Friends of the Family part I
Corporal Henry Maxwell Royal Engineers & Royal Labour Corps
The Man Henry Maxwell was born between July and August 1864 in Coventry. His parents were Allen, a former Soldier, Labourer and Jobbing Porter and Mary Ann – a Ribbon Weaver, Silk Worker and later Charwoman. Henry was one of nine children, Ellen Jane, John, Mary, Grace, William, Elizabeth, Thomas and David. Allen Maxwell, his father who was born in about 1806 in County Tyrone, Ireland appears to have been married previously; on the 1841 census he is shown as a Private and living in the Depot, 34th Regiment Barracks at Dover Castle, together with his children, Margaret aged 15, James aged 13, Robert aged 11, Samuel aged 8 and George aged 5. Allen re-married between April and June 1843 aged about 37 marrying Mary Ann (Surname unknown) who was considerably younger aged 21 and was born in Portsmouth in 1822. By 1851 they were living in Greyfriars Lane, Coventry with their new children, Ellen Jane aged 5, John aged 4, Mary Ann aged 2 and Grace aged 2 months. No mention is made of his other children but in view of their ages and the prevailing culture it was likely they had left home or being cared for by the older sibling. By 1861 Allen and Mary Ann were living at 2 Mill Alley, New Street in Coventry and their children listed as Ellen Jane aged 15, William aged 9, Elizabeth aged 5, Thomas aged 2 and David aged 11 months. It seems that Mary had died in 1860 aged only 11. What happened to John & Grace has not been established, but it is possible that Grace and John also died very young or that John moved away from home. Henry was born in 1864 and Allen died two years later between April and June 1866 aged 62, leaving Mary Ann to bring up the six children on her own.By 1871, Henry and his family were still living in New Street. William who was 19 had left home leaving. Ellen Jane, Elizabeth, Thomas, David and Henry. Ten years later in 1881 Henry was living in the same street but now at number 14, with his family, although his mother is referred to as Margaret, a Provision Dealer, although this might have been Henry's half sister. Henry’s occupation was given as a Tailor and on 12th May 1886 aged 22 he married Sarah Jane Toone in Birmingham, adopting her only son Edgar Horace Reeve Toone, and between October and December the same year had a daughter, Florence Ethel followed two years later between April and June 1888 by a son, David Henry Maxwell.
By 1891 Henry now 27 was boarding with his family and Sarah’s brother, Daniel Toone at 223 Bolton Street, Bordesley, Birmingham and working with Daniel as Railway Porters. They were lodging with an Alfred White who was a Locomotive Engine Driver. Henry’s mother, Mary Ann now 69 had meanwhile stayed at 14 New Street with Ellen Jane and Elizabeth aged 45 and 35 respectively, neither of whom had married and died two years later in 1893 aged 72 between October and December. In 1901 Henry was living at 21 Rushmore Place, Royal Leamington Spa in the Ecclesiastical Parish of Leamington Priors, St. Marys with Sarah, Florence and David. His occupation was given as a General Labourer, whilst David was a Scholar. They moved to 28 Queen Street in Leamington Spa and following the outbreak of World War 1 on 4th August 1914, Henry enlisted into the Corps of Royal Engineers, with service number 117009 on 20th August 1915 in Whitehall, London aged 46. His occupation at this time was given as labourer and his attestation witnessed by Y Allen. Henry was posted to the 5th Labour Battalion and attested as a Pioneer the same day and promoted to Acting Corporal on 21st August at a rate of 4/-. His height was 5’.8” and his girth was 39” with an expansion range of 3” and his religion was Church of England. He entered France on 29th August 1915 and was wounded on 19th November the same year, returning to England on 24th and posted to the Depot’s Labour Battalion. Once recuperated Henry returned to France on 7th May 1916 where he was wounded again but only slightly, being able to return to duty the same day. Between June and September 1917 Henry transferred to the 704 Company Labour Corps with a new service number 291943. On 3rd April 1918, due to his age, now 54 Henry’s medical category was downgraded to B2. (Grade III, generally equivalent to Categories B 2 and C 2, B 3 and C 3, included men who, from any cause, were not likely to be suitable for military training for combatant service and were fit only for clerical and other sedentary jobs) and he returned home. His service records state that on 2nd June 1918 Henry was transferred to the 366th Reserve Employment Company and on 20th August to the 38th Chinese Labour Coy and was then transferred to the 106th Prisoner of War Company, Royal Defence Corps based at the PoW
Camp at Chiseldon with a new service number 77383 still as a Corporal. The Royal Defence Corps was a Corps of the British Army formed in August 1917 and disbanded in 1936.It was initially formed by converting the (Home Service) Garrison battalions of line infantry regiments. Garrison battalions were composed of soldiers either too old or medically unfit for active front-line service; the Home Service status indicated they were unable to be transferred overseas. Eighteen battalions were converted in this way. The role of the regiment was to provide troops for security and guard duties inside the United Kingdom; guarding important locations such as ports or bridges. It also provided independent companies for guarding prisoner-of-war camps. The regiment was never intended to be employed on overseas service. In many respects, they fulfilled the same role as the Second World War's Local Defence Volunteers or the later Home Service Force. Henry remained with the RDC until he was discharged and transferred to the Z Class Reserve on 24th February 1919. He was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory medal and these were sent to him on 25th February 1922 aged 58! Sadly Henry’s 1914-15 Star is missing from the group and has had a blank replacement added, it is therefore listed as a broken group. Henry and Sarah remained in 28 Queen Street, Leamington until Sarah’s death between April and June 1932 aged 67, when Henry moved into 11 Queen Street, leaving David and his children at 28. David died a few years later on 27th June 1941 aged 53 and Henry passed away only a year later on 7th December 1942 aged 78 in Warwick Hospital. His cause of death was Myocardial failure and degeneration, senility and chronic bronchitis. Henry was buried with Sarah in Section 101, Plot 101 of Leamington Cemetery, Brunswick Street, on 11th of the same month.
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The Story This is actually quite a straightforward story made complex by knowing the person who the medals came from and a throw away comment made by her at the time. Back in about 1978 I was given a 1914-18 British War and Victory Medal pair to Cpl H Maxwell and a single Victory Medal to Pte D H Maxwell, by a lady called Toots Allen, who lived in Leamington Spa. Toots was in her seventies at the time and married to Fritz Allen a stalwart of the local Royal Air Forces Association and himself a serving airman from the mid 1920s. I distinctly remember Toots saying to me when she parted with the medals that they had belonged to ‘Friends of the Family’; I made the assumption at the time that the Maxwells were probably brothers. The medals sat in an ever increasing collection for the next 32 years (frighteningly over half of the time from 1918 to 1978!), on their original ribbons and uncleaned, the single Victory Medal actually becoming sticky with verdigree! They were never disposed of because of the fact they had been given to me as a gift; although there was the occasional temptation to do so to acquire more seemingly glamorous groups! In 2010 and when Ancestry.com had become available, a search was made on the site revealing very quickly the first names of both men – Henry and David Henry, the fact that David was Henry’s son together with much other detail from the census, marriage and death sections. There were also several pages of Henry’s service records available which was a real bonus and enabled the above biography to be completed. The medal index cards revealed that Henry was missing a 1914-15 Star and David a 1914-18 British War Medal. Blank copies were acquired and added to each set to restore them to their full entitlement. A copy of Henry and David’s death certificates were also obtained which confirmed the exact dates of death and the fact Henry had died in Warwick Hospital and David in Warneford hospital in Leamington Spa. Now armed with more specific detail a chance telephone call was made to Oakely Wood Crematorium in November 2010, when it was quickly established that Henry and his wife Sarah Jane, were both buried in Leamington Cemetery, Brunswick Street in area 101, plot 101. No further information could be obtained about David’s place of burial or cremation. A visit was made to the cemetery on 4th December 2010 on a cold snowy day, and again on a hot, sunny 2nd October 2011 (the hottest October day on record!) and although the general area was located and photographs taken, no headstone could be found. This would ordinarily have been the end of the research as no further information was readily available. However, it was noticed within Henry’s World War 1 records that on his attestation papers from August 1915, the witness signing the form was a Y Allen – the same surname as Toots. This coincidence was too much to overlook, especially bearing in mind her comments about ‘Friends of the Family’ and curiosity took hold as to exactly what the link was between the Allens and Maxwells; thus some confusing but interesting twists and turns took place and many hours poring over census records on ancestry.com and at The National Archives in London. I have deliberately left the below research process as it unwound, as it demonstrates the complexity of research and some of the thought processes made during the various stages.
In trying to establish the link between Toots Allen, who was married to Fritz Allen the following points were initially established, starting with the one known fact Fritz Allen:
Sarah Jane’s family on the 1871 census (she was now 6) shows her living in Long Itchington with
By the 1901 census Daniel was married to Annie and living at 45 Court Street, Leamington as a Gas Works Labourer. They had one child, George. It is possible that Daniel, Arthur or Oliver had a daughter, Florence (named after their niece Sarah Jane’s daughter?) in 1905 which could have been Toots. If this is so then it makes Sarah Jane her aunt and Henry her uncle. David H Maxwell would therefore have been her 2nd cousin.
This could explain the split medal groups as Henry who died after David may have given them to any surviving members of the family following WW1.
On Saturday 2nd July 2011 a visit was made to The National Archives in London, where the 1911 census was readily available. A couple of hours glued to the computer concentrating specifically on Toots revealed the following:
To summarise, the link between Toots Allen and Henry and David Maxwell is as follows
Even in 1978 it would have been embarrassing for Toots to tell me that her father was illegitimate and so ‘Friends of the Family’ would have been an appropriate comment, and she could never have known of the later research that would go into finding out the actual facts for posterity. In retrospect how very kind of her to give away a family heirloom to a 17 year old medal collector!
It was subsequently established that Edgar’s name appears on the Leamington Spa War Memorial and a visit was made in late 2011. It still of course leaves the question of who Y Allen was? This may only be answered once a copy of Fritz’s birth certificate is acquired as he was in South Africa at the time of the 1911 census, returning to the UK in 1939. Edgars brief biography appears below and his medals will be actively sought! Thus ends another example of how it is possible to build up a comprehensive life story of a family from events well over 100 years old and of how the initial medals and their recipient can often lead the researcher down many differing but interesting avenues.
POST SCRIPT: To quote medal expert the late John Tamplin “Research never ends”
During May 2015 an e-mail was received from Henry Maxwell's Great Great Grandson, John Lee Maxwell, who lives in Australia. John provided much useful detail to be able to fill in some gaps. His Father, John Snr and David Henry Maxwell's Grandson, is still alive at the time of writing and had an uncle, David Henry's second son, Horace Edgar Maxwell, named after Edgar Horace Toone, his maternal step uncle. Enquiries revealed that Horace had served in the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers during World War II and had died whilst working on the Burma Railway in Thailand. As a result a visit was made to see his grave at Kanchanaburi in January 2015 and Horace's Service Papers acquired from the MoD. Thus allowing his biography to be pieced together in Part III of this story. appearing later in this book, and his medals acquired. Having completed this additional detail further checks were made on Ancestry.UK about Edgar Horace Reeve Toone, Toot’s father and Horace’s name-sake, to discover that further information had been released allowing his biography to be fleshed out yet further. One unresolved matter is that on Edgar’s Baptism certificate it shows his Father as Robert Reeve Toone. Interestingly no other reference can be found to this man, and bearing in mind Sarah’s maiden name was Toone, it is possible that in order to allow the Baptism to go ahead her brother, Robert, stepped in to act as husband for the occasion. Finally it was revealed that both Edgar Horace Reeve Toone and Horace Edgar Maxwell appear on the Royal Leamington Spa War Memorial on the same side and a few names apart, but for different wars. One wonders if the connection had ever been made?
In trying to establish the link between Toots Allen, who was married to Fritz Allen the following points were initially established, starting with the one known fact Fritz Allen:
- Fritz Levett Allen married Florence Lillian Toone (Toots) between Jul-Sep 1939 both aged 34 and had no children
- Toots was born on 19 Dec 1905 and died in April 1984 aged 78.
- Fritz was born on 10 Feb 1905 and died in April 1993 aged 88.
- In 1886, Henry Maxwell married a Sarah Jane Toone in who was born in 1865 in Long Itchington (making her 40 years old when Toots was born). Toot’s first name Florence was also the name of Henry & Sarah Jane’s daughter.
Sarah Jane’s family on the 1871 census (she was now 6) shows her living in Long Itchington with
- John Toone (Father aged 37) Bn 1835 Long Itchington Sawyer
- Mary Toone (Mother aged 34) Bn 1838 Long Itchington
- William Toone (Brother aged 8) Bn 1863 Long Itchington
- Robert Toone (Brother aged 4 ) Bn 1868 Long Itchington
- Daniel T Toone (Brother aged 1) Bn 1870 Long Itchington
- John Toone (Father aged 46) Bn 1835 Long Itchington Drayman
- Mary Toone (Mother aged 43) Bn 1838 Long Itchington
- Robert H Toone (Brother aged 13 ) Bn 1868 Errand Boy
- Daniel Toone (Brother aged 11) Bn 1870 Scholar
- Arthur Toone (Brother aged 3) Bn 1878 Leamington
- Oliver M Toone (Brother aged 11months) Bn 1880 Leamington
- Elizabeth Hincks (Visitor aged 21) Bn Bn 1860, Balsall, Warwick Servant
- Florence Hincks (Visitor aged 11months) Bn 1880 Berkswell, Warwick
- Emma Lenton (Lodger aged 47) born 1834 Long Itchington Charwoman
By the 1901 census Daniel was married to Annie and living at 45 Court Street, Leamington as a Gas Works Labourer. They had one child, George. It is possible that Daniel, Arthur or Oliver had a daughter, Florence (named after their niece Sarah Jane’s daughter?) in 1905 which could have been Toots. If this is so then it makes Sarah Jane her aunt and Henry her uncle. David H Maxwell would therefore have been her 2nd cousin.
This could explain the split medal groups as Henry who died after David may have given them to any surviving members of the family following WW1.
- Daniel T Toone died in 1950 between September and December in Warwick aged 80.
On Saturday 2nd July 2011 a visit was made to The National Archives in London, where the 1911 census was readily available. A couple of hours glued to the computer concentrating specifically on Toots revealed the following:
- Toots, born in 1905 appeared on the 1911 census (aged 5) and living at 12 Duke Street, Leamington Spa
- Living with Toots were Amelia Wilson, Grandmother aged 73. Edgar Horace Reeve Toone, Father aged 27. Amelia Jane Toone, Mother aged 30. Norah Winifred Toone, Sister aged 2.
- Edgar Horace Reeve Toone was born between January and March 1884
- On the 1891 census he is shown, aged 7 living at 11 Chesham Street with his family. Hoever his first name is shown as Edgar and his parents as John & Mary aged in their 50s.
- On the 1901 census he is aged 17 at the same address, a Postman but is now listed as John & Marys Grandson
- On the 1911 census he is aged 27, living at 12 Duke Street, with Amelia Wilson, Amelia Jane his wife and two children including Florence (Toots) and Norah, he is shown as Town Postman.
To summarise, the link between Toots Allen and Henry and David Maxwell is as follows
- Sarah Jane Toone had an illegitimate child – Edgar Horace Reeve Toone
- Sarah Jane Toone subsequently married Henry Maxwell and had a child David Henry Maxwell
- Edgar Horace Reeve Toone subsequently married Amelia Jane Toone and had a child Florence Toone (Toots)
Even in 1978 it would have been embarrassing for Toots to tell me that her father was illegitimate and so ‘Friends of the Family’ would have been an appropriate comment, and she could never have known of the later research that would go into finding out the actual facts for posterity. In retrospect how very kind of her to give away a family heirloom to a 17 year old medal collector!
It was subsequently established that Edgar’s name appears on the Leamington Spa War Memorial and a visit was made in late 2011. It still of course leaves the question of who Y Allen was? This may only be answered once a copy of Fritz’s birth certificate is acquired as he was in South Africa at the time of the 1911 census, returning to the UK in 1939. Edgars brief biography appears below and his medals will be actively sought! Thus ends another example of how it is possible to build up a comprehensive life story of a family from events well over 100 years old and of how the initial medals and their recipient can often lead the researcher down many differing but interesting avenues.
POST SCRIPT: To quote medal expert the late John Tamplin “Research never ends”
During May 2015 an e-mail was received from Henry Maxwell's Great Great Grandson, John Lee Maxwell, who lives in Australia. John provided much useful detail to be able to fill in some gaps. His Father, John Snr and David Henry Maxwell's Grandson, is still alive at the time of writing and had an uncle, David Henry's second son, Horace Edgar Maxwell, named after Edgar Horace Toone, his maternal step uncle. Enquiries revealed that Horace had served in the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers during World War II and had died whilst working on the Burma Railway in Thailand. As a result a visit was made to see his grave at Kanchanaburi in January 2015 and Horace's Service Papers acquired from the MoD. Thus allowing his biography to be pieced together in Part III of this story. appearing later in this book, and his medals acquired. Having completed this additional detail further checks were made on Ancestry.UK about Edgar Horace Reeve Toone, Toot’s father and Horace’s name-sake, to discover that further information had been released allowing his biography to be fleshed out yet further. One unresolved matter is that on Edgar’s Baptism certificate it shows his Father as Robert Reeve Toone. Interestingly no other reference can be found to this man, and bearing in mind Sarah’s maiden name was Toone, it is possible that in order to allow the Baptism to go ahead her brother, Robert, stepped in to act as husband for the occasion. Finally it was revealed that both Edgar Horace Reeve Toone and Horace Edgar Maxwell appear on the Royal Leamington Spa War Memorial on the same side and a few names apart, but for different wars. One wonders if the connection had ever been made?
This story 'Friends of the Family' is dedicated to the memory of Florence Lillian Allen (Toots) for without her generosity and throw away comment, Henry Maxwell, David Maxwell and perhaps most importantly her father, Edgar Toone would have been forgotten and consigned to the history books as mere names. Requiscat in Pace.
Medal Details:
- 1914-15 Star: Erased.
- 1914-18 British War Medal: 117009 CPL.H.MAXWELL. R.E.
- Victory Medal: 117009 CPL.H.MAXWELL. R.E.
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