Person:Florence Richer (1)

Florence Richer was born on 11th June 1877 at 165 Arlington Road in St Pancras in Middlesex, in the northern suburbs of London. She was the daughter of Sarah Ann Richer, formerly Stevens, and her husband Charles Edward Richer, a carpenter and builder. It appears that Florence's parents both died during 1879, leaving Florence an orphan when she was only two years old. She was brought up by her aunt, Amelia Elizabeth Coffin (formerly Richer) and Amelia's husband John Coffin, a publican, who lived at Ramsbury in Wiltshire. Florence was baptised at Ramsbury on 10th February 1880.

Florence appears in both the 1881 and 1891 censuses living with her aunt and uncle at The Bell in Ramsbury, Wiltshire, where her uncle was the innkeeper. Her uncle John died some time between 1891 and 1901.

On 18th March 1901 Florence was married at North Mundham in Sussex to Fred Edwards, a railway fireman. Two weeks later the 1901 census finds Florence and Fred living with Florence's aunt Amelia at Midhurst in Sussex, with two of Fred's sisters visiting on census night.

Florence and Fred went on to have four children between 1902 and 1914, including twins in 1914. The 1911 census finds them living at 40 Station Road in Horsham. By this time Fred was working as an engine driver for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Florence's aunt Amelia was still living with them.

Fred and Florence moved to Littlehampton some time around 1917. In 1920 Fred was involved in a railway accident when the train he was driving ploughed through the buffers at Littlehampton Station onto the street beyond. He managed to jump clear before the crash, but was criticised in the subsequent investigation for not having properly checked the coupling of the brake hoses.

Florence's aunt Amelia died in 1927 in Sussex.

Florence's first grandchildren were born in the mid 1930s in Sussex.

Fred retired from the railways in 1938, at which point they moved away from Littlehampton where they had lived for 21 years to Guildford in Surrey, living at Saffron Platt, a newly built street, mostly comprising bungalows. At the outbreak of the Second World War the following year, Fred, Florence and their daughter Theresa were living at 151 Saffron Platt. The street appears to have been later renumbered, with there no longer being a number 151, but electoral registers from 1945 to 1956 have Fred and Florence living at 56 Saffron Platt with their daughter Theresa.

In 1951 Fred and Florence celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. A newspaper report marking the event notes that they had six grandchildren by that time.

Fred died in 1956, aged 82. Florence survived him by just under six years. She died in the Guildford area in 1962, aged 84.

1. ↑ Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   REGISTRATION DISTRICT Pancras
   1877 BIRTH in the Sub-district of Regent Park in the County of Middlesex
   No.	When and where born	Name, if any	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden name of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   32	Eleventh June 1877 165 Arlington Road	Florence	Girl	Charles Richer	Sarah Ann Richer formerly Stevens	Carpenter	C. Richer Father 165 Arlington Road Pancras	Third August 1877	Samuel Spring, Registrar

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Ramsbury. Parish registers, 1678-1945. (Chippenham: Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Ramsbury in the County of Wilts in the year One thousand eight hundred and eighty
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   281 Born July 8 1877	1880 Feb[ruary] 10	Florence	Charles Edward & Sarah	Richer	Ramsbury	Carpenter	Harry Barber, Vicar

   There is clearly a conflict between the date of birth on Florence's baptism record and on her birth certificate. She was an orphan by the time of her baptism, which may explain the mistake - all other evidence tallies to be confident that both records relate to the same person. It is worth noting that as an adult she quoted her date of birth as 8th July, being the date quoted on her baptism, rather than the 11th June given on her birth certificate, suggesting that 8th July was the date that her aunt and uncle who brought her up believed to be her birthday.

3. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 1275; Folio 92; Page 22, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Bell Inn, The Square, Ramsbury, Wiltshire
   John E. Coffin, head, married, male, 46 [1834/5], Licensed Victualler, b. Marlborough, Wiltshire
   Amelia E. Coffin, wife, married, female, 41 [1839/40], b. London, Middlesex
   Florence Richer, niece, female, 3 [1877/8], b. London, Middlesex
   Sarah Looker, servant, female, 23 [1857/8], General Servant (Domestic), b. Ramsbury, Wiltshire

4. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 972; Folio 170; Page 17, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Bell Hotel, Oxford Street, Ramsbury, Wiltshire
   John Edwin Coffin, head, married, male, 56 [1834/5], Innkeeper, employer, b. Marlborough, Wiltshire
   Amelia Elizabeth Coffin, wife, married, female, 50 [1840/1], b. Claremont Square, London
   Florence Richer, niece, female, 13 [1877/8], b. Caledonian Road, London
   Florence Eliza Johnston, female, 9 [1881/2], b. Marlborough, Wiltshire

5. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 972; Folio 102; Page 26, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: Carron Lane, Midhurst, Sussex
   Five or more rooms occupied
   Amelia E. Coffin, head, widow, female, 60 [1840/1], Living on own means, b. Islington, London
   Lily Edwards, visitor, single, female, 19 [1881/2], b. Pagham, Sussex
   Louise Edwards, visitor, single, female, 17 [1883/4], b. Pagham, Sussex
   Fred Edwards, boarder, married, male, 27 [1873/4], S.C. Railway Fireman, b. Siddlesham, Sussex
   Florence Edwards, boarder, married, female, 23 [1877/8], b. Islington, London

6. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 5256; Schedule 62, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 40 Station Road, Horsham, Sussex
   Six rooms occupied
   Fred Edwards, head, male, 37 [1873/4], married, Railway Loco Engine Driver - L.B.S.C. R[ailwa]y, b. Sidlesham, Sussex
   Florence Edwards, wife, female, 33 [1877/8], married 10 years, 2 children born alive, 2 children still living, b. Islington, London
   Frederick Charles Edwards, son, male, 8 [1902/3], School, b. Midhurst, Sussex
   Cyril Edwards, son, male, 6 [1904/5], School, b. Littlehampton, Sussex
   Amelia Elizabeth Coffin, aunt, female, 72 [1838/9], widow, b. Clerkenwell, London

7. ↑ General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Guildford Municipal Borough, 29 Sep 1939.

   Address: 151 Saffron Platt, Tilehouse Estate, Guildford, Surrey
   Edwards, Fred / male / 24 Oct 1873 / married / Retired Loco[motive] Engine driver
   Edwards, Florence / female / 8 Jul 1877 / married / Unpaid domestic duties
   Edwards, Theresa I. / 3 Jan 1914 / single / Shop Assistant (Woolworths)
   [one record closed]

8.   Surrey, England, Electoral Registers 1832-1945.

   1945 (both May and October registers)
   56 Saffron Platt, Guildford:
   Edwards, Fred
   Edwards, Florence
   Edwards, Theresa I.
   
   1956:
   56 Saffron Platt, Guildford
   Edwards, Fred
   Edwards, Florence
   Edwards, Theresa

9. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Florence EDWARDS, March Quarter 1962, Surrey South Western Registration District, Volume 5g, page 1230, aged 84 [1877/8]

10.   West Sussex Gazette, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
    Page 3, 29 Mar 1951.

    GUILDFORD
    Mr. and Mrs. Fred Edwards, of 56, Saffron Platt, Guildford, recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. They came to Guildford in 1938, when Mr. Edwards, an engine driver, retired. They had lived at Littlehampton for 21 years. Mr. Edwards is 77, and his wife is 73. They have two sons, two daughters, and six grandchildren.