My memories of Edith Nicoll

I have vague memories of visiting Granny and Grandad Nicoll with mum when I was very young indeed.I think it was a flat in London but I am not totally sure.
After Robert died (Gran called him Bob)I remember visiting her at another flat. I think near Blackheath. I think she would have lived fairly close to Dot and Dieter at this time. She would visit us at Beech House from time to time and I can remember her falling in the hall there in the 1960's.She didn't hurt herself but she called me "a scallywag" because she tripped on something I had left there!
She was a great smoker and always had what she called "a fag" in her mouth " Where are my fags ?" she would say! In the last years of her life she always walked with a stick in her right hand. When she got very old she moved into a nursing home in Kingsland, Herefordshire where mum and sometimes her grandchildren would visit her.Truth be told, despite mums heroic and frequent visiting, Gran wasn't very happy there, and indeed her mind was not as sharp as it was.
Her presents to me were usually postal orders for seven shillings and sixpence!

Gran died in 1984 and her funeral was at Kingsland Church Herefordshire(picture above) when there was a fairly good turnout at the church, by many of her children and grandchildren ,though the vicar managed to get her name wrong throughout the service!
Gran was then cremated at Hereford
A good woman who had lived a long,sometimes very tough, but also useful life.
I will cover her earlier life in another post

PS Dwee has entered her own memories about things I had completely forgotten Thanks Dwee Here they are below
Granny also went to a nursing home in Hove (Sussex) which belonged to Edwina's boyfriends mother, Mrs Adolphe. Mrs Adolphe was a lovely Irish lady, and prior to working for the local newspaper there, Edwina had run another nursing home for Mrs A. Hence Granny ending up there for a few years. She loved Mrs Adolphe, who would ply her with sherry and encourage her to have her cigs whenever she felt like it. I visited her a lot there, and we would have a laugh and a joke and I would share her ciggies and sherry too. After her fall, she was never quite the same and was then moved to Glendaph nursing home, where Victoria worked briefly. My last memory of Granny ( who was a tremendous character) was her accusing some poor old dear in the next bed of taking her purse. She was then moved to a room on her own and spent the rest of her days there.


I have so many memories of Granny, she was a fierce royalist, and wouldnt have a word said against the Queen. She had very strong opinions about everything under the sun. She was very critical of people sometimes unfairly. I thought she was wonderful. She often told me stories about her youth. She was a nurse and a good one, and probably met Grandad through her nursing, though Im sure Mum would fill you in on that.
I used to visit her in her flat in Blackheath, and it was always a pleasure, she would provide lunch and we would chat for hours on end. I can remember going to the cinema with her after Doctor Zhivago came out, and she was delighted to tell me that I looked just like Julie Christie, !!
can you remember Grandad? I was always a little frightened of him, because he used to tease me, but he always seemed to be laughing and joking

Peter Crosland and children

This is a photo taken outside in the back garden of Beech House. The fact that Victoria is in dads arms places it in very late 1957 or more probably earlyish in 1958.
The stain is on the original photo
There are very few photos from childhood that I have seen of dad and his 3 children!

Bury Rugby Club

It's amazing what you can find on the web!
Dad played for Bury Rugby FC for 3 seasons 1954-55 and 55-56 and 56-57
These pictures are from the Bury Rugby Club website and you can spot dad in all of them. (3rd From left top row in top and bottom picture,3rd from left front row in middle)
The picture below does NOT have dad in it but I included it so you could see the club colours
I remember as a very young child being taken by mum, to watch dad play, and he came over to chat at half time. I think that would have been his last season when I was 3 or 4. He stopped on the families move to Shropshire in 1958

Childhood pictures

A few pictures from our childhood.

The black and white one is taken in the front garden of Beech House,Wem 1961

I am just about to leave for my first day at Abberley hall .The cat has had kittens which I am holding with mum .Teddy is there- please note mum has a foot on his lead! Teddy ran off more than any dog we have ever had -including Bonzo!

The next picture is on a beach somewhere with Dwee in the foreground and Toria in the background. I suspect its circa 1960-Could the 3rd person be Esther or Emilia?

The 3rd photo is in the back garden of Beech House Toria is holding one of our numerous cats .Is it Trixie with another cat in the background the date of this photo is exact August 1965

Mystery photo of Peter Crosland

I am not sure when this was taken,I have blown up the tray on the right and all that I can make out is a hairbrush and comb. Dad is in civvy clothes,with a civvy coat on the hook I think ,but has a short army style hair cut. Also whatever is on the tray it is very tidy!

Could this be a picture of him being demobbed after the war? That would probablly be worth a photo after many years fighting abroad in India and Burma! I think Dad's age in the photo would be about right .

Any other thoughts?

Dogs through the decades!

We have always loved animals .I think especially dogs( though cats feature too!) and here are pictures of some of those dogs from the top down (in reverse order of appearance) Flossie,Bonzo,Beauty,Teddy and Billy (mums childhood dog picture taken 1942)

Beaumont Crosland -great grandfather

The 1911 census places Percy Crosland living at 224 New Hey Rd ,Huddersfield (the white door down from the blue door in the modern picture above-the other picture is New Hey rd in the 1930's)at this time Percy is described as a commercial chemist aged 25 and single ,and his brother Herbert,23, is described as a cloth designers assistant.Their parents and our great grandparents Beaumont Crosland and Ellen Crosland are both aged 49 and Beaumont is described as a "shoddy manufacurer "(I have put a long explanation of what that is at the bottom of this post!

In the 1901 census Beaumont is described as a "shoddy manufacturer " living at 7, Oakes rd (just round the corner from New Hey rd and interestingly 2 doors down from Oakes Baptist Church! -I remember dad saying his grandfather had been a Baptist! picture of church above )and in the 1891 census as a rag puller (someone who sorted garments by fabric and who removed buttons etc etc for resale )In 1871 census Beaumont is living in Luck Lane Marsh, Huddersfield with his dad Alfred Crosland(born 1834) and his mum Sarah Crosland.

In the 1861 census Alfred is living in Westgate Huddersfield and is a glass and china dealer.Interestingly his father is also called Beaumont, heres his entry in 1841 census

Name Beaumont Crosland
Age 35
Estimated Year of Birth 1806
Relationship to Head of Household
Occupation
Address Westgate
District Huddersfield Union, Golcar
Parish Huddersfield
Administrative County Yorkshire
Birth Place Yorkshire
Birth County Yorkshire




So the Crosland's were associated for generations with Huddersfield and given the fact Huddersfield was associated with textiles its not surpising that Alfred apart generations worked in the "rag trade"
Interestingly there is no record of Beaumont in the 1881 census when he was 19 and I wonder what he was doing then?

PS Long Explanation shoddy manufacturer
Shoddy Manufacturer
Recycled or remanufactured wool which is of inferior quality compared to the original wool. Historically generated from loosely woven materials. Benjamin Law invented shoddy and mungo, as such, in 1813. He was the first to organise, on a larger scale, the activity of taking old clothes and grinding them down into a fibrous state that could be re-spun into yarn. The shoddy industry was centred on the towns of Batley, Morley, Dewsbury and Ossett in West Yorkshire, and concentrated on the recovery of wool from rags. The importance of the industry can be gauged by the fact that even in 1860 the town of Batley was producing over 7000 tonnes of shoddy. At the time there were 80 firms employing a total of 550 people sorting the rags. These were then sold to shoddy manufacturers of which there were about 130 in the West Riding.

Percy Crosland

Percy was my dad's dad.
The above picture is at The Lea, Walmersley Bury ,Lancashire and was taken in 1956.
The Lea had been a large country farmhouse, but was now on the outskirts of Walmersley I remember it had a very large kitchen and seemed a very exotic place to a young boy. There was an old disused indoor pool at the bottom of the garden which I guess had been used upto the outbreak of World War 2.
Grandad employed both a handyman "old George"(In fact old George was the first person I ever remember dying!) and a gardener,there was also help in the house from a lady called Lily .
Percy Crosland was from Yorkshire, and lived as a child at 7 Oakes Rd, Lindley, and at 214 New hey rd, Lindley,Huddersfield. (a picture of how it looks today above- the white door is 214) with his Dad; Beaumont Crosland and his mum Ellen Crosland (born 1862)and brother Herbert Crosland. I have established his ancestors had been involved in various parts of the textile industry since at least the 1840's.
Percy went to university and trained as a chemist & he together with Herbert Crosland his brother, founded Crosland and Pickstone. Percy had the brains and ,if you google Percy Field Crosland you will see links to articles he wrote in the Chemistry Society Journal- Though you have to pay to read them so I haven't bothered!

Percy was the first Crosland for generations to leave the Huddersfield area and go to university and he made good ! He became very wealthy and could afford to buy fine art and send his children to private schools and holiday in Europe,
His first wife Muriel died young and dad heard the news of this while on active service in the war. Percy later married Eunice.
This marriage was strongly disaproved of by my father but they stayed together until Percy's death

Percy died(I think in Bournemouth) in the 1960's following a heart attack and Crosland and Pickstone only survived him by some twenty years
Eunice survived much longer and died near Wrexham in February 2001

3 Children on holiday in France possibly

Since this blog is for our children and our children's children, I thought I should include pictures of us as we grew up.This is of Edwina,Charles and Victoria taken on holiday, but I am not sure where!.
If I had to guess I would say its in the south of France.
The final holiday before our parents separated and then divorced was a camping holiday there ( and I certainly look dishevelled enough to be living in a tent!)I rememeber dad driving by lightening in an almost tropical storm.Dwee was pretty ill on that holiday too
We also had a mini tornado and looked outside the tent one day to see our clothes dancing by themselves!

Baby book

When I was born Mum kept a baby book that was written in until I was at least 5 (though much less frequently as time went on.) Above is a picture of the cover of the book. Mum gave this book to me many years ago and its a miracle I didnt lose it!

Above is a photo of a typical page from the book where the photos include a picture of a party at Summertrees, the family home of The Crosland's before the move to Beech House,Wem Shropshire. The middle picture from the book is me as a baby in the arms of Edith Nicoll ,our granny.I am not sure, but this may have been taken at Summertrees

I have revisited the outside of Summertrees about 10 years ago in 1999 or 2000 it seemed nice enough and had a well in the garden but not nearly as impressive as Beech House!
It was pretty close to the Crosland and Pickstone Factory and Edwina went to school nearby at Greenmount. I can remember going to pick her up there at the end of one term.

Charles Crosland christening

Charles Christening St Marylebone Parish Church London May 1st 1954

LEFT TO RIGHT
back row Jimmy Cronshaw godfather,Peter Crosland ,Percy Crosland,Edith Nicoll,Tom Watson
middle row, Aggie(peter crosland's nanny)Robert Nicoll,Sheila Crosland,Charles Crosland,Gladys holding Malcolm,Josefa,(spanish maid) Presume Malcom's Godfather
front row
Niall Watson,Edwina Crosland,Iain Watson

Peter L Crosland A self portrait

Dad's other passion was art. His best friend was an Armenian called Aram or Mouradian who was an art dealer (and who had originally been a friend of Percy Crosland my grandfather)
Aram's nickname was "man"!
Aram not only sold dad pictures but shaped a lot of his views; to the end of his days dad would distinguish between painters (people with real talent) and mere decorators
Dad had been friends at Gresham's school with a distinguished cartoonist called Cummings (who went onto work in Fleet St for many years) and always felt a little jealous of his talent, but I think dad was talented and Dad always thought Edwina had great talent too.
Dad accompanied Aram on a visit to Picasso's studios (I imagine at 7 rue des Grands-Augustins on the Left Bank of Paris and met him though dad told me the great artist (who my most accounts was not a kind man ) ignored him
Aram possibly meant more to dad than any other human being and when he died dad rushed to Paris and was at his orthodox funeral.
In his fantasy "An invitation to Dinner" he finishes the book with these words"We (Mouradian and dad)aspired to the shining temple of the spirit, but the vision is too faint and the pull of the earth too strong"

Post script
In her book "Merchants in exile: the Armenians in Manchester, England, 1835-1935 "
Joan George briefly mentions Aram
"Aram Mouradian, a good friend of my parents, became a fine art dealer in Paris"

Neil McGowan Ltd

One day I will write the story of Crosland and Pickstone Ltd .
For now here ia a copy photo of dad's business card when he lived in London midweek and ran the London office from Holland St W8
Neil Mcgowan was a wholly owned subsiduary of Crosland and Pickstone Ltd and made up children's garments for Littlewoods among others.It was based in High Blantyre Lanarkshire on an industrial estate and at its height employed about 35 people, mainly women, as machinists.
it was run for most of its life by 2 Scottish women who were nice enough but lacked drive and determination. It went bust with the rest of the company in the 1980's

Peter L Crosland ,Percy Field Crosland

The top picture is of Percy Field Crosland and our dad Peter L Crosland. I have no idea when or where it was taken but think dad looks about 25 ish
The other picture is the only known picture of dad playing Rugby Union He played for Bury and for Oxford University second fifteen I see the picture was devloped in Glasgow so the best guess is that this was the second 15 on tour? Be that as it may dad played at fly half and is seen here about to recieve a pass from the scrum half
Rugby was to remain a passion for the rest of his life The other picture isa Bury team photo taken possibly in the late 40's or early 50's
I have a vague memory as a child of watching dad play for Bury once.

The Watson Grave- Newport, Dundee

The Watson Family grave/memorial at Newport Dundee

Robert Nicoll GP

My grandfather Robert Nicoll was a general practioner in a day when they did all their own out of hours work, and a lot of that care would be maternity care.
Apparently when he went to see a lady expecting a baby he would say "your going to have a boy "but he would write down in his notebook the word girl!
In due time when the baby was born if the lady duly had a boy she would be amazed that her GP knew in advance what the baby would be . However, when the new mum had a girl she would challenge the doctor " Dr Nicoll you said I would have a boy but I have had a baby girl ! What happened?
" Your wrong" the good doctor would reply "I said you would have a girl and you have had a girl - look I have written it in my notebook!"

Harriet Watson and her son Fred

It seems right that the first photo in this new blog is of Harriet Watson (nee Lee)
She was Edith Nicoll's mum and Sheila Crosland's grannny ,which makes her Edwina ,Charles and Victoria's Great grandmother. Harriet died in 1932
Beside her is a photo of Fred Watson her son who had emigrated to Canada but came back to fight in the 1st World War in a Canadian uniform and who was killed at Ypres in 1916 ,I think near Sanctuary wood. Fred is buried at Zillebecke cemetry near Ypres (unusually in a church graveyard)
Fred's brother Stanley Lee Watson was killed at Loos, his name is inscribed next to The late Queen mothers brother at a cemetery there
Both Fred and Stans names are remembered in a book at The Scottish National war memorial in Edinburgh
Freds grave at Zillebecke cemetery The photo is old and not from when mum and I visitied in 1999 or 2000 and thus indicates the family had been out much earlier to visit Fred's grave. I can only guess 1930's or 1950's
More details of Freds service and death here
"10th June 1916

Grave in Zillebeke Churchyard of Lieutenant Frederick Johnston Watson 43rd Battalion Canadian Infantry (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) Canadian Expeditionary Force, killed in action 10th June 1916 aged 27 years. The 43rd Battalion disembarked in England on the 9th June 1915, landing in France 20th February 1916 and served in 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division until the Armistice.
 Son of Edwin Alexander and Harriet Elliot Lee Watson.  Born Arbroath on the 24th June 1888.

On the 10th June 1916 the 43rd Battalion came forward to relieve the 52nd Battalion with Battalion H.Q. at Dormy House.  This is a position about 500 yards East of Zillebeke  with Maple Copse a further 500 yards away to the East.  There was heavy artillery fire by both the enemy and the Canadian artillery all evening and there were 33 casualties, 4 being killed in action and one of these was Lieutenant Frederick Johnston Watson.  His body was recovered and taken back to Zillebeke Churchyard for burial in the Churchyard."

Stan Watson fought in The Black Watch and was killed at Loos his name is recorded here along with many thousands of others
Both brothers names are also on the Dundee University memorial here



Year after year the grass,
Year after year the grain,
But the dead who sleep in the weary graves
They never return again.

Jospeh Lee war poet and member of Lee family (who were related to The Watsons) who fought with Black Watch in World war 1

The past

The purpose of this blog which will develop(slowly) over the years, is to be a collecting point for the memories and photos of the Nicoll,Crosland,Watson and Field families and their realtions and ancestors.
We should not live in the past, but we can rememeber it and help our children and grandchildren to do so as well.