From the 1939 England and Wales Register and the 1940 marriage certificate, I discovered that Herbert was a stoker on a salvage boat. He worked on the River Blyth that runs to the coast at Southwold.

Herbert John Aldous

Born: 4 SEP 1916 Chediston, Suffolk County, England

Father: James Aldous (1887 to 1947)
Mother: Alice Hannah Constance (1888 to 1979)

Spouse: Iris Haward (1909 to 2010)

Married: 6 APR 1940 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England

Children:

Jennifer I Aldous (1942 to Unknown/Still Living)
Peter J Aldous (1944 to Unknown/Still Living)
Bridget I Aldous (1947 to Unknown/Still Living)

Died: 5 JAN 1999 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England

Timeline:

1939 Halesworth, Suffolk County, England
1940 Marriage to Iris
1942 Birth of daughter, Jennifer
1944 Birth of son, Peter
1947 Death of father, James
1947 Birth of daughter, Bridget
1955 Death of brother, Frederick
1979 Death of mother, Alice
1991 Death of brother, James
1995 Death of brother, Reginald
1999 Death and Burial

Occupation: gas stoker (1939), fireman on a salvage boat (1940)

Records:

1939 England and Wales Register
England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800-2016

Variations of Surname: none

From the 1939 England and Wales Register and the 1940 marriage certificate, I discovered that Herbert was a stoker on a salvage boat.

He worked on the River Blyth that runs to the coast at Southwold.

Spouse:

Iris Haward:

Iris was born on 14 JUL 1909 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England. She died on 31 MAR 2010 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England.

Iris’ Obituary:

April 9, 2010, in the East Anglian Daily Times:

ALDOUS Iris. Peacefully on March 31, 2010, in Highfield Residential Home, aged 100 years. Beloved wife of the late John, dearest mum of late Primrose and Jenny, Peter and Bridget, nanny to Mark, Claire and Jamie, great nan to Conor, Liam, Logan, Amelia, Megan, and Callum. Funeral service at St Mary’s Church, Halesworth, on Monday, April 19, 2010, at 2.30 p.m. followed by committal at Gorleston Crematorium. Donations in memory of Iris for St Mary’s Church, Halesworth, may be sent c/o Woolnough’s Funeral Service, The Cemetery Chapels, Holton Road, Halesworth IP19 8HD.

The obituary can be found on the FamilyNotice24 website.

Iris’ father was Herbert Green Haward. He was born in 1861 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1925 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England.

Iris’ mother was Isabella Watson. She was born in 1869 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1926 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England.

Iris had nine brothers and sisters, all born in Halesworth:

Lily Mahala Haward (1895)
John Thomas Haward (1897)
Daisy May Haward (1899)
Ivy Violet Haward (1900)
Rose Myrtle Haward (1903)
Sidney Charles Haward (1905)
Olive Marguerite Haward (1906)
Narcissus Haward (1908)
Jessamine Haward (1910)

Iris had one child out of wedlock:

Primrose Mahala Haward was born on 29 JAN 1933 in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England. She died on 6 NOV 2009 at the Patrick Stead Hospital in Halesworth, Suffolk County, England.

My Mother’s Memories:

My mother, Rita, remembers her “Uncle John”. She recalls that John and Iris owned a fish and chips shop. It was across from his father’s pub, The Hawk Inn, on Bridge Street in Halesworth, Suffolk, England.  As you can see from the Google Maps photo, The Hawk Inn is now a consignment clothing store called Valerie’s. The fish and chips shop is Seashell.

 

My mother also remembers that Primrose was “hard of hearing” or deaf. This may be the reason Primrose never married.

Notes:

Here are some links to websites that helped with my Aldous family research:

Aldous.net (Aldous family history and family tree)
Ancestors of Tim Farr, Descendants of Stephen Farr (family tree)
Reid-Schroeder Genealogies (family tree)
The Tree of Us (family tree)
Family Search (family tree website)
The Internet Surname Database (surname meaning and origins)
House of Names (coat of arms)

Creating Your Family Tree

Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:

Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also excellent sources for vital records.

Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory passed down from generation to generation.

Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.

When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. Records should include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.

If you have a unique surname, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are other websites on the internet for countries like Italy and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on. There are also family trees that go “forward into time.” Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty. They would then move forward into the present time. The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline to that famous person.

There is no limit on how big your family tree can grow. The blank canvas is there for you to use. Cherish your family history, and it will be there for generations to come!