Friday, 28 March 2025

Charles Hoile Baker and Amelia Young

St John's Church, Waterloo Tom Morris, CC BY-SA 3.0

Charles Hoile Baker (b. 23 Aug 1825, bap. 9 Oct 1825 at St Leonard's Church, Shoreditch), son of Charles Baker and Sarah Hoile, married Amelia Young (b. 6 May 1823, bap. 14 Sep 1823 at Southwark St Saviour), daughter of Richard and Sarah Young, at St John's Church, Waterloo (interior) a..k.a. Lambeth St John the Evangelist, Surrey on 28 Mar 1847

Charles and Amelia Baker, it would appear, had six children:
  1. Charles Richard Baker b. 1848 M Quarter in SHOREDITCH Vol 02 Page 399, bap. 4 Jun 1848 at St Leonard's Church, Shoreditch
  2. Frederick Hoile Baker b. 21 Nov 1849 D Quarter in ST GILES IN THE FIELDS & ST GEORGE BLOOMSBURY Volume 01 Page 65, bap. 9 Dec 1849 at St Anne's Church, Soho. Died, aged 7, in 1856 D Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 295 and was buried on 21 Dec 1856 at the City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery.
  3. Sarah Jane Baker b. 1 Feb 1852 M Quarter in HOLBORN Volume 01B Page 395, bap. 1852 at Lambeth St John.
  4. Amelia Elizabeth Baker b. 1854 J Quarter in HOLBORN Vol 01B 421
  5. Sophia Baker b. 1858 D Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 426
  6. Ellen Rosina Baker b. 1866 S Quarter in SAINT GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 398. Registered as Ellen Susannah, the mother's maiden name is also shown as Young. Always known as Ellen Rosina, it appears the registration was listed or transcribed incorrectly.
In 1851, in Kingsgate Street, Holborn (celebrated by Dickens as the address of Mrs. Gamp's Lodging) were Charles Hoile Baker (25) Plumber, Amelia Baker (27), Charles Richard Baker (3), Frederick Hoile Baker (1) and Eliza Sandall (19) Dressmaker, who I can only assume was a Lodger.

By 1861, in Cowley Street, St George-In-The-East (which ran north-south just east of Shadwell Station), the household comprised: Charles Baker (39) Mechanic Plumber, Amelia Baker (40), Charles Baker (13), Sarah Baker (9), Amelia Baker (7) and Sophia Baker (2).

Once more in Cowley Street, St George in the East in 1871 were Charles H Baker (45), Amelia Baker (47), Sarah J Baker (20), Amelia Baker (17), Sophia Baker (13) and Ellen Baker (4). (Charles Richard had married in 1867.)

And in 1881, at 75, Cowley Street, St George in the East, were Charles Baker (54) Plumber, Amelia Baker (58) and Ellen Baker (14).

Amelia Baker died, aged 61, in 1883 M Quarter in ST GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 300.

Charles Hoile Baker died on 20 Sep 1883 at 75, Cowley St, Stepney. (1883 S Quarter in ST GEORGE IN THE EAST Volume 01C Page 283).

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 CemeteryMindeloSão 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.