Charles Sweeney and Ruth Christmas Dobson

Photo © Peter Thwaite (cc-by-sa/2.0)

St George's Town Hall, E1, Thursday, 1 January, 2009

Photo available for reuse under this Creative Commons licence.

On the south side of Cable Street, to the rear of St George's in the East Church, is St George's Town Hall. The Mural on the building commemorates the 1936 'Battle of Cable Street'.

Charles Sweeney (b. 17 Jul 1880), Bachelor, Canteen Assistant, son of John Henry Charles Sweeney and Susannah Harvey, married Ruth Christmas Dobson (b. 25 Dec 1878), Spinster, Machinist, daughter of William Dobson, Bricklayer, and Sarah Ann Rowe, both of 26 Caley Street, Limehouse, at The Register Office, Stepney on 18 Jul 1906. Witnesses were Esther Susan Stevens and Maria Penny. (The Register Office in Stepney at that date, I'm sure will have been what's now St George's Town Hall. Completed in 1860, this became Stepney Town Hall in 1900. And indeed, having been recently renovated, the building still has two ceremony rooms for marriages.)

On 22 Jan 1896, Charles Sweeney of 1 Stephensons Cottages, Condor Street (his parents' address) had enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment, claiming to be 18 years and 6 months old. By my calculations, he was in fact, 15 years and 6 months old at that time. He was 5ft 5in tall, 116 lbs, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and black hair. On 19 Mar 1896 he transferred to the Royal Sussex Regiment and they hadn't worked out that he was telling porkies about his age, because he was listed as 18 years and 8 months. He'd managed to gain 5lbs weight to 121 lbs and grow to 5ft 5½in in the interim.

Appointed Lance Corporal on 6 May 1896, Charles reverted to Private at his own request on 26 May 1896, but was reappointed Lance Corporal on 18 Feb 1898. He served in India with the 2nd Battalion for four years from 10 Nov 1898 until 11 Dec 1902. Ultimately promoted to Corporal, transferred to the Army Reserve on 18 Mar 1903. 

Interestingly, among next of kin, he lists his father, John, his mother, Susan; his elder brother Henry in the Royal Marines with HMS Rapid and his brother John 'address not known'. (No mention of Job, Thomas, nor his sisters.)

Charles and Ruth had two sons, both born in Poplar:

1. Charles Stanley Sweeney b. 13 Oct 1906 Volume 01C Page 601, bap. 4 Nov 1906 at St Stephen's Church in East India Dock Road. The baptism record lists the child's date of birth and his father as Charles John Sweeney, Warehouseman. Charles didn't have a middle name, but John was his father's first name and this is not the first time I've seen a father's name appended as a middle name. At the time, this may have been an affectation, but it's also now often useful.
2. Edward John George Sweeney b. 5 Apr 1913 J Quarter Vol 01C 1032, bap. 29 Sep 1916 at St Saviour's Poplar, his father listed as Soldier.

In 1911, Charles Sweeney (30) Warehouse labourer was living at 102 Hind Street, Poplar with Ruth Sweeney (31), Charles Stanley Sweeney (4), George Thomas Dobson (30) Brother-in-law and William John Bradley (45) Lodger.

Clearly as he was a Soldier in 1916, Charles Sweeney served in WWI, but I suspect he may have volunteered afresh giving the correct age. It's likely only a medal card will have survived and there are none with either of the service numbers on his 1896 records, so without knowing the new service number or his unit, impossible at the moment to isolate the correct record.

In 1921, and still at 102, Hind Street, Poplar, were Charles Sweeney (40) Caretaker of the All Saints Institute, Newby Place, Poplar, working for Rev. C R Cotter Parish Rector of All Saints Church, Poplar (Claud Rutledge Cotter); with Ruth Christmas Sweeney (41), Charles Stanley Sweeney (14) Errand Boy; Edward John George Sweeney (8) and John Henry Sweeney (82) Retired, formerly Caretaker of the Poplar Institute. We read that, "After 1913 the workhouse became known as Poplar Institution", so it may be that they're referring to and it looks like Charles has taken over his dad's position.

In 1939, Charles Sweeney, Caretaker in Charge of Public Hall, was in the household of brother-in-law, John Stone, at 12 Leith Road, Mile End. Ruth Sweeney was at 102 Hind Grove, Poplar, with her sister, Amy Dobson.

Ruth Christmas Sweeney died, aged ~65 (nearer 67), in 1945 M Quarter in POPLAR Volume 01C Page 293.

Charles Sweeney remarried on 9 Jul 1945 in Bethnal Green to Katie Trotter. Katie Trotter b. 12 Oct 1886 (1886 D Quarter in SHARDLOW Volume 07B Page 491) was bap. 14 Nov 1886 in Ockbrook, Derbyshire, daughter of William Alexander Trotter and Millicent Coulson. (It's not known if her dad, a Gardener, ever owned a yellow Reliant Robin.) Katie, 58 at the time of her marriage, was a Spinster, having spent a lifetime 'in service'. In 1901, Katie Trotter (14) Kitchen Maid was at the The Vicarage, Kings Norton; didn't find her in 1911; however, in 1921, Kate Trotter (34) was Cook in the Larkworthy household at 14, Brondesbury Park, Willesden, Middlesex; and in 1939, Katie Trotter was Cook Housekeeper, still to the Larkworthys, at Coopers Bridge, Woolmer Lane, Bramshott, Hampshire. It's the 1939 Register that gives us Katie's date of birth, the fact that she later became Katie Sweeney and lists the date of marriage in the left margin. Katie Sweeney died, at 65, her death was registered in 1952 S Quarter in NUNEATON Volume 09C Page 627.

Charles Sweeney died, aged 88, in Q3 of 1968 in Stepney (Vol 5E Page 138).

Once more we have two brothers who marry two sisters:

• Charles Stanley Sweeney married Alice Agnes Coker (b. 22 Aug 1906) in Bethnal Green, in 1929. They had one son, Brian Charles Sweeney b. 6 Aug 1936. In 1939, Brian was evacuated to the Hall family at 1 Free Lane, Thwaite St Mary, Loddon, Norfolk. Brian Charles Sweeney of Toddington, Bedfordshire died at 40, on 27 Feb 1977, seemingly leaving a widow and three children. Alice Agnes Sweeney died in Luton, Bedfordshire, in 1997; Charles Stanley Sweeney died, also in Luton, on 7 Jan 2003, at 96. 
• Edward John George Sweeney married Daisy Annie Coker (b. 5 Mar 1912), at St John on Bethnal Green, on 22 Dec 1934. Edward John Sweeney died, aged 75, in Waltham Forest, in 1988. Daisy Annie Sweeney also died in Waltham Forest, in 1999.