PART
ONE
The Gloucestershire
Main Line - 1880 to 2021
This is the fourth of four sections of
the first part of the Collett family line
Updated July 2023
The information used to update this file
in the past has been kindly provided
by Alan Collett (Ref. 1R33) and Rob
Collett (Ref. 1R44), and it is the latter
who provided substantial details for his
family for the Sept 2011 update. Prior
to this, other
information has been received from Don Cameron (Part 62)
THE JOINING OF TWO COLLETT
LINES
ALICE LOUISA COLLETT [1P60]
was born at Bisley on 17th May 1880, the daughter of Robert and
Rosanna Collett. The census in 1881
recorded her living with her family in Church Road at Ashton Keynes, just
across the boundary in Wiltshire. At
that time Alice Louisa Collett was just ten months old, while her place of
birth was given as Eastcombe which is near Bisley. Ten years later Alice Louisa was 10 years
old, by which time her family was settled in the village of Siddington near
Cirencester. By the time of the next
census in March 1901 Alice Collett was recorded as being 22, when she employed
as a domestic housemaid living at Ryeford Hall, a school at Stonehouse near
Stroud in Gloucestershire. This
photograph of Alice was taken after 1901 and prior to her wedding day eight
years later
She married HARRY JAMES COLLETT (Ref. 2P30) on 13th
March 1909 at St Mark’s Church in New Town Swindon, their wedding recorded at
Swindon register office (Ref. 5a 23).
Harry was the fifth child of William Collett of Bibury, near
Cirencester, and his wife Caroline Ruth Watts.
Immediately prior to the wedding Alice was in service with the Morse
family and lived-in at The Croft, a very large house on Croft Road in Old Town
Swindon. Once married, the couple set up
home at 7 Bathampton Street (formerly Bath Street) in New Town Swindon, where
the Collett family lived until 1959.
Harry James Collett, referred to as HJ by the family, was born at 16
Exeter Street in Swindon on 9th January 1879, and his occupation was
that of boilermaker with the Great Western Railway. By April 1911 Alice had presented Harry with
the first of their eight children, as confirmed in the Swindon census that year
According to the census
return Harry James Collett, aged 32 and from Swindon, was a boilermaker in the
loco department at the Swindon GWR Works.
His wife Alice Louisa Collett, aged 30 and from Siddington, Glos, had been
married to her husband for two years and their son William Henry John Collett
was one year old and had been born at Swindon.
Their address was 7 Bathampton Street, where all of their remaining
children were born. Ten years later, the
family had grown from the one child to seven children, and five years after the
census day in 1921, the couple’s last child was born into the same
dwelling. The census return for 1921
placed the family still living at 7 Bathampton Street where boiler maker Harry
Collett was 42 years 6 months and Alice Collett was 43 years 1 month. Their seven children were William (known as
Will and Bill) who was eleven, Ellen (known as Nell) who was ten, Harry junior
who was eight, Alice who was six, Rose who was four, Albert (known as Bert) who
was three, and Arthur (known as John) who was two years of age. Every member of the household had been born in
Swindon, apart from Alice Louisa Collett, whose place of birth was given as
Cirencester
Immediately after
Christmas Day in 1937 Harry was taken into the Radium Institute at No.1 Riding
House, Posttana Place in London W1, for an operation on his eye. Upon his arrival at the Institute, a branch
of the GWR Hospital in Paddington, he sent a postcard to his eldest son William
dated
Harry owned an 1899
pocket book in which his address was given as 111 Dixon Street, the same
address where dressmaker Miss W Iles lived in 1936 who made the wedding dress
for his eldest son’s bride Noreen Harman.
Curiously enough, the name Iles has cropped up on more than one occasion
in connection with the Collett family.
First there was Charles Iles Collett (Ref. 1O86) who was baptised in
1846. Then there was John Iles, Harry’s
great-grandfather. And finally, there
was Elsie Iles who married the brother of the aforementioned Noreen Harman,
George Harman in 1930 at Swindon. Alice Louisa Collett
died on 31st March 1969 of a cerebral thrombosis, while she was
living at 25 Swindon Road with her married daughter Ellen Goddard and her
family. She was buried in the same plot
as Harry at Whitworth Cemetery. Details of the
family of Harry James Collett can be found in Part 2 - The Second
Gloucestershire Line leading up to the reference 2P30
1Q41 – WILLIAM HENRY JOHN COLLETT was born in 1909 at
Swindon
1Q42 – Agnes Ellen Collett was born in 1911 at
Swindon
1Q43 – Harry James Collett was born in 1913 at
Swindon
1Q44 – Alice Louisa Collett was born in 1915 at
Swindon
1Q45 – Rose Phyllis Louvain Collett was born in 1916 at
Swindon
1Q46 – Albert Edward Collett was born in 1918 at
Swindon
1Q47 – Arthur Stephen Walter Collett was born in 1922 at
Swindon
1Q48 – Caroline Ruth Collett was born in 1924 at
Swindon
John Levi Collett [1P61], who was referred to as Jack by the
family, was born at Siddington on 21st
January 1882, the third child and eldest son of Robert Collett and his first
wife Rosanne King. His birth was
recorded at Northleach (Ref. 6a 408) during the first quarter of 1882. He was listed with his family at Siddington
in 1891 when he was nine years old but, by 1901, when he would have been 19, he
had already left home and he may have been abroad with the army, since no
record of him has been found and, it is now known, that during his early
working life he did serve with the British Army. Ten years later he was listed in the 1911
Census as John Levi Collett, aged 29, when he was living and working in the
Southampton area, when his place of birth was given as North Cerney in
Gloucestershire. At that time, he was
still in the army, from which he was eventually rejected three years later in
1914. However, it was during the first
quarter of 1913 that the marriage of John L Collett and Lucy E King was
recorded at Eton register office (Ref. 3a 1401). Eighteen months later, after the couple had
settled at Ivor in Buckinghamshire, John joined the Buckinghamshire police
force as a special constable, a position he held from 28th August
1914 to 1st September 1919.
It was also at Ivor where John had married Lucy Elizabeth King and where
their first child was born
John later became a
butler to G T S Stevens, a Middlesex County Cricketer and, afterwards, was in
service to a gentleman by the name of Hebbert.
Later in his life he worked for Lady Murray who was reputed to be the person
who first introduced the Pekinese breed of dog into England. He eventually gave up his occupation as a
butler, to work at the Bell Punch & Ticket Company in Uxbridge, where he
was employed as a service electrician.
It was after the family had settled at Rockingham Road in Uxbridge that
Lucy gave birth to two further sons.
John had served for thirty-two years with the Bell Punch & Ticket
Company when he retired on 25th April 1952. During his retirement Jack worked as a tea
boy in the local toy factory producing Darleks made famous in the BBC
television programme Doctor Who. His
wife Lucy, who was born on 19th February 1890, suffered from
phlebitis in her legs and, for almost thirty years of her life, never went
outside the house. She was the daughter
of Henry and Annie King who, in 1901, were living at Rockingham Road in
Hillingdon, where Lucy was 11 years old and born at Uxbridge. Before moving to Uxbridge around the turn of
the century, John was a choirboy at the Church of St John the Baptist in
Cirencester and returned there late in his life with his son Lewis, hoping to
find some record of his days in the choir, but was unsuccessful. Jack (John) and Lucy spent most of their life
at 78 Rockingham Road in Uxbridge (possibly the former home of the King
family). Lucy Elizabeth Collett nee King
died on 6th June 1973, her death recorded at Hillingdon register
office (Ref. 5c 868) during the second quarter of that year. It was also at Hillingdon register office
that the later death of John Levi Collett was recorded (Ref. 13 1181) following
his passing on 7th December 1978
1Q49 – John Henry Collett was born in 1916 at
Iver, Buckinghamshire
1Q50 – Ronald James Collett was born in 1924 at
Uxbridge, Middlesex
1Q51 – Lewis Frank Collett was born in 1926 at
Uxbridge, Middlesex
William Robert Collett [1P62] was
born at Siddington on 2nd December 1883, the fourth child of Robert
Collett and Rosanne King. He was seven
years old in 1891 and by the time of the census of 1901 he was 17 and a
domestic groom still living at home in Siddington. It is known that William was under 20 years
old when he married the slightly older Jane Julia Harvey who was born at
Cirencester during 1881, the eldest child of John and Matilda Harvey of
Cricklade Road in Cirencester. In 1901,
Jane J Harvey was 19 and working as a live-in domestic servant at the Cecily
Hill, home of elderly Anne Bridges, in Cirencester. Within the first year of their married life
together, Jane presented her husband with a son William who was born at
Cirencester although, by the time the census was conducted in 1911, the three
of them were living in the village of Rendcomb, to the north of Cirencester. The census return that year listed the three
of them as William Collett who was 26 and born at Siddington, a farm labourer,
his wife Jane Julia Collett who was 29 and from Cirencester, as was their son
William Collett who was seven years old.
Also living with the family on that occasion was William’s younger
brother Walter Collett who was 21. Jane
and her son William were living at 171 Gloucester Street in Cirencester during
the first year of the Great War and it was there that Jane received the tragic
news of the death of her husband while fighting for his King and Country in
Belgium. He was Private William Robert
Collett service number 7790 of 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire
Regiment, which he joined on 13th August 1914. Less than three months later he was
critically injured, while in frontline action, and died on 1st
November 1914, during the First Battle of Ypres. During the battle he suffered gas exposure
and was badly wounded and died as a result of his injuries. His name appears on the Ypres Menin Gate
Memorial at Ieper, West Vlaanderen in Belgium.
After the war, his family was presented with three medals, The Victory
Medal, The British War Medal and the 1914 Mons Star, to which was attached the
1914 Clasp
The military records for
the days before he died indicate the regiment was had a quiet night over the 29th
and into 30th October. At
9.30am the first attack on the British frontline troops at Zandvoorde took
place and that by 10.30 the Seventh Division had been forced to fall back. That position was then held under artillery
fire until 4.30 pm, at which time two platoons were placed south of the road to
Chazuvelt. The report for the previous
day (29th) revealed that one officer had been killed, with two
missing, and two injured, while ten other men had been killed, 77 had been
injured and 132 were missing. The 3rd
Brigade was heavily attacked during the night, and at 6 am on the morning of 31st
October the troops of the Welsh Regiment were heavily attacked and retreated
from their trenches on the barricade at Chazuvelt. At 10.30 the Gloucestershire Regiment were
ordered to hold the line running north and south through the O of Veldhoek and
there collect every officer and man coming back. By midday the Welsh and Queens Regiments had
been driven back by the enemy and were re-grouped behind the Gloucestershire
Regiment. During the afternoon the
battalion entrenched themselves on both side of the Veldhoek crossroads. The remnants of the 3rd Brigade formed
up on this line and, despite very heavy and continuous German attack, the line
was held by the brigade until the evening of 1st November when they
were relieved by the 1st Brigade and allowed to re-organise in
Heronthage Wood. It is therefore estimated
that William Robert Collett was no longer alive by then
1Q52 – John William Collett was born in 1904 at
Cirencester
Bertram Henry Collett [1P63],
referred to as BH by the family, was born on 15th October 1885 at
Siddington, and was five years old in the Siddington census of 1891, when he
was recorded living there with his family as Bertie Henry Collett. Sometime after leaving school Bertram
initially worked for James Clifford at Brinkworth in Gloucestershire, where he
learnt the trade of a farrier, and by 1901 James had married Bertram’s eldest
sister Lily Harriet Collett, by which time James and Lily were living in
Bristol. It was also in Bristol that
Bertram was apprenticed to a blacksmith at Brislington, prior to joining the
Army Service Corp as a Sergeant Farrier at Woolwich Barracks, where he served
for twenty-one years. It was while he
was in the army that he was posted to Ireland, where he met his future
wife. The story within the family was
that he was sent to Ireland at the time of the Dublin uprising and it was then
that he was married. This cannot be the
case, as the uprising took place at Easter in 1916, over five years after they
were married. However, this does not
discount the fact that he was sent to Dublin in 1916 as part of the
peace-keeping force
What is known for certain
is that Bertram Henry Collett married Elizabeth Lillian Fuller on 20th
December 1910 at Dublin, Elizabeth having been born at Leinster on 14th
March 1886. Curiously no record of him
has been found in the census of 1901 when he would have been around 16 years
old, so he may have already been serving with the army. By the time of the next census in 1911 Bertie
Henry Collett, aged 24 and from Siddington, was a soldier with the Army Service
Corps. His wife Elizabeth Collett was
also 24 and from Ireland, when the childless couple was living at Woolwich
Barracks, south of the River Thames in London.
On leaving the army after the Great War, Bertram then took up the post
of Stud Groom & Farrier with Sir Edward Durrand at his Ashton Keynes Estate
in Gloucestershire. Sometimes he would
even travel with Sir Edward to events in France and Belgium with a string of
polo ponies. Initially, while working
for Sir Edward, the family lived at Somerford Keynes in a tithe cottage, until
that property was sold. After which they
moved to Langley, near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire. Bertram worked for Sir Edward Durrand until
he retired in the mid-1950s. Elizabeth
presented Bertram with a total of three children, the first of whom was born at
Woolwich, the second during Bertram’s posting back to Dublin, while their
daughter was born at Langley, near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, after Bertram
had left the army. Bertram Henry Collett
died on 23rd February 1962 at Cheltenham and his widow Elizabeth
Lillian Collett, nee Fuller, died sixteen years later on 11th March
1978, her death also recorded at Cheltenham (Ref. 22 1978)
1Q53 – Harry Collett was born in 1913 at
Woolwich, London
1Q54 – Bertram John Collett was born during 1915 in
Dublin, Ireland
1Q55 – Lily Rose Collett was born in 1919 at Langley,
Gloucestershire
Towards the end of the
Great War, he was badly wounded during 1918.
After the war, and due to the limitations placed on him by his injuries,
Ernest and his family eventually moved to Trowbridge, where he took up work in
the Dye House of the local Cloth Mill.
The couple’s second child was also born at Bradford-on-Avon, while the
third child was born after the family had moved to Trowbridge. It was originally understood that later in
their life Ernest and Lily went to live in Swindon, apparently to be near other
members of Ernest’s family, but new information received in 2014 from Sue
Chillcott nee Collett, their granddaughter, states that they continued to live
in Trowbridge for the rest of their lives together. The death of Lillie L Collett, nee Holborn,
was recorded at Devizes register office (Ref. 7c 425) during the first three
months of 1957, when she was 72. Upon
being widowed, Ernest may have moved to Swindon during the next decade since,
the death of Ernest Collett was recorded there (Ref. 7c 869) following his
passing on 28th December 1967, when he was 82
1Q56 – Cynthia Queenie May Collett was born in 1910 at
Wormwood, Wiltshire
1Q57 – Ronald Ernest Collett was born in 1912 at
Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire
1Q58 – Robert William George Collett was born in 1919 at
Melksham, Wiltshire
Shortly after his arrival
in Cinderford, Walter married the widowed Mary Ann Matthews on 27th
May 1912 at Holy Trinity Church at Drybrook in the Forest of Dean. Mary Ann was originally born as Mary Ann
Haile in 1872. His occupation at that
time was that of miller and he later served with the Royal Horse Artillery as a
horse driver in the Great War. During
the war he was gassed and was invalided out of the army. Upon returning home he became a coalminer at
the local gas works and was promoted to shift foreman at the Northern United
Colliery in Cinderford. His wife, Mary
Ann, who was seventeen years older than Walter, already had three children when
he married her. They were Frederick
William George Ryder Haile (base-born), and Olive Ann Matthews and Mary Lucinda
(Molly) Matthews, both daughters being from Mary’s first marriage to Thomas
Matthews. It has since been discovered
that it was Olive Ann Matthews, the youngest daughter of Walter’s wife, who
actual gave birth to Walter’s only child who, to the outside world, was brought
up by Walter and Mary Ann Collett as their own, even thought he was Mary Ann’s
grandson. The child was born at
Cinderford, where Walter Collett died on 7th July 1945 at the age of
54, and when his only son was just fifteen years old
1Q59 – Frederick Walter Thomas George Collett was born in 1930 at
Cinderford, Glos
Although he said he was a
married man, no record of the marriage of Robert Percy Collett has been
found. If the statement in the census
return was correct, the only death of a female recorded at Cirencester around
the time of the birth of his son Raymond Percy Collett, was that of Lily
Collett. She had been born at
Cirencester in 1894 and was only 16 years old when she died in 1910 who, was
six years old and a pauper in the Cirencester census of 1901. It seems unlikely that she was the mother of
Raymond Percy Collett, so perhaps he was simply the base-born son of Robert
Percy Collett, the mother not surviving the birth of their son. All that is known, within the family, is that
there was some kind of major upset between Robert Collett senior and his son
Robert Percy. That may have centred
around who should be responsibility for raising his son Percy, which perhaps
Robert junior was not prepared to do, preferring to enlist with the army, as
indicated by him picture in uniform above
Following the dispute
with his father, Robert Percy Collett left Cirencester after 1911 and was
apparently never reunited with his father or his son, who died in 1919. It was to Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean,
that he travelled to be with his brother Walter (above), where Walter
was married in 1912. Robert Percy
Collett was 29 years old when he married Annie Kibblewhite on 14th
May 1921, the event recorded at Westbury-on-Severn register office (Ref. 6a
572) during the second quarter of that year.
Annie was the youngest child of Cornelius and Ann Kibblewhite who were
living in Westbury-on-Severn in 1891, when Annie from Ampney Crucis was three
years old. Once they were married the
couple resided at Harrow Hill in Drybrook, near Cinderford, where both of their
daughters were born. Robert’s occupation
was that of master baker at the Cinderford Co-operative & Industrial
Society. He later retired in very poor
health, caused by flour dust in his lungs.
Robert Percy Collett died at Drybrook on 29th September 1961,
with his passing recorded at the Forest of Dean register office (Ref. 7b 59)
1Q60 – Raymond Percy Collett was born in 1910 at
Stratton, near Cirencester
These are the children of
Robert Percy Collett by his second wife Ann Kibblewhite:
1Q61 – Gladys J Collett was born in 1923 at
Drybrook, near Cinderford
1Q62 – Hilda G Collett was born in 1925 at
Drybrook, near Cinderford
Mabel Rose Collett [1P67] was
born at Siddington on 28th September 1894, the last child born to
Robert Collett and his first wife Rosanna King.
And it was at Siddington that she was living with her family in March
1901 when she was Mabel R Collett who was six years old. One year later her mother died and during
1903 her widowed father Robert Collett married Annie and moved the short
distance to live in nearby Stratton.
That also may have coincided with ever member of the family living
Siddington, some of whom moved into the town of Cirencester. Mabel was one of only three members of her
family still living in the Cirencester area in 1911. The census that year recorded Mabel Rose
Collett, aged 16 and from Siddington, working as a general domestic servant with
the Jones family from Oxfordshire, at their home in the village of
Bagendon. Over the next couple of years
Mabel left Cirencester and moved to Stratton St Margaret, just east of
Swindon. And it was at Swindon where she
married George Bramble on 25th December 1919. After the wedding the couple lived at
Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, where their first two children were born
At some time during 1922
the family moved to Wanborough, again just outside Swindon. As a couple, they were well known for
travelling everywhere on a tandem, which even included trips to see Mabel’s
estranged brothers Walter Collett and Robert Percy Collett at their respective
homes in the Forest of Dean. Mabel was a
large jovial lady and George, by comparison, was a short, slightly built
man. Mabel Rose Bramble nee Collett died
at Swindon on 26th November 1972, while her husband George Bramble
had died five years earlier on 29th September 1967. According to their son Peter Bramble, there
were three other children in addition to those listed below, two of which were
twins who died in infancy. Peter’s
younger brother George Bramble was living at 37 Graham Street in Swindon during
the 1990s. Of particular interest in the
Mabel Collett and George Bramble family was their eldest daughter Irene
Rosanna Bramble who was born at Stonehouse on 2nd July
1920. She married later married to
become Irene Rosanna Page and she and her husband lived at 150 Rodbourne Road
in Swindon, where their daughter Pamela was born in 1955. Pamela Page eventually went on to marry Robert
Martin Collett (Ref. 28R44) at Swindon, but from whom she was later
divorced. Robert Martin Collett was born at Swindon in
1955, the son of Anthony Roy Collett (Ref. 28Q57). Details of his family can be found within Part
28 – The Faringdon Line
The second eldest child
in the family of Mabel Collett and George Bramble was their son Claude
Bernard Bramble was born on 4th December 1921 at
Stonehouse. In the 1990s he was living
at 20 Frasers Close, Nythe in Swindon and his son Robert Bramble was living at
56 Nyland Road in Swindon. The other
known children of Mabel and George Bramble were Thomas Bramble who was
born on 4th June 1923, Eileen Bramble who was born on 26th
April 1925, Dorothy Bramble who was born on 23rd November
1927, Peter Bramble who was born on 27th December 1929, George
Bramble, Betty Bramble, Elizabeth Bramble who was born on 9th
January 1937, and Ann Bramble who was born on 24th July 1941
Alice Mary Collett [1P68] was
born at Alvescot during the third quarter of 1887, the birth being registered
in Witney. In the Bampton & Witney
area census of 1891 she was recorded as being four years old while living with
her parents and younger sister Elsie.
Following the birth of her next sister in late 1891, the family moved to
Cirencester, but by the start of the next century the family was living in the
Almondsbury area north of Bristol. She
later married Herbert John Golledge at Bristol in 1909. Herbert was the son of Charles Golledge and
Hannah Needham of Stapleton in Bristol.
It may be interesting to note that the Needham family, through their
Hulin family connection, are linked to the Collett family described in Part 35
– The Melksham Line. By the time of the
Bristol census of 1911 Alice had given birth to a son. Herbert John Golledge was 22, Alice Mary
Golledge of Alvescot was 23, and their son Hubert Eric John Golledge was
nine months old
Interesting note: Herbert John Golledge was the second cousin
twice removed of Don Cameron in Australia, through his mother Hannah
Needham. Hannah's mother was Priscilla
Brooks of Stapleton in Gloucestershire who was Don’s great great
great aunt.
Don’s actually Collett family can be found in Part 62 – The Wiltshire
Line to New Zealand and Australia (Ref. 62O1)
John Henry Collett [1P74] was
born at Gloucester in 1876 and was four years old in April 1881 when he living
with his family at 2 Hawkesbury Villa, Weston Road in the Longford St Mary
district of Gloucester. In 1891 John Collett,
aged 14, was attending a school at Axminster in Somerset, where his younger
brother Gilbert (below) was also recorded in that year’s census. Just after the start of the new century he
was working with his father as a chemical manufacturer in Gloucester. John H Collett, aged 24, was still a bachelor
living at his parents’ home at Hillfield, 101 Great Western Road in Gloucester
and the census record for 1901 indicated that he was educated with a Master’s
Degree in Science although, so far, no record of his attendance at university
has been found, unlike his brother Gilbert who received his master’s degree at
Cambridge in 1905. Not long after the
census day in 1901, it would appear that John Henry Collett, who was also known
as Harry, joined the Territorial Army and, on 3rd March 1909, when
he was already Captain John H Collett, he was promoted to the rank of
Major. An announcement to this effect
was confirmed in The London Gazette on 25th May 1909. The same article also mentioned that his
brother Gilbert F Collett had been promoted to the rank of Captain, also on the
third of March 1909. It was during the
previous year that John Henry Collett married Dorothy Elizabeth Foster, the
event recorded at Cheltenham register office (Ref. 6a 937) during the second
quarter of 1908. The witnesses at the
wedding were William Aston, Jane Elizabeth King, and Newman Lockwood. Over the following three years Dorothy
presented John with two children, although there may have been other children
added to their family after the census in 1911
According to the census
that year the couple and their two sons were living in the Stroud area of
Gloucestershire. The census return
revealed that John Henry Collett was 34, and his wife Dorothy Elizabeth Collett
was 32. Of their two children, only the
eldest one was named, presumably because the younger one had only just been
born, and no name had yet been decided upon.
John Nelson Collett was one year old, while his brother was simply
listed as a male of no age, not even in terms of days. Also staying with the family on the day of
the census was John’s unmarried younger brother Leopold George Collett. Upon the start of hostilities between England
and Germany in 1914, John and his brother Gilbert both enlisted as officers
with 5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment. An article published in The London Gazette on
7th June 1917 referred to Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Collett, the
same rank that his brother also held by the end of The Great War. During the 1930s, and very likely around the
time of his retirement, John and Dorothy settled in Cheltenham when they lived
at Pittville Circus from where John was a Justice of the Peace. In 1925, John Henry Collett and two of his
brothers, Gilbert and Seymour, were named as the joint executors of their
father’s estate amounting to £88,291 14 Shillings and 2 Pence, when the probate service
described him as John Henry Collett CMG [i.e.
Companion of the Order of St Michael & St George], a chemical
manufacturer. Towards the end of 1942
the home address for John Henry Collett CMG, DL, JP was of 7 Pittville Crescent
in Cheltenham but, sadly, on 8th November 1942 at the age of 66, he
died at the Imperial Nursing Home, his death being recorded at Cheltenham
register office (Ref. 6a 503) under the name of John H Collett. Probate of his considerable estate of £18,794
13 Shillings and 9 Pence was granted jointly to the National Provincial Bank
and the Reverend Seymour Collett, John’s younger brother (below)
Published in the London Gazette at that time
was the following notice. “In the Estate of Colonel John Henry
Collett, deceased. Pursuant to the
Trustee Act, 1925. All persons having
claims against the estate of John Henry Collett late of No. 7 Pittville
Crescent, Cheltenham in the County of Gloucester C.M.G., D.L., J.P., a Colonel
retired in H.M. Army who died on the 8th day of November 1942, and
whose Will dated the 15th day of September 1941, appointed National
Provincial Bank Limited the executor thereof jointly with the Rev. Seymour
Collett, are required to send written particulars to the undersigned by the 15th
day of February 1943 after which date the executors will distribute the
deceased's estate having regard only to valid claims then notified. Dated this 9th day of December
1942. Madge Lloyd and Gibson, 20 Bell
Lane, Gloucester, Solicitors for the Executors.”
1Q63 – John Nelson Collett was born in 1910 at
Gloucester
1Q64 – Anthony Foster Collett was born in 1911 at
Gloucester
Agnes Sophia Collett [1P75] was
born at Gloucester in 1878 and was listed as being two years old in the 1881
Census when she was living with her parents at 2 Hawkesbury Villa in Weston
Road in Gloucester. She was still living
with her parents ten years later in 1891 when she was 13 and the family home
was in the South Hamlet registration district of Gloucester. After a further ten years Agnes, aged 23, was
living at Hillfield, 101 Great Western Road in Gloucester, the home of her parents
John Martin and Sarah Ann Collett. Still
living with the family was Agnes’ older brother John and her younger brother
Leopold and they, and their father, were involved in the family business of J M
Collett & Co Ltd, chemical manufacturers of Gloucester. According to the next census in April 1911
Agnes Sophia Collett was recorded as being younger than she actually was at 30,
and was two years younger than her younger brother Gilbert (below) who
was correctly listed as being 32. Her
place of birth was confirmed as Gloucester and she was still a single lady
still living with her parents and her brother at Kimsbury House in Upton St
Leonards, Gloucester, where the family was supported by three servants. It would appear that she never married, and
died on 5th September 1963 while she was living at Sussex Lodge,
Claverton Down in Bath. At the time of
her passing she owned a number of properties, including land opposite Sussex
Lodge, a lock-up shop at 40-42 Eastgate Street in Gloucester, and a shop at 174
High Street in Cheltenham. The property
situated adjacent to her back garden at Sussex Lodge was occupied by her
younger brother, the Reverend Seymour Collett (below), until his death
in 1972
Gilbert Faraday Collett [1P76], named
after the physicist, was born at Gloucester on 19th July 1879, the
second son and third child of chemical manufacturer John Martin Collett and his
wife Sarah Ann. Gilbert was one year old
by the time of the census in 1881, when he was living with his family at 2 Hawkesbury
Villa on Weston Road in Gloucester. Ten
years later he and his brother John (above) were attending a school in
Axminster in Somerset, when Gilbert Faraday Collett was 11 years old. He later attended Cheltenham College, where
he was educated from 1893 to 1898, when he matriculated. It was during October 1898 that Gilbert was
accepted at Pembroke College in Cambridge, where he obtained his Bachelor of
Arts degree in 1901 and his Master’s Degree in 1905. His university entry record confirmed that he
was the second son of John Martin Collett of Guy’s Cliff, Wolton, Gloucester,
later of Wynstone Place near Gloucester.
While he was at Cambridge Gilbert won a rugby blue in Varsity Match of
1898. It was during the following year
that he was invited to join the touring Barbarians team. Around the time that he received his MA, or
shortly thereafter, Gilbert was a founding member of the Gloucester Fire
Brigade. During his time at Cambridge,
it would appear he was visiting friends or relatives in the Cheltenham area,
since at the time of the census in March 1901 Gilbert F Collett, aged 21 and
from Gloucester, was recorded in the village of Cowley, just south of
Cheltenham. After completing his
university education Gilbert joined his brother in the Territorial Army, and on
3rd March 1909, when his brother John was promoted from Captain to
Major, Gilbert was made given the rank of Captain, all as published in The
London Gazette on 25th May 1909.
Less than two years later, according to the census in April 1911,
Gilbert had returned to Gloucester to live with his family, where he was
recorded under his full name of Gilbert Faraday Collett. He was further described as being 32 and a
chemical manufacturer living with his parents and sister Agnes (above)
at Kimsbury House in Upton St Leonards, to the east of Gloucester City. Rather curiously his ‘older’ sister Agnes was
listed as being two years younger than Gilbert, whereas in all of the previous
three census returns he was the younger sibling by two years
At the outbreak of
hostilities, Gilbert enlisted with the British Army and served with 5th
Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment during The Great War of
1914-1918. He was promoted to Captain on
12th August 1914, when he was stationed at a training camp near
Colchester. He travelled to France
towards the end of 1915 and later became a Major. He was made an acting Lieutenant Colonel from
1917 until he was invalided out of frontline duties with trench fever during
1918, by which time he had already achieved the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel. He was mentioned in despatches
on three occasions and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order medal in
1918. It was only in 1934 that he retired
from the army, when he was 55. In 1925
Gilbert Faraday Collett and two of his brothers, John and Seymour, were named
as the joint executors of their father’s estate amounting to £88,291 14 Shillings and
2 Pence, when the probate service described him as Gilbert Faraday Collett DSO, a chemical manufacturer
During the following year, when Gilbert was around 47 years of age, he
married Dorothy Lawrence Miller M B, from Dundee Scotland. It seems very likely that Dorothy was much
younger than Gilbert since, within two years of their wedding day, she
presented Gilbert with a son and heir.
When the child was just a few years old Gilbert and Dorothy moved to a
large house at Battledown Gates in Cheltenham, on the corner of Hales Road and
Battledown Approach. That move followed
a similar move by his brother John, who had already settled in Cheltenham and
was living nearby at Pittville Circus.
While in Cheltenham, Gilbert was a member of the Cheltenham Race Course
and a mason with the Old Cheltonian Lodge.
Gilbert, Dorothy and their son were living at Hucclecote near Barnwood
to the east of Gloucester when Gilbert died on 26th February 1945,
when his son was just seventeen years old.
Following the death of her husband, Dorothy married William Hubert
Cullis of Balcarras Court in Charlton Kings near Cheltenham. And it was at Cheltenham that Dorothy died
during June 1982, which may further indicate that she was very likely around
ten to twenty years younger than Gilbert.
Within the records of the Cambridge Alumni, Gilbert Faraday Collett was
described as being the Managing Director of J M Collett & Co Ltd,
Gloucester, the company founded by his father.
The same records also confirmed that he was married and had issue,
including a son to carry on the Collett name, and at some time in his life he
lived at Battledown Gates in Cheltenham.
His name also appeared in the 1939 version of Who’s Who
During his younger days
he was a keen rugby (union) player and, in addition to his Cambridge Blue and
The Barbarians Tour, he also played on the wing for Cheltenham RUFC, and in
1903 he won three caps playing for the British Isles team in a tour of South
Africa, but sadly was never selected to play for the English National
team. During the South African Tour,
Gilbert
played in 20 of the 22 matches, including all three Test games against the South African national team. He was a prolific
scorer during the first half of the tour, with a dropped goal in his first
match against Western Province Country team, followed by eight tries over the next eleven games, including two tries in both
games against King William's Town and Griqualand West. He also
played first class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, and in 1924
he was President of the Gloucestershire Golf Union
1Q65 – Gerald David Martin Collett was born in 1928 at
Gloucester
Leopold George Collett [1P77], who
was known as Lee within the family, was born at Gloucester during 1882. It was as Leopold G Collett aged eight years,
that he was living with his family in the South Hamlet district of Gloucester
at the time of the census in 1891 and, ten years after that, he was still
living with his parents at Hillfield, 101 Great Western Road in Gloucester, at
the age of 18. By March 1911, under his
full name of Leopold George Collett, he was still a bachelor at 28, when he was
staying at the Gloucester home of his married brother John Henry Collett (above)
and his family. It seems curious that
Leopold was the only one of the four sons of John Martin Collett not to be
named as a joint executor of his father’s Will in 1925. It was five years later, during the last
three months of 1930 when the marriage of Leopold G Collett, aged 48, and Joy
Mona Luis Fernandes was recorded at Upton-on-Severn register office in
Worcestershire (Ref. 6c 373). Joy was
born during November 1901 and was an accomplished artist. The couple had been married for twenty-nine
years when Leopold died in 1959 at the age of 76. His death was recorded at Cirencester
register office (Ref. 7b 522) during the first quarter of that year. Probate for Leopold George Collett, of Wolds Cottage
of Chedworth Laines near Cheltenham, who had died on 15th March
1959, was granted to his widow Joy
Mona Luis Collett, when his personal effects were valued at £559 11 Shillings. Twelve years later, the death of Joy Mona L
Collett was recorded at Cirencester (Ref. 7b 1048) during the early months of
1971
Seymour Collett [1P78] was
born at Gloucester in 1883, the last child born to John Martin and Sarah Ann
Collett. Seymour was seven years old at
the time of the census in 1891 when he was recorded with his family in the
South Hamlet district of Gloucester. He
was educated at Cheltenham, where he was recorded on the day of the census in
1901 when he was 17. Ten years later in
April 1911, he was a boarder staying at 55 Victoria Grove in Bridport, Dorset,
the home of elderly Emily Hodder. The
census return described him as Seymour Collett, aged 27 years and from
Gloucester, who was a bachelor and a clergyman of the established church
The only other known
details regarding the Rev Seymour Collett are that he remained a bachelor all
his life and that he retired to Little Stoke, Claverton Down, to the east of
Bath, where he died in 1972. The death
of Seymour Collett was recorded at Bath register office (Ref. 7c 687) during
the fourth quarter of that year, when he 89.
His final place of residence at Little Stoke may have been purchased at
the same time as the adjacent property, since his sister Agnes had lived there
and died there nine years prior to his passing, their two gardens backing onto
each other. During his life the Reverend
Seymour Collett officiated at various family events, including the christening
of the granddaughter of his brother Gilbert Faraday Collett. From 1926 to 1938 he was the vicar at St
James Church in the village of Bratton, south-east of Trowbridge. Upon his leaving Bratton, his parishioners
and friends from the village presented him with a book containing their names
and those of the children who attended Sunday School, plus photographs. The
inside front cover was a very elaborate and colourful tribute to Seymour
Collett
In 1925 Seymour and two
of his brothers, John and Gilbert (above), were named as the joint
executors of their father’s estate amounting to £88,291 14 Shillings and 2 Pence, when
the probate service described him as the Reverend Seymour Collett, a clerk. He was also named jointly with the National
Provincial Bank regarding the Will of his older brother John Henry Collett who
died at Cheltenham in November 1942. His
brother’s personal estate was valued at £18,794 13 Shillings and 9 Pence and
was the subject of a notice in the London Gazette that year
Walter Charles Collett [1P79] was
born in 1868 at Ham in Surrey, just north of Kingston-upon-Thames, the eldest
child of Charles George Collett and his wife Ann. It was at Kingston that his birth was
recorded (Ref. 2a 268) during the third quarter of 1868. At the age of two years, Walter G Collett was
living at Ham with his parents and younger brother Edward, who tragically died
shortly after the census day in 1871. At
the time of the 1881 Census Walter was 12 years old and was living with his
family at Acre Road in Kingston, and ten years he was still living there with
his parents at the age of 22. It was at
Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey, during the first three months of 1899, that
Walter Charles Collett married Charlotte Emily Tovey, as recorded at the
Kingston register office (Ref. 2a 472).
The witnesses at their wedding were George William Bishop and Elizabeth
O’Rourke. Charlotte was born in the
Hammersmith area of London and in March 1901 the census conducted that month
revealed that the childless couple was living at Surbiton in Surrey. The census return listed the couple as Walter
C Collett, aged 32 from Ham in Surrey, who had taken up his father’s occupation
as a carpenter, while his wife Charlotte from Hammersmith was 26. By April 1911 Charlotte had given birth to a
son who was born in the Surbiton area, where the family was still living at
that time. Walter Charles Collett from
Ham was 42, Charlotte Collett was 35, and their son Walter Vincent Collett was
just four years old, his middle name being taken from his grandfather’s second
wife’s maiden-name. The marriage of
Walter and Charlotte sadly end just over five years later when the death of
Walter C Collett was recorded at Kingston register office (Ref.2a 566) during
the month of December in 1916 when he was only 48
1Q66 – Walter Vincent Collett was born in 1906 at
Surbiton, Surrey
Edward Collett [1P80] was born at Ham in
Surrey during 1869, and was baptised at Petersham in Ham on 19th
December 1869, the second child of Charles George Collett and his wife
Ann. Edward was one year old in the
census of 1871 when he was living at Ham with his parents and older brother
Walter (above). Sadly, it was not
long after that when he died
Alice Collett [1P81] was born at Ham in
1872, the eldest daughter of Charles and Ann Collett. She was nine years old in 1881 when she was
living at Acre Road in Kingston-on-Thames.
Ten years later she was still living with her family in Kingston when
she was 19. Whether through her father’s
business as a carpenter or not, Alice later met and married Horace W Daysh, a
carpenter from Fareham in Hampshire who was twenty years older than Alice. Just after the start of the new century,
according to the census conducted in March 1901, Alice Daysh, aged 29 and from
Ham, was living in Kingston-upon-Thames with her carpenter husband Horace, who
was 49, and their daughter Annie S Daysh who was two years old. Ten years later in April 1911, the same Daysh
family was still living in Kingston at 78 Gordon Rd (78 Canbury Avenue),
but had living with them at that time Alice’s widowed mother Ann Collett, aged
74, and Alice’s youngest sister Louisa Collett (below). According to the census return Horace Daysh
was 37, his wife of twelve years Alice Daysh from Ham in Surrey was 39, and
their daughter Annie Daysh was 11
Lucy Collett [1P82] was born at Ham near
the start of 1873, when her birth was registered at Kingston-upon-Thames (Ref.
2a 284) during the first three months of the year. It was later that same year when Lucy Collett
was baptised at Ham on 10th August 1873, the daughter of Charles
George Collett and his wife Ann. As
Lucey Collett (sic), she was eight years old in the census of 1881, when she
was living with her family at Acre Road in Kingston-on-Thames. Ten years after that she was recorded as
Lucie Collett, aged 18, when she was still living in Kingston with her
family. It has not been discovered where
her parents were in 1901, but at that time unmarried Lucy Collett, aged 28 and
from Ham, was a tailoress and a boarder at the home of spinster Sarah Gooddy at
27 St James Road in Kingston. Also
boarding at that same address was Lucy’s sister Louisa (below). Three years after that census day, Lucy
Collett, a spinster, married Harry Arlotte, a widower, at St Paul’s Church in
Kingston-upon-Thames on 2nd April 1904, when her father was
confirmed as Charles George Collett, the event recorded at Kingston register
office (Ref. 2a 785). After seven years
together, the couple was recorded at 28 Britannia Road, Surbiton Hill in Surbiton
Surrey, where Harry was 50 and a jobbing gardener from Marylebone in London,
Lucy from Ham was 36, when living with them were two children from Harry’s
previous marriage, Harold Egbert Arlotte aged 11, and Gladys Hilda Arlotte who
was ten. Lucy Arlotte nee Collett was 87
when she passed away, her death recorded at Surrey register office (Ref. 5g 474)
in 1960
Louisa J Collett [1P83] was
born at Kingston in 1876, the last child born to Charles George Collett and his
wife Ann. In the census of 1881, she was
her family were living at Acre Road in Kingston, where Louisa was five years
old. It was as Louisa J Collett, aged
14, that she was still living with her parents in Kingston in 1891. On leaving school she lived and worked with
her older sister Lucy (above) in Kingston where they both employed as
tailoresses. Where her parents were in
1901 has not yet been revealed, but on the occasion of the census that year
Louisa Collett, aged 23 and a tailoress from Kingston, was boarding with her
sister Lucy at 27 St James Road in Kingston, the home of Miss Sarah
Gooddy. Following the death of her
father Louisa returned to live with and support her elderly mother, and in 1911
the two of them were staying with Louisa’s older sister Alice Daysh (above)
at her home in Kingston. At that time in
her life unmarried Louisa Collett was 34
Percy George Collett [1P84] was
born in 1888 at Bromley in Kent where the birth was recorded (Ref. 2a 409)
during the last quarter of the year. He
was the elder of the two sons of George Collett and Lucy Warrell and, as simply
Percy Collett, he was two years old in 1891 when living with his parents at
Park End in Bromley. and was 12 in 1901 when on both occasions he and his
family were still residing in Bromley.
After a further ten years, when he was described as being unmarried
Percy George Collett aged 22 and from Bromley in Kent, he was living at
Hawkhurst in Kent, where he was a joiner and a lodger at the home of John
Anthony Bradley from Derby. And in so
doing, Percy had followed the same profession as his carpenter father. He was still living in Kent, when the death
of Percy G Collett was recorded at Sevenoaks register office (Ref. 2a 1479)
during the first three months of 1937
Walter Collett [1P85] was born at
Bromley in 1893, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 2a 421) during the third
quarter of the year. He was eight years
old in the Bromley census of 1901 when he and his brother Percy (above)
were living at Gwydyr Road. When his
parents moved south from Bromley to Sevenoaks, Walter went with them and, in
1911, Walter Collett aged 17 years and from Bromley was employed as a grocer’s
assistant when living with his parents in the village of Dunton Green
Herbert William Collett [1P86] was
base-born at Clerkenwell in 1888, the eldest child of Herbert William Collett,
formerly Herbert William McCann, by Elizabeth Lile Mills who were not husband
and wife at that time. His birth was
recorded at Holborn register office (Ref. 1b 207) during the last quarter of
1888, which was two years before his parents were actually married. In 1891 he was named as Herbert Wm Collett,
aged two years, when he was living with his family at 21 Rounall Buildings in
Clerkenwell. Three years later in 1894
Herbert Collett of 9A Rosamund High Street at Clerkenwell in the Holborn
district of London was attending Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. By 1901 he and his family were residing at 12
Easton Street in Clerkenwell when Herbert Collett was 13. Tragically Herbert and his five surviving
siblings were made orphans during the following year, as a result of which the
six children were taken in by Doctor Barnados.
What happened to Herbert William Collett after that is not known for
sure, while there was a William Collett from London who was 23 and serving
overseas with the British Army at the time of the census in 1911. Seven years earlier in 1904, and two years
after they had lost their parents, Herbert’s two siblings Ada and Frank both
sailed to Canada, where they were joined by sisters Louisa May and Jessie in
1911
Ada Elizabeth Collett [1P87] was
born at Clerkenwell on 12th December 1891, and was baptised at St
James’ Church in Clerkenwell on 24th January 1892, the daughter of
pastry cook Herbert William Collett and his wife Elizabeth who were living at 5
Wherlin Street at that time. Her birth
was recorded at Holborn (Ref. 1b 320) during the first month of 1892. Nine years later, at the time of the census
in 1901, Ada Collett was 10 years old and was living with her family at 12
Easton Street in Clerkenwell. It was
during the following year that her father died, and his death was followed not
long after by the passing of Ada’s mother.
As a result of being orphaned Ada and her five surviving siblings were
taken in by the Doctor Barnados Children’s Home in 1903 and during 1904 she and her younger brother Frank (below) were
shipped off to Canada. Once in Canada
she was
placed in the care of a family in Kent County who eventually adopted her, when
her name was changed to Ada Florence McKerracher. In 1913 she married Ira Ross who was born in
1884, with whom she had three children, Sanford Ross, Dorothy Ross, and Helen
Ross. Upon the death of her husband in
1950, Ada later married Hollie Ellis.
Ada Florence Ellis was happily reunited with her two sisters Louisa May
and Jessie (below) and they lived close to each other in the same Kent
County town in Ontario for much of their later life. And it was there that she died in 1981
Frank Collett [1P88] was born at 9A
Rosamund High Street in Clerkenwell towards the end of 1893 and his birth was
recorded at Holborn register office (Ref. 1b 90) during the first three months
of 1894. By 1901 the family had moved
house two times and was residing at 12 Easton Street in Clerkenwell where Frank
was eight years old, having previously been living at 23 Rawstorne Street, just
of Goswell Street, in 1898. Tragically
in 1903 Frank and his sibling were orphaned by the death of their parents who
died within a short time of each other.
As a result of their loss all of the children were taken into a Doctor
Barnados Children’s Home from where Frank and his sister Ada (above)
were taken by the organisation to Canada during the following year. It is known that his sister was adopted by
the family in Ontario with whom she was placed, while it is not known what
happened to Frank
Louisa May Collett married (1) Charles Ernest
Rylett in Kent County, Ontario during March 1922. Charles was eight years older than Louisa,
having been born in 1890. It was also at
Kent County that Louisa and her sister Jessie were reunited with their older
sister Ada Elizabeth (above). The
marriage of Louisa and Charles produced a son for the couple, Leslie Rylett
(1923-2006) who, in 1949, married Mary Ellen Bruegeman who was born in
1927. However, after twenty-eight years
together they were divorced during 1977.
After enjoying only seventeen years together, Charles Ernest Rylett died
in 1939, following which his widow Louisa May Rylett married (2) Alvin
Campbell. Later on, she was made a widow
for a second time, after which she then married (3) Preston Smith. Louisa May Smith nee Collett died in
1989. It was the marriage of Leslie Rylett and Mary Ellen Bruegeman that
produced a daughter Marilee Rylett Magder, and it was Marilee, of Whitby
in Ontario, who kindly provided all of the
details for the January 2012 update of this family line
Arthur William L Collett [1P93]
was very likely born at Hampstead on 10th July 1912 while his
parents Arthur Charles Collett and his second wife Beatrice Isobel Manchester
were living at 18 Gardnor Road, their address when they were married in October
1911. His birth was recorded at
Hampstead register office (Ref. 1a 1092) during the third quarter of 1912, when
his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Manchester. From the 1939 Register, it is established
that Arthur, Beatrice and their son were living within the Islington area of
London, at 44 Hollingsworth Street, from where Arthur
W L Collett was employed by the Islington Borough Council as a works
cleaner. Six years later, Arthur William
L Collett was residing at 14 Fieldway Crescent in Islington in 1945, and it was
during the second quarter of the following year when Arthur W L Collett married
Vera D Jarvis at Islington in London (Ref. 1b 287) – the same year his father
died. Their marriage is understood to
have produced just the one son for the couple.
During the Second World War Arthur served with the British Army,
possibly in Palestine, but was eventually invalided out of the army with ear
problems. His mother’s sister, Vera
Frances Louise Penn nee Manchester made her Will in 1962 in which Arthur
Collett of 20 Church Lane in East Finchley was bequeathed £100. Very little else is known about the family at
this time, except that Arthur William L Collett died at the age of 89, his death
being recorded at Ross-on-Wye during October 2001
1Q67 – Michael A R Collett was born in 1948 at
Islington, London
Elizabeth Hannah Collett [1P94] was
born at Newport in Wales on 26th October 1866, the eldest child of
Henry Albert Collett and his wife Mary Ann Thomas. The birth of Elizabeth H Collett was recorded
at Newport (Ref. 11a 370) during the fourth quarter of 1866. She was nearly one month old, when she was
baptised using her full name at Stoke Prior in Worcestershire on 17th
November 1866. For some reason, when she
was four years old, her family had returned to Gloucestershire, when her second
brother was born at Stonehouse in January 1871, and where they were still
living two months later at the time of the census that year. On that occasion though, Elizabeth H Collett
who was four, was not living with her family.
Instead, she was staying with her grandmother, the widow Elizabeth
Collett, at her home in nearby Woodchester.
Not
long after that Elizabeth’s parents took the children back to Newport where two
more children were born, before they moved to the Bath area of Somerset in
1877. By the time of the census in 1881
the family was living at 11 Alexandra Buildings in the Weston district of
Batheaston, where Elizabeth was 14. Ten
years later she was still living there with her parents and six of her siblings
in 1891, when she was unmarried at the age of 24. With no record of her as a single lady after
that time it is assumed that she was married by 1901
Henry Thomas Collett [1P95] was
born at Newport during the fourth quarter of 1868, the eldest son of Henry and
Mary Ann Collett. He was two years old
in the census of 1871, when he was listed as Henry T Collett who was staying at
Stonehouse in Gloucestershire with his parents.
Shortly after that, the family returned to Newport where two more
children were added to the family, before they moved to Somerset. By 1881 he and his family were living at 11
Alexandra Building at Weston near Bath, where Henry was 13 and was still at
school, but on leaving school he appears to have left Somerset and followed his
older sister Elizabeth to Staffordshire
Later in his life he
followed his father’s example and was employed on the railways, a job that took
him to Burton-on-Trent where he met Bertha Miller, the daughter of John Miller,
whom he married on 26th December 1894. The marriage of Henry Thomas Collett and
Bertha Miller was recorded at Burton-on-Trent (Ref. 6b 593) during the fourth
quarter of 1894. According to the census
of 1901 Henry T Collett was 31 and was working as a railway engine driver,
while residing at Grange Street in Burton.
His wife Bertha was 26 and their only child at that time was Winifred,
who was not yet one year old, who had been born at Burton. No more children were added to the family
and, by 1911, the family of three was still living in Burton-on-Trent, where
Henry Collett was 42 and still employed as a railway engine driver, Bertha
Collett was 37 and Winifred Collett was 10 years old
Joan Murton nee Townsend (see
Ref. 1P105) recalls her Uncle Harry Collett and Auntie Bertha Collett,
together with their daughter Winnie Collett, Joan’s cousin. The birth of Winifred Gladys Collett was
recorded at Burton-on-Trent register office (Ref. 6b 446) during the second
quarter of 1900. On being baptised at
Christ Church in Burton on 23rd May 1900, her parents were confirmed
as Henry Thomas Collett and his wife Bertha.
The death of Henry T Collett was recorded at Burton register office
(Ref. 9b 104) during the first three months of 1950, when he was 81 years of
age. Bertha Collett, nee Miller, died in
1954, her passing recorded at Burton-on-Trent register office (Ref. 9b 74)
during the first three months of the year
1Q68 – Winifred Gladys Collett was born in 1900
at Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire
James Edward Collett [1P96] was
born on 2nd January 1871 at Noah's Ark in Stonehouse and was
baptised on 16th July 1871 at Kings Stanley, when he was confirmed
as the son of Henry Albert and Mary Ann Collett. The family was recorded in the Stonehouse
census of 1871 when James E Collett was two months old. He was no longer living with his family in
1881 when they were recorded at 11 Alexandra Building in Weston, nor has he
been located elsewhere in that year’s census, or the next one in 1891. However, it was at St Olave’s in London,
during 1897, that he died at the age of 18
William Albert Collett [1P97] was
born on 24th October 1872 at Newport where he was baptised on 17th
November 1872. It was around 1877 that
his family left South Wales, when they moved to Weston near Bath and the census
of 1881 recorded the family as residing at 11 Alexandra Building in Weston,
where William was nine years old. Ten
years later as simply William Collett he was still living with his family in
1891 when he was 19. It was during the
third quarter of 1896 that the marriage of William Albert Collett and Clarissa
Frances Weare was recorded at Bath register office (Ref. 5c 92). The birth of Clarissa Frances Beatrice Weare
was recorded at Bath (Ref. 5c 296) during the second quarter of 1876 who, in
1881 at the age of five years, together with her widowed mother Ellen Weare
(nee Leek), and her seven-year-old brother Percy Weare, were boarders at the
Alexandra Building in Weston, where nine-year-old William Albert Collett was
living in both 1881 and 1891. By 1891,
Clarissa and her brother and mother, were living with Ellen’s two younger
unmarried sisters, Alice and Caroline Leek, at Locksbrook Road in Weston. At the time in her life Clarissa was 15, and
had left school, when she was working as a sales assistant in a boot and shoe
shop
Her marriage to William
produced two sons, both of them born at Weston, with their births recorded at
Bath register office. According to the
census, completed at the end of March in 1901, William Collett was 28 and an
iron moulder living at Weston with his wife Clarissa Collett aged 25, and their
son William who was two years old and born at Bath. Staying with the young family that day was
Clarissa’s mother Ellen Weare. Ten years
later, in April 1911, the family was living in the Bath St Michael area of the
city and had been added to by the birth of the couple’s second son. Iron moulder William A Collett was 38 and
working at a local iron foundry, Clarissa F Collett was 35, and the two sons
were William P H Collett who was 12, and Ernest L Collett who was two years
old. Staying with the family that day
were Arthur L Flay from Melksham, who was 52, and 51-year-old Julien Joubert, a
visitor from France. Whether there were
other children born to William and Clarissa between their two sons is not known
for sure. However, Joan Murton nee
Townsend (see Ref. 1P105) recalls her Uncle Bill Collett, Auntie Rissa
Collett, and her two cousins William and Ernest Collett
The death of William A
Collett was recorded at the Somerset register office in Bath (Ref. 7c 42)
during the last quarter of 1952, when he was 80 years of age. He left no Will, so the administration of the
personal effects of William
Albert Collett of 5 Lyndhurst Road, Oakfield Park in Bath, amounting to £961,
was granted to his widow Clarissa Frances Beatrice Collett. She survived her husband by just less than
eight years, when Clarissa died at Woodland Grove, Weston Park in Bath on 25th
March 1960, at the age of 84. The Will
of Clarissa Frances Beatrice Collett was proved at Exeter on 3rd May
1960, when her youngest son Ernest Leonard Collett, a buyer, was named as the
executor of her estate of £953 11 Shillings and 6 Pence
1Q69 – William Percival H Collett was born in 1898 at
Bath, Somerset
1Q70 – Ernest Leonard Collett was born in 1909 at
Bath, Somerset
Robert Edward Collett [1P98] was
born at Newport in 1875 and he was six years old in 1881 while living at 11
Alexandra Building in Weston near Bath with his family. He was still there in 1891 when he was 15,
and after a further ten years Robert Collett from Newport was 25 and a tailor’s
presser who was still living with his parents in Weston. Furthermore, he was still a bachelor ten
years later in 1911, at the age of 35, when he was still living at Weston with
his parents. However, according to the
memory of his niece Joan Murton nee Townsend (see Ref. 1P105) she clearly
remembers her Uncle Bob Collett, his wife Katherine, who was Auntie Kate Collett,
who had two sons, her cousins Cecil and Stanley. New information received from Jennie Cordner
in August 2013 confirms that Robert E Collett married Kate E Pickett at Bath,
where the register office recorded the event (Ref. 5c 1103) during the third
quarter of 1912. The same record listed the
witnesses at the wedding as Annie Anstey and Edward Gillard. In addition to this, the birth of their son
Cecil also confirmed the child’s mother’s name as Pickett. Robert Edward Collett was residing at a
property referred to as Moorlands in Englishcombe Lane in Bath when he died as
a patient in St Martin’s Hospital in Bath on 19th July 1957 at the
age of 82. The death of Robert E Collett
was recorded much later at Bath register office (Ref. 7c 17) during September
that year. He left a Will in which his eldest
son Cecil Edward Collett, a foundry foreman, was named as the sole executor of
his estate of £129 12 Shillings and 11 Pence
1Q71 – Cecil Edward Collett was born in 1914 at
Bath, Somerset
1Q72 – Stanley George Collett was born in 1917 at
Bath, Somerset
Frances Adelaide Collett [1P99] was
born at Weston near Bath on 3rd January 1878 and was listed as being
three years old in the Weston census of 1881, and was 13 in 1891. By 1901 she was 23 and was working as a
dressmaker with her sister Ethel (below) while still living with her
parents at Weston. Frances was the
grand-mother of Merryl Wells of Hemel Hempstead and later Luton. Shortly after the census that year, Frances
married Thomas Henry Gullick of Bath, with whom she had four children, the
first two being Vera
May Gullick,
who was born at Bath in 1904, and Francis Albert Gullick, who was born at
Paddington on 2nd September 1910 and died at Bournemouth during September
in 1990. On the day of the census in
1911, the family of four was residing in the Paddington area of London, when Tom
Henry Gullick from Bath was 30 and a printer’s compositor, Frances Adelaide
Gullick from Bath was 33, Vera May Gullick from Bath was six years of age, and
Francis Albert Gullick was seven months old, his birth recorded in Middlesex. Over the following years the family was added
to with the births of Leslie M Gullick at Fulham in 1914 and Victor Charles
Gullick who was born at Bath on 26th May 1916 and died at St
Albans in the summer of 1981. The
earlier death of Frances Adelaide Gullick was recorded at Hertfordshire’s
Hitchin register office (Ref. 4b 26) during the first quarter of 1960, when she
was 82 years old. All of this
coincides with the memory of Joan Murton nee Townsend (see Ref. 1P105) who
recalls her Uncle Tom, Auntie Frances, and cousins Vera, Frank, Leslie and
Victor
Mary Louisa M Collett [1P100] was
born at 11 Alexandra Building in Weston, near Bath, during January 1881, but
was listed as Diana Collett, aged two months, in the census conducted on 3rd
April that year, possible prior to her birth being registered. Her birth was subsequently recorded at Bath
(Ref. 5c 242) as Mary Louisa M Collett.
On that census day the family was still living at 11 Alexandra Building
in Weston. Sadly, Mary was the second of
the four children of Henry Albert Collett and his wife Mary Ann Thomas to
suffer a premature death, the first being her older brother James (above),
the third being her younger sister Maria, together with a fourth unidentified
child mostly likely born into the family after the death of Maria. Mary Louisa M Collett was just over
one-year-old when her death was recorded at Bath (Ref. 5c 290) during the
second quarter of 1882
Ethel Florence Gertrude Collett [1P101] was
born at Weston near Bath on 10th May 1883, her birth recorded at
Bath (Ref. 5c 143). According to the
next two census returns she was still living with her family at Weston in 1891
and 1901. In the first of them, she was
recorded simply as Ethel Collett, aged eight, while ten years later she was
Ethel F G Collett who was 18 and employed as a dressmaker, like her older
sister Frances (above). No trace
of Ethel has been found in Great Britain in 1911, and that is because she
entered into a relationship with Edward Weaving of Bath, whose birth was
recorded there (Ref. 5c 255) towards the end of 1880, and had left England for
South Africa by 1905. It was at Mowbray,
Western Cape, that Ethel Florence Gertrude Collett married Edward Weaving on 13th
September 1905, after which they had four children: Disa Weaving, Aubrey
Edward Weaving, whose wife was Jane, and who died on 3rd October
1982; Raymond Wilton Weaving; and Ralph Lionel Weaving, born in
1921 and married Gaynor Taylor. The was
also a fifth child who did not survive, the details for which are as
follows. An Unnamed Weaving child
was born and died in November 1917 at Prince Road in Claremont, Cape Town, who
was confirmed as a daughter of Edward Weaving. In June 1938, Ethel Weaving made a return to
England, possibly to visit her elderly mother who passed away in 1940. The journey from Durban was on board the
Arundel Castle, of the Union Castle Mail Steamship Company, which arrived in
Southampton on 24th June 1938.
The passenger listed the three members of her family as Edward Weaving,
who was 57, Mrs Ethel Weaving aged 55 and their son Ralph Lionel Weaving who
was a 17-year-old student. According to Ancestry.com,
it was nine years after their return to South Africa, that Edward Weaving died
on 20th August 1947 at Paddock, a district of Port Shepstone in
Natal.
However, the legal
documents regarding the proving of his Will in Natal, provide a much more
accurate account of his passing one year later.
Edward Weaving, a British Subject from Bath, England, a retired railway
auditor with a government pension, and residing at Station House, Paddock, in
Port Shepstone, died on 1st September 1948 at Paddock. He was 67 years and 11 months old. The same document also confirmed that he had
married at Mowbray, and that his wife was Ethel Weaving, and his three
surviving adult children were Aubrey Edward Weaving, Raymond Wilton Weaving,
and Ralph Lionel Weaving. The proving of
his Will was completed on 14th September at Paddock, by the signing
of the documentation by his widow, at which time she confirmed that his estate
had a value above £300, but contained no unmovable property. It was nearly four years after being widowed,
that Ethel Weaving died on 5th July 1952 at the age of 69. The record confirmed that Ethel Florence
Gertrude Weaving, born Collett in England, and from Alexandria in Cape Province
was staying at 43 Russell Road in Port Elizabeth, where she had been
undertaking domestic duties. That may
well have been the home of one of her sons.
The cause of death was a carcinoma of the oesophagus, for which she was
being treated at St Joseph’s Hospital in Port Elizabeth, where she passed away
after a year-long illness. She was
buried at South End Cemetery in Port Elizabeth, and probate of her estate was
settled on 22nd June 1953
The details above coincide
with the memory of Joan Murton nee Townsend (see Ref. 1P105), who recalls the
family as Uncle Ted Weaving, Auntie Ettie, and their four children Disa, Aubrey, Raymond,
and Ralph, living in South Africa
Lilian May Collett [1P103] was
born at Weston near Bath on 6th February 1886 and she was five years
old in the Weston census of 1891 when she was listed as Lilian Collett. Upon leaving school she worked in a
tobacconist’s shop as confirmed by the 1901 Census for Weston when she was 16
(sic) and still living with her parent as Lilian M Collett. Lillian was unmarried ten years later when
she was still living with her parents in Weston, where she was described as
Lillian May Collett of Weston who was 24.
Twelve months later, the marriage of Lilian M Collett and Sidney A Garraway
was recorded at Bath register office (Ref. 5c 149) during the second quarter of
1912. Sidney had been born on 5th
January 1888. Nine months after their
wedding day, Lilian gave birth to twin boys, their births recorded at Bath
during the last three months of 1912, when their mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Collett. They were Kenneth
George Garraway (Ref. 5c 47) and Sidney Henry Garraway (Ref. 5c
49). However, according to the memory of
Lillian’s niece Joan Murton nee Townsend (below), she remembers her
Auntie Lily, Uncle Syd, having a son of a different name, he being Joan’s cousin
Jim. The couple’s twin sons were
baptised in a joint ceremony in Bath on 2nd March 1913, when the
family was residing at 21 Millmead Road in Twerton, when their father was a
gardener. Later in his life, Sidney A
Garraway was the cemetery foreman at the Bath Twerton Cemetery, the job also
providing their home, in the form of the Cemetery Lodge on Bellotts Road in the
Twerton area of Bath, where Sidney and Lillian M Garraway lived at that time. It was a Bath register office that the death
of Sidney Arthur Garraway was recorded during the summer of 1972, when he was
84. Five years after losing her husband,
the death of Lilian May Garraway was recorded at Bath register office (Vol. 22)
towards the end of 1977, when she was 91 years old. A single headstone in the churchyard of St
Peter’s Church in Twerton-on-Avon includes the names of full names of Sidney
and Lilian, plus that of their son Sidney Henry Garaway who was 63 when he died
in Wales in 1974
Nellie Edith Evelyn Collett [1P104] was
born at Weston near Bath on 19th August 1888, the daughter of Henry
Albert and Mary Ann Collett nee Thomas, and was strangely recorded in the
census of 1891 as Nellie Collett who was under one year old, rather than two
years of age. However, in the Weston
census of 1901 she was more on 23rd November 1957, died accurately described as Nellie E E Collett, aged 13.
It is now known that she later married George Leonard Fisher and that
they had a son Harold Leonard Fisher who was born at Bath in 1912. Exactly one year earlier, Nellie Fisher from
Bath was 22 when she was living at Bath with her husband George Leonard Fisher,
aged 25 and also born at Bath, who was a gas and oil engineer and fitter. George had been born at Bath towards the end
of 1885, one the sons of George and Martha Fisher who, on completing his education
took up the occupation of a mechanical engineer. Just like her sister Lillian (above)
Nellie was also 91 years old when she passed away, the death of Nellie Edith E
Fisher recorded at Bath register office (Vol. 22 4) during the spring of
1980. Joan Murton nee Townsend (below)
has a clear memory of her Auntie Nelly, her Uncle Len and their son, her cousin
Harold
Rosaline Winifred Collett [1P105] was
born at Weston near Bath on 29th May 1893, the last child of Henry
Albert Collett and Mary Ann Thomas, and was listed with her family as Rosaline
W Collett aged eight years in 1901. Ten
years later she was described using her full name of Rosaline Winifred Collett,
when she was 17 and confirmed as having been born at Weston, where she was
still living with her family. Towards
the end of 2012, contact was made with the only child of Rosaline Winifred
Collett, she being Joan Edna May Townsend, now Murton, who lives in
South Africa. And it is thanks to Joan
that we now know a little more about her mother Rosaline and other members of
this family line. Rosaline Winifred
Collett was married to Edward George Townsend at Bath on 31st
January 1924. It was also at Bath where
the couple was living when their daughter was born during the following
year. Sometime after the marriage of
their daughter in Bath in 1948, Rosaline and Edward left Bath and settled in
Cheltenham where the couple’s two grandchildren were born, and Rosaline
Winifred Townsend nee Collett died on 7th May 1971, at Cheltenham,
where her passing was recorded (Ref. 7b 84).
Her husband survived her by six years, and when Edward George Townsend
died at Cheltenham during 1977, following which he was buried there with his
wife Joan Edna May Murton, nee Townsend
Joan Edna May Townsend was
born at Bath on 30th March 1925, the only child of Edward George Townsend
and his wife Rosaline Winifred Collett.
Joan was nearly twenty-three when she married Walter Murton on 7th
February 1948 at Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down near Bath. Walter was born on 9th July 1924
at, Sandal, Wakefield in Yorkshire and, during his life with Joan, she
presented him with a son and a daughter.
Norrison Philip Murton, known as Philip, was born at Cheltenham on 2nd
April 1952, while Hilary Collette Murton was born on 10th July 1956
when the family was still living in Cheltenham.
Walter Murton was a glider pilot in the Royal Air Force during the
Second World War. After the war he
obtained degrees in Physics and Engineering which ultimately enabled him and
his wife, together with their teenage child, to move to South Africa, when
Walter was offered a senior position with ISCOR, SA. (Government Iron and Steel
Corporation) in 1970. At that time in
their lives the family was residing in the village of Southam, just north of
Cheltenham. After thirty-six years in
South Africa, it was at Johannesburg that Walter Murton died on 13th
July 2006
Joan and Walter’s son Philip studied at the
University of Cape Town where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in
Industrial Chemistry and more recently achieved an LL.B from UNISA in
Pretoria. He married Barbara Heydenryck
of Johannesburg on 9th February 1980. Joan and Walter’s daughter Hilary attended
the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, obtaining a Diploma in
Oncology Radiography (Radiation Therapy).
She was married to John Harrison of South Africa on 10th
February 1979. Their marriage produced
three children while they were living in Johannesburg, and they were Timothy
John Harrison, who was born on 19th July 1986, Christopher James
Harrison, who was born on 22nd December 1988, and Nicholas Giles
Harrison who was born on 22nd January 1992
Henry Charles Collett [1P106] was
baptised at Frampton-on-Severn on 2nd November 1868, two months
after his parents, Charles Collett and Mary Catherine Boucher, were married on
the last day of August that same year.
Within the baptism register he was named as the son of Charles and
Catherine Collett but, only two weeks after he was baptised, he died at
Frampton on 16th November 1868, where he was buried. The birth, and the death, of Henry Charles
were both recorded at Wheatenhurst during the last quarter of 1868, the birth (Ref.
6a 302), and his death (Ref. 6a 170)
Sarah Ann Collett [1P107] was
born at Frampton-on-Severn in 1870, the second child of Charles and Mary
Catherine Collett, her birth recorded at Wheatenhurst (Ref. 6a 302) during the
third quarter of 1870. It was a little
while later that, as the daughter of Charles and Catherine Collett, Sarah Ann
Collett was baptised at Fretherne, just a short distance north-west of
Frampton, on 18th September 1870.
Whilst her family are known to have continued to live in Frampton, no
record of Sarah and her family has been identified in 1871. Ten years later, the Frampton census in 1881
placed Sarah Collett as schoolgirl of ten years, who was living at Frampton
Street with Georgina Halling, who was 21 and the wife of absent waterman
William Halling, and her son William Halling, all three of them born at
Frampton. On that same day, her parents,
Charles Collett, a mariner, and Catherine Boucher, a charwoman, were living
nearby at Leather Bottle Lane in Frampton.
Living with them was Sarah’s younger sister, baby Margaret Collett, and
Sarah’s older stepbrother Matthew Boucher.
It was just over ten
years later the marriage of Sarah Ann Collett and Thomas Purnell Marchant was
recorded at Barton Regis (Ref. 6a 275) during the third quarter of 1881. Their wedding took place at Clifton Emanuel
in Bristol on 18th August 1891, when Sarah’s father was confirmed as
Charles Collett and Thomas’ father was named as George Purnell. The couple’s four daughters were baptised at
the Church of St John the Baptist in Clifton, as follows: Beatrice Elsie
Marchant on 13th March 1892, Winifred Catherine Marchant
on 15th October 1893, Gertrude Annie Marchant on 5th
September 1895, with Margaret Edith Marchant born on 30th
August 1899 who died in 1974. The
Bristol census in 1901 recorded the family at Worral Road as Tom P Marchant
from Clevedon in Somerset, who was 39 and a bricklayer, Sarah A Marchant from
Frampton-on-Severn who was 30, Elsie B Marchant who was nine, Winnie C Marchant
who was seven, Gertrude A Marchant who was five, and Margaret E Marchant who
was one year old. All four daughter were
confirmed as having been born in Bristol.
Staying with the family at that time, was Sarah’s youngest sibling,
William G Collett aged 14 and from Frampton-on-Severn, who was described as the
brother-in-law of Tom Marchant
Albert James Collett [1P108] was
baptised at Frampton-on-Severn on 8th September 1872, the son of
Charles Collett and Mary Catherine Boucher.
He was less than four years old when he died at Frampton on 3rd
April 1876, where he was buried with his older brother Henry Charles Collett (above). On the day of his baptism, his father was
correctly named as Charles, while his mother was named as Ann, as she was, two
years later, for the baptism of his sister Louisa Elizabeth (below). The birth, and the death, of Albert James
Charles were both recorded at Wheatenhurst, the birth (Ref. 6a 302) during the
third quarter of 1872, and his death (Ref. 6a 209) during the second quarter of
1876, when he was three years of age
Louisa Elizabeth Collett [1P109] was
baptised at Frampton-on-Severn on 20th December 1874, the eldest
daughter of Charles Collett and his wife, who named as Ann instead of Mary or
Catherine. Her birth was recorded at
Wheatenhurst (Ref. 6a 327) during the last month of the year. It seems highly likely that whatever illness
or ailment ended the life of her two older brothers Henry Charles and Albert
James (above), also affected Louisa since, a third burial record at
Frampton, confirmed the death of Elizabeth Louisa Collett in 1876. Her death was also recorded at Wheatenhurst
(Ref. 6a 233) during the first three months of 1876, when she was just over one
year old
Margaret Esther Collett [1P110] was
born at Frampton-on-Severn towards the end of 1878, another daughter of Charles
and Mary Catherine Collett. She was two
years old in the census of 1881 when she was living with her parents at Leather
Bottle Lane in Frampton, and they were still there ten years later in 1891, but
at Rosamunds Green, when Margaret Esther Collett was 12. Her father died at Frampton in 1893 and five
years later both Margaret and her mother passed away in 1898 and were buried at
Frampton. The death of Margaret Esther
Collett was recorded at Wheatenhurst (Ref. 6a 225) during the first quarter of
1898, when she was said to be 18 years old
Albert Collett [1P111], who is still to
be confirmed as a son of Charles Collett and Mary Catherine Boucher, was born
at Frampton-on-Severn in 1880. However,
the death of Albert Collett was recorded at Wheatenhurst (Ref. 6a 213) during
the first quarter of 1882
John Collett [1P112], who is still to
be confirmed as another son of Charles Collett and Mary Catherine Boucher, was
born at Frampton-on-Severn in 1882. His
death, like that of his likely brother Albert (above), was also recorded
at Wheatenhurst in 1883, following which he was buried at Frampton, where his
siblings were buried, and where his parents were laid to rest during the 1890s
Frank Collett [1P113] was born at
Frampton-on-Severn in 1884, another son of Charles and Mary Collett, whose
birth was recorded at Wheatenhurst (Ref. 6a 332) during the second quarter of
that year. Sadly, like many of his
siblings, he too did not survive, with the death of Frank Collett being
recorded at Wheatenhurst (Ref. 6a 239) during the first three months of 1888, when
he was three years of age
William George Collett [1P114] was
born at Frampton-on-Severn in 1886, the last child born to Charles Collett and
Mary Catherine Boucher. His birth, like
that of all his siblings, was recorded at Wheatenhurst (Ref. 6a 215) during the
last quarter of the year. It was at
Rosamunds Green in Frampton-on-Severn, that four-year-old William George
Collett was the youngest of the three children still living there with his
parents in 1891. His unmarried uncle, William
Boucher aged 28 and, his mother’s younger brother, was also living with the
family that day. During the following
decade, William Collett suffered a triple loss in his life at Frampton, the
first with the death of his father in 1893, when he was only seven years old. Then, five years later, his mother and her sister
both died at Frampton in 1898, when William was 12 years old. As a result of being made an orphan, William
was taken into the family of his uncle William Boucher who had become a married
man three years earlier. Also at that
time, William’s surviving younger brother Arthur was placed in the care of his
married half-brother Matthew George Boucher
That situation was
confirmed in the next census of 1901, when the three of them were residing at
Forthampton, near Tewkesbury. That day
William Boucher was 39 and a carter on a farm and his wife Elizabeth Boucher was
36. Interestingly, William Collett was
described as their son William Boucher, who was 15 and working with ‘his
father’ as a general labourer on a farm.
So maybe William had been formally adopted by then. After a further decade, the census conducted
in 1911, revealed that William Collett from Frampton was 24 and again working
as a labourer on a farm, who was still living with his uncle William Boucher
and his wife Elizabeth, but at Upleaden, north-west of Gloucester and
south-west of Tewkesbury
It will be interesting to
find out where William George Collett was living in 1921, when that census
details are due to be released later on.
However, it is established that he was married twice in his life, with
both of them recorded at the Lancashire register office in Barton-upon-Irwell,
in the Old Trafford district of Manchester.
On the first of those two occasions, the marriage of William G Collett
and (1) Rosina E Hope was recorded there (Ref. 8c 1273) during the second
quarter of 1926. Tragically, Rosina Eva
Collett died nine months after they were married at the age of 40, presumably
during childbirth, when the child also did not survive. Rosina died in Lancashire on 19th
January 1927 and, six months later, probate of her personal effects was
resolved on 16th July 1927 in favour of William George Collett
After six years as a
widower, William was re-married at the Church of St Andrew in Eccles on 23rd
June 1933, the event again recorded at Barton-upon-Irwell register office (Ref.
8c 1259). The marriage certificate
confirmed that William George Collett, a widower, was the son of Charles
Collett, deceased, was married by licence for the second time to Mary Ellen
Ashurst, a widow of 43 from 529 Barton Road in Eccles. Mary was the daughter of Thomas Blinkhorn,
deceased, a former cotton polisher, while the witnesses were John William Egan
and Ellen Egan. That second marriage for
William lasted just five, when the death of William G Collett, aged 52, was
recorded at Barton-upon-Irwell (Ref. 8c 637) during the final quarter of
1938. His widowed survived him by
seventeen years, when Mary E Collett, aged 66, passed away during the third
quarter of 1956, her death recorded at Barton register office (Ref. 10b 223)
Arthur Stanley Collett [1P115] was
born at Frampton-on-Severn in 1890, and possibly at Rosamunds Green, the last
child of Charles Collett and Mary Catherine Boucher. His birth, like those of all his older
siblings, was recorded at Wheatenhurst (Ref. 6a 52) during the second quarter
of 1890, and it was a Rosamunds Green that he was living with his family
1891. Rosamonds Green in Frampton,
was named after the mistress of King Henry II, Rosamund Young and, at 22 acres,
is reputed to be the largest village green in England. That year, Arthur Stanley Collett from
Frampton was one-year-old when he was listed with his depleted family, with
just an older sister and brother still alive from a total of ten children. Further tragedy happened within the family
during the next seven years, with first the death of Arthur’s father in 1893,
followed by the death of his mother and sister in 1898
That very sad state of affairs, left Arthur and
his brother William (above) as orphans, with no immediate family to call
on. Therefore, it was members of his
mother’s Boucher family, who took the two brothers into their care. While William (above) was taken into
the family of his uncle William Boucher, Arthur joined the family of Matthew
George Boucher, the base-born son of Arthur’s mother before she married
Arthur’s father. That was confirmed by
the census of 1901, when half-brother Arthur Collett from Frampton-on-Severn
was 10 years old and living at Bromley (Kent) in South London, at the home of
Metropolitan Police Office Matthew Boucher who was 34 and from Whitminster,
near Frampton-on-Severn, his wife Lydia Eliza Stock who was 33 and from Hardwick
in Gloucester, and their three younger child Archibald, Lillian and Doris
Boucher. Upon leaving school, Arthur
entered the boot and shoe industry but, prior to the next census day, he had
signed on with the British Army and was assigned to barracks at Farnborough, to
the north of Aldershot, by 1911. The census
return that year, described him as Arthur Collett from Frampton in
Gloucestershire, who was single and aged 20, whose occupation was that of a
shoemaker. Whilst it mentioned the
Malplaquet Barrack, under institution it read “Oudenarde
Barracks, Church of England Soldiers’ Home, Square Brigade Office, caretaker, Royal
Army Medical Corps”
R Collett [1P116], full name not
known, was the daughter of Wallace Edwin Collett and was born at Rosewood in
Queensland. From a later family story
told by her married daughter Edna Sunner, we know she was married and that her
married name was Mrs R Henning. The
story, reported as a magazine article and told during an interview with Edna
Sunner, is re-produced in full below, but with additional information included
in brackets [ ] which, in one case, marked*, replaces incorrect information
about the village of Amberley, close to Woodchester in Gloucestershire. This overrides the original assertion that
Amberley was a town in Sussex. It was at
Amberley that her paternal grandparents were living before the family emigrated
to Australia
“The name Amberley was given to the area [of Queensland]
by Mr James Edwin Collett [Ref. 1N59], a farmer who arrived from England in the
1850s to settle on a property at 3 Mile Creek west of Ipswich. He called the property ‘Amberley’ after his
home at *[Amberley in Gloucestershire].
Mr Collett originally commenced growing cotton, cutting timber and
general farming on the property.
However, with the restoration of American grown cotton after the Civil
War to the British spinning mills, the cotton growing declined. The area then remained as primarily dairy
farming up until 1938
Forty years later, on 25th July 1978, Mrs
Edna Sunner of Ipswich retold the history of her pioneer family. With F-111s slicing the air above her Ipswich
home, the swift aircraft provided a personal link with the past. Four generation of one family’s history lie
in their flight path. Taking off from
RAAF Base Amberley, they leave land once tilled by Mrs Sunner’s great
grandfather James [Edwin] Collett. The
planes climb over farmland and swing over her mother’s childhood home. The family’s history encapsulates the
development of the Ipswich area – from the slab hut days of James Collett to
the urban prosperity of Mrs Sunner’s modern brick home in Horan Street
Her family’s Ipswich story began in the 1850s when James
Edwin Collett and his wife Martha, arrived with their four sons and one
daughter to begin general farming. Mrs
Sunner is unsure how long the Collett family remained at Amberley – but they
left lasting monuments behind them. The
local Congregational Church building was named Amberley Church to honour the
family’s religious work. The family’s
links with the area were weakened after 1881 when Mrs Sunner’s grandfather,
Wallace Henry Collett, and his wife Harriet Perrem, moved to Rosewood. Wallace Henry lived in the area until 1944,
when he died in the Lockyer Hospital at the age of 87. The spent his final years living with his
daughter, Mrs R Henning – Mrs Sunner’s mother”
William Henry Collett [1P117] was
born at Rosewood in Queensland on 30th April 1885, the only known
son of Wallace Edwin Collett, who was also known as Wallace Henry Collett, and
his wife Harriet C Perrem. It was at
Rosewood on 19th August 1908 that he married Ethel Lydia Shelton who
was born on 6th June 1886 in the English village of Hucknall Torkard
in Nottinghamshire, today simply known as Hucknall. Their marriage produced six daughters, as
listed below, the first of them being born only three months after the couple’s
wedding day. William was a fruiterer, a carrier
and a shop proprietor during his working life.
William Henry Collett died on 19th March 1958 at the age of
73 years, following which he was buried at Tallegalla to the north of
Rosewood. It was just over four years
later when his widow Ethel Lydia Collett nee Shelton passed away on 14th
May 1962 when she was 75, after which she too was buried at Tallegalla Cemetery
1Q73 – Charlotte Caroline Collett was born in 1908 at
Rosewood, Queensland
1Q74 – Ivy Elizabeth Perrem Collett was born in 1911 at
Rosewood, Queensland
1Q75 – Lydia May Collett was born in 1917 at
Rosewood, Queensland
1Q76 – Leila Maude Collett was born in 1920 at
Rosewood, Queensland
1Q77 – Enid Joyce Collett was born in 1924 at
Rosewood, Queensland
1Q78 – Valmai Doreen Collett was born in 1926 at
Rosewood, Queensland
Leila Collett [1P118] was born in Australia
during 1887 and was the first-born child of James Ford Collett and Elizabeth
Elliott. Tragically, the Queensland
Times, Ipswich Herald and Advertiser, carried the story of the premature death
of Miss Leila Collett in the edition of the newspaper printed on Saturday 6th
August 1904. The article read as
follows:
“It is my sad duty (writes our Rosewood
correspondent under yesterday’s date) to record the death at the early age of
17 years of Miss Leila Collett, eldest daughter of Mr J F Collett, of the firm
of Collett Bros, of this township, her demise taking place at an early hour on
Thursday morning. The deceased young
lady, whose constitution has never been robust, but who, nevertheless, was of a
bright and happy disposition, was, up till a few weeks ago, in her usual
condition of health, and consequently no extra anxiety was felt by her
friends. A little over a month ago,
however, grave symptoms manifested themselves and medical advice was sought at
once. Her parents then received the
dread intelligence that she had become a victim of that insidious malady, Bright’s
Disease, and that no hope of her ultimate recovery could be entertained. She appeared to rally, however, and continued
to do so until Saturday last, when she again took a change, and it became
apparent to her relatives that her days were numbered, though she lingered on
until Thursday morning. Everything that
the loving care and sympathy of many friends could do was done to alleviate her
agony, which she bore with patient fortitude and with ready acquiescence in the
Divine will. The greatest sympathy is
expressed on all sides for her parents and relatives in their loss – for a life
thus cut off in the early flower of youth
The deceased was assistant organist at the
local Congregation Church and a prominent member of the choir, and one of the
senior scholars in the Sunday-school.
The funeral took place this (Friday) morning, and was one of the largest
ever seen here”
1Q79 – Joyce Fords Collett was born in 1923 Australia
1Q80 – Hazel Elliott Collett was born in 1925 at
Brisbane
Alice Maude Collett [1P122] was
born at Coln St Aldwyns where she was baptised on 27th February
1870. As Alice M Collett she was eleven
years old in the Coln St Aldwyns census of 1881 when she was living with her
draper and grocer father Francis Collett and the rest of the family. It would appear that she never married and
lived all of her life at the family home in Coln St Aldwyns. In 1891 Alice was 21 and a school teacher and
was living with her widowed mother Harriet Collett and the rest of the
family. By March 1901 Alice was then
working as a seamstress at the age of 30, while living with her mother and
sister Lydia both of whom were also seamstresses. Ten years later according to the census of
1911, Alice Maude Collett of Coln St Aldwyns was still living there with her
seventy-year-old mother when Alice was 41 and still earning a living as a
seamstress. It is possible, although not
proved, that Alice Maud Collett of Coln St Aldwyns was the same Alice Maud
Collett who was named as the widow of Raymond John Collett (Ref. 1O118) of Coln
St Aldwyns, who died there in 1928. If
so, she was his niece and seventeen years younger than carpenter and
wheelwright Raymond
Lydia M Collett [1P123] was
born in 1872 at Coln St Aldwyns and like her sister Alice Collett (above)
she never married. She first appeared in
the census of 1881 when she was nine years old and living with her family at
Coln St Aldwyns. She was still living
there with her widowed mother Harriet Collett ten years later when Lydia was 19
and a draper’s assistant, helping her mother manage the family business. By 1901 her mother had given up the family
draper business and instead Lydia 28, her mother Harriet, and her sister Alice
were all working as seamstresses, while still living at Coln St Aldwyns. Sometime during the next ten years Lydia left
Coln St Aldwyns and moved north to Oddington near Stow-on-the-Wold, where she
was living and working in 1911. At that
time, she was a spinster aged thirty-eight and her place of birth was confirmed
as Coln St Aldwyns, when she was employed as a parlour-maid, one of three
domestic servants, at the Oddington home of elderly widow Elizabeth Lucy Rice
from Kent, who was living on her own means.
Lydia
never married, and was 72 years of age when she died, the death of Lydia M
Collett recorded at Cirencester register off ice (Ref. 6a 122) during the third
quarter of 1944
Charles William Collett [1P124] was
born at Coln St Aldwyns in 1874 and was seven years old in the census of
1881. Ten years later he was still living
with his widowed mother at Coln St Aldwyns when he was seventeen and employed
as a carpenter, while by March 1901 he was recorded as Chas W Collett aged 26
who was living and working in the Wells area of Somerset. By April 1911 Charles was married and was
living at Axbridge in Somerset where his two children up to that time had been
born. The census returns listed the
family as Charles William Collett, aged 39 and from Coln St Aldwyns, his wife
Jessie Catherine, who was 29 and from Wells, and their two children Clifford
William Collett aged three years, and Francis Edgar Collett who was one month
old
Charles’ wife was Jessie
Catherine Brown, the daughter of carpenter William Henry Brown and Annie Brown
of South Street in Wells, whose birth was recorded at Wells (Ref. 5c 520)
during the second quarter of 1881. It
was also in Wells, at St Cuthbert’s Church, that she was baptised on 23rd
June 1881. Her marriage to Charles
William Collett was recorded at Wells register office (Ref. 5c 994) during the last
three months of 1907. On the day of the
census in 1901 Jessie K Brown was 19 years old and working as a dressmaker,
while still living with her family at South Street in Wells. It is now established that three more children
were added to the family after 1911, and that one of them was Jessie
Collett. He enlisted with 4th
Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry and was Private Jesse Stanley Jack
Collett, service number 5676458 and, when he was 27, he was killed in action on
29th June 1944 and was buried at the St Manvieu War Cemetery. His military service record confirmed that he
was the son of Charles William Collett and his wife Jessie Catherine Collett
1Q81 – Clifford William Collett was born in 1908 at
Axbridge, Somerset
1Q82 – Francis Edgar Collett was born in 1911 at
Axbridge, Somerset
1Q83 – Jess Stanley Jack Collett was born in 1917 at
Axbridge, Somerset
1Q84 – Margaret A C Collett was born in 1919 at
Axbridge, Somerset
1Q85 – Gertrude Blanche Collett was born in 1922 at
Axbridge, Somerset
Herbert Francis Collett [1P125] was
born at Coln St Aldwyns on 24th April 1878, his birth recorded at
Northleach (Ref. 6a 72), and who was two years old in 1881. His father Francis died during the next few
years so by the time of the census of 1891 Herbert was an errand boy at the age
of 12 when he was living with his widowed mother Harriet at Coln St Aldwyns and
the rest of his family. Herbert later
became a groom and a gardener and in 1901 he was living and working at Little
Faringdon, just north of Lechlade. Three
years later, Herbert Francis Collett, a gardener aged 24 (sic), was married by
banns on 7th July 1904 at St Mark’s Church in Swindon, to Sarah Jane
Norris, where she was born, and recorded there (Ref. 5a 362). Herbert’s place of residence was Weston
Subedge and his father was Francis Collett, a carpenter, while Sarah was living
at 73 Redcliffe Street in Swindon, and was the daughter of William George
Norris, a blacksmith. Herbert had given
his age as 24, the same age as Sarah, who was working as a domestic servant. The two witnesses were Sarah’s father and
Herbert’s younger brother Percy Allen Collett (below). Eleven months after their wedding day, Sarah
gave birth to a son, who birth was recorded at Evesham register office. By the time of the census conducted in 1911,
the family of three was living at Weston Subedge in Worcestershire, where their
son had been born. Herbert Collett from
Coln St Aldwyns was 30 (sic) and a domestic gardener, his wife Sarah Collett
was 31 and from Swindon, and their son Francis Collett was five years of age. The same three members of the family were
still together on the day the 1939 Register compiled, with Herbert F Collett
was 62 and the head gardener at a private house. Living with him at Fern Cottage in Cheltenham
was Sarah J Collett and Francis P Collett. It was two years later, that they son was
married and ten years later, when Herbert was 71 years old, that he died at
Fern Cottage, Laverton, and was buried on 4th November 1949, the
service conducted by the vicar of Childswickham. The death of Herbert F Collett was recorded
at Cheltenham register office (Ref. 7b 73).
His widow was living in the Evesham area when she passed away at the age
of 83, the death of Sarah J Collett recorded at Evesham register office (Ref.
9d 187) during the last three months of 1963
1Q86 – Francis Percy Collett was born on 15th
June 1905 at Weston Subedge, near Evesham
Walter Louis Collett [1P126] was
born at Coln St Aldwyns on 25th October 1879, his birth recorded at
Northleach (Ref. 6a 138) as Walter Louis Collett. However, upon being baptised at Coln St
Aldwyns on 7th December 1879, the son of carpenter Francis and
Harriet Collett, his name was recorded in error as Walter Lewis Collett. He was one-year old in the 1881 Census for
Coln St Aldwyns, when he was living there with his draper and grocer father
Francis Collett and the rest of his family.
Tragically, his father died during the next decade, at which point his
mother took over the running of the family business. That was confirmed in 1891 when Walter was
eleven and was still living at Coln St Aldwyns with his widowed mother Harriet
and the rest of his family. By 1901,
Walter L Collett was 21 when he was living and working as a gardener in the
neighbouring village of Hatherop, still within the Cirencester registration
district. However, it was six years
later that the marriage of Walter Louis Collett and Ruth Scaldwell was recorded
at Witney register office (Ref. 3a 191) during the second quarter of 1907. Ruth was the daughter of Edward and Ruth
Scaldwell of Little Milton near Thame, where her birth was recorded during the
second quarter of 1884, who was attending a school for young ladies near
Bampton to the south of Witney in 1901, when she was 15 and a laundry
pupil. It was around twelve months after
they were married, that Ruth presented Walter with the first of their two sons. According to the census conducted in April
1911, Walter Louis Collett of Coln St Aldwyns was 31 and a domestic gardener, when
he and his young family were still living in Hatherop, where his wife Ruth
Collett from Little Milton in Oxfordshire was 28 and their son Herbert Louis
Collett, born at Hatherop, was two years old.
Staying with the family that day, were two of Ruth’s younger brothers,
Robert and Frank Scaldwell. One more
child was added to their family nearer the end of 1911, the birth of Frederick
W Collett was recorded at Cirencester register office (Ref. 6a 71) during the
fourth quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Scaldwell. Many years later, Walter and
Ruth moved to Totnes in Devon where their eldest son was married in 1934. Their move to Totnes was confirmed in the 1939
Register, when they were recorded at Mayenette Lodge, with Walter still working
as a gardener. Six years after that, the
death of Walter L Collett, born in 1879, was recorded at Totnes register office
(Ref. 5b 70) during the last quarter of 1945.
Fifteen years later, the death of Ruth Collett was also recorded at
Totnes register office (Ref. 7a 57) during the first quarter of 1960, when she
was 75 years of age
1Q87 – Herbert Louis Collett was born in 1908 at
Hatherop, near Cirencester
1Q88 – Frederick W Collett was born in 1911 at
Hatherop, near Cirencester
Percy Allen Collett [1P127]
was born at Coln St Aldwyns on 22nd June 1881, his birth recorded at
Northleach (Ref. 6a 383) during the third quarter of 1881. He was last child born to Francis and Harriet
Collett, and was baptised at Coln St Aldwyns on 31st July 1881. On leaving school, he entered into domestic
service and by the turn of the century he was working as a footman at
Cricklade. Whilst no obvious record of
Percy has so far been found anywhere in Britain on the day of the census in
April 1911, it was towards the end of that year when Percy Allen Collett
married Florence Selah Horler at St John’s Church in Frome, Somerset, on 22nd
November 1911. In March 1901 Florence S
Horler was living with her parents William and Emily Horler at Vicarage Street
in Frome, when Florence was working as a milliner at the age of 19. The birth of Florence Selah Horler was
recorded at Frome (Ref. 5c 488) during the fourth quarter of 1881
It is possible that the
marriage resulted in the birth of one or more children, although none were
named at the time of the death of Percy Allen Collett, nor was his wife named
during the probate process. This in itself
is curious and perhaps raise the issue that the couple had separated before
then. What is known for sure is that
Percy and Florence eventually settled at Caistor in Lincolnshire, where they
were recorded living in the 1939 Register, when Percy A Collett was 59 and
employed as a butler. Later, on the
occasion of the death of Percy Allen Collett from Coln St Aldwyns on 30th
July 1957 he was residing at The Cottage in Brocklesby, just four miles from
Immingham, north of Grimsby. He was
buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church in Brocklesby, when his wife was
confirmed as Florence Selah Collett. His
Will was proved at Lincoln on 11th September that same year, when
George Harry Borrill, a retired carpenter, was named as the sole executive of
his personal effects valued at £1,366 7 Shillings and 11 Pence
By the time of the death
of his widow, eight years later, Florence Selah Collett nee Horler was living
at 397 Pelham Road in nearby Immingham when she passed away on 1st
April 1965. The probate process was
concluded at Lincoln on 21st July 1865, when settlement of her
estate amounting to £2,045 was handled by designated executor Margaret Annie
Catherine Thorndyke, a married woman, who may have been her married daughter. The couple’s headstone confirmed their dates
of passing
Eliza Jane Collett [1P128] was
born at Eastleach Turville in 1872, the first child of Aaron and Louisa
Collett. She was eight years of age in
the Eastleach Turville census of 1881, but only fifteen months or so after that
her father died. Her mother remarried in
1884 and none of her four Collett children were living with her at Eastleach
Turville in 1891. In fact, no record of
Eliza has been found so far in that year’s census returns. It is however known that she became a school
teacher and that she was married by the time of the census in 1901. Eliza Jane Collett married Michael William
Minchin from Northleach, the son of Jane Minchin from Coln St Aldwyns, where
the three of them were living together in March that year. Jane Minchin was 53, her son Michael W Minchin
was 30, and his wife Eliza J Minchin from Eastleach was 28. Michael was a tiler and a plasterer, while
Eliza was described as being a teacher in a Co Eng School. No children were born to the couple, and in
April 1911 the same three people were still living in Coln St Aldwyns, when
Jane was 63, Michael was 40 and Eliza Jane was 38
William Percy Collett [1P129] was
born at Eastleach Turville in 1874, the second child and eldest son of Aaron
Thomas Collett and his wife Louisa Adams.
The birth of William Percy Collett was registered at Northleach (Ref. 6a
373) during the third quarter of the year.
It was also at Eastleach Turville where he was baptised on 11th
July 1874, the son of Aaron and Louisa Collett.
He was six years old in the census of 1881 when he and his family were
still living in Eastleach Turville.
However, following the death of his father during the following year and
then the remarriage of his mother near the end of 1884, William eventually left
the home of his mother and his stepfather and by 1891 he was living and working
in the Croydon area of Surrey. William
Collett from Eastleach was 16 years old and was a harness maker and a boarder
at the home of thirty-two-year-old Emily M Corley from Eastleach and her
husband David W Corley who was 33 and a coachman groom. It is very likely that Emily was familiar
with William’s family and arranged for him to work with her husband at 4
Crosland Road in Croydon.
George Harry Collett [1P130] was
born in 1876 at Eastleach Turville, while his birth was recorded at Northleach
(Ref. 6a 8) during the third quarter of the year. According to the later census records, he was
the son of carpenter Aaron Thomas Collett and his wife Louisa Adams. In the first of the census returns, in 1881,
George was four years old and, on that occasion, he was living with his family
at Eastleach Turville. Sadly, his father
died just over a year after that and, during the last three months of 1884, his
mother was remarried. On leaving school
George went to live with his widowed grandfather Charles Collett at Coln St
Aldwyns, and it was with him that he was living at the time of the census in
1891. By that time George H Collett was
14 and was working alongside his grandfather as a carpenter’s apprentice. The housekeeper was George’s aunt Eleanor
Collett (Ref. 1O116) who was 43, and the enumerator for the census was his
uncle Raymond Collett (Ref. 1O118)
According to the next
census in March 1901 George’s grandfather had passed away and his remarried
mother was living in Oxfordshire. On
that occasion George was living and working in Swindon, where he was referred
to in the census as George Collett, aged 24 and from Eastleach, whose
occupation was that of a carpenter.
George Collett was still not married by census in April 1911, which
confirmed that he was a carpenter from Eastleach who was 34, who was living as
a boarder at The Marsh in Wanborough, the home of widower Solomon Beasley of
Wanborough and his son Albert. Nothing
more is known about George after that time
Francis Charles Collett [1P131]
was born at Eastleach Turville in 1878 and his birth was recorded at Northleach
(Ref. 6a 68) during the third quarter of the year. He was listed as being two years old in the
Eastleach Turville census of 1881 when he was living there with his parents
Aaron and Louisa Collet and his three older siblings. Francis was only three or four years old when
his father died at Eastleach Turville during the second quarter of 1882, and it
was during the last quarter of 1884 that his mother married for a second time
when she wed Thomas Hall. Curiously no
record of Francis has been found in the census of 1891 when he was not living
with his mother and stepfather at Eastleach Turville. However, by the time of the next census in
1901 Francis C Collett, aged 23 and from Eastleach Turville was once again
living with his mother who, by that time was residing at The Bell Inn at
Langford in Oxfordshire. He was working
as a labourer and was referred to as the stepson of head of the household
Thomas Hall.
Three years after that
census, the marriage of Francis Charles Collett and Martha Cripps was recorded
at Windsor register office (Ref. 2c 357) during the third quarter of 1904, and
it was within the parish of New Windsor that the couple was residing in 1911. Martha may have been a widow, as no birth of
a suitable Martha Cripps has been discovered, and she was certain over ten
years older than Francis, who inflated his age in the 1911 census, making him
older than his brother George (above).
The census that year recorded the couple living at The Royal Dairy,
where Francis Collett from Eastleach in Gloucestershire was 35, instead of 32, who
was working as a poultry man, while his wife Martha Collett from Oxford, County
Mayo in Ireland, was 45. Although said
to have been born in Ireland, Martha’s parents were recorded as English. The later death of Francis C Collett, aged
75, was recorded at Surrey North-Western register office (Ref. 5g 44) during
the last quarter of 1952. For the last
ten years of his life, Francis was a widower, following the death of Martha
Collett in South-Eastern Surrey (Ref. 2a 143) during the second quarter of
1941, when she was 76 years of age
Mildred Louise Collett [1P133] was
born at Shoreditch in London (Ref. 1c 64) during the
first quarter of 1872, the first of the children of joiner Thomas Collett and
Lucy Andrews Hall. It was during the
autumn of 1875 that she and her family left England on board the Zealandia for
a new life in New Zealand, and upon their arrival they settled in North East
Valley. Sadly, she was only eight years
old when she died on 11th May 1880 when living at Kelvin Grove in
Dunedin with her widowed mother and three siblings. She was buried three days later on 14th
May at Northern Cemetery in the same grave where her late father was buried
following his premature death in 1877
Clara Emmeline Collett [1P134] was
born at Hackney in London (Ref 1b 454) during the third quarter of 1874, the
second child of Thomas and Lucy Collett.
Clara was just one year old when her family emigrated to New Zealand on
the sailing ship Zealandia and it was at Dunedin that both her father and older
sister Mildred died, only two years and five years after settling there in
North East Valley. At the time of the
death of her father in 1877 the family was residing at Lambeth Road in Dunedin,
while three years later the reduced family was living within the Kelvin Grove
area of Dunedin. It has not been proved, but it is likely, that Clara Emmeline Collett
was the same person as Clara E Collett who was mentioned in an article in The
Otago Witness on 23rd March 1893, which reads: “The labour commissionship for women has been given to Miss Clara E.
Collett, who holds the degree of M A from London University, and whose sympathy
for the poor is well-known. Some of the
best-written articles in our magazines and reviews, especially in The
Nineteenth Century on the Labour problem, have emanated from her pen.”
Another article
published in The Star on 12th November 1898 with the heading ‘Miss
Colonia in London ― Confidences to her
Cousins Across the Sea’ also made reference to Clara Collett, as follows: “Dear Cousin, it is almost a truism now to
say that there is scarcely any field into which woman will not find her way, by
gate or stile, if there be one, if not by boldly leaping hedge and ditch. In the British Association which has just
closed its meeting at Bristol, women were well represented, both as lecturers
and hearers. One of the papers that
interested me most was that of Miss Clara Collett, of the Labour Department of
the Board of Trade, who is quite one of the leading experts on women's work.”
A Ladies Page and
Cosy Corner with an Emmeline as its writer and president, featured in The Otago
Witness from around 1893 until 1909 and this is believed to be the pen-name of
Clara Emmeline Collett. A typical weekly page would include Answers to
Correspondents, Table Talk, a Weekly Article on a Subject of Interest to Women,
Ladies' Gossip, Fashion Gossip, Country Entertainments, Weddings, and Home
Interests. Also, within that same
timescale, The Otago Witness also published details of the marriage of Clara’s
sister Thomasina (below) which took place in Australia in 1908 and which
may have been instigated by Clara
Another family living
in the North East Valley at the time of the Collett family, was that of the
Honourable William Mouat Bolt who had a son William Mouat Bolt who Clara
Emmeline later married. The Hon William
Mouat Bolt took a prominent part in the Free Thought movement, acting as
secretary of the first association and was a member of the Dunedin Schools
Committee for four years, part of which time he was chairman, while also being
actively engaged with the first trades council, of which he became
vice-president. In 1880 Mr. Bolt
propounded a scheme of co-operative settlement on which he lectured in various
parts of the Colony. It is therefore
likely that it was the Hon. William Bolt who was an influence on the young
Clara who obtained her Master of Arts Degree at the London University, in the
city where she born
The Otago Witness
of 31st October 1900 reported on the marriage of Clara Emmeline
Collett and William Mouat Bolt in the following way. “On
Wednesday last the little church in Woodhaugh Valley was enlivened by a wedding
party, the first marriage celebrated in the building, which was very tastefully
decorated for the occasion. The young
couple were Mr William Mouat Bolt, fourth son of the Hon W M Bolt, and Miss
Clara E. Collett of North-East Valley.
The presents, received from a large circle of friends, were rare,
numerous, and valuable. They included a
beautifully bound volume of the Scriptures and a copy of Wesley's Hymns from
the trustees of the church, and a handsome over-mantel from their fellow
employees in Messrs A & T Inglis. At
the conclusion of the ceremony the party adjourned to the residence of the
bride’s mother, and shortly afterwards the happy couple took a train for the
north on their wedding tour”
William and Clara
Emmeline Bolt had three children. Lucy
Lois Thomasina Bolt was born in 1906 and in 1929 she married Gordon Herbert
Beale who was born in 1902. William
Mouat Bolt was born on 13th April 1908 and on 23rd
October 1933 at the Wesley Church in Taranaki Street, Wellington, he married
Marjory Eleanor Halford who was born on 1st March 1912. William Mouat Bolt (junior) died during 1972
and his wife Marjory passed away in 2002.
The last of Clara’s three children was Harry Collett Bolt who was
born in New Zealand during 1910, while her husband, William Mouat Bolt
(senior), died in New Zealand in 1932.
What happened to Clara Emmeline Bolt nee Collett, after the death of her
husband, is not known at this time
As can be read in the paragraph above, the Bolt
family was prominent in early New Zealand history in parliamentary circles and
a nephew of Clara’s husband was a leading early aviator in New Zealand about
whom much has been written. At Auckland
Airport passengers will most likely travelled along George Bolt Memorial Drive
to enter or leave to complex. In addition to this some members of the Bolt
family were good friends with members of the Brittenden family, Doreen Marie
Agnes Brittenden having married Edward Carnarvon Collett (Ref. 4N12) at
Dunedin, while Leslie Joseph Charles
Collett (below) married Gertrude Louise Brittenden at Napier in 1912
Harry Bertram Collett [1P135] was
born at Lambeth Road in Dunedin (Ref. 1876/3539) during 1876, the son of Thomas
and Lucy Collett, his family having only arrived in New Zealand from England
during the previous year. Tragically,
his father died when Harry was only one-year-old and his eldest sister Mildred
passed away three years later when she was only eight years of age. In 1917, at forty-years-of-age, unmarried
Harry was employed as a presser by a company producing army uniforms for the
First World War when he was living at 127 Elizabeth
Street in Wellington. It was during
March that year that he made an appeal before the Wellington Military Service
Board, as reported in the Evening Post on 14th March 1917, regarding
enlistment in WW1 army service on the grounds that his occupation was in the
public interest, saying that he was a presser and examiner of military
clothing.
Mr Crombie, for the
appellant, stated that Collett was 42 years of age and had been passed as fit,
providing he underwent an operation. His
employer, an army contractor, had a great deal of military work on hand and
Harry had twenty years' experience as a presser and two years as examiner, and
was the only presser he had. He said “During
the past two years, the witness had supplied about 50,000 garments to the
Defence Department”. The appeal was
dismissed and one month’s leave of absence was granted. On 25th April 1917 Private Harry B
Collett, service no 53694, was assessed before the Medical Board at Featherston
Military Hospital who found he was suffering from hammer toe and was therefore
unable to march or do drill, and the Board recommended that he be discharged. Harry Bertram Collett of 22 Konini Road in Hataitai was 66 years of age when
he died on 23rd May 1942 and was buried at the
Karori Cemetery in Wellington on 26th May 1942 in Plot 313J, where
his mother had been buried twenty-three years early
Thomasina Martha Harriet Collett [1P136] was
born at Lambeth Road in Dunedin (Ref. 1877/13728) during 1877, the four and
last child of joiner Thomas Collett and Lucy Andrews Hall. Her father died on the second day of May that
same year, so it has not been determined at this time whether or not he was
still alive at the time of her birth.
The marriage of Thomasina was announced in The Otago Witness on 25th November 1908 when she was thirty-one. The ceremony of the marriage of Frank A
Coombs, the second son of John Coombs, and Thomasina M H Collett, the youngest
daughter of the late Thomas Collett, both of Dunedin, was conducted on 4th
November 1908 at the Wesley Church in Chippendale, Sydney, New South Wales, by
the Reverend A J Burt
Lucy Anne Collett [1P141] was
born at Piltown in County Kilkenny in Ireland on 12th December 1875,
the first child of Thomas Collett from Hatherop and his wife Susan Harris from
Piltown. Sadly, she died not long after
she had been born and was also buried at Piltown
Henry James Collett [1P142] was
born at Stoke Damerel in Devonport in January 1881 the eldest surviving child
of Thomas and Susan Collett. Today Stoke
Damerel is simply known as Stoke, a district within Plymouth. At the time of the census in early April that
year, Henry J Collett was two months old and living at 23 Clowance Street in
Stoke Damerel with his mother Susan Collett from Kilkenny in Ireland. His father Thomas Collett was a Corporal
First Class with the Royal Navy and was away from home at that time. Upon his father completing twenty-year’s service
around 1888, the family moved to Swindon and in 1891 they were living at 4 York
Terrace where Henry was ten years old
The family was still
altogether in Swindon by March 1901 when Henry was twenty and was employed by
the Great Western Railway as a carriage body maker. Four years later the marriage of Henry James
Collett and Amelia Brazell was recorded at Swindon (Ref. 5a 54) during the
second quarter of 1905, followed by the birth of a daughter the year
after. All of this was confirmed in the
census of 1911 when Henry James Collett aged 30 and from Devonport was living
in Swindon, where he was working as a coach body maker with the Great Western
Railway. His wife Amelia was also 30
years old and had been born at Battersea in London and their daughter
Gwendoline Frances Collett was four years of age and born at Swindon. Upon the death of his brother Thomas George
Harris Collett (below), it was Henry James Collett, a retired coach body
maker, who was granted administrator of his estate. Amelia Collett, nee Brazell, died in 1966,
her death recorded at Swindon register office (Ref. 7c 585) during the second
quarter of that year. Seven years later,
the death of Henry James Collett was recorded at Swindon register office (Ref.
7c 2664) during the first months of 1973.
The certificate also confirmed that he had been born during the month of
February in 1881
1Q89 – Gwendoline Frances Collett was born in 1906 at
Swindon
Thomas George Harris Collett [1P143] was
born at Stoke Damerel in Devonport on 12th September 1882, and was
named after his father Thomas Collett and his mother Susan Harris. His birth was registered at Stoke Damerel
(Ref. 5b 325) during the third quarter of the year. As Thomas G H Collett he was eight years old
in 1891, by which time his family have left Devonport and were living at 4 York
Terrace in Swindon. In 1901 Thomas G
Collett of Devonport was eighteen and was working as a brass locksmith, while
still living with his family at Eastcott Hill in Swindon. Ten years later Thomas was recorded in the
census return for 1911 as Thomas George Harris Collett, aged 28 and unmarried
from Devonport and, at that time in his life, he was living in the village of
Langley Burrell near Chippenham in Wiltshire.
He never married and in 1917, when he was 35 years and 10 months when he
started his military service. He was
described as a fitter, born at Devonport, who was 5 feet 8 inches tall, of fair
complexion, with brown eyes and hair.
His address was Goddard Street in Swindon, as was discharge at the age
of 42 with extreme deafness, presumably caused during the war. He was of good character, whose conduct was
good, sober, honest, and reliable. His
next-of-kin was Susan Collett, his mother.
A further note on the same record page stated that his work was of
national importance. At the age of 57,
Thomas G Collett was listed in the 1939 Register, a bachelor who was employed
by the Great western Railway as a fitter on railway signal works. He may have fallen on hard-times by then,
since he was an inmate at the Public Assistance Institution on Rowden Hill in
Chippenham. The death of Thomas George
Harris Collett was recorded at Chippenham register office (Ref. 7c 548) in 1956
when he was 73. Administration of the
estate of Thomas G H Collett was granted in London on 11th April
1956 in favour of his older brother Henry James Collett, a retired coach body
maker. The documentation also confirmed
that he died at St Andrews Hospital at Rowden Hill in Chippenham on 1st
March 1956, where his personal effects were valued at £157 0 Shillings and 4
Pence
Herbert E Collett [1P144] was
born at Stoke Damerel in Devonport in 1887.
Shortly after he was born his father completed his service with the
Royal Navy and the family moved to Swindon.
In 1891 Herbert was three years old and was living with his family at 4
York Terrace in Swindon. They were still
there ten years later when Herbert was thirteen. Upon leaving school in Swindon, Herbert moved
to the south-east of England and in April 1911 he was living and working in
Steyning in Sussex. He was twenty-four,
unmarried, and he stated that he had been born in Devonport. Although there were other Colletts living in
Steyning at that time, none of them was with Herbert or related to him. One of them was Anthony Collett from Combe in
Oxfordshire (Ref. 38o37) who appears in Part 38 – The Oxfordshire
Stonemasons Line
Lucy May Ann Collett [1P147] was
born at Akaroa, south of Christchurch New Zealand during 1883, the first of the
five children of Edward William Collett and his first wife Sarah Louisa Bates
who were married during the summer of the previous year. When Lucy was only four years old, she and
her family attended
the Wainui School Annual Prize Giving celebrations held on 22nd
December 1887. During the day there was
a picnic and athletic sports events, followed by a dance that was held later in
the evening. In the sports events, young
Lucy Collett took second place in a boys and girls under six-year’s race, while
her uncle, Joseph Bates, took first place in the youth’s 12-16 race. Lucy’s
father Edward William Collett assisted in the organisation of the sports events
and upwards of forty couples attended the dance in the evening, which was said
to have been one of the most enjoyable and successful gatherings that had ever
been held in Wainui
Lucy obviously inherited
her parents’ interest and talent in music and, at the age of sixteen, she
successfully passed her Trinity College of Music (London) examination under the
tutelage of her piano teacher Miss Davidson of Akaroa, as reported in the local
newspaper on 14th November 1899.
Lucy then went on to play the organ during the services at her local
church. Sadly, it was exactly eight
years later, when Lucy was only 24, that she died at Akaroa on 31st
October 1907. An obituary printed in the
newspaper on 5th
November 1907 stated that “There was a
very large attendance at the funeral of Lucy May Ann Collett on Sunday
afternoon. Many friends from Wainui and
Bays, as well as Akaroa residents, followed in the cortège. The Rev. Pringle read the burial service very
impressively, and in the evening, at the Presbyterian Church, he made reference
to her many good qualities, and the many good services that had been rendered
by her. The organ was draped and the
pianist played the ‘Dead March in Saul’ and the ‘Vital Spark’. There were numberless floral tributes”
David Edward Leonard Collett [1P148], who
was known as Leonard, was born at Jolie Street in Akaroa on 24th
December 1884, the eldest son of Edward and Sarah Collett. His early schooling was undertaken in Akaroa
and he later attended Christchurch Boys’ High School. He was 25
years old when he married Harriet Rebecca Andrews at Lyttelton during
1909. Once married the couple made their
home in Lyttelton where all of their children were born. Harriet was born at Christchurch in 1885, and
was the daughter of Thomas Andrews and his wife Rebecca Craze. Ten years before Leonard was born,
there was a chemist shop at the corner of London Street and Oxford Street in
Lyttelton. Although small, it was well
stocked with a large variety of patent and proprietary medicines and chemists’
sundries, and had a dispensing department and office at the back. The business,
originally established by Dr Macdonald, was sold to Mr Vangioni in 1902. Mr Vangioni was born at Akaroa in 1875 and
was a son of Mr Joseph Vangioni, an old colonist of Akaroa. He was also educated at Christchurch Boys’
High School and it was after that when David Edward Leonard Collett bought the
business, who later passed it onto his son Bruce. Father and son entered into a partnership,
but eventually Bruce took over on his own account. In addition to being a chemist, Leonard was
also Deputy Mayor of Lyttelton for some time and built an impressive
architecturally designed home at 25 Sumner Road in Lyttelton. It was
also at Lyttelton that Leonard and Harriet died, when first Harriet passed away
during 1941, and was followed twenty-six years later when David Edward Leonard
Collett died there during 1967
1Q90 – Joyce Elaine Collett was born in1913 at
Lyttelton, New Zealand
1Q91 – Ronald Leonard Collett was born in1917
at Lyttelton, New Zealand
1Q92 – James Bruce Collett was born in1920 at
Lyttelton, New Zealand
1Q93 – Douglas Alister Collett was born in1923
at Lyttelton, New Zealand
1Q94 – Eliot David Collett was born in1925 at
Lyttelton, New Zealand
1Q95 – Margaret Rebecca Collett was born in1928
at Lyttelton, New Zealand
Jessie E Louise Collett [1P149], who
was known as Vida, was born at Akaroa around 1888, the daughter of Edward and
Sarah Collett. Vida was only four years
old when she died at the North-East Belt of Akaroa on 8th February
1893. She was buried at Linwood Cemetery
on Butterfield Road in Christchurch with her grandfather Joseph Bates who had
died just four months earlier on 3rd October 1892, the grave
reference being Block 22, Plot 61. It
was also there that Vida’s grandmother Annie Bates was laid to rest following
her death on 2nd January 1912.
The informant for the passing of her grandfather in 1892 was her own
father Edward William Collett
Leslie Joseph Charles Collett [1P150] was
born at Akaroa on 6th October 1890, the youngest son of Edward and
Sarah Collett. In the sports events at
the Annual Wainui School Picnic held in March 1900 Leslie Collett was first in
the Boys’ 10-12 race and his sister, Eileen Collett (below) was first in
the Girls’ 8-10 race. A Children’s Fancy
Dress Ball was held in the Oddfellows Hall, Akaroa in June 1901 in which Leslie
Collett was dressed as a sailor and Eileen Collett was a French Peasant. Leslie was also the best man at the wedding
of Millie Wright, the fourth daughter of Alex Wright of Akaroa who married
William Bridgeman of Manawaru, Auckland on 16th July 1909. In October 1907 a conversazione evening was
held in the Oddfellows Hall in Akaroa for an evening of music and including a
euchre tournament. Leslie Collett was
the successful gentleman in the euchre (card-game)
It was on 20th
November 1912 when he married Gertrude Louise Brittenden at St Augustine’s
Church in Napier (Ref. 1912/8538).
Gertrude had been born at Deal in Kent, England on 3rd
September 1881, the daughter of William Brittenden and Hannah Jane Rodolph
Dunn. Gertrude excelled at sewing and drawing
while attending the George Street School in Dunedin, gaining Standard III and
IV Certificates in 1894 and 1895. She
was also one of the principal prize takers for girls in the events at a school
picnic in 1896. Leslie and Gertrude were still living in
Napier when their first two children were born, but later moved to Christchurch
where their last child was born, and where the couple was still living at the
time of their deaths many years later. New
information recently received from Malcolm Moffitt in Perth, Australia, states
that Leslie had a building partner, Bill Cross, and that they had worked
together on the St Albans and Papanui Seventh Day Adventist Churches in
Christchurch, and also the Ashburton Bridge in Mid-Canterbury. Gertrude was a devout Seventh Day Adventist
and it was perhaps inevitable that both Leslie and Bill also converted to the
Seventh Day Adventist faith around that time
Leslie built the family home at McFaddens Road
in St Albans and, also took over sole ownership of the properties at 28 and 30
Armagh Street previously owned by his mother Sarah Louisa Collett who died in
May 1941. The two adjoining houses had
been left to Sarah’s two sons Leslie and Leonard, but according to Nola
Gertrude Moffitt nee Collett their sister, Leslie Collett purchased his
brother’s share, only for the two properties to be later sold to Ogilvie
Clifford. Sadly, Leslie Joseph Charles Collett died just over a year after his
mother, when he died in tragic circumstances on 21st June 1942, just
prior to his fifty-second birthday. The
report of his death read as follows:
“One man
was drowned and two are missing and believed to have been drowned through a
yacht capsizing at the mouth of the estuary at Sumner late last night. The man drowned was Ernest William Dobbie,
aged 23, an airman of 247 Fitzgerald Street, and those missing are Percy
Benjamin Dobbie, aged 25, motor mechanic of the same address, and L. Collett, builder,
of McFaddens Road. The only known
survivor is H. Collett (Harold Ernest Leslie Collett), of 139 Matsons Road. He
reached the home of Mrs Thomas Newburgh, in Sumner, about 11.45 p.m. in a very
exhausted condition, and said he and his companion had been washed overboard
when the tide came in. The yacht was the
‘Pera’, which sailed from Lyttelton to Sumner, and became stranded in the mouth
of the estuary. The four men stayed on
board, hoping to float the boat off when the tide came in. The yacht was completely wrecked. The wheelhouse and a large amount of debris,
was washed ashore by 1.30 a.m. today, and Mr. Dobbie’s body was washed ashore
at about midnight.” The two Dobbie
boys were sons of William Dobbie and his wife Mabel Brittenden, who was Leslie
Collett’s sister-in-law, she being Gertrude’s sister
Gertrude Louise Collett
nee Brittenden survived her husband by twenty-four years when she passed away
on 7th September 1966. Apart
from being
a devout Seventh Day Adventist, Gertrude also enjoyed playing and singing hymns
on the piano with her grandchildren. She
had a gentle nature but when her grandchildren ganged up on her to stop her
winning whilst playing Ludo, her raised voice was apparent to show her
displeasure
1Q96 – Harold Ernest Leslie Collett was born in 1913 at Napier,
New Zealand
1Q97 – Mavis Louisa Collett was born in 1918 at
Napier, New Zealand
1Q98 – Nola Gertrude Collett was born in 1920 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
Eileen Adele Collett [1P151] was
born at Akaroa near Christchurch in New Zealand on 25th February
1892, the youngest child of Edward William Collett and his first wife Sarah
Louisa Bates. When Eileen was seven
years old, she attended the Wainui School Picnic and Sports Day. In addition to each scholar being presented
with a book, the following prizes were handed out by Mrs Collett, one of which
was given to her own daughter Eileen for the Girls’ Handicap Race for 6 to
8-year-olds. Eileen was only 54 when she died in Christchurch on 28th
August 1936
Ernest Walter Raymond Gordon Collett [1P152] was
born at Christchurch in New Zealand on 10th September 1874, the
eldest child of Ernest Collett and his wife Martha Varcoe. He was a miller and, at Christchurch
on 25th April 1905, he married Agnes Gertrude Pearce who was born on
10th November 1876 and was known as Gertie. From the time they were married the couple
lived at 17 Strickland Street, Sydenham, in Christchurch for many years,
together with four other Collett relatives, including Ernest’s widowed father
and Ernest’s brother Herbert (below), who lived next door at 15
Strickland Street. A total of nine
children were born to Ernest and Agnes over thirteen years, but sadly the last
two, born in 1917 and 1919 were stillborn.
The brothers and sisters were very close, with many of them living in
two adjacent houses. Ernest was a
storeman at Woods flourmills in Addington and used to cycle to work each day,
bringing home flour sweepings off the mill flour for feeding to his fowls. At the age of 60, a bale of wool fell on him,
after which he suffered with heart problems.
Fifteen years after the accident, Ernest passed away on 18th
May 1949. Nine years later, Agnes Gertrude Collett,
nee Pearce, died in Christchurch on 15th February 1958 at the age of
81
1Q99 – Edna Ernestine Collett was born in 1906 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q100 – Raymond Leonard Collett was born in 1906 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q101 – Ruby Catherine Collett was born in 1908 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q102 – Constance Martha Collett was born in 1909 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q103 – Frances May Collett was born in 1911 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q104 – Arthur Stanley Collett was born in 1913 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q105 – Norma Gertrude Collett was born in 1915 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
Herbert Frank Collett [1P153] was
born at Christchurch on 29th January 1876, the second son of Ernest
and Martha Collett. It was on 25th
April 1905 that Herbert married Sarah Burrows who was born during 1878, with
whom he had three children. During his
life Herbert was a cabinet maker and in 1906 he and his family lived next door
to his brother Ernest (above) at 15 Strickland Street, Sydenham, in
Christchurch. It was later in their life
that Ernest and Sarah moved the short distance to Stourbridge Street in
Spreydon, a suburb to the south-west of Christchurch. Sarah Collett nee Burrows died in New Zealand
during 1949, when she was 71. After the death of his wife Herbert lived just four streets
away from Stourbridge Street, when he moved in with his daughter Gladys Sutton
and her husband Tom at their home in Conway Street, Spreydon. Herbert
Frank Collett was the grandfather of Brian Gregory Collett (Ref. 1R65) who
kindly provided some of the details which has enabled his family to be included
here
1Q106 – Gladys Mary Collett was born in 1906 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q107 – Leslie Herbert Collett was born in 1908 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q108 – Ernest George Collett was born in 1914 at
Christchurch, New Zealand
Robert George Victor Collett [1P154], who
was known as Vic, was born at Christchurch on 25th February
1878. Upon leaving school he moved
around Christchurch a lot, presumably seeking work where he could find it. Apart from a brush with the law, and drinking
after hours in a New Brighton Hotel, not a great deal is known about him,
except that he lived with his two younger unmarried siblings Nell and Jack (below),
and died a bachelor on 1st September 1939
Eleanor Mabel Collett [1P155] was
born at Christchurch on 15th September 1879, the eldest daughter and
fourth child of Ernest and Martha Collett.
It would appear that she was known within the family as Nell and Ellen,
and in 1917 she was unmarried and living at 20 Chancellor Street in
Christchurch. Tragically, Nell was
involved in a terrible road accident near Lyndhurst, which resulted in the
removal of a leg, which was replaced with a wooden one. It was in fact within the First World War
military records of her brother Arthur Samuel Gordon Collett (below),
that Miss Ellen Collett (sister) was mentioned as his next-of-kin. Some years after that she was known
to have lived at 448 Madras Street in Christchurch, and once again that address
was referred to in the military records of her brother Arthur. Other than that, no other
information relating to Eleanor has so far been found, except it is known that
she was very close to her brother Jack (below), who lived with her, and that
she never married, and died on 7th May 1956. Also living with Nell and Jack, until he died
in 1939, was their troubled older brother Vic (above)
Arthur Samuel Gordon Collett [1P156] was
born at Christchurch on 21st April 1882, another son of Ernest
Collett and his wife Martha Varcoe, who was more commonly known as Jack. Upon leaving school he learned
his trade as machinist, a fitter and a turner, and worked at Hastings on the
North Island prior to the First World War. With the Great War raging in Europe, Arthur
enlisted with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on 21st February
1917 at Hastings. At that time, he was
described as being 35 years old and single, being 5 feet 8 inches tall and
weighing 158 lbs, with dark hair, grey blue eyes, and a medium complexion. His occupation was that of a machinist, a
fitter and a turner, with the company of R Holt & Sons of Hastings, which
was also his last known address. The
other details on his entry form confirmed that his father was Ernest Collett,
who had been born in Gloucestershire, England, and that his mother was Martha
Collett deceased, who had been born in Norfolk, England, and that they had been
residing in New Zealand for the last 60 years.
To the question, if single how many persons are absolutely dependent on
you, Arthur had only inserted the name of his sister Ellen Collett. He was accepted into the New Zealand
Engineers 29th Reinforcement Regiment as Sapper A Collett 54311 on 1st
May 1917, when his next-of-kin was named as his sister Miss E Collett of 20
Chancellor Street in the Shirley district of Christchurch. That address was later amended to 448 Madras
Street in St Albans, which was later changed to Lyndhurst in Christchurch
It was on 13th
August 1917 that Arthur sailed out of Wellington on the troopship Mokoia
Evellington, bound for Glasgow in Scotland, where he arrived on 2nd
October 1917. From Scotland, the troops
travel to the south coast of England where they undertook basic training,
following which they then crossed the English Channel into France, arriving in
Etaples on 13th June 1918.
Just over one year later, on 2nd July 1919 Arthur was in
Liverpool boarding the ‘SS Somerset’ for the return journey to New
Zealand. Three days later he was admitted
into the ship’s hospital, where he spent the next three days. By the time peace was declared, and Arthur
had been discharged from the New Zealand Engineers on 17th September
1919, he had served a total of two years and one hundred and thirty-eight days,
of which 2 years and 8 days had been spent overseas in Western Europe. For his service during the war, he received
the British War Medal and the Victory Medal which he received ay Lyndhurst,
Canterbury during March 1921
During his life he had a
100-acre farm at Lyndhurst, and then lived on a small holding at
Rolleston. For much of his life, he
shared a house with his sister Nell and brother Jack (above). Arthur never married and in 1938 was recorded
on the electoral rolls as living with his family at 17 Strickland Street,
Sydenham, in Christchurch. Arthur Samuel
Gordon Collett died while he was living at Burwood in Christchurch on 12th
December 1958, aged 76. His next-of-kin
at that time in his life was named as Mrs C M Nicholls of 52 Puriri Street in
west Christchurch, who was described as his niece, the daughter of his brother
Ernest Walter Raymond Gordon Collett (above), she being Constance Martha
Nicholls nee Collett (Ref. 1Q102) 1909–1989
Harriet Clara May Collett [1P157] was
born at Christchurch on 8th March 1884, only the second daughter of
Ernest and Martha Collett. It was in
1912 that she married Thomas Lester Anderson Osborn. The couple raised their family on North
Island where, tragically, their son Travis Osborn was killed in an air
accident in 1941, the same year that Harriet died during September that
year. Thomas was born in 1884 and died in New
Zealand during 1963
Leonard Ransom Collett [1P158] was
born at Christchurch on 15th March 1886, the youngest child of
Ernest Collett and his wife Martha Varcoe.
Len, as he was known, was a printer and a storeman, and he married
Elsie Kennedy Fleming on 1st April 1907, and their marriage produced
two sons. The electoral rolls in both
1935 and 1938 placed Leonard and his family living at 17 Strickland Street,
Sydenham, in Christchurch. A later
address was 62 Sinclair Street in Christchurch.
Leonard died on 5th September 1947, while Elsie died almost
exactly four years after, on 15th September 1951, at the age of 66. Both of them were buried at Bromley Cemetery
in Christchurch. Elsie Kennedy Fleming
was born in the county of Devon in England during 1885
1Q109 – Clifford Collett was born around 1908
at Christchurch, New Zealand
1Q110 – Ralph Collett was born around 1910
at Christchurch, New Zealand
George William Collett [1P159] was
born at Christchurch on 28th October 1875, the eldest of the two
children of George Collett and his wife Margaret Coutts. He was barely two years old when his father
died, leaving his mother to raise two very young children on her own. However, George William was eventually raised
by his widowed and re-married grandfather Samuel Collett who, shortly after
taking over the care of the boy, moved to Waimate in 1878, midway between
Christchurch and Dunedin to the south.
George William was greatly influenced by living with his grandfather
and, as a result, followed his grandfather’s example by becoming a builder and
an undertaker, eventually taking over all of his grandfather’s many business
interests upon his retirement in 1899.
Three years later in 1902, when George was twenty-seven years old, he married
Christina Sevicke Jones who was also 27, having been born in 1875. Just like his grandfather, George William
Collett was also a town councillor from 1909 to 1923. The couple had four children, May, Hori,
Edgar, and Geoffrey. It was Hori, their
eldest son who wrote the story of the family’s life in his
book entitled “The History of Two Families”.
George William Collett died at Waimate on 5th March
1953, and both he and his wife are buried in the Waimate Cemetery, where his grandfather
and his second wife were also buried
1Q111 – May Thompson Collett was born in 1903 at
Waimate, New Zealand
1Q112 – Hori Coutts Collett was born in 1906 at
Waimate, New Zealand
1Q113 – Edgar Harold Collett was born in 1908 at
Waimate, New Zealand
1Q114 – Geoffrey Sevicke Collett was born in 1912 at
Waimate, New Zealand
Amanda Elizabeth Collett [1P160] was
born at Christchurch on 9th July 1877, the youngest of the two
children of George Collett and Margaret Coutts.
Following the death of her father not long after she was born, Amanda
was raised by her mother, while her brother George (above) was taken
into the care of his grandfather Samuel Collett. Amanda later married Richard William John
Maffey on 14th August 1901 at St Saviour’s Church in Sydenham,
Christchurch, and when she died on 10th January 1969, she was buried
with her late husband in Wellington Cemetery.
Richard, who
was the son of John and Elizabeth Maffey and had been born in 1869, had died
ten years earlier during 1959
James Mann Collett [1P161] was
born at Christchurch on 18th December 1887, the base-born son of
Mary Collett (previously Margaret Coutts), the widow of George William Collett
who had died ten years earlier. James married Flora
Mildred Bell, the daughter of Charles and Ann Eliza Bell, on 28th
August 1911 in Wellington, New Zealand.
Their known children, extracted from James’ World War One military
records below were Jessie Guthrie McDonald Collett who was born on 25th
May 1912 and Flora Barbara Collett who was born on 26th September
1914. The Army Personal File for James Mann Collett included the following
details: Assigned to the 4th
Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, as a rifleman service number 38939,
date of birth 18th December 1887, occupation carpenter employed by
Mathews of Ashburton, next-of-kin his wife Mrs F Collett of 112 Cox Street in
Ashburton, discharged on 27th June 1919. The details relating to his marriage and his
family stated that he had married Flora Bell, a spinster, at Wellington on 28th
August 1911 and that he had two children, both born at Ashburton where James
Man Collett died in 1967
As with many soldiers returning from the Great
War, James had trouble settling down into family life and in 1924 he set
himself a prohibition order which he later broke when he left his home in Ashburton
in May that same year with the intention of visiting Methven, and was found in
Wellington shortly thereafter. On 31st
May 1924 he was charged in the Magistrates Court in Ashburton for a breach of
prohibition order and was fined 20 shillings.
Flora Mildred Collett nee Bell died on 8th August 1954 at
Ashburton and was buried in the Ashburton Cemetery, while thirteen nearly years
later James Mann Collett died on 23rd
March 1967, when his next-of-kin was named as Mrs R M Chambers of 156 Walnut
Avenue in Ashburton
1Q115 – Jessie
Guthrie McDonald Collett was born on 25th May 1912 at
Ashbourne, New Zealand
1Q116 – Flora Barbara Collett was born on 26th
September 1914 at Ashbourne, New Zealand
Jane Collett [1P162] was born in
Birmingham in 1888, the eldest child of Herbert Edward and Emily Collett. Her birth was recorded at the Aston register
office (Ref. 6d 303) during the last quarter of that year. Where she and her family were in both 1891
and 1901 has still not been determined, although by 1911 Jane Collett was 22
when she was living with her family in the Aston region of Birmingham
Herbert Collett [1P163] was
born at Birmingham in 1890 and was 21 years old and married by April 1911. He was referred to as Herbert Collett junior
to avoid confusion with his father Herbert Edward Collett. Herbert junior, his sibling and his parents,
have not been located within the census returns of 1891 or 1901. However, Herbert was 20 years of age when he
married (1) 18-year-old Nellie Elizabeth Edinburgh at Aston on 20th
March 1910, the event recorded at Aston register office (Ref. 6d 316) when
Herbert’s father was confirmed as Herbert Collett, and Nellie’s father was
named as Robert Henry Edinburgh. Not
long after they were married, Nellie presented Herbert with a daughter whom he
named jointly after his mother and his wife.
According to the Aston Manor census in 1911, Herbert Collett junior from
Birmingham was 21 and employed as a carman with the London North Western
Railway. Nellie Elizabeth Collett was 20
years of age and born at Brisbane in Australia and their daughter Emily Nellie
Elizabeth was seven months old. At that
time, the young family was living not far from where Herbert’s parents were
living
A double tragedy occurred
during the following year, when Nellie gave birth to a second daughter but died
during the ordeal, the daughter also not surviving beyond a few months. The birth of Nellie Collett was recorded at
Aston (Ref. 6a 701) during the first quarter of 1912, her mother’s maiden-name
confirmed as Edinburgh. During that same three months, the death of Nellie E
Collett, aged 20, was also recorded at Aston register office (Ref. 6d
435). It was then, during the third
quarter of 1912, that the death of baby Nellie Collett was recorded at Aston
(Ref. 6a 309). It is unclear what
happened to Herbert and his surviving daughter immediately after being widowed,
but it is established that he later married (2) Emily Bissell, their wedding
day recorded at Aston register office (Ref. 6d 1137) during the third quarter
of 1915. The birth of Emily Bissell, the
daughter of William and Emma Bissell, was recorded at Aston register office
(Ref. 6d 351) during the fourth quarter of 1894. In 1911 she was 16 and working as a pointer
in the screw trade, and was 21 years old when she married Herbert, who was 25.
Their son Albert Edward
Collett, who was born nine years later, and was the fourth of their seven
children, served with the Royal Engineers during the Second World War, with
parents notified of his death in 1945 when they were living within the
Kingstanding area of Birmingham. Six
years earlier, when the family may also have been residing in Kingstanding,
they were recorded in the 1939 Register.
Herbert Collett senior was 49, Emily Collett was 44, Herbert Collett
junior was 19, Albert Collett was 15, Doris Collett was 14, and Dorothy Collett
(born Irene) was seven years of age. It
is not clear whether she was a daughter or a granddaughter of Herbert and
Emily.
1Q117 – Emily Nellie Elizabeth Collett was born in 1910 at
Aston, Birmingham
1Q118 – Nellie Collett was born in 1912 at
Aston, Birmingham
The following are the
children of Herbert Collett by his second wife Emily Bissell:
1Q119 – Bertha Collett was born in 1916 at
Aston, Birmingham
1Q120 – Herbert Collett was born in 1920 at
Aston, Birmingham
1Q121 – Elsie M Collett was born in 1923 at
Aston, Birmingham
1Q122 – Albert Edward Collett was born in 1924 at
Aston, Birmingham
1Q123 – Doris Collett was born in 1925 at
Birmingham
1Q124 – Joan Collett was born in 1928 at
Birmingham
1Q125 – Irene Collett was born in 1933 at
Birmingham
Arthur Leigh Collett [1P173],
formerly Simmons, was born
at Victoria on Prince Edward Island on 8th December 1890, the
base-born son of Alice Simmons, who later married William Henry Collett who
adopted him. In the Prince Edward Island
census of 1901 Arthur Simmons was 12 years old when living there with his mother,
his stepfather, and his half-sister Aggie (below). Ten years later Arthur L Collett from New
Brunswick was 22 and a boarder at the Prince Edward Island home William Knight
and his family. In June 1914 Arthur
sailed out of Prince Edward Island on the ship Royal George, bound for
Quebec. The passenger list stated he had
been born in Canada, and was 24 years old.
At the outbreak of the war, as Arthur Collett, he enlisted with
the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force on 23rd September 1914 at Valcartier
in Quebec. He was unmarried at that time
and described as a student. He had
already served four years in a PEI regiment, the 82nd Abegweit Light Infantry. On his attestation paper, his next-of-kin was
recorded as “W H Collett of Victoria, PEI”.
On reaching England he was assigned to the
Eighth Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment and just two years into the campaign
he reached the rank of Second Lieutenant.
Sadly, he was killed in action on 18th November 1916 at the
Battle of the Somme and was buried at Grandcourt Road Cemetery in Grandcourt
The struggle to take Grandcourt began on 1st
July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, and was secured during the
night of 5th February 1917.
It was briefly taken back by the Germans between April and August in
1918. The cemetery at Grandcourt is
sited on the Ancre Battlefield to the north of Thievpal. It is perhaps curious that another military
record states that Lieutenant Arthur Leigh Collett of the 8th
Battalion, was 25 years of age when he died of wounds in France on 18th November
1916, after which he was buried in Grandcourt Road Cemetery, Grandcourt. In the Church of St John the Evangelist, on
Prince Edward Island, there is displayed a brass plaque in his honour, in addition
to which his name also appears on the cenotaph at nearby Borden. The name of Arthur Leigh Collett is also
included on a stone tablet on the exterior wall of the local hall (now a
theatre) in the village of Victoria, as one of those from the village who
served in the Great War. A tribute in
the Toronto Star newspaper on 28th November 1916 recorded that
Arthur Leigh Collett was a Rhodes Scholar in 1912-1913, hence why he was listed
as a student on enrolling in 1914
On 25th March
2018, at the town of Borden-Carleton on Prince Edward Island, the Cenotaph
Research Project held an open day and presentation which was attended by Joyce
Loo of Springfield. She had seen an
earlier article by the group published in the County Line Courier, which had
sparked her interest. She wrote “I am very interested
in your article in the County Line Courier about Arthur Collett. He taught my mother in Springfield School,
when he boarded with Louis Haslam and his family. I now live in that house and found his Greek
Bible in the attic. My mother liked him
very much as a teacher and she knew he had died in France.” The leader
of the Project Team then contacted King’s College in Nova
Scotia, where Arthur was educated, as a result of which he received this response
from the university’s librarian
From the information contained in the
March-April 1913 issue of The Record - a student magazine that later become the
yearbook for King’s College, we learned that “In
1906, on taking a County Scholarship, Arthur Collett entered Prince of Wales
College in Charlottetown. During the
years 1906-1908, Mr Collett was enrolled in H Company of the 82nd Regiment
Abegweit Light Infantry. He then left
Prince of Wales College in 1908 and took up teaching before entering King’s in
1909. In his last year at King’s, Arthur was selected as a Rhodes Scholar
and was also the Senior Student, equivalent to being head of the student body.” It was also revealed that
while he was at King’s College, he had the nickname “Deak” and was briefly on
the debating team
Aggie Eliza Collett [1P174] was
born on Prince Edward Island on 4th June 1894, where she was
baptised on 18th October 1894, the only known child of William and
Alice Collett who was six years old in the census of 1901. At the age of 15, Aggie E Collett from Canada
was recorded at the home of Willie and Flora Chalfont from Nevada at Township 1
in Inyo County, California. Also living
and working at that same address was Aggie’s mother Alice Collett from Canada
who was the housekeeper for the Chalfonts.
Five years later, the Canadian Border Crossing records at Vermont St Albans,
include the following details for Aggie Collett, aged 21, a stenographer, born
in Canada, of English descent. Her last
address in Canada was 223 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, her mother was
Alice Trowsdale [following the death of Aggie’s father], and her final
destination in America, was Chicago
Thanks to Norm Crone on
Prince Edward Island, we now know that Aggie Collett married Harvey O Weeks,
who was born on 29th January 1897.
In 1942, the WW2 Draft Registration for Harvey O Weeks stated that he
was 45 and living at Bishop in Inyo County, where he was employed by the State of
California Highways Office in Sacramento.
Eight years later, Harvey O Weeks
died at Crapaud, Prince Edward Island during 1954, where he was buried. At the time of her death in April 1978, when
she was 84 and named as Aggie Collett Weeks, she was on a visit to California,
but was returned to Crapaud, where she was buried with her husband (Lot 29) at
the St John the Evangelist Anglican Cemetery at Crapaud in Queens County,
PEI. Also, at Crapaud in the church is a
grand stained-glass window which commemorates “The Collett Family of Aggie and
her husband Harvey O Weeks”
The earlier census of
1930, confirms that Harry O Weeks, from Illinois, was an automobile mechanic
aged 36, residing at Tujunga, Los Angeles, who had been married when he was 30
years of age. However, it was four years
later, on 15th
June 1934, that he married Aggie Eliza Collett, whose last entry into America
had been on 28th June 1932, at Calais in Maine. Not long after they were married, the couple
left their home at 680 Grove Street in Bishop, California, their destination
being Victoria on Prince Edward Island.
The port of departure was Calais, where the couple made the border
crossing by automobile, it noted that Aggie was not naturalised in the
USA. The reason given from leaving
America was recorded as “going to live in Canada”
Maudie Leona Collett [1P181] was
born in California on 13th December 1898, the eldest of the four
children of James Bradford Collett and his wife Janey Truscott. She married Robert H Mumm who was born at
Wisconsin around 1897. Up until the US
Census in 1920, Maudie was living with her parents at their home in Warms
Springs, Inyo. It was shortly after that
when she and Robert moved to Berkeley in California. She and Robert had a son, Sidney Mumm
who was born in Sacramento on 30th August 1928, following which the
family of three was living at Woodland, Yolo, California in 1930. Maudie Leona Mumm nee Collett died at Tulare
in California on 14th April 1987, while her son Sidney Mumm died
there on 29th June 2003
Florence H Collett [1P182] was
born at Bishop, Inyo on 24th July 1903, the daughter of James and
Janey Collett. Her early life was spent
living with her family at Township 1 in Inyo, and at Warm Springs in 1920. It was during the early 1920s that she
married Walter Ancel Ray who had been born at Greenfield, Adair in Iowa on 23rd
December 1899. On 11th March
1925 Florence presented her husband with a daughter, Barbara Ray, and by
1930 the family of three was living at Caliente, Lincoln in Nevada. Florence H Ray ne Collett was still living at
Caliente when she died during December 1986, while her daughter Barbara was
living in San Diego when she died on 31st August 2008
Mabel Berniece Collett [1P183] was
born in California on 18th February 1906, the third daughter of
James and Janey Collett. Like her three
sisters, ‘Mable’ was living with her parents at Township 1 in Inyo up to 1910,
and by 1920 the family was living at Warm Springs in Inyo. Also like her sisters, ‘Mable’ was married
during the 1920s, when she wed Leonard L Parish who was born in Texas on 15th
September 1901. Once married the couple
settled in Sacramento where their two daughters were born. Virginia Ruth Parish was born on 14th
July 1926, and Beatrice Lea Parish was born on 11th October
1927. The family was living in
Sacramento in 1930, and it was there also that Mable Berniece Parish nee
Collett died on 10th May 1985.
Her husband Leonard had died there over twelve years earlier on 13th
January 1973. Sadly, their two daughters
both died in 2005; Virginia on 19th April at Sacramento, and
Beatrice on 29th November at Roseville, Placer in California
Beatrice Evelyn Collett [1P184] was
born at Bishop, Inyo in California on 12th June 1908, the youngest
of the four daughters of James Bradford Collett and his wife Janey
Truscott. Up until the time of her
marriage Beatrice lived with her family at Township 1, Inyo, and later at Warms
Spring. It was possible at Warms Springs
in Inyo that she married Aarian Sydney Cakebread on 17th November
1927. He was the son of William
Cakebread and Henrietta Marie Schwendel and was born in California on 19th
September 1903. Following their wedding
day, the couple settled in San Jose, Santa Clara in California, where their one
child, William Keith Cakebread was born on 21st February
1930. Beatrice Evelyn Cakebread nee
Collett died at San Jose on 4th December 1988, her husband having
died there two years earlier on 21st February 1986, the day of their
son’s 56th birthday. William
Keith Cakebread also lived most of his life in San Jose, where he died on 2nd
December 2005. He was the father of
Cherie Mosher who put together the history of this branch of the Collett
family, although it was through contact with Andrew Collett (Ref. 3Q18) that it
now appears in this family line
William Brady Collett [1P186] was born in 1894 at
Prince Edward Island, the second of the five children of William and Margaret Collett. According to the Queen’s PEI census in 1901,
William Brady Collett was seven years old.
By the time of the Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts census of 1920,
William B Collett was 25 years of age and married to Mary E Collett from
Canada, who was 24. William, also from
Canada, was employed as a packer in food production. Staying with the couple that day, was Harriet
A Knight, who was 14 and described as William’s sister-in-law. That presumably indicated that his wife was
Mary E Knight
Margery Annie Collett [1Q1]
was born in the Dorset village of Maiden Newton in 1903, the eldest of the five
children of Frederick Collett and Annie Louisa Martin. The birth of Margery Annie Collet was
recorded at Dorchester register office (Ref. 5a 310) during the last three
months of the year. She was seven years
of age in the census of 1911, when she was still living at Maiden Newton with
her family, her father being absent as he was a member of the Royal Navy in
Portsmouth. It may have been a posting
to Devonport, Plymouth, that followed her father’s term at Portsmouth, because
it was later, at Penzance, where Margery A Collett married George H
Williams. The event was recorded there
(Ref. 5c 428) during the third quarter of 1925, where her brother Stanley (below)
was married eight years after
Percy Frederick J Collett [1Q2] was
born at Maiden Newton in Dorset on 21st December 1905, his birth
recorded at Dorchester register office (Ref. 5a 326) during the first quarter
of 1906. Many years later, and after the
start of the Second World War, the marriage of Percy F Collett and Edith I
Johnstone was recorded at Warrington register office (Ref. 8c 385) during the
final three months of 1941. Percy
continued to reside in Lancashire and it was there, at the Sefton North register
office (Vol. 37 0355) that the death of Percy Frederick Collett was recorded
during the first few months of 1983, when he was 76 years old
Stanley Martin Collett [1Q3]
was born at Maiden Newton in Dorset near the end of 1908, his birth recorded at
Dorchester register office (Ref. 5a 300) during the first quarter of 1909. He was then baptised at Maiden Newton on 8th
February 1909, the son of Frederick and Annie Collett nee Martin. He was two years old in the census of 1911
when he was living with his mother at Maiden Newton, while his father was away
from home, a serving seaman with the Royal Navy. Just like his older sister Margery (above)
and two of his three younger siblings (below), it was also at Penzance
that Stanley Martin Collett was married, albeit eight years afterwards. The marriage of Stanley M Collett and Violet
M Arnell was recorded there (Ref. 5c 516) during the third quarter of 1933
Eileen Gladys Louisa Collett [1Q4]
was born in 1911 at Maiden Newton in Dorset, the fourth child of Frederick and
Annie Collett. The birth of Eileen G L
Collett was recorded at the nearby Dorchester register office (Ref. 5a 549)
during the last three months of 1911, when his mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Martin. It was also at
Maiden Newton that she was baptised on 9th January 1912 using her
full name. It is speculated that her
father, a seaman with the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, was later posted to
Devonport naval base, most likely after the birth of Eileen’s youngest sibling
and during the First World War. The
reason for that assumption being that Eileen, and three of siblings, were
subsequently married at Penzance. The
marriage of Eileen G L Collett and Joseph W Rowe was recorded at Penzance
register office (Ref. 5c 449) during the second quarter of 1937. Within the next twelve months their daughter
was born, with the birth of Patricia Rowe also recorded at Penzance
(Ref. 5c 243) during the second quarter of 1938, when the mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Collett
Kenneth C H Collett [1Q5]
was born in 1914 at Maiden Newton, the last child of Frederick Collett and
Annie Louisa Martin. At the recording of
his birth at Dorchester register office (Ref. 5a 566) during the second quarter
of 1914, his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Martin. His father was serving with the Royal Navy in
1911 and may well have been there still when Kenneth was born. However, sometime after he was born, there is
every probability that the family left Dorset and moved to Cornwall, since it
was at Penzance that Kenneth and three of his older siblings were married. He was twenty-five years of age when Kenneth
C H Collett married Vera M Simons at Penzance, where their wedding was recorded
(Ref. 5c 882) during the last three months of 1939 and not long after the start
of the Second World War. It was towards
the end of the war that their daughter was born, the birth of Janet A Collett
also recorded at the register office in Penzance (Ref. 5c 292) during the third
quarter of 1944. The record also
confirmed child’s mother’s maiden-name was Simons
1R1 – Janet A Collett was born in 1944 at
Penzance, Cornwall
Valerie Joyce Collett [1Q7] was
the only child of Victor Jesse Bernard Collett and Daisy E Woodward. Her birth was recorded at Swindon register
office (Ref. 5a 45) during the third quarter of 1931, when her mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Woodward. She later
married Cyril V Dunsby, their wedding recorded at Swindon (Ref. 7c 1219) during
the last three months of 1949. They had
two children, Steven Dunsby who was born in 1951 and Diane Dunsby who was born
in 1955. Steven is married and has a son
Christopher, while Diane is now Diane Humphreys and has three daughters,
Rebecca, Danielle and Sarah. All three
girls are married and have presented their mother with two grandchildren, they
being Danielle who was eight and Angel who was three in July 2008. After being divorced from her husband Cyril
later in her life Valerie reverted back to her maiden-name and is once again
known as Valerie Collett. Thanks go to
Diane and her mother Valerie, who kindly provided the information that has
resulted in an earlier update of their family’s information
John D Collett [1Q8] was born in
Australia on 31st May 1940, where his three sons were also
born. It was John from Notting Hill in
Victoria, who kindly provided information relating to his direct line of
Collett ancestors. In 2010 John was
Managing Director of Anglo Italian Concrete and it was also with that company
that his two sons Simon and Chris both worked
1R2 – John Simon Collett was born on 11th
October 1970 in Australia
1R3 – Christopher Andrew Collett was born on 8th
November 1972 in Australia
1R4 – Jonathan Saville Collett was born during 1977
in Australia
Florence Verbena Collett [1Q9] was
born in New Zealand during the later months of 1906 and was the first child
born to William Henry Collett and Ellen Elizabeth Nettell who were married
earlier that same year. Although no
details are currently known about Florence after she was married, it is known
that she gave birth to a daughter Betty Florence who was born in 1930 and who
was Betty Florence Hobday, aged 83, in 2013 when she confirmed the names
of her mother’s four siblings. At that
time Betty was living in Auckland, New Zealand
Daniel David Collett [1Q12] was
born in New Zealand on 12th April 1911, the fourth child of William
and Ellen (Nellie) Collett. It would
appear that he never married and the only other known aspect of his life is
that he died in New Zealand during 1996
Maud Alice Collett [1Q14] was
born at Hamilton in New Zealand on 3rd July 1920, the only known
child of Francis Albert Collett and Rhoda Charlotte Simons. Around the time of the Second World War, she
was married Hector George Whyte who was born at Christchurch in 1921 and who
died at Hamilton on 4th December 2012. It is established that there was at least one
child born into the family and that was Roger Whyte.
Today Roger, and his wife Lesley, own and operate the apple orchard at
Hamilton that was original set up by his parents. The only other detail known about
Maud Alice Whyte nee Collett is that she had died eight years before her
husband during 2004
Elizabeth Florence Collett [1Q15] was
born at Bath in 1891, the eldest child of James Collett and Rosa Roberts. It was also at Bath (Ref. 5c 533) that her
birth was recorded during the last three months of that year. In 1901 Eliza Collett aged nine years was
living with her family at Florence Terrace, Devon Road in Bristol. By the time of the census was conducted in
1911, Elizabeth Florence Collett was 20 and a general domestic servant living
and working at the Bristol home of Walter Merrell and his family, when her
place of birth was recorded as Walcot, Bath in Somerset. Just over one year
later, Elizabeth Florence Collett, aged 21 and the daughter of James Collett,
married Ernest Budd, who was 25 and the son of Frederick Budd, at Bedminster in
Somerset on 28th June 1912
May Herma Collett [1Q16] was
born at Bath in 1892, her birth recorded there (Ref. 5c 559) during the fourth quarter
of the year. May Collett was eight years
old in 1901 when she and her family were residing at Florence Terrace in
Bristol, on Devon Road. She was still
living with her family at Bristol in 1911, when May Collett from Bath was 18
years of age and was employed at the cocoa factory of Parker & Company
Limited in Bristol
Albert James William Collett [1Q17] was
born in 1894, the third child and eldest son of James and Rosa Collett. His birth was also recorded at Bath register
office (Ref. 5c 564) during the third quarter of the year and, as Albert
Collett, he was six years of age in 1901 at the family home in Florence Terrace
on Devon Road in Bristol. After leaving
school, Albert was taken on as a labourer by a local printing company, as
confirmed within the Bristol census return for 1911 when he was 16 years of age
and still living at the family home with his parents. It would appear that he married Florence B A
Huggins and remained living in the Bristol area of the country where their three
children were born, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Huggins. The only doubt about his marriage is that he
was named as Albert W J Collett, when the event was recorded at Bristol
register office (Ref. 6a 144) during the second quarter of 1918. However, two of his three children were
confirmed in his later Will. Florence
Beatrice Annie Huggins was born on 17th November 1897 at Bedminster
(Somerset), immediately south of Bristol, near the end of 1897, and was
baptised at Holy Nativity in Knowle (Somerset) on 4th December 1897,
the daughter of gardener James Herbert Huggins and the wife Annie of 3 Hill
Side Cottages, Hill Side Street in Bedminster.
She presented Albert with a son and two daughters during the first eight
years of the married life, as detailed below, but curiously was not named in
his Will, even though she died fourteen years after his death. Albert was 69 when he died on 23rd
October 1963 at home at Sunny Moor, Jockey Lane in Bristol St George, his death
recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 7b 119). The Will of Albert James William Collett was
proved at Bristol on 22nd November 1963 when the two main
beneficiaries were Sidney George Collett, a civil servant, and Dorothy Virginia
Beer, the wife of Ronald Leslie Beer, when the personal effects were valued at
£1,473 12 Shillings and 11 Pence. The
later death of Florence Beatrice Annie Collett was recorded at Gloucester
register office (Vol. 22 0684) during 1977, at the age of 79
1R5 – Grace E F Collett was born in 1919 at
Bristol
1R6 – Sidney George Collett was born in 1920 at
Bristol
1R7 – Dorothy Virginia Collett was born in 1925 at
Bristol
Charles Henry Collett [1Q18] was
the fourth child of James and Rosa Collett, but the first one to be born in
Bristol. It was there, at Barton Regis,
that his birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 101) during the second quarter of 1896. He was two years old when Charles Henry
Collett was baptised at St Mark’s Church in the Eaton district of Bristol and
confirmed as the son of James and Rosa Collett.
Charlie Collett was six years old in 1901, one of the six children
living with their parents at Florence Terrace in Bristol. Charles, aged 15, had already completed his
education by 1911, when he was living with his family in Bristol, from where he
was a boot maker in a nearby shoe factory.
Ten years later, when Charles was 25, his marriage to Lily Edith
Jefferies took place at St Georges in Bristol on 30th April 1921,
where Lily aged 21 had been born the daughter of Alfred Jefferies, with Charles
confirmed as the son of James Collett, a (house) painter, and the event recorded at
Bristol register office (Ref. 6a 252).
The birth of Lily Edith Jefferies was also recorded at Bristol register
office (Ref. 6a 202) during the first three months of 1899, and was two years
old in 1901 Census when living with her family at Bell Hill Road, within the
Bristol St George area of the city, where her father Alfred Jefferies was a
coal miner’s labourer working below ground, her mother was Lily, and daughter
Lily was the youngest of the four children living there with them
The marriage of Charles and Lily produced two
daughters for the couple, Muriel L Collett whose birth was recorded at Bristol
register office (Ref. 6a 205) during the last quarter of 1922, and nearly
eleven years later Patricia M Collett whose birth was also recorded there (Ref.
6a 144) during the second quarter of 1933.
Six years later the four members of the family were together for the
1939 Register, but with Patricia’s entry redacted for the reason that she was
still living when the Register was published and available to the general
public.
1R8 – Muriel L Collett was born in 1922 at
Bristol
1R9 – Patricia M Collett was born in 1933 at
Bristol
Rose Emily Daisy Grace Collett [1Q19] was
born at Bristol in 1898, with her birth recorded at Barton Regis register
office (Ref. 6a 100) during the first three months of the year. It was as Rose Emily Grace Collett that she
was baptised at St Mark’s Church in the Easton area of Bristol on 3rd
September 1898, the daughter of James and Rosa Collett. She may have been born at Florence Terrace,
Devon Road in Bristol, where her family was living in 1901 when Rose E Collett
was three years of age. Where her family
was in 1911 has not yet been determined while, on that census day, Rose Collett
from Bristol was 12 years old when she was living at the Bath home of her aunt
Matilda Eyles, aged 61 and from Bath, when she was still attending school. Eighteen years later, the marriage of Rose E
G Collett and Ernest C Poole was recorded at Bristol register office (Ref. 6a
380) during the third quarter of 1929
Rose Emily Daisy Grace Collett [1Q21] was
born at Bristol in 1898, with her birth recorded at Barton Regis register
office (Ref. 6a 100) during the first three months of the year. It was as Rose Emily Grace Collett that she
was baptised at St Mark’s Church in the Easton area of Bristol on 3rd
September 1898, the daughter of James and Rosa Collett. She may have been born at Florence Terrace,
Devon Road in Bristol, where her family was living in 1901 when Rose E Collett
was three years of age. Where her family
was in 1911 has not yet been determined while, on that census day, Rose Collett
from Bristol was 12 years old when she was living at the Bath home of her aunt
Matilda Eyles, aged 61 and from Bath, when she was still attending school. Eighteen years later, the marriage of Rose E
G Collett and Ernest C Poole was recorded at Bristol register office (Ref. 6a 380)
during the third quarter of 1929
Lily Matilda Collett [1Q22] was
born at Bristol on 10th August 1904, where her birth was recorded
(Ref. 6a 192) during the third quarter of that year. She was the last child born to James Collett
and Rose Roberts who was baptised at the Church of St Philip and St Jacob in
Bristol on 28th August 1904.
As simply Lily Collett aged six years, she was living with her family in
Bristol in 1911
Charles James Collett [1Q23] was
born at Bath on 4th May 1898, the only known child of Henry George
Collett and Harriet Jane Haggett, whose birth was recorded at Bath register
office (Ref. 5c 539) during the second quarter of 1898. He was three years of age in the Bath census
of 1901 and was 13 years old in 1911, when still living in Bath with his
parents. Eleven years after that day,
the marriage of Charles J Collett and Winifred G Lane was recorded at Bath
register office (Ref. 5c 1248) during the fourth quarter of 1922. Winifred was born on 10th October
1895 and was a daughter of Henry James Lane and his wife Ellen, her birth
recorded at Bath (Ref. 5c 544). It would
appear that they had no children, but lived all of their life together at Bath,
where they both died. The death of
Charles J Collett was recorded at Bath register office (Ref. 7c 825) towards
the end of 1970. Fifteen years after
being widowed, the death of Winifred G Collett was recorded at Bath (Vol. 22
18) during the last few weeks of 1985
Lilian Violet Collett [1Q25] was
born at 14 Nettleton Road in Gloucester in 1891, the eldest of the two known
children of William Henry Collett and Elizabeth Martha Hill. Her birth was recorded at Gloucester (Ref. 6a
290) during the third quarter of the year.
It was simply as, Lilian Collett of Gloucester, aged nine years, that
she was living with her family at 14 Nettleton Road in 1901, where she was
still living in 1911 when, as Lilian Violet Collett aged 19, she was not
credited with having a stated occupation.
Two years later, the marriage of Lilian V Collett and John M Andrews was
recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 679) during the third quarter
of 1913. They were still residing in
Gloucester when their son William Henry C Andrews was born, his birth
recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 541) during the second quarter
of 1916, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett
Francis Edward Collett [1Q28] was
born at Cirencester in 1881, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 366) during
the fourth quarter of the year, the eldest child of Edward Collett and Eliza
Adams. The earliest record of his father
was as Edward Haines Collett but, upon his death in 1906, he was named as Francis
Edward Collett. When Francis was around
three years old his parents took the young family north to Burton-on-Trent and
the suburb of Winshill, where his family was living at North Street in 1891,
1901 and 1911. In the first two of those
census days Francis E Collett was nine years old and Frank Collett was 19 years
of age when he was working as a maltings labourer at a nearby brewery, where
his father was also employed
Just over six years later
the marriage of Francis Edward Collett and Lizzie Allen was recorded at
Burton-on-Trent register office (Ref. 6b 806) during the third quarter of
1907. By then Lizzie was a widow with a
daughter from her first marriage, Emily Elizabeth Allen, who eventually took
the Collett surname. That second
marriage for Lizzie produced at least two further children who were born at
Winshill, as was her first child. It was
also at Winshill that the family was residing in 1911. At that time in his life, Francis Collett
from Cirencester was 29 and a collier labourer working below ground. Lizzie Collett was 32 and from the Horninglow
area of Burton-on-Trent, although no record of her marriage to Francis has been
discovered. The three children were
described as Emily Allen Collett who was six, Edith Collett who was three and
Edward Collett who was one year old, all of them born at Winshill. Francis was 69 and still living in the area
of Burton-on-Trent, where his death was recorded (Ref. 9b 77) during the final
quarter of 1950
1R10 – Emily Elizabeth Allen (later Collett) was
born in 1905 at Winshill, Staffordshire
The following are the two
known children of Francis Edward Collett and Lizzie Allen:
1R11 – Edith Lucy Collett was born in 1908 at
Winshill, Staffordshire
1R12 – Francis Edward Collett was born in 1909 at
Winshill, Staffordshire
Ellen Martha Collett [1Q29] was
born at Cirencester in 1883, the eldest daughter and second child of Edward and
Eliza Collett. Her birth was also
recorded at Cirencester (Ref. 6a 351) during the fourth quarter of the
year. Not long after she was born, her
parents moved to Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire and it was just east of the
town centre, in the area known as Winshill, where the family settled in North
Street. In the Winshill census of 1891
Ellen M Collett was seven years of age and ten years later she was 17 with no
stated occupation, so was very likely helping her mother look after her large
family. Her father died in 1906 and, by
1911, Ellen was still living at Winshill with her widowed mother and her
younger siblings, when she was described as Nellie Collett from Cirencester who
was 27 and still not having any occupation.
Ellen presumably remained living with her mother and appears not to have
married, with her death record at Burton-on-Trent register office (Ref. 9b 96)
during the first three months of 1958 when Ellen Collett was said to be 72
years of age
Edith Annie Collett [1Q30] was
born at North Street in Winshill in 1886, another daughter of Edward and Eliza
Collett, whose birth was recorded at Burton-on-Trent (Ref. 6b 411) during the
second quarter of the year. It was at
North Street that Edith A Collett was five years old in 1891 and where she was
15 in 1901. Her father passed away five
years later and, after a further five years, Edith was no longer living at
Winshill with her family, most likely married by 1911
William James Collett [1Q31] was
born at North Street in Winshill, his birth recorded at Burton-on-Trent (Ref.
6b 438) during the second quarter of 1889.
He was one year old in 1891 and was 11 years of age in 1901, on each
occasion he was simply listed in each census return as William Collett of
Winshill, living there with his family.
By 1911, and following the death of his father in 1906, William was the
eldest son and bread-winner still living at Winshill with his mother and
younger members of his family, when he was working as a labourer at a nearby
Burton brewery. No record has been found
that would indicate he was ever married, while it was at Burton-on-Trent
register office (Ref. 6b 316) where his death was recorded during the last
three months of 1942 when William J Collett was 53
George Robert Collett [1Q32] was
born at North Street in Winshill in 1892, the fifth child of Edward and Eliza
Collett. His birth was recorded at
Burton-on-Trent (Ref. 6b 110) during the second quarter of that year. It was as George Collett, who was nine years
old in 1901, and who was 19 and a baker’s assistance in 1911, that he was
living at the family home in Winshill, his father having died in 1906. Three years later the marriage of George R
Collett and Ethel E Stonehouse was recorded at Burton-on-Trent register office
(Ref. 6b 841) during the second quarter of 1914. The birth of the couple’s only known child
took place at the end of that same year, most likely a honeymoon baby. Thereafter the only other known detail of the
family is that it remained living in the area of Burton-on-Trent, since it was
at the register office there that the death of George R Collett, aged 61, was
recorded (Ref. 9b 67) during the first three months of 1954
1R13 – Leslie Collett was born in 1914 at
Burton-on-Trent
Henry Collett [1Q33] was born at
Winshill on 23th February 1897, another child of Edward and Eliza Collett. The birth of Henry Collett was recorded at
Burton-on-Trent register office (Ref. 6b 460) during the first three months of
the year. He was three years old in the
Winshill census of 1901 and, as Harry Collett aged 14, he was a milk seller in
1911 when he was living with his widowed mother at Winshill, following the
death of his father five years earlier.
Just over ten years later, the marriage of Henry Collett and Lily Yeomans
was recorded at Burton-on-Trent (Ref. 6b 815) during the second quarter of
1921. Their daughter was born three
years after they were married and may have been their only child, the birth of
Margaret I Collett recorded at Burton-on-Trent (Ref. 6b 675) during the second
quarter of 1924, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Yeomans. It was also there, that the death of Henry
Collett was recorded (Ref.9b 96) towards the end of 1971, when he was 74
1R14– Margaret I Collett was born in 1924 at
Burton-on-Trent
Albert Stanley Collett [1Q34] was
born at Winshill in 1899 and was said to be two years old in the Winshill
census of 1901. His birth was recorded
at Burton-on-Trent (Ref. 6b 442) during the second quarter of 1899, making him
just under two years of age on the census day.
At the age of 12 Albert Collett was still living at the family home in
Winshill in 1911, following the death of his father in 1906. No marriage record for Albert Stanley Collett
has been found, while it was at Burton-on-Trent register office that the death
of Albert S Collett was recorded (Ref. 9b 39) during the second quarter of
1965, when he was 66 years old
Alfred Ernest Collett [1Q35] was
born at Winshill on 23rd March 1901, just after the census day that
year. He was the last child of Edward
Collett and Eliza Adams, whose birth was recorded at Burton-on-Trent register
office 6b 428) during the second quarter of 1901. His father died when Alfred was five years
old and in the Winshill census of 1911 Alfred Collett was 10 years of age when
he was living there with his family. He
was thirty-two years old when the marriage of Alfred E Collett and Gertrude A
Collier was recorded at Burton (Ref. 6b 814) during the second quarter of
1933. Gertrude Annie Collier was born in
the Burton area in 1906. It is curious
that, after the birth of their son in 1934, the birth of Annette M Collett was
recorded at Burton in 1959, the child of a Collett/Collier relationship. However, it would not be possible for the
mother to be Gertrude Collett, nee Collier, who would have been around
fifty-three years of age at the birth.
Her husband was 78 years old, when the death of Alfred Ernest Collett
was recorded at East Staffordshire register office (Vol. 30 0736) during the
last three months of 1980
1R15 – John V Collett was born in 1934 at
Burton-on-Trent
Dorothy Leanora Collett [1Q36] was
born at Maesteg in 1900, with her birth recorded at Bridgend (Ref. 11a 811)
during the first quarter of the year, the first child of Charles Collett and
Mary Hannah Hinkin. She was 11 years old
in the census of 1911 when she and her family were living at Nantyffyllon to
the north of Maesteg. She was only
sixteen when she married John Morris, the event recorded at Bridgend register
office (Ref. 11a 1394) during the third quarter of 1916
Victor Campbell Collett [1Q38] was
born at Nantyffyllon on 28th
April 1908 and his birth was recorded at Bridgend (Ref. 11a 954) during
the second quarter of that year, another son of Charles Collett and Mary Hannah
Hinkin. He was two years of age in the
Nantyffyllon census of 1911 when living there with his family. On the day he was married, he was 21, with
the marriage of Victor Campbell Collett and (1) Nellie Hyland being recorded at Bridgend (Ref. 11a
1529) during the second quarter of 1929.
Nellie Hyland was
born just prior to the 1911 census, the last child born to Emily Hyland aged 41
from Rhyl in Wales, who was living at the Romford home of 51-year-old cab
driver James Dowsett, with six of her youngest children who had all been born
at Romford in Essex. It was previously
believed that Victor had married Nellie Llewellyn, possibly due to an error at
the Bridgend register office where an identical marriage record exists, the
only difference being the bride’s surname, said to be Nellie Hyland and Nellie
Llewellyn. Whereas the earlier version
of this family line had credited Victor and Nellie with six children with a
mother’s maiden-name of Llewellyn, no such record of any children born into a
Collett/Hyland family has been found, except those born at Bridgend between
1911 and 1921, and they were the six children of Thomas Cornelius Collett [Ref.
39P8] and his second wife Ellen Hyland from Ireland
What is interesting is the fact that the aforementioned
Thomas Cornelius Collett had a son and namesake by his second wife Ellen Hyland
from Ireland, Thomas Cornelius Collett [Ref. 39Q10] whose wife was Dorothy Enid
Llewellyn whose children’s births were also recorded at Bridgend from 1930
onwards. However, to date, no record of
their wedding day has been located. Therefore,
the original list of six children below has been reduced by two in 2023 and
transferred to the family of Thomas and Dorothy as part of the process of updating
Part 39 – The Clanfield Oxfordshire Line.
Out of this additional research, it has been revealed that Victor and
Nellie’s daughter, Marilyn Collett, whose birth was recorded at Bridgend (Ref.
11a 814) during the last three months of 1936, suffered an infant death which
was recorded at Glamorgan (Ref. 11a 718) in 1937 at the age of one year
Twelve years after the birth of their last child in
1945, the death of Nellie Collett, nee Hyland or Llewellyn, was recorded at
Bridgend register (Ref. 8b 3) during the second quarter of 1957, when she was
48. Her birth as Nellie W Hyland took
place at Romford either at the end of 1910, or early in 1911, with it recorded
at Romford register office (Ref. 4a 529) during the first quarter of 1911. It was during the following year that the
second marriage of Victor C Collett and (2) Bariah (Mariah) David was recorded
at Bridgend register office (Ref. 8b 125) during the second quarter of 1958. Twenty-six years later, the death of Victor Campbell Collett was
recorded at the Glamorganshire register office in Ogwr (Vol. 27 397) during the
third quarter of 1984, when he was 76
These
are the four children who may be the children of Victor Campbell Collett and Nellie Llewellyn, all four births recorded at
Bridgend register office, where their mother’s maiden-name was Llewellyn. The
last of them is assured as their youngest son, because in 1945 when he was born,
the family of Thomas Cornelius Collett and Dorothy Enid Llewellyn were
living many miles away in Oxfordshire, where their last child was also born –
the war years causing the big gap between the two youngest children in both
families. The older three children, their
daughters, are retained here in this family, based purely on the clash of birth
dates with the first three child of Thomas and Dorothy, there being no twins
born amongst them
1R16 – Joan Collett was born in 1931 at
Bridgend, Wales
1R17 – Betty Collett was born in 1933 at
Bridgend, Wales
1R18 – Marilyn Collett was born in 1936 at
Bridgend, Wales
1R19 – Alan C Collett was born in 1945 at
Bridgend, Wales
However, undaunted, he
drew on his past experience as a boilermaker to apply for the post of stoker
with the Ministry of Public Buildings & Works at the Royal Air Force base
at Abingdon. This, at fifty years of
age, required him to embark on a course of study in heating engineering. His hard work on the correspondence course
was rewarded when he gained a City & Guilds qualification. Almost inevitably he was again made
redundant, but this time it would be his last.
His newly acquired qualification enabled him to become a heating
engineer with the Oxford Universities Laboratories, where he stayed until his
retirement in 1975. For many years he
travelled the seven miles to and from work in Oxford on a pedal-cycle, until he
eventually treated himself to the luxury of a motor car. Ironically this was an old upright black Ford
Popular of the type that he had helped build while at Dagenham in the 1930s. It was the first mass-produced car that in
1937 cost £100 and, according to Henry Ford, ‘you could have in any colour as long as it was black’
Before being married, the
young William was a regular member of the Territorial Army. During World War Two he was a ‘desert rat’
with the Royal Kent Yeomanry of the Royal Artillery and was awarded the North
Africa Star and bar, plus four other medals.
He travelled extensively with his regiment throughout the war years,
sailing to Iraq via Cape Town, travelling overland down through Palestine and
across into Egypt to join the forces involved in the battles between Montgomery
and Rommel. He eventually sailed across
the Mediterranean to advance up through the length of Italy and into Europe. Within a few days of arriving in Venice, the
peace treaty was signed to mark the end of the war in Europe. While in Egypt in 1943, and by a sheer
coincident which surprised then all, William was reunited with his two younger
brothers Bert and John (below) during a period of leave in Cairo. His GWR apprenticeship certificate was signed
by C B Collett (Ref. 4N28) the Chief Mechanical Engineer responsible for the
design of the Kings and Castles classes of locomotive. Details of the family line of Charles Benjamin Collett can be found in Part 4 - The Great Western Line leading up to the reference 4N28
William Henry John
Collett died of a carcinoma of the pancreas on 15th November 1990 at
the Marcham Road Hospital at Abingdon in Oxfordshire, while Noreen Alice Maud
Collett nee Harman, who suffered for fifteen years with Alzheimer’s Disease,
passed away on 31st January 2004
1R20 – Patricia Collett was born in 1937 at
Abingdon-on-Thames
1R21 – Joyce Collett was born in 1940 at
Abingdon-on-Thames
1R22 – BRIAN CLIFFORD COLLETT was born in 1946 at
Abingdon-on-Thames
1R23 – Mary Susan Collett was born in 1950 at
Abingdon-on-Thames
The
couple’s eldest son, Philip
Goddard was born on 2nd August 1947 at Swindon,
where he married Margaret Curry with whom he had a son Nicholas who was born on
22nd July 1980. Philip and
Maggie were later divorced. Following
twelve-year’s service in the Royal Air Force, he followed in his father’s
footsteps as a photographer setting up his own studio in Old Town Swindon. In 2003 he gave up the studio, whilst still continuing
to undertake weddings and portrait photography.
That same year he was offered a job as photographer at RAF Lyneham. He was a keen player of both squash and
rugby. For the later part of his life,
and prior to his death from lung cancer on 1st January 2005, he
lived at 156 Croft Road in Swindon with his son. His funeral at Christ Church, Swindon, on 11th
January was a very grand occasion attended by a guard of honour of comrades
from the RAF and the Air Training Corp - for whom he was an instructor, and by
members of Swindon Rugby Club, plus family and friends. The service, at 9.00 am, was marked by a fly
past by an RAF Hercules C130 Transport Aircraft from Lyneham. It was rather fitting that he posthumously
won first place in the 2005 Royal Air Force photographic competition with a
colourful picture of descending parachutists with colourful canopies and smoke
canisters attached to their feet
Richard Goddard was born on 5th
February 1949 at Swindon and he married Sally Hillier of Swindon on 30th
August 1975, where both of their daughters were born. They lived at 14 Corby Avenue and their
daughters are Louise Goddard, who was born on 16th August 1980, and
Jennifer Goddard, who was born on 26th March 1983
He later became a brass
moulder with the GWR which, shortly after became British Rail. His increasing blindness eventually forced a
move to a less demanding job, that of transport cleaner with Howard Tennens
Transport Company, from where he retired.
Blind and in poor health, he lived his final years with Frances at 27
Beaulieu Close at Toothill in Swindon.
Harry James Collett died on 14th October 1991 and Frances
died six months later in April 1992.
Following a chance first meeting with Harry’s daughter Jane at the
funeral of Albert Edward Collett (Ref: 1Q46) in August 2000, it was revealed
that Harry had raised Jane as his own child, although it was only discovered
when she was 32 years of age that he was not her real father. Her mother Frances had conceived the child as
a result of an extra-marital affair. Whilst
this was known by the extended Collett family, who severely ostracised Frances,
they managed to keep it a secret within the family until Jane was informed by
her father on her wedding day
1R24 – David Norris Collett was born in 1942 at
Swindon
1R25 – Alan Francis Robin Collett was born in 1947 at
Swindon
1R26 – Jane Collett was born in 1956 at
Swindon
1R27 – June Collett was born in 1944 at
Swindon
1R28 – Linda Collett was born in 1948 at
Swindon
1R29 – Stephen Collett was born in 1950 at
Swindon
1R30 – John Collett was born in 1959 at
Swindon
Caroline
Ruth Collett [1Q48], referred
to as Carrie by the family, was born on 20th December 1924 at 7
Bathampton Street in Swindon, where she married Walter Easter on 25th
August 1945. In their early days, Walt
had been a garage owner in Swindon, where both Carrie and their son Michael
worked. The two children were born while
the family was still living in Swindon.
They later moved out of Swindon to live most of their married life at
Cotswold Lodge in Great Coxwell near Faringdon in Oxfordshire, formerly in
Berkshire until the boundary change in 1974.
However, due to Walt’s failing health and the need to be closer to the
healthcare facilities that he now relied on, the couple moved back to Swindon
in 1996. During the early half of 2006
Walt suffered three strokes which later in the year resulted in the need for
twenty-four-hour care. He was therefore
admitted into a nursing home at Wanborough where he died on 13th
December 2006. The couple’s daughter Carole
Anne Easter was born on 31st
May 1946 at Swindon where she married (1) Anthony Nigel Ruck on 2nd
April 1966 at Christ Church in Swindon and later (2) Derek Holmes on 7th
June 1997 at Swindon Registry Office.
They were no children from either marriage and Derek died on 3rd
December 2007. Michael Easter was born on 7th April 1950 at Swindon
and he never married, but lived with his parents and worked in his father’s
garage. It was on 18th
November 2016 that Michael passed, while a resident at the Kingsmead Care Home
in Swindon Old Town
John Henry Collett [1Q49], who
was referred to as Jay by the
family, was born on 9th
October 1916 at Uxbridge where he married Ellen Irene Norton on 12th
December 1943. For work, he followed his
father into the Bell Punch & Ticket Company in Uxbridge where he put the
glass linings into steel barrels. Both
of their daughters were thought to have been born at Uxbridge, although their
births were recorded at Amersham in Buckinghamshire and at Rochford in
Essex. Later in life he worked for
Fairey Aviation, after which he worked for Freddie Laker of Laker Airways. In the 1990s John and Ellen were living at
412 Obelisk Drive in Northampton. It was
at Market Harborough in Leicestershire that John Henry (Jay) Collett passed
away on 20th July 2009 and his funeral was attended by, amongst
others, his nephew Alan Collett (Ref. 1R33), who provided the details of that
sad event
1R31 – Linda Irene Collett was born in 1951 at
Amersham, Buckinghamshire
1R32 – Sharon Ann Collett was born in 1962 at
Rochford, Essex
Ronald James Collett [1Q50] was
born on 1st January 1924 at Uxbridge where he married Amy Louise
Goodbody on 4th April 1946.
His occupation was that of works manager at a trade shop tool-room until
the depression of 1981, after which he became chief inspector at an engineering
works until his retirement in 1988. It
was previously written here that their children had been born in Uxbridge, but
their birth have since been revealed at the Ealing register office. During the 1990s the family home was 34 The
Grove, Pott Row at Grimston in Norfolk.
Ronald James Collett died from cancer while still living at Pott Row on
27th May 1999
1R33 – June F Collett was born in 1952 at Uxbridge
(Ealing)
1R34 – Anthony J Collett was born in 1954 at
Uxbridge (Ealing)
The couple lived at
‘Lewellen’ 163B Long Lane in Hillingdon in Middlesex, where all four of their
children were born. Lew and Helen
celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary on Sunday 9th May
2010. Their received their card from the
Queen and were taken out to lunch with their four children, their nine
grandchildren and one great grandchild, plus of course their wives, and
partners. There were also three special
guests, one of whom was a second cousin of Helen’s who went to school with
her. The photograph (above) of
the happy couple, was taken during their special day, and was kindly supplied
by their son Alan
Sadly, it was on the
morning of Monday 23rd November 2020 when Lewis Frank Collett died
at home in Hillingdon, his two daughters Elaine and Joan with him when he
passed away. It was during Tuesday of
the previous week, that he took a turn for the worst, which resulted in full
palliative care being initiated. Two
weeks before that he and the family celebrated his 94th birthday
1R35 – Elaine Collett was born in 1951 at
Hillingdon, Middlesex
1R36 – Alan Collett was born in 1953 at
Hillingdon, Middlesex
1R37 – Joan Collett was born in 1956 at
Hillingdon, Middlesex
1R38 – John Joseph Collett was born in 1964 at
Hillingdon, Middlesex
John William Collett [1Q52] was
born at Cirencester on 23rd April 1904, the only known child of
William Robert Collett and Jane Julia Harvey, although no record of his birth
has been found at Cirencester. Not long
after he was born his father’s work resulted in a family move, a few miles
north of Cirencester, to the village of Rendcomb, where they were recorded in
the census of 1911. On that occasion the
couple’s seven-year-old was simply recorded as William Collett, like his
father. It was in 1929 that John W
Collett married Beatrice A Smart, the wedding recorded at Cirencester (Ref. 6a
593) during the first three months of that year. Their marriage appears to have produced a
daughter and a son; the birth of both children recorded at Cirencester register
office. It was also at Cirencester (Vol.
22 1676) that the death of John William Collett was recorded in the spring of
1991
1R39 – Linda M Collett was born in 1930 at
Cirencester
1R40 – Dennis W J Collett was born in 1933 at
Cirencester
Harry Collett [1Q53] was born on 5th
June 1913 at Woolwich. He never married
and worked with his father Bertram Henry Collett on Sir Edward Durrand's Estate
at Langley near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire.
Harry Collett died on 15th November 1985
Bertram John Collett [1Q54], referred to as Bert by the family, was
born on 14th March 1915 in Dublin.
Like his brother Harry, he too never married. His occupation was that of Registrar of
Births, Deaths and Marriages at Winchcombe.
Upon his retirement he moved into a property that backed onto the garden
of the house in which his sister Lily Bishop (below) lived in Cheltenham
Lily Rose Collett [1Q55] was
born on 8th August 1919 at Langley near Winchcombe. She married George Henry Bishop at
Cheltenham. Lily worked with her brother
Bertram Collett (above) and was often used as a witness at registry
office weddings. George, her husband,
was a solicitor in Cheltenham, where the couple settled, and where their two
sons were born. Their son David J P Bishop,
who was born in 1947, worked at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
in Cheltenham, while younger brother Paul George Bishop, born in 1952,
worked with his father George as a solicitor's clerk. Neither of the sons ever married and all four
of them were living at 15 Fairhaven Road in Cheltenham at the turn of the
century. George Henry Bishop died at
Cheltenham on 30th January 2007
Cynthia Queenie May Collett [1Q56] was
born at the end of March in 1910 and, according to the census one year later,
her place of birth was said to be Wormwood in Wiltshire, midway between Box and
Atworth. Her birth, as Cynthia Queenie M
Collett, was recorded at Chippenham register office (Ref. 5a 64) during the
second quarter of 1910. It was at Box
that the family of three was living in the Chippenham census of 1911, when
Cynthia Q Collett was one year old.
During the next eighteen months the family moved to Bradford-on-Avon
where her eldest brother was born, before settling in Melksham where her
youngest brother was born. Cynthia was
21 years old when she married Alfred Pickering, the event recorded at Melksham
register office (Ref. 5a 266) during the fourth quarter of 1931. Before having a child of their own, Cynthia
and Alfred adopted a son, given the name David Collett, who died very
young. Thereafter, in 1948, their
daughter was born at West Bromwich.
Thereafter,
their daughter Cynthia
R Pickering was born, her birth recorded at West Bromwich register
office (Ref. 9b 1348) during the first quarter of 1948, when her mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Collett. She was 21
when she married Ian Rodgers, the event recorded at the Staffordshire Aldridge
& Brownhills register office (Ref. 9b 44) during the second quarter of
1969. During the 1990s they and their
family were living in Redditch. Deborah
Collette Rodgers Born in 1973 at Birmingham Philip Stephen Rodgers Born in 1979
at Birmingham
Ronald Ernest Collett [1Q57], referred to as Ron by the family, was
born on 12th October 1912 at Bradford-on-Avon, where his birth was
recorded (Re. 5a 208). He married Zillah
Lily Hayward at the Church of St James in Trowbridge, with the event recorded
at Melksham register office (Ref. 5a 195) during the first three months of
1935. Zillah was born at Westbury in
Wiltshire on 20th August 1908.
The couple then settled in Swindon, where their two daughters were
born. Ron’s occupation was that of an
accountant and later the manager of the Co-op Bank in Swindon. He was an accomplished landscape painter and
some of his paintings were displayed in the bank. In the 1990s he was living at 63 Plymouth
Street in Swindon, his wife having died during the early months of 1982. After ten years as a widower, the death of
Ronald Ernest Collett was recorded at Swindon register office (23 2653) during
the month of February in 1992
1R41 – Margaret Jean Collett was born in 1935 at
Swindon
1R42 – Sheila A Collett was born in 1938 at
Swindon
Robert William George Collett [1Q58],
who was referred to as Bob by the family, was born on 17th August
1919, his birth recorded at Melksham (Ref. 5a 159) when his mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Holborn. It was also at Melksham register office (Ref. 5a 339)
that the marriage of Robert W G Collett and Joan Palmer was recorded, while
their wedding ceremony was conducted at Trowbridge on 18th February
1942. He was a sales manager for
Unigate Dairies and his hobby was copper plate writing. At the time of the birth of his first child,
Bob and Joan were living in Devizes but later moved to the village of Holt,
just north of Trowbridge, with their second
child being born in Trowbridge. In the
1990s he was living at Flat 24 Raleigh Court, Pole Barn Road in Trowbridge
1R43 – Susan Collett was born in 1949 at
Devizes, Wiltshire
1R44 – Nicholas Collett was born in 1953 at
Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Frederick Walter Thomas George Collett [1Q59], who was referred to as Tom by the
family, was born at Cinderford on 21st March 1930. The birth of Frederick W T Collett was recorded
at Westbury-on-Severn register office (Ref. 6a 69) during the second quarter of
that year, when both the father’s and mother’s name was recorded as
Collett. He married Phyllis Dorothy Pound at Cinderford on 7th July
1951 and it was there that both of their children were born. Tom did his national service at Woolwich
Barracks in 1948 and later worked at the Cinderford branch of the Co-operative
& Industrial Society. Tom was the
son of Walter Collett and Olive Ann Matthews, the daughter of Walter’s wife
Mary. It was Mary that played the part
of mother to her grandson while Olive went on to marry first John Bennett and
later Fred Bignall
1R45 – Andrew Keith Collett was born on 9th
September 1956 at Cinderford
1R46 – Denise Lesley Collett was born in 1960 at Cinderford
Raymond Percy Collett [1Q60] was
born at Stratton near Cirencester, either at the end of 1909 or the beginning
of 1910. It was at Cirencester register
office (Ref. 6a 50) where his birth was recorded during the first month of
1910. According to the census the
following year, Percy Collett, aged fifteen months, was living at Baunton – the
adjacent village to Stratton, with his grandparents Robert Collett and his
second wife Annie Collett, and his father Robert Percy Collett, a married man
with no wife. Just over eight years
later, the death of Raymond P Collett was recorded at Cirencester (Ref. 6a 35)
during the last quarter of 1919
Gladys J Collett [1Q61] was
born on 15th January 1923 at Drybrook, her birth recorded at
Westbury-on-Severn register office (Ref. 6a 475), when her mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Kibblewhite. It was
also at Drybrook where, on 23rd September 1946, Gladys J Collett
married John B Griffiths, the event recorded at the Forest of Dean register
office (Ref. 7b 939). In the 1990s they
were living at Edge End in Coleford in Gloucestershire
Hilda G Collett [1Q62] was
born at Drybrook on 20th October 1925 and her birth, like that of
her sister Gladys (above), was also recorded at Westbury-on-Severn (Ref.
6a 421) and again, her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Kibblewhite. When she married Thomas I Baldwin at Drybrook
on 28th April 1951, the event was recorded at the Forest of Dean
register office (Ref. 7b 939). They
lived at 6 Prospect Place in Cinderford where their two daughters were
born. Elaine Baldwin was born on
28th March 1952 and she married Mark A Tribble, and Joyce Baldwin
was born on 12th June 1957 and she married Leslie J Worgan in 1978
John Nelson Collett [1Q63] was
born in Gloucester on 9th March 1910, the eldest of the two known
sons of John Henry Collett and his wife Dorothy Elizabeth Foster. He was one year old in the census of 1911,
when he and his family were living within the Stroud area of Gloucestershire. It is established that John Nelson Collett
never married and followed in his father’s footsteps by pursuing a career with
the army and was later referred to as Lieutenant Commander John Nelson
Collett. John Nelson Collett was 88
years of age when he died on 30th July 1998 at Penzance in Cornwall,
where his death was recorded (Ref. 53c 188) during August that year. The notice in the Western News read as
follows: “COLLETT - John Nelson 30/7/1998 aged
88 born in Cheltenham, funeral 7/8/1998 at Penmount Cemetery”
Anthony Foster Collett [1Q64] was
born in Gloucester on 4th March 1911, and was the youngest of the
two sons of John Henry Collett and his wife Dorothy Elizabeth Foster. By the time of the census on the second of
April 1911, Anthony’s parents had still to decide upon a name for their son,
since he was simply recorded as a male of no age, while living with his family
in the Stroud area of Gloucestershire.
During the Second World War Anthony was a submariner and was a
Lieutenant Commander with the Royal Navy, for which he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross on 21st November 1941, and the Bar to
the DSC on 25th August 1944.
His naval record shows that he was made a Sub-Lieutenant on 16th
January 1932, was promoted to Lieutenant on 16th March 1934, and
obtained the rank of Lieutenant Commander on 16th March 1942. He retired from the navy on 29th
January 1948, having been based out of Sheerness and Chatham during his naval
career
During the war years he
saw active service with the following submarines: HMS H34 from 26th
April 1940 to 18th September 1940; HMS Unique from 19th
September 1940 to 18th June 1942; HMS Upright from 1st
July 1942 to 11th December 1942; and HMS Tactician from 12th
December 1942 to 1st October 1944.
A diary record of some of the events of his war years can be found in Appendix
One at the end of this file. Towards
the end of the war, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, a decoration bestowed
by the President of the United States of America, which was announced in The
London Gazette on 30th March 1945 in the following way: “The King [George the Sixth] has been graciously pleased to
give unrestricted permission for the wearing of the following decoration
bestowed by the President of the United States of America for outstanding
service in operations in the Far East.
The Legion of Merit, Degree of
Commander, to Lieutenant Commander Anthony Foster Collett, DSC, Royal
Navy.” It
seems highly likely that the award was made for the following event in 1944,
recorded by a member of the crew of HMS Tactician
The submarine Tactician was on patrol in the region of
Sabang. The Captain, "Farmer"
Collett, had orders to proceed to Sabang, but to remain on the surface after
dawn, to act as an air sea rescue boat.
Reason being that the combined Fleet Air Arm, namely H.M.S. Victorious
and U.S.S. Saratoga were to raid the oil installations at Sabang. We, the
Tactician, were on station; Oerlikon gunner (me), Vickers gunners, extra
lookouts were ready and waiting. Dead on
time they came, the combined Fleet Air Arm; British and Yanks. What a grandstand view we had of a most
successful operation; it must have blazed for weeks. Our job was to pick up any pilots shot down;
the Japanese treatment of shot down pilots was indescribable. All the pilots had been given our position
and told that, should they have to ditch, to try to do it near us, to be picked
up. One American, Lt. Klahn, found his
stern piece was alight, so he had no alternative but to ditch in the drink,
regardless. Tactician's lookouts were
all about, a bearing was taken, 380 revs passed to the engine room post haste
to do as was our orders. The fact that
the boat came under fire from shore batteries did not deter our Captain, Lt.
Cdr. Collett, from carrying out his orders.
Ably assisted by Lt. Klahn's fellow pilots, we hoved to under fire from
shore batteries
We came alongside, almost, our stern swung away, Jimmy
and Second Coxswain P.O. McNally were in a fix, target (the pilot) drifting
away by this time. P.O. McNally tied one
end of a heaving line to his body, passed the gash end to Jimmy and me, then
dived into the "ogin" to drag said pilot, who, hampered by his Mae
West, was making little headway toward us.
On reaching the pilot, he had the combined efforts of Jimmy and me. Still under fire from shore batteries,
McNally achieved a "Johnny Weissmuller" and soon we had them both
aboard - "Rev up Stokes, let's get the hell out of here!" We got everyone below and then dived. The operation was complete, the planes had
returned to their carriers, some 300 miles distant. Tactician on the surface that night
(charging) had a super view of the burning oil - well, the officers and the
lookouts did, no doubt. In passing, it's
time to say who we picked up; none other than Lt. Klahn, son of the Commander
of the Saratoga. The rest of the patrol
was uneventful, some three weeks later we returned to Trinco. A certain Commander U.S. Navy was first over
the plank, followed by cartons of "Lucky Strikes" and ice cream. He shook hands with the entire crew. There followed an invitation to all (bar duty
watch) aboard U.S.S. Saratoga. The
hospitality abounded (no drinks of course; U.S. ships are dry). The grand finale of an unusual patrol was
when watching a film on the vast deck, after big eats, the Captain of Saratoga
spoke: "Men of the Saratoga, sitting among you tonight are some of the
bravest men of the British Submarine Service, who snatched our Lt. Klahn from
certain death by torture from the Japs at Sabang"
The aforementioned
rescued US pilot Lt. Klahn, made his own comment on
the event in the following way. “Imagine being rescued by a loin-cloth wearing captain of a
submarine. Knowing Collett as I did (he
sold us this house 29 years ago and moved to a small place locally) I can vouch
for his eccentricities. In his final
years, he used to drive around in one of those electric battery powered
wheel-chairs. He often got stuck as he ran out of power on the hills here, and
once was taken home by a farmer friend, still sitting in the wheelchair, which
the farmer had picked up in his front loader”
Anthony married ex-wren
Margaret Frances Henson at Hexham Abbey in Northumberland on 25th
November 1944. Margaret, who was known
as Wendy, was born on 27th August 1918, and was the daughter of
Pease Henson and Rosemary Portman. The
marriage lasted for only four years, during which time there was no issue. Margaret later married Demetrios
Issaias and they had three children, Michael Demetrios, Barbara Helen Frances,
and Timothy John. After
they were divorced, Anthony lived at Maisemore Park in Maisemore, to the
north-west of Gloucester, up to the mid-to-late 1950s, and it was just short of
his eightieth birthday, when Anthony Foster Collett was living in Wales that he
died during the month of February in 1991.
In his later life he was a gentleman of leisure and collected orchids
Gerald David Martin Collett [1Q65] was
born on 11th February 1928, when his father Gilbert Faraday Collett
was approaching his forty-ninth birthday, which suggests that his mother,
Dorothy Lawrence Collett nee Miller, was some years younger than his
father. The birth very likely took place
in Gloucester and before his parents settled in Cheltenham. He was educated at Cheltenham Collett from
1941 to 1945, following which he went to Trinity College in Oxford from 1945 to
1948, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in law with honours. After being a flying officer instructor with
the Royal Air Force Education Branch in 1949 and 1950, he became a
barrister-at-law at the Inner Temple, and was called to the Bar on 26th
January 1951. From 1953 to 1960 he held
the position of Crown Counsel for the Nyasaland Protectorate
It was also at the end of
1953 that Gerald David Martin Collett married (1) Jill Hodder on
10th December 1953 in Nyasaland.
Jill was from Fountainstown, Ballea, Carrigaline in
County Cork, Ireland, where she was born on 4th October 1932. During the nine years following their wedding
day, two children were born to Gerald and Jill.
Around the time of the birth of their daughter in Cambridge, Gerald had
been working there for the John Hilton Bureau as a legal advisor, following
which he was appointed Solicitor General to the Bahamas in 1963, a post he held
until 1970, when he became Attorney General in the Bahamas. After three years as
Attorney General, for the next seven years from 1973 until 1980 he was Queen’s
Counsel for the Bahamas, Bermuda and Guyana, at the end of which he became a
senior litigation counsel for the private legal practice of Dill & Pearman
in Bermuda, where he worked during 1981-1983.
From 1983 to 1987 he was Puisne Judge at the Supreme Court of Bermuda,
and from 1987 to 1989 he was the Chief Justice in the Cayman Islands
With a break in his
career after 1989, he eventually took up the appointment of Justice of Appeal
in the Cayman Island, apposition he held from 1995 until 2004. It was in 1991 that Gerald and Jill settled
in Cork in Ireland, and ten years later on 28th April 2001 it was
there that Jill passed away. During her
life Jill had been a garden historian and author – see Appendix Two for
details of her two books. Following the
death of his wife, Gerald then married (2) Mollie Huth in 2003, but sadly she
died that same year. It was one month
after he finally retired that Mr Justice Gerald David Martin Collett, CBE, QC, FCArb, BA, died in Ireland on 8th March 2005
It was against his father’s wishes that Gerald
became a lawyer, with his father Gilbert Faraday Collett always hoping that he
would take over the Gloucester-based family business in chemical manufacturing
set up by his grandfather John Martin Collett in 1869. After working almost entirely abroad during
his working life, serving largely as a Government Legal Officer in the rapidly
diminishing remnant of the British Colonies, Gerald eventually had the
satisfaction of achieving his ambition to become a judge. The Law was his vocation. Justice, for him, was one of life’s
fundamentals, the bedrock of civil life and human freedom, so consequently,
justice should be done, and seen to be done, really mattered to him. For a more detailed look at his life, see Appendix
Two
at the end of this file
1R47 – Robin Andrew Collett was born in 1954 at Nyasaland
1R48 – Lucy Deborah Collett was born in 1962 at
Cambridge, England
Walter Vincent Collett [1Q66] was
born at Surbiton in Surrey on 29th September 1906, the only known
child of Walter Charles Collett and Charlotte Emily Tovey. His birth was recorded at
Kingston-upon-Thames register office (Ref. 2a 431) and he was four years old in
the Surbiton census of 1911. He was only
just ten years of age when his father died during December 1916. Sometime prior to becoming a married man,
Walter added an E to the end of his surname.
So, it was as Walter Vincent Collette, aged 24, a bachelor and an
electrician of 7 Harcourt Road in Merton, the son of Walter Charles Collette
(sic), deceased, that he married Winnie Daisy Dale at Holy Trinity Church in
South Wimbledon on 4th April 1931.
Winnie was a spinster of 21 whose address was also 7 Harcourt Road, and
was the daughter of Frederick Edward Mark Dale, deceased. Their wedding was recorded at
Kingston-upon-Thames register office (Ref. 2a 1285) when again the surname was
Collette. Winnie had been born at
Wimbledon on 21st December 1910 and was the first child of Frederick
and Mary Jane Dale. As far as can be
determined, their marriage produced no off-spring. What is known is that Walter Vincent Collett
died at the age of 60 in 1967, his death being recorded at the Greater London
register office in Merton, Surrey (Ref. 5d 454) during March that year. The later death of Winnie Daisy Collette was
recorded at Sussex register office (Vol. 7864b 4b13c) in 1997 at the age of 86
According to the 1939 Register, Walter Vincent
Collette was 33 and employed by the Wimbledon Corporation as an electrician,
when he was living at 39 Leamington Avenue in Merton-with-Morden. Living there with him was his spouse, who was
incorrect recorded as Winifred Emily (sic) Collette who was 29, and Charlotte
Emily Collette (sic), Charles’ 63-year-old mother. The middle name Emily, should have been Daisy
in the case of his wife. The couple was
again living at 39 Leamington Avenue in Morden in 1967, when Walter died at
Wimbledon Hospital on 14th February.
His Will was proved at London on 3rd July 1967, with probate
granted to Winifred Daisy Collette, widow, Jeffrey Cecil Burr and Peter John
Bennett, solicitors, when his personal effects were valued at £5,028
Michael A R Collett [1Q67] was
born in 1848, the only son of Arthur William L Collett and Vera D Jarvis who
were married at Islington. And it was
there also that his birth was recorded (Ref. 5c 1455a) during the last three
months of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Jarvis. The marriage of Michael A R
Collett and Diane V Woodland was recorded at Lewisham register office (Ref. 5d
372) during the second quarter of 1973.
It was also at Lewisham that the birth of their son was recorded during
the summer of 1984 (Vol. 14 920), when the mother’s name was confirmed as
Woodland
1R49 – Ross Daniel Collett was born in 1984 at
Lewisham, London
William Percival H Collett [1Q69] was
born at Bath on 7th November 1898, the first of the two sons of
William Albert Collett and his wife Clarissa Frances Beatrice Collett. His birth was recorded at Bath register
office (Ref. 5c 105) during the last three months of 1898, under the name of
William Percival H Collett. In 1901 the
family of three was living in the Weston district of Bath when William was two
years old. Sometime thereafter the
family moved into Bath where they were living when William’s brother (below)
was born and where the family was living in 1911 when William P H Collett was
12. Nothing more is known about him at
this time, except that his death was recorded at Bath register office (Vol. 22
105) during summer of 1975, when he was listed as William Percival H Collett
aged 75. However, the marriage of a
William P H Collett has been found in Dorset in 1928, when William P H Collett
married Florence M Partridge in Bournemouth, where the event was recorded (Ref.
2b 25) during the third quarter of that year.
Their marriage resulted in the birth of two daughters whose births were
recorded at Bournemouth register office, when their mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Partridge
1R50 – Sylvia W M Collett was born in 1929 at
Bournemouth, Hampshire
1R51 – Winsome D Collett was born in 1936 at
Bournemouth, Hampshire
Ernest Leonard Collett [1Q70] was
born at Bath on 8th January 1909, the second son of William and
Clarissa Collett, who was two years old in the Bath census of 1911. Upon the death of his mother in March 1960 it
was Ernest
Leonard Collett, a buyer, who was made sole executor of her estate of £953 11
Shillings and 6 Pence. Why he was not
named as a joint executor with his older brother William (above) remains
a mystery. It was in 1938 that Ernest
married Joyce May Poole, the wedding being recorded at Bath register office
(Ref. 5c 1440) during the second quarter of that year. It would
appear that the couple spent their entire married life at Bath, since it was
there that first Joyce passed away in 1986, and was followed nine years later
by her husband. The record of the death
of Joyce May Collett nee Poole, aged 71, at Bath register office (Vol. 22 164)
was during the month of June in 1986, when her date of birth was noted as being
16th May 1915. Ernest Leonard
Collett also died at Bath, where his passing was recorded (Ref. c51c 139) at
the age of 86
Cecil Edward Collett [1Q71] was
born at Bath on 15th July 1914, the son of Robert and Kate Collett,
the event being recorded under the name of Cecil E Collett at Bath register
office (Ref. 5c 847) during the third quarter of 1914, his mother’s maiden-name
confirmed as Pickett. The only other
known fact about Cecil at this time is that he was a foreman at a foundry in
1957, when he was named as the sole executor of his mother’s Will at Bath, and
that he died during July 1997. His death
was recorded in Berkshire at Bracknell register office (Ref. 21a 35) at the age
of 83
Stanley George Collett [1Q72] was
born at Bath on 1st October 1917, the youngest of the two sons of Robert
Edward Collett and his wife Kate E Pickett.
His birth was registered at Bath register office (Ref. 5c 602) as
Stanley G Collett during the last three months of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name
was recorded as Pickett. He later
married Jessamine Saunders in 1940, the event recorded at Bath register office
(Ref. 5c 1891) in the third quarter of the year. It was under his full name of Stanley George
Collett that his death was recorded at Bristol register office (Vol. 22 570)
during February 1991 when he was 73
Charlotte
Caroline Collett [1Q73] was born at Rosewood in Queensland,
Australia on 15th December 1908, the eldest of the six daughters of
William Henry Collett and Ethel Lydia Shelton who were only married four months
earlier. Charlotte later married Norman Sparks
and they had two children, Keith Sparks and Fay Sparks
Ivy
Elizabeth Perrem Collett [1Q74] was
born at Rosewood on 15th March 1911, the second daughter of William
and Ethel Collett. Her third forename was the maiden-name of her grandmother.
Just prior to the Second World War, Ivy married Stanley Drew and they had two children,
Judith Drew, known as Judy, who was born on 12th September 1941 and
Gregory (Greg) Drew who was born on 23rd May 1946. Ivy Elizabeth Perrem Drew nee Collett died on
30th March 1994 and was buried with her husband at Hemmant Cemetery
in Brisbane
Lydia May
Collett [1Q75] was
born at Rosewood on 13th March 1917 and was known as Bub, another
daughter of William and Ethel Collett.
She later married
Colin Clifford Windle who was born on 17th October 1915 and who died
on 26th July 1976. Five years
earlier Lydia May Windle nee Collett had passed away on 1st May
1971, both of them buried at Hemmant Cemetery in Brisbane. The announcement of the wedding of Lydia and
Colin was published in The Queensland Times on 3rd December 1938, as
follows
“WINDLE-COLLETT - At St. Luke's Church of
England, Rosewood, on Saturday, the marriage
was celebrated of Miss Lydia May (Bub) Collett,
third daughter of Mr and Mrs H Collett of Rosewood,
and Mr Colin Clifford Wlndle, third son of
Mrs E Wlndle and the late Mr E Windle of
Woodend, Ipswich. The Reverend H Saull
(Rector) officiated. The church was
decorated for the occasion and Miss A Harding (Church Organist) played the
wedding music. The bride, who was given
away by her father, wore a street length frock of blue georgette, featuring a
full swing skirt. The bodice was
daintily shirred, and had a scalloped neckline and elbow length sleeves. She chose a large white hat and white
accessories. To the handbag, carried by
the bride, was attached a sprig of orange blossoms, worn by her mother, and a
silk handkerchief sent from Ireland. The
bride's sister, Mrs S J Drew of Somerset Dam, was matron of honour. She wore a pleated street length frock of
pink boucle matelasse with navy bows from the neck to hemline. Her hat and accessories were in matching
shades. Mr
Claude Windle (brother of the bridegroom) was best man. The reception was held at the home of the
bride's parents. The bride's mother wore
black matelasse relieved with white, and added a white shoulder posy. She chose a black hat and black
accessories. A frock of floral sandella
with a wood pulp posy, and a hat of black were worn by the bridegroom's mother. Decorations of pink and blue and bowls of
lilies decorated the bridal table. A
novel feature of the two-tier wedding cake was suspended satin streamers with
"Health, Wealth, Happiness, and Prosperity" embroidered thereon in
icing. The cake was made by the bride's
sister, Miss Enid Collett, and was iced by
Miss Eaton of the Marburg Rural School.
Leaving on her wedding tour, the bride wore a frock of blue floral sheer
with a hat to tone. Mr and Mrs. Windle's home will be at Somerset Dam,
north-west of Brisbane in Queensland”
Lydia and Colin had two sons. Bruce Windle was born on 3rd
December 1949 and died on 13th March 2007 (his ashes interred at
Hemmant Cemetery Brisbane with his parents.
He was married to Heather Godsall, and they had Shelley Miree Windle,
Heather Colleen Windle and Calvin John Windle.
Bruce cherished Heather’s children from her previous marriage, and they
were Lorna Mary (May) Cody and Kayti Elizabeth (originally Kathryn) Cody. The second son of Lydia and Colin was Ross
Windle who was born on 1st June 1954, who kindly provided all
the new family details for the 2017 upgrade of this family line. Ross married Ann Margaret Wilson, who was
born on 3rd February 1955, and they have two daughters. Liza Ann Windle was born on 3rd
May 1982 and she retained her maiden-name when she married Bradley Jon Childs
who was born on 22nd September 1982.
Liza’s son Asher John Law was born on 1st March 2016. The second daughter of Ross and Ann, Emma
Kate Windle, was born on 10th June 1984 who is partnered with
Christopher Murphy
Leila Maude Collett [1Q76] was
born at Rosewood on 9th August 1920, another daughter of William and
Ethel Collett. Tragically, she was only
three years and four days old when she perished in a terrifying house
fire in Rosewood. That
terrible event was reported in the Queensland Times, Ipswich edition, on Wednesday 15th August
1923, as re-produced below, in which the child’s father was
referred to by his second forename. The death of her baby
spurred Ethel Collett into raising money for an
ambulance centre in the small town of Rosewood.
“BURNING
FATALITY. CHILD BURNT IN BED. MOTHER SEVERELY INJURED. ROSEWOOD
Enid
Joyce Collett [1Q77] was
born at Rosewood on 17th November 1924, the fifth of the six
daughters of William and Ethel Collett.
Some years later Enid married Noel Trevor, their marriage producing two
children, Ross Trevor and Glen Trevor
Valmai
Doreen Collett [1Q78] was
born at Rosewood on 31st May 1926, the youngest of the six children
of William Henry Collett and Ethel Lydia Shelton. She married Francis Bradley, known as Bill, with
whom she had three children. They were
Alan Bradley, Paula Bradley and Gary Bradley.
Valmai Doreen Bradley nee Collett died on 9th October 2007
and was buried at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia
Joyce Fords Collett [1Q79] was born during March 1923 at
Brisbane in Australia and was the elder of the two daughters of Hector Elliott
Collett and his wife Rose Margaret Krebs.
Thanks to Lindsay Bauman, we now know that Joyce married Maurice Sandford Collings on 24th
February 1943 at Ipswich in Queensland, where they had three children, Lesley
Collings, Judy Collings, and Steven Collings. Joyce Fords Collings, nee Collett, later died
on 27th December 1975
Clifford William Collett [1Q81] was
born at Axbridge in Somerset during the first three months of 1908, his birth
recorded at Axbridge register office (Ref. 5c 409), the eldest child of Charles
William Collett and his wife Jessie Catherine Brown. In the Axbridge census of 1911 Clifford William
Collett was three years old. At the
moment, no details of his life are known, except that his death was recorded at
the Mendip register office in Somerset (Vol. 23 1301) during March 1982 when he
was 74. The death certificate also
confirmed his date of birth as 17th February 1908. His Will was proved in Bristol on 29th
July 1982 and confirmed that he was living at 3 Portway in Wells when he
passed, and that his personal effects were valued at £28,521
Francis Edgar Collett [1Q82] was
born at Axbridge on 27th February 1911 and was recorded as being
just one month old in the Axbridge census in 1911, his birth recorded at
Axbridge (Ref. 5c 97). He was the second
of the five children of Charles and Jessie Collett. Like his brother Clifford (above),
nothing is so far known about his life, only his death certificate revealed
that he resided at 48 Summerlands Road in Weston-super-Mare. Probate of his estate, not exceeding £40,000,
was resolved at Bristol on 6th April 1984, following his death on 21st
February that same year
Jesse Stanley Jack Collett [1Q83],
who was known as Jessie, was born at Axbridge in Somerset, where his birth was
recorded (Ref. 5c 134) during the first quarter of 1917, when his mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Brown. He was the third
son of Charles William Collett and his wife Jessie Catherine Brown. Jessie enlisted with 4th Battalion
of the Somerset Light Infantry and was Private Jesse Stanley Jack Collett,
service number 5676458 and, when he was 27, he was killed in action in the Caen
area of France on 29th June 1944 and was buried at the St Manvieu
War Cemetery, just west of Caen. His
military service record confirmed that he was the son of Charles William
Collett and his wife Jessie Catherine Collett
Margaret A C Collett [1Q84] was born in 1919 at
Axbridge in Somerset and was the fourth child and first of the two daughters of
Charles and Jessie Collett. Margaret’s
birth was recorded at Axbridge register
office (Ref. 5c 94) during the last quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Brown.
Gertrude Blanche Collett [1Q85] was born in 1922 at
Axbridge in Somerset, the fifth and last child of Charles William Collett and Jessie Catherine Brown. Her birth was recorded at Axbridge register
office (Ref. 5c 136) during the first quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Brown. At the age of
22, the marriage of Gertrude B Collett and Frank L L
Cleaver was recorded at Wells register office (Ref. 5c 47) in Somerset during
the first three months of 1944. Three
years later, the first of their three children was born, the birth of Raymond
L Cleaver was recorded at Bristol register office (Ref. 7b 75) at the start
of 1947. He was followed by the birth of
twin sisters Margaret J Cleaver and Pamela J Cleaver whose births
were also recorded at Bristol (Ref. 7b 55) and (Ref. 7b 58) early in 1950. The birth records for all three children
confirmed their mother’s maiden-name was Collett. The two girls were barely fifteen years of
age when the death of Gertrude Blanche Cleaver was recorded at Bristol register
office (Ref. 7b 145) during the first three months of 1965, when she was 43
years old
Francis Percy Collett [1Q86] was born on 15th
June 1905 at Weston Subedge, near Evesham, where his birth was recorded (Ref.
6c 355), the only known child of Herbert Francis Collett of Coln St Aldwyns and
Sarah Jane Norris from Little Milton in Oxfordshire. It was also at Weston Subedge, on the county
boundary between Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, that Francis Percy Collett
was baptised on 6th August 1905, and where he was living with his
parents in 1911, at the age of five years.
He was still an unmarried man in 1939, when he was again living with his
parents, but at Fern Cottage in Cheltenham.
After a further two years, at the age of 36, the marriage of Francis P
Collett and Doris M Titcombe was recorded at Cheltenham register office (Ref.
6a 8) during the third quarter of 1941.
No record of any children has been found, while the later death of
Francis Percy Collett was recorded at Evesham register office (Vol. 29) during
the spring of 1987, when he was almost 82 years old
Herbert Louis Collett [1Q87] was
born at Hatherop, near Coln St Aldwyns, on 20th April 1908, the
birth being recorded at Cirencester register office. He was again listed under his full name
within the Hatherop census of 1911, when he was two years old, the older of the
two sons of Walter Louis Collett from Coln St Aldwyns and his with Ruth
Scaldwell from Little Milton near Thame, in Oxfordshire. It is not clear who first moved to Devon,
Herbert or his parents, since the wedding of Herbert L Collett and Doreen M
Ryder, born 20th March 1912, was recorded at Totnes register office
(Ref. 5b 16) during the first quarter of 1934. Five years later, the 1939 Register included
his parents also living in Totnes, when Herbert L Collett was 31 and a
chauffeur living at Torquay with his wife Doreen, who was undertaking unpaid domestic
duties, and daughter Jill who was attending infant school. By the time the couple’s second and last
child was born, the family was living in the Newton Abbot area of Devon, where
her birth was recorded at the start of 1945, when the mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Ryder. It was also at
Newton Abbot that the marriage of the couple’s first child was recorded in
1955. While it was at Torbay that the
marriage of their younger daughter was recorded. The death of Herbert Louis Collett at the Torbay
register office (Vol. 21 14) towards the end of 1976, when he was 68. Probate was resolved on 1st
December 1976, the document confirming that he died on 19th October
1976, while residing at 6 Bay Mount in Paignton, Devon, when his personal
estate was valued at £7,867
1R52 – Jill V Collett was born in 1935 at Totnes,
Devon
1R53 – Carol A Collett was born in 1945 at
Newton Abbot, Devon
Gwendoline Frances Collett [1Q89] was
born at Swindon in 1906, her birth recorded there (Ref. 5a 40) during the third
quarter of the year, the only known child of Henry James Collett and Amelia
Brazell. She was four years old in the
Swindon census of 1911, and it was there also where she married Cyril T
Thompson in 1930, the event recorded during the third quarter of the year (Ref.
5a 37)
While his father was Deputy Mayor of Lyttelton,
Bruce later held the position of Mayor (see above photo) and fondly recalls
meeting Queen Elizabeth II several times.
On one occasion he had lunch with the Queen, and on another he received
an invitation to meet Her Majesty on board the Royal Yacht Britannia. He also met the Queen Mother on another
occasion who advised him to save the quaint old buildings and not to let
Lyttelton get too large. Among some
other of the duties Bruce performed during his term as mayor were (a) having to
preside over the official opening ceremony of the Third Lyttelton Railway
Station, which was held on 14th October 1963, and (b) being among
the guests of honour at the Centennial Celebrations at the historic Church at
Rapaki in July 1969 along with the Maori Queen, Te Atairangikaahu and her
husband Mr Whatumoana Paki, three local members of Parliament, Mr N. Kirk, Mrs
W. Tirikatene-Sullivan and Mr H. J. Walker.
Bruce and Barbara built their home at Lyttelton and lived there for
fifty-seven-years, where they raised their three children and enjoyed the
company of the nine grandchildren. By
the end of that time, they found that their home in Sumner Road was too large
for them to manage, as a result of which they moved to Ferrymead in
Christchurch, where they were living in June 2010 when Bruce celebrated his 90th
birthday. It was just over two years
later that James Bruce Collett died on 10th August 2012. Bruce and his father were both pharmacists, a
profession continued by one of his sons and then taken up by one of his
granddaughters, completing a line of four generations in pharmacy
Earlier in his life he
had been a vestryman and a vicar’s warden at the local Anglican church, had
chaired the Lyttelton Main School Committee, and reached high office in the
Masonic Lodge. He founded Lyttelton
Rotary Club and was an active member of the Chemists’ Guild. Bruce also enjoyed his leisure pursuits, and
loved racing yachts on Lyttelton Harbour, singing bass in the Christchurch
Liedertafel Choir, and playing golf. He
was also the President of the Woolston Brass Band for eighteen years. Following his death, a tribute was posted on
the website of the Woolston Brass Band, which is reproduced below
“Bruce
Collett QSO JP (Former Mayor of Lyttelton)
We’ve
received some sad news – James Bruce Collett has passed away. Although Bruce was never a playing member of
the band, he was a devoted supporter who served on our Management Committee for
many years. Bruce was first elected to the office of Band President 1971. The
nephew of RJ Estall, Bruce was at the time the Mayor of Lyttelton, and his
experience in administration and his personal contacts in the city were to
prove invaluable over the years. Bruce
was one of the architects of our band’s legendary1975 tour to Great Britain.
Without Bruce’s faith and effort, it is doubtful this tour would ever have
taken place. His contribution in terms of leadership, motivation and sheer hard
work cannot be over-emphasised in what was one of the most ambitious projects
in our history. Bruce Collett was named
in the New Year’s Honours List of 1977 as a recipient of the Queen’s Service
Order for Community Service. As Tour
Manager Bruce oversaw another ground-breaking venture in 1980. Without his
indefatigable work and painstaking attention to detail, the tour to the
Australian Championships in Mt Gambier would not have been the success that it
was. Our band has been very well served
by Bruce, without whom we would not have made two overseas tours within five
years. Bruce was accorded the honour of
Life Membership in 1989. A funeral
service for Bruce is to be held at Naval Point in Lyttelton at 2.30pm on
Saturday 18th August 2012”
1R54 – Hugh Bruce Collett was born in 1950 at Lyttelton,
New Zealand
1R55 – John Grant Collett was born in 1955 at
Lyttelton, New Zealand
1R56 – Ann Rebecca Collett was born in 1959 at
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Harold Ernest Leslie Collett [1Q96] was
born at Napier, New Zealand on 19th November 1913, the eldest child
of Leslie Joseph Charles Collett and Gertrude Louise Brittenden, and was baptised at St
Augustine’s Church during 1914. He was 24 when he married Hazel Winifred
Setchfield-Smith on 21st February 1938. Hazel was born at Balclutha, Otago, New
Zealand on 29th July 1916, the daughter of Frederick Nelson Smith
and Jane Wilkins, and she presented her husband with five children. Harold was an engineer who spent
almost all of his working life employed by the Sanitarium Health Food
Company. However, for approximately four
years he was at Longburn, a satellite town of Palmerston North, where he worked
in a Basket Factory that was associated with the SDA College there. During the Second World War cane became hard
to procure in New Zealand and the factory had to close. Harold
Ernest Leslie Collett died at Napier on 1st July 2002, while his
wife Hazel also died at there on 1st December 2009
1R57 – Averill Beverley Collett was born during 1938 in
New Zealand
1R58 – Lynette Jane Collett was born during 1941 in
New Zealand
1R59 – Sandra Hazel Collett was born during 1943 in
New Zealand
1R60 – Darryl Leslie Nelson Collett was born during 1948 in
New Zealand
1R61 – Anthony Harold Nicholas Collett was born during 1959 in
New Zealand
Mavis Louisa Collett [1Q97] was
born at Napier on 10th August 1918, the eldest daughter of Leslie
and Gertrude Collett. It was in
Christchurch on 25th July 1940 that she married John Graham Parker
who had been born at Pirinoa near Martinborough in New Zealand on 30th
January 1906, the son of Horace Stanley James Parker and Margaret Gillies
(Makere Kiriti). And it was at
Christchurch that their children were born, and they were Audrey Alice Parker,
who was born on 2nd August 1941, Verona May Parker, who was born on
8th October 1942, Kelvin Harold Parker, who was born on 23rd
February 1945, Carolyn Rose Parker, who was born on 11th December
1948, Morris Graham Parker, who was born on 21st July 1951, Yvonne
Louisa Parker, who was born on 15th November 1955, and Lawrence
Martin Parker who was born on 18th July 1959. Mavis Louisa Parker nee Collett died at
Christchurch on 18th March 1985, and was followed by her older
husband who passed away on 7th February 2004 just two years short of
his one hundredth birthday. And it was
their son Kelvin Parker who kindly provided all of the details relating to this
branch of the family which resulted in the July 2012 update of the file
Nola Gertrude Collett [1Q98] was
born at Christchurch on 14th January 1920, another daughter of
Leslie and Gertrude Collett. She married
Walter Joseph Moffitt at Christchurch on 27th November 1947, Walter
having been born at Gore in New Zealand on 4th April 1919, the son
of Joseph Turnbull Moffitt and Minnie Ethel Smith. Their Christchurch born children were
Alistair Joseph Moffitt, born on 22nd October 1949, Malcolm Leslie Moffitt,
born on 10th May 1951, Kevin
Alvyn Ernest Moffitt, born on 3rd July 1956, and Bronwyn Margaret
Moffitt who was born on 24th December 1960. Walter Joseph Moffitt died at Hastings,
Hawkes Bay on 4th January 1986.
It was on 23rd July 2012 that Nola Gertrude Moffitt nee
Collett passed away in Perth, Western Australia, when she was in her
ninety-third year
Edna Ernestine Collett [1Q99] was
born at Christchurch on 23rd November 1905, seven months after her
parents’ wedding day. She was the eldest
child of Ernest Walter Raymond Gordon Collett and his wife Agnes Gertrude
Pearce. Edna later married
Israel Wallace Lloyd Grenfell on 4th April 1928 who, previously, had
been married to Jessie. He was born on
30th January 1905 and died on 18th April 1979. Their
marriage produced two children for Edna and Wallace, and the first of them was
Geoffrey Lloyd Grenfell, born on 31st December 1930, who married (1)
June Valerie Cassels on 14th January 1953. Edna’s daughter Judith Lyndsey Grenfell was
born on 26th July 1935 and on 13th September 1961, she
married Alan Mitchener, an architect. Sadly,
Edna Ernestine Grenfell never survived to see her daughter married, as died on
31st October 1959 when she was only 53, having suffered a sub-arachnoid
haemorrhage. Two days later she was buried on 2nd
November 1959 at Ruru Lawn Cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand
Raymond Leonard Collett [1Q100] was
born at Christchurch on 25th September 1906, the second child and eldest son of
Ernest and Agnes Collett, who was known as Ray.
He attended Canterbury University in Christchurch during 1922 and
graduated in 1930 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He practised as an accountant and, according
to the Rolls Record he lived at 17 Strickland Street, Sydenham, in Christchurch
from 1928 to 1938. However, records can
be wrong since, it is known that, in 1929 he set sail out of Auckland on the
ship the Aorangi, bound for the New York and a job with Ross Brothers, Lybrand
and Montgomery, today now Pricewaterhouse Coopers. And it was while he was working in America
that he met Beatrice Maud Foan, whom he married on 10th June 1931 at
St Johnsbury in Vermont. Four years
later, in December 1935, the couple moved to San Francisco, where their two
children were born. It was later in New
York, that Raymond Leonard Collett died of a heart-attack on 14th June
1965, aged 58. His widow survived him by
twenty-eight years, with Beatrice Maud Collett nee Foan, passing on 27th
November 1993
1R62 – Richard Ernest Collett was born in 1936 at
San Francisco
1R63 – Linda Ann Collett was born in 1940 at
San Francisco
Ruby Catherine Collett [1Q101] was
known as Cathy and was born at Christchurch on 8th June 1908,
the third child of Ernest and Agnes Collett.
Ruby was twenty-one when she married Norman Kenneth Neil on 1st
April 1930, and they adopted Norma Allison Neill who was born on 12th
May 1933. Ruby Catherine Neil died in
Sydney on 29th August 1996, when she was 88 years old. It was also that same month and year that
Norman passed away
Constance Martha Collett [1Q102], known as Connie, was born at
Christchurch on 5th November 1909, the daughter of Ernest and Agnes
Collett. She was married on 30th
December 1938 to George Alex Nicholls with whom she had three children. They were: Barbara Constance Nicholls,
born on 9th October 1939, who married Thomas (Tom) Edgar Covery; John
Raymond Nicholls, born on 16th July 1941, who married Barbara
Ann Morrison; and Michael Dickson Nicholls who was born on 13th
March 1950 who is not married. Constance
Martha Nicholls died on 8th
March 1989 and was buried on 16th March 1989 at the Waimairi
Cemetery in Christchurch, her husband having passed away thirty years earlier
on 30th April 1959
Frances May Collett [1Q103] was
born at Christchurch on 10th November 1911, another daughter of Ernest and
Agnes Collett. She was known as Francie
and she married Harold (Harry) Keenan on 22nd April 1933, who had
been born on 9th July 1910. Their four children are: Derek
Reginald Keenan, who was born on 9th January 1935, a fitter and
a turner when he married Fay Edna Dickson on 15th January 1958, who
had been born on 27th December 1935; Roger Bryce Keenan, who
was born on 8th July 1936, an accountant who married Judith Ann
Davison on 21st November 1959; Jill Lynette Keenan, who was
born on 8th July 1940, a nurse who married Robin Bruce McCallum on
14th March 1964; and Philip Harold Keenan, a secondary school
teacher who married Deborah Ann Bradding on 12th January 1974. Frances May Keenan, nee Collett, died from
cancer at the age of 77, when she passed away on 17th April 1989. The last ten years of her life was as a
widow, following Harold’s death on 19th August 1979
Arthur Stanley Collett [1Q104] was
born at Christchurch on 13th May 1913, the youngest surviving son of Ernest and
Agnes Collett. Despite two different
christian names, he was known as Tom and, for much of his early life, he lived
at 17 Strickland Street, Sydenham, in Christchurch with his older brother
Raymond (above). After he married
Beatrice Ann McDowell on 27th May 1940, he left the house in
Strickland Street when he set up a new home for him and Beatrice at 96 Neville
Street, where they lived for many years.
During his life his occupations included fitter, turner, engineer, and
farmer. Arthur Stanley (Tom) Collett
died at Rolleston, eight miles west of Christchurch, on 12th January
1997 at the age of 83, from prostate cancer.
His wife, who was known as Bea, was born on 13th September
1918 and was 84 when she passed away on 22nd June 2003.
1R64 – Ronald Lewis Collett was born in 1942 at
Christchurch
1R65 – Carolyn Laraine Collett was born in 1946 at
Christchurch
1R66 – Susanne Fay Collett was born in 1952 at
Christchurch
Norma Gertrude Collett [1Q105] was
born at Christchurch on 20th June 1915, the last surviving child of Ernest
Walter Raymond Gordon Collett and his wife Agnes Gertrude Pearce. It was on 29th December 1936, when
Norma was 21, that she married Robert Ernest Taylor. The couple’s five surviving
children are Anthony Robert Taylor, born 9th June 1938, Brent
William Taylor, born 21st November 1941, Christine Collett
Taylor, born 29th July 1946, Katherine Ann Taylor, born
31st July 1948, and Bronwen Eve Taylor who was born on 16th
September 1954. Norma Gertrude Taylor
nee Collett died in St Winifred’s Hospital in Christchurch on 12th
December 2008, at the age of 93, having suffered with vascular dementia. Robert Ernest Taylor was born on 20th
October 1910 and was baptised at Holy Trinity Church in Lyttelton on 14th
December 1910. He was 60 years old, when
he died from a myocardial infarction on 30th September 1971. Their son Brent Taylor made contact in 2021,
to confirm that he had been living in London since 1971, when he was 29 years
old, having been born in New Zealand on 21st November 1941
Gladys Mary Collett [1Q106] was
born at 15 Strickland Street, Sydenham, in Christchurch on 21st
October 1906, the eldest of the three children of Herbert Frank Collett and his
wife Sarah Burrows. She later married
Thomas (Tom) Roberts Sutton during 1928 and they lived at Conway Street in the
Spreydon district of south Christchurch.
Upon the death of her mother, her father lived with Gladys and Tom. Gladys Mary Sutton nee Collett died in New
Zealand in 1986, and was a widow for nearly forty years following the death of
her young husband in 1947 when he was only 26 years old
Leslie Herbert Collett [1Q107] was
born at 15 Strickland Street, Sydenham, in Christchurch on 9th
July 1908, the son of Herbert and Sarah Collett. During his working life Leslie was described
as a coppersmith
Ernest George Collett [1Q108] was
born at 15 Strickland Street in the Sydenham district of Christchurch on 29th
September 1914, the last child born to Herbert Frank Collett and his wife Sarah
Burrows. He was referred to by his
family as Sonny Jim. Ernest later married
(1) Joyce Ellen Houghton around 1938, and they lived at 104 Conway Street,
where his married sister Gladys (above) also lived. Joyce was born on 15th August
1915, and her marriage to Ernest produced three children for the couple, who
later moved south to settle in Dyers Pass Road, within the Cashmere Hills area
of south Christchurch. Ernest was a self-employed
plumber by trade, but also enjoyed growing Dahlias as a profitable hobby. This led to Ernest establishing Conway
Nursery, which he owned and developed, and was closely involved with the
Christchurch Horticultural Society, with whom he sat of the committee for many
years. Joyce was only 50 years old when
she died on 9th October 1965, and few years after Ernest married (2)
Florence Rose Butterfield who was born on 30th November 1919. Ernest George Collett died at Christchurch on
4th February 1982, while it was on 23rd November 2005
that his second wife passed away. It is
thanks to his son Brian, and Brian’s cousin Brent Taylor in 2021, that more
details are known about the New Zealand branch of the Collett family
1R67 – Julie E Collett was born at
Christchurch
1R68 – Brian Gregory Collett was born at
Christchurch
1R69 – Dennis Collett was born in 1952 at
Christchurch; died on 27th March 1972 (motorcycle accident)
Ralph Collett [1Q110] was born around 1910
at Christchurch, and was the second of the two sons of Leonard Ransome Collett
and Elsie Kennedy Flemming. He married
Mabel Christine Sim, with whom he had one child.
1R70 – Graham William
Collett
was born in 1941
May Thompson Collett [1Q111] was
born at Waimate on 4th October 1903 where her father was raised by
his grandfather Samuel Collett. May was
the eldest child and only daughter of George William Collett and his wife
Christina Sevicke Jones and, in 1927 when she was 24, she married
Alexander Allan Scott who
was born on 30th May 1896. Alex
as he was known, was a farmer and they were married
for only twenty-eight years, when May Thompson Scott nee Collett died at the
age of 51 on 25th September 1955 at Waimate in South
Canterbury, New Zealand. Alex was 84
when he died on 22nd July 1980 at Waimate and was buried at the Old
Waimate Cemetery
Hori Coutts Collett [1Q112] was
born at Waimate, South Canterbury, on 26th February 1906, the eldest
son of George William Collett and his wife Christina Sevicke Jones, his second
forename being the maiden-name of his grandmother Margaret Coutts. Hori spent much of his early life living in
Waimate, but spent his later years residing in Christchurch when he was married
to Alva, and where he became a well-known Christchurch optician. Upon his death at Christchurch on 15th
September 2001, Hori Coutts Collett was buried at the Waimate Cemetery. His wife Alva Leonore Moyse Cadle was born in
1906 and she was the daughter of Sidney Cadle (1863-1908) and Mary Louise
Walker (1873-1911). And it was Hori Collett who researched and wrote
the book “The History of Two Families”, which was published in 1999 when he was
93, just two years before he passed away
Edgar Harold Collett [1Q113] was
born at Waimate on 11th August 1908, the second son and third child of
George William and Christina Collett.
Tragically, he was only eight years old when he died with meningitis on
17th March 1917
Geoffrey Sevicke Collett [1Q114] was
born at Waimate on 23rd March 1912, the fourth and the last child of
George William Collett and his wife Christina Sevicke Jones. Geoff as he was known, lived his entire life
in Waimate, where his occupation was that of a chemist. He was 27 years old when he married
Kathleen Augusta Blank on 23rd October 1939, with whom he had three
children. Geoff died at Waimate on 19th
July 2004 and was buried at the Old Waimate Cemetery like many of his ancestors
before him
1R71 - Graeme Sevicke Collett was born in 1940 at
Waimate, New Zealand
1R72 – Anne Kathryn Collett was born in
Waimate, New Zealand, who was later Anne Kathryn McGowan
1R73 – Claire Christine Collett was born in
Waimate, New Zealand, who was later Claire Christine McKenzie
Emily Nellie Elizabeth Collett [1Q117] was
born at Birmingham in early September 1910, with her birth recorded at Aston register
office (Ref. 6d 307) during the last three months of the year. Under her full name, she was baptised in
Birmingham on 27th September 1910, the eldest child of Herbert and
Nellie Elizabeth Collett, who was seven months old in 1911. Less than one year after that, her mother
died giving birth to a sister for Emily, who also did not survive. Her father remarried three years later, but
it is not known what happened to daughter Emily
Nellie Collett [1Q118] was born in 1912 at
Aston in Birmingham, her birth recorded at Aston register office (Ref. 6d 72)
during the first three months of that yea, when her mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Edinburgh. Tragically,
later that same year, Nellie Collett died on 6th August 1912, the child of
Herbert Collett and his first Nellie Elizabeth Edinburgh
Bertha Collett [1Q119] was
born at Aston in 1916, the first of the six children of Herbert Collett by his
second wife Emily Bissell. The birth of
Bertha Collett was recorded at Aston register office (Ref. 6a 1081) during the
second quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Bissell. She was 21 years old, when the
marriage of Bertha Collett and David H Blackham was recorded at Birmingham
(Ref. 6d 1299) during the second quarter of 1937
Herbert Collett [1Q120] was born on 16th
April 1920 at Aston, Birmingham, the eldest son and second child of Herbert and
Emily Collett. His birth was recorded during the second quarter of the year at Aston
register office (Ref. 6a 1246), when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Bissell. He was still a single man when
the 1939 Register was compiled with war looming in Europe. At that time in his life, he was living with
his parents at Kingstanding in Birmingham when he was 19 years old and a
plumber’s apprentice, the eldest of the four children still living at the
family home. At the moment, it is not
known whether Herbert ever marriage, while what is known is that he living a
long life and was 84 when he died in Nottingham on 23rd January 2004
Elsie M Collett [1Q121] was
born at Aston in 1923, another daughter of Herbert and Emily Collett, whose
birth was recorded at Aston (Ref. 6a 770) during the last quarter of that year,
with her mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Bissell. Elsie was just under 20 years of age when her
marriage to Sydney Shutt was recorded at Birmingham (Ref. 6a 216) during the
first three months of 1942
Albert Edward Collett [1Q122] was
born at Aston in 1924, the youngest of the two sons of Herbert and Emily
Collett. The birth of Albert E Collett was
recorded at Aston register office (Ref. 6d 843) during the second quarter of
the year, her mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Bissell. Albert was near 20 years old when he was
killed during the Second World War. He
was a sapper [service no. 14326077] with the 89th Field Company of
the Royal Engineers and he died on 21st April 1945. In addition to being buried at Witton
Cemetery on Moor Lane near Perry Common, a plaque bearing his name is on the wall of The
Council House at Victoria Square in Birmingham.
At the time of his death, he was described as the son of Herbert and
Emily Collett of Kingstanding in Birmingham
Doris Collett [1Q123] was born in 1925,
her birth recorded at Birmingham North register office (Ref. 6d 868) during the
second quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Bissell. Doris was 25 years of age when
she married Arthur J Craig, the event recorded at Birmingham (Ref. 9c 1074)
during the first quarter of 1951
Joan Collett [1Q124] was born at
Birmingham in 1928, and may have been the last of the six children of Herbert
Collett and Emily Bissell. Her birth was
recorded at the Birmingham North register office (Ref. 6d 857) during the
second quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Bissell. Tragically, the death of Joan
Collett was also recorded at Birmingham (Ref. 6d 749) less than one year later,
during the first three months of 1929
Irene Collett [1Q125] was born at Birmingham
near the end of 1933, with her birth recorded at Birmingham register office
(Ref. 6d 21) during the first three months of 1934, when her mother’s
maiden-name was confirmed as Bissell.
However, on the day the 1939 Register was compiled she was recorded as
Dorothy Collett aged seven years. She
may have been the last child of Herbert Collett and his second wife Emily
Bissell, with Emily being 39 years old.
If she was not their daughter, she may had been their granddaughter
Jonathan Saville Collett [1R4] was
born in Australia on 1st February 1977, the youngest of the three
sons of John D Collett. Jonathan, who
works in Melbourne as a senior analyst with Goldman Sachs, is married with a
son
1S1 – Angus John Collett was born on 19th
August 2010 at Melbourne
Grace E F Collett [1R5] was born in 1919 at
Bristol, where her birth was recorded (Ref.
6a 152) during the second quarter of 1919, when her mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Huggins. She was the first
of the three children of Albert James William Collett and Florence Beatrice
Annie Huggins. Although no later record
of her has been found, she and her mother were not referred to in her father’s
Will, following his death in 1963.
Sidney George Collett [1R6] was born in 1920 at
Bristol, with his birth recorded at Bristol
register office (Ref. 6a 264) during the fourth quarter of 1920, when his
mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Huggins.
No record for a marriage of Sidney George has been found while he was
certainly still alive when his father died in 1963, with Sidney George Collett,
a civil servant was named in his father’s Will, together with that of his
married sister Dorothy Beer (below)
Dorothy Virginia Collett [1R7] was born at Bristol in
1925 and her birth was recorded at Bristol
register office (Ref. 6a 255) during the fourth quarter of 1925, with her
mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Huggins.
It was also at Bristol register office (Ref. 7b 59) that the wedding of
Dorothy Virginia Collett and Ronald Leslie Beer was recorded during the second
quarter of 1952. Their first child was David
J Beer, born in 1957, followed by Peter J Beer who was born in
1959. Both births were recorded at
Bristol register office, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Collett. Upon the death of Dorothy’s
father in 1963, she and her older brother Sidney (above) were the named
executors/beneficiaries of his estate, said to be worth £1,473 12 Shillings and
11 Pence
Emily Elizabeth Allen [1R10],
as she was originally born, was the daughter of Lizzie Allen by her first
husband and, on marrying Francis Edward Collett in 1907, she became Emily
Elizabeth Collett. The birth of Emily
Elizabeth Allen at Winshill was recorded at Burton-on-Trent register office
(Ref. 6b 438) during the second quarter of 1905. At the age of six years, she was recorded as
Emily Allen Collett when she was living with her mother and stepfather at
Winshill, together with two half-siblings (below). The later marriage of Emily Collett and
Harold W Miller was also recorded at Burton register (Ref. 6b 435) during the
first three months of 1931
Edith Lucy Collett [1R11] was
born at Winshill in 1908, the first of the two known children of Francis Edward
Collett and Lizzie Allen, her birth recorded at Burton-on-Trent (Ref. 6b 441)
during the third quarter of 1908. As
simply as Edith Collett, she was recorded in the Winshill census of 1911. Tragically, she was just 10 years old when
she died, the death of Edith L Collett recorded at Burton-on-Trent register
office (Ref. 6b 774) during the fourth quarter of 1918
Francis Edward Collett [1R12] was
born at Winshill on 7th November 1909 and was named after his
father, his mother being Lizzie Collett, nee Allen. His birth was recorded at Burton-on-Trent
(Ref. 6b 412) during the last three months of the year. To avoid confusion in the Winshill census of
1911, his father was listed as Francis Collett, while his son was recorded as
Edward Collett, who was one year old.
Although no details of his long life are known as this time, it appears
he spent the majority of his life in Staffordshire, since his death was
recorded at East Staffordshire register office (Vol. 30 797) towards the end of
1990
Leslie Collett [1R13] was born at
Burton-on-Trent, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 6b 763) during the fourth
quarter of 1914, the only known child of George Robert Collett and Ethel E
Stonehouse. He was 23 years old when he
married Sarah E T Walker, the event recorded at Burton-on-Trent (Ref. 6b 601)
during the first three months of 1938.
It has not been established whether or not they had any issue
John V Collett [1R15] was born in 1934
at Burton-on-Trent and it was there that his birth was recorded (Ref. 6b 487)
during the last three months of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Collier. He was the only
child of Alfred Ernest Collett and Gertrude Annie Collier. It was also as John V Collett, aged 23, that
he married Kathleen E Scotney, their wedding recorded at Burton-on-Trent
register office (Ref. 9b 230) during the first quarter of 1958. After being married for almost eleven years,
Kathleen presented John with a daughter, with the birth of Helen Louise Collett
recorded at Burton (Ref. 9b 167) during the early months of 1969. John V Collett died at the age of 65 on 1st
January 2000, his death recorded at St Mowden, Burton-on-Trent register office
1S2 – Helen Louise Collett was born in 1969 at
Burton-on-Trent
The couple’s eldest daughter, Claire Susan Haines was born on 3rd
February 1961 at 31 Birling Place in Corby.
She married (1) Kelvin MacPherson in 1982 and (2) Robert (Bob) Lockley
on 9th November 1991, both weddings taking place at St Peter’s
Church in Stanion, Northamptonshire. The
twins, born at Kettering, came from the second marriage, when the family lived
at 10 Cardigan Road, Stanion. Ben William Lockley and Grace Katie Lockley were
born on 30th November 1996.
Pat and Ray’s second child, Dawn
Elizabeth Haines was born on 19th May 1963 at Corby. She married David Weiss on 28th
April 1984 at Stanion. They lived at 9
Cardigan Road in Stanion until the autumn of 1995 when, because of David’s work
as a maintenance engineer of printing machines, they moved to Kirklington near
Southwell in Nottinghamshire. Their
three sons were born at Corby Hospital, and they were Daniel David Weiss, born on 22nd September 1986, Christopher
James Weiss, born on 15th April 1988, and Jack William Weiss, born
on 7th April 1990. The youngest
of the three sisters was Sally
Ann Haines who was born on 28th August 1965 at Corby. She married Victor Francis Bright on 30th
May 1987 at Stanion. They lived at 3
Corby Road in Stanion and their two children were born at Kettering
hospital. Tragically Vic, who was born
at Brigstock on 15th September 1945, died on 29th June
2007 following a long battle with cancer, and was buried at St Peter’s Church
in Stanion on 11th July 2007.
Their two Kettering born children are Luke Bright, born 26th
July 1994, and Georgina Bright, born 15th March 1996
BRIAN CLIFFORD COLLETT [1R22]
was born in 1946 at 140 Whitecross near Abingdon-on-Thames and was baptised at
St Peter’s Church in Wootton on 11th August 1946, the only son of
William Collett, a PSV Driver, and his wife Noreen. He was educated in Abingdon at Carswell
School and after, at Larkmead School.
His first-choice occupation was that of an architect, but that never
came to fruition and so the second career choice in civil engineering was
realised. Further education in civil
engineering was therefore pursued, first at Oxford Polytechnical College (now
Oxford Brookes University) for two years, which was followed by a further two
years at Reading Technical College. He
married (1) Susan Carole Lorraine Larner on 23rd August 1969 at St
Peter's Church in Wootton near Abingdon.
Sue was born on 9th June 1950 at Corsham in Wiltshire, the
daughter of New Zealander William (Bill) Larner and Edith (Lynne) Denny. However, the marriage ended in separation
during the spring of 1979 when the couple and their son were living at 262
Obelisk Drive in Northampton. The
earlier years of their marriage had been spent in Oxford and Kettering, where
their son Aaron was born at the London Road Maternity Hospital
As a result of the
separation, Brian and Aaron then moved into a terraced house at 61 St John
Avenue in Kingsthorpe where, eighteen months later and following his divorce,
he was married for the second time. He
married (2) Belinda Savage of Kingsthorpe in Northampton on 18th
October 1980 at the Guildhall Register Office in Northampton. Belinda Chaudhury was born in the Morar
district of Gwalior in India on St Valentine’s Day in 1958, the daughter of
schoolteacher Roy Chaudhury and Dorothy Culverhouse of Northampton. However, Belinda returned to live in England
with her mother and her older sister Melanie, when she was just one year
old. A few years later her mother
married Michael Savage of Kingsthorpe, following which Belinda and her sister
were both formally adopted by their stepfather.
In February 1981, the new Collett family moved to 28 Brampton Way in
Brixworth, five miles north of Northampton.
It was while living there that Brian’s second son Lloyd was born at the
Barratt Maternity Hospital in Northampton.
The extended family now prompted a move to a larger home and, in January
1991, they moved to 2 Dairy Close, still in Brixworth, followed by a final move
to Wheatens Close also in Brixworth in July 1997
Whilst Brian’s occupation
and qualifications were that of civil engineer, a reduction in government
capital expenditure on civil engineering works in the early 1990s led him to
seek a new qualification and a change of career, to that of business manager
and quality manager. This he did
initially within local government where, up to March 1997, he had worked since
leaving school, that is, apart from a one-year contract with civil engineering
consultants C S Allott & Son, later Allott & Lomax, working on the
construction site of the Didcot Power Station in Berkshire during 1965 and
1966. During his time in local
government, he worked for the County Councils of Berkshire (twice),
Oxfordshire, and finally Northamptonshire, where he held the post of Head of
Business Services. Upon being offered
early retirement in March 1997, he took up the post of Administration Manager
with the Wellingborough based company Kinderquest Limited, carrying out nursery
inspections for Ofsted, the government’s education watchdog
More recently, he
achieved a lifelong ambition, when he performed with a set of American
musicians, one of the all-time classic love songs in front of 200 to 300
colleagues at the 2006 Annual Awards Dinner in Nottinghamshire on the fifteenth
of September. The opening number was The
Commodores’ song ‘Three Times a Lady’ which he dedicated to his late mother
whose birthday it would have been, and that was followed by Lionel Richie’s
fabulous ‘Endless Love’, in a duet with a female colleague. He was also an active sportsman and, in his
younger days, he was a keen cyclist.
During his adult life he played cricket, football, golf, squash and
badminton. It was the latter that, at
the end of 2006, resulted in a serious injury to his neck, requiring an
operation on two spinal discs in February 2007.
Brian’s second wife, Belinda became an established artist and
watercolour painter in the early part of the twenty-first century, following
many years of study. Once established,
she also gave demonstrations and passed her knowledge and experience on to
local art groups around the Northampton town and county areas. She was an active member of Network Arts and
was Chairman, and then President, of the Fellowship of Professional and Amateur
Artists from 2008 through to 2013. A
second opportunity to take early retirement occurred for Brian towards the end
of 2008, which was a direct result of the global financial crisis. This allowed him more free time to manage and
develop the worldwide Collett Family History website and to become an active
member of the University of the Third Age in Brixworth and a member of the
committee for ten years. On stepping
down from the committee of Brixworth & District u3a, Belinda took on the
role of Chair. It was at that stage in
their life when the Covid 19 pandemic struck, restricting the couple’s
enjoyment of being with their two lovely granddaughters Aria Rose and Evalie Rae
Collett
1S3 – Aaron Brian Collett was born in 1977 at
Kettering, Northamptonshire
1S4 – Lloyd Nyall Collett was born in 1987 at
Northampton
David Norris Collett [1R24]
was born on 8th August 1942 at Swindon, where his birth was recorded
(Ref. 5a 45) during the third quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Norris. He was
twenty-one when he married Glynis Ann Jinks on 28th August
1963. They lived at 62 The Street in
Liddington near Swindon. His occupation
was that of Managing Director of Thamesdown Electrical in Swindon. It is understood that David Norris Collett died
at Swindon during the month of May in 2005
1S5 – Nicholas Norris Collett was born in 1964 at Swindon
1S6 – Simon David Collett was born in 1966 at Swindon
Alan Francis Robin Collett [1R25]
was born on 23rd March 1947 at Swindon where his birth was recorded
(Ref. 7c 902), his mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Norris. It was originally reported that he married
Gillian Davis on 31st March 1967.
They were divorced some years after the birth of their fourth child. Curiously, on the registration of the birth
of all four children, the mother’s maiden-name was stated as being
Vincent. After looking further into
this, it has been revealed that the marriage of Alan F R Collett did take place
at Swindon (Ref. 7c 1624) on 31st March 1967, but that his bride was
in fact named as Jillian M Vincent.
Before that, and on leaving school, Alan started his working life at
McIlroy’s Departmental Store in Swindon but, following the divorce, he moved to
Cornwall where he became the manager of the Lanivet Inn at Lanivet
1S7 – Helen Frances Collett was born in 1968 at
Swindon
1S8 – Sarah Jillian Collett was born in 1970 at
Swindon
1S9 – Alison Louise Collett was born in 1972 at
Swindon
1S10 – Peter Alan M Collett was born in 1974 at
Swindon
Jane Collett [1R26] was born on 31st
March 1956 at Swindon. She married (1)
David Ronald Jones on 20th April 1974 – divorced in 1978 – married
(2) Terence Robert Gleeves on 22nd March 1980 – divorced 9th
February 1990, thereafter reverting to her maiden-name. She had one son from her second marriage,
Matthew Gleeves, born on 3rd November 1981, who later went to
Portsmouth University to study accountancy and finance. Jane’s occupation was that of state
registered nurse in Swindon. Before he
died her father informed her that, although he had brought her up as his own,
she was not his daughter. Her mother had
conceived her during an affair with another man
June Collett [1Q27]
was born on 28th November 1944 at Swindon. She married John Hughes on 19th
January 1962 at St Augusta's Church in Swindon.
Up until 1998 the family owned a sheep farm, Manor Orchard Farm, at
Middle Littleton near Evesham in Worcestershire. In 1998, six months after her father’s
eightieth birthday party, June and John emigrated to New Zealand to be near
their daughter Deborah and her husband, who had emigrated there in the early
1990s. June’s sister Linda (below)
and her husband from the United States of America attended her father’s party,
together with June’s son who was living in France, and many other members of
the Collett family from around the United Kingdom. The eldest of their two children is Deborah Hughes who was born on 19th
March 1964 at Kingston-upon-Thames. She
married George Wood on 1st October 1993 at Middle Littleton near
Evesham, and they live at Otana Park, Hawkes Bay in New Zealand, where all of
the children were born. They are Oliver John Wood born on 2nd March
1995, Harry Oscar Wood born on 29th June 1996, and Monty George Wood
was born on 22nd November 1999.
Christopher John Hughes
was born on 22nd July 1965 at Hastings in Kent. His work in the field of marketing took him
to Cruseille in France, where he set up his own business and where he married
Sylvie Daviett on 9th September 2000
Linda Rose Collett [1R28]
was born on 26th March 1948 at Swindon where she married Robert
Tanguay of the United States Air Force on 27th July 1974. They immediately moved to America and in the
1990s were living at 479 Cardinal Point Road in Brandenburgh in the state of
Kentucky. Their two daughters were Cherie
Tanguay born on 12th February 1976 in the city of Newport News in
Virginia and Karen Tanguay born on 1st December 1977 at Tacoma in
Washington State.
Stephen Collett [1R29] was born on 9th
April 1950 at Swindon where he married Christine Farnell on 26th
September 1970, the couple separating in 1998.
All of the children were born in Swindon and the family lived at 75
Lynhurst Crescent, Park North in Swindon.
Stephen’s last two children resulted from a liaison with Julie Ann
Stannard who changed her name to Collett by deed-poll in 2000. Sadly, the couple separated in 2011. During May 2014 Stephen became a grandfather
for the ninth time when his son Noel presented him with his second child and
his tenth grandchild arrived in January 2015, a daughter for his son Patrick
1S11 – Darren Lee Steven Collett was born in 1971 at Swindon
1S12 – Patrick Robert Jason Collett was born in 1972 at Swindon
1S13 – Kristian Neil Wayne Collett was born in 1973 at Swindon
1S14 – Noel Nathan James Collett was born in 1974 at Swindon
1S15 – Leanne Victoria Krystal Collett was born in 1982 at Swindon
The following are the
children of Stephen Collett by his second wife Julie Ann Stannard:
1S16 – Mitchell Joseph Collett was born on 14th
March 2000 at Swindon
1S17 – Annabelle Lucie Mae Collett was born on 25th
September 2004 at Swindon
John Collett [1R30], referred to as
Johnnie by the family, was born on 21st February 1959 at
Swindon. He never married and lived the
life of a recluse in the family home 14 Stanley Street in Swindon until he was
taken into residential care in 2005 for health and safety reasons. After being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes he
did not enjoy the best of health and died of a heart attack on 30th
June 2014
Linda Irene Collett [1R31] was
born on 3rd February 1951, her birth recorded at Amersham in
Buckinghamshire (Ref. 6a 362), when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Norton. Her family later settled in
Uxbridge, and it was there where she married Richard Colin Spicer on 18th
March 1972. After which they moved to St
John’s Avenue in Northampton
Sharon Anne Collett [1R32] was
born on 30th March 1962, her birth recorded at Rochford in Essex
(Ref. 4a 1331), when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Norton. It was later that she and her sister lived at
Uxbridge where their father worked. She
was married and divorced, after which she moved, with her son, to live in
Northampton near to her parents and sister
June F Collett [1R33] was
apparently born at Uxbridge on 4th August 1952, while her birth was
recorded at Ealing register office (Ref. 5e 242), where her mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Goodbody. She married
Kenneth Owen on 11th January 1974 at Uxbridge, while the births of
the couple’s two sons were recorded at Wycombe register office (Vol. 19 2192)
and (Vol. 19 1828), where their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. It was June Owen who confirmed the date of
the passing of her father Ronald James Collett.
Their two sons are Darren Rhys Owen who was born on 13th
August 1981, and Simon Bryn Owen who was born on 22nd
February 1984
Anthony J
Collett [1R34],
who is known as Tony, was born at Uxbridge on 8th October 1954, with
his birth recorded at Ealing register office (Ref. 5e 190), when his mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Goodbody. He married
Margaret Rutter on 18th March 1985 at Cambridge. His occupation was that of a retail shop
manager selling amateur radio equipment.
In the 1990s they were living at 10 Quince Road in Hardwick near
Cambridge
Elaine Collett [1R35] was born on 22nd March
1951 at Hillingdon. She married Kevin
Hemmings on 21st February 1981 at Kingston-on-Thames in Surrey,
where all of the children were born. In
the 1990s they were living at 6A Tabor Gardens in Cheam in Surrey. Their three children are Christopher Hemmings
who was born on 14th June 1982, Elizabeth Hemmings who was
born on 19th June 1984, and Nicholas Hemmings who was born on
19th December 1985
Alan Collett ]1R36] was born on 19th May 1953
at Hillingdon. He married Marie
Madeleine Dunphy on 14th June 1975 at Uxbridge. His occupation was that of General
Practitioner (doctor). In the 1990s the
family were living at Blenheim House at Tittleshall in
1S18 – Jonathan Desmond Collett was born on 20th
October 1977 at Uxbridge, Middlesex
1S19 – Rebecca Helen Collett was born on 6th
December 1979 at Uxbridge, Middlesex
1S20 – Gerard Francis Collett was born on 9th
January 1982 at Uxbridge, Middlesex
1S21 – Ronan Thomas Collett was born on 9th
January 1982 at Uxbridge, Middlesex
Joan Collett [1R37] was born on 6th
June 1956 at Hillingdon, where she married David Sturgess on 27th
March 1978. The children were born in
Uxbridge and they were Paul Francis Sturgess who was born on 17th
March 1982, and Daniel Lewis Alan Sturgess who was born on 19th
August 1983. In the 1990s, the family
was living at 110 Redwood Avenue in Woodley, four miles east of Reading in
Berkshire
John Joseph Collett [1R38]
was born on 25th June 1964 at Hillingdon and in the 1990s he was
living at 15 Merton Avenue in Hillingdon
Lilian M Collett [1R39] was
born at Cirencester in 1930, the eldest of the two known children of John
William Collett and Beatrice A Smart, her birth was recorded there (Ref. 6a
528) during the first quarter of that year, when Lilian’s mother’s maiden-name
was confirmed as Smart. It was during
the first three months of 1955 when Lilian M Collett married Henry B Beasley,
the event recorded at Cirencester (Ref. 7b 831), where their five children were
born, all of their birth records confirming that their mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Collett. The birth of Patricia
A Beasley was recorded there (Ref. 7b 507) during the third quarter of
1956; Janet M Beasley (Ref. 7b 555) born during the second quarter of
1959; James W H Beasley (Ref. 7b 573) born during the first quarter of
1961; Leslie R Beasley (Ref. 7b 655) born during the first quarter of
1962; and Angela A Beasley whose birth was recorded (Ref. 7b 617) during
the last three months of 1963
Dennis W J Collett [1R40] was
born at Cirencester in 1933, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 501) during
the first three months of the year, and where his mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Smart. He was the younger
of the two children of John William Collett and Beatrice A Smart
Margaret Jean Collett [1R41] was
born at Swindon on 6th June 1935, where her birth was recorded (Ref.
5a 22), when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hayward. It was in Swindon where she married John
Willis on 30th November 1957.
What is of great interest here is that John Willis was the son of Kate
Willis nee Collett born in Swindon in 1910.
The births of John and Margaret’s two children were recorded at Swindon,
where the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. Details of the family of Kate Collett (Ref. 28P90)
are provided in Part 28 – The Faringdon Line. Jean, as she was known, was a resident at the
Wemyys Lodge Nursing Home in Stratton St Margaret, Swindon, when she passed
away on her 85th birthday on 6th June 2020. The death notice printed in the Swindon
newspaper, made reference to her family, comprising her two children Deborah and
Gary, and her grandchildren Katie and Lauren.
Deborah (Debbie) Willis was born in 1963 at Swindon, as was Gary
Willis who was born in 1966
Sheila A Collett [1R42] was
born at Swindon on 18th November 1938, where her birth was recorded
(Ref. 5a 55), when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hayward. It was also at Swindon that she married John
Murphy during the second quarter of 1960 (Ref. 7c 1259) and where their two
sons were born. Trevor L Murphy
was born in 1962 and Vincent John Murphy was born in 1966
Susan Collett [1R43] was born at
Devizes on 1st October 1949.
She married Roger Chillcott and, after initially settling in
Stratford-upon-Avon, where the first of their two sons were born, the family
eventually moved to Hereford in 1981 and it was there that their second child
was born. Sadly, the youngest son was
only four years old when Roger died in 1986.
In the 1990s Sue and the children were still living in Hereford, and
that is also where Sue was still living in 2014, when she kindly provided extra
details about her family. During 2017,
Susan’s son Tom made contact all the way from Sydney, having very recently
emigrated to Australia with his wife Rebekah.
Susan’s two sons are Samuel Chillcott who was born on 9th June 1979
at Stratford-upon-Avon, Thomas Chillcott who
was born on 25th March 1982 at Hereford
Nicholas Collett [1R44] was
born at Trowbridge on 27th June 1953 when his family was residing in
the nearby village of Holt. It was also
at Trowbridge where Nicholas married Carole Ann Lucas on 8th June
1974. In the 1990s the family was living
at 3 Winterslow Road at Bradley Gardens in Trowbridge, their two sons having
been born in Trowbridge prior to that.
Sadly, it was around the middle of the 1990s that Nicholas and Carole
were divorced, Nicholas still being single in 2014. As regards their two sons, they both have a
partner and still live in Trowbridge in 2014
1S22 – Lee Collett was born on 21st May 1979 at Trowbridge,
Wiltshire
1S23 – Neil Collett was born on 26th August 1983 at Trowbridge,
Wiltshire
Denise Lesley Collett [1R46] was
born on 12th October 1960 at Cinderford and she married Kenneth
Leslie Mason on 18th May 1985 at Forest Hill Church in
Drybrook. Their children were born in
Gloucester and were Michelle Mason who was born on 6th July
1990, and Jack Lee Mason who was born on 9th October 1995
Robin Andrew Collett [1R47], who
is known as Rob, was born in Nyasaland on 9th November 1954, the
only son of Gerald David Martin Collett and his wife Jill Hodder. He was educated at Cheltenham College from
1968 to 1972, and then attended Christchurch College in Oxford from 1973 until
1976. He left Oxford with a Master of
Arts degree and a post-graduate diploma in counselling, and in 1982 he was
ordained into the Western Buddhist Order.
The initial contact with Rob was made during August 2009, and since then
he has kindly provided the detail which has enabled his family line, back to
his great grandfather John Martin Collett (Ref. 1O92), to be added to this
file. Today, Rob lives within the
Moseley area of Birmingham
Lucy Deborah Collett [1R48] was
born at Cambridge in England on 16th December 1962, the only
daughter of Gerald David Martin Collett and his wife Jill Hodder. Her birth was also recorded at Cambridge
register office (Ref. 4a 22) during the last quarter of the year, when her
mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hodder.
It was on 8th March 1996 that Lucy married Peter Prescott,
with whom she had two sons whose births were recorded at Hammersmith in London,
when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. Nicholas James W Prescott was born on
4th August 1996 and Jamie Christopher Prescott was born on 17th
July 1999
Sylvia W M Collett [1R50] was born in 1929 at
Bournemouth, Hampshire, where her parents William
Percival H Collett and Florence M Partridge where married nine months
earlier. At was also at Bournemouth
register office that her birth was recorded (Ref. 2b 18) during the second
quarter of 1929, her mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Partridge. The later marriage of Sylvia W M Collett and
Kenneth E Pitts was recorded at the Somerset Bath register office (Ref. 7c 61)
during the third quarter of 1947. It was
just over three years later that their son Stephen J Pitts was born, his
birth also recorded at Bath register office (Ref. 7c 25) during the last three
months of 1950, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett
Winsome D Collett [1R51] was born in 1936 at
Bournemouth, where her birth was recorded
(Ref. 2b 107) during the second quarter of 1929, her mother’s maiden-name
confirmed as Partridge. Eleven years
after the wedding of her older sister (above), Winsome married John E C
Vivian, the event recorded at Chippenham register office (Ref. 7c 57) during
the last quarter of 1961
Jill V Collett [1R52] was born on 20th
August 1935 with her birth recorded at Totnes register office (Ref. 5b 64)
during the third quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Ryder. She was the older of
the two daughters of Herbert Louis Collett and Doreen M Ryder. She was recorded with her parents at Torquay
on the day the 1939 Register was compiled, by which time she was already
attending school. Jill was not yet
twenty years of age when the marriage of Jill V Collett and Leonard R Woods was
recorded at Newton Abbot register office (Ref. 7a 102) during the second
quarter of 1955.
Carol A Collett [1R53] was born early in
1945, her birth recorded at Newton Abbot register office in Devon (Ref. 5b 111)
during the first quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as Ryder. Carol was
twenty-three years old when her marriage to Charles F Westwood was recorded at
Torbay register office (Ref. 7a 5) during the last quarter of 1968
Hugh Bruce Collett [1R54] was
born at Lyttelton around 1950, the eldest child of former mayor of Lyttelton
James Bruce Collett and his wife Barbara Hodges. Hugh was in his twenties when he left
Christchurch in New Zealand in the late 1970s, first living in England then
Saudi Arabia and eventually Indonesia.
It was in Indonesia where he has lived since 1983. All of his sons attended Jakarta
International School and, although they have never lived in New Zealand, they
have retained their citizenship and national pride for that country
1S24 – David Hani Collett was born in 1982 at
Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia
1S25 – Paul Indra Collett was born in 1986 at
Bogor in Indonesia
1S26 – Aaron Herawan Collett was born in 1989 at Jakarta in Indonesia
Averill Beverley Collett [1R57] was
born in New Zealand on 28th November 1938, the eldest child of
Harold Ernest Leslie Collett and Hazel Winifred Setchfield-Smith. She married John Christenson in 1963 and
presented him with five children. They
were Paul Christenson, who was born on 13th March 1964, Timothy
Christenson, who was born on 15th July 1965, Sally
Christenson, who was born on 24th January 1968, Jasin
Christenson, who was born in 1971, and Amanda Gaye Christenson who
was born on 20th September 1973
Lynette Jane Collett [1R58] was
born at Palmerstone North in New Zealand on 10th October 1940, the
second child of Harold and Hazel Collett.
It was during 1964 that she married Harry Wilkinson with whom she had
three children. Karen Wilkinson,
who was born on 24th August 1965, Lance Wilkinson, who was
born on 13th December 1966, and Angela Wilkinson who was born
on 1st May 1968
Sandra Hazel Collett [1R59] was
born in New Zealand on 28th June 1943, the daughter of Harold and
Hazel Collett. She married Keith Healey
in 1963 and they had four sons. Terry
Healey, born on 17th May 1964, Nigel Healey, born on 9th
May 1966, Stephen Healey, born on 13th July 1968, and Glenn
Healey who was born on 22nd September 1973
Darryl
Leslie Nelson Collett [1R60] was born at Christchurch
on 4th November 1948, the fourth child and eldest son of Harold and
Hazel Collett. It was on 10th
September 1972 when he married Lesley Ashmore, the marriage producing two
children for Darryl and Lesley while they were living in Australia
1S27 - Mechelle
Collett was born on 23rd April 1975 at Perth, Australia
1S28 – Bradley Collett was born in 1977 at
Perth, Australia
Anthony Harold Nicholas Collett [1R61] was
born in New Zealand on 14th July 1959 He married (1) Kim Polkinhorne on 7th
June 1982 and they had a daughter, before Anthony married (2) Tess Kendrick
with whom he also had a daughter
1S29 – Nardine Collett was born on 30th
March 1985 in New Zealand
1S30 – a Collett daughter was born around 1995
in New Zealand
Richard Ernest Collett [1R62] was born on 25th
July 1936 at San Francisco, the older of the two children of Raymond Leonard
Collett and Beatrice Maud Foan. He was
married twice in his life, the first time to (1) Carol Peterson on 31st
October 1959, and later to (2) Lynn Norwood on 5th June 1976. All three of Richard’s children came from his
first marriage
1S31 – Lisa Ann Collett was born during 1960
in America
1S32 – Michael Collett was born during 1962 in
America
1S33 – Steven Rolf
Collett was
born during 1967 in America
Linda Ann Collett [1R63] was known as Lyn, and was
born on 29th February 1940 at San Francisco and like her brother (above),
she too married two times. (1) Ben
Arnold Griffin and (2) Paul Douglas Grant, her first husband being the father
of her three children. They were Richard
Craig Griffin born in 1960, Jay Victor Griffin born on 10th March
1965, and Paula Lyn Grant Griffin in 1974
Ronald Lewis Collett [1R64] was born at
Christchurch on 29th April 1942, the first of the three children of
Arthur Stanley Collett and Beatrice Ann McDowell. It was on 19th February 1966 that
he married Carol Nina Edith Manners, who was born on 27th October
1944. Within the following eight years,
Carol presented Ronald with three children
1S34 – Dean Collett was born during 1970 in
New Zealand
1S35 – Julia Collett was born during 1971 in
New Zealand
1S36 – Glen Collett was born on 4th
February 1974 in New Zealand
Carolyn Laraine Collett [1R65] was born at
Christchurch on 14th February 1946.
She married Albert Allan Agnew on 11th April 1970, Allan
having been born on 12th October 1943. The couple’s two children are Sarah Ainas
Agnew (born 8th April 1973) and Mark Allan Agnew (born 20th
December 1977
Susanne Fay Collett [1R66] was born on 30th
September 1952 at Christchurch, the last child of Tom and Bea Collett. Her marriage to Gerald Forsyth Robertson was
conducted on 18th February 1977, Gerald having been born on 28th
December 1951. Their three children are
Luke Boyd Robertson (born 21st October 1979), Blair Allan Robertson
(born 22nd March 1982; died 5th July 1982), and Anna
Louise Robertson (born 10th October 1983)
Julie E Collett [1R67] was born at Sydenham
in Christchurch who, on being married became Julie E Holmes. For many years, Julie has lived at Witherlea
in Blenheim and, prior to that, she raised three children, including twins
Michael Holmes and Nicola Holmes, plus Karen Holmes who was born on 29th
November 1970, who now lives in America
Brian Gregory Collett [1R68] was
born in the Sydenham district of Christchurch, the second of the three children
Ernest George Collett and his first wife Joyce Ellen Houghton. Brian is married to Jane, with whom he has
three children, and has been living at Cairns in Australia since 1972, and it
was he who kindly supplied the information relating to his family from his
great grandfather Ernest Collett (Ref. 1O128)
Graham William Collett [1R70] was born in New
Zealand on 2nd May 1941, the only child of Ralph Collett and Mabel
Christine Sim. He later married Heather
Jane Nicholson, who was born on 3rd August 1947, with whom he had
two daughters
1S37 – Vicky Ann Collett was born in 1971 in
New Zealand
1S38 – Julie Louise Collett was born in 1975 in
New Zealand
Graeme Sevicke Collett [1R71] was the only son and the
eldest of three siblings of Geoffrey Sevicke Collett and Kathleen Augusta
Blank, and the grandson of George William Collett and Christina
Sevicke Jones. Graeme was born at
Waimate in South Canterbury, New Zealand, during 1940 and whose occupation was
teaching in primary schools. By 2021 he
and his wife Margaret Fay were living in Dunedin. As a couple, they have spent many years
researching their family history, and included a trip to England some years
ago, when they spent time in Gloucestershire, visiting Leonard Stanley,
Haresfield, Quenington, etc, tracing the family back from Graeme’s great great grandfather Samuel Collett and his parents to Thomas
Collett and his wife Ann Antill. Before
his death, Graeme’s uncle, Hori Coutts Collett (1906-2001), gave him a ledger
that had belonged to his great grandfather Samuel Collett. It was from that comprehensive document that
Hori got information for his publication 'The Story of Two Families' 1999. The ledger covers Samuel's working life
around Quenington from 1853 to 1858, the voyage out to New Zealand, and then in
Christchurch through to 1878 when he and his family moved south to
Waimate. It is thanks to Graeme, who
made contact in 2021, that new information has been added to this family line
Helen Louise Collett [1S2] was born in 1969 at
Burton-on-Trent, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 2b 2) during the first
three months of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Scotney. She was the only child of John V Collett and Kathleen E Scotney and the
very intriguing detail about her, is that she married Andrew J Bould,
the event also recorded at the East Staffordshire register office (Vol. 30)
during May in 1993. Andrew was the
brother of Catherine Sarah Bould who married Iain Collett of Burton-on-Trent in
2000. Iain was the son of Jeffrey
Collett [12Q8] of Derby and his first wife Diana Morris, whose family can be
found in Part 12 – The Oxfordshire Chipping Norton Line. The births of the two children of Helen
Louise and Andrew were also recorded at the East Staffordshire register office,
the first being Ellen Louise Bould during March in 2003, and then Freya
Mary Bould in June 2004, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Collett
He is also an
accomplished keyboard player and composer.
He recorded, engineered, and mixed his own music with some input from
other musicians, in the recording studio he had set up at his home in
Northamptonshire, and he designed and printed the covers for the compact discs
that he produced. He performed his own
compositions live on BBC Local Radio and, on one occasion, played piano at the
Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank in London as part of a music workshop
with the composer and conductor James MacMillan and the London
Sinfonietta. He became engaged to Tina
Kubiszyn of Northampton on 12th February 2008, following his
proposal to her in a snow-covered Central Park in New York. The couple were eventually married on 10th
October 2010 at Sedgebrook Hall near Chapel Brampton in Northamptonshire
LLOYD NYALL COLLETT [1S4]
was born in 1987 at Northampton’s Barratt Maternity Hospital. He was baptised on 1st May 1988 at
All Saints Church in Brixworth, the oldest and largest Saxon church still in
use in England at that time. Like his
brother, Aaron (above), he too is interested in music and began learning
the violin, before deciding to concentrate on the piano. Lloyd was also a keen
sportsman and excels at golf, badminton and tennis. Also like his brother, he too is a keen
photographer. In 2004 he began his
working career with Barclays Bank in Northampton and, in just over two years,
had been promoted to manage a small branch in the county. He was also commissioned by the Bank to take
photographs for displaying in the meeting rooms of Barclays Tower at Canary
Wharf. Six months before his twenty-first
birthday he transferred to the Leicestershire district where he was made branch
manager responsible for a main town centre branch of Barclays, together with a
satellite branch in a nearby village
By the Spring of 2009,
Lloyd had received the first of two major promotions; the first to manage a
prestigious branch within the City of London, and the second one year later to
an even larger branch in the heart of the shopping district. A further position, as branch manager, became
available to him in the Autumn of 2011, still within the City of London. Also, by that time, Lloyd’s interest and
skill in photography had developed to such an extent he was often asked to take
the pictures at his friends’ and colleagues’ weddings. In 2012 Lloyd climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and
raised over £10,000 for Christie Cancer Care.
In 2015, Lloyd left London, when a new job opportunity took him to
Lancashire, where he now lives with his wife Rachael and their two daughters,
following their wedding on 23rd September 2017 at Stanley, Mellor,
just west of Blackburn. Their daughters
were born when the family was living at Bromley Cross, from where they moved
north to Edgworth in 2020
1T1 – Aria Rose Collett was born on 9th
March 2016 in a Manchester Hospital
1T2 – Evalie Rae Collett was born on 16th
August 2018 in a Manchester Hospital
Nicholas
Norris Collett [1S5] was born on 21st August 1964 at
Swindon. He married Lucy Margaret
Alsford on 4th July 1987 in Tunbridge Wells. His occupation was that of Director at the
company of his father-in-law, J. Alsford of Tunbridge Wells
1T3 – Sophie Louise Collett was born on 28th
September 1989 at Tunbridge, Kent
1T4 – Ethan Collett was born on 4th
August 1991 at Tunbridge, Kent
1T5 – Jordan Collett was born on 20th
December 1993 at Tunbridge, Kent
1T6 – Emily Collett was born on 31st
May 1996 at Tunbridge, Kent
1T7 – Samuel Collett was born on 31st
May 1996 at Tunbridge, Kent
Simon David Collett [1S6] was
born on 12th August 1966 and was an electrician in his father’s
company in Swindon. Simon married Kate Harry on 12th
May 2011 in the town hall at Amalfi on the south-west coast of Italy. Present at the wedding was Simon’s widowed
mother Glynis, his brother Nick (above) with his wife Lucy and their
twins Emily and Samuel, plus Simon and Kate’s two Swindon born children Paige
Madeline Ricks, who was born on 27th November 2002, and daughter
Isabelle Sarah Collett, together with some friends
1T8 – Isabelle Sarah Collett was born on 5th
October 2009 at Swindon
Helen Frances Collett [1S7]
was born at Swindon on 22nd September 1968 and, at the time her
birth was recorded there, her mother’s maiden-name was stated as being
Vincent. It was during the spring of
1991 that Helen F Collett married Mark A Martin at Swindon where the event was
recorded (Vol. 23 2008). The births of
the couple’s two children were recorded at Swindon and, in each case, the
mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett.
They were Samuel Thomas D Martin, born on 26th
November 1995, and Lucy Sarah Martin, born on 13th November 1997
Sarah Jillian Collett [1S8]
was born at Swindon on 2nd June 1970, her birth recorded there (Ref.
7c 2505), when her mother’s maiden-name was given as Vincent. The marriage of Sarah J Collett and James D
Hyner was recorded at Swindon (Vol. 23 2929) during the summer of 1992. The births of all of their four children were
recorded at Swindon and, in each case, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed
as Collett. They were Jack Benjamin
Hyner, born 6th April 1991, Benjamin James Hyner, born 24th
November 1994, Thomas Jack Hyner, born 10th June 1997, and Emily
Victoria Hyner, born 29th August 1999
Alison Louise Collett [1S9] was
born at Swindon on 5th December 1972, the third daughter of Alan
Francis Robin Collett and Gillian Davis.
However, the record of her birth, like those of her three siblings,
stated their mother’s maiden-name was Vincent and not Davis. The birth of Alison Louise Collett was recorded
at Swindon (Ref. 7c 2359). Alison L
Collett married Leslie E R Sawyer at Reading (Vol. 320 0125) during the summer
of 2001
Peter Alan M Collett [1S10] was
born at Swindon on 18th August 1974, where his birth was recorded (Vol.
23 1914)
Darren
Lee Steven Collett [1S11] was born on 6th January 1971 at Swindon, the eldest child of Stephen Collett and his wife
Christine Farnell. His partner,
Michaela Cox of Swindon, was the mother of his daughter, who also born in
Swindon. Chloe Victoria Collett was born at midday on
the same day that the whole Collett family was assembled to celebration the 80th
birthday of Albert Edward Collett (Ref. 1Q16).
1T9 – Chloe Victoria Collett was born on 21st
March 1998 at Swindon
Patrick Robert Jason Collett [1S12]
was born on 10th December 1972 at Swindon, the second son of Stephen
and Christine Collett. It was also at
Swindon where he married Yvonne Angela Callcut on 29th January 1994
and it was there that their daughter was born.
Sometime much later Patrick and Yvonne parted company, and it was with his new partner Julia
Willoughby that Patrick had a baby daughter Freya Isla Collett who at 4.20 p.m.
weighing 6lb 3oz
1T10 – Jordon Marie Collett was born on 23rd
July 1994 at Swindon
1T11 – Freya Isla Collett was born on 4th
January 2015 at Swindon
Kristian Neil Wayne Collett [1S13] was
born at Swindon on 3rd October 1973, the third son of Stephen and
Christine Collett. In 2010 Kristian and
his partner Emily Louise Clayton had a son when they were living in the
Birmingham area
1T12 – Alfie Junior (Ajay) Collett was born on
8th March 2010 at Birmingham
Noel Natham James Collett [1S14] was
born at Swindon on 21st December 1974, the fourth son of Stephen and
Christine Collett. In 2014 Noel was
married to Louise and they have two children
1T13 – Ellie Grace Collett was born on 17th
September 2012 at Swindon
1T14 – James Alexander Collett was born on 17th
May 2014 at Swindon
Leanne Victoria Krystal Collett [1S15] was
born at Swindon on 10th July 1982, the fifth and last child of
Stephen Collett by his wife Christine Farnell.
She later married Daniel Wayne Cox with whom she had a daughter, Taylor
Nicole Cox, who was born at Swindon on 22nd April 2002
David Hani Collett [1S24] was
born at Al-Khobar
in Saudi Arabia on 20th December
1982, the eldest of the three sons of Hugh Bruce Collett, and currently
lives at Manila in the Philippines.
Paul Indra Collett [1S25] was
born Bogor
in Indonesia on 7th January
1986, the second son of Hugh Bruce Collett.
Paul currently resides in Bali in Indonesia, and it was he who kindly provided the new information
regarding his father and his two brothers
Aaron Herawan Collett [1S26] was
born at Jakarta
in Indonesia on 29th September
1989, the youngest of the three sons of Hugh Bruce Collett. In 2014, Aaron was living and working in Hong
Kong
Bradley Collett [1S28] was
born at Perth in Australia on 25th March 1977, the youngest of the
two children of Darryl Leslie Collett and his wife Lesley Ashmore. It was on 1st March 2009 that Bradley
married Sue Goh, their first child being born at Melbourne during the following
year, with another expected during the month of August in 2012
1T15 – Zacharia
Ashley Collett was born on 9th July 2010 at Melbourne,
Australia
1T16 – another Collett child was born during 2012 at Melbourne, Australia
Lisa Ann Collett [1S31] was born during 1960
in America, the first-born child of Richard Ernest Collett and his first wife
Carol Peterson. Lisa was initially
married in February 1985, but later married (2) Eric Patz who was born in New
Jersey. That second marriage resulted in
the birth of two daughters for Lisa and Eric, and they were Samantha Marie Patz
(born 26th October 1992) and Christie Nicole Patz (born on 25th
April 1996)
Michael Collett [1S32] was born on 25th
October 1962 in America and was the older of the two son of Richard and Carol
Collett. The marriage of Michael Collett
and Stephanie Anne Alford took place on 22nd December 1984, after
which the couple settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where their two children were
born
1T17 – Trent Collett
was born on 1st August 1991 at Atlanta, Georgia
1T18 – Anna Collett was
born on 27th April 1994 at Atlanta, Georgia
Steven Rolf Collett [1S33] was born during 1967
in America, the third and last child of Richard and Carol Collett. It was on 25th May 1995 that
Steven married Lisa Corley at the port city of Duluth in Minnesota
1T19 – Sarah Katherine Collett was born on 17th
June 1998 at Lawrenceville
Dean Collett [1S34] was born on 23rd
August 1970 in New Zealand, eldest of the three children of Ronald Lewis
Collett and Carol Nina Edith Manners. The
marriage of Dean Collett and Carol was conducted on 10th January
1997 at Blenheim within the Marlborough district of New Zealand South Island
Julia Collett [1S35] was born on 12th
February 1971 in New Zealand. She was eleven
days short of her twenty-first birthday, when the marriage of Julia Collett and
Michael Andrew Fraser took place on 1st February 1992, Michael had
been born on 8th August 1964 and he and Julia had two children of
their own. Jared Michael Fraser was born
on 22nd October 1994 and Lews Andrew Fraser was born on 16th
July 1997
Vicky Ann Collett [1S36] was born on 25th
September 1971 in New Zealand and she married John Lewis on 22nd
March 2003
Julie Louise Collett [1S37] was born on 25th
June 1975 in New Zealand and she married Shane Cate on 7th November
1998, with whom she has a daughter Erika Louise Cate who was born on 29th
December 1999
APPENDIX ONE
A
brief diary of events in the Royal Navy service life of submarine commander
Anthony Foster Collett (Ref. 1Q64)
Re-produced
here courtesy of Rob Collett (Ref. 1R44) of Birmingham
3rd June 1941 the Unique, under Lt.
F.D.G. Challis, torpedoes and damages (total loss) the Italian cargo ship ‘Arsia’ inside Lampedusa harbour. At
1825 hours the previous day HMS Unique spotted a small Italian convoy. The convoy entered Lampedusa harbour nearly
an hour later. The next day Unique
closed the harbour submerged to investigate and found one of the ships in an
exposed position, provided that the boom defences were not effective against
torpedoes. At 0753 hours, a torpedo was
fired that struck the shore just astern of the ship. Indeed, the boom defences were not torpedo
proof, so another torpedo was fired at 0822 hours. This was a hit amidships. A big column of water and debris was thrown
in the air followed by white smoke.
20th August 1941 the Unique, under Lt. A.R.
Hezlet, torpedoes and sinks the Italian troop transport ‘Esperia’ 11 nautical miles bearing 318
off the Tripoli lighthouse, Libya
5th January 1942 the Unique, under Lt. A.R.
Hezlet, DSC, attacks the Italian battleship ‘Littorio’ with torpedoes in the Gulf of Taranto. All torpedoes fired missed their target.
5th May 1943 the Tactician, under Lt. Cdr. A.F. Collett, DSC, sinks the Italian auxiliary patrol
vessel V17 / Pia with gunfire
about 10 nautical miles west of Grosseto, Italy
12th June 1943 the Tactician, under Lt. Cdr. A.F. Collett, DSC, sinks the Italian schooner ‘Bice’ with gunfire 5 nautical miles
north-east of the Bari lighthouse. At 1220 hours (no time zone given in patrol
report) the Tactician surfaced and engaged a large schooner with gunfire from
2200 yards. The schooner was escorted by
an armed vessel that was approximately 4500 yards away. The first round was fired only 24 seconds
after the Tactician passed 10 feet. The
fourth and fifth rounds were hits on the schooner’s hull. The crew of the schooner abandoned ship. About 5 minutes into the action the armed
vessel opened fire on the Tactician which now shifted target. Several hits were obtained on this vessel
with one of the hits knocking out its gun.
The enemy vessel eventually fled towards Bari harbour. Target was now shifted back to the schooner
and that soon started to settle after several more hits. At 1234 hours the Tactician was taken under
fire by shore batteries forcing Lt. Cdr. Collett to
dive and break off the action. At 1320
hours 23 depth charges were dropped but these caused no damage.
14th June 1943 the Tactician, under Lt. Cdr. A.F. Collett, DSC, torpedoes and damages the Italian
merchant ship ‘Rosandra’ off the
coast of Albania. The ship sinks the
following day. At 1610 hours (no time zone given in patrol report), while the
Tactician was in position 15 nautical miles bearing 155 Cape Linguetta, a
northbound merchant vessel of 7600 tons was sighted close inshore. Four torpedoes were fired when range was
closed to 2200 yards. Although no escort
was seen during the setup of the attack there was one that closed upon the
Tactician and forced her deep shortly after firing the torpedoes. Before the last torpedo exploded, a depth
charge was dropped that was very close.
Within 10 minutes, 16 more depth charges were dropped with three of them
even closer than the first one. No real
damage was done and the escort lost contact soon after.
20th February 1944 the Tactician, under Lt. Cdr. A.F. Collett, DSC, attacks a Japanese submarine north
of Sumatra. Five torpedoes were fired
but these missed. At 0725 hours, the Tactician spotted a
Japanese submarine on the surface steering course 125. At 0729 hours 5 torpedoes were fired from
5000-6000 yards. All five torpedoes missed
the target. It was intended to fire
eight torpedoes but when the 5th torpedo was fired it was realised that the
targets speed was underestimated.
28th February 1944 the Tactician, under Lt. Cdr. A.F. Collett, DSC, sinks a small Japanese vessel off
Penang.
27th May 1944 the Tactician, under Lt. Cdr. A.F. Collett, DSC, sinks two Siamese sailing vessels
with gunfire of the west coast of Siam (today known as Thailand).
APPENDIX TWO
A
brief history of the life of Gerald David Martin Collett (1Q65),
and
re-produced here by the courtesy of Rob Collett (Ref. 1R44) of Birmingham
Born in Cheltenham in
1928, and educated at Cheltenham College, Gerald read law at Trinity College,
Oxford. After completing his national
service in the Royal Air Force Education Branch from 1949 until 1950, and completing
his pupilage under Christmas Humphreys, he was called to the Bar of England and
Wales at the Inner Temple in 1951. His
working life started in Central Africa as a Crown Counsel to the Nyasaland
Protectorate (now Malawi), where he married Jill Hodder and they remained until
1960. Returning to England he then
worked for the John Hilton Bureau in Cambridge, which answered questions from
readers of the News of the World on a wide range of issues, including legal
matters. In 1963, at the age of 35,
Gerald went abroad again to become Solicitor General of the Bahamas, a post he
held until 1970, when he became Attorney General. Practising law was an excellent field for his
bright intelligence, his incisive clarity of mind, and extraordinary memory,
which enabled him to have a considerable knowledge of the law at his
finger-tips. Although excelling in legal
draughtmanship, his love was advocacy.
He was in court whenever the opportunity presented itself. It was a natural step for him to become a
Queen’s Counsel for the Bahamas in 1971.
When the Bahamas achieved Independence in 1973, he became Attorney
General of Bermuda and held the post until 1981. In Bermuda, he oversaw the prosecution of a
number of major cases, notably those of ‘Buck’ Burrows and Larry Tacklyn for
the Shopping Centre murders, for which they were hanged. While in Bermuda, he also helped to found the
Legal Aid Committee, of which he was the chairman for many years. He was made a Commander of the Order of the
British Empire in the Queen’s Honours in 1980
In
1983, after two years in private practice with conveyers Dill and Pearman, he
joined the Bermuda Supreme Court as a Puisne Judge where he presided over a
wide range of cases. In 1987 he was
appointed Chief Justice of the Cayman Islands.
Within his profession Gerald Collett was highly thought of. He had a reputation for being principled in
his application of the law, demonstrating above all his humanity and
broad-mindedness. Economy of words was
his passion. Consequently, he was
admired by colleagues and members of the Bar alike. Edward Zacca, President of the Bermuda and
Caymanian Courts of Appeal, both courts on which Gerald Collett sat, said of
him “He was a very distinguished jurist
and was well respected by the Bar for his well-reasoned judgments and
decisions.” The current Chief
Justice of Cayman [in 2011] Richard Ground, who appeared before him when he was
Attorney General of the Cayman Islands, said: “He was a very well-respected Chief Justice in Cayman. He was a fine judge and a clever man and had
a great sense of fairness. He brought
common sense to the Bench, but was also capable of being very intellectual in
his approach.” Ramon Alberga QC,
paying tribute on behalf of the Caymanian Bar, observed that Gerald Collett “Was quick to get to the heart of a
problem; he did not delay in rendering his judgments, which were always well
reasoned and logical expositions. He had
a passionate sense of justice and fair play and the moral courage to go with
it. He would never tolerate abuse or
excess, nor would he be afraid to oppose it no matter what quarter it came
from”
He also inspired tremendous loyalty in his
staff, who held him in great affection and admiration. When he retired in 1991 to his wife’s native
Ireland, the couple lived near Cork.
Becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Arbitration, he still worked
part-time, and increasingly found himself advising many Caribbean governments,
as well as those in Mauritius and Fiji on constitutional and legislative
drafting issues, and in particular establishing legal aid systems. In 1995 he was appointed to the Cayman
Islands Court of Appeal and remained with the Court until February 2005, a
month before he died at the age of 77.
His Irish wife Jill was the author of published books entitled “Bermuda
– Her Plants and Gardens, 1609-1850”, and “A Guide to the Gardens of the
Caribbean”. Happily settled in Ireland,
Gerald later married Mollie Huth in 2003, but was bereaved that the same year,
when she passed away