PART TWO

The Second Gloucestershire Line 1910 to 2021

This is the last of four sections of Part Two of the Collett family line

Updated May 2023

Some of the early information was kindly provided by Brian Alfred Prescott (Ref. 2Q41) of

Lowton near Warrington and Bob Collett (Ref. 2R31) in Australia, with Brian providing

the bulk of the new details for the April 2013 update. Other information was also received

from Andy Collett (Ref. 2S23) of Solihull and his Australian cousin Karen Rowan (Ref. 2R35)

Ella Florence Collett [2Q41] was born at Swindon on 30^th March 1909, the eldest child of Maurice Edward Collett and his wife Florence Beatrice White, her birth recorded at Swindon register office (Ref. 5a 7). Her occupations included bus conductor and auxiliary nurse. She later married Alfred Prescott of Leigh in Lancashire on 6^th September 1933 at Leigh Parish Church, and the couple’s two sons were also born at Leigh. Ella Florence Prescott nee Collett died at Leigh on 13^th May 1998, while Alfred, who was born there on 15^th September 1911, also died there on 21^st August 1979

Brian Alfred Prescott was born on 21^st January 1935 at Leigh, and he married Joan Mullins on 1^st June 1957 at Earlstown in Newton-le-Willows. They lived at 8 Garside Avenue in Lowton and his occupation was that of policeman and clerk. Joan was born on 2^nd June 1933. They had two children, Steven Brian Prescott, who was born at St Helens on 19^th May 1959, and Janice Susan Prescott, who was born at Warrington on 15^th May 1965. Joan Prescott nee Mullins passed away after a long illness on 3^rd December 2013. It was Brian Prescott that helped Brian Collett to complete some of the gaps in this line of the family history. Around 2016, Brian was diagnosed with metholesioma which had laid dormant and undiagnosed since the early 1960s after being exposed to asbestos at the Vulcan Foundry where he worked for some years. It was later that he passed away on 22^nd February 2021, his obituary, kindly provided by the family, is set out below

“Brian Alfred Prescott was born in Leigh on the 21st January 1935 to Ella and Alfred Prescott. Both him and his brother Terry attended Leigh Boy’s Grammar School. After school Brian had many jobs, served in the Military Police, Policeman in Ashton Under Lyne, Estate Agents in Leigh, Vulcan Foundry, United Glass, Tattons in Golborne, BICC in Leigh, McCorquodale Printers in Newton, TV repairman for Relay Vision in Warrington, Nicholson’s Pet Food delivery, NFC Distribution Golborne and finally Exel Logistics Golborne. Shortly before he started in the National Service, he met Joan in this very cemetery. They married in 1957 and were together for 56 years until Joan passed away in the winter of 2013. It was Joan who kept reminding Brian if he had stayed in the Police he would have been on a good pension. After two years together they had their son Steven and then six years later Janice arrived, during this time they moved from Earlestown to Lowton where they resided ever since. Following his retirement frequent trips to Bents became the norm, sharing a fruit scone and a pot of tea with Joan. Even after Joan passed away, he still continued to visit, meeting family, friends and chatting to Bents staff who also became friends. In-between Bents visits he would sneak in a trip to Trebaron’s, visit Janice on Saturdays and Thursdays at Steven and Janet’s house.

During their married life they spent their holidays in many seaside towns, their favourite being Teignmouth in Devon, also a town associated with the family as it was home to past relatives. It was in Teignmouth they made friends with a few of the local families and often spent days on the beach or walking together even being invite round for afternoon teas. One of these years they were asked to be judges at the local carnival and another was spent trying to block out the noise of a Muse concert nearby. In 1996 there was a welcome addition to the family of the world’s tiniest baby Elinor then three years later the world’s noisiest Natalie, who were the apple of his eye - some people say ruined (but that’s a matter of opinion). Looking after his two grandchildren was his favourite pastime, he would take and collect them from play groups, nursery and infants, feed them ginger cake and other treats.

His musical career started at Golborne Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society, one of his leading roles being the 6ft Mayor of Munchkins. Brian was a loyal member of this society, attending rehearsals and performance. Even after he stopped performing, he stayed to help out with refreshments during the intervals and assisted in any way he could. In the years after Joan passed away Brian became a member of the Lowton Golborne Newton Community Choir, performing in many concerts and enjoying the camaraderie and friendship of other members and again helping in any way he could, the Choir was a big part of his life, if you happened to be at the bungalow on practice or show days you knew when it was time to leave. Brian was well known in the area for his daily walks sporting his infamous cap. He was also known for his well-kept garden and received many compliments from neighbours and passers-by. Another hobby of Brian’s was investigating the family tree, which involved trips around the country and collaborating with the Collett family website. In doing so he managed to find an entire branch of the family tree which had previously been unknown. Something Brian wasn’t known as well for was his talent for painting, several landscapes were displayed on the walls in their bungalow.

Sadly, Brian was eventually diagnosed with metholesioma four years ago which had laid dormant and undiagnosed since the early 60s after being exposed to asbestos at the Vulcan Foundry. The disease took hold last summer. Then following radiotherapy treatment, Brian was moved into the Wigan and Leigh Hospice to control his medication, once the medication was balanced, he was transferred to the Mahogany Nursing Home. Here Brian was quite happy and settled in quite quickly. He enjoyed the constant company of the other residents and the food. He also carried on his walks around the corridors and it was around this time he started to get confused and on the few times we were able to see him he stated he was not sure where he walked to but knows he had a good time as he always did. He was very grateful to the staff at the Care Home for looking after him and so were we. Sadly, the disease caught up with Brian, and the Care Home informed us that during the night as he slept, they noticed a change in him and he was transferred to Hospital where he passed away without waking up”

Terence Collett Prescott was born on 29^th November 1937 at Leigh, and he married Fiona Jean Sale of Leigh on 2^nd April 1960. The couple was living at 18 Southway at Fleetwood in Lancashire when their two sons were born at Victoria Hospital in Blackpool. Terence’s occupation, like that of his brother Brian (above), was that of policeman. Fiona was born on 27^th September 1941. The family was hit by a double tragedy within the space of ten years. Firstly, Terence’s eldest son, Simon Terence Prescott who was born on 20^th March 1966 and who had been profoundly handicapped from birth, died at Victoria Hospital in Blackpool on 18^th December 1998, and just over nine years later Terence’s wife lost her fight with cancer, when she died at Trinity Hospital in Blackpool on 24^th January 2008. On the positive side Terence has two adorable grandchildren, the children of his other son, Julian Robert Prescott who was born on 21^st December 1968, and his partner Hayley Louise Ashworth who was born at Ashton-under-Lyne on 20^th April 1974. Julian, known as Joo, is employed as a precision engineer, and the couple’s two children are Finlay Simon Ashworth Prescott, known as Fin, who was born on 18^th March 2000, and Lucie Boe Ashworth Prescott who was born on 26^th December 2004, both of them born at Victoria Hospital in Blackpool. It is Terence who has been instrumental in the providing the vast majority of the new details which have resulted in the major updates of this family line during the years from 2012 to 2014

Reginald Maurice Collett [2Q42], who was referred to as Reg by the family, was born on 15^th March 1911 at Swindon. However, in the census of 1911 that took place when he was just two weeks old, his parents Maurice and Florence were living at 14 Stanier Street in Swindon, when Reg was recorded as Edward Collett. By the time his parents visited Swindon register office they had changed their minds, when the birth of their eldest son was recorded at Reginald Maurice Collett (Ref. 5a 117) during the second quarter of 1911. Sometime after the birth of his brother Frederick (below) at Swindon, Reg’s parents moved north to Lancashire and settled in Newton-le-Willows. However, when he was in his twenties, Reg returned to live in Swindon where, during the second quarter of 1941, the marriage of Reginald M Collett and Kathleen L Tucker, known as Queenie, took place at St Mark’s Church and was recorded at Swindon register office (Ref. 5a 137). Kathleen Lillian Tucker was much younger than Reg, having been born in Swindon on 10^th March 1920. Reg’s occupation was that of blacksmith with the Great Western Railway and, unable to have children of their own, the couple adopted a son who became Michael John Collett. Reginald Maurice Collett died from a heart attack on 28^th September 1960 while he was living in the family home at 36 Portal Road in Swindon, where his death was recorded (Ref. 7c 94), when he was 49 years old. Twenty-eight years later Queenie was living at 4 Chantry Road in Moredon, near Swindon, at the time of her death on 29^th September 1988, with the death of Kathleen Lillian Collett, nee Tucker, recorded at Swindon register office (Vol. 23)

2R49 – Michael John Collett was born during 1945 in Wiltshire (adopted)

Frederick Arthur Collett [2Q43] was born at Swindon on 9^th March 1913. He never married and lived with his parents at 426 Wargrave Road in Newton-le-Willows. His occupation was that of locomotive fitter. Following the death of his father Maurice Collett in 1954 he remained living at the address until his own death on 16^th August 1960, the cause of death being a brain tumour

Percival Francis Collett [2Q44] was born on at Newton-le-Willows 17^th June 1915, and he married Edith Irene Johnstone of Warrington in 1941. Like his brother Frederick (above), he too was a locomotive fitter. The family lived at 19 Birchdale Avenue in Warrington and, unable to have children of their own, the couple adopted a daughter. Percival Francis Collett died at Warrington on 23^rd December 1986 while suffering with heart problems. Edith Irene Collett nee Johnstone, who was born in 1920, had died six years earlier on 21^st August 1980

2R50 – Barbara Collett was born during 1948 in Warrington (adopted)

Bertram William Collett [2Q45] was born at Newton-le-Willows on 21^st September 1918, and it was at Wargrave on 21^st March 1953 that he married Brenda Taylor. They lived at 21 Cedar Crescent in Newton-le-Willows where Bertram’s occupation was that of charge-hand fitter. Brenda was born on 19^th February 1929 at Wargrave where the couple’s only daughter was born. Despite spending more than four years in a prisoner-of-war camp during the Second World War, Bertram William Collett was the last surviving member of his generation of the family when he died on 17^th November 2008. He was buried at Newton-le-Willows Cemetery and was aged 90 years and 2 months

2R51 – Sandra Collett was born in 1955 at Wargrave

Ethel May Collett [2Q46] was born at Newton-le-Willows on 15^th November 1920. She was twenty-three when she married (1) William (Bill) Jones in January 1944 at Wargrave and it was just four months later that she was widowed. Tragically, Bill Jones died in France on D-Day, 6^th June 1944, during the invasion of Europe that virtually brought about the end of the Second World War. Bill, who was born on 1^st May 1921, had returned home on leave to get married but had returned to active duty almost immediately after. He was a sergeant in the Parachute Regiment of the British Sixth Airborne Division. Nearly two years later Ethel married (2) Ernest Tiffany at Stalybridge in Cheshire on 19^th May 1946. During her working days, she was employed as a bookbinder, and it was from her second marriage that her three children were all were born at Wargrave. Ethel suffered further sadness when her only son and youngest child died in 1950, who had been born on 15^th November 1948. After the war, Ethel attended an awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace, where she received the Distinguished Conduct Medal posthumously on behalf of her husband. She was accompanied on her visit to London by her father Maurice Collett, her sister Ella Prescott nee Collett (above), her brother Reg and his wife Queenie Collett (above), and Bill’s father. The photograph here is an extract from the larger group photograph taken outside the Palace to commemorate the occasion and shows Ethel May wearing her husband’s medal. Ethel May Tiffany nee Collett died of a heart attack at Culcheth on 26^th March 1991, while she was staying at the home of her daughter Yvonne

The couple’s eldest child Jean Valerie Tiffany was born on 18^th May 1947 at Wargrave, where she was later married to David McKee on 15^th March 1969. Jean and her family lived at 18 Crossfield Avenue at Culcheth, near Warrington and not far from her twin sister Yvonne (below). Jean and David’s two sons were Scott David McKee, who was born on 14^th February 1973, and Craig Keith McKee who was born on 28^th September 1975. Her twin sister Yvonne Wendy Tiffany was born at Wargrave on 18^th May 1947. She married (1) Roland Eaton on 15^th March 1969 and (2) Ian James Ferguson on 30^th August 1975. Both children were from the second marriage and Yvonne and Ian later lived at 17 Thompson Avenue in Culcheth, nearby to where her twin sister Jean (above) lived. And it was at her Culcheth home in March 1991 that her mother Ethel May Tiffany nee Collett died from a heart attack. The two children born to Yvonne and Ian were Glenn James Ferguson, who was born on 7^th June 1976, and Colette Jean Ferguson who was born on 12^th August 1978. The third and last child of Ethel May Collett and Ernest Tiffany was Keith Philip Tiffany who was born at Wargrave in 1948, where he died in 1950

Lily Cecilia Collett [2Q47] was born at Newton-le-Willows on 7^th September 1923, and she later married George Mullin at Wargrave on 21^st March 1953. Prior to that she found employment as the operator of an electrical overhead travelling crane at the Vulcan Locomotive Foundry Works at Newton-le-Willows. It is very likely that she was involved in the production of the Matilda Tank and other armaments to support the war effort in the late 1930s and the 1940s, that being the main task of the foundry leading up to and during the war years. Later in her life she was a shop assistant. Lily’s son, who was born out of wedlock from an earlier relationship, was born at Wargrave. Once she was married Lily and her family lived at 162 Queens Drive in Newton-le-Willows. Lily Cecilia Mullins nee Collett died from lung cancer on 9^th August 1994, with George having died thirty-two years earlier in 1962. Lily’s son Raymond Arthur Mullin was born at Wargrave on 3^rd October 1947, and was born prior to her wedding day with George Mullin, his father being William Magrath. Raymond married Irene Webster and was divorced in 1985. He lived at 162 Queens Drive in Newton-le-Willows in the house where previously his mother had lived. His daughter Jennifer Mullin was born at Newton-le-Willows on 21^st July 1981

Mervyn Albert Collett[2Q48] was born at Newton-le-Willows on 25^th February 1926, and he later married Ivy Johnson on 12^th April 1947. The couple lived at 100 Belvedere Road in Newton-le-Willows, where their two children were born. His occupation was that of coppersmith at the railway works. Mervyn Albert Collett died at Newton-le-Willows of a heart attack on 17^th September 1971. Ivy, who was born on 19^th May 1929, also died at Newton-le-Willows when she passed away on 4^th November 1993

2R52 – Alan Mervyn Collett was born in 1951 at Newton-le-Willows

2R53 – Amanda Jayne Collett was born in 1962 at Newton-le-Willows

Stephen Peter Marshall Collett [2Q49] was born at Plymouth on 7^th July 1920. He never married and lived most of his life at home with his parents. He was in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and was stationed at Ramsbury. After the war he entered the Life Guards and was based at Windsor, where he taught the Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen) and her sister Princess Margaret to ride horses. Stephen Peter Marshall Collett died in Plymouth during 1995

Fredrick Mervyn Collett [2Q50] was born at Swindon on 30^th October 1910, the elder of the two sons of Mervyn Fred Matthew Collett and his wife Lily Thrush. He was only a few years old when his father took the family to Plymouth where, over twenty years later, on 12^th April 1947, Frederick married Muriel Gladys Martin who was born at Devonport during the third quarter of 1922. He was a Royal Navy bosun and was allegedly responsible with another member of the Collett family for grounding HMS Cumberland in Plymouth harbour. The couple’s two children were both born at Plymouth where the family lived for the rest of their lives. Frederick Mervyn Collett was seventy when he died, his death being recorded at Plymouth register office (Ref. 21 1747) during the second quarter of 1981

2R54 – Marion Freda Collett was born in 1948 at Plymouth

2R55 – John Alfred Frederick Collett was born in 1950 at Plymouth

Maurice William Arthur Collett [2Q51] was born at Swindon on 10^th September 1912, and it was shortly after he was born that his family moved to Plymouth. He just twenty-four when he married Phyllis M Selley at Devonport during the final three months of 1936. Phyllis was born at St Germans, near Saltash in Cornwall in the June quarter of 1917, and once they were married the couple lived at Tor Point in Plymouth, where all three sons were born. Tragically their second son Barry, whose birth was registered at St Germans, was killed during the German bombing of Plymouth in 1943, following which his death was recorded in Plymouth

2R56 – David John Mervyn Collett was born in 1937 at Plymouth

2R57 – Barry Collett was born in 1940 at Plymouth

2R58 – Roger Maurice Collett was born in 1944 at Plymouth

John C Collett [2Q52] was born at Swindon during the fourth quarter of 1923 (Ref. 5a 63), the only known child of Horace Frank C Collett and his wife Florence L King. He was approaching his twenty-first birthday when he married Olive Leah Pemberton during the third quarter of 1944 at Oxford (Ref. 3a 42). Olive was four years older than John, having been born at Reading where her birth was recorded during the third quarter of 1919 (Ref. 2c 134). Although it is established that they had a daughter, nothing further is known about the couple at this time except that Olive Leah Collett nee Pemberton died at West Surrey during the month of January in 2005 (Ref. 7611e E18b)

2R59 – Judith L Collett was born in 1948 at Oxford

Joyce Nancy E Collett [2Q52] was possibly born at Alcester in Warwickshire, where her birth was registered during the second quarter of 1922. (Ref. 6d 1543). She was the daughter of George Otto Wilkins Collett and Florence M Hopkins. She married Cyril Henry Cuckson at East Retford in Nottinghamshire during the last three months of 1948 (Ref. 3c 339), with whom she had three children. Cyril had been born at East Retford during the second quarter of 1924 (Ref. 7b 18). Joyce Nancy Cuckson nee Collett was 59 when she died in 1981, her death also being registered at Alcester (Ref. 31 0003) during the September quarter of that year. It was seventeen years later that Cyril Henry Cuckson passed away, his death being recorded at the Mid-Warwickshire register office during the fourth quarter of 1998 (Ref. 7751b B38B). The couple’s three children were as follows. Christina Cuckson was born in 1949, the birth being registered at Stratford-upon-Avon during the second quarter of that year (Ref. 9c 1707). She later married Michael J Nash at Alcester during the September quarter of 1972 (Ref. 9c 3) who had been born at Meriden, west of Coventry, in 1949 (Ref. 9c 1379). The birth of Angela E Cuckson was also recorded at Stratford-upon-Avon during the June quarter of 1953 (Ref. 9c 1609), and she married Graham A Wall at Alcester during the third quarter of 1973 (Ref. 9c 4). Graham was born at Stratford in the June quarter of 1951(Ref. 9c 1722). The last child was Wendy J Cuckson who was born at South Warwickshire in the second quarter of 1958 (Ref. 9c 6) and she married Liam W Coton at Alcester when she was twenty-five in 1983 (Ref. 31 0002). Liam was born at Warwick during the first three months of 1959 (Ref. 9c 1945) and it would appear that they had one child, Alexander Wesley Coton who was born in February 1993 (Ref. 7751a A30B)

Derek George Wilkins Collett [2Q53] was born at Alcester where his birth was recorded during the last three months of 1925 (Ref. 6d 1296), the second child of George and Florence Collett. It was at Nottingham that his marriage to Catherine Margaret Shenton was recorded during the second quarter of 1947 (Ref. 3c 1148). Margaret, as she was known, was born at Cheadle in Staffordshire, during the second quarter of 1924 (Ref. 6b 560) and her marriage to Derek produced four children for the couple. Thanks to Derek’s grandson Neil Williams, it is now known that at some time in his life Derek Collett lived in Stratford-upon-Avon where he had a shop, and that later on he owned two shops, one in Alcester, the other in Mosley. It is also now known that the first two children were born in Stratford, the other two born later, after the family had moved to Alcester. George Wilkins Collett died during July 2001 when his death was recorded at the South Warwickshire register office (Ref. 7733 23C). Catherine Margaret Collett, nee Shenton, survived her husband by six years when she passed away in 2007. During his life, Derek would have loved to have entered the Royal Air Force but, because of being deaf in one ear, that was not possible. However, Derek was delighted when his only son managed to do what he had always wanted to do, when he served for many years with the RAF

2R60 – Julie A Collett was born in 1948 at Stratford-upon-Avon

2R61 – Jacqueline M Collett was born in 1952 at Stratford-upon-Avon

2R62 – Elizabeth J Collett was born in 1957 at Alcester

2R63 – Timothy G Collett was born in 1961 at Alcester

William Alfred Collett [2Q55] was born at 3 Hanover Street in Kentish Town, in the St Pancras district of London on 11^th April 1894, his birth recorded at St Pancras register office (Ref. 1b 122). By March 1901 the family was living at 4 Cleveland Villas in Willesden, where William was six years old. In between these times, and only for a few short months in 1900, William and his family had lived at 70 Carlton Road in Kentish Town. In the April census of 1911, William Alfred Collett was 16 and was still living with his family who, by then, had moved to Hampstead where they were living at 134 Fleet Road. During the next three years William and his family moved to 50 Lawn Road in Hampstead and, it was at that time in his life that he met Florence Rose Wood whom he married on 28^th January 1915. The wedding was recorded at Hampstead register office in London (Ref. 1a 1283), where the witnesses were Francis Collett and Ellen Collett, who were William’s younger brother and sister. The address given for both William and Florence was 106 Fleet Road in Hampstead, which was presumably where they were going to live once they were married. Lawn Road, where William’s family was living at that time, is off the south side of Fleet Road, so was just around the corner from his parent’s house

William Alfred Collett was 20 years old and was working as a provision merchant’s porter, while Florence Rose Wood was 24 and a domestic servant. The fathers of the bride and groom were stated as being builder George Wood, and auctioneer’s porter William Henry Collett. Florence was born in London when her birth was recorded at St Pancras register office (Ref. 1b 41) during the second quarter of 1891. However, their twelve-year old marriage produced two sons, only one of whom survived. William G Collett (the first) was born at Hampstead in 1915 (Ref. 1a 995) where his birth and then his death were recorded (Ref. 1a 779) during the second quarter of the year. Her surviving son was only eleven years old when Florence Rose Collett nee Wood passed away in 1927, her death also recorded at Hampstead register office (Ref. 1a 511) during the third quarter of that year. William Alfred Collett outlived his wife by forty-four years when he died at Eton in Buckinghamshire where his passing was recorded (Ref. 6a 977) in the third quarter of 1971

2R64 – William G Collett was born in 1915 at Hampstead; died there in 1915

2R65 – William G Collett was born in 1916 at Hampstead

John Francis Collett [2Q56] was born at 3 Hanover Street in Kentish Town in London on 15^th October 1895, when his birth was recorded at St Pancras (Ref. 1b 313). In 1900 his family was living at 70 Carlton Road in Kentish Town, but by March 1901 they were living at 4 Cleveland Villas in Willesden when John was recorded as being five years old. Ten years later in April 1911 the family had moved east to 134 Fleet Road in Hampstead, where John Francis Collett was 15. On leaving school he joined the Royal Navy and it was as Able Seaman Collett J/19404 serving on board HMS Astraea in Duala when he died from peritonitis on 28^th January 1916. As his next-of-kin, his parents W H Collett and Mrs E Collett were notified of his death at their home at 50 Lawn Road in Hampstead. John Francis Collett was buried on 29^th January 1916 at Duala Cemetery. The naval record for John Francis Collett has been generously provided by Hilary A Collett (Ref. 2S47), the granddaughter of John’s brother Arthur, and is reproduced below

His full-time service began on 15^th October 1913, his eighteenth birthday, when he signed on for twelve years. Prior to that he had been employed as an errand boy, and also took part in some part-time naval training. He was not a tall man, being only five feet five inches, and having brown hair, brown eyes, and a fresh complexion. The only distinguishing mark was a scar on his left cheek. As early as August 1912 he had attended naval training initially as a Boy Class 2 at Vivid I, and then as a Boy Class 1 on board HMS Implacable which was moored at The Nore, a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary. In April 1913, again as a Boy Class 1, John spent three weeks with HMS Pembroke, the shore-based barracks at Chatham. It was on his full enrolment on 15^th October 1913 that John Francis Collett was assigned to HMS Astraea as an ordinary able seaman. The year-end report for 1913 confirmed that his character was ‘very good’ and that his ability was ‘satisfactory’

The same result was achieved in his report at the end of 1914 and 1915. It was less than a month later that the last entry was made, confirming that he died on board HMS Astraea at Duala in Cameroon, West Africa on 28^th January 1916. Very little appears to have been written about HMS Astraea apart from the fact that it was based out of the Cape of Good Hope for much of Great War. It was one of three cruisers that comprised the Cape Squadron whose primary role was to protect the trade routes of the British Empire. Its main claim to fame was its involvement in the bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanganyika. The ship's log for the year from March 1915 to May 1916 (ADM 53/34353) confirmed the HMS Astraea was in Africa. On the first March 1915 the ship was anchored at Simon’s Town, near Cape Town. It sailed from there on 13th April 1915 and arrived at Duala Harbour in Cameroon on 28th April 1915, where it was moored for the next twelve months, during which time John Collett died there during January 1916

Arthur Thomas Collett [2Q57] was born on 11^th August 1897 at 3 Hanover Street in Kentish Town and his birth was also recorded at St Pancras (Ref. 1b 75). His father’s occupation on the birth certificate was stated as being a piano maker and journeyman, whereas twenty-three years later on his marriage certificate it was house painter. In 1900 Arthur and his family were living at 70 Carlton Road in Kentish Town but, shortly after, at the time of the census of 1901, they had moved to 4 Cleveland Villas in Willesden, where Arthur was three years old. During the latter part of the next decade the family moved house again, and by 1911 they were living at 134 Fleet Road in Hampstead where Arthur Thomas Collett was 13. On 5^th October 1915 Arthur Thomas Collett became Private Collett G/13237 with the Middlesex Regiment and during the First World War he fought in France, and Salonika where he contracted malaria. After the war Arthur worked as a painter and decorator in North London

He later married Elsie May Bowers on 12^th February 1921, their wedding recorded at Hackney register office. On the marriage certificate Arthur was 23 and a plumber journeyman, while his bride was 18. The address for both of them was given as 61 Park Lane in Stoke Newington. Elsie was the daughter of tailor and journeyman Thomas Bowers Cheek and his wife Alice Rose Potter, and was born at 56 St Pauls Road in Camden on 30^th May 1902 although, at some time in his life Elsie’s father simply referred to himself as Thomas Bowers. During their marriage Elsie presented her husband with two sons and two daughters, all of whom were born while the family was living at Stoke Newington. Tragically the couple’s eldest son died at Stoke Newington during the year after he was born

Sometime during the 1930s Arthur and his family left Park Lane in Stoke Newington in North London when they made the move to live in South London. In 1947 Arthur’s and Elsie’s eldest daughter Kathleen emigrated to America and once she was settled there with her husband (see later details) Elsie went to stay with the couple for a holiday. That took place in 1949, and so impressed was Elsie with the lifestyle out there, that on returning to England she discussed moving there with Arthur. Arthur was not at all keen to leave England and in the end the couple decided that the best course of action for them both was to sell their house and for each to walk away with half the proceeds. It was therefore in 1951 that Elsie finally left England and joined her daughter in America, and it was four years later on the 13^th September 1955 at San Francisco, that she became a naturalised American

Nearly thirty years later Elsie Collett was visited in California by her granddaughter Hilary Collett, the daughter of her son Ralph, while she was touring in America. Elsie was still very enthusiastic about her ‘changed lifestyle’ in the States and proudly showed off her electric cooker and washing machine, and was completely unaware that these were also everyday items back home in Great Britain. And it was while at Rose Hospital in Hayward, California, that Elsie died on 20^th February 2001. However, she was not laid to rest for another fortnight, when she was eventually buried at the Chapel of Chimes in Hayward on 2^nd March 2001. Arthur Thomas Collett remained in England and later moved to Weymouth where he died on 9^th February 1987. At that time, he was living in an Old Peoples’ Home near to where his youngest daughter Muriel was living at that time

2R66 – Ronald Arthur Collett was born on 28^th November 1921 at Stoke Newington; died 1922

2R67 – Kathleen Wilhelmina Collett was born in 1923 at Stoke Newington

2R68 – Ralph Hubert Collett was born in 1925 at Stoke Newington

2R69 – Muriel Theodora Collett was born in 1928 at Stoke Newington

Grace Ellen Amelia Collett [2Q58] was born at 70 Carlton Road in Kentish Town on 8^th December 1900, while her birth was recorded at St Pancras early in 1901 (Ref. 1b 136). She was three months old in March 1901 when living with her family 4 Cleveland Villas in Willesden. Around ten year later she and her family had moved to Hampstead and were living at 134 Fleet Road in Hampstead when she was recorded as Grace Ellen Amelia Collett aged ten years. Grace followed the profession taken up by her father and by the time that she was married she was a pianoforte action maker living at 50 Lawn Road in Hampstead. She married Jacob (Jack) Nahum at Hampstead register office (Ref. 1a 10) on 7^th January 1922. Jack was a carpet repairer working at Harrods and was living at 1 South Hill Park and was born at Smirna in Turkey, the son of grocer Israel Nahum. Their marriage produced four daughters for the couple. Jack served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War and died at Uxbridge in 1950 at the age of 51, where his death was registered during the September quarter of that year (Ref. 5f 109). Later in her life, Grace and some of her children were known to be living in America and feature in the Matregrano family history – see details regarding her second daughter below

The first of the couple’s four daughters was Vera R Nahum who was born in London, the birth being recorded at the St Pancras register office during the first three months of 1923 (Ref. 1b 235). She later married Albert Salem in London during the September quarter of 1944 (Ref. 1c 30), who had been born at Bethnal Green in the June quarter of 1923 (Ref. 1c 230). Their marriage produced a son, Victor Salem, who was born at Ealing in early 1949 (Ref. 5e 103), and he married Esther H Richards at Kensington in the second quarter of 1970 (Ref. 5c 1906), Esther having been born at Hampstead in the summer of 1951 (Ref. 5c 1212). The second daughter was Simie Nahum who was born at Islington during the last three months of 1925 (Ref. 1b 235), and she married Louis J Matregrano during the June quarter of 1945 at Brentford in Middlesex (Ref. 3a 1005). Rita S Nahum was the third daughter and she was born at Brentford in the first three months of 1932 (Ref. 3a 271) and she married Isaac Eskenazi during the second quarter of 1952 at London City (Ref. 5d 246). Isaac was born at Hammersmith at the start of 1934 (Ref. 1a 302). The last of the four girls was Pearl G Nahum who was born at Brentford at the end of 1933 (Ref. 3a 234) and she married Benjamin Salamon in the September quarter of 1955 at London City (Ref. 5d 339). Their only known child was Londa Salamon who was born at Wandsworth during the third quarter of 1956 (Ref. 5d 950). It was in September 1949 that grace’s widowed mother Ellen Caroline Collett nee Harris passed away, following which management of her estate of just over £222 was granted to Grace Ellen Amelia Nahum

Albert Edward Collett [2Q60] was born in 1905, the youngest child of William Henry Collett and his wife Ellen Caroline Harris. In 1901 his family was living at 70 Carlton Road in Kentish Town, while in 1911 Albert Edward (Bertie) Collett was five years of age and living with his family at 134 Fleet Road in Hampstead. Whether he was born at one of these addresses is still not known. Sadly, his life was short-lived when he died at the age of 22, the death of Bertie Collett being recorded at Hendon register office (Ref. 3a 483) during the first three months of 1928

Arthur John Collett [2Q62] was born at Plumstead on 9^th November 1905, his birth recorded at Woolwich register office (Ref. 1d 107), the only known child of Edmund Alfred Collett and Everell Williams. He may have been born when his parents were living at 107 Piedmont Road in Plumstead, while of the day of the census in 1911, they were living at 42 Griffin Road in Plumstead, when Arthur John Collett was five years old. He married Winifred Ada Port in 1935, with their wedding recorded at Woolwich register office (Ref. 1d 127) during the second quarter of the year. Winifred was born in 1902 and her birth was recorded at Dartford register office (Ref. 2a 362) during the third quarter of that year, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Port of Kent. Their marriage produced just the one son, Adrian G Collett, who would have been only twelve or thirteen when his grandfather Edmund Alfred Collett died in 1950. Arthur John Collett was 66 years old when he died in 1972, his death recorded at Battle register office (Ref. 5h 41) in Sussex during the second quarter of that year. His wife Winifred Ada Collett nee Port had passed away eight years earlier on 31^st May 1964, following which probate was granted in London to her husband Arthur John Collett on 8^th July 1964, when he was referred to as “an outside representative”. Probate also confirmed that Winifred’s home address was 100 Harefield Road in Uxbridge, but that she died in St John’s Hospital in Uxbridge. Her estate was valued at £1,299. It was also at Uxbridge register office that the death of Winifred Ada Collett was recorded (Ref. 5f 37), when she was 61 years old

2R70 – Adrian G Collett was born in 1937 at Uxbridge

Harold Ernest Collett [2Q63] was born at Dartford towards the end 1914, with his birth recorded at Dartford register office (Ref. 2a 23) during the first three months of 1915. He was the only known child of Herbert Edward Collett and his first wife Florence Mary Darvell from Cumberland. Harold was an engraver who fought in Egypt during the Second World War. It is interesting that he retired from work in 1979, at a time in his life when he was residing at 18B Langley Street, which runs between Long Acre and Shelton Street in the Covent Garden area of London. The marriage of Harold E Collett and Barbara Olive Odell took place at the London City Temple Church in 1980, when Harold was 65 and Barbara was 40. Their wedding was recorded at London City register office (Ref. 14 75) during the spring of 1980

Lillian Jane Rosalie Collett [2Q67] was born at North Bay, Nipissing in Ontario on 28^th September 1909, the second of the three children of Alfred Edward Hersey Collett and Sybil Ellis. As simply one-year-old Lillian Collett, she was living with her family North Bay in the census of 1911. She was nearly thirty-six when she married Albert Wood on 11^th September 1945

Thomas Ernest Bertrand A Collett [2Q68] was born at North Bay, Nipissing in Ontario on 19^th December 1910, the only son of Alfred, a brakeman, and Sybil Collett. It is likely that the A on his birth certificate was for Alfred, who was recorded as Ernest Collett, being five months old, in the census of 1911. He later married Bertha James on 26^th November 1938, with whom he had three children

2R71 – Thomas Alfred Collett was born in 1940 in Canada

2R72 – David Frank Collett was born in 1942 in Canada

2R73 – Paul Robert Collett was born on 22^nd June 1944 in Canada

Reta May Collett [2Q69] was born at Parry Sound in Ontario on 11^th August 1902, the first-born child of Ernest Henry John Collett and Annie May Gillespie. She was nine years old in the Thunder Bay census of 1911, and much later she married Richard Alexander. Reta May Alexander nee Collett died on 17^th July 1954

Gerald Sherman James Collett [2Q70] was born at Parry Sound in Ontario on 6^th December 1903. As simply Gerald Collett, he was eight years of age in the Thunder Bay census of 1911. Twenty-five years later, he married Bessie Mildred Magee during 1935 and, at the time of the birth of their son, Gerald and Bessie were living in Winnipeg, where their daughter may also have been born

2R74 – Dorothy Gail Collett was born in 1940 in Winnipeg

2R75 – Gordon Ernest Collett was born in 1948 in Winnipeg

John Aubrey Beresford Collett [2Q71] was born at Parry Sound in Ontario on 12^th November 1906. It was as Jack Collett that he was living with his family at Thunder Bay in 1911, when he was five years old. He was twenty-eight when he married Bertha Miller on 6^th July 1935, with whom he had two daughters

2R76 – Shirley Ann Collett was born in 1940 in Canada

2R77 – Wendy Joan Collett was born in 1947 in Canada

Ivan Bertrand Collett [2Q72] was born at Parry Sound in Ontario on 10^th July 1908 and was three years old in the Thunder Bay census of 1911. He later married Constance Maud Page in 1934

2R78 – Beverley Lynn Collett was born in 1941 in Canada

2R79 – Judith Heather Collett was born in 1945 in Canada

Reginald George Collett [2Q73] was born at Croydon in Surrey in 1905, his birth recorded at Croydon register office (Ref. 2a 290) during the first quarter of the year. By the time he was six years old he and his family were living within the Walthamstow area of London according to the census in April in 1911. He married Thelma I Guest at Falmouth in the second quarter of 1939 (Ref. 5c 364), Thelma having been born at Falmouth in Cornwall (Ref. 5c 236) in the first three months of 1921. It was at Falmouth where the couple was living when their daughter, a honeymoon baby, was born and it was also there where Thelma was recorded as a widow in the Electoral Rolls of 2002 to 2005 when she was residing at 94 Kimberley Park Road in Falmouth. Reginald George Collett, who had been born in 1905, died in Nottinghamshire where his death was recorded during the third quarter of 1992 (Ref. 8 933)

2R80 – Valerie J Collett was born in 1939 at Falmouth

Sidney John Percy Collett [2Q75] was born at Ayrsome Road in Stoke Newington, London on 9^th March 1908, his birth recorded at Hackney register office (Ref. 1b 392) during the first quarter of the year. Not long after he was born his family moved to Walthamstow where he was three years of age in the census of 1911. He married Edith M Russell at Greenwich in London during the last three months of 1944. Edith was born at Mile End Old Town in London, in the second quarter of 1916 (Ref. 1c 743) and, it appears, that she died at Hammersmith/Fulham during the final three months of 2005

Phyllis Margaret Collett [2Q77] was born on 4^th May 1911 in New York State, the eldest of the four children of Percy and Margaret Collett. As Phyllis, she was four years of age in the census of 1915, and was nine in the census of 1920 when, as Margaret, she was living at 117 Roth Street in Rochester. After the family was completed, a family trip to England was undertaken, their return journey from Southampton to Ellis Island made in the first week of October 1924, when Phyllis Margaret Collett was 13. Six years after that, the family was recorded at Meeth Park in Rochester where, again as Margaret, she was 18 and working as working as an office clerk for the Kodak Company, where her father was also employed

The marriage of Margaret P Collett and George Coons was conducted in Monroe County on 7^th April 1934, when Phyllis was 22 and still working as a clerk, and George was 29, having been born on 29^th April 1904. The parents of the bride were confirmed as Percy A Collett and Margaret M Huett, while George’s parents were named as John Coons and Margaret C Bonier. Again, as Margaret P Coons, she was 47, when she died on 16^th July 1958 at Rochester in Monroe County, New York. The much later death of her husband was also recorded at Rochester during April 1980, at the age of 76

Winifred Alexander Collett [2Q79] was born in 1919 and possibly at Rochester in New York State, where his younger brother (below) was born two years later. As Winifred Collett, he was one year old in the Rochester census in 1920, when he and his family were residing at 117 Roth Street in Rochester. Just over four months after that census day, Winifred A Collett died on 2^nd May 1920 at 117 Roth Street

Ernest John Collett [2Q80] was born on 9^th July 1921 at 117 Roth Street in Rochester, New York State, America, the fourth child and only surviving son of Percy Alexander Collett and Margaret May Huett, born of them born in London. He was only a couple of years old when his family travelled to England, possibly for the funeral of Ernest’s maternal grandfather, where they stayed at the home of Louise Huett at 1 Miranda Road in Upper Holloway, London. The family then made their way to Southampton from where, on 1^st October 1924, the ‘S S Homeric’ took the family to Ellis Island in New York when Ernest John Collett aged three years was listed on the passenger list of White Star Liner. By the time of the Rochester census in 1930, Ernest J Collett was eight years old when he and his parents were living at 6 Meech Park and, when he was 18 in 1940, he was again living with his family there, but had no job of work

Four years later, the marriage of Ernest John Collett, of 236 Spence Avenue in Rochester, and Clarice Esther Bradshaw, of 25 Gale Terrace in Rochester, was conducted at Solano in California on 14^th July 1944. Ernest was recorded as being 23 and the son of Percy Collett and Margaret Huett, with Clarice being 20 and the daughter of Gerald E Bradshaw and Elva I James. As far as is known, Ernest and Clarice only had one child, their son David. When Ernest died on 1^st October 1991, at the age of 70, he was buried at the Grove Place Cemetery in Chili, just south-west of Rochester, where his father and mother were buried

2R81 – David John Collett was born in 1946

Dorothy Alice Collett [2Q83] was born at Battersea within the London Borough of Wandsworth in 1903, the eldest child of Denbigh Collett and Alice Louise Gant, and it was at Wandsworth register office that the birth was recorded (Ref. 1d 643). By the time of the census in 1911 Dorothy was eight years old when she was living with her family at 100 Faraday Road in Wimbledon. No further details are currently known about her after that time

Evelyn Maud Collett [2Q84] was born at Pimlico in 1905, the second child of Denbigh and Alice Collett. Her birth was recorded at St George Hanover Square register office (Ref. 1a 449) during the second quarter of the year. She was five years old in 1911 by which time her family was residing at 100 Faraday Road in Wimbledon. Like her sister Dorothy (above), nothing further is known about her at this time

Edward Denbigh Collett [2Q85] was born at Fulham on 15^th November 1906, the only son of Denbigh Collett and Alice Louise Gant. In 1911 he and his family were living at 100 Faraday Road in Wimbledon, when Edward was four years old. He was living at Kingston-on-Thames in Surrey during October 1928 when he married Audrey G Barnett, recorded at Kingston register office (Ref. 2a 25), during the last three months of that year. Audrey was born at Eltham in Kent during the fourth quarter of 1902 (Ref. 2a 1105) and it was during the second quarter of 1929 when their only known son was born at Kingston. Previously it was stated here that Edward had emigrated to Canada at some time in his life. However, it is now established that he was living in south Kent, not far from Folkestone, when he died, his death being recorded at Shepway register office (Ref. 16 1359) during the third quarter of 1977 under the name Edward Denbigh Collett. His wife had already passed away by then, the death of Audrey G Barnett being recorded at Dover register office (Ref. 5f 1174) during the final quarter of 1972

2R82 – Denbigh J Collett was born in 1932 at Kingston-on-Thames

Betty Kathleen Collett [2Q86] was born at Fulham on 18^th July 1918, one of the four daughters of Denbigh and Alice Collett. She grew up in Pimlico and then lived at New Malden in Surrey, but later moved to Daventry in Northamptonshire after marrying Arnold (Basil) Hall from Surrey. Their marriage produced three children Mary Hall, Peter Hall, and Geoffrey Hall who is the father of Jan Boneham nee Hall of Barby near Rugby who kindly provided the details about her family. Betty Kathleen Hall nee Collett passed away at the age of 97 on 28^th December 2015 and was cremated on 7^th January 2016

Mary Collett [2Q87], who was known as Molly, was born at Fulham in 1922, the youngest child of Denbigh Collett and Alice Louise Gant. She later married to become Molly Bobin, and her son David Bobin is a presenter on Sky Sports Television. Mary (Molly) Bobin nee Collett died after February 2000 and before February 2004

Jack E Collett [2Q93] was born at 454 Arthur Street in Schenectady, New York State, during 1927, the last child of Ormonde Collett and Alice Amelia Hulber. It seems likely that he was born at the end of 1927, for him to be described as two years old in the Schenectady census of 1930, which was conducted on 1^st April that year. It was again at Arthur Street that he was living with his parents in 1940, at the age of 12. Three of the next five years were spent at high school, after which he took up work as a skilled mechanic and repairman of motor vehicles. Around the time he was seventeen years of age, he enlisted for military service on 5^th October 1945, the war in Europe having already ended earlier that year, and the Japanese surrender just one month prior to that date. His military record confirmed he had been born in 1927, had the rank of private, and was single without dependents.

Sometime later in his life, he married Irene Pajak, daughter of John Pajak, with whom he had four sons. By the time Irene died, she was already a wife. She was born at Ellsworth in Pennsylvania on 5^th April 1932 and was 67 years old when she passed away on 6^th December 1999. Two day later, her obituary, both in the Daily Gazette and the Times Union, stated that she had been a book-keeper, residing at Albany when she died at Schenectady, and that she was buried at Rotterdam just south-west of Schenectady. It article also described her sons as James E Collett and Bradley F Collett, who were living at Hudson Falls (New York), Jack E Collett who was living at Guilderland (New York) in 1999, and Russell J Collett who was living at Gorham (Maine) in 1999

2R83 - James E Collett was born in New York State

2R84 - Bradley F Collett was born on 23^rd November 1954 in New York State

2R85 - Jack E Collett was born in New York State

2R86 - Russell J Collett was born in New York State

Frank Percy Collett [2Q94] was born on 20^th November 1909, the eldest child of Algernon Percy Collett and Winifred Mary Gill, his birth being recorded at Stroud Green register office in the London Borough of Haringey (Ref. 3a 422) during the first three months of 1910. One year later the census in 1911 included Frank Percy Collett, aged one year, with his parents as visitors at the home of his aunt May Blossom Dunhill nee Collett at 14 Arnold Road in Tottenham. That temporary arrangement was followed by a move to Rochford in Essex where Frank’s three known siblings were born, before the whole family finally settled in Weston-Super-Mare. Frank was twenty-four when he married Norah Gibson at Plymouth in Devon on 19^th May 1934, where the event was recorded during the second quarter of the year (Ref. 5b 682). She was just over a month younger than Frank, having been born Nora Bridie G Gibson at Falmouth in Cornwall on 8^th January 1910, her birth recorded there at the start of that year (Ref. 5c 127)

In order to marry Norah, Frank switched from being a member of the Baptist Church to join Norah’s Catholic following. Over the next eighteen years Norah presented Frank with six children, with the births of the first two and the last two recorded in Gloucestershire, while it was at Dorset register office that the births of the middle two children were recorded. In all six cases, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Gibson. Frank Percy Collett died on 13^th November 1994, after suffering a major stroke, just one week before he would have celebrated his 85^th birthday. Norah survived her husband by eight years, when she passed away on 15^th January 2003, one week after her 93^rd birthday, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Frank and Norah are buried at Clevedon Cemetery, just north of Weston-super-Mare, overlooking the Severn River

2R87 - Anne Collett was born in 1936 at Bristol

2R88 - Mary Collett was born in 1938 at Bristol

2R89 - John B Collett was born in 1945 at Dorset

2R90 - Jane F Collett was born in 1947 at Dorset

2R91 – Josephine M (Josie) Collett was born in 1949 at Clevedon, Bristol

2R92 - Peter S Collett was born in 1952 at Clevedon, Bristol

Beryl M Collett [2Q95] was born in 1912, her birth being recorded at Rochford register office in Essex (Ref. 4a 1436) during the first three months of that year, the daughter of Algernon and Winnie Collett. She was only a few years old when her parents took the family to live in Weston-Super-Mare, perhaps even sometime during the Great War. She later married William L F Down at Axbridge in Somerset during the final three months of 1932 (Ref. 5c 1136). William had been born at Barnstaple in Devon during the fourth quarter of 1911 (Ref. 5b 744). It is not known at this time if they had any children

Muriel W Collett [2Q97] was born in 1916 the daughter of Algernon Percy Collett and Winifred Mary Gill which was confirmed at the Rochford register office (Ref. 4a 1319) during the first quarter of the year. Her family left Essex just after she was born and settled in Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset, and it was there that she married William Hancock. The register office there recorded the marriage as taking place during the first three months of 1938 (Ref. 5c 876). Over the following years Muriel presented William with four children. They were all born at Weston-Super-Mare and were Peter W Hancock (born Dec Qrt 1939 Ref. 5c 1281), Gillian M Hancock (born Dec Qrt 1941 Ref. 5c 1104), Margaret R Hancock (born Dec Qrt 1943 Ref. 5c 563), and Robert Hancock (born Mar Qrt 1946 Ref. 5c 562)

Sheila J Collett [2Q98] was born at Plymouth in 1927, the eldest of the two daughters of Stanley Collett and Ethel F Adams. It was also at Plymouth register office that her birth was recorded (Ref. 5b 277) during the first three months of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Adams. When she married Bernard Wesley Grimsey the event was recorded at Surrey South Eastern register office during the third quarter of 1958 (Ref. 5g 1985). Bernard appears to have been born at Hackney in London during the last three months of 1928 (Ref. 1b 479)

Ursula D Collett [2Q99] may have been born when her father was posted overseas with the Royal Navy. She is believed to have married Peter Elliott and, like the wedding of her sister Sheila (above), it too was recorded at Surrey South Eastern register office (Ref. 5g 2117) during the third quarter of 1962. Once married Ursula presented Peter with a daughter Alison Elliott whose birth was recorded at Surrey South Eastern register office during the last three months of 1963

Cecil Lambert Collett [2Q100] was born at Brighton during the second quarter of 1887 (Ref. 2b 287), the eldest child of William Reuben Collett and his wife Jane Henrietta Collett. He was recorded as Cecil L Collett, aged three years in the Brighton census of 1891, and around four years later the family moved to Hasting, where again he was recorded as Cecil L Collett, who was 13 in 1901. Another move took the family to Burnham in Buckinghamshire where they were residing in 1911 when Cecil Lambert Collett was 23 and a grocer’s assistant working within the family business. Cecil was in his mid-thirties when he married Winifred A Cousens, the event recorded at nearby Eton register office (Ref. 3a 2054) during the last three months of 1925. It is possible that his wife was Winifred A Cousins, the daughter of William and Ellen Cousins and born in 1900 at Walthamstow in London. Cecil Lambert Collett, master grocer, was named, with his brother Percy (below), as the join executors of their mother’s personal effects at Oxford in 1952, following her death the previous year. Cecil Lambert Collett died at Hammersmith in London, where his passing was recorded (Ref. 5b 1588) during the second quarter of 1973

Percy Herbert Collett [2Q101] was born at Brighton in 1888, the second child of William and Jane Collett, and his birth was recorded at Brighton register office (Ref. 2b 270) during the last three months of the year. He was two years old in Brighton in 1891 and was 12 years of age in 1901, by which time he and his family were living in Hastings. Ten years later Percy Herbert Collett, aged 22, was still living with his family, but at Eton in Buckinghamshire. He married Dorothy H Webb at Greenwich in London during the last three months of 1925 (Ref. 1d 1717), while Dorothy was born at Kingston-on-Thames in Surrey during the third quarter of 1890 (Ref. 2a 305). One later record discovered, relating to Percy, was at the time of the death of his widowed mother in 1951, following which Percy Herbert Collett, a newsagent’s manager, was one of the two executors of his late mother’s estate when her Will was proved in Oxford. Percy Herbert Collett died at Worthing in 1970 and his widow Dorothy died seven years later when her death was also recorded at Worthing (Ref. 18 2112) but under her full name of Dorothy Helena Collett

Major Edwin Collett [2Q109] was born at Cornforth in County Durham during 1907, the only known child of Alwyn Collett and his wife Beatrice Othick Clarke, his birth recorded at Sedgefield register office (Ref. 10a 125) during the third quarter of the year. On the occasion of the census in 1911, Major Edwin Collett was three years old when he and his parents were residing at Croft Spa in Hurworth-on-Tees, his father being a railway signalman at the station that was Croft Spa. When he married Ruth Anderson (1907-1975) at Richmond in New South Wales, Australia in early 1930, the parents of Major Edwin Collett were confirmed as Alwyn and Beatrice Collett. The marriage resulted in the birth of two children, as listed below. It was also in New South Wales that Major Edwin Collett died in 1981

2R93 – Linda Ruth Collett was born during 1930 in Richmond, NSW

2R94 – Edwin Collett was born during 1932 in Richmond, NSW

Rowland Albert Collett [2Q110] was born at Southall, Middlesex in 1890, his birth being recorded at Uxbridge register office (Ref. 3a 42) during the third quarter of that year. He was the only son of Frank Charles Collett and his first wife Florence Ada Rowley who, in 1891 were living at Grove Terrace in Norwood, where Roland Albert Collett was eight-months-old. By 1901 the three of them were living in Truro St Mary where Rowland A Collett from Southall was 10 years old. Sadly, during the first decade of the new century his mother died and by 1911, his father had remarried and was living at Banbury in Oxfordshire. Where Rowland was at that time has not yet been discovered. However, it is established that he served King and Country during the First World War, when Rowland Albert Collett from Southall served with 2^nd Battalion of 5^th Reserve Battalion of the Grenadier Guards. His military record also confirmed that he was residing in Watford when he was discharge in 1919 at the age of 28. Eleven years after that, Rowland married Nellie Annie Jennings who was born at Sevenoaks in Kent during the second quarter of 1887. Their wedding was recorded at Watford register office (Ref. 3a 1303) during the first three months of 1930. Nellie and Rowland were married for twenty-six years, when he died at St Albans at the age of 65, the death of Rowland Albert Collett recorded at Hertfordshire register office (Ref. 4b 262) during 1956. The later death of widow was recorded at Watford register office (Vol. 10 0943) during the second quarter 1974 when her date of birth was recorded as 21^st May 1887

Alan Collett [2Q111] was born at Battersea in London on 26^th September 1897, the only known child of Ernest Austin Collett and Grace Bourne who were married just nine months earlier. Although Battersea was named as his place of birth in the census of 1901, it was at Wandsworth (Ref. 1d 657) during the last three months of 1897 that his birth was registered. The Battersea census in 1901 recorded Alan Collett, aged three years, living there with his parents at Broadlands Terrace on Nightingale Lane. What happened next in his life is unsure, but by 1911 he and his father were residing at Sledmere in the Driffield area, south-west of Bridlington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, when Alan Collett was 13. His mother, on that census day, was staying with her elderly parents at 78 Alfred Road in Hastings, but what happened to her after that time is not known, except that she died at Battle in Sussex in 1944, when Alan Collett, a poultry farmer, was name as one of the two executors of her estate valued at £3,077 15 Shillings and 5 Pence. Alan was around 33 when he married Winifred May Henderson at Hailsham in Sussex (Ref. 2b 120) during the last three months of 1930, Winifred having been born at Wandsworth (Ref. 1d 231) in the third quarter of 1898

It was also at Hailsham that his father died in 1955. It is perhaps a little curious that Alan and Winifred’s only known child was born fifteen years after they were married, and at the same place that Alan’s mother had died during the preceding year. The only other known facts regarding Alan Collett are that his death was recorded at Hastings during the month of August in 1991, after he had passed away at Ninfield on 6^th August 1991. His Will was proved at Brighton on 16^th September 1991 when his home address was recorded as ‘Alwyn’ on Bexhill Road in Ninfield, Battle, East Sussex. Curiously he was not the named executor of his father’s estate. Instead that role was granted by the probate office to his wife Winifred Collett and that it took nearly seven years to finally resolve some issues surrounding the settlement of his father’s estate

2R95 – Colette Collett was born in 1945 at Battle, Sussex

Kenneth Norton Collett [2Q112] was born at Chipping Norton in 1903, the only child of James Collett and his first wife Lavinia Gertrude Maud Gillett. By the time of the census in 1911 he and his parents were living in Coventry, when Kenneth was seven years old. Just fifteen months after that his mother died, and nearly eighteen months later his father married for a second time. Sadly, Kenneth Norton Collett was around 18 years old when he died during 1921, following which he was buried at Coventry on 5^th July 1921

Clarice Wilmore Annie Collett [2Q113] was born at Coventry on 25^th September 1914, the eldest child of James Collett and his second wife Alice Cresswell. Clarice later married Stanley Fish at St Michael’s Church, Stoke in Coventry on 24^th December 1939. Stanley was born at Hollis Road in Coventry 22^nd October 1913, the son of David Fish and his wife Louisa Stockdale. The marriage of Clarice and Stanley produced two children, the first of which was David Fish who was born in 1941, and in March 1946 their daughter Sheila Fish was born. Clarice Wilmore Annie Fish nee Collett lived a very long life and was thrilled to receive a birthday card from Queen Elizabeth II in 2014. It was eighteen months later that she passed away on 2^nd April 2016, following which she was cremated at Canley Crematorium in Coventry

Before she married Stanley, he had enlisted for military service the Royal Corps of Signals on 27^th May 1937 and was called to colours on 31^st August 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War. He served in France from the start of the war as a Lance Corporal, but was evacuated from Dunkirk on 30^th May 1940. Thereafter he served at various points around the UK and then returned to France, Holland and Germany with the Royal Artillery during 1944-45. He was discharged during October 1945. Thirty years later he was employed by General Electric Company at Coventry as a telecommunications engineer. Stanley Fish died at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry on 2^nd March 1980. Today, their son David Fish is married with two sons of his own, Richard Fish and Robert Fish

Marjorie Joyce Collett [2Q115], who was known as Joyce, was born at 20 Coombe Street in Coventry on 6^th June 1922, the youngest of the two surviving daughters of James Collett and Alice Cresswell. She attended the nearby school in Brays Lane and on completing her education she took up employment as a commercial clerk. At the time of her wedding, she was still living with her parents at 20 Coombe Street in Coventry. Marjorie was 19 when she married watcher-maker James Poynton who was born at Bacup in Lancashire on 6^th October 1914, the son of Solomon Poynton and Sarah Dobson. The marriage took place at St Michael’s Church in Stoke, Coventry on 20^th September 1941 and produced a son and a daughter for the couple. Their son Colin James Poynton was born at Bradford on 6^th April 1943 and, after the end of the war, the family returned to Coventry, where they lived with Marjorie’s parents at 20 Coombe Street for a few years. On leaving Coombe Street the family settled in Allesley, about four miles north-west of Coventry, and it was there that Marjorie presented James with their daughter, Julie Ann Poynton, who was born on 31^st July 1957

Thirteen year later, the family was living at 76 Church Lane in Stoke, Coventry. It was seven years later, James Poynton died at Coventry Hospital on 12^th October 1977, while his wife Marjorie Joyce Poynton nee Collett survived for a further five years, until she passed away at Coventry on 14^th January 1983. It was Colin Poynton, who now lives in Christchurch, New Zealand with his wife Jenny and their two daughters, who kindly provided the information about the second family of his grandfather James Collett. We are also grateful to Colin for supplying a written statement concerning his memories of that time just after the war, when he and his parents were staying at 20 Coombe Street, as detailed in Appendix Three at the very end of this section of Part 2

James Collett [2Q116] was born at 20 Coombe Street in Coventry on 1^st March 1926, the youngest of the four children of James and Alice Collett. James married Joan McCarthy on 14^th June 1952 at St Michael’s Church, Stoke in Coventry. Joan was born in Kent on 14^th June 1925. It was very likely James’ occupation that caused the couple to live in different places during their early life together, since each of their three children were born at different locations. However, by the time of the birth of their last child the family was settled back in Coventry, when they were living at 65 St Ives Road in Wyken, to the east of the city centre. It is therefore curious why the birth of that child was registered in the town of Meriden, to the west of Coventry. Joan Collett nee McCarthy died at Coventry on 18^th September 1985 and was survived by her husband for a further fifteen years, when James Collett died at Coventry on 10^th March 2001

2R96 – Roger Collett was born during 1953 in Scotland

2R97 – Angela Collett was born in 1954 at Pershore, Worcestershire

2R98 – Jacqueline Collett was born in 1965 at Coventry

Alfred William Collett [2Q117] was born at Camberley in Surrey, although it was at Farnham register office (Ref. 2a 323) that his birth was recorded during the third quarter of 1891, the eldest child of Frederick Collett and Louisa Agnes Baker who were not married on 5^th April, the day of the census that year. Therefore, his mother was with-child on the day that she married his father. Sometime after the birth of his sister Kathleen in 1896, Alfred’s family moved to nearby Aldershot where they were living in 1901 when Alfred was nine years old. It is unclear whether his father died during the first decade of the new century since he was not living with the family at Easthampstead, nor was Alfred. By that time Alfred Collett had already joined the British Army and was based at Colchester Barracks where he was recorded as Alfred Collett from Camberley who was 22

Perhaps because he became a professional soldier, Alfred W Collett was forty-nine when he married Violet M Card at Croydon (Ref. 2a 54) during the last three months of 1940. Violet Dorothy M Card was born at Islington in London, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 1b 37) during the second quarter of 1890 where her birth was recorded, the daughter of Henry and Edith Card. The couple was married for fourteen years when Alfred W Collett died in London, his death recorded at Hackney register office (Ref. 5c 117) in the first three months of 1955, when he was 65. Violet survived for a further twelve years when she passed away in 1967 at the age of 76, her death recorded at the Middlesex register office in Barnet (Ref. 5a 141) in the first quarter of that year

Kathleen Mary Collett [2Q118] was born at Camberley in 1896, her birth recorded at Farnham (Ref. 2a 119) during the final three months of the year. A year after she was born her father secured work in Aldershot, and it was there that Kathleen, aged four years, was living with her family in 1901. On leaving school she also left the family home, which by 1911 was in Easthampstead where just her mother was living with Kathleen’s younger siblings. On the day of the census that year Kathleen Collett from Camberley was 14 when she was staying with or just visiting her uncle Algernon Collett and his family at Farnham

Ten years later she married Arthur Freeman May in the third quarter of 1921, the event being recorded at Windsor register office (Ref. 2c 1163). He was born at Easthampstead during the first quarter of 1896 (Ref. 2c 404). Against the norm, it was Kathleen Mary May nee Collett who passed away first, when she died at Windsor in the second quarter of 1961 (Ref. 6a 205), while it was over eighteen years later that her husband died at Bracknell where his death was recorded (Ref. 19 0026) in last quarter of 1979. Their marriage produced a son Nigel E May who was born at Windsor in 1925 (Ref. 2c 697), who married Pamela J Sermon at Windsor in the second quarter of 1958 (Ref. 6a 393). Pamela presented Nigel with two children, both born at Windsor, and they were Jacqueline May (born in 1959) and Nigel K May (born in 1961)

Ernest Frederick Collett [2Q119] was born at Aldershot in 1899, the son of Frederick and Louisa Collett whose birth, like those of his siblings, was recorded at Farnham register office (Ref. 2a 110) during the first three months of 1900. Sadly, it was during the next few years when his father died leaving eleven-year-old Ernest living at Royal Oak Cottages, Fern Bank Road in Ascot Heath with his mother and his two younger brothers (below) in April 1911. He was thirty years old when he married Grace Emily Austin at Easthampstead in Berkshire during the second quarter of 1929 (Ref. 2c 1069). Grace was born at Windsor during the last three months of 1904 (Ref. 2c 412). The marriage produced one child who was born at Windsor. The death of Ernest Frederick Collett was recorded at Windsor register office (Ref. 6a 168) in the final three months of 1951. Just over twelve years later Grace Emily Collett nee Austin passed away, her death also recorded at Windsor (Ref. 6a 222) during the first quarter of 1965

2R99 – Cynthia A Collett was born in 1931 at Windsor

Harry Edward Collett [2Q120] was born at Aldershot in 1901 according to the census in 1911, although his birth was recorded at Farnham register office (Ref. 2a 120) during the second quarter of 1901. He was the son of Frederick and Louisa Collett, but it was just with his widowed mother and his two brothers Ernest (above) and Harold (below) that he was living at Royal Oak Cottages, Fern Bank Road in Ascot Heath by the time of the 1911 Census when he was 10 years old. It was sixteen years later that he married Dora Decima Bowyer at Windsor where the marriage was recorded (Ref. 2c 836) during the first three months of 1927. Coincidentally Dora was born at Easthampstead during the June quarter of 1904 (Ref. 2c 419), so it seems likely that it was there that they first met

Their marriage produced a total of five children who were all born at Easthampstead, the first of them being born within the same three months that the couple was married. Harry Edward Collett died in 1973 when his death was recorded at Windsor register office (Ref. 6a 631) during the second quarter of that year. Dora Decima Collett nee Bowyer was a widow for just six years, when she passed away, with her death also being recorded at Windsor (Ref. 19 0703) in the June quarter of 1979

2R100 – James Ronald K Collett was born in 1927 at Easthampstead

2R101 – Vera Grace Collett was born in 1929 at Easthampstead

2R102 – Lewis Edward Collett was born in 1935 at Easthampstead

2R103 – Doris A Collett was born in 1937 at Easthampstead

2R104 – Freda Collett was born in 1940 at Easthampstead

Harold Percival Collett [2Q121] was born at Aldershot during the third quarter of 1903, the son and last child of Frederick Collett and Louisa Agnes Baker. Harold hardly knew his father, who died when he was still very young, and by the time of the census in 1911 seven-year-old Harold Percival was living at Royal Oak Cottages, Fern Bank Road in Ascot Heath with his mother and two older brothers (above). Nothing further is known about Harold at this time, except that his death was recorded at Bracknell register office (Ref. 19 0039) in Berkshire during June 1981 at the age of 77

Ruby Cornelia Collett [2Q122] was born at Little Rissington on 20^th September 1895, the first child of Lewis Collett and Blanche Kate Wyatt, who were only married a few weeks before she was born. Her birth was recorded at Sow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 349). For whatever reason, by the time her next two siblings had been born, Ruby was being cared for by her maternal grandmother in 1901 and again in 1911. On both occasions Ruby was staying at the Bell Inn at Bourton-on-the-Water, the first time when she was five and later when she was 15 and a dressmaker’s apprentice. In each of the census returns her place of birth was stated as being Little Rissington, while her grandmother in 1901 was named as Mary Tyler and in 1911 as Mary Giles, each time her place of birth was given as Great Rissington

The marriage of Ruby Cornelia Collett, aged 23 and the daughter of Louis Collett, a groom/gardener deceased, and Herbert Austin Lane who was 22 and the son of Austin Albert Lane, took place at Bourton-on-the-Water on 6^th February 1919, six years after the death of her mother. Their wedding was recorded at Stow register office (Ref. 6a 749). Their marriage resulted in the birth of four children, the births of whom were recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office when, in each case, their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. They were Austin A Lane in 1919, Walter C Lane in 1921, Kathleen M J Lane in 1927 and Gerald L Lane in 1929. Nothing further is known about the family, except that the death of Ruby Cornelia Lane, nee Collett, aged 75, was recorded at Banbury register office (Ref. 6b 2801) during the spring of 1971

Blanche May Collett [2Q123] was born at Lower Slaughter in 1897, her birth recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold (Ref. 6a 361) during the last quarter of that year. Shortly after she was born the family settled in Bourton-on-the-Water where Blanche M Collett of Lower Slaughter was three years of age in 1901 and was 13 years old in the Bourton census of 1911, when she was recorded under her full name. Blanche was twenty-two when she became a married lady, the wedding of Blanche M Collett and William Poole recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 737) during the first three months of 1920. The births of their first two children were recorded at Bristol and, by the time the couple’s third child was born, the family was residing in the Eastbourne area of Sussex. On each occasion, the mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Collett. The three children were Harold J Poole was born in 1930, Bernice R Poole was born in 1932 and Letitia A Poole was born in 1935. Her youngest child was only nineteen years old when Blanche died, the death of Blanche M Poole, aged 57, recorded at Ealing register office in London (Ref. 5e 82) during the final quarter of 1954

William Seymour Collett [2Q124] was born at Bourton-on-the-Water on 12^th March 1900, the second child and eldest of the three sons of Lewis Collett and Blanche Kate Wyatt. His birth, like his two older siblings, was recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 427) and, in the Bourton census for 1901, he was William S Collett aged one-year. By the time of the next census in 1911, his family was still residing in Bourton, where William Seymour Collett was 11 years old. On 21^st May 1925, the Edinburgh Gazette described William Seymour Collett as being a mail sorting clerk and telegraphist from Dudley. He was 73 years old when he died, although nothing is currently known about his life immediately prior to that. The death of William Seymour Collett was recorded at Exeter register office (Ref. 7a 3) during the first three months of 1973

Charles Henry Collett [2Q125] was born at Bourton-on-the-Water in 1902, his birth recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 429) during the second quarter of the year, another child of Lewis and Blanche Collett. Using his full name, he was living with his family at Bourton-on-the-Water when he was nine years old

Horace Lewis Collett [2Q126] was born at Bourton-on-the-Water on 2^nd August 1910, his birth also recorded at Stow register office (Ref. 6a 380) as Horace L Collett. He was the youngest known son of Lewis Collett and Blanche Kate Wyatt and, in the Bourton census of 1911, Horace Lewis Collett was just eleven months old. Tragically, he was two years old when his mother died at Bourton-on-the-Water, perhaps during the birth of a further child for the family. It is possible, though not proved, that Horace L Collett married Alice E Smith, the event recorded at Islington register office (Ref. 1b 70) during the first quarter of 1938. Like his brother William (above), nothing is known about the life of Horace, except that he was 70 years of age when he died in 1981, his death recorded at the Windsor & Maidenhead register office (Vol. 19 39) early in that year

Stanley Edwin Collett [2Q131] was born at Little Rissington on 21^st November 1923, his birth recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 104) during the first month of 1924, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Burford. He was the eldest of the three children of Edwin Collett of Little Rissington and Violet Evelyn Annie Burford from Ryde on the Isle of Wight. In the 1939 Register, he was 16 and a gardener living with his family at Little Rissington. It is likely that, as Stanley E Collett, he married Nellie Carpenter, their wedding recorded at Chipping Norton register office (Ref. 6a 113) during the second quarter of 1950. The marriage produced two sons whose birth were also recorded at Chipping Norton, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Carpenter. Just after the turn of the century, the death of Nellie Collett was recorded at Oxfordshire (Ref. 6951s) towards the end of 2001

2R105 – Stephen A Collett was born in 1952 at Chipping Norton

2R106 – William G Collett was born in 1954 at Chipping Norton

Vera Evelyn Collett [2Q132] was born at Little Rissington on 31^st January 1927 and was still attending school, according to the 1939 Register, when she was 12 years of age. Her birth was also recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 602), when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Burford. Thirteen years later, on 20^th March 1952, Vera E Collett married Allan C Grundy, the event recorded at Portsmouth register office (Ref. 6b 1123) during the first quarter of the year

Howard Victor Collett [2Q133] was born at Little Rissington in 1929, his birth recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 542) during the fourth quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Burford. He was the third and last child of Edwin Collett and Violet Evelyn Annie Burford who was not living at Little Rissington with his family in 1939. At that time, he may have born at a boarding school. After the death of his father in 1940, an adult Howard Victor Collett was the only child still living with his widowed mother, according to the Little Rissington electoral roll in 1951. It was during the second quarter of the following year, when the marriage of Howard V Collett and Rosemary M Hook was recorded at the North Cotswold register office (Ref. 7b 133). Rosemary was very slightly younger than Howard, her birth recorded at Tewkesbury (Ref. 6a 10) in 1931. The marriage produced two children for Howard and Rosemary, their births both recorded at Cheltenham, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hook. Not long after the sons were born, the family of four was living at Little Rissington, as confirmed by the electoral roll in 1964. Many years later, Howard V Collett and Rosemary M Collett from Cheltenham, were residing at 6 Letch Hill Drive in Bourton-on-the Water during the early years of the twenty-first century

2R106 – Nicholas E Collett was born in 1957 at Cheltenham

2R108 – Peter J Collett was born in 1962 at Cheltenham

Harold Algernon Collett [2Q134] was born on 26^th November 1905 at Camberley in Surrey, his birth recorded at Farnham register office (Ref. 2a 117) during the first quarter of 1906. He was the eldest of the three children of Algernon Collett and Susan Elizabeth Baker who were married at Colchester in Essex nine months earlier. Following the birth of his sister Ivy (below), the family left Camberley and moved the short distance south to Frimley, where they were living in 1911. The census that year included Harold Collett aged five years, whose place of birth was recorded as Camberley. Boarding with the family that day was Henry Watts from nearby Aldershot, who was 30 and a painter. It is therefore interesting that later on, Harold became a painter and a decorator and that was how he was described in 1954 following the death of his father, when he was granted administration of his late father’s personal effects. It was during the month of January in 1991 that Harold Algernon Collett died at the age of 85, his death being recorded at the Surrey North-Western register office (Ref. 17 772)

Walter Henry Collett [2Q135] was born at Camberley on 8^th August 1907, close to the county boundary between Surrey and Hampshire. His birth was recorded at Farnham register office (Ref. 2a 131), another son of Algernon and Susan Collett. He was later known by family and friends as Wally, but it was as Walter Collett that he was three years old in the Frimley census of 1911, having moved there after the birth of his sister Ivy (below). On that day, his place of birth was recorded as Camberley. Seventeen years later the marriage of Walter H Collett and Kathleen Hunt was recorded at the Hampshire register office in Hartley Wintney (Ref. 2c 534) during the second quarter of 1928, their wedding service conducted at Hartley Wintney on 26^th May 1928. Kathleen was the second daughter of Bertie John Hunt and Lottie Courtney, and was born at home at Bye Farm, Buckhorn Weston, in Dorset on 1^st October 1905. Sadly, Lottie Hunt died on 29^th March 1907, at the age of 32, when Kathleen was only seventeen months old and her sister Dorothy was three-and-a-half years of age. In 1913 widower Bertie Hunt married Mary Jane Bunn, who had worked on his farm in Dorset, with the family moving to Ancels Farm at Fleet in Hampshire accompanied by Bertie’s mother Florence Hunt. It was there in Fleet that Kathleen and Dorothy grew up together and where the sisters met Walter Collett. It is understood, that he initially took a shine to both girls, both vying for his attention, with Kathleen being the eventual winner

After they were married, Kathleen presented Walter with two daughters, the first of them was born seven months after their wedding day, and the next one five years later. Walter was an electrical engineer and worked for British Petroleum in Iran before the Second World War, and latterly for Clough Smith Limited, one of his last projects being the electrification of British Railways south-western mainline to Bournemouth. The death of Walter Henry Collett, aged 60, was recorded at Aldershot register office (Ref. 6b 33) during the third quarter of 1967. He died from cancer on 12^th September 1967 while in Fleet Hospital, following which his ashes were buried in the Hunt family grave at Fleet Cemetery (section B, plot 150) alongside those of his wife and daughter Kathleen Jean. It was the son of Kathleen Jean Collett, Anthony Canadine-Bate, who kindly provided the new family details in 2022, that has enabled this family line to be updated. He said of his grandfather that:

“He was a wonderful man who was loved and respected by all his family, friends and colleagues”. Although Anthony was approaching his fourteenth birthday when his grandfather died, he says of him “that he has always been a role-model, due to Anthony’s father being away at sea for long periods of time, so spent a great deal of time with his grandparents, who lived close by”

2R109 – Kathleen Jean Collett was born in 1928 at Hartley Wintney

2R110 – Maureen Jill Collett was in 1934 at Brighton

Ivy Blanch Collett [2Q136] was, according to the Camberley census of 1911, born at Frimley near Camberley in Surrey on 9^th October 1909, although her birth, like those of her two older brothers (above), was recorded at Farnham (Ref. 2a 114), the last known child born to Algernon and Susan Collett. She was baptised at St George’s Church in Camberley on 10^th December 1909 and was recorded as being one year old on the day of the census in 1911, when Ivy Collett was living with her family in Frimley. The marriage of Ivy B Collett and Kenneth G Full was recorded at the Surrey North-Western register office (Ref. 2a 35) during the first quarter of 1940. Kenneth George Full was born at Plymouth in 1912, and it was at Allenton, in Derby, where he died on 17^th July 2008. As far as can be determined, their only child, Ian D G Full, was born in 1942, his birth recorded at the Surrey North-Western register office (Ref. 2a 33) during the third quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett

Doris Evelyn Collett [2Q137] was born at Lewisham in 1907, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 1d 325) during the fourth quarter of that year. She was the only known child of Albert James Collett and his wife Beatrice Mary Cooper and, on the day of the census in 1911, the three of them were visitors at the Cambridge home of the Bolton family of Edward and Emma Bolton. That day Doris Evelyn Collett from Lewisham in London was three years old. She later married Christopher Whitaker with whom she had three children. Doris Evelyn Whitaker nee Collett was living at 19 Dane Court Gardens in St Peters Broadstairs in Kent when she died in 1995

Albert George Collett [2Q138] was born at Leighton Buzzard on 21^st August 1894, the older of the two sons of Walter Ebenezer Collett and Flora Emily Couchman, whose birth was recorded there during the third quarter of that year (Ref. 3b 372). The marriage of his parents also took place during the same year, but was recorded at Tunbridge Wells during the second quarter of 1894, just a matter of weeks before Albert was born. The Leighton Buzzard census returns for 1901 and 1911 recorded the family living there, and for the latter at 25B Hockliffe Street. Albert G Collett was six years old and, as Albert George Collett, was 16 years of age. By that time in his life, Albert was an apprentice plumber working with his father a plumber and gas hot water engineer. It would appear that he lived most of his life in Leighton Buzzard, and was married twice, the first time in London. It was at St Mary’s Church in Paddington that Albert George Collett and (1) Katherine Ellen Noonan were married by licence on 28^th August 1918 when they were both 24 years old. Albert of 47 Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard in the County of Bedfordshire, was a bachelor and a soldier, the son of Walter Ebeneezer Collett, a plumber. Katherine had no occupation and was residing at 46 Formosa Street close to the intersection with Shirland Road in Paddington, the daughter of Robert Joseph Noonan, a tailor. The witnesses were Robert Noonan (father) and Walter James Collett, Albert’s younger brother (below). The war-time Electoral Roll for Leighton Buzzard confirmed that Albert George Collett of 47 Hockliffe Street was a serving member of the Royal Army Medical Corp, as Lance Corporal Collett, 545167, with the 17^th Sanitary Section

Over the following four years, Katherine presented Albert with two children whose births were recorded at Leighton Buzzard, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Noonan. Their daughter was eleven years of age when Katherine Ellen Collett died at the age of 38, her death recorded at Leighton Buzzard register office (Ref. 3b 407) during the fourth quarter of 1933. After a further five years, widower Albert George Collett married (2) Florence Agnes Heley at Leighton Buzzard, where the event was recorded (Ref. 3b 28) during the last quarter of 1938. Florence had been born at Hendon in Middlesex during the summer of 1898. Their advanced ages meant that no children appear to have been born to the couple who, together with Albert’s son, were listed in the 1939 Register at 50 Stanbridge Road in Leighton Buzzard. Albert Collett was 45 and a plumber and a hot and cold-water engineer and heavy worker, Florence A Collett was 49 and her date of birth recorded as 1^st December 1891, and Walter R Collett was 19. The later death of Albert George Collett was recorded at Leighton Buzzard register office (Ref. 9 0371) during the last three months of 1975. However, it was fourteen years earlier that he was widowed for a second time, when the death of Florence A Collett was recorded in Bedfordshire (Ref. 6a 344) during 1961

2R111 – Walter Robert Collett was born in 1920 at Leighton Buzzard

2R112 – Joan Katherine Collett was born in 1922 at Leighton Buzzard

Walter James Collett [2Q139] was born at Leighton Buzzard (Ref. 3b 206) on 30^th January 1897, where he was living with his parents Walter Ebenezer Collett and Flora Emily Couchman in March 1901, when he was recorded in the census return as Walter J Collett who was four years old. Ten years later, when Walter James Collett was 14 and still at school, he and his family were residing at 25B Hockliffe Street in Leighton Buzzard. He was still living in Leighton Buzzard, but at 47 Hockliffe Street, on 30^th May 1918, when he was a sergeant in the Royal Air Force. It was on that day he obtained his flying certificate for de Havilland Biplanes while he was attending Military School at Hucknall in Nottinghamshire. Although further details of the life of Walter James Collett have still to be found, it seems likely that he was eventually married and that he and his wife adopted Evelyn, who was subsequently known as Evelyn Collett. The death of Walter James Collett aged 94, was recorded at Luton register office at the start of 1991

Anthony Cresswell Collett [2Q140] was born in Gloucestershire on 10^th January 1922, the only known child of Henry (Harry) James Allington Collett and Lilian Cresswell. The birth of Anthony C Collett was recorded at Stow-on-the-Wold register office (Ref. 6a 716) during the first three months of 1922. Apart from being named during the probate for his father Will in 1957, when his occupation was that of an omnibus conductor, nothing further is known about Anthony, except that he was residing in the Portsmouth area when he died in June 1981. The death of Anthony Cresswell Collett, aged 59, was recorded at Portsmouth register office (Ref. 20 0717)

Dorothy Violet Collett [2Q141] was born at 19 Victoria Terrace in Gillingham, Kent in March 1901, her birth recorded at Medway register office (Ref. 2a 697) during the second quarter of the year. Curiously, on the census day that year, Dorothy had only just been born, while the name recorded in the census return was Ethel Collett. After that day, her parents, Charles Ernest Lewis Collett and Florence Daphne Knight, obviously changed their minds about the name of their daughter, who ended up as Dorothy Violet. By the time Dorothy was ten years of age, she was her family were living at 102 Franciscan Road in the Tooting Graveney area of South London on the day of the census in 1911. She never married and was still living in Kent when she died in the spring of 1985, her death recorded at Swale register office (Ref. 16 1652), when she was 84 years old. Her death certificate gave her date of birth, in error, as 2^nd April 1901, when the census day that year was 31^st March, that being her more likely date of birth

Frank Charles Collett [2Q142] was born on 15^th June 1904 at Gillingham, possibly at 19 Victoria Terrace, where his family had been living in 1901. He was the youngest of the two children of Charles and Florence Collett, his birth recorded at Medway register office (Ref. 2a 749) during the third quarter of 1904. Under his full name, he was living with his family in 1911, by which time the family home was at 102 Franciscan Road, Tooting Graveney in Kent. Although no record has been found that would suggest was married at some time in his life, Frank was living in Bournemouth when he passed away in 1990, at the age of 85, his death recorded there (Ref. 23 301) at the start of that year

George William Collett [2Q143] was born at Newark, Nottinghamshire, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 7b 460) during the last three months of 1899. He was one-year-old in the Newark census of 1901, when he and his parents Joseph Collett Elizabeth Combes were living with George’s widowed grandfather William Combes at 1 Harcourt Street in Newark. The enlarged family was still living in Newark in 1911, where George was 11 years of age. He attended Magnus Church of England Grammar School in Newark but a year after his mother died in 1912 and a subsequent family move to Birmingham, he gave up his scholarship to take up work with the General Electric Company at Witton, working in munitions at the age of 13, where his father joined him shortly after. At the outbreak of war in the following year, and at the age of only 14, he volunteered and became Private Collett 3279 of the 8^th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He was a tall young man, so easily passed himself off as being 16 years of age

At that time in his life, George and his father were living at Holiday Road in Erdington. By the summer of 1916, his unit occupied the front-line trenches, two kilometres north-east of Albert Somme, close to the Lochnagar Crater. After four days, the troops were relieved by the 3^rd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment. However, during the night of 17^th July and the early hours of 18^th July 1916, there was heavy fighting, with many casualties, and it was during that battle when George William Collett was killed, aged just 16 years and 7 months, the youngest casualty of the war. He has no known grave, but his name is listed on the Thievpal Memorial and on a plaque in the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Newark. The probate process was concluded in London on 6^th December 1918, when the personal effects of George William Collett, amounting to £144 6 Shillings and 2 Pence, were left to his father Joseph Collett a munitions worker of Holiday Road in Erdington

His military history, prepared for an Independent Television [ITV] programme on the youngest casualty of the First World War reads as follows. “Soon after war had been declared, George enlisted at Aston in Birmingham and gave his residence as Erdington, Birmingham. He was 14, but 5 foot 9 inches tall and persuaded the authorities he was 19½. He served in the 8^th battalion, Warwickshire Regiment. He was killed in action on 18^th July 1916 when his trench came under heavy bombardment. The following is an extract from the Magnus School, in Newark, Diary of the Great War: ‘Friday 1 September 1916: Newark discovered that one of its bravest boys, George Collett, had been killed in action on 18 July 1916 – aged only 16. The military authorities knew he had been born in December 1899, in Harcourt Street, where his parents resided until his mother died, but decided to ignore his father’s request for him to be sent home, as he was strong enough to withstand the rigours of the trenches and wished to remain serving his country. Educated at the Magnus, he gave up his scholarship to enter paid employment and was determined to join the Army. The Army doctor who examined him commented that he was extremely well developed for someone under 20. George had completed his training and was in France before his father Joseph, a former Borough Councillor, discovered exactly where he was. Joseph asked the Army to send the boy home. George demurred and, in March, Joseph received a letter from the military authorities stating that:

‘George has been medically examined and found physically fit to bear the strain of active service and, as he has expressed the wish to remain with his unit in the Expeditionary Force, he is being retained.’ George also wrote to Frances Hines, 17, the daughter of a butcher at 139 Barnbygate in Newark saying: ‘I think it is my duty to stop out here. I assure you that the wet, muddy trenches are no attraction – it is no delight to sit in two foot of water all night long. Nevertheless, why are we all sticking it so? Supposing all us chaps were to give in? Then the Boche would get through. We have seen and heard what the Germans did to the peasants when they advanced in the early part of the War. And we know they would do their work just as well on the English civilians, provided they got through and overran England. That is the reason we have got to hold out. So you can see the reason why I am sticking it. There are plenty of chaps not much older than me doing the same.’

Other Information and quoting from the ‘Boy Soldiers of the Great War’ by Richard Van Emden:

Another boy who slipped through the net was Private George Collett, a big and strong former grammar school pupil, who had enlisted aged 14 years. Instruction 1186 had permitted the wishes of the young lad to override those of his widowed father, enabling a boy of any age to stay in France, just no longer in the firing line. Removing George from the trenches would at least have come as some relief to his family. They had sought to reclaim George once, back in March 1916, when George’s father had written directly to the commanding officer, but his son did not want to come home. Before the June instruction, it had remained entirely at the discretion of the army whether George stayed or not, and the verdict had come down on the side of the young boy. The divisional doctor had examined him and he had been found physically fit to bear the strain of active service. The decision had then been endorsed and confirmed in writing to the family by the war office. After 13^th June, George, if he was still willing could stay in France, but he should have been removed from the firing line. Nevertheless, there appeared no question of this, as George had subsequently gone over the top on 1^st July 1916. He had survived, although at least 588 or around 75%, of his battalion were killed or wounded. His escape still did not precipitate a change. Barely a fortnight later, the battalion was sent back into the line, where George was killed. His body was lost, but his name is commemorated on the Somme’s Thiepval Memorial to the Missing

Constance Ivy Collett [2Q144] was born at Newark on 23^rd March 1903 and was born at her parents’ home at 1 Harcourt Street in the town. It was also at Newark that she married James Samuel Hinsby on 7^th April 1928. James was born on 19^th May 1897 at Loves Farm in St Neots. The marriage produced two children for Constance and James, they being Dorothy Marion Hinsby who was born on 8^th January 1932 and Patricia Jean Hinsby who was born on 31^st March 1935, both of them born at Balderton, just south of Newark. Constance Ivy Hinsby nee Collett died at Newark on 5^th August 1957 and sixteen years later James Samuel Hinsby died at Yeovil on 23^rd March 1973. It is thanks to Constance’s daughter Patricia who, together with her husband Reg Harvey, provided the information that has allowed this family line within Part 2 to be developed. However, further information received from Pat was the sad news that Reg had passed away on 24^th January 2011

Winifred Collett [2Q145] was born at Newark on 16^th March 1905, where she married Frank Ruddock Holmes on 5^th March 1927. Shortly after they were married the couple moved to Derby where their three children were born. The children were Margaret Ruddock Holmes, who was born on 18^th May 1932, Shirley Ruddock Holmes, who was born on 4^th August 1934, and John Ruddock Holmes who was born on 18^th November 1939. Frank Ruddock Holmes died during August 1968 while Winifred Ruddock Holmes nee Collett died just four and a half years short of her centenary, when she passed away at Derby on 10^th October 2000

Gertrude Collett [2Q147] was born at Newark on 7^th April 1908. She married George Frederick W Barrow on 5^th May 1930 at Tamworth where George was born in December 1905. Sometime during the first two years of their marriage life together Gertrude and George moved from Staffordshire to live in Bedfordshire, where their two children were born in the town of Bedford. They were John Adrian Barrow who was born on 3^rd October 1932 and Michael Charles Barrow who was born on 10^th July 1935. It was still in Bedfordshire that Gertrude Barrow nee Collett died in September 1955, her death being recorded at Biggleswade when her age was noted as being 47

Annie Collett [2Q149] was born at Glascote in Newark, Nottinghamshire, during the second quarter of 1900, the eldest child of Walter Collett and his wife Sarah Ross, when her birth was recorded at Tamworth (Ref. 6a 491). She later married John Whitehead in the summer of 1929, their marriage being recorded at Tamworth during the second quarter of the year. It seems likely that Annie presented John with a son John E Whitehead, whose birth was recorded at Sutton Coldfield in 1938. The birth of John Whitehead was registered at Tamworth during the first three months of 1902, and it was at Lichfield that he died in the summer of 1970. Annie Whitehead nee Collett was 82 when she died there during the last three months of 1982

Ethel Collett [2Q150] was born at Glascote in 1902, her birth recorded at Tamworth register office (Ref. 6a 489) during the second quarter of the year. It was also at Tamworth, where she was baptised on 10^th March 1902, the daughter of Walter and Sarah Collett. She was nine years old in the Kettlebrook census of 1911, when the family was residing at 15 Cross Street in Kettlebrook, Tamworth. Ethel Collett was 21 when she married John R Welland, the event recorded at Tamworth register office (Ref. 6b 127) during the third quarter of 1923. During the following eight years, John and Ethel had a son and two daughters whose births were all recorded at Tamworth, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. They were William John Welland in 1924, Maggie Welland in 1926, and Gladys Welland in 1931

Belinda Collett [2Q151] was born at Glascote in 1904 and her birth was recorded at Tamworth register office (Ref. 6b 499) during the second quarter of the year. She was seven years old in the Glascote census of 1911, when she and her family were living at 15 Cross Street in Kettlebrook, Tamworth. It would appear that she never married and was very likely still living with her parents when she died, since the death of Belinda Collett, at the age of 42, was recorded at Lichfield register office (Ref. 9b 208) during the second quarter of 1947, two years before her mother Sarah passed away and twelve years before the death of her father was also recorded at Lichfield

Walter Frederick Edmund Collett [2Q152] was born at Glascote on 4^th April 1905, where he was living with his family in 1911 at the age of six years. He appears to have been a bachelor for much of his life, perhaps even still living with his parents at Lichfield, where his mother died in 1949 and his father passed away in 1959. It is established that he married Elizabeth Florence Cotterill at Lichfield, where the wedding was recorded (Ref. 9b 620) during the first quarter of 1948. The couple was only married for just over twenty years, when first Elizabeth Florence Collett, nee Cotterill, passed away in 1970, followed shortly after by her husband Walter Frederick E Collett, whose death was recorded at Lichfield register office (Ref. 9b 672) during the last three months of that same year. Elizabeth was born at Lichfield in 1909, the eldest child of Thomas Charles Cotterill and his wife Elizabeth. In the 1911 Census for Lichfield Elizabeth Florence Cotterill was two years old and her sister Mabel was just five months old, while their father was 36 and their mother 33

William Alfred Collett [2Q153] was born at Glascote during 1907, the fifth of the seven known children of Walter Collett and Sarah Ross, whose birth was recorded at Tamworth register office (Ref. 6b 437) during the last quarter of the year. He was three years old in the Glascote, Tamworth census of 1911. The only other known fact at this time, is that William A Collett died two years before his father passed away at Lichfield in 1959 when, at the age of 49, his death was recorded at Lichfield register office (Ref. 9b 203) during the second quarter of 1957

Rose Collett [2Q154] was born at Glascote on 19^th April 1909 and her birth was also recorded at Tamworth register office (Ref. 6b 31) during the second quarter of the year. Rose was two years old in 1911, by which time she and her family were living at 15 Cross Street in the Kettlebrook area of Tamworth. The later marriage of Rose Collett and Frederick Barker was recorded at Tamworth register office (Ref. 6b 26) during the second quarter of 1931. Their first child Raymond K Barker was born at Tamworth in 1933, with the birth of their other children recorded at Lichfield register office, in all four cases the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. Harry Barker was born in 1939, Audrey Barker was born in 1941, and John Barker in 1944. The death of Rose Barker nee Collett was recorded at Lichfield register office (Ref. 30 59) during the summer of 1979, when she was 70 years of age

George Henry Collett [2Q155] was born on 19^th February 1911 after his family moved from Glascote to Kettlebrook, where he and his family were recorded in 1911 at 15 Cross Street, when he was just six weeks old. He was the last child born to Walter Collett and Sarah Ross, his birth recorded at Tamworth register office (Ref. 6b 439) during the second quarter of 1911. The death of George Henry Collett was recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 0611h) early in 1995, when he was 84 years old. No record has been found to indicate that he was ever married

Ernest Samuel Collett [2Q156] was born at Glascote on 15^th July 1904, his birth being recorded at Tamworth register office (Ref. 6b 486) during the third quarter of that year. He was the only known child of Ernest Samuel Collett and his wife Annie Elizabeth Bott and was six years old in the Glascote census of 1911. All that is currently known about Ernest is that he married Winifred A French during the last quarter of 1942 at Sutton Coldfield in Warwickshire where the event was recorded (Ref. 6d 1403). Winifred was born in Birmingham during the first three months of 1904 (Ref. 6d 202). Despite their advanced years Winifred still managed to present Ernest with a son after they had settled in Lichfield. And it was also there in 1977 that Ernest Samuel Collett died at the age of 72, following which his death was recorded at Lichfield register office (Ref. 30 0951) during the first months of that year

2R113 – Alan E Collett was born in 1946 at Lichfield, Staffordshire

John Brian Collett [2R1] who is known as Brian, was born on 26^th October 1932 in New Zealand. He married Judith Ann Burns and they had three children, all of whom were born in New Zealand. Brian’s sister Trisha Shirley (nee Patricia Collett below) says he took after his father John Brain Collett, in that he was a caring and gentle person and very musical with it. It was during the early years of the second decade of the twenty-first century when John Brian Collett passed away

2S1 – Andrew Collett was born in New Zealand

2S2 – a second Collett child was born in New Zealand

2S3 – Ross David Collett was born in New Zealand

Alan Maxwell Collett [2R2] was born in New Zealand on 29^th December 1934 but sadly he died at the age of 18 on 11^th March 1953. His death was the second tragedy to befall the family within a year and followed the death of his mother in 1952

Shirley Collett [2R3], whose date of birth is not known, was born in New Zealand during the latter half of the 1930s. As the eldest daughter she assisted her father in caring for her younger siblings following the death of her mother in 1952. Upon being married she became Shirley Johnston, when she and her husband had a family of their own. In 2018 Shirley was residing in a rest home in New Zealand

Jean Margaret Collett [2R4] was born in New Zealand on 28^th May 1940. Following the death of her mother in 1952 she was looked after by her father and older sister Shirley (above), supported by her aunt Hilda and uncle Murray

Judith Lynne Collett [2R5] was born in New Zealand on 8^th April 1943. Following the death of her mother in 1952 she was looked after by her father and older sister Shirley (above), supported by her aunt Hilda and uncle Murray

Patricia Joan Collett [2R6] who is known as Trisha, was born in New Zealand on 9^th November 1945, the youngest child of John Brain Collett and Margaret Janet Shirley. From the age of seven she was raised by her father and her older sister Shirley, following the death of her mother in 1952. It was also in New Zealand that she married Kevin Wakelin with whom she had three children, Grant Darryl Wakelin, Vicki Lee Wakelin and Julie Anne Wakelin. During those early years, the family lived at Rotorua and Taupo. Trisha and Kevin were divorced in 1996, at which time Trisha adopted her mother’s maiden-name of Shirley. Trisha currently works at the Girl’s High School in Rotorua on New Zealand’s north island. Her son Grant has been married twice and during his second marriage has lived in London and America where his two children were born at New York and Houston. He had three children by his first wife all of whom were born in New Zealand. Grant and his new family now live at Taupo in New Zealand

Trisha’s daughter Vicki is a school teacher at Palmerston North where she is married to Charles James with whom she has three children. They are Robert (Robbie) Charles James (born 1986), Ryan William James (born 1989), and Ashleigh Victoria James (born 1990). Daughter Julie lives in New South Wales in Australia, where she is marriage to a man from Taupo who is of Dutch descent and with whom she has four children

Trisha has very fond memories of her family. She recalls that her father was a beautiful man and had a lovely singing voice, as did both of Trisha’s brothers Brian and Alan (above). It is understanding that her father John and his brother Albert walked form Ladywood to the Bull Ring in Birmingham to sing in the Cathedral Choir when they were boys and that their father, Trisha’s grandfather used to ring the bells in the Church in Ludlow every Sunday and then went to the pub in the village and sat in the same seat every week. When Trisha later paid a visit to Ludlow her Uncle Arthur took her on a tour of the local area and made her sit in the same seat in the pub. As regards her two brothers, Brian loved church music and he sang in choirs and took solo roles in the Messiah, etc, in a big choir in Palmerston North where he lived. The family has a lovely recording of his main roles which the choir made for them, plus they have one of Alan that was recorded around the time he first became ill at about 13 years of age

Maureen A Collett [2R7i] was born at Birmingham in 1937 and was the eldest of the three children of Ernest Angel Edward Collett and Minnie Grove. Her birth was recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 6d 134) during the third quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Grove. She never married and died in Coventry on 2^nd May 2008

Michael J Collett [2R8i] was born at Birmingham in 1942, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 6d 362) during the last quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Grove

Robert A Collett [2R9i] was born at Birmingham on 8^th February 1946, the last of the three children of Ernest Angel and Minnie Grove. His birth was also recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 6d 299) during the first three months of 1946, where his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Grove, as it was at his baptism in Birmingham on 21^st April 1946. He was twenty-three years of age when the marriage of Robert A Collett and Gilliam M A Bowkett was recorded at the Staffordshire Aldridge & Brownhills register office (Ref. 9b 71) during the summer of 1969

Josephine R Collett [2R10] was born at Ludlow in Shropshire in 1954, the older of the two children of Walter R Collett and Elizabeth (Betty) R Perks, her birth recorded at Shrewsbury register office (Ref. 9a 222) during the first quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Perks. At the age of twenty, the marriage of Josephine R Collett and Gary P Adams was recorded at Ludlow register office (Ref. 30 0102) during the spring of 1974

Alan F Collett [2R11] was born at Ludlow in 1958, his birth recorded at Ludlow register office (Ref. 9a 156) during the third quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Perks. It was also at Ludlow register office (Ref. 30 140) that the marriage of Alan F Collett and Mary Hawkins during the summer of 1986

John Brain Collett [2R12] was born at Upper Slaughter in 1960, the elder of the two sons of Anthony John Brain Collett and Poppy Wells, whose birth was recorded at the North Cotswold register office (Ref. 7b 779) during the last three months of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Wells. He was 23 when the marriage of John B Collett and Brenda M Pearce was recorded at North Cotswold register office (Ref. 22 2027) during the spring of 1983

Peter William Collett [2R13] was born at Upper Slaughter in 1962, the younger of the two sons of Anthony John Brain Collett and Poppy Wells, whose birth was also recorded at the North Cotswold register office (Ref. 7b 800) during the fourth quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Wells. It was during the spring of 1987 when Peter W Collett and Teri C Thornhill were married, their wedding recorded at North Cotswold register office (Ref. 22 2083)

Martin Robert Collett [2R16] was born at Coughton in 1951, his birth recorded at Alcester register office (Ref. 9c 1) during the fourth quarter of the year, the eldest of the five sons of George Robert Thomson Collett and Ann Josephine Allen, the birth record confirming his mother’s maiden-name was Allen. He was nearly thirty-four when his marriage to Linda M Bryant was recorded at Solihull South register office (Ref. 34 190) during the summer of 1985. Over the following years Linda presented Martin with three children, the births of all three were recorded at Solihull South register office, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Bryant. It is possible, although not confirmed, that their eldest daughter was a member of the gold medal winning Great Britain Eventing Team at the 2021 Olympic Games, when she was described as Laura Collett from Salperton near Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire

2S4 – Laura Elizabeth Collett was born on 31^st August 1989 at Solihull

2S5 – Russell James Collett was born in 1992 at Solihull

2S6 – Vanessa Grace Collett was born in 1994 at Solihull

Neville John Collett [2R17] was born at Coughton in 1953, another son of George and Ann Collett, with his birth also recorded at Alcester register office (Ref. 9c 4) during the first three months of that year, his mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Allen. It was during the summer of 1978, when the marriage of Neville J Collett and Claire Latham was recorded at Alcester register office (Ref. 31 0039). Just less than two years after that, the first of their two children was born, the birth recorded at Stratford-upon-Avon (Ref. 31 566) in the spring of 1980. The family was still living in that part of Warwickshire four years later, with their daughter’s birth also recorded at Stratford (Ref. 31 537) during the first months of 1984

2S7 – Edward John Collett was born in 1980 at Stratford-upon-Avon

2S8 – Stephanie Florence Collett was born in 1984 at Solihull

Geoffrey Edward Collett [2R18] was previously thought to have been born at Coughton, like his two older brothers. That now appears not to be the case, with his birth recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 9c 126) during the last three months of 1956, the third of the five sons of George and Ann Collett, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Allen. Geoff as he is known, has never married, but has eight Collett nephews, the children of his four brothers. It was Geoff who kindly supplied the new details to enable this family line to be brought up to date during the summer of 2015. In early 2016 Geoff was starting to put together the story of the Colletts of Coughton, who have farmed in the village since 1891, using information original given to his Aunt Trix, during the 1980s, by an unknown donor

Richard Thomas Collett [2R19] was born in 1960 and his birth was recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 9c 819) during the second quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Allen. He was twenty-four years of age when his marriage to Katherine A Overend was recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 061 0210) during the third quarter of 1994. After that day, the couple eventually settled in Somerset, with the birth of their two children recorded at Taunton register office in 1996 (Ref. 7241a a91b) and in 1998 (Ref. 7241b b108b)

2S9 – Jacob Thomas Collett was born in 1996 at Taunton, Somerset

2S10 – Hannah Megan Collett was born in 1998 at Taunton, Somerset

Alexander George Collett [2R20] was born either at the end of 1969 or early in 1970, with birth recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 9c 2267) during the first months of 1970. He was the youngest child of George Robert Thomson Collett and Ann Josephine Allen. No record has been found to suggest that he ever married

Ian R Collett [2R21] was born in 1952, his birth, as the eldest child of George Otto Collett and Katie L Roffey, was recorded at Northampton register office (Ref. 3b 703) during the last three months of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Roffey. Twenty-four years later, the marriage of Ian R Collett and Ester L Scowen was recorded at the South-East Hampshire register office (Ref. 20 1526) during the spring of 1976. No children have been identified for the couple

Anthony P Collett [2R22] was born at Alcester in 1959, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 9c 2) during the first quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Roffey. He was twenty-two-years old when his marriage to Susan M Cole was recorded at the Worcestershire Malvern register office (Ref. 29 0783) during the summer of 1981

David John Collett [2R23] was born on 2^nd February 1961 at Templecombe in Somerset, the eldest of the two sons of John Malcom Collett and Dorothy Mabel Frankland

Christopher Paul Collett [2R24] was born at Templecombe, Somerset, on 20^th October 1962 being the younger of the sons of John and Dorothy Collett

John Collett [2R26] was born at Pontnewynydd in 1932, his birth recorded at Pontypool register office (Ref. 11a 216) during the last quarter of that year, the youngest of the three children of Mervyn Stephen A Collett and Hannah Cross. His birth recorded also confirmed his mother’s maiden-name was Cross. He was twenty-three when the marriage of John Collett and Maureen M Price was recorded at Pontypool (Ref. 8c 737) during the first three months of 1956. The birth of their two sons were also recorded at Pontypool; Martin (Ref. 8c 362) in the fourth quarter of 1959 and Nicholas (Ref. 8c 342) during the third quarter of 1961, in each case, their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Price. The marriage of Martin Collett and Therese H T Davies was recorded at Pontypool register (Ref. 28 290) towards the end of 1989. The birth of their daughter, Victoria Jayne Collett, was also recorded at Pontypool (Ref. 28 1469) during the same period of 1989

2S11 – Martin S Collett was born in 1959 at Pontypool, South Wales

2S12 – Nicholas D Collett was born in 1961 at Pontypool, South Wales

Elaine R Collett [2R27] was born at Newport in South Wales during the December quarter of 1931, the eldest child of William Collett and his wife Edith Berry. The records at Newport confirm that Elaine married John C Hewrikson during the second quarter of 1957

Bertram John Collett [2R28], who was known as Bertie, was born at Newport on 15^th October 1937, the second of the two children of William and Edith Collett. He later married Maureen and they had four children who were all born at Newport. Tragically his youngest child was only thirteen years old when Bertram John Collett died in 1979, his death being recorded at Newport register office (Ref. 28 0468) during the first three months of that year

2S13 – Bertram Theodore Collett was born in 1962 at Newport, South Wales

2S14 – Martin G Collett was born in 1963 at Newport, South Wales

2S15 – Stephen A Collett was born in 1964 at Newport, South Wales

2S16 – Tina Patricia Collett was born in 1966 at Newport, South Wales

Arthur Stephen Collett [2R29] junior was born at Newport in 1937, the first of the three children of Arthur Stephen Collett and Lilian L Hillman. His birth was recorded at Newport register office (Ref. 11a 131) during the second quarter of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hillman. It was also at Newport register office (Ref. 8c 61) during the third quarter of 1961, when he was 24 years old, that the marriage of Arthur S Collett and Jeanette W Bristow was recorded. Eighteen months later their daughter, possibly an only child, was born at Newport during the first quarter of 1963 (Ref. 8c 54), her mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Bristow

2S17 – Sharon A Collett was born in 1963 at Newport, South Wales

Shirley Collett [2R30] was born at Newport in 1938, the only daughter of Arthur and Lilian Collett, her birth recorded at Newport register office (Ref. 11a 56) during the third quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hillman. She married James O Griffin at Newport during the first three months of 1962. James was also born at Newport at the end of 1935. The records at Newport also indicate that they had a son Paul R Griffin who was born there in 1964

Robert Anthony Collett [2R31], later known as Bob, was born at Newport on 27^th December 1948, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 8c 25), when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hillman. Four months before his twenty-second birthday he married Wendy Gilmore, the wedding taking place at St Woolos Cathedral in Newport on 22^nd August 1970. Wendy was also born at Newport on 2^nd March 1949. Bob and Wendy’s first child was born at Newport during the summer of 1971. Two years after, the family of three emigrated to Australia in July 1973 where Bob was reunited with his cousin Patricia Ella Walker nee Collett (below) who had also emigrated there nine years earlier.

On arrival in Australia the family settled at Wollongong in New South Wales where Bob secured work in the steel industry, and it was while they were living at Wollongong that the couple’s second child was born. The following year, in April 1974, Bob joined the Australian Army and the photograph above was taken at Wollongong in October 1974. A little while later he received a new posting which resulted in the family moving to Wagga Wagga in New South Wales where their third child was born. During the following twelve months the family made another move, that time to Townsville in Queensland. And it was at Townsville that Bob’s and Wendy’s last child was born, although they only lived there for a short while as the whole family returned to England sometime during 1980. Initially the move took them back to Newport, but five years later they moved to London.

The move to London in 1985 coincided with Bob taking up a new job as a prison officer. While in London, Wendy was employed within the civil service. The couple’s two daughters married not long after the turn of the century and within two years had emigrated to Australia. Bob and Wendy also returned to Australia in 2006. Thanks go to Bob for his help in completing the details relating to his four children, and for the photographs of himself and his father Arthur Collett

2S18 – Claire Collett was born in 1971 at Newport, South Wales

2S19 – Carl Collett was born in 1973 at Wollongong, New South Wales

2S20 – Ceri Collett was born in 1978 at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales

2S21 – Curt Collett was born in 1979 at Townsville, Queensland

Derek George Collett [2R33] was born at Birmingham on 14^th January 1937, the eldest surviving child of Lewis George Collett and Irene Beatrice Argust. His birth was recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 6d 119), when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Argust. He married Marion Williams who was born in Wales on 5^th February 1938, the daughter of Glyndwr Williams (1908-1966) and Dorothy May Havard (1913-1995). The marriage of Derek G Collett and Marion Williams was recorded at Pontypool register office (Ref. 8b 36) during the third quarter of 1962. Once married, the couple settled within the Meriden registration district near Solihull, where the births of their two sons were recorded

2S22 – Steven Alan Collett was born in 1963 at Marston Green (Meriden)

2S23 – Andrew David Collett was born in 1965 at Marston Green (Meriden)

Sheila Marion Collett [2R34] was born at Birmingham on 23^rd December 1938, her birth recorded there (Ref. 6d 580) during the quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Argust. The marriage of Sheila M Collett and Trevor J Wilkes was recorded at Birmingham register office (Ref. 9c 434) during the second quarter of 1958

Patricia Ella Collett [2R35] was born at Birmingham on 17^th March 1941 and she later married Ronald Walker. Ron was a bricklayer and because of the inclement weather in England, which impacted upon his work, he and his family emigrated to a new life Australia in August 1962. It was Pat and Ron’s married daughter Karen Rowan who kindly acted as go-between from Australia to England in providing the essential details of the ‘missing’ family of Albert Henry Collett (Ref. 2P27) and his descendants, including the wonderful photo of Albert Henry with his wife and mother

Their eldest child Karen Elaine Walker was born at Birmingham in 1960 and during August 1962 she and her parents emigrated to Australia. She married Kevin John Rowan and, together with Karen’s parents, they live at Manjimup in Western Australia. Karen and Kevin have two sons Jonathan Campell Rowan and Glenn Ronald Rowan. It is thanks to Karen and her cousin Andy (above) and her mother Patricia that this line of the Collett has been extended from the Swindon family of William Collett and Caroline Ruth Watts via Newport in South Wales through Birmingham to Australia and Solihull

The eldest of the couple’s three sons, Paul Lewis Walker was born in Australia on 8^th September 1963. His partner is Susan Grayling and together they have two children, Drew and Jorden. He was followed by Andrew Ronald Walker who was born in Australia on 22^nd September 1966 and was tragically killed in a motoring accident in 1995. Prior to the accident Andrew had married Dianne Tree with whom he had two children, Nathan Walker and Katie Walker. Patricia and Ron’s last child Carl Anthony Walker was born in Australia on 10^th June 1971. His partner is Linda Delacca and they have two sons, Kaine and Jack, and a daughter Jayde

Adrian Norman Collett [2R36] was born at Birmingham on 29^th March 1949, the last child of Lewis George Collett and Irene Beatrice Argust, his birth recorded at register office (Ref. 9c 461), when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Argust. It was also at Birmingham register office (Ref. 32 0769) that the marriage of Adrian N Collett and Janet E Pickering recorded during the summer of 1974. Their son’s birth was recorded at Solihull North register office (Ref. 34 199) near the end of 1981, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Pickering

2S24 – David Andrew Collett was born in 1981 at Solihull

Hannah P D Collett [2R37], who was known as Anna, was born at Newport in Monmouthshire during 1939, the eldest of the seven children of Bertram Henry F Collett and Pearl Davies. Her birth was recorded at the Newport register office during the third quarter of 1939 (Ref. 11a 346). Nothing further is known about her life at this time

Bertram Thomas Collett [2R38], who was known as Bertie, was born at Newport on 8^th December 1940, where his birth was registered (Ref. 11a 465), the son of Bertie and Pearl Collett. He married Janice M Fisher at Newport during the first three months 1963 (Ref. 8c 584). Janice was also born at Newport during the second quarter of 1944 (Ref. 11a 326) and, very shortly after she married Bertie, she presented him with a son. The only other confirmed details for Bertie Collett junior at this time, are that he died at Pontypool in Monmouthshire, where his death was recorded during the third quarter of 1991 (Ref. 28 1016)

2S25 – Stephen J Collett was born in 1963 at Newport, South Wales

George H Collett [2R39], who was referred to by the family as Georgie, was born at Newport where his birth was registered during the first three months of 1943 (Ref. 11a 319). He was under twenty years of age, when he married Margaret A Pullin at Newport in the September quarter of 1962 (Ref. 8c 466). Margaret was also from Newport, where her birth had been recorded in the second quarter of 1942 (Ref. 11a 342). Over the following years Margaret presented George with four children

2S26 – Paul S Collett was born in 1963 at Newport, South Wales

2S27 – Kevin John Collett was born in 1966 at Newport, South Wales

2S28 – Kerry Ann Collett was born in 1968 at Newport, South Wales

2S29 – Mark Collett was born in 1970 at Newport, South Wales

John Collett [2R40] was born at Newport and, although he was not listed in the earlier family, his existence has been confirmed by Robert Collett (above) and Patricia Collett (above) who remember playing with him when they were very young children. Thanks to Terence Prescott (Ref. 2Q41) it has now been confirmed that John Collett was born in 1947, his birth being recorded at the Newport register office during the June quarter of that year (Ref. 8c 408). It would also appear that he married Sheena M Powell when he was around twenty years of age, the marriage being recorded at the Newport register office during the second quarter of 1967, the same year that their daughter was born. No further details regarding John and Sheena after that time has yet been discovered

2S30 – Helen Marie Collett was born in 1967 at Newport, South Wales

Paul Collett [2R42] was born at Newport in 1953, his birth recorded there (Ref. 8c 301) during the quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Davies. Around the middle of 2000 Paul was still living at Newport, as confirmed by his daughter Donna in August that year

The compiler of this family tree, Brian Collett, attended the Swindon funeral of his uncle Bert Collett (Ref. 1Q7) shortly after he died on 3^rd August 2000. During the wake Bert’s widow Heather passed to Brian a contact telephone number for Donna Collett given to her by a young man (Donna’s fiancée) in a shoe repair shop in Swindon, when he realised her name as Heather Collett. The subsequent contact with Donna revealed some brief details of her family, which have now been confirmed after a further eight years. The earlier information listed Donna’s grandfather as Bertie Collett married to Pearl, and her father as Paul Collett. His brothers and sisters were Bertie, Georgie, Anna, Cathy and Christine. The latest information received, confirmed all of this as correct, together with the existence of a further sibling John Collett

2S31 – Donna Louise Collett was born in 1974 at Newport, South Wales

Elizabeth Collett [2R44] was born on 31^st May 1953 at Sheffield. She married Malcolm Brooke on 30^th August 1975 and their only daughter, Claire Brooke, was born at Sheffield on 3^rd June 1983, where Elizabeth was still living in 2011

Judith Collett [2R45] was born on 4^th August 1948 at Sheffield, where she married Paul Cooke on 27^th June 1970. Their only child was born during the following year, when Louise Cook was born at Sheffield on 24^th September 1971

Gillian Beverley Collett [2R46] was born at Sheffield on 17^th September 1955, the eldest of the three daughters of Mervyn Collett and his wife Patricia Beverley. Gillian was educated at Lincoln College and afterwards became a teacher, and eventually held the position of head teacher at four different schools in London, Essex, and one overseas. It was in Sheffield that Gillian married (1) John C Jervis at Sheffield during the summer of 1976, from whom she was subsequently divorced. She later married (2) David C Brinded at East Retford in Nottinghamshire during the spring of 1990. By 2011 she had retired and was living in Essex and it was as Gillian Brinded that she kindly provided new information regarding her father and her two sisters

Susan Ann Collett [2R47] was born at Sheffield on 30^th June 1957. It was in Dubai that Susan married Basil Doha from Iraq, and with whom she has a son Kynan Mervyn Thomas Doha who married Katherine Taylor at Egham in Surrey on the 18^th June 2016. Their son Alfie Rex Doha was born on 8^th March 2021

Diane Patricia Collett [2R48] was born at Sheffield on 12^th June 1962, the youngest of the three daughters of Mervyn and Patricia Collett. Diane later married Russell Newsome at Sheffield on 1^st September 1984. He was the same age as Diane, having also been born at Sheffield during the second quarter of 1962

Michael John Collett [2R49] was born on 13^th April 1945, possibly the former Michael John Pugsley of Laverstock, who was baptised there on 10^th July 1945, and was adopted by Reginald Maurice Collett and his wife Kathleen Queenie Tucker. Following the death of Reg Collett in 1960, Michael continued to live at 36 Portal Road in Swindon with his adopted mother Queenie. Upon leaving school around that same time, it is understood, that he worked in the stables at Lambourn to the east of Swindon. He was married to Jacqueline Mitchell at Cuckfield in Sussex during the first three months of 1968 (Ref. 5h 110) and it was also at Cuckfield that she was born 1946 and where their son was born in 1971. Michael John Collett died at Swindon during the spring of 2001 (Vol. 7961c)

2S32 – Scot Anthony Collett was born in 1971 at Cuckfield, Sussex

Barbara Collett [2R50] was born on 26^th June 1948, but not with the name Collett, and was adopted by Percival Francis Collett and his wife Edith Irene Johnstone. Barbara later married Leslie Stephenson

Sandra Collett [2R51] was born at Wargrave on 13^th March 1955 and her occupation was that of shop assistant. She married Bryan Rushbrook in 1974 and was divorced in July 1997. Her two sons were both born at Warrington and they were Neil Rushbrook, who was born on 9^th September 1977, and Mark Bryan Rushbrook who was born on 15^th July 1981

Alan Mervyn Collett [2R52] was born at Newton-le-Willows on 16^th September 1951. He married Sheila Powis on 12^th September 1987 at Maghull in Merseyside. They lived at 281 Northway in Maghull, where the couple’s two children were born, and from where Alan’s occupation was that of policeman

2S33 – Gareth Alan Collett was born on 10^th July 1990 at Maghull, Merseyside

2S34 – Richard Michael Collett was born on 4^th June 1997 at Maghull, Merseyside

Amanda Jayne Collett [2R53] was born on 9^th April 1962 at Newton-le-Willows where she married Michael Albinson on 11^th August 1983. Her occupation was that of nurse and the couple lived at 92 Gough Avenue in Warrington, where their three children were born. They were Luke Michael Albinson, who was born on 11^th January 1986, Joshua Mark Albinson, who was born on 21^st December 1989, and Charlotte Rose Albinson who was born on 18^th July 1992

Marion Freda Collett [2R54] was born at Plymouth on 2^nd July 1948 and was the eldest of the two children of Frederick Mervyn Collett and his wife Muriel Gladys Martin. It is understood that she married Percy Badock during the first quarter of 1968, the marriage being recorded at the Plymouth register office. Percy had been born at Plymouth during the last three months of 1946

John Alfred Fredrick Collett [2R55] was born at Plymouth on 30^th January 1950, where he married Celia Marlene Bray on 8^th June 1968. They lived at 34 Longacre in Plymouth, where their three children were born. John’s occupation was that of builder in his own company business

2S35 – Marlene Linda Collett was born in 1968 at Plymouth

2S36 – Suzanna Jane Collett was born in 1972 at Plymouth

2S37 – Lisa Marie Collett was born in 1980 at Plymouth

David John Mervyn Collett [2R56] was born at Tor Point in Plymouth on 31^st May 1937. He married Lesley Hardey on 27^th June 1964 at Plymouth where the two sons were born. David’s occupation was that of policeman and after taking early retirement he worked at HMS Drake in the Navy Family Services Office. Later the family lived at 21 Longmeadow Close in Plympton

2S38 – Barry Collett was born in 1966 at Plymouth

2S39 – Shaun Collett was born on 13^th February 1969 at Plymouth

Barry Collett [2R57] was born in 1940 at Tor Point in Plymouth, although his birth was registered in his mother’s home town of St Germans in Cornwall. Tragically, when he was around three years of age, he contracted meningitis from which he later died, his death recorded at Plymouth register office in 1943

Roger Maurice Collett [2R58] was born at Tor Point on 6^th August 1944, the youngest of the three sons of Maurice William Arthur Collett and Phyllis M Selley. He later married Kathleen Foxon, the event recorded at Coventry register office (Ref. 9c 1589) during the second quarter of 1970. Kathleen was born in Coventry on 9^th June 1951. Roger was a policeman with the Warwickshire Constabulary and he and Kathleen lived at 60 Tresillian Road in Exhall near Bedworth, their two children having been born at Coventry not long after they were married. Eighteen months after becoming a great grandfather, following the birth of Isaac Peter Collett in 2021, 78-year-old Roger Maurice Collett passed away an hour before midnight on 1^st September 2022 at George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton after a long battle with PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy) - a neurodegenerative condition that causes problems with balance, vision, speech, movement and swallowing

2S40 – Carl Wayne Collett was born in 1970 at Coventry

2S41 – Paul Roger Collett was born in 1972 at Coventry

Judith L Collett [2R59] was born at Oxford in 1948 during the second quarter of the year (Ref. 6b 1407), the only child of John and Olive Collett. She later married David J Middleton, the event recorded at Ploughley (Bicester) register office in Oxfordshire during the second quarter of 1967, when she was only nineteen and expecting the first of her two daughters. The child’s birth, for Sarah Jane Middleton, was recorded at Ploughley register office (Ref. 6b 1859) during the third quarter of 1967, only three or four months after the couple’s wedding day. It was three and a half years after that, when the birth of her second child, Rosalyn Anne Middleton, was also recorded at the Bicester Ploughley register office during the first three months of 1971

Julie A Collett [2R60] was born at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1948, the eldest of the four children of Derek George Wilkins Collett and Catherine Margaret Shenton. Her birth was recorded at Stratford-on-Avon register office (Ref. 9c 1718) during the third quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Shenton. Julie’s father had a shop in Stratford, which was later sold and replaced by another shop in Alcester. Later on, he also opened a second shop on Moseley. Julie A Collett was 22 years old, when her marriage to (1) Gavan A Johnson was recorded at Stratford-upon-Avon register office (Ref. 9c 3525) during the summer of 1970. Ten years later, the marriage of Julie A Johnson and (2) Christopher L Walker was also recorded at Stratford-upon-Avon (Ref. 31 0595) during the summer of 1980. Thirty years after that, Julie A Walker and her husband were residing within the Crawley area of West Sussex in 2013

Jacqueline M Collett [2R61] was born at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1952, the second child of Derek and Margaret Collett. Her birth was recorded at Stratford-on-Avon register office (Ref. 9c 1506) during the second quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Shenton. She was twenty-seven years of age when Jacqueline M Collett and Keith Williams were married in 1979, the event recorded at Stratford-upon-Avon (Ref. 31 0510) during the spring of that year. Their son Neil Alexander Williams was born at Stratford near the end of that year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. In 2013 the family was still living in Stratford-on-Avon, and it was Neil who kindly provided the new details for his mother and her three siblings, and that of his grandparents

Elizabeth J Collett [2R62], known as Liz, was born in 1957 after her family had settled in Alcester, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 9c 2) during the second quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Shenton. Liz was the third daughter of Derek and Margaret Collett who, at the age of 31, married David C West, the wedding recorded at the South Warwickshire register office (Ref. 31 646) during the summer of 1988. By 2013, Elizabeth J West was still living in Alcester

Timothy G Collett [2R63] was born at Alcester in 1961, the last child and only son of Derek George Wilkins Collett and Catherine Margaret Shenton. His birth was recorded at Alcester register office during the final three months of that year (Ref. 9c 3), when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Shenton. He was nearly thirty when he married Debra Pilcher during the September quarter of 1991 at Lincoln (Ref. 7 2014). On their wedding day she was described as Deborah Pilcher, whereas her birth was registered at Spilsby in Lincolnshire in the second quarter of 1962 (Ref. 3b 728) under the name of Debra Pilcher. Tim was a member of the Royal Air Force and retired from service in 2013. By that time, he and Debbie and their two daughters were living in Lincolnshire, not far from the City of Lincoln, where their eldest daughter had been born, her birth recorded there (Ref. 6191b 862c)

2S42 – Jemma Katie Collett was born in 1993 at Lincoln

2S43 – Jessica Ann Collett was born in 1995 at Oxford

William G Collett [2R65] was born at Hampstead in 1916 just over a year after his brother and namesake passed away in infancy. Like his late brother, William’s birth was also recorded at Hampstead during the third quarter of 1916. He was only nineteen when he married Lillian L King at Oxford during the last three months of 1935 (Ref. 3a 3496). Lillian was born at St Olave in Bermondsey, London, in the last quarter of 1914 (Ref. 1d 317) and she presented her husband with a son and two daughters. The later death of William G Collett was recorded at Eton register office (Ref. 6a 977) in Buckinghamshire during in the third quarter of 1971. It was just over eleven years later when the death of Lilian Collett nee King was recorded at North Bucks register office (Ref. 19 1362) during the first three months of 1983

2S44 – William J Collett was born in 1936 at Oxford

2S45 – Susan A Collett was born in 1937 at Oxford

2S46 – Hazel Collett was born in 1944 at Oxford

Kathleen Wilhelmina Collett [2R67] was born at Stoke Newington on 30^th October 1923, the daughter of Arthur Collett and his wife Elsie Bowers. On 15^th September 1946, just before her twenty-third birthday, Kathleen flew from Orly Airport near Paris to La Guardia Airport in New York. During the Second World War she had met war photographer Walter Stanhope Smith who was born in America on 21^st September 1917, and who was attached to the US Military. Upon her arrival in New York in September 1946, Kathleen married Walter in the city that never sleeps, following which the couple settled in California. As a result of a holiday with her daughter in 1949, Kathleen’s mother eventually left England and emigrated to America in 1951, where she was nationalised in 1955. It was not long after they were married that Kathleen and Walt moved to California and towards the end of their life together the couple lived at Hayward in California, where Kathleen’s mother died in 2001. Nine years earlier her son-in-law Walter Stanhope Smith died at Hayward on 21^st May 1992 and his ashes were buried at the San Francisco Military Cemetery. Kathleen survived her husband by fifteen years when she died at Hayward on 8^th May 2007 and just five months before her brother Ralph (below) passed away

Ralph Hubert Collett [2R68] was born at 21 Park Lane in Stoke Newington on 26^th May 1925, the only surviving son of Arthur Collett and his wife Elsie Bowers. In 1939 Ralph commenced his engineering apprenticeship at Camden in London, and during the Second World War he worked as an aero engine tester at the Bristol Aeroplane Company factory in Coventry. In particular it is known that he worked on the Bristol Hercules radial air-cooled engines that were used in the Avro Lancaster Mark II bombers. After the war, he tried his hand at a number of jobs, before joining the Royal Air Force to train as a chef. He enlisted with the RAF on 24^th January 1949. His rank was that of Leading Aircraftsman and his service number was 4035046. Five years later on 23th January 1954, he was transfer to Reserve Class E and just five months after that he married Pamela Leslie Chandler on 26^th June 1954, as recorded at Morden register office in Surrey. Pamela, who worked as a personal assistant, was born at Brixton in 1926, her birth being registered at Lambeth during the second quarter of that year

The marriage produced two daughters for Ralph and Pamela and, during that phase in his life Ralph was employed as chef at various hotels in the London area. It was later on in his working life that he took up work as a contract chef, and that enabled him to travel all over Great Britain. Ralph Hubert Collett died at St Helier Hospital in Wrythe Lane, Carshalton in Surrey on 5^th October 2007, just five months after his sister Kathleen (above) had passed away in California. His wife Pamela had died in London four years earlier, her death being registered at Wandsworth during the June quarter of 2003. It was Ralph’s daughter, Hilary Collett who kindly provided details of her family at an earlier time, and who generously supplied the new and additional information for the update in February 2010

2S47 – Hilary A Collett was born in 1958 at Surrey

2S48 – Gillian Louisa Collett was born in 1961 at Surrey

Muriel Theodora Collett [2R69] was born at Stoke Newington on 5^th February 1928, the daughter of Arthur Collett and his wife Elsie Bowers. During her life Muriel was employed as a clerical worker, and in the latter part of her life she lived in Weymouth with her father, where she was the landlady of a bed and breakfast hotel. And it was at Weymouth on 31^st December 1998 that Muriel Theodora Collett died

Adrian G Collett [2R70] was born at Uxbridge in London in 1937, his birth being recorded at Uxbridge register office (Ref. 3a 119) during the third quarter of the year. He later married Sheila W Plested during the final three months of 1960, as recorded at Uxbridge register office (Ref. 5f 61). Sheila was born in Warwickshire, where her birth was recorded at Rugby register office in the last quarter of 1939 (Ref. 6d 91). No record of any children has been found

Thomas Alfred Collett [2R71] was born in Canada on 5^th February 1940, the eldest of the three sons of Thomas Ernest Bertrand Alfred Collett and his wife Bertha James. He was twenty-three years old when he married Verna Beatrice Langan on 12^th October 1963 and the marriage produced two daughters for the couple

2S49 – Donna Mary Collett was born on 7^th May 1966 at Victoria

2S50 – Wendy Maureen Collett was born on 29^th July 1967 in Canada

David Frank Collett [2R72] was born in Canada on 30^th October 1942 and later in his life David married Alice, with whom he had two daughters

2S51 – Jennifer Elaine Collett was born on 13^th February 1969 at Duncan

2S52 – Brent David Collett was born during 1972 in Canada

Dorothy Gail Collett [2R74] was born in Canada in 1940 and she married Alfred Burrell in 1963

Shirley Ann Collett [2R76] was born at Winnipeg in Canada in 1940 and she married Peter Liba in 1963

Wendy Joan Collett [2R77] was born in Canada on 16^th November 1947 and she married Richard Rees on 16^th August 1969

Beverley Lynn Collett [2R78] was born in Canada on 29^th July 1941 and she married Ronald Westwood on 13^th July 1964

Judith Heather Collett [2R79] was born in Canada on 30^th May 1945 and she married Robert Frederick Clark on 28^th August 1965

David John Collett [2R81] was born on 8^th May 1946, most likely at Rochester in New York State, where his parents were living at the time of their wedding in 1944, although the wedding took place in California. In addition to residing in Rochester, it is known he spent time at Walworth, just east of Rochester, and that he is married to Susan, with whom he has a son. During the first decade of the 21^st Century, David was living within Ontario County, to the south of Rochester

2S53 – Ruban Collett – date and place of birth not revealed

Denbigh J Collett [2R82] was born at Kingston-on-Thames in 1929, the only known child of Edward Denbigh Collett and his wife whose maiden-name was Barnett. His birth was recorded at Kingston register office (Ref. 2a 756) during the second quarter of that year. It would appear that he married when he was around 21 and that marriage produced the three children as listed below. The birth of the couple’s eldest daughter was recorded at Weston-Super-Mare register office (Ref. 7c 328) during the third quarter of 1956

2S54 – Stephen G A Collett was born in 1953 at Weston-Super-Mare

2S55 – Sandra Collett was born in 1956 at Weston-Super-Mare

2S56 – Debra M Collett was born in 1958 at Weston-Super-Mare

Anne Collett [2R87] was born in 1936, the first of the six children of Frank Percy Collett and Norah Bridie G Gibson. Her birth was recorded at the Bristol register office (Ref. 6a 248) during the first three months of that year, with her mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Gibson. It is possible that, as a student, Anne Collett who was born in 1936, was a passenger on the Empress of France which left Liverpool on 14^th July 1953, bound for Montreal in Canada. However, it is known by her family that she never married and was a nun in Britain, where she lived for the majority of her life

Mary Collett [2R88] was born in 1938 and her birth was also recorded at Bristol register office (Ref. 6a 34) during the second quarter of the year, another daughter of Frank and Norah. Just like her older sister Anne, Mary too was also a nun, with the sisters travelling the country together, and living in various convents up and down the country, who are believed to have eventually settled in the north of England

John B Collett [2R89] was born the eldest son of Frank and Norah Collett and was born in Dorset in 1945, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 5a 587), when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Gibson. By 1949 John and his family were living at Clevedon in North Somerset. There are a number of marriages of John B Collett in England during the late 1960s and early 1970s, but none of them yet positively identified as the son of Frank and Norah. What is known is that his wife’s name was Bridget and that they were married in 1970, with Bridget having been born on 1^st October 1950. John was the godfather of David Peter Collett who kindly provided all of the new family informed in 2023. John and Bridget had three sons, as listed below, although the dates and place of birth are not currently revealed, which may have been Clevedon where, it is thought, John and Bridget were residing in 2023

2S57 - Michael Collett is a King’s Counsel in London

2S58 - Paul Collett still living in Bristol

2S59 - Simon Collett still living in Bristol

Jane F Collett [2R90] was with the fourth child of Frank and Norah Collett and her birth was also recorded at Dorset register office (Ref. 6a 1115) during 1947. By the time she was two years old, Jane’s family had settled at Clevedon in Somerset. With her parents buried at Clevedon, to the north of Weston-super-Mare, it was there that their daughter Jane F Collett married Keith Stuckey during the spring of 1969, with the event recorded at Weston-super-Mare register office (Ref. 7c 1429). Keith was a farmer who was a real character who insisted on holding up his trousers with string. Even when his father-in-law Frank bought him a belt, Frank was miffed when he discovered Keith had used it a way of securing one of the field gates. Keith was born on 26^th May 1945, but tragically took his own life in 1979 when his youngest child was only five years old. He had struggled with a mental illness for some time, when his death was recorded at Somerset register office (Vol. 22 1267)

Jane and Keith had three children, the first of them is Joanne Mary Stuckey whose birth was recorded at Weston-super-Mare register office (Ref. 7c 1533) during the first three months of 1970, so was a honeymoon baby. She was followed by the birth of two brother Matthew Keith Stuckey and Mark James Stuckey, their births also recorded at Weston-super-Mare (Ref. 7c 1546) during the first quarter of 1972, and (Ref. 7c 1364) in early 1974. In all three cases, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. In 2023, Jane was living at Clevedon

Josephine M (Josie) Collett [2R91] who is known as Josie, was born at Clevedon in Somerset, after her parents had settled there from Dorset. Her birth was recorded at Gloucestershire (Ref. 7b 843) during 1949. Later on, during the second quarter of 1968, Josie gave birth to a base-born son Stephen John Collett, whose birth was recorded at Weston-super-Mare (Ref. 7c 8162s), when his mother was confirmed as unmarried Josephine M Collett. Later that same year, the marriage of Josephine M Collett and Colin J Knight was also recorded at Weston-super-Mare register office (Ref. 7c 1230) during the last three months of 1968, just a few months prior to the wedding of her sister Jane (above). Josie and Colin never had any children of their own, but are still together in 2023 at Clevedon, although Josie’s son has long since separated from his mother and stepfather.

2S60 - Stephen John Collett was born in 1968 at Weston-super-Mare

Peter S Collett [2R92] was the sixth and last children born to Frank Percy Collett and Norah Bridie G Gibson in November 1952. He was born at Clevedon, with his birth was recorded at Bristol register office (Ref. 7b 282) during the last three months of that year. After leaving school, Peter moved to London where he worked as a civil servant. After a short engagement Peter from London, aged 25, married Patricia Donnelly from Scotland, aged 20, on 22^nd April 1978 at St Ignatius' Church in Wishaw, Lanarkshire. Once they were married, it was decided that they would make their home in Sheffield midway between their two former homes. As a result, the four children of Peter and Patricia were born there during the next thirteen years. Their births were all recorded at Sheffield register office where their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Donnelly

It was their son David who made contact with his great uncle Brian Collett in 2023, which resulted in this fourth section of Part 2 – The Second Gloucestershire Line being update to include the family details back to Frank Percy Collett, David’s grandfather, for which we are very grateful

2S61 - Marie-Claire Louise Collett was born in 1980 at Sheffield

2S62 – Suzanne Bernadette Collett was born in 1983 at Sheffield

2S63 – David Peter Collett was born in 1989 at Sheffield

2S64 – Catherine Helen Collett was born in 1991 at Sheffield

Linda Ruth Collett [2R93] was born during the later months of 1930 at Richmond in New South Wales where her parents Major Edwin Collett and Ruth Anderson had been married earlier that same year. It was at Sydney in 1952 that she married Keith David Marriott

Colette Collett [2R95] was born in 1945, the only known child of Alan Collett and his wife Winifred May Henderson who were married in 1930. Her birth was registered during the first three months of 1945 at Battle in Sussex, where her grandmother Grace Collett, nee Bourne, had died during the previous year. Colette married Kenneth J Gibbins during the third quarter of 1971.

Roger Collett [2R96] was born at South Queensferry near Edinburgh in Scotland on 15^th May 1953, the eldest child of James Collett and his wife Joan McCarthy. He married (1) Pauline, with whom he had a daughter, and later married (2) Helen on 30^th September 2000

2S65 – Tracey Ann Collett was born in 1981 at Coventry

Angela Collett [2R97] was born at Pershore in Worcestershire on 3^rd June 1954, the daughter of James and Joan Collett. It was during the third quarter of 1972 at Birmingham that she married (1) Christopher Paul Southerton and their daughter Samantha Louise Southerton was born in Birmingham during the second quarter of 1974. Paul Southern was born in Birmingham during the second quarter of 1951, and it would appear that the marriage later ended. It was at Colwyn in Denbighshire that Angela married (2) Gerald Slater, who was known as Ged, in July 1994. Like her first husband, Ged was also born at Birmingham in the second quarter of 1951. However, their son Aaron Lee Slater was born on 8^th January 1994 at Rhuddlan in Flintshire, six months prior to the date of their wedding. That information, coupled with the fact that the birth of Aaron Lee was also registered on that same day at the same register office under the name of Aaron Lee Southerton, very likely suggests that Angela was still married to Christopher Paul Southerton when she gave birth to the son of Ged Slater. Discovery of their affair then lead to divorce, which enabled Angela to later marry Ged

Jacqueline Collett [2R98] was born at 58 St Ives Road, Wyken in Coventry on 26^th November 1965, the youngest of the three children of James Collett and Joan McCarthy. It is therefore rather strange that her birth was registered (Ref. 9c 1409) in the town of Meriden, which is about eight miles west of Wyken. It was originally written here that Jacqueline had married Craig Stanbury at Birmingham in 1998 whereas, in 2015, it was confirmed by her family that Jacqueline has never married

Cynthia A Collett [2R99] was born in 1931 when her birth was recorded at Windsor register office (Ref. 2c 690) during the third quarter of the year, the only child of Ernest Frederick Collett and Grace Emily Austin. She later married William Brown, their wedding also recorded at Windsor (Ref. 6a 394) in the first three months of 1952. William was born at Easthampstead in the September quarter of 1933, and two years after they were married, Cynthia presented him with a son Allen C E Brown, who was born at Windsor during the March quarter of 1954

James Ronald K Collett [2R100] was born at Easthampstead in 1927 where his birth was recorded (Ref. 2c 652) during the first three months of that year, which was also only just after his parents Harry Edward Collett and Dora Decima Bowyer were married there. He was twenty-two when he married Jillian V Saunders who was born at Muree in India in 1930, their wedding being recorded at Windsor register office (Ref. 6a 409) during the last three months of 1949. It has not yet been confirmed whether the marriage produced any children for James and Jillian, but it is established that James Ronald K Collett died at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk during the last three months of 1996. The Electoral Rolls for the period 2002 to 2012 provide evidence that his widow was living alone at 18 Crown Field Road in Sudbury, Suffolk

Vera Grace Collett [2R101] was born at Easthampstead towards the very end of 1928, although her birth was recorded there during the first three months of 1929 (Ref. 2c 640). She married Frederick E Hibbs at Windsor during the third quarter of 1953 (Ref. 6a 496), Frederick having been born at Paddington in London during the second quarter of 1930 (Ref. 1a 93). During the first six years of their marriage, Vera presented Frederick with three children, and all of them born in London. Trevor F Hibbs was born at Hammersmith in London (Ref. 5c 905) and was residing at Flat 25 in Bradfield House at Nine Elms in London in 2012. It is understood he married Eunice N K Quartey-Papafio at Haringey in London during the third quarter of 1988 (Ref. 12 2108)

The couple’s second child was Jacqueline F Hibbs whose birth was recorded at Kensington register office (Ref. 5c 1579) during the first three months of 1957, while their third child was Stephanie L Hibbs who was born at Paddington in the final three months of 1959 (Ref. 5d 172) who married Steven L Tupman at Bexley in Kent in the third quarter of 1991 (Ref. 11 352). Steven was born at Lambeth, where his birth was recorded during the first quarter of 1959 (Ref. 5c 1854). The Electoral Roll for 2002 to 2011 placed the couple residing at Heath Way in Dartford, Kent. According to the Electoral Roll in 2002 Frederick Hibbs was a widower living alone at Flat 23 in Topaide House at Kennington in London, Vera having died at Lambeth

Lewis Edward Collett [2R102] was born at Easthampstead during the first three months of 1935 and he married Evelyn J Beckinsale as Louis Collett at Windsor during the first quarter of 1956 (Ref. 6a 480). Evelyn was born at Windsor where her birth was recorded during the third quarter of 1935 (Ref. 2c 729). The marriage produced just the one son who was born at Windsor

2S66 – Mark Collett was born in 1957 at Windsor

Doris A Collett [2R103] was born at Easthampstead in 1937, the birth recorded there in the final three months of that year (Ref. 2c 636). She married Roy W Hoskins at Windsor during the third quarter of 1955 (Ref. 6a 551) who was born at Eton in Buckinghamshire at the end of 1932 (Ref. 3a 1411). It would appear that the marriage produced one child, Martin R Hoskins who was born at Windsor in the first three months of 1959. Martin married Susan K Heaver from Wokingham in 1981 and they have three children: Benjamin Roy Hoskins (born in 1984), Joseph William Hoskins (born in 1987), and Samuel Robert Hoskins (born in 1989)

Freda Collett [2R104] was born in 1940 and it was at Windsor register office (Ref. 2c 1316) that her birth was recorded during the third quarter of that year. She married John Staunton-Lambert also at Windsor during the second quarter of 1961 (Ref. 6a 415) with whom she had a daughter. Joanne Staunton-Lambert was born at Reading during in the second quarter of 1969 and she married Martin Kendall at Bracknell in the summer of 1995

Stephen A Collett [2R105] was born in 1952, his birth recorded at Chipping Norton register office (Ref. 6b 53) during the third quarter of the year. He was the older of the two sons of Stanley E Collett and Nellie Carpenter. It was early in 1975, that Stephen A Collett and Alison S Holmes were married, their wedding recorded at Chipping Norton (Ref. 20 106). Nine months later, Alison presented Stephen with the first of their three children, the birth of all three of them recorded at Oxford register office, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Holmes

2S67 – Leah Collett was born in 1975 at Oxford

2S68 – Hannah Rachel Collett was born in 1979 at Oxford

2S69 – Jake Thomas Collett was born in 1981 at Oxford

William G Collett [2R106] was born in 1954 and his birth was also recorded at Chipping Norton register office (Ref. 6b 7) during the first three months of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Carpenter. Twenty-two years later, the marriage of William G Collett and Gillian E Balfour was recorded at Chipping Norton register office (Ref. 20 47) during the last three months of 1974. Gillian was already expecting the birth of their son on that day, the birth of their only child taking place either near the end of 1974 or early in 1975

2S70 – Louis John Collett was born in 1975 at Oxford

Nicholas E Collett [2R107] was born at Cheltenham in 1957, the older of the two sons of Howard Victor Collett and Rosemary M Hook. It was also at Cheltenham register office (Ref. 7b 450) during the second quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hook. During the mid-1960s the family left Cheltenham, when they took up residency in Little Rissington. Later in his life, Nicholas E Collett was living at 67 The Beagles, Cashes Green, near Stroud, with Valerie J Collett and Elizabeth A Collett, who were very likely his wife and daughter, although no marriage or birth has been found. Elizabeth may have been Elizabeth A R Collett whose birth was recorded at Bristol register office (Ref. 3011e e36c) early in 1996, when the mother’s maiden-name was recorded at Knowles

Peter J Collett [2R108] was born at Cheltenham in 1962, his birth also recorded there (Ref. 7b 512) during the third quarter of the year, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hook. Shortly after he was born, his family moved to Little Rissington, while later on Peter J Collett was living at Redland Cottage near Cromhall and Heath End in South Gloucestershire, with Peggy E Collett and Douglas J Collett. They were probably his wife and son. However, no records have been found to confirm that this may well be true

Kathleen Jean Collett [2R109] was born on 29^th December 1928 at Hartley Wintney in Hampshire, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 2c 24) during the first three months of the following year. She was the first of the two daughters of Walter Henry Collett (Wally) and Kathleen Hunt. She was known as Jean and was twenty-three years old in January 1952 when the marriage of Kathleen Jean Collett and John Hubert Bate was recorded at Aldershot register office (Ref. 6b 74) during the first quarter of 1952. Their marriage gave the couple three children, with their births also recorded at Aldershot. They were Anthony John Bate who was born at Fleet Hospital on 25^th November 1953, his birth recorded (Ref. 6b 95) during the last month of the year, and Danelle Jane Bate who was also born at Fleet Hospital on 13^th September 1957, her birth recorded (Ref. 6b 67) during the last quarter of that year. Five years later Jean and John’s last child Sarah Bate was born at Haywards Heath Hospital on 6^th January 1963, with her birth recorded at Cuckfield register office in Sussex (Ref. 5h 209) during the first month of the year. On all three occasions, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. Kathleen Jean Bate died from cancer on 28^th September 2000 while in Suffolk, and almost seventeen years after being made a widower, John Hubert Bate also passed away from cancer on 26^th August 2017

Maureen Jill Collett [2R110] was known as Jill and was born at Brighton during the month of April in 1934, the younger of the two daughters of Wally Collett and Kathleen Hunt. She married William Murphy in 1953 and had two children, Stephen William Murphy born in 1954 and Susan J Murphy born in 1960. Both births were recorded at the Surrey North-Eastern register office, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett

Walter Robert Collett [2R111] was born at Leighton Buzzard on 22^nd May 1920, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 3b 738) during the second quarter of the year and with his mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Noonan, the first of the two children of Albert George Collett and his first wife Katherine Ellen Noonan. His mother suffered a premature death when Walter was thirteen, and five years after his father re-married. By 1939, Walter was 19 years old and a plumber (hot and cold water) engineer, a heavy worker, who was living at 50 Stanbridge Road in Leighton Buzzard with his father and stepmother. At that time in his life, Walter and his father were working alongside each other. Six years later, during the summer of 1945, the marriage of Walter Robert Collett and Frances Evelyn Elizabeth Gibbs was recorded at Leighton Buzzard register office (Ref. 3b 1296), when Walter was still residing at 50 Stanbridge Road. Florence was born in Essex, with her birth recorded at Epping register office (Ref. 4a 840) during the second quarter of 1923. The first of their two children was born in 1953, with the next born ten years later, both births recorded at Aylesbury register office, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Gibbs. Walter Robert Collett was still living in the Aylesbury area of Buckinghamshire when he died on 4^th September 1995 at the age of 75, with his death recorded at Aylesbury Vale register office. Eight years after losing her husband, Frances Collett died during 2003 when she was 80

2S71 – Denis Collett was born in 1953 at Aylesbury

2S72 – Beverley D Collett was born in 1963 at Aylesbury

Joan Katherine Collett [2R112] was born in 1922 at Leighton Buzzard and it was at the register office in the town that her birth was recorded (Ref. 3b 550) during the third quarter of the year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Noonan. Joan was the younger of the two children of Albert and Katherine Collett. Joan was twenty-nine years old when she married Eric H Spencer, their wedding recorded at Leighton Buzzard register office (Ref. 4a 203) during the last three months of 1951. By the time their two children were born, the couple was residing within the Luton area of Bedfordshire and, in each case, the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. They were Barry E Spencer, his birth recorded during the first quarter of 1956 (Ref. 6a 270), and Janet E Spencer whose birth was recorded during the fourth quarter of 1960 (Ref. 4a 325)

Alan E Collett [2R113] was born at Lichfield in 1946, the only son of elderly parents Ernest Samuel Collett and Winifred A French who were both thirty-eight when they were married just a few years earlier. His birth was recorded at Lichfield register office (Ref. 6b 685) during the second quarter of 1946. It was twenty-five years later when Alan married Wendy Leedham at Lichfield during the second quarter of 1971 (Ref. 9b 838). Wendy was also born at Lichfield but during the last three months of 1950 (Ref. 9b 262). The births of their two sons were recorded at the East Staffordshire register office, the first (Ref. 30 568) during the last quarter of 1976, the second (Ref. 30 675) during the second quarter of 1985. Just after the start of the twenty-first century all four members of the family were residing at Comberford Road in Tamworth

2S73 - Robert James Collett was born in 1976 at East Staffordshire

2S74 – Edward Lewis Collett was born in 1985 at East Staffordshire

Andrew John Collett [2S1] whose date of birth is not known, married Kerry Dahm and they have two children in 2008. Andrew works for UBS Swiss Bank and the family currently live at Claygate in Surrey. The births of both of their children were recorded at Kingston-upon-Thames register office, their daughter (Ref. 2401b b103) during the spring of 1999, and their son (Ref. 2401c c112) during the summer of 2001. On both occasions, the children’s mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Dahm

2T1 – Alana Rachel Collett was born in 1999 at Kingston-upon-Thames

2T2 – Alexander Tristan J Collett was born in 2001 at Kingston-upon-Thames

Ross David Collett [2S3] whose date of birth is not known, lives in Auckland in New Zealand. He is married with a son at the time of writing

2T3 – Charlie Collett was born in 2007

Bertram Theodore Collett [2S13] was born at Newport in 1962, where his birth was registered by his parents Bertram and Maureen Collett, during the last three months of that year (Ref. 8c 279). It was at Pontypool that his marriage to Karen Chadney was recorded in the final quarter of 1982 (Ref. 28 0455), Karen having been born at Nuneaton in the summer of 1964 (Ref. 9c 1990). Their son and daughter were both born at Pontypool over the next two years

2T4 – Paul N Collett was born in 1983 at Pontypool, South Wales

2T5 – Emma Louise Collett was born in 1984 at Pontypool, South Wales

Martin G Collett [2S14] was born at Newport in 1963, the second of the four children of Bertram and Maureen Collett. He married Tracy E Gatt, the marriage being recorded at Newport in February 1984. Like Martin, Tracy had also been born at Newport at the end of 1962. Their marriage produced two children, both of whom were born at Newport

2T6 – Rhys Martin Collett was born in 1984 at Newport, South Wales

2T7 – Amy Michelle Collett was born in 1986 at Newport, South Wales

Stephen A Collett [2S15] was born at Newport in 1964, the birth being registered there during the first quarter of the year. He married Gillian M Hadley at Newport during the September quarter of 1985. Gillian, who was 20 and had been born at Newport in 1965, presented Stephen with two children while the couple was living in Newport

2T8 – Kyle Michael Collett was born in 1987 at Pontypool, South Wales

2T9 – Nathan Stephen Collett was born in 1989 at Newport, South Wales

2T10 – Charlie Louise Collett was born in 1996 at Newport, South Wales

Tina Patricia Collett [2S16] was born at Newport in 1966, the fourth and last child of Bertram and Maureen Collett. Her birth was registered at Newport during the final three months of that year, and she later married Adam D Cook at Pontypool during the month of May in 1986, Adam having been born at Pontypool in 1963. Their two sons are Lloyd Cook who was born at Pontypool in the first three months of 1987 (Ref. 28 1325) and Adam Cook who was born at Newport during the last three months of 1989 (Ref. 28 822)

Sharon A Collett [2S17] was born at Newport in 1963, the only child of Arthur Stephen Collett and Jeanette W Bristow, her birth recorded during the first quarter of the year at Newport register office (Ref. 8c 54), her mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Bristow. The later marriage of Sharon A Collett and Anthony J Taylor was also recorded at Newport (Ref. 28 125) during the summer of 1982. Over the next three years Sharon gave birth to two children, Kelly-Marie Taylor in 1983 and Kris James Taylor in 1985, their births recorded at Newport, with their mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Collett. Whether Anthony’s work took the family to Essex, has not been confirmed, but at Havering in 1986 and again in 1989, two more daughters were born to a Taylor-Collett marriage. They were Collette Marie Taylor and Trudie Lianne Taylor

Claire Collett [2S18] was born at Newport in Monmouthshire on 1^st June 1971 and was just two years old when her parents emigrated to Australia. After only seven years ‘down under’ the family then returned to Newport in 1980, from where they moved to London in 1985. Claire married (1) Mark Blennerhassett from whom she was later divorced, the marriage not producing any children for the couple. She later married (2) Tom Brogan with whom she had two sons, the wedding taking place at Nantwich in Cheshire on 18^th January 2003. Luke Brogan was born on 29^th October 1995, while his brother Scott Brogan was born on 1^st January 1997. During 2004 Claire, Tom and their two sons returned to Australia with Claire’s sister Ceri (below) and her husband, and now live at Rockingham in Western Australia

Carl Collett [2S19] was born at Wollongong in New South Wales on 28^th November 1973 four months after his parents arrived there from Newport in South Wales. However, before his seventh birthday Carl and the family returned to Newport where they lived for the next five years, after which they moved to London. Carl married Suzanne Hendrie on 24^th May 1997 and over the next five years the marriage produced three children for the couple. Carl and Suzanne were divorced in 2004 when the youngest of the three children was only two years old. Over the next year Carl took a new partner Michelle Connor, with whom he had a further two daughters. When Carl’s two sisters and his parents returned to Australia in 2004 and 2006 respectively, Carl and his family stayed behind in England with his younger brother Curt (below)

The birth of Carl’s first child with Suzanne was recorded at Ealing register office (Ref. 226 1c) when Suzanne’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hendrie. By the time their daughter Sophie was born, the family was living in the Coventry area, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 063 1d) and, again the mother’s maiden-name was recorded as Hendrie, as it was for the birth of the couple’s third child (Ref. 063 1b). The birth of the first of Carl’s two children with Michelle was recorded at the Hammersmith & Fulham register office (Ref. 260 1b) when Michelle’s maiden-name was confirmed as Connor

2T11 – Rhys Christopher Collett was born on 23^rd October 1996 at Ealing, London

2T12 – Sophie Ann Collett was born on 16^th February 1999 at Coventry

2T13 – Samuel Arthur Collett was born on 2^nd January 2002 at Coventry

2T14 – Alanis Frances Collett was born on 26^th August 2005 at Hammersmith, London

2T15 – Elsie Collett was born on 16^th August 2008 at Hammersmith, London

Ceri Collett [2S20] was born at Wagga Wagga in New South Wales on 28^th August 1978 but within two years was living at Newport in South Wales, to where her parents had returned in 1980. After five years at Newport the Collett family moved to London. Ceri married Sean McCarthy at Bletchley in Buckinghamshire on 2^nd March 2002 and two years later she and Sean emigrated to Australia with her sister Claire (above) and her family, where they settled at Rockingham in Western Australia

Curt Collett [2S21] was born at Townsville in Queensland on 24^th July 1979. During the year after he was born his parents returned to the town of their birth at Newport in South Wales. That was then followed by a family move to London in 1985. Curt’s two married sisters Claire and Ceri returned to Western Australia in 2004, followed by his parents in 2006, although Curt remained in England with his brother Carl (above)

Steven Alan Collett [2S22] was born at Marston Green, just north of Solihull, on 6^th September 1963, the eldest son of Derek George Collett and his wife Marion Williams. His birth was recorded at Meriden register office (Ref. 9c 43) near Coventry in Warwickshire, with his mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Williams. In 1986 he married Helen M Lancaster at Solihull, where the event was recorded during the first three months of that year (Ref. 34 65). Helen was born at Wednesbury in Warwickshire (Ref. 9b 1298) in the third quarter of 1963. However, despite having three children while the couple was living in Solihull, by 2008 Steven was once again a bachelor

2T16 – Todd Steven Collett was born in 1989 at Solihull

2T17 – Rozalyn Tammy Collett was born in 1994 at Solihull

2T18 – Elizabeth Sarah A Collett was born in 1995 at Solihull

Andrew David Collett [2S23], who is known as Andy, was born on 13^th December 1965, possibly at Marston Green, where his older brother was born, since Andy’s birth was also recorded at Meriden register office (Ref. 9c 124), when his mother’s maiden-name was also confirmed as William. He married Nicola Elizabeth Walker who was born at Birmingham on 2^nd August 1979, the daughter of Graham Edward Walker and Linda Doran. Both of their two children were born while the couple was living at Solihull. This photo of Andy with daughter Abbi was taken in 2008. Coincidentally, Andy and his cousin Karen (below), both made contact with Brian Collett the same afternoon in early June 2008 and the information they supplied enabled this family line to be completed

2T19 – Lewis James Collett was born on 21^st August 2000 at Solihull

2T20 – Abbi Louise Collett was born in March 2003 at Solihull

Stephen J Collett [2S25] was born at Newport in 1963 and he married Pauline Davies at Newport in the second quarter of 1984 (Ref. 28 289), Pauline also having been born at Newport in 1963. Their marriage produced two daughters for Stephen and Pauline

Paul S Collett [2S26] was born at Newport in 1963, the first of the four children born to George H Collett and his wife Margaret A Pullin. It was during the third quarter of that year that his birth was recorded at Newport register office (Ref. 8c 240)

Kevin John Collett [2S27] was born at Newport during the final three months of 1966 (Ref. 8c 203), the second child of George and Margaret Collett. It seems likely that he married Judith Mandy Christensen during the September quarter of 1990 (Ref. 28 203), who was actually recorded as simply Mandy Christensen. All that is known about them so far is that their marriage resulted in children, whose birth were recorded at Newport register office in Monmouthshire, where the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Christensen, (Ref. 28 1126) during the second quarter of 1991, and (Ref. 8362c C55c) during the second quarter of 1993

2T21 – Sarah Jayne Collett was born in 1991 at Newport, South Wales

2T22 – Daniel James Collett was born in 1993 at Newport, South Wales

Kerry Ann Collett[2S28] was born at Newport in 1968, her birth being recorded at Newport during the September quarter of that year (Ref. 8c 563). She was the only daughter of George and Margaret Collett and, it is understood that, she married Michael B W Seal in the third quarter of 1991 at Newport (Ref. 28 294). The birth of Michael Seal was recorded at Newport during the first quarter of 1965 (Ref. 8c 262), and the marriage produced three children who were al born in Newport. They were twins Lauren Marie Seal and Jodie Louise Seal who were born in the second quarter of 1992, (Ref. 28 801 and Ref. 28 802), and Connor Michael Seal who was born during 1994 (Ref. 8362a A62C)

Mark Collett [2S29] was born at Newport where his birth was recorded at the register office during the third quarter of 1970 (Ref. 8c 927). It was would appear that it was in Wales that he married Karen Chadwick in April 1996, the event being recorded at the register office at Torfaen in Monmouthshire (Ref. 837 0043)

Helen Marie Collett [2S30] was born at Newport in 1967, the only child of John Collett and Sheena Powell, whose birth was recorded at Newport in the third quarter of 1967 (Ref. 8c 233) just a few months after her parents wedding had been recorded there during the first quarter of that same year. Helen later married Sean Patrick Kent and that too was recorded at Newport during the second quarter of 1989 (Ref. 28 208), Sean’s birth having been registered at Caerleon in Monmouthshire in the first three months of 1966 (Ref. 8c 139). Their daughter Rochelle Collette Kent was born at Newport in 1990

Donna Louise Collett [2S31] was born at Newport in 1974, the only known child of Paul Collett. Her birth was recorded at Newport during the first quarter of 1974 and she was twenty-eight when she married Matthew F Robinson at Monmouth during the third quarter of 2002

Scott Anthony Collett [2S32] was born at Cuckfield in Sussex towards the end of 1971 (Ref. 5h 122), the only son of Michael John Collett and Jacqueline Mitchell. He later married Hannah L Sutcliffe at Bromsgrove in Worcestershire during the third quarter of 2003. Hannah was born at Dudley in Staffordshire at the end of 1972 (Ref. 9b 778)

Marlene Linda Collett [2S35] was born at Plymouth on 8^th September 1968, the eldest of the three children of John Alfred Fredrick Collett and his wife Celia Marlene Bray, who were only married three months earlier. Marlene’s birth was recorded at Plymouth during the last three months of 1968, which may indicate that she was actually born between 1^st October and 31^st December that year. She was only eighteen when she married Mark Royston Mason at Plymouth during the second quarter of 1987, Mark having been born there during the first three months of 1966

Suzanna Jane Collett [2S36] was born at Plymouth on 2^nd March 1972, the daughter of John and Celia Collett, and it was also at Plymouth that she married Dale L Brett during July 2000. Dale was born at the Isle of Sheppey in Kent during the last three months of 1968

Lisa Marie Collett [2S37] was born at Plymouth on 23^rd December 1980, the last of the three daughters of John and Celia Collett. At the time her birth was recorded at Plymouth register office (Ref. 21 1722), where her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Bray. No record of a marriage has been found, although the Electoral Rolls for 2002 to 2006 reveal she was a resident of Taunton Avenue in Plymouth when living there with her was Trevor Mark Gilbery who was born at Plymouth in the summer of 1975. Their two children were both born in Plymouth and are Dylan Alfred Gilbery (born in 1999) and Marco Kane Gilbery (born in 2003), and in each case the maiden-name of the mother was given as Collett

Barry Collett [2S38] was born at Plymouth on 28^th January 1966, the eldest son of David John Mervyn Collett and his wife Lesley Hardey. He later married Fiona K Harvey at Plymouth during February 2003, Fiona having been born at Portsmouth in 1962

Carl Wayne Collett [2S40] was born at Coventry on 14^th November 1970, the eldest of the two sons of policeman Roger Maurice Collett and his wife Kathleen Foxon. His birth was recorded at Coventry register office (Ref. 9c 2177), when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Foxon. Not long after he was born the family moved to Bedworth and in 1995 Carl met his future wife Paula and moved to Webb Street in Nuneaton. Paula was born in Nuneaton on 7^th August 1973 and came from the village of Ansley, just outside Nuneaton. It was in Antigua where Carl Wayne Collett married Paula Marie Newcombe on 14^th June 1996 and their son was born two years later. In 2015 Carl is a serving member of the West Midlands Fire Service

2T23 – Daniel Maurice Collett was born in 1998 at Nuneaton

Paul Roger Collett [2S41] was born at Coventry, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 9c 2033) during the early months of 1972, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Foxon. He was the second son of Roger Collett and Kathleen Foxon. In the early decades of the twenty-first century Paul was unmarried and was living and working within the county of Leicestershire

Jemma Katie Collett [2S42] was born in 1993 at Lincoln where her birth was recorded (Ref. 6191b b62c) during March that year and when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Pilcher. She was the eldest daughter of Timothy G Collett and Debra Pilcher who were married there two years earlier. By 2013, her father had retired from serving with RAF, when the family was still residing in Lincolnshire. It was during the month of August in 2020 that Jemma Katie Collett married Jake Playford, with whom she had a daughter Bloom Maggie Playford who was born in July 2021. In the summer of the following year the family of three was living in Norfolk at Wiggenhall St. Germans, five miles south of Kings Lynn

Jessica Ann Collett [2S43] was born during November 1995, with her birth recorded at Oxford register office (Ref. 7021d d100d), the youngest daughter of Timothy and Debra Collett, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Pilcher. Not long after she was born the family returned to Lincolnshire, where her older sister Jemma had been born two years earlier. Jess, as she is known, married Matt Daniel in August 2021 and a year later they were still living in Lincolnshire, not far from the City of Lincoln

William J Collett [2S44] was born at Oxford in 1936 where his birth was also recorded during the second quarter of that year (Ref. 3a 2099), when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as King. He was thirty-eight when he married Frances M Smith at Bullingdon in Oxfordshire during the third quarter of 1974. It was also in Oxfordshire that their three children were born, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Smith

2T24 – Clare Elizabeth Collett was born in 1976 at Banbury

2T25 – Sarah Jane Collett was born in 1978 at Banbury

2T26 – Trevor Francis Collett was born in 1984 at Oxford

Hazel Collett [2S46] was born at Oxford in 1944 and her birth was recorded there during the third quarter of the year (Ref. 3a 2677), when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as King. Twenty years late she married Michael J Adams at Oxford during the first three months of 1964 (Ref. 6b 2113). He was born at Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire during the third quarter of 1947 and their marriage produced two daughters for the couple. Susan Adams was born at Oxford in the last quarter of 1967 (Ref. 6b 1543) and she married Richard E Bramah at Oxford during the third quarter of 1995. He was born at Sheffield in Yorkshire in 1962 and their marriage produced two sons, Oliver G Bramah (born at Banbury in 1998) and Benjamin James Bramah (born at Oxford in 2002). Claire Elizabeth R Adams was born at Oxford in the third quarter of 1972 (Ref. 6b 4230). She married Robert J Page at the Bicester Ploughley register office in Oxfordshire during the last quarter of 1997. He was born at Oxford in 1972, where his named was his registered as Justin Robert Page

Hilary A Collett [2S47] was born in Surrey in 1958, the eldest of the two daughters of Ralph Hubert Collett and his wife Pamela Leslie Chandler. Her birth was recorded at the North-Eastern register office in Surrey (Ref. 5g 768) during the second quarter of that year, where her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Chandler. She later married Andreas Haralampous at Sutton in Surrey (Ref. 15 135) during the spring of 1988, Andreas having been born in Northumberland South during the last three months of 1958. Their marriage produced two children and they were Eleanor Louisa Haralampous, who was born at Basingstoke in October 1990, and Katherine Sylvia Haralampous also born there in April 1992

Gillian Louisa Collett [2S48] was born in Surrey in 1961, the younger of the two daughters of Ralph and Pamela Collett, and her birth was also recorded at North-Eastern Surrey (Ref. 5g 813) during the second quarter of that year, when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Chandler. Gillian was twenty-one when she married Evan F H De Silva at Sutton in Surrey during the June quarter of 1982, following which she presented her husband with three children. Alexander Frank J De Silva was born at Sutton in November 1984, Rebecca Louisa C De Silva was born at Sutton in April 1987, and the birth of Charlotte Adelaide E De Silva was recorded as the Surrey Mid-Easter register office during the September quarter of 1996

Brent David Collett [2S52] was born in Canada on 3^rd January 1972, the youngest of the two children of David Frank Collett and his wife Alice. The following has yet to be confirmed, but a Brent Collett was the man who purchased one of the oldest land survey firms in eastern Ontario, which was founded by Willis Chipman in 1881. The purchase was completed in February 1996 when the company was renamed Collett Surveying Limited. However, what makes it implausible that this is Brent David Collett, is the company statement, which it states that Brent Collett graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.Sc. in Survey Science in 1985

Stephen G A Collett [2S54] was born at Weston-Super-Mare in 1953 where his birth was recorded during the third quarter of that year (Ref. 7c 346). Another record suggests that Stephen married Vivian J Tunnicliff at Weston-Super-Mare (Ref. 22 1524) during 1984, although no record of any children has been found

Debra M Collett [2S56] was born at Weston-Super-Mare during the third quarter in 1958. It was also at Weston where she married Mervyn J Hinton during the second quarter of 1978. He too was born at Weston in the June quarter of 1955 (Ref. 7c 317). The marriage appears to have produced just one child, Samantha E Hinton who was born at Weston in the last three months of 1982 (Ref. 22 1637)

Marie-Claire Louise Collett [2S61] was born at Sheffield in August 1980 with her birth recorded there (Vol. 3 2313), the first of the four children of Peter S Collett and Patricia Donnelly. She married Benjamin Warren in April 2002 and have two children. Marie-Claire has lived in Guernsey and Edinburgh but moved back to Sheffield with husband Benjamin not long after the birth of her first child in 2012

Suzanne Bernadette Collett [2S62] was born at Sheffield in October 1983, the second child of Peter and Patricia Collet whose birth was recorded at Sheffield (Vol. 3 1545). In 2023, Suzanne was still living with her parents

David Peter Collett [2S63] was born at Sheffield in 1989, where his birth was recorded (Vol. 3 1428) during the summer of 1989, the third child and only son of Peter and Patricia Donnelly. He married Rosemary Hannah Cripps in November 2019 and they live in the Rotherham-Sheffield area of South Yorkshire. David works as a logistics co-ordinator, “a posh term for an administrator” he says, for an occupational health company, Medigold Health, where his has been since November 2014

Catherine Helen Collett [2S64] was born in December 1991 and is the fourth and last child of Peter and Patricia Collett of Sheffield, where her birth was recorded (Vol. 3 1829) in January 1992. It was during the month of May in 2021 that Catherine married James Rickenbach, who now live in Derby. Unable to have the usual wedding celebration, due to Covid, Catherine and James' second wedding anniversary in 2023 was used to replace that lost opportunity with a full wedding reception for family and friends. It was during that happy occasion that Catherine’s brother David started to think about their family history, with the result that they are now confirmed as another branch of the Collett family from Wiltshire

Tracey Ann Collett [2S65] was born at Coventry on 9^th September 1981, the only child of Roger Collett and Pauline Sparkes, whose birth was recorded at Coventry register office (Ref. 33 385), when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Sparkes. Today, Tracey has two children of her own, Kyle’s birth recorded at Coventry (Ref. 0631d d78a) during the summer of 2000 and Joshua’s birth recorded at the Mid-Warwickshire register office (Ref. 7751b b33c) during the summer of 2003. In both cases, the children’s mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett.

2T27 – Kyle Collett was born in 2000 at Coventry

2T28 – Joshua Collett was born in 2003 at Mid-Warwickshire

Mark Collett [2S66] was born in 1957 and his birth was recorded at Windsor register office (Ref. 6a 258) during the last three months of that year, the only child of Lewis E Collett and Evelyn J Beckinsale. He married Carolyn J Arioli at Bracknell in Berkshire during the second of 1982 and they have two children

2T29 – Nicole Joan Collett was born in 1987 at Bracknell

2T30 – Russell J Collett was born in 1989 at Bracknell

Louis John Collett [2S70] was born in 1975, his birth recorded at Oxford register office (Ref. 20 69) early in 1975 and only a few months after his parents William G Collett and Gillian E Balfour were married. At the age of twenty-two-years, the marriage of Louis J Collett and Claire S Stephens was recorded at West Oxford register office (Vol. 706) in the spring of 1997. Over the following eight years, the couple gave birth to three children, their births recorded at Oxford register office, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Stephens.

2T31 – Ellie Louise J Collett was born in 1998 at Oxford

2T32 – James William T Collett was born in 1999 at Oxford

2T33 – Aiden Joseph T Collett was born in 2005 at Oxford

Denis Collett [2S71] was born in 1953 at Aylesbury, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 6a 439) during the third quarter of the year, when the mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Gibbs, the son of Walter Robert Collett and Florence Ellen Elizabeth Gibbs.

Beverley D Collett [2S72] was born in 1963 at Aylesbury, her birth also recorded there (Ref. 6a 661) during the first three months of 1963.

Paul N Collett [2T4] was born at Pontypool in 1983 and was the eldest of the two children of Bertram Theodore Collett and Karen Chadney. His birth was recorded at Pontypool register office (Ref. 28 1215) during the first three months of that year. He married Kay Annette Husselbee in Bangkok, Thailand in 2005. Kay was born at Oxford in the spring of 1976 and today she and Paul have a son who was born at Oxford during the final three months of 2006

2U1 – Ewan William Collett was born in 2006 at Oxford

Emma Louise Collett [2T5] was born at Pontypool in 1984, the daughter of Bertram and Karen Collett, her birth recorded at Pontypool register office (Ref. 28 1400) during the first three months of the year. She was twenty-one when she married Philip J Wilsdon, the event being recorded at the North Cotswolds register office in the third quarter of 2005. It was during the following year that their daughter Jessica Mae Wilsdon was born at Cheltenham in the second three months of 2006

Daniel Maurice Collett [2T23] was born at Nuneaton in Warwickshire on 26^th June 1998. He was the only child of Carl Wayne Collett from Coventry and Paula Marie Newcombe of Nuneaton. At the age of twenty-three, Daniel and his partner Lauryn Williams gave birth to a son, Isaac Peter Collett, was born at George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton on 7^th March 2021

2U2 – Isaac Peter Collett was born in 2021 at Nuneaton

Clare Elizabeth Collett [2T24] was born at Banbury in 1976, her birth being recorded there during the second quarter of the year (Ref. 20 2455), when her mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Smith. She later married Stephen John Boswell when the event was recorded at the West Oxfordshire register office during the third quarter of 1997, although the bride’s named was recorded as Claire. Stephen was born at Kidderminster in Worcestershire during the final three months of 1974

APPENDIX ONE

The Earlier Broadway Generations

Within the Broadway census of 1841, two Collett families were living in the town, each headed by a William Collett (Refs. 2c5 & 2c6), one of whom lived on the High Street right next door to blacksmith Francis Collett (Ref. 2N41) from Buckland, who was baptised at Broadway. While at Laverton, a mile west of Buckland, Richard Collett (Ref. 2c4) from Broadway was also a blacksmith (1785-1871) the older brother of William Collett (Ref. 2c5)

Richard Collett [2a1] was born at Stow-on-the-Wold around 1720 and his wife Rebecca Keen was also born around the same time, but in Worcestershire. They were married at Stow-on-the-Wold on 3^rd October 1741, Rebecca being the daughter of Samuel Keen and his wife Elizabeth Beal. All of their known children were baptised at Broadway during the 1750s, although it is highly likely that the majority of them were born during the 1740 and not baptised as babies. The reason for suggesting that, is the fact that their son Richard was married in 1765, placing his birth in the mid-1740s. It is of further interest that Elizabeth Keen married William Collett at Stow-on-the-Wold around 1841. It is therefore possible that Elizabeth was Rebecca’s sister, while the family of William Collett (Ref. 33K2) can be found in Part 33 – The Bourton-on-the-Water Line 1770 to 1835

2b1 – Betty Collett was born in 1745 at Broadway

2b2 – Ann Collett was born on 20^th May 1750 at Broadway

2b3 – William Collett was born on 17^th July 1751 at Broadway

2b4 – Richard Collett was born on 7^th October 1753 at Broadway; infant death

2b5 – Richard Collett was born in 1754 at Broadway; infant death

2b6 – John Collett was born in 1755 at Broadway

2b7 – William Collett was born in 1757 at Broadway

John Collett [2a2], and his wife Rachel, had a son John Collett, whose baptism was conducted at Broadway on 17^th August 1755, and who was buried at Broadway on 1^st August 1824 at the age of 69. Interesting again, the parish register stated that his ethnicity was American

2b8 – John Collett was born in 1755 at Broadway; died there in 1824

Betty Collett [2b1] was born at Broadway before 1750, the likely daughter of Richard Collett and Rebecca Keen. The marriage of Betty Collett and Robert Stanley took place at Broadway during 1771

Richard Collett [2b5] was born at Broadway, most likely during the early 1750s, where he was baptised on 7^th October1754, the eldest surviving son of Richard Collett and Rebecca Keen. It was during 1769 that the marriage of Richard Collett and Elizabeth White took place at Broadway. He was 77 years old when Richard died at Broadway, where he was buried on 5^th January 1831. Two years after losing her husband, Elizabeth passed away and was buried with him at Broadway on 26^th March 1833

2c1 – Mary Collett was born in 1771 at Broadway; baptised there on 7^th October 1771

2c2 – Robert Collett was born in 1780 at Broadway

2c3 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1783 at Broadway; baptised there on 26^th October 1783

2c4 – Richard Collett was born in 1785 at Broadway

2c5 – William Collett was born in 1790 at Broadway

John Collett [2b6] was born at Broadway, possibly in 1754, and was baptised there on 18^th May 1755, another son of Richard and Rebecca Collett. Upon his death in December 1818, John Collett, son of Richard and Rebecca, was 64 years of age, after which he was buried at Broadway on 29^th December 1818. His wife Mary had already passed away by then, as it was on 11^th January 1816, at the age of 60, that Mary Collett, wife of John Collett, was buried at Broadway

William Collett [2b7] was born and baptised at Broadway on 21^st December 1757, the last known child of Richard Collett and Rebecca Keen. William may have been married more than once in his life, since his later marriage to Anne Walker was conducted at Broadway on 5^th July 1792, when he would have been around in his early-to-mid-thirties. Their only know child was born eighteen months later

2c6 – William Collett was born in 1794 at Broadway

Robert Collett [2c2] was born at Broadway and baptised there on 27^th September 1780, an elder son of Richard Collett and Elizabeth White. It was also at Broadway that Robert Collett married Elizabeth Folkes on 23^rd March 1816. It would appear that their marriage lasted for nineteen years when, on 27^th June 1835, Robert Collett died at Broadway. The couple’s only known son, although no record of his birth or baptism has been located, died at Broadway near the end of February in 1828, at the age of nine years, and was buried there on 1^st March

Richard Collett [2c4] was born at Broadway and was another son of Richard and Elizabeth Collett, who was baptised at Broadway on 7^th August 1785. He was a blacksmith and married to Ann and their eldest son Richard was baptised at Broadway on 6^th August 1815, the very same day that William Collett was baptised there, the eldest son of William and Sarah Collett (below), the youngsters Richard and William being first cousins. Sadly, Richard Collett junior died at Broadway, where he was buried on 16^th June 1833, around the time of eighteenth birthday. Six more children were added to their family, four of them born at nearby Buckland, although all of them were still baptised at Broadway. The four youngest were Elizabeth on 2^nd May 1822, Leah on 29^th August 1825, Lavinia on 8^th December 1827, and Brightly on 12^th July 1829 – later referred to as Bertha. Curiously, the baptism entry recorded for the three Buckland born children that their ethnicity was American, the same as for George the youngest child of William and Sarah Collett (below)

According to the census in 1841, the family was residing at Laverton, one mile west of Buckland. On that day just four of the children were still living with Richard who was 55 and Ann who was 50, both rounded ages. They were George who was 20, Elizabeth who was 15, Leah who was 14, and Bertha who was 10 years of age, who was presumably Brightly. Their son Francis, aged 21, was living close by with his sisters Selina Collett who was 17 and Lavinia Collett who was 13. Staying with the family was John Hall who was 60. The occupation of Richard Collett was that of a blacksmith in the census of 1851 when the family home was in Buckland. Richard from Broadway was 66, his wife Ann from Moreton-in-Marsh was 62, when two of their unmarried children were still living with the couple. They were daughters Ann and Leah who were 27 and 24 years old respectively, Ann Collett being a school mistress and Leah having no job of work

By 1861 Richard Collett was 74 years old and Ann Collett was 72. Their home was on the High Street in Broadway, with Richard described as being a proprietor of houses who had been born at Broadway, while Ann’s place of birth was recorded as Moreton. After a further ten years, widowed Richard Collett, a gentleman of 86, was living with his son George Collett at his home in Buckland. It was just less than five months later that Richard Collett passed away, following which he was buried at Broadway on 21^st August 1871 at the age of 89, indicating he was born around 1782. His Will was proved at the Principal Registry on 17^th October 1871, when his son George Collett was named as the main beneficiary, the second being Job White a member of his mother’s family. The probate process also revealed that Richard Collett died on 18^th August 1871

2d1 – Richard Collett was born in 1815 at Broadway; died in 1833

2d2 – George Collett was born in 1817 at Broadway

2d3 – Francis Collett was born in 1819 at Buckland

2d4 – Elizabeth Collett was born in 1821 at Buckland

2d5 – Selina Collett was born in 1823 at Buckland

2d6 – Leah Collett was born in 1825 at Buckland

2d7 – Lavinia Collett was born in 1827 at Buckland

2d8 – Brightly Collett was born in 1829 at Buckland

William Collett [2c5] was born at Broadway in 1790 and was 50 years old in 1841. He was another son of Richard Collett and Elizabeth White. William was baptised at Broadway on 31^st December 1790 and he married Sarah Lane at Broadway on 6^th October 1813. His wife Sarah also had a rounded age of 50 in 1841, while still living with them was the youngest of their four known Broadway born children George, who had a rounded age of 15 and was working as a shoemaker. The Broadway parish register confirmed that George Collett was baptised there on 2^nd June 1822, the son of William and Sarah Collett, so making his actual age nearer to nineteen. On the parish record for his baptism, George’s ethnicity was stated as being American, the same as their daughter Mary at the time of her burial on 10^th April 1821 prior to her first birthday

Three older children had also been born to the couple, although their first-born son William, who was baptised at Broadway on 6^th August 1815, suffered a premature death and was buried there on 23^rd August 1815. Sadly, the couple’s next son, another William who was baptised on 22^nd February 1818, also suffered an infant death, when he too was buried at Broadway on 15^th June 1818. By 1851 William and Sarah were still residing in Broadway, when William Collett from Broadway was 60 and an agricultural labourer, and Sarah Collett from Long Compton in Worcestershire was 62 years old

William Collett died at Broadway during the following decade, his death recorded at nearby Evesham. However, at that period of time, there were three recordings for the death of William Collett; the first during the last quarter of 1851, the next during the fourth quarter of 1857, and the last one during the final three months of 1860. His wife also died at Broadway during the same decade, when the death of Sarah Collett was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 28) during the third quarter of 1854. One interesting aspect regarding this family is the fact that William Collett, eldest son of William and Sarah, was baptised at Broadway on 6^th August 1815, the same day as Richard Collett (above), the eldest child of Richard and Anne. In addition, three of the four Buckland born children of the same Richard and Anne Collett, also had their ethnicity recorded as American when they were baptised at Broadway, the same as William and Sarah’s last child George, all between the years 1821 to 1824

2d9 – William Collett was born in 1815 at Broadway; died in 1815

2d10 – Sarah Collett was born in 1816 at Broadway

2d11 – William Collett was born in 1818 at Broadway; died in 1818

2d12 – Mary Collett was born in 1820 at Broadway; died in 1821

2d13 – George Collett was born in 1822 at Broadway

William Collett [2c6], who was born at Broadway 1793, was the first-born child of William Collett and his wife Anne Walker who were married at Broadway on 5^th July 1792. William, the younger, was baptised at Broadway on 20^th January 1794. He later married Rebecca Joiner at Broadway on 15^th April 1823 and in 1841, when they were both 47, William and Rebecca were recorded in Broadway with their sons William Collett, aged 15, and John Collett who was nine. Where daughter Ann was that day has not been determined although, in 1851 and in 1861, she was still unmarried and living with the family when she was 27 and 37 respectively. It was at Back End in Broadway where the family of four was living in 1861, where William was 67 and a retired builder. Rebecca was also 67 and, in addition to daughter Ann, still living with them was their John Davis Collett who was 29. Eight years later William Collett died at Broadway, with his death recorded at nearby Evesham (Ref. 6c 293) during the second quarter of 1869, when he was 75 years old. For the last four years of his life, he had been a widower following Rebecca’s passing, which was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 28) during the first three months of 1865

2d14 – Ann Collett was born in 1824 at Broadway

2d15 – William Collett was born in 1826 at Broadway

2d16 – John Davis Collett was born in 1832 at Broadway

George Collett [2d2] was born at Broadway in 1817, the second child of Richard and Ann Collett. At the age of 34, George was a blacksmith journeyman living on the High Street in Broadway, when his place of birth was said to be Buckland. His wife was recorded as Mary Collett who was 38 and also born at Buckland. By 1861, the childless couple had settled in Buckland and, also by that time, George was then a public and a grocer at the age of 44, with Mary being 48. Ten years later, according to the census in 1871, George Collett from Buckland, near Broadway, was 54 and residing in Buckland with his wife Mary who was 56 and also born at Buckland. Staying with the couple was George’s elderly widowed father Richard Collet aged 86. Both men were simply described as ‘gentleman’, with his father being described as a proprietor of houses in 1861. Mary died at Buckland six years later, her death recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 64) during the last three months of 1867, when she was 64 years old. Consequently, George was a widower in the Broadway census of 1881 when, at the age of 64, he was described as a former grocer from Buckland. The later death of George Collett, who was born in 1817, was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 343) during the final quarter of 1890, when he was 73

Francis Collett [2d3] was born in 1819 at Buckland, near Broadway, and was baptised at Broadway on 6^th August 1820. He was the third child of Richard and Ann Collett and on the day of the census in 1841, Francis was 21 and recorded at Broadway, but not at the family home, with his sisters Selina Collett who was 17 and Lavinia Collett who was 13. Francis married Mary Ann Glasbrook at Pershore on 1^st May 1845 (Ref. xviii 84) and their second daughter Eliza was baptised at Broadway on 29^th April 1849, who tragically did not survive, her death recorded at Pershore (Ref. xviii 6) during the third quarter of 1849. The next child George, was baptised at Broadway on 28^th July 1850. Those two events were reflected eight months later in the census of 1851, when the family was living on the High Street in Broadway. Francis Collett from Broadway was 30 and a blacksmith, his wife Mary A Collett from Pershore was 34, and their two children were Amelia A Collett who was five, and George who was under one year old. The family of four was still together in 1861, at Broadway, where Francis was a blacksmith at 41 whose place of birth was recorded as Buckland, Mary Ann was 42, Amelia was 15 and George was 10 years old

Ten years later, in 1871, their children had left home in Broadway, leaving blacksmith Francis from Buckland, aged 50, and Mary Ann from Pershore, aged 54. The two of them were still there in 1881, but on that census day they were looking after their granddaughter Anne Collett aged just two years and born at Broadway. The elderly couple was recorded Main Street in Broadway as Francis from Buckland who was again a blacksmith at the age of 61, while his wife was named as Ann Collett from Pershore who was 67. Six years after that day, the death of Francis Collett was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 156) during the fourth quarter of 1887 when he was 67 years of age. Just over one year after the loss of her husband, the death of Mary Ann Collett was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 184) during the first three months of 1889, at the age of 76. With their son George having suffered a premature death eight years before the aforementioned granddaughter Anne Collett was born, and with the couple’s second child not surviving beyond infancy, the granddaughter of Francis and Mary Ann must have been the child of their eldest daughter Amelia

2e1 – Amelia Ann Collett was born in 1846 at Broadway; died in 1906

2e2 – Eliza Collett was born in 1848 at Broadway; died in 1849

2e3 – George Collett was born in 1850 at Broadway

Elizabeth Collett [2d4] was born at Buckland in 1821, another child of Richard and Ann Collett, and was baptised at nearby Broadway on 2^nd May 1822. It was also at Broadway that Elizabeth Collett married Charles Clarke on 27^th September 1842

Sarah Collett [2d10] was born at Broadway and was baptised there on 20^th October 1816, the second child of William and Sarah, and their eldest surviving offspring, following the infant death of the couple’s first-born son. Sarah was in her teenage years when she married George Dorrill at Broadway on 1^st October 1833. The couple’s known daughter Emma Dorrill was born on 3^rd April 1837 and baptised at Broadway on 30^th April that same year. Where Emma and her parents were in 1841 is not currently known, but in 1851 Emma Dorrill from Broadway was 14 and living at the High Street home of her Uncle George Collett (below), a young widower who had just lost his wife, leaving him with three young children. So, it is likely that Emma was there as the housekeeper and child-carer to her three younger cousins

George Collett [2d13] was born at Broadway in 1822 and was the youngest child of William Collett and Sarah Lane, who was baptised there on 2^nd June 1822, when rather strangely his ethnicity was said to be America, the same as his deceased older sister Mary. On the day of the census in 1841, George was the only child still living at Broadway with his parents, whose rounded age of 15 did not accurately reflect his actually age of 19. That would also account why he was already working, his occupation being that of a shoemaker. Also, it was three-and-half-years later that the marriage of George Collett and Mary Morgan took place at Broadway and recorded at Evesham (Ref. xviii 77) near the end of 1844. Three years earlier, Mary Morgan from Ireland was living at Belle Vine Cottage in Broadway with her widowed father Michael Morgan from Ireland, and her younger brother Edward born in Worcestershire

During the following decade, George’s life took a dramatic turn, with first his wedding, then the birth of three children, and the death of his wife when their youngest child was nearly one year old. The death of Mary Collett at Broadway was recorded at Evesham (Ref. xviii 63) during the last three months of 1850. The Broadway census in 1851 listed the family living on the High Street as George Collett, a widower at the age of 29, and a cordwainer (shoemaker), his daughter Catherine M Collett who was four, Fanny Collett who was two, and George E Collett who was one year old. Helping George look after his children when he was working, was his niece Emma Dorrill aged 14. Every member of the household had been born in Broadway, with Emma being the daughter of George’s older married sister Sarah (above). It was over three-and-half-years later when George married (2) Catherine Russell, from Cutsdean in Gloucestershire, at Broadway on 11^th November 1854. The parish register confirmed that George was the son of William Collett and that he was 30 years old, while his bride was 31 and the daughter of Thomas Russell. That second marriage for George produced a further four children

In 1861 the only child from his first married still living with remarried George, was his youngest child and namesake George. The census that year identified the new family residing at the High Street in Broadway, where George senior was 38, as was his wife Catherine, George E Collett was 12 and already working as an agricultural labourer alongside his father, while the two new children were Frederick William Collett who was five and Emma Collett who was three years old. The birth of Emma Collett at Broadway was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 31) near the end of 1857. Ten years after that, the family was again recorded in Broadway as George Collett aged 48 and a gardener, Catherine who was 47, William who was 15, Emma who was 13, Elizabeth who was nine, and Martha A Collett who was five. Boarding with the family was six-year-old Ernest Pratt from nearby Evesham

According to the next Broadway census, conducted in 1881, George and Catherine were both 58 years old, with George again working as a gardener, while Catherine was taking in three young boarders, seventeen-year-old Timothy West from Temple Guiting, twelve-year-old Mary Cook from Badsey, and George Blakeman who was six years of age. George Collett died at Broadway nine years later, with his death recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 255) during the first three months of 1890 when he was 67. Her loss was confirmed twelve months later, when Catherine Collett from Cutsdean was 68 and a widow, taking in lodgers at her home on Main Street in the town. After a further ten years the census of 1901, Catherine Collett of Cutsdean, the widow of George Collett, was seventy-eight years old and was still living in Broadway. Almost exactly two years later, the death of Catherine Collett was recorded at Evesham register office (Ref. 6c 324) during the second quarter of 1903, when the informant recorded her age in error as 83

2e4 – Catherine Mary Collett was born in 1845 at Broadway

2e5 – Fanny Collett was born in 1847 at Broadway

2e6 – George Edward Collett was born in 1849 at Broadway

The next four children came from George Collett by his second wife Catherine:

2e7 – Frederick William Collett was born in 1855 at Broadway

2e8 – Emma Collett was born on 25^th April 1858 at Broadway

2e9 – Jane Elizabeth Collett was born in 1862 at Broadway

2e10 – Martha Ann Collett was born in 1865 at Broadway

Ann Collett [2d14] was born at Broadway in 1824, where she was also baptised on 23^rd May 1824, the eldest child of William Collett and Rebecca Joiner. Where she was in 1841 has not yet been discovered, while by 1851 she was back living at the family home in Broadway, where her younger brother John was also still living. Ann Collett was 27, unmarried, with no stated occupation. It was the same situation in 1861, when Ann Collett was 37 and again, she and her brother John (below) were living with their parents at Back End in Broadway. Her lack of a reference to any job of work, may indicate she was acting as housekeeper for her elderly parents

William Collett [2d15] was born at Broadway in 1826, the second of the three known children of William and Rebecca Collett. It was also at Broadway that he was baptised on 19^th March 1826 and he was 15 years of age in the Broadway census of 1841. Ten years later, and just two months before the census day in 1851, William Collett married Sarah Rogers at Childswickham near Broadway on 16^th January 1851, with whom it is known he had at least three children. It was at Broadway that the family was living in 1851, by which time William from Broadway was married man and a joiner and a cabinet maker who was 24 years old. His younger wife Sarah, from Childswickham to the north-west of Broadway, was just 19 years of age. Over the following fourteen years, Sarah presented William with at least two children and they were Emily and Lizzie

However, Emily would have been two years old in 1861, but was absent from the family home. Instead, just William and Sarah were again living alone in Broadway at a dwelling on Leamington Road in 1861, by which time William was 33 (sic) and a farmer and a carpenter, and Sarah was 29. A couple of years later, Sarah presented William with their second daughter, when they were still living in Broadway, where the family was recorded in 1871. William was no longer a farmer, but was continuing his occupation as a carpenter at the age of 45, Sarah from Childswickham was 38, and daughter Lizzie T Collett was seven years old, having been baptised at Broadway on 14^th February 1864. The three of them were again living in Broadway in 1881 at Willersey Road, with William having retired by then when, at the age of 55, he was described as a retired builder, Sarah was 48 and Lizzie was 17, neither of them having an occupation. The other member of the family, eldest daughter Emily Collett, was living nearby on Willersey Road in Broadway. Four years later William Collett died at Broadway when he was 59 years old, his death recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 334) during the second quarter of 1895

Following the loss of her husband, Sarah Collett aged 58, was a widow living on her own means, who had returned to Leamington Road in Broadway, where she was the head of the household in 1891. It was a very similar story in 1901, when the Broadway census that year included widow Sarah Collett from Childswickham who was 69 and again living on her own means, but who had her granddaughter living with her. She was sixteen-year-old Sarah F E Holder from Stanton in Gloucestershire, whose birth was recorded at Winchcombe (Ref. 6a 30) during the third quarter of 1884. The pair of them were still together and residing in Broadway in 1911, when widow Sarah Collett was 79, of private means, and unmarried Sarah F E Holder was 26. With no stated occupation, young Sarah was very likely just a companion of her grandmother. After the passing of another two decades, the death of Sarah Collett, aged 89, was recorded at Evesham register office (Ref. 6c 72) during the second quarter of 1921

2e11 – Emily Collett was born in 1858 at Broadway

2e12 – Lizzie Theodosia Collett was born in 1863 at Broadway

John Davis Collett [2d16] was born at Broadway in 1832, the last child born to William Collett and Rebecca Joiner, being baptised at Broadway on 21^st May 1832. As simply John Collett, he was nine years old in the Broadway census of 1841. Ten years later, he had completed his schooling and was working as a reporter at the age of 19, when he and his sister Ann (above) were living at the family home in Broadway, as they were in 1861 at Back End when John Davis Collett was 29 and a shorthand writer, presumably who was still working as a reporter. John left the family home shortly after that and was recorded working in Southampton in 1871, when he was a visitor at the home of the Lawther family. John D Collett from Buckland was a 39 and a shorthand writer. Just less than four years after he became a married man

It was during the first three months of 1875 that the marriage of John Davis Collett and (1) Emily Tubb from London was recorded at St George Hanover Square (Ref. 1a 182). Six years after their wedding day the childless couple was living at Ashwyn Lodge on The Avenue in the St Mary district of Southampton. John D Collett was a journalist and gave his age as 45, when in fact he was forty-nine, perhaps because his wife Emily was only 32. Employed by the couple and living with them was general servant Margaret Bateman who was 23 and from Warminster in Wiltshire. Two years later Emily Collett died in Hampshire at the end of May and was buried there on 2^nd June 1883 at the age of 38. The burial record confirmed that she was the wife of John Davis Collett

After losing his wife, it would appear that John moved from Southampton, two miles north, to South Stoneham, taking servant Margaret Bateman with him, and it was there that they were living at Livingstone Road in 1891. John D Collett from Broadway, a former editor, once again gave his age as being younger than he was, when he was recorded as a widower aged 52, instead of 59, while Margaret J Bateman was 33 years old and his housekeeper. Within the next twelve months they were married, the wedding of John Davis Collett and (2) Margaret Jane Bateman recorded at South Stoneham (Ref. 2c 7) during the first quarter of 1892

By 1901 John Davis Collett of Broadway was 69 – his correct age, and was still living in Portswood, by which time he was a retired journalist. Living with him was his wife Margaret J Collett, aged 43, who had been born at Warminster. Six years later the death of John Davis Collett was recorded at the Hampshire South Stoneham register office (Ref. 2c 141) during the first quarter of 1907, when he was 75 years old. His Will was proved at the Principal Registry in London on 1^st June 1907, which confirmed that he died on 22^nd February 1907, with the sole beneficiary being his wife Margaret Jane Collett. On the day of the census in 1911, Margaret Jane Collett from Warminster was still living in Portswood, where she was described as a widow of 54 years who had no occupation. Two weeks after that same census day, Margaret J Collett died at Portswood, here death recorded at Southampton register office (Ref. 2c 70) during the second quarter of 1911. The Will of Margaret Janet Collett was proved at Southampton on 11^th May 1911, when the beneficiary was Francis Bateman. The probate process also confirmed that Margaret passed away on 16^th April 1911

It may be of interest, that it was at South Stoneham in 1911, Ernest Wilfred Collett (Ref. 46P21) from Southampton was living with his family, and where Gwendoline Collett, the widow of Bert Collett (Ref. 46q1), was buried in 2002

Amelia Ann Collett [2e1] was born at Broadway in 1846, the eldest child of Francis Collett and Mary Ann Glasbrook, whose birth was recorded at Evesham (Ref. xviii 17) during the first three months of the year. In the following two Broadway census returns, Amelia A Collett was five years old in 1851 at the family home on the High Street, and again in 1861 when Amelia A Collett was 15 and still attending school. On both occasions it was only Amelia and her brother George (below) who were still living with their parents, after their sister Eliza had died when she was still a baby

Amelia eventually left behind the comfort of the home of the Preece family and, by 1871, she was living and working in Cheltenham. Her elderly employer, Elizabeth Sperry from Chipping Campden, a landowner, was 81 years of age and must have provided the census enumerator with the information regarding her two servants, since general servant Amelia Collett from Broadway was incorrect recorded as being 23 years of age. She was still unmarried in 1881, when she was the senior servant of four domestic staff at the Childswickham home of the Reverend Robert H Barlow and his large family. Amelia A Collett from Broadway was 33 and a domestic nurse, caring for the younger members of the Barlow family. Curiously, no trace of Amelia has been found in both 1891 and 1901, while five years later the death of Amelia Ann Collett was recorded at Evesham register office (Ref. 6c 96) during the second quarter of 1906, when she was 60 years old

It has been assumed, that Amelia Ann Collett gave birth to a base-born daughter in 1879, perhaps conceived when she was in Cheltenham, the child then raised by her elderly parents until they had passed away in the 1880s. What is known is that the birth of Annie Collett was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 244) during the first quarter of 1879, following which she was cared for by her paternal grandparents. As a result of the death of both Francis and Mary during the following decade, the responsibility for the care of young Annie passed to the Preece family in Broadway. Scholar Annie Collett from Broadway was 12 years old in the next census of 1891, when she was described as a visitor at the home of Henry and Elizabeth Preece on the High Street, with their eight-year-old daughter Marion Preece. After another ten years Annie Collett was described as a lodger when she was 22 and still living with the Preece family in Broadway. She was not credited with a job of work, the same as in 1911, by which time Annie Collett was 32 and again a lodger with Henry and Elizabeth Preece

2f1 – Annie Collett was born in 1879 at Broadway

George Collett [2e3] was born at Broadway in 1850, where he was baptised on 28^th July 1850, the only son of Francis Collett and Mary Ann Glasbrook, with whom he and his sister Amelia were living in 1851 and 1861. On those occasions George was under one year old and was 10 years old. Just days prior to the next census in 1871, the premature death of George Collett happened near the end of March at Broadway, where his body was laid to rest on 29^th March 1871. He was only 20 years old

Catherine Mary Collett [2e4] was born at Broadway in 1845, the eldest child of George Collett and Mary Morgan. Her mother died when she was only five years old and, as a result of that tragedy, the census in 1851 recorded Catherine M Collett, who was four years, one of the three surviving children living at the High Street in Broadway with their widowed father, who remarried three years later. When her four half-siblings were born, creating a new family group, Catherine and her sister Fanny (below) both left home for work purposes. In 1861, as Mary Collett from Broadway, she was 15 and a house servant with the large Savage family on the High Street in Broadway, where David Savage had a tailor’s shop

Fanny Collett [2e5] was born at Broadway in 1847, another daughter of George and Mary Collett, who was two years of age in 1851, by which time her mother had died a few months earlier. That sad event left Fanny as one of three children living on the High Street in Broadway with their widowed father. After her father married for a second time three years later, and on leaving school, Fanny entered into domestic service and in 1861 was the only servant at the High Street, Broadway, home of the young Higgs family, when she was only 14, James Higgs himself being a gentleman’s servant

George Edward Collett [2e6] was born at Broadway in 1849 and his birth was recorded at Evesham (Ref. xviii 65) during the fourth quarter of the year. He was the third child of George Collett by his first wife, Mary Morgan, who died when George was around twelve months old. It was at the family home on the High Street in Broadway, where George was one year old in 1851 and, after his widowed father married again in 1854, George E Collett was 12 years of age in the Broadway census of 1861, when he was still living with his father and his stepmother Catherine, and two half-siblings. By that time in his young life, George was already working on the land as an agricultural labourer, with his father

Frederick William Collett [2e7] was born at Broadway in 1855, his birth recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 21) during the third quarter of the year, when his name was simply William Collett. By the time he was baptised at Broadway on 25^th November 1855 it was under the name of Frederick William Collett, the eldest son of George Collett by his second wife Catherine Russell. Over the following years the two forenames were reversed on some occasions, and at other times she was just William. It was as Frederick William that his parents informed the census enumerator of his name, when he was five years old, for the Broadway census of 1861. On the occasion of the Broadway census in 1871, it was William Collett aged 15 who was still living there with his family, the eldest of the four children, by which time he had finished his schooling, when he was described as a servant boy

Whilst no record of Frederick or William, or any combination of his two names, has been found in the census of 1881 and 1891, it is known from the details within the later census of 1911 that he and Nellie were married around 1895, when he would have been forty years of age and Nellie would have been ten years younger. In the following census of April 1911, there was a William Frederick Collett living in Broadway who was born there, who was 55 years old and described as a refreshment caterer. His wife Nellie Collett from Blockley, a few miles south-east of Broadway, was 46 and supplementing her husband’s income by taking in boarders, two males listed with the couple on that census day. By 1911, any children they might have given birth to had already left the family home. It was nine years after that census day, when the death of William F Collett was recorded at Evesham register office (Ref. 6c 13) during the second quarter of 1920 at the age of 65. The Will of William Frederick Collett was proved at Worcester on 12^th August 1920, when the three main beneficiaries were named as Jane Elizabeth Ellis (his married sister) and Joseph Ellis (her husband), and Martha Annie Box (his younger married sister). The legal documents also confirmed that William had died on 14^th June 1920

Jane Elizabeth Collett [2e9] was born at Broadway in 1862, where she was baptised on 27^th April 1862, another daughter of George Collett and his second wife Catherine

Martha Ann Collett [2e10] was born at Broadway in 1865, her birth recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 147) during the last three months of that year as simply Martha Collett. She was four or five months old when, as Martha Ann Collett, she was baptised at Broadway on 29^th April 1866. Martha A Collett was five years of age in the Broadway census of 1871 and, upon leaving school, she entered domestic, as confirmed by the next census in 1881. On that day, Martha A Collett from Broadway was 15 and the only general domestic servant at the Broadway home of farm bailiff Charles James Roberts family on the Willersey Road. Although she has not been identified in the next census in 1891, it was within the following year that the marriage of Martha Ann Collett and Henry Box was recorded at Evesham (Ref. 6c 46) during the first quarter of 1892

Emily Collett [2e11] was born at Broadway during 1858 at Broadway, the eldest of the two daughters of William Collett and Sarah Rogers. Curiously, she was not recorded living with her family in 1861 and again in 1871. However, Emily was again living in Broadway in 1881 when she was 22 years old and employed as a domestic servant at the Willersey Road home of tailor John Wilkinson and his wife

APPENDIX TWO

OTHER BROADWAY COLLETT FAMILIES IN 1841

In addition to the families depicted in Appendix One, there were other, so far unconnected, Collett families included in the census for Broadway conducted in June 1841, as follows:

William Collett [2m1] was married to Susannah and their daughter was Susannah Collett. Who William Collett was and where he came from, has still to be discovered

2n1 – Susannah Collett was born in 1802 at Broadway

Richard Collett [2m2] and his wife Elizabeth had a daughter Anne Eleanor who was born at Broadway

2n2 – Anne Eleanor Collett was born in 1823 at Broadway

Susannah Collett [2n1] was born at Broadway in 1802, where she was baptised on 18^th January 1803, the daughter of William and Susannah Collett. It is likely that Susannah either married William Bayliss on 12^th October 1826 OR David May on 18^th May 1829, while the death of a Susannah Bayliss took place in Worcester, where she was buried on 18^th January 1837

Anne Eleanor Collett [2n2] was the daughter of Richard Collett and his wife Elizabeth who was baptised at Broadway on 3^rd February 1824. Who Richard and Elizabeth were, and whether they had any other children, has not be resolved, nor have any further details for their daughter have been found

APPENDIX THREE

The following account was written by Colin James Poynton of New Zealand of his childhood recollections of his paternal grandparents, James Collett [2P116] and Alice Cresswell of 20 Coombe Street in Coventry

My grandparents, James and Alice Collett, lived at 20 Coombe Street, just off the Binley Road (A428) and less than two miles east of Coventry city centre. When my own family moved to Coventry from Bradford when I was still very young, we lived with them for a while, as there was still a shortage of houses, resulting from the German blitz on the city during the years of the Second World War. At that time, both James and Alice were collecting agents working for the Provident Insurance. Granddad always had his own chair and no one was allowed to sit in it, although I must confess to having sat in it when he was not around. He had the wireless (radio) on the shelf right next to him and every evening at 6.45 p.m. he would listen to his favourite programme on the BBC ‘The Archers’. During the broadcast no one was allowed to speak for the full fifteen minutes duration of the programme

He enjoyed gardening and had a large greenhouse that was heated by a boiler with hot water pipes going around the glasshouse, in which he grew tomatoes and chrysanthemums. He used to win prizes for his chrysanths. He also had a seat in there and would spend many hours busying himself or just relaxing in the chair. There was a wall each side of the central aisle, and I would go in and sit on it with him. It was always lovely and warm, but I cannot remember if I spent the time there to be with him or to just keep warm, I think it was most possibly a bit of both. He kept hens, Rhode Island Red and Bantams, and we always had plenty of eggs, and quite a lot of which he also sold. Before the war he used to breed rabbits, for which he won prizes at various shows. I also understand he used to have a motorcycle and sidecar at some time in his life, and would drive it even when he was the worse the wear for drink. I do not know what changed him, but the only drink I can recall him drinking was the occasional sherry

Gran was a great cook. I was told that she had cooked at a big house before she was married. She never looked at a recipe and only occasionally used scales, and I remember that there was always a bit of fruit pie in the pantry. At Christmas she would make a number of Christmas cakes and puddings and, because of the rationing after the war, people would have to supply ingredients for her. They had some friends, Mr and Mrs Hatfield, who came to see them every Saturday, when they would play cards all evening. All the family had Christmas Day at Gran’s and Granddad’s house, and after dinner everyone would play cards, which would include games that the children could join in and play, but only up until tea-time. After the meal had been cleared away the card games were resumed, by which time the children were only allowed to watch the adults playing until that is, it was time for bed. It was on Christmas Eve in 1962 that Gran died, and it was never the same again after that sad day

My father’s parents, Solomon Poynton and Sarah Dobson, had both died earlier and I never knew them, but James and Alice Collett were wonderful grandparents. When I had chicken pox and measles at the same time, and we were due to go on holiday, I was left with Gran to look after me. I remember building a den in the backyard, using wood and cardboard out of Granddad’s shed. I was always careful in his shed as he had a large circular saw in there and on another occasion, while he was cutting wood, he cut off the end of his thumb. I recall my mother wrapping towels around it and then taking him to hospital, where he was kept in, as they had to graft skin on to it. I had ear problems from an early age and Gran used to spend a lot of time nursing me. She was quite a large lady and one day, when she was nursing me, she fell asleep, and apparently I then picked the gemstones out of the broach she was wearing. I was told that they were later recovered out of my nappy, where I have placed then for safekeeping. Granddad had diabetes and had to go in hospital for a time. Afterwards, my cousin David and I stayed with him at night to give him his evening drink and his breakfast in the morning, as he was not even able to boil water, because Gran had spoilt him so much