Albert Ivall (1839-97) : Farmer, haulage contractor and dairyman

I have recently found some new information about Albert's life and so am re-issuing this item.

Albert Ivall was born 26 January 1839 in St Pancras, the youngest of seven children born to David Ivall (1795 - 1850) and his wife Martha nee James (1796 - 1853). He was christened on 22 February 1839 in St Pancras Church. Albert’s father David was the younger brother of Thomas Ivall (1781 - 1835), my great, great, great grandfather. Albert’s siblings were David James (1830-73), Martha James Brisco (1831-99), James (1832-96), Laura (1833-39), Emma (1835-86) and Kate Bainbrigge (1836-1917).

The 1841 census shows David Ivall aged 45 a coach maker living at 158 Tottenham Court Road, St Pancras with his wife Martha (45) and their children Emma (6), Kate (4) and Albert (2). In 1845 the family moved to 14 Blomfield Road, Paddington, a large house which still exists (it has been renumbered as 24).

David Ivall (Albert’s father) died in 1850 and left an estate worth £35,000 (about £2,100,000 in modern terms). This was administered by the Court of Chancery. In the 1851 census, Albert (aged 12) is shown at Streatham Academy, Croydon Rd, Streatham. The school had 3 teachers and 30 pupils aged 9-16.

Martha, Albert’s mother, died in 1853 when he was 14. David James Ivall, his eldest brother aged 23 in 1853, was appointed as Albert’s guardian together with Anne Caroline Kingston (aged 38 in 1853), the wife of William Wykeham Kingston (51). In 1853 the Court of Chancery awarded £80 pa for the future maintenance and education of Albert.

The Court of Chancery records contain a document stating that Albert was to be apprenticed to James Rock of Hastings, Coach Builder, for 5 years from 26 January 1855 (Albert’s sixteenth birthday). James Rock was paid £250 and Albert’s wages were set at 6s per week in the first year, 7s in the second, 8s in the third, 10s in the fourth and 12s in the fifth. The amount that his guardians were allocated to spend on Albert’s maintenance and education was increased to £130 pa. The 1861 census shows James Rock Jnr, aged 42, a coach builder master employing 50 men. He was also an Alderman of the Borough of Hastings.

Albert inherited £5,000 (equivalent to about £320,000 now, calculated in relation to average earnings) from his father’s estate in 1860 when he was 21. The 1861 census shows Albert, aged 22, as a lodger in the house of John and Harriett Hogg at 7 Trinity Street, Hastings. It seems that coach making did not appeal to Albert - his occupation is given as “retired coachman”.

Later in 1861 Albert married Maria Streeter (b1840 St Leonards, Sussex) in Hastings. She was 21, the daughter of a baker and confectioner. He was aged 22. They had four children, namely Albert (1862 - 1905), Emma (1863 - 1904), David (1867 - 1897) and Harry (1869 - 1935).

Kelly's Post Office Directory for 1867 has the following entries :

Private : Mr. Albert Ivall, 2 Blomfield Terrace, St Leonards-On-Sea
Commercial : Albert Ivall, dairy farmer, Chapel Farm, Bohemia, Hastings

The London Gazette of 6 December 1867 contains a bankruptcy notice for James Ivall, Albert’s brother. It says that all of James’s estate and effects had been assigned to Albert Ivall (of Chapel Farm, Hastings, a farmer) as his Trustee to be administered for the benefit of his creditors.

The Sussex Advertiser dated 7 December 1867 contained the following item :

“George Bond, labourer, on remand from Monday charged with stealing two fowls belonging to Mr Albert Ivall of Chapel Farm, was again brought up. Prisoner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one month’s hard labour.”

In 1870, Albert was taken to court over some cattle he had sold. A newspaper report on the case begins as shown below

 Hastings and St Leonards Observer, 18 June 1870 

The judge did not think the evidence conclusive that the heifers were in calf at the time that they were sold and so rejected the claim against Albert.

The 1871 census lists Albert Ivall aged 32 as a farmer of 110 acres employing 5 men and 2 boys. He was living at 12 Magdalen Terrace, Hastings with his wife Maria, their children Albert (9), Emma (7), David (4) Harry (1), a general servant and a nurse.

Later in 1871, Albert gave up the tenancy of his farm to Charles Gilbert Eversfield and Walter Harris. The East Sussex Record Office in Lewes has a valuation book with an entry dated Nov 6^th 1871 giving an inventory and valuation of the livestock, crops and equipment on the farm (Hulls or Fieldings) in the parish of St Mary in the Castle, Hastings. The total value was £570-1-5, which the new tenants paid to Albert.

Albert became a haulage contractor. In 1872, one of his employees was prosecuted for ill-treating a horse that was pulling a cart but was unfit for work. He pleaded guilty but said that he was acting on the instructions of his master. As a result, Albert was charged with cruelty to the animal. He pleaded not guilty. The court found Albert guilty of the charge and fined him £1. The case was reported in detail by the Hastings & St Leonard Observer dated 2 March 1872.

Albert worked as a contractor for Mr Moreing, a wealthy Hastings builder and landowner. Mr Moreing wanted a large quantity (6,000 cart loads) of soil removed from a site near the sea front and instructed Albert to deposit it on the beach, hoping that the tide would wash it away. In fact it caused a considerable nuisance and the council filed a bill stopping further deposits. Mr Moreing contested the council’s order in Albert Ivall’s name and “Mayor and Corporation of Hastings v Ivall” was heard in the Vice Chancellor’s court in London in 1874. The case lasted 9 days and was reported in the national (The Times and Daily Telegraph) and local press. Both sides were represented by QCs. The Hastings and St Leonards Chronicle of March 11^th 1874 reported :

“Mr Albert Ivall was cross examined by Mr Glasse QC. He said he was in Hastings for 19 years and he ought to be there now. Before he went to Hastings he was a schoolboy. He and four others were now carrying on the business of a dairyman at Bayswater. He superintended the business. He was a married man and his wife and family lived at Kingston-on-Thames. The business belonged to his brother. His remuneration was uncertain. Sometimes he got £1 a week. He was indemnified by Mr Moreing so far as concerned his counsel’s fees but not as to any costs the court might award against him.”

(Albert’s brother was James Ivall (1832 - 1896). His dairy business was at 120 Talbot Road, Westbourne Park, which is north of Hyde Park in London.)

When Vice Chancellor Sir R Malins delivered his judgement in June 1874 it was in favour of the Hastings Corporation. Part of his judgement was :

“The defendant Ivall is now engaged as a journeyman milkman in the neighbourhood of London at the wages of 20s to 30s a week and may possibly never see Hastings again, so he has not the slightest interest in the result of this enormous litigation and has certainly no means to pay the costs of it, though he has an indemnity, as he states, from Mr Moreing. He is in fact the mere tool of Mr Moreing, who carries on the contest as he likes, and thereby escapes the peril of having to pay costs, though he may have the benefit of the litigation…
…The defendant must pay the whole costs of this suit. In making the order that he must do so, I am aware of its futility, and I regret that it is not in my power to make Mr Moreing pay the costs of this enormous litigation.”

The costs awarded against Albert resulted in his bankruptcy. The London Gazette of 9 April 1875 announced that a meeting of the creditors of Albert Ivall, of 10 Thames Street, Kingston-upon-Thames was to be held on 1^st May 1875.William Maton of 151, Gray’s Inn Road, an auctioneer, was appointed Trustee of Albert’s property. 

The Post Office Directories for 1874 to 1884 have the following entries for Albert :

1874	Albert Ivall, 4 Kings Rd, Kingston
1877	Albert Ivall, dairyman, Portsmouth St, WC
1878	Albert Ivall, 12 Silchester Rd, St Leonards
1880	Albert Ivall, dairyman, 132 Salmon’s Lane, E
1881	Albert Ivall, dairyman, 132 Salmon’s Lane & 5 Dock St, London Docks
1882, 83	Albert Ivall, dairyman, 145 Manor Place, Walworth
1884	Albert Ivall, dairyman, 145 Manor Place, Walworth & 10 York St, Walworth
1885 on	No entry for Albert Ivall

The Hastings and St Leonards Observer dated 15 June 1878 contained the following item :

“ACCIDENT – A serious accident happened on Thursday to Mr Albert Ivall, living in Silchester Road. He fell down two steps outside his house and, after being seen by Dr Ticehurst, was removed to the Infirmary, where it was found that he had fractured both bones of the right leg. He is now progressing as favourably as possible.”

The 1881 census shows Albert aged 42, a dairyman, living at 3 Long Lane, Southwark with his children Albert (19, also a dairyman), Emma (17), David (14, a solicitor‘s clerk) and Harry (11). Albert’s wife, Maria, is listed as a visitor at her mother’s address in Hastings.

Albert’s son, David married in 1886. The marriage record lists his father as Albert Ivall, retired, so he had ceased work as dairyman by then.

In 1891 Albert (aged 52, no occupation given) was living at 33 Manor St, Clapham with his wife Maria (50), their sons Albert (29, a grocer’s assistant) and David (25, a boot salesman). Also listed at the address was their grandson William A Freestone (3), the son of their daughter Emma who had married William Stafford Freestone in 1886.

Kelly’s 1896 Directory for the Southern Suburbs of London lists Albert Ivall at 55 Studley Rd, Clapham.

It seems that Martha, Albert’s eldest sister, lent Albert some money. Her will, dated May 1897 says “I forgive and release my brother Albert from moneys due from him to me at the time of my death” (she died in 1899).

Albert died on 22 June 1897 aged 58 at 55 Studley Rd, Clapham. The death certificate gives the cause of death as phthisis (chronic), debility, exhaustion. This corresponds to progressive wasting disease caused by pulmonary tuberculosis, which was common at this time. The informant was his daughter Emma Freestone, who was present at the death. There is no record of probate being granted on his estate. His wife Maria lived until 1921 when she died aged 81 in Upton Park, West Ham. Probate was granted to Harry Ivall, a draper’s assistant, who was the only one of her children still alive. The value of her estate was £217.

David Roger Ivall (1973-2009), victim of car crash

David Roger Ivall is descended from David Ivall (1795-1850) via James Ivall (1832-96), Henry Thomas Ivall (1874-1956), Percy David Ivall (1912-47) and Graham Roger Ivall (1944-93).

He was born on 27 August 1973 in the Truro Registration District, the second of two children born to Graham Roger Ivall (1944-93) and his wife Janet. According to telephone directories, Graham lived at 23 Berry Rd, Newquay from 1980 to 1987.

David had two children, both of whom were born in the Truro Registration District. He moved to Barnsley in Yorkshire and worked as a milkman. He was listed in the 2004/5 Electoral Register as living at 40 Spring Street, Barnsley.

David moved back to Cornwall. He was a very good golfer (2 handicap) and played at the Perranporth Golf Club. He took part in the Cornwall Amateur Championships in April 2008.

The following item appeared in the online newspaper “This is Cornwall” on 19 January 2009.

“Police are appealing for witnesses, after a 35 year-old man died following a road crash in the early hours of Saturday morning. The Fraddon man, who has been named locally as David Ivall, was the sole occupant of a silver Peugeot 406, which overturned on the A30 eastbound carriageway near Summercourt. Emergency services were called to the scene and the man was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, where he later died. No other vehicle was involved in the crash, which took place around 1.50am.”

Tributes left on the website included

“Top lad and golfer, he will be missed greatly”

“Dave was such an incredible guy, there's none like him! He was like a dad to me AND a best friend, he became a part of our family. He had so much planned with us that he was really looking forward to. We'll miss Dave soo much, he'll always be in our hearts.”

This item appeared on the Lasting Tribute web site :

IVALL. Tragically on Saturday, January 17th, 2009. David aged 35 years of Fraddon. Much loved Father of Ellie and Byron, beloved Son of Janet and the late Graham, Step-Son of Alan and dear Brother of Darren. Funeral service at the Trelawny Chapel, Penmount Crematorium on Friday, February 6th at 11.00 a.m. Family flowers only but donations in lieu for F.L.E.E.T. may be sent c/o The Funeral Director Andrew Henwood, 74 Edgcumbe Ave., Newquay. TR7 2NN.

The London Gazette dated 12 March 2009 contained a notice inviting anyone who had a claim against David’s estate to register it. David’s address is given as 34 Pedna Carne, Higher Fraddon, St Columb Major, Cornwall, TR9 6LF, his occupation as cleaning manager and date of death 17 January 2009.

An inquest was held in November 2009. The following report appeared in “This is Cornwall” : 

Death crash golfer was over limit

A PROMINENT golfer died after crashing his car while more than twice the drink-drive limit, an inquest heard. David Ivall, 35, from St Columb Major, was killed when his silver Peugeot 406 coupe overturned on the eastbound carriageway of the A30, near Summercourt. He was a well-known member of Perranporth Golf Club and a former member of Newquay Golf Club.

The court heard from Mr Ivalls' mother Janet Letcher, and his girlfriend Yasmin Carrol. Ms Letcher told the court: "10 years ago David moved to Barnsley with his partner and two children but the relationship did not last: He had to visit his children when he could. "David had been told he was going to lose his job at Tesco; but the only time I saw David down was when he wasn't able to see his children, and he was looking forward to seeing them at the time."

The victim's GP told the court David had no health problems but had requested a vasectomy fairly recently. His girlfriend of eight months said Mr Ivall had been due to meet her on the night of his death, but then made other plans. She last had contact with him at around 9.30pm.

Pal Russell Withers, a childhood friend, told how on the night of the tragedy the pair of them had been out drinking, first in Perranporth then later at Truro's L2 nightclub. He said Mr Ivall was expecting to lose his Tesco job as a cleaning manager but was 'upbeat' about events as he did not get on with his boss. Mr Withers told police his friend parked his coupe outside his home at around 10.15pm in anticipation of staying over after the night on the town. In the event he lost touch with him in L2 and found out on his return home from another friend staying at the house that Mr Ivall had apparently left in the early hours, sending him a text reading: 'Hey mate, see you soon, x.' He recalled: "I found this strange as he would not normally text me at the end of the night."

Delivery driver Craig Crosbie came across Mr Ivalls' overturned car in the left hand lane of the A30, just before Summercourt, in the early hours of January 17. Seeing Mr Ivall's body thrown clean of the car, he rang 999 and later helped paramedics lift the victim onto a stretcher. A group of friends from RNAS Culdrose also stopped and tried their best to help Mr Ivall.

Although apparently breathing when found, Mr Ivall died later at the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske of multiple injuries. A post-mortem examination found his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. Crash investigator Nick Bloomfield said the car's front brakes were worn, the driver's seatbelt was not attached, and Mr Ivall had sent texts from his phone at 1:43 and 1:45am. He explained: "The most probable cause of the collision is that he fell asleep at the wheel due to his inebriated state."

Coroner Dr Emma Carlyon recorded a verdict of accidental death. She said: "The pathologist concluded the drink-drive level would have significantly impaired cognitive function. Lack of sleep and intoxication and the use of a mobile phone are possible causes of loss of control. This was a tragic accident."

Mr Ivall's family chose not to comment after the hearing. In a statement they said: "David will be sadly missed by his two children, Ellie, 12, and Byron, 10, his mother Janet and brother Darren."

Westminster Ivells / Ivalls

This is an expanded version of the item that I posted in March 2013.

Ivell and Ivall are both uncommon surnames. There are some cases of the name Ivell being misrecorded as Ivall and vice versa. However, there is also a family whose name changed from Ivell to Ivall. This item is about them.

George Ivall (b 1809, a farrier) married Mary Ann Jopling (b 1815) about 1837. As far as I know, George Ivell is not related to the Ivalls in my family tree. George and Mary Ann had ten children, all of which were born in the St George’s Hanover Square registration district (in Westminster) and were registered with the surname Ivell. The family appear in the 1851 and 1861 census as Ivell. However, they appear in the 1871 and 1881 census as Ivall. George’s death in 1866 was registered as George Ivall. A birth (in 1879) and two deaths (in 1878 and 1879) in the family were registered as Ivells. Thereafter the surname Ivall was used in birth, marriage and death registrations for the surviving members of the family.

The names and dates of George’s descendants can be found on   http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sghs-ivells&id=I01. None of George and Mary Ann’s ten children lived beyond the age of 40.

Alice (23), Mary Ann (19) and Annie (1) Ivall all appear in the 1881 census as daughters of Mary Ann Ivall (aged 65). Annie is listed as a daughter of Mary Ann senior, which cannot be true because she would have been too old to have children when Annie was born. Annie’s baptism record shows that she was actually Alice’s child. In 1881, when Annie was aged 2, Alice Ivall married Frederick Killon. They had five children (including a daughter called Minnie).

Annie Ivall married Alfred David Higginbottom in 1899. He was soldier in the Middlesex Regiment from 1890 to 1898 and was a porter at the time of his marriage, but was recalled to the army later that year to fight in the Boer War. He was discharged in 1902. The 1901 census shows Annie Higginbottom (21) living with Minnie Killon (17), who is listed as her sister. This confirms that Annie was a daughter of Alice Ivall. Annie’s marriage certificate has a blank space where her father’s name should be. Annie and Alfred had four sons (Joseph, Frederick, George and Henry) and two daughters (Winifred and Maidie).

The 1911 census records that Annie was deaf.  Apparently when she was 13, her family was hop picking and she developed severe earache. Someone suggested liquid paraffin might help, but as there was none to hand they used fuel paraffin instead. Not surprisingly Annie was left profoundly deaf, but she did learn to lip read. Alfred and Annie lived in a flat at 178 Drury Lane, Central London from 1906 onwards. This only had two rooms, meaning that it was very crowded for eight people!

Annie Ivall with her children (l to r) George, Henry and Winifred in 1918

The 1939 register shows Alfred (a wire worker Japanner) and Annie, still living in Drury Lane. Annie died in 1954 aged 75 and Alfred in 1959 aged 86.

Annie’s son Henry Arthur Higginbottom (b 8 Dec 1915) married Maud Florence Prudhoe in 1938 in Holborn. In 1939 they were living at 133 Grays Inn Buildings, Holborn. Henry was a diamond mounter (jeweller). He didn’t like his surname and changed it to Ivall (his mother’s maiden name). He divorced his first wife and later married Nellie (known as Helen) Ringsell nee Hales in 1954 in Kensington Register Office. Henry was aged 38, a Leading Fireman with the London Fire Brigade. Helen was aged 31, a mannequin (a model). Both had been married before and divorced. Henry was the Red Watch Station Officer at Soho Fire Station until he retired in 1968. 

Henry and Helen Ivall on their wedding day (in 1954).

Henry and Helen later had two daughters, whose births were both registered as Ivalls. They have supplied information and photos for this expanded item. Henry and Helen were devoted to each other and both died in 1992.

Robert Daniel Ivall (1902-1992), fireman

Robert Daniel Ivall was a great grandson of Robert Thomas Ivall (1812-1865), the elder brother of David Ivall (1816-1867), my great great grandfather. This profile of Robert’s life contains information from his son.

Robert was born on 19^th June 1902 in Catford, SE London, the eldest of three children born to Robert Thomas Owen Ivall (1876-1953) and Florence Sarah Ivall nee Durnford (1876-1974). Parish records for the baptism of Robert Daniel Ivall in 1902 at St Thomas’s, Charlton, give the family’s address as 12 Springfield Park Crescent, Catford. Robert’s father was a fireman who was based at Rushey Green (1901-3), Dulwich (1903-7), Eltham (1907-8), Greenwich (1908-9), Charlton (1909-10) and Perry Vale (1910-14) fire stations. The 1911 census shows Robert Ivall (aged 35, a fireman) his wife Florence (35) and children Robert (8), Florence (7) and Daniel (5) living at 199 Perry Vale, Forest Hill in SE London.

Robert joined the Merchant Navy when aged 16. His service record shows that he joined as a deck boy, was 5 foot 8 inches tall, with fair hair and green-grey eyes. He was in the Navy for 2 years, until 1920. 

Photo of Robert from his Merchant Navy record

Robert applied to join the London Fire Brigade in 1921, when aged 19. His father had followed the same career path, as would his brother Daniel. Robert started work as a probationary fireman on 24^th November 1921, on 68s 6d per week, based at 60 Waterloo Road, London.

In 1928, Robert married Cecilia Rosina Merriott in Lambeth. He was aged 26, she was 24. They had a daughter (Marie Cecilia) in 1930 and a son (Daniel Robert) in 1931. The 1932 electoral register shows Robert and Cecilia’s address as the Fire Station, Eltham High Street. Soon afterwards, they moved to 39 Montrose Avenue, Welling (where Robert was still living in 1984). 

Robert’s service record shows that he transferred to Shooter’s Hill fire station in 1935, then to Dockhead, Bermondsey (in 1936), Lewisham (in 1937), Plumstead (in 1938) and Deptford (later in 1938). In 1938 he was promoted to become a Sub Officer (on 95s per week) at Pageant’s Wharf fire station in Rotherhithe. Robert was transferred back to Dockhead in 1939 and during “The Blitz” he had a very tough time fighting the dockland fires. He was promoted to Company Officer (on £350 pa) in 1942. A Company Officer is in charge of a crew of firefighters and their apparatus. He was later in charge of a temporary fire station at Lombard Wall School in Charlton. After that Robert was in charge of another temporary station at Rangers House on Blackheath. 

The following item was published in The Kentish Independent dated 4 Jan 1946, under the heading "N.F.S. Men Commended" 

In 1948 Robert was appointed as Station Officer in charge of Plumstead fire station. Robert left the fire brigade on 31^st January 1950 after serving for 28 years. He then worked as a Clerical Assistant in the Pay Office at Woolwich Barracks and subsequently at the Civil Service Pay Office in Foots Cray.

Robert and Cecilia Ivall

Robert was a well-liked, even tempered and hard-working family man.  He was an avid reader of non-fiction works and loved recounting stories of his own experiences in life. He took a keen interest in growing vegetables and tending his greenhouse. His main outside interest was walking which he did at every opportunity. In later life he gained many friendships with members of his local church.

Cecilia Ivall died in 1979 aged 75. Robert died on 13 February 1992 at St Vincent’s Orthopaedic Hospital, Hillingdon aged 89. He was buried in Plumstead Cemetery in the same grave as his wife. His parents are buried nearby.

Gravestone of Cecilia and Robert Ivall

Wedding of Albert David Ivall (1889-1960) and Grace Nettleton (1903-76)

Albert Ivall’s first wife Florence died in February 1945. He married Florence Nettleton on April 8^th 1946 at St John’s Church, Palmers Green in North London. Grace had been the Sunday School teacher to Albert’s two daughters.

The wedding photo above contains the following people

Front row: unknown man, Daisy Nettleton ? (aged 43, Grace’s sister), Kathleen Edith Keenan nee Ivall (aged 29, Albert’s daughter), Albert David Ivall (57), Grace Ivall nee Nettleton (42), unknown man, unknown woman.

Second row: unknown woman, Marjorie Joan Cossey nee Ivall (25, Albert’s daughter), Charles Bernard Keenan (35, Albert’s son-in-law), Rose Lily Kebbell nee Ivall (60, Albert’s sister), Florrie Davis, unknown woman.

Third row: Ernest Alfred Cossey (25, Albert’s son-in-law), Emma Laughton, formerly Ivall nee Armitage (62, Albert’s sister-in-law), Walter Edwin Kebbell (60, Albert’s brother-in-law), Fred Davis, unknown woman.

Albert’s sister Alice Elizabeth Luxford nee Ivall (1877-1939) and brother George William Ivall (1880-1934) are not in the photo as both had died by then. Grace had two sisters (Edith and Daisy) and two brothers (James and Henry) who were all older than her. Edith died in 1938, but the others are probably in the photo, although I can’t definitely identify them. Fred and his wife Florrie Davis were friends of Albert.

Kathleen Edith Keenan nee Ivall (1916-99)

Kathleen was born on 17^th April 1916 at 8 Mapledene Road, Dalston in North London, the elder daughter of Albert David Ivall (1889-1960) and his wife Florence Edith Ivall nee Armitage (1887-1945). My mother was Kathleen’s cousin twice over - my mother’s parents, George William Ivall (1880-1934) and Emma Ivall nee Armitage (1883-1970) were both siblings of Kathleen’s parents.

Albert and Florence had a second daughter, Marjorie Joan Ivall, in 1921. Kathleen attended Queen’s Road School and then Dalston County Secondary School where she obtained Matriculation. After she left school, Kathleen worked for an insurance company near London Bridge. In 1937, she moved with her parents to 75 Osidge Lane, Southgate, North London.

Albert, Kathleen, Marjorie and Florence Ivall on holiday in 1933

Kathleen met Charles Bernard Keenan in the mid 1930’s and they married on 17 September 1938 at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, New Southgate. He was aged 27, a director of a building firm, she was 22. 

Kathleen’s marriage in 1938. From left : Peter Keenan (father of Charles), Grace Ivall (my mother), Hilda Keenan (sister of Charles), Marjorie Ivall, Charles Keenan, Kathleen, Peter Keenan (brother of Charles), Florence Ivall, Stella Keenan (sister of Charles) and Albert Ivall.

The 1939 Register shows them living at 7 Bexley Lane in Sidcup. Charles's occupation is given as "Housing manager and buyer, public works contractor."  They later had two sons and a daughter. The house at 7 Bexley Lane was severely damaged by a doodlebug in 1944 during the Second World War and so Kathleen and her family had to move out. They lived in Derby, Bexleyheath then 240 Bexley Lane and moved back into 7 Bexley Lane (by then rebuilt) in 1950. One of Kathleen’s son’s describes her as a loving wife and mother, also as neat, tidy and organised.

Sadly, Charles died in 1968, aged 57. Kathleen moved into a smaller house in nearby Charles Close and became a Registrar of Births and Marriages based in Sidcup, by then part of the London Borough of Bexley. However, she found it hard to cope with life without her husband. Kathleen’s family did their best to help. My parents often invited her to our house and maintained her garden. I have memories of a holiday on the Isle of Wight with Kathleen, my parents and myself in about 1970. I remember her as a kind, pleasant lady, easy to talk to, always smartly dressed.

 From left : Grace (my mother), Kathleen, Eric (my father) and Marjorie in my parents garden on Kathleen’s 72^nd birthday (in 1988).

In 1988 Kathleen moved to a warden controlled flat in The Cloisters, King’s Langley, Hertfordshire, which was close to where her daughter lived. In 1996 Kathleen had the first of a succession of falls, breaking bones. She then went into various care homes until the end of 1998 when she suffered early signs of heart failure and was taken into hospital where she died on 7th January 1999 aged 82. Her funeral was held at St Lawrence’s Roman Catholic Church, Sidcup and she was buried in Chislehurst Cemetery, in the same grave as her husband.

The grave of Charles and Kathleen Keenan.

William David Ivall (1898-1927), photographer.

William David Ivall was a great grandson of David Ivall (1795-1850), the highly successful coach maker who was a brother and business partner of my ancestor Thomas Ivall (1781-1835). David left £5,000 (a substantial sum of money then) to each of his six children when he died. The youngest was Albert Ivall (1839-97), who lost most of his inheritance between 1861 and 1871, when he was a farmer. He was declared bankrupt in 1875 following a court case brought against him by the Mayor and Corporation of Hastings (see my item on Albert’s life for more details). Albert’s youngest son was Harry Ivall (1869-1935), who married Emily Ann Carpenter (1862-1942) in 1896 in Hemel Hempstead, where Emily was born. They moved to Upton Park, West Ham where they had three children, Hilda Maria (born 1897), William David (born 1898) and Harry Robert Ivall (b1905).

The 1901 census shows Harry (32, a draper’s assistant), Emily (36), Hilda (3) and William (2) Ivall on a visit to the house of Emily’s parents William (62) and Rosina (68) in Hemel Hempstead. In 1911, William Ivall (aged 12) is listed as living at 35 Selsdon Road, Upton Park, West Ham (a property of 6 rooms) with his parents Harry (41, a draper’s assistant) and Emily (45), siblings Hilda (13) and Harry (6) plus grandmother Maria Ivall (70).

William was too young to join the army in 1914, when war was declared. The Military Service act came into force in March 1916. This introduced conscription for single men aged 18 to 41. William’s army record can be viewed on the Ancestry website. It shows that he completed his Attestation Form on 11 September 1916, aged 17 years 11 months. He was unmarried, a photographer, living at 35 Selsdon Road, Upton Park. His height was 5 foot 6¾ inches, chest 33½ inches. He was mobilised into the 19^th Training Reserve Battalion on 12 March 1917 and posted to France on 17 October 1917, where he was allotted to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. On 3 May 1918 he was admitted to Sutton Veny Hospital, near Warminster in Wiltshire. He was granted a furlough (leave of absence) from 19 to 29 June, returning to his unit on 30 June 1918.

William was not demobilised from the Army until October 1919, after 2 years 227 days service. He was assessed as 30% disabled from the effects of trench fever and granted a payment of 12s 0d per week for 26 weeks. Trench fever was first reported on the Western Front in December 1914. Incidences of trench fever continued to grow throughout the war. It attacked all armies and until the final year of the war, baffled doctors and researchers.  Chief symptoms of the disease were headaches, skin rashes, inflamed eyes and leg pains. Despite such wide-ranging symptoms, the condition was not itself particularly serious, with patients recovering after five or six days although prolonged hospitalisation amounting to several weeks was common. In military terms, however, it proved one of the most significant causes of sickness. In 1918 the cause was identified as excretions from lice. The disease was transmitted via the bites of body lice.

Records at The Wellcome Library indicate that William was employed as a photographer at The Wellcome Bureau of Scientific Research (WBSR) in London, before the war. His job was to take photos for scientific purposes in connection with the museum of tropical medicine and hygiene for a salary of 30 shillings per week. In March 1919, the WBSR wanted to re-employ William in this role at 50 shillings per week. However, he was not released from the Army in time and the post was filled by someone else. Rifleman W Ivall 204142 was then in 5th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps, R.G.A. Barracks, Sheerness.

The 1921 census shows William living with his family at 35 Selsdon Road, Upton Park. The household consisted of Harry Ivall (aged 52, a draper's assistant with McKay and Ryland Drapers, 243 Whitechapel Road), Emily (54), William (22), Harry (16) as well as Maria Ivall (81, Harry's mother) and a boarder. William's occupation was as a photographer with Burroughs Wellcome, Chemists at Snow Hill Buildings, London E6.

A 1925 London directory lists William Ivall, photographer, at 35 Selsdon Road, Upton Park. 

In the second quarter of 1927, William married Dorothy Frances Henderson in West Ham. He was aged 28, she was 21.

William and Dorothy

(photo kindly supplied by Dorothy's great grandson Mark)

William died in September that year, in Romford, Essex of a throat tumour and was buried in grave 76/319 in Manor Park Cemetery, East London. His tombstone is inscribed :

In loving memory of my dear husband William David Ivall, who passed away 23^rd September 1927 aged 28 years. If my love could have saved thee, thou wouldst not have died, but God knows best.

Photos of William's grave
(kindly supplied by Shelley Williams)

The cemetery records give William's last address as 64 Glenham Drive, Ilford. There is no record of probate being granted on his estate.

Dorothy married Edward A Gaston in 1944 and died in 1962.