THE GILLAM FAMILY OF CROYDON AND BRIGHTONChapter 4 |
|||
William GILLAM (c1874 - 1944)According to my mother, my great grandfather William GILLAM was a butcher in Croydon, Surrey. He lived at 30 Selhurst New Road with his wife Sarah until they were both killed by a V1 flying bomb in the summer of 1944. They are both commemorated (along with their daughter, Margaret McGRATH, who was visiting her parents from Beanacre in Wiltshire at the time) on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Website. These are the links to their specific commemorations:
Their death certificates record that their bodies were found on 17th June 1944 at 30 Selhurst New Road and that the cause of death was 'due to War Operations'. William was described as a 70 year old Wholesale Butchers Scalesman (retired) and Sarah was 68 years old (giving approximate birthdates of 1874 and 1876 respectively).
Mortuary details reveal that William was found at 11:55am on 17th June 1944 and that death was due to falling masonry. Sarah was found at 4:30am on 17th June 1944. They were both identified by their son Charles of 4 Selhurst New Road. According to the Croydon Times, William, Sarah and Margaret were buried at Queens Road Cemetery, Croydon on 22nd June 1944. The photo below shows William and Sarah outside their sandbagged bomb shelter sometime during World War 2. William and Sarah GILLAM during World War 2 A cousin wrote to my mother in October 1998 with some details about William, Sarah and William's mother. See Barbara HEMSLEY letter for an edited quote. William married Sarah Jane KING on 23rd January 1893 at Holy Trinity Church, Selhurst, Surrey. The marriage certificate records that William was aged 18 (giving an approximate birth date of 1875), his father was a fishmonger. Sarah was aged 21 (giving an approximate birth date of 1872), her father was George KING, a shoemaker. William and Sarah were both resident at 170 Gloucester Road, Croydon, Surrey. Witnesses to the marriage were J. Knight and H. Farmilo. In 1901 the census (see Table 7) reveals that William and Sarah were living at 3 Granary Cottages in Croydon with four children (Florence, Margaret, Charles and Dorothy) and William's brother, Arthur. William and Sarah's approximate years of birth can now be calculated as 1874 and 1875 respectively. William and Sarah had the following known children (see Figure 6):
Central records have failed to reveal the birth of William in the Croydon area in 1874/1875 (furthermore it has later transpired that the Croydon Register Office also has no record of his birth either, believed to be on 26th January 1874 or 1875 in Penge). By chance the GILLAM family were living at 170 Gloucester Road in 1891. and Table 5 shows the census details. At 17 years of age William GILLAM appears to be the one who married in 1893. It should be noted, however, that William GILLAM the father had already died by this time and thus should have appeared on William & Sarah's marriage certificate as 'deceased'. |
|||
