Why is it that when I'm searching for one piece of information, I so often find something that will take me off on another tangent? So it was when I started to explore the 1939 Register further. It was interesting to find that my East End grandmother's oldest son lived so close to his mother and stepfather. A check of Google maps tells me that their addresses, 36 Dock Street and 64 East Smithfield were a two minute walk away from each other.
Then I went looking for the second oldest son. Fortunately, I knew the name of his wife, Albert Edward Booth was a popular name. When I found the right Albert Edward in the index, I clicked to see the image, which is always a good idea. You never know what else it might reveal. In this case it was worth the extra click. The third eldest son appeared with his wife at the same address but he hadn't shown up in the index. They lived a distance from the other lot close to the docks, but son two and son three were sharing a house. Albert Edward's occupation was given as an electrical contractor and the third son was an electrician.
I had no idea they were such a close family, not only in proximity but in livelihood as well.There were, of course, the two in the electrical trade but also the oldest son's occupation was as a caterer which was much akin to the publican parents who provided meals to their patrons.
There are still more children to seek out in the 1939 Register. I also hope to find out more about kinship ties in the book Family and Kinship in East London, now that it appears that my family had close ones.
Sources:
Google maps https://www.google.com/maps
Young, Michael and Peter Willmott. Family and Kinship in East London Penguin Books, London, 1990.
Image:
Note – the building in the foreground of the photo shows where my grandparents’ pub used to be. Some of the buildings on the other side of the street would have been there around 1939
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