The Goodchild family
Arthur Goodchild was a hairdresser, and his wife Mary undertook bespoke tailoring from home. They had eight children - Art, Doll, Les, Win, Gladys, Mabel, Hilda and Reg. They lived in Mare St, Hackney until the birth of Hilda on Jan 11th 1914. She was a premature baby and it was recommended for her health that they moved to the country - and the family moved to Watford where Arthur opened a hairdresser's shop where the family also lived. When Hilda was 11 the shop was bought by a supermarket and the family bought an acre and a half of land in Chiswell Green, St Albans and built their own bungalow.
We think this was a complete family group, taken in 1914, with Hilda as a small baby, but the photo has been cut in half and we only have this part.
It shows father Arthur, with baby Hilda and Reg in his arms, Doll (far left) and Win.
(N.B. That can't be right - Reg was younger than Hilda)
This was taken in Cliftonville, near Margate mid 1920s.
Seated - Mary Goodchild, Win and Doll,
In front from left to right Gladys, Reg, Hilda and Mabel.
When Gladys was 15, at a picnic in the woods she came back running shouting "old man, old man" and thereafter started having epileptic fits. It seems she had been assaulted. Age 21 she was taken into a mental hospital where she died age 27.
Win left home age 27 to live with a friend in Market Harborough, then decided to return and train as a policewoman. During that time she was kicked by a drunken woman. A year after that she died from cancer age 31.
Arthur, Doll, Mabel, Les, Reg and Hilda all married and had families. Art went into the marines young by lying about his age and was sent up to Scapa Floe. He hurt his leg and was discharged, got married to Dorothy who was expecting his child and went to live with her parents. They bought a piece of land in Watford Rd, St Albans and built a house there. Lorna was in an orthopedic hospital for much of her childhood with suspected TB in her hip.
Les was a bus inspector. His first child, Iris died age 7 in a car accident. Gillian, the next child, had learning difficulties and went into hospital age 5, and died in 1998, still in care but due to rehabilitation leading a fairly normal life.
The photo below is of Doll's wedding at age 33 in the mid thirties to Sid Enstone.
Standing - left to right:
Doll (Art's wife), Art, Sid, Reg, Arthur (father), Ena (Les's wife)
Seated:
Mary Goodchild (mother), Hilda, Doris, Mabel, Winnie.
Front:
Ian, Brian (Art's children), Iris (Les's first child - died).
Wedding of Mabel Goodchild
Below is Mabel's wedding in 1943 to Frank Ashby. Starting from the right: Sid, Doll, Mary and Arthur Goodchild, Mabel and Frank. (Frank's family are to his right in the complete photograph). Mabel and Frank started worked as live-in housekeepers. Eventually they got a council house in Cotton Mill Lane. Mabel moved to Ramsgate after Frank died.
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