Cecil Roy Hambridge 1898 1968 My Godfather His Farther Henry S Parents William Henry Hambridge 1840 1899 Selina Jane Wade 1845 1881
My godfather Uncle Roy's grandparents were William Henry HAMBRIDGE (1840 - 1899) & Selina Jane WADE (1845 - 1881) ; Roy's father Harry HAMBRIDGE born 1865 at Walworth, England, is found in the 1881 Census living in his parents' house with their large family in Somerfield Rd, Homsey, London, occupation 'seaman' and age 16 - five years later age 21 married Sibena Francesca CULLEN age 19 of Geelong, in Melbourne, Australia.
It is likely that Uncle Roy never met his English HAMBRIDGE grandparents.
Uncle Roy was Roman Catholic - as were his mother, brothers and sisters, but do not know about his HAMBRIDGE grandparents' religious affiliation.
Grandfather William Henry HAMBRIDGE was born 1840, Ripplegate, London (place named in 1881 Census), and birth record says St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, Surrey, parents John William HAMBRIDGE (1812 - 1863) and Elizabeth MONRO (1812 -1892).
Cannot locate 'Ripplegate' - possibly could be Cripplegate, but that is north of the river and places associated with him and his family are south of the river.
He seems to have grown up in the Southwark & Bermondsey area, and from early in his working life he is a central figure in the establishment and growth of 'industrial insurance'. The area where he grew up included some of London's most notorious slums at this time, and was the location of a tannery to add to the general foulness - it was the setting used by Charles Dickens for Oliver Twist's encounters with Bill Sikes
Researching 'industrial insurance' I learned that it began with a government commission recommendation in 1854 to help poor and working people afford burials (and to promote thrift and savings) - over the previous decades as churchyards became crowded, burials shifted to dedicated cemeteries that were more out of town, which meant increased costs for coffins and transport. The alternative was a pauper's burial - a communal grave without a marker - a matter of great shame and horror in Victorian times (and to this day). Insurance companies covered the costs of the burial only of a worker, but not those of his family. Friendly Societies covered all members of the family.
William Henry HAMBRIDGE was already working for the Royal Liver company before 1861 - he was born in 1840 - when he and two other ex-employees of Royal Liver, Joseph Degge & Henry Ridge, founded in 1861 The Royal London Friendly Society that was to become the modern Royal London Insurance Company (from  Royal London: The First 150 Years  by Murray Ross) ; he was part of developing the Society, and was its Secretary still in 1897 (he died in 1899).
His first born, daughter Martha Jane married an Insurance Agent, William SHARPE, daughter Isabella married CHAPMAN and had at least two children, daughter Gertrude may have married (BRIDGMAN or REMNANT) or may not have married.
His eldest son Harry went to sea at a young age - at age 16 his occupation is 'seaman' - and by age 23 had settled and married in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ; second son William, at age 14 occupation 'clerk' cannot yet be further identified in the British records, but may also have settled overseas ; third son Edward remained in London and worked in Insurance, with his father's company as a superintendent in 1897 (perhaps superintendent of agents, collectors & canvassers for the Society) ; fourth son Walter died before the age of two at Newcastle Upon Tyne ; fifth son Benjamin married and lived in Tottenham - North London - for the birth of his first two children, then lived at West Ham, London for the birth of his third child, and thereafter at Dartford, Kent east of London on the way to Gravesend, and started at age 19 working for a pawn broker, still in that business ten years later as a salesman, but a 'printer labourer' after that ; sixth son Ralph marries at Enfield (just north of London and Tottenham), in 1901 is a 'commercial traveller' but in 1910 a newsagent at Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire - a small rural village north of Salisbury (there are several HAMBRIDGE families in and around Swindon to the north of Shipton Bellinger in Wiltshire, have yet to figure how they are connected with these HAMBRIDGEs) ; seventh son Alfred may have settled in Natal, South Africa by 1890-91, and married there ; eightth son Dunstan seems to have moved to the Bournemouth area by age 25, where he marries and raises his family (at Poole) and in 1910 his occupation is 'jobbing gardener'
William Henry HAMBRIDGE married Selina Jane WADE 30 July 1863 at Kensington, Surrey, eleven children identified thus far :
1 Martha Jane born 1863 Camberwell, London bapt 1864 Newington St Mary ; 1871 resident Westgate, Northumberland ; 1881 resident at Homsey, Middlesex;
1886 Martha J HAMBRIDGE married William SHARPE born 1855 occupation 'Insurance Agent' at St Marks, Islington
1889 William James SHARPE born
1901 Census resident at Belgrave Road, Walthamstowe, West Ham, London, Martha age 37, husband William age 46 occupation 'Insurance Agent' (no others living with them), but a separate record for Belgrave Road, Walthamstowe, West Ham gives son William SHARPE age 12 born 1889 living with Thomas GALBRAITH, boarder, age 42 born County Cork, Ireland occupation 'Insurance Agent'
- cannot identify any of the three in the 1891 Census
1911 Martha is resident North Hackney, parish of St John-at-Hackney, London age 47 with husband William SHARPE age 56 born Islington, London occupation 'Clerk Baker' (sic - Banker ?) and 22 year old son William James SHARPE, single, occupation 'Clerk Stockbrokers'
1938 Martha J SHARPE dies 1938, third quarter, at Thanet, Kent age 74 ( may or may not be the same as above)
2 Harry 1865 -1939 born Walworth ; 1871 resident Westgate , Northumberland ; 1881 resident Homsey, Middlesex occ seaman
1886 Henry HAMBRIDGE marries Sebina CULLEN [Melbourne], Victoria (Vic Reg No 6108) ; Sebina Fran CULLEN born 1867 Geelong to Denis & Ann (KINSELLA) CULLEN - Note : Harry marries the same year as his older sister, Martha.
Children :
1888-1853 Sebina Mary HAMBRIDGE ; 1917 marries John W (Jack) ENGLISH at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
1889-1929 Henry Gilmore HAMBRIDGE born at West Melbourne ; 1921 marries Louise Hannah DAVIS
1891-1955 William Percy (Percy or Mick) HAMBRIDGE marries Kathleen Regina ANDREWS (previously married with John David POORE) at Essendon
1902 Alf Septimus HAMBRIDGE dies soon after birth at Coburg
1894-1944 Clarence Leslie (Les) HAMBRIDGE, 1919 marries Jean Gwendoline DAVIDSON (born Penola, SA)
1896-1964 Eileen Olive (Elly) HAMBRIDGE, 1918 marries John Cyril Fookes LEWIS
1898-1968 Cecil Roy HAMBRIDGE, 1925 marries Irene Mabel STEWART (Uncle Roy & Auntie Rene)
1904 - ? Veronica Margaret (Ronnie) HAMBRIDGE, marries first Arthur Gordon WILLIAMS (dies 1937 at Quambatook, Queensland), secondly HOGAN
1907-1976 Eric George Alphonsus (Phonse) HAMBRIDGE, 1931 marries Annie Frost LUKE at Kangaroo Flat, Bendigo
1916 Sebina Francesca HAMBRIDGE dies at Coburg, Melbourne, Victoria from pneumonia - husband Harry is in a remote part of the state as part of the government Land Survey Department, and cannot get to the funeral.
1921 Widower Harry marries Cath HAASE at Bendigo, Victoria
1939 Harry dies at Kangaroo Flat, Bendigo, Victoria age 74
see other journal entries for further details of their children
3 William born 1867 Peckham - have yet to find further information about William, but if the published note - below - is from youngest brother Alfred, implies William is alive in 1894, and presumably not in England.
4 Edward born1868 Camberwell, Surrey
1891 Census is living with his family at Willesden, Middlesex - Census includes a Visitor, Alice BATCOCK, and later that year he marries Alice Emily BATCOCK who was born 1867 at Hull
1894 Alice J G HAMBRIDGE born
1899 Edward HAMBRIDGE born
1901 Edward resident Drummond Road, Bournemouth, Hampshire occ Life Insurance Superintendant. In his own household with wife Alice, children Alice J G HAMBRIDGE age 7 born at Islington, London
1911 Census Edward is resident at Bournemouth, Hampshire occupation Superintendant, with wife Alice Emily and children Alice Ivy Gertrude age 17 occupation 'Assistant' (presumably to her father), Edward William age 13 born 1898 at Hornsey, and Phyllis Eugenie age 6 born 1905 at Bournemouth
1946 Wife Alice E HAMBRIDGE dies age 78 at Bournemouth, Dorset
1953 Edward HAMBRIDGE dies age 85 at Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland
5 Walter Frank born 1869 Camberwell, dies 1871 Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland
6 Benjamin Christmas born 1872 Newcastle-on-Tyne ; 1881 resident at Homsey, Middlesex
Benjamin HAMBRIDGE marries in 1898 with Alice Jane TAYLOR (born 1874 at Isle Hadham - referred to in the 1901 Census as Little Hodham, Hertfordshire) at West Ham, Essex. Children :
1901 Harvey HAMBRIDGE born at Pk Tottenham, Middlesex
- 1923 William H HAMBRIDGE (probably same) marries Grace E GODFREY at West Ham, Essex and one child Roy H HAMBRIDGE born 1927 at West Ham, Essex
1902 Victor HAMBRIDGE born at Pk Tottenham, Middlesex
- Herman V HAMBRIDGE (probably same) dies 1918 age 16 at West Ham, Essex
1904 Edgar HAMBRIDGE born at Pk Tottenham, Middlesex
- Benjamin E HAMBRIDGE (probably same) dies 1918 age 14 at West Ham, Essex ; perhaps Benjamin and brother Herman died close to each other - epidemic? Accident ?
1906 Eva W HAMBRIDGE born at Dartford, Kent
- Winifred E HAMBRIDGE (probably the same) marries Sydney F MUDD 1938 at East Ham, Essex
1908 Norman HAMBRIDGE born at Dartford, Kent ; Norman Stanley HAMBRIDGE dies 1988 at Southend On Sea, Essex - date of birth 29 January 1908
1910 Grace HAMBRIDGE born at Forest Gate, East Ham, Essex
1914 Harry R HAMBRIDGE
- 1941 Harry R HAMBRIDGE marries Vera J BURD at West Ham, Essex
- 1942 Ashley R HAMBRIDGE born 1942 at Epping, Essex mother BURD ; 1967 marries Ann E PARKINSON Barking, Essex
- 2003 Vera Jenny HAMBRIDGE dies 2003 at Havering, Essex born 7 Nov 1915
In the 1891 Census Benjamin age 19 is a servant in the household of Henry W RUSSELL, Pawnbroker Manager, resident in Upper Street, Islington, London, occupation 'Pawnbrokers Assistant' ; in the 1901 Census he is 29, married, with wife and newborn son Harvey at Pelham Road, Edmonton, Tottenham, Middlesex with occupation 'Pawn Broker's Salesman' ; and in the 1910 Census Benjamin HAMBRIDGE is age 40 with a large family and living at Forest Gate, East Ham, Essex and his occupation is 'Printer Labourer'.
1951 Benjamin dies 1951 Rochford, Essex
1956 Alice J HAMBRIDGE dies age 82 at Romford, Essex
7 Ralph Septimus 1874 -1953
1899 marries Clara Jane HOOPER (born 1872 at Ross, Herefordshire [groom] b Newcastle-on-Tyne) at Enfield St Andrew
1901 Census, living at Cotesbach Road, North Hackney, London age 28 and occ 'Commercial Traveller', with his wife C J HAMBRIDGE age 30 born at Ross Herefordshire, newborn son C R HAMBRIDGE and sister G (Gertrude) HAMBRIDGE age 24 (perhaps helping her sister in law with her first baby).
1901 son Cyril Raymond HAMBRIDGE born ~1901 Upper Clapton N E , London, resident Hackney, London
- 1918-1921 Cyril is in the Merchant Navy
- 1924 Cyril marries Ivy E THEOBALDS at Greenwich, London
- 1973 Cyril dies at Lewisham, London, giving his birth date 24 September 1900
1911 Ralph is resident at Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire occ "Newsagent and C"Âť, with wife Clara Jane, son Cyril Raymond age 10 and a boarder, William John SAUNDERS age 25 and single, occupation 'Carpenter House' [House Carpenter] born 1886 at Sheffield, Yorkshire.
1937 Ralph marries Susan E HEPPARD third quarter, at Marylebone, London
1953 Ralph dies at Maidenhead, Berkshire.
8 Alfred born 1870 Camberwell, Surrey - Alfred cannot be found in the British records past the 1881 Census - no death record, either ; a line of enquiry is that he possibly migrated to Natal, South Africa in 1890, married 1893 and raised a family there.
1871 Census has the infant Alfred on a separate record to that of his parents, also at Westgate, Northumberland with a servant, Louisa A FEHRWELT age 22 born in Germany.
1894 A published note 'Hambridge, Alfred, of Durban, Natal, South Africa - seeking his brothers Harry and William Hambridge. " and the addendum "Found."
9 Isabella Kate 1874-1916 born at Newcastle-on-Tyne in Stoke
1909 Isabella marries Frank Hardy CHAPMAN 1876-1951 at Stoke in Newington St Mary ; 1911 resident St John-at-Hackney ; children :
1912 Evelyn P CHAPMAN born Hackney, London
1914 Frederick V CHAPMAN born Hackney, London
1916 Isabella CHAPMAN dies at Whitechapel, London
10 Gertrude born 1877 Hornsey ; 1901 resident Hackney, London (unmarried)
1913 Gertrude marries Percy W REMNANT Wandsworth, London (NOTE : this may refer to another Gertrude HAMBRIDGE born 1895, and there are two Percy REMNANTs, Percy William born 1893, and Percy Waterland born 1867 the youngest brother of James Farquharson 1st Baron REMNANT)
1915 Harold J REMNANT born Wandsworth, London, dies 1917 (ditto)
11 Dunstan Edgar 1879-1954 born Finsbury Park, Middlesex
1901 Dunstan age 25 does military service with 1st Batallion Middlesex Regiment at Parkstone, Dorset
1908 Dunstan marries on 7 June, Julia Lynda STANLEY age 21 born 1887 at Heatherlands, Dorset, bride's father Thomas David STANLEY
1909 Elizabeth Lilian Amy HAMBRIDGE born Poole, Dorset ; dies 1913 Poole, Dorset
1911 Dunstan resident Branksome, Bournemouth, Dorset age 33 and occupation 'Jobbing Gardener'
1911 Elsie Lynda Gertrude HAMBRIDGE born at Poole, Dorset, who in 1933 marries Joseph H STANLEY at Poole, Dorset
1912 Stanley E F HAMBRIDGE born at Poole, Dorset
1914-16 Dunstan does military service with the Royal Defence Corps 261st Bro [sic] Company, Parkstone, Dorset
1914 Ellen Margaret HAMBRIDGE baptised 26 April 1914 at Heatherlands, Dorset and dies (Helen M) in 1914 at Poole, Dorset
1917 Doris E HAMBRIDGE born, and marries Charles W G FARRELL in 1936 at Poole, Dorset
1920 Irene M HAMBRIDGE born, marries firstly in 1939 Thomas HOLLARD at Poole, Dorset and secondly in 1953 David MARSDEN at Poole, Dorset
1921 Dunstan living in East Dorset
1922 Ivy HAMBRIDGE born at Poole, Dorset and marries 1938 with Frederick E C HEDGECOCK at Poole, Dorset
1933 Alfreda HAMBRIDGE ; 1949 Elfreda HAMBRIDGE married Colin MABEY Poole, Dorset ; Elfrieda MABEY nee HAMBRIDGE dies 17 Feb 2014 Ottawa, Canada, parents Julia Lynda & Dunstan Edgar HAMBRIDGE
1954 Dunstan dies age 77 at Poole, Dorset
1968 Julia L HAMBRIDGE (Dunstan's widow) dies at Poole, Dorset age 81 [born ~ 1887]
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