Annie Woodcock
Annie Woodcock.
born 26th October 1879 at Racecourse Silverdale.
died 27th September 1951.
married.
14th October 1905 Civil Marriage in Newcastle under Lyme.
Thomas Beech.
born 5th August 1872.
died 6th December 1952.
Annie Woodcock
Annie Woodcock was the daughter of William Woodcock and Sara Orwell she was their seventh child. The 1881 census records show her dwelling at Woodbines Houses which is somewhere in Silverdale on Racecourse. it is noticeable that her father is widowed and we know from his wife Sarah's death certificate that she died on the 16th March 1881 aged just 37.
Racecourse is the name of an avenue in Silverdale built on the site of an old racecourse.
Annie Woodcock's birth certificate.
William Woodcock and his wife Sarah's seven children.
| Henry Woodcock | born in Audley in 1894. |
| William Woodcock | born in Silverdale in 1898. |
| Mary Woodcock | born in Silverdale in 1869. |
| Samuel Woodcock | born in Silverdale in 1871. |
| John Woodcock | born in Silverdale in 1873. |
| Elizabeth Woodcock | born in Silverdale in 1875. |
| Ann Woodcock | born in Silverdale in 1879. |
Details of the 1881 Census records.
| 1881 Census records : Dwelling Woodbines Houses | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | M | Age | Occupation | Birthplace |
| William Woodcock | Head | W | 38 | Labourer | Audlem |
| Henry Woodcock | Son | U | 17 | Driver (Carter) | Audlem |
| William Woodcock | Son | U | 13 | Driver | Silverdale |
| Mary Woodcock | Daughter | U | 12 | Schoolar | Silverdale |
| Samuel Woodcock | son | U | 10 | Schoolar | Silverdale |
| John Woodcock | son | U | 8 | Schoolar | Silverdale |
| Elizabeth Woodcock | Daughter | U | 6 | Schoolar | Silverdale |
| Ann Woodcock | Daughter | U | 1 | Schoolar | Silverdale |
notice the spelling of Schoolar.
Details of the 1891 Census records.
| 1891 Census records: Dwelling 10 Gallowtree Lane | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | M | Age | Occuparion | Birthplace |
| William Woodcock | Head | W | 52 | Farm Labourer | Cheshire, Holmesfield |
| William Woodcock | Son | M | 20 | Collery Labourer | Stafford, Silverdale |
| Mary Woodcock | Dau | M | 22 | 0 | Stafford, Silverdale |
| John Woodcock | Son | S | 19 | Journeyman Butcher | Stafford, Silverdale |
| Elizabeth Woodcock | Dau | S | 16 | 0 | Stafford, Silverdale |
| Ann Woodcock | Dau | S | 11 | 0 | Stafford, Silverdale |
Both William and
Mary are marked as married.
Details of the 1901 Census records.
| 1901 Census records : Dwelling 16 Gallowstree Lane | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | M | Age | Occupation | Birthplace |
| William Woodcock | Head | W | 56 | Farm Labourer | Cheshire, Audlem |
| Annie Woodcock | Dau | S | 21 | Imbecile from birth | Staffs, Silverdale |
Details of the 1911 Census records.
| 1911 Census records : Dwelling 13 Gallowtree Lane | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Relation | M | Age | Occupation | Birthplace |
| Thomas Beech | Head | M | 38 | Miner Coal | Silverdale, Staffs |
| Ann Beech | Wife | M | 31 | 0 | Silverdale, Staffs |
| James Beech | Son | S | 8 | 0 | Newcastle, Staffs |
| Nellie Beech | Dau | S | 7 | 0 | Newcastle, Staffs |
| Louisa Beech | Dau | S | 5 | 0 | Newcastle, Staffs |
| Herbert Beech | Son | S | 3 | 0 | Newcastle, Staffs |
| Harry Beech | Son | S | 1 | 0 | Newcastle, Staffs |
We can see by the 1911 census that Ann is married and living with her family in Gallowtree Lane.
Imbecile.
It may be noted that the 1901 census record states Annie
was Imbecile from birth, I have details from her grandchildren that they have fond memories of
Annie , and there is not a lot to suggest she was an imbecile. Annie
did have a reluctance to leave the house various people tried to get her to go out but
failed. Douglas Beech remembers that there was always a pot of senna tea on the
boil. Betty Cope says she has very fond memories of her and that she had very
long hair down to the waist but it was usually kept pinned up. My father
Harvey Austin remembers that when Annie's
house was bombed in the second world war she came to stay with them in Audley, Annie
is said to have hated Audley. On reflection it would seem very likely that she hated Audley she had lost her home
in Thistleberry, she was apart from her husband and family, she had a broken leg and also some type of agoraphobia. Poor woman.
Thomas and Annie's eleven children.
| James Beech. | Born 15th December 1902, married Edith Evans in 1928 and had one son Douglas Beech born 9th November 1930. James was living at 10 Bundley Street in Newcastle U Lyme in 1945. |
| Nellie Beech. | Born 11th March 1904 in Newcastle under lyme. Died 18th Oct 1996 in Alsager. Married Leonard Austin and then Thomas Stubbs. |
| Louisa Beech. | Born 18th February 1906 in Newcastle under Lyme. Died 20th Dec 2002. |
| Herbert Beech. | Married Emma Hitchen, and had three children Jean, Lily and Alan Beech. |
| Earnest Beech. | died in 1972 |
| Frances Beech | Unsure of her date of birth but Frances married Sydney Carter in 1941. |
| Harry Beech. | Born 1910 in Newcastle U Lyme. There is a story that Harry used to be a golf caddy and was hit in the head by a golf ball, a steel plate was fitted but he never recovered to full health. Harry died on the 25th January 1945 the death certificate states his cause of death as Myocardial degeneration and Bronco pneumonia, he was working as a brickyard labourer and living at 29 Cartwright street at the time of his death. |
| William Swinnerton Beech. | Born 16 February 1914. Died 27 March 1914 of Gastro Enteritis aged just over a month. William was the only child to have been given a middle name, this strangely was his Great Grandfathers name. We can only hazard a guess as why this occurred, maybe he was born on the same birth date ? the truth is perhaps we will never know. |
| Kathleen Beech. | Born 5th Feb 1912 in Newcastle under Lyme. Died 4th May 2004. |
| Irene Beech. | Born 1917 in Newcastle u Lyme. Died 1938 aged 21, she died shortly after the birth of her son. Irene married Alfred Whitehouse and had a son named William Whitehouse born in 1938. |
| Christopher Beech. | Born 1922 in Newcastle u Lyme.Died 27th Dec 2002. Christopher married Alice Banks and had seven children: Christine, Jeanette, Loraine, Mavis, Anthony, Desmond and Adrian Beech. |
The bomb that landed in Annies Garden.
On Thursday 28th November 1940 the German Luftwaffe dropped a bomb on Newcastle under Lyme. The high explosive bomb apparently landed at the back of Keele Road and Thisleberry Avenue causing severe damage to 9 Keele Road, 11 Keele Road, 13 Keele Road and 11 Thistleberry Avenue. A large chunk of sandstone hitting number 11 Thistleberry Avenue.
Click for details of the Thistleberry Bombing.