Albert Tooze and Flora May Kingsbury

St John the Apostle's Church, Torquay, Devon
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © David Dixon - geograph.org.uk/p/1769697

Albert Tooze (b. 9 Mar 1880), the youngest son of Thomas Tooze and Caroline Cotterell, married Flora May Kingsbury (b. 6 Jan 1880 in Sutton Waldron, Dorset), daughter of Henry John Kingsbury and Elizabeth Lancey, at St John's Church, Torquay, Devon, on 28 Mar 1903. Both Albert and Flora listed their age as 22 and address as 14 Braddons Street, Torquay.

Albert and Flora had two children:

1. Albert Henry Tooze b. 25 Apr 1903 J Quarter in NEWTON ABBOT Vol 05B Page 117, bap. Whit Sunday, 31 May 1903 at St John's, Torquay.
2. Alice May Tooze b. 9 Jun 1906 S Quarter in NEWTON ABBOT Volume 05B Page 117, bap. 22 Jul 1906, at St John's Church, Torquay.

Upon marriage, Albert gave his rank as Stoker H.M.S. Albert Tooze had joined the Royal Navy on 2 Dec 1902. (Unsurprisingly, as his mother died in 1901 and his father in 1902.) At that time, Albert was 5 ft 4 in with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He signed up for 12 years. By 4 Dec 1914, he'd grown to 5 ft 6 in and gained some tattoos: on his right forearm was a woman's head and "FLORRIE" and on his left forearm, was a figure playing a flute. Obviously, these were images of importance to him.

Albert's date of birth on his naval record is 9 Mar 1881, but his birth was registered in the March quarter of 1880 and he was baptised on 16 May 1880. The one year difference could be a simple error, or there may have been some reason why he needed to be a year younger when he signed up. Either way, I think it safe to accept that 9 Mar 1880 was his actual birthday.

In 1911, Albert Tooze (31) Stoker Petty Officer from Holcombe Rogus, Devonshire, was living at 30 Cotehele Avenue, Plymouth with Flora May Tooze (30), Albert Henry Tooze (7) and Alice May Tooze (4).

On 29 Aug 1913, Albert was assigned to HMS Highflyer (1898). From August 1914, she was assigned to the 9th Cruiser Squadron in the Central Atlantic to intercept German commerce raiders and protect Allied shipping. Albert will have been with the ship when she sank the German armed merchant cruiser SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse off the coast of Spanish Sahara.

Albert Tooze died on 13 Jul 1915 at San Vicente Hospital, Cape Verde, from shock following the amputation of a leg crushed between lighter and ship, coaling on 23 Jun. Chief Stoker Albert Tooze, HMS Highflyer, is buried at the Mindelo Municipal Cemetery, Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde.

Flora May Tooze (née Kingsbury) died, aged 71, in 1951 S Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 07A Page 596. She never remarried.

• Albert Henry Tooze (23) Electric Fitter at HM Dockyard, married Lilian Mabel Turner (21), in December 1926 at Emmanuel church, Compton Gifford, Plymouth. Lilian Mabel and two of their children returned from Singapore in 1946. Albert Henry Tooze died in 1987 and Lilian Mabel Tooze in 1992, both in Birkenhead, Cheshire.
• Alice May Tooze married William Henry James Barrett on 17 Aug 1936 at St Jude's Church, Plymouth. They had one son, Peter Barrett (1943-2020). William Henry James Barrett died on 11 Jan 1972 and Alice May Barrett, on 18 Sep 1980, both in Plymouth.