15 Jul 1960 and is buried at Grange Road Cemetery, Gillingham. 

May Eastabrook, born 28 Jun 1893, died, also aged 78, on 29 Sep 1971. She is buried at Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

1. Mary Magdalen Eastabrook married Henry J Cox, in Medway, in 1929. Mary Magdalen Cox died in Q1/1986 in CHILTERN AND BEACONSFIELD (3252) Volume 19 Page 1374.
2. Eliza Winifred May Eastabrook, listed as Winnie, living with the family in 1921. Winifred Easterbrook (40) sailed to New York from Southampton on the Queen Elizabeth on 15 Jun 1951. Winifred Eastabrook, born 11 May 1911, died at 84, in 1995 in Sutton, Surrey.
3. In 1928, William Ebenezer Eastabrook, born 13 Jan 1913, from Gillingham Kent, was a Greenwich School Boy (Royal Naval College, Greenwich). He transferred to the Royal Navy on 1 Jan 1929 and signed up for another 12 years from 13 Jan 1931, advancing to Yeo Sigs (Yeoman of signals), being re-instated in 1943 and again in 1944. William E Eastabrook married, in 1946, in the New Forest, Hampshire. In late 1946 and 1947, as William Ernest Eastabroook, with 17 years experience at sea with the Royal Navy, he was QM (Quartermaster) on the RMS Queen Elizabeth luxury liner service between Southampton in the United Kingdom and New York City in the United States. Also listed as William Ernest Eastabrook, but birth date of 13 Jan 1913 agrees, he died, aged 62, in Southampton, Hampshire in 1975.

William Manley and Jessie Hammacott

Mary Street, Bovey Tracey
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Smith - geograph.org.uk/p/6543679

William Manley married Jessie Hammacott, in Devonport in the 3rd quarter of 1900. William Manley (b. 29 Nov 1869) in Bovey Tracey, Devon, lived in Mary Street, Bovey Tracey with his parents, Joseph Manley and Elizabeth Taylor Williams. Jessie Hammacott (b. 1872) meanwhile, was the daughter of John Hammacott and Sarah Trebble, and hailed from Chudleigh.

In 1891, William (21) was employed as a Blacksmith. William Manley joined the Royal Navy on 22 Aug 1891 and he and Jessie married just before William joined HMS Phaeton on which he served from Oct 1900 to 28 Apr 1903: Phaeton was re-commissioned at Esquimalt (Canada) on 10 October 1900 by Captain Ernest James Fleet, to serve on the Pacific Station. In July 1902 she visited Acapulco, and most of the Autumn of that year she was at Panama. She paid off on 28 April 1903. This commission was the subject of a book in the 'Log' series, entitled: HMS Phaeton, Pacific Station, 1900–1903.

William and Jessie had six children:

1. William Henry Manley b. 13 Sep 1897
2. Lilian May Manley b. 2 Mar 1899
3. Mabel Sarah Elizabeth Manley b. 16 Jan 1904
4. Sidney Manley b. 1910 
5. Ronald Manley b. 23 Apr 1912
6. Dorothy Manley b. 1914 (died 1916, aged 1)

In 1901, Jessie Manley (28) Wife of an armourer was living with their two oldest children at 28, Victory Street, East Devonport.

In 1911, William Manley (41) Chief Armourer Royal Navy and is living with wife, Jessie (38) and children, William Henry (13), Lilian May (12), Mabel Sarah (7), Sidney (0) and William's widowed mother, Elizabeth Manley (72), at 67 Renown Street, East Devonport.

On 28 Nov 1912, William Manley was assigned to HMS Conqueror and stayed with her through to 6 Mar 1919, which means that on 31 May - 1 Jun 1916, William Manley took part in the Battle of Jutland.

In 1921, William Manley (51) Chief Armourer Royal Navy, was living at 4, Garden Estate, St Budeaux, Devonport with Jessie Manley (49), Elizabeth Manley (82) Mother; William H Manley (23) Building & Repairing Ships For H M Navy; Lilian M Burrows (22), Mabel S Manley (17) Shop Assistant; Sidney Manley (9), Ronald Manley (8), Cyril Burrows (22) Building & Repairing Ships For H M Navy, Son-in-Law and Cyril M Burrows (2 months) Grandson.

William Manley retired from the Royal Navy on 17 Jun 1922.

Jessie Manley died in the 2nd quarter of 1926, aged 54.

William Manley died in 1947, aged 77.

• William Henry Manley married Rose Evelyn Georgina Ide (b. 2 Jan 1897) at St Mark's church, Ford, Plymouth, on 20 Apr 1922. In 1939, William and Rose were living at 4 Stirling Rd, St Budeaux, Plymouth. William Henry Manley died in 1990, at 93. Rose Evelyn Georgina Manley died on 19 Oct 1993, at 96.
• Ronald Manley married Lilian Annie Richards at The Anglican Church of Saint Boniface on 5 Oct 1935. In 1939, Ronald Manley, Fitter's Labourer Dockyard and wife Lilian were living at 16 Warleigh Avenue, Plymouth, along with Lilian's sister, Vera, Shorthand Typist RN Barracks. Assume they divorced, as Lilian A Manley married Henry R Adams in 1946. Ronald Manley died in 1973. Lilian Annie Adams died on 13 Sep 2012, at 97.

William C J Truscott and Beatrice Gwendolen Kerslake

Beatrice Avenue, Plymouth
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Derek Harper - geograph.org.uk/p/1776659

Beatrice Gwendolen Kerslake (b. 1909), daughter of Lewis William Kerslake and Beatrice Hoare, married William Clarence James Truscott, son of Willie James Truscott and Eleanor Hilda Warren, in St Thomas, Exeter, in 1933. Whilst neither are blood relations, having discovered that Beatrice lost her mother at the age of two and knowing the tragic circumstances of her half-brother's death (who was my cousin), I couldn't help wondering, what happened to Lewis William Kerslake's daughter from his first marriage. 

William Clarence James Truscott (b. 24 Dec 1909, bap. 10 May 1910, at St Mark's, Ford, Plymouth), parents had married, on 11 Mar 1909, at The Anglican Church of Saint James the Great, Devonport, Plymouth. Their marriage certificate details that Willie James Truscott, Shipwright RN, was the son of James Robert Truscott, a fitter at the RN Dockyard, whilst Eleanor was the daughter of William Henry Warren, Pensioner RN.

Willie James Truscott (b. 7 Jul 1883) enlisted in the Royal Navy on 11 Jul 1899, just after his 16th birthday. He was assigned to HMS Thunderer on 15 Jun 1912 - the day she was commissioned - and remained with this ship until 24 Jan 1921, which means, of course, that on 31 May - 1 Jun 1916, Willie James Truscott, Shipwright 1st Class, took part in the Battle of Jutland.

From 25 Jan 1921 to 28 Feb 1922 Willie James Truscott was assigned to HMS Colleen depot ship at Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland - at the same time my grandfather was at this same establishment. Small world. Again. Although, even if they met, they'll have had no idea of a family connection in the future.

Willie James Truscott retired from the Navy on 6 Jul 1923.

There was a strong naval tradition in this family: at the time of the marriage of Eleanor Hilda Warren's parents, William Henry Warren (b. 29 Jun 1857 in Maker, Cornwall) and Jane Ann Pearce, in Stoke Damerel on 8 Nov 1882, the groom was listed as Seaman, HMS Agincourt (1865) - which allowed me to find his naval record from a Boy on 1 Jan 1873 through until 30 Jun 1895). It also lists the bridegroom's father as a Pensioner (unlikely to be anything other than military at that time) and the bride's father, Charles Pearce, as a Seaman.

Could these even be related to Admiral William Truscott (1734 - 1798)?

In 1939, Beatrice G Truscott was living at 91 Bonhay Road, Exeter, with the couple's two children (still living), while her husband, William C J Truscott was lodging with his uncle and aunt, Alfred C and Phyllis Warren (his mother's younger brother) at 95 Beatrice Avenue, Plymouth. William Clarence James had followed in his uncle's and grandfather's footsteps as an engine fitter.

Beatrice Gwendoline Truscott died in 1974, in Plymouth, aged 65.

William Clarence J Truscott died, also in Plymouth, in 1981, aged 71.