Person:Fred Edwards (4)

Fred Edwards was born on 24th October 1873 at Sidlesham in Sussex, son of a dressmaker named Fanny Edwards, formerly Grant, and her husband William Edwards, a traction engine driver. Fred was the second of their ten children. When Fred was born both his grandmothers were still alive and living locally. Some time between 1875 and 1877 Fred's parents moved from Sidlesham to the neighbouring parish of Pagham. Back in Sidlesham Fred's maternal grandmother died in 1879.

The 1881 census finds Fred living with his parents and siblings in Pagham. By 1891 Fred had left home and moved to the nearby town of Bognor, where he found work as a railway engine cleaner. Fred stayed working for the railways, and by 1901 had progressed to become a fireman. On 18th March 1901, aged 27, he was married at North Mundham (the parish in which his parents were living by this time) to Florence Richer. She was originally from London but had been brought up by her aunt and uncle at their public house in Ramsbury, Wiltshire. Two weeks later the 1901 census finds Fred and Florence living with Florence's widowed aunt in Midhurst, Sussex, with Fred's sisters Lily and Louise visiting them on census night.

Fred and Florence went on to have four children between 1902 and 1914, including twins in 1914. In 1903 Fred's paternal grandmother died.

The 1911 census finds Fred and Florence 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.^[11]

Fred's mother died in 1925 at Runcton in North Mundham. Fred's father then went to live in Littlehampton, and died there in 1933.

Fred'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 in the Guildford area, aged 82. Florence survived him by just under six years.

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

   b. Fred EDWARDS, December Quarter 1873, Westhampnett Registration District, Volume 3b, page 334, mother's maiden name Grant

2. ↑ Baptisms register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Sidlesham (Sussex). Parish registers of Sidlesham, 1566-1901. (Chichester: West Sussex County Council).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Sidlesham in the County of Sussex in the Year 1873
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   331	1873 December 7th	Fred	William & Fanny	Edwards	Sidlesham	Labourer	William Bruton, Vicar

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 1123; Folio 98; Page 10, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Pagham hamlet, Pagham, Sussex
   William Edwards, head, married, male, 34 [1846/7], Engine Driver (Ag[ricultura]l), b. Sidlesham, Sussex
   Fanny Edwards, wife, married, female, 40 [1840/1], b. Sidlesham, Sussex
   Albert Edwards, son, male, 8 [1872/3], Scholar, b. Sidlesham, Sussex
   Fred Edwards, son, male, 7 [1873/4], Scholar, b. Sidlesham, Sussex
   William Edwards, son, male, 5 [1875/6], Scholar, b. Sidlesham, Sussex
   Eliza Edwards, daughter, female, 5 [1875/6], Scholar, b. Sidlesham, Sussex
   John Edwards, son, male, 3 [1877/8], b. Pagham, Sussex
   Ann Edwards, daughter, female, 2 [1878/9], b. Pagham, Sussex
   Theresa Edwards, daughter, female, 11 mo [1880], b. Pagham, Sussex

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 842; Folio 80; Page 15, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 9 Henry Street, Bognor, South Bersted, Sussex
   Five or more rooms occupied
   Abraham Cole, head, married, male, 26 [1864/5], Railway Platelayer, employed, b. Tunbridge, Kent
   Elizabeth Cole, wife, married, female, 29 [1861/2], b. Westminster, Middlesex
   Alfred Cole, son, male, 1 [1889/90], b. Lingfield, Sussex
   Fred Edwards, boarder, single, male, 17 [1873/4], Railway Engine Cleaner, employed, b. Sidlesham, Sussex

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[motive] 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. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 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. Fred EDWARDS, June Quarter 1956, Surrey South Western Registration District, Volume 5g, page 779, aged 82 [1873/4]

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.

11. ↑ Railways Archive, Accident Returns: Extract for the Accident at Littlehampton on 4th August 1920, accessed 27 Jan 2015.