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The George and Alice Ford Story Part 10
Cecil Frederick Ford was born 12th June 1893 in Kilronan, Aran Ireland. He was 3 years old when brought to England and the family lived in the Coastguard Cottages at Portobello on the Newhaven to Brighton Road prior to his father's premature death.
In the 1901 census he is a 7 year old schoolboy at Newhaven living with his mother Alice, Alfred, Archibald and Sidney. Later after a brief career as a milk carrier he took up a 12 year engagement in the Navy from 16th March 1909 at age 15 to 13th June1923. His Service Number on joining was J3876.
As a young man he is 5’3” and grows 2 inches in two years where he is shown as being 5'3" at age 16 and 5'5" at 18. His records describe him as having light brown hair , grey blue eyes, fair to sallow complexion with an eagle and snake tattooed on the left forearm. He was to get a tattoo of a full Eagle in flight on his back or chest in later years.
The
1911 census has him as a Royal Navy boy
Class 1, 17 years "on board"
the Ganges and religion is Church of England. This was a Training ship to
learn seamanship.
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| 1911 Census |
Other ships served on include: Impregnable, Donegal, Graffon, Royal Arthur, Alacrity, Illustrious/Alacrity, Pegasus,Talbot, Victory 1, Black Prince, Victory 1, Vernon, Attentivia (Crusader),Implacable, Europa, Erropa(Bulgarian), Europa I, Canada, Victory 1, Courageous, Queen Elizabeth, Victory 1
Cecil’s naval record
He was awarded the awarded the Star, Victory and British war medals during service in WWI and seems to have ceased his naval service on 13/6/1923 12 after his 12 years service.
These photos of Cecil and Kathleen were treasured in a locket. HMAS Ganges was Cecil’s first posting in 1911 .
Cecil married Kathleen Mary Lower a Newhaven girl in1920 in Newhaven. On the Isle of Wight they brought up three boys, Alan George, Cecil Joseph and Norman Frederick Ford. Norman and his family moved to New Zealand in 1966.
Here is Cecil’s tree….
Cecil Frederick Ford b: 12 Jun 1893 in Arran Donegal, Ireland, d: 25 Jul 1951 in Isle of Wight
+ Kathleen Mary Lower b: 27 May 1894 in Newhaven, Sussex, m: 1920 in Newhaven, d: 1985 in Isle of Wight, England; aged 90
Allan George Ford b: 26 May 1923, d: 09 May 2007 in East Cowes Isle of Wight
+ Joan
Cecil Joseph Ford b: 28 Nov 1928 in Isle of Wight, England, d: 1998 in Isle of Wight, England
+ Audrey K G Woodford m: 1951 in Isle of Wight, England
Norman Frederick Ford b: 1929 in Isle of Wight, England, d: 23 Oct 2012 in Taupo, NZ
+ Eileen Florence Wallace b: 13 Aug 1932, m: 1953 in Isle of Wight, England, d: 10 Jun 1995 in Auckland NZ
Cecil lived the rest of his life on the Isle working for Trinity House, Trinity House had a remote station on the island out of Cowes which was later shut down. He died aged 58 years in a workplace accident while working as a seaman. Apparently when they were bringing a buoy over side and he got caught between the buoy and the deck head, was crushed and died. He was buried 28th July 1951 at St James Church East Cowes Grave no 1299 Section A. Probate of £616 was granted to his wife Kathleen Mary Ford. She died 1985 in Isle of Wight aged 90.
Kathleen Mary Mew, Alan’s daughter and Cecil’s granddaughter had this to add. “I was too young to know my grandfather Cecil before he died. My mum (Joan) says he was a very kind and gentle man. He was the carpenter on board the Trinity House boat based at East Cowes which serviced all the lighthouses and buoys around the British coast and Channel islands.”
“My father (Alan) took his place after his death. Mum recalls granddad talking about life on Aran Island when he was young, and believes the family was connected to the coastguards. Mum and Dad spent their honeymoon in 1945 at Peacehaven staying with the family and remembers everyone being involved with the local church and tee-total. They had to behave themselves.” Alan’s wife Joan is 88 and still living on the Island. Alan lived until 2007 and his daughter Kathleen and her husband John Mew are Island residents and vegetable farmers.
Cecil and Kathleen prior to 1953
Grandaughter Anne Overton nee Ford recalls being told stories about Cecil by his son Norman and particularly about one night during WWII. “Because their house (Albany Cottage) in Osborne Road was so close to the ship yards they did receive a few visits from the German air force. Dad vividly remembers one night when his bedroom window was broken by presumable flak. Reckoned that was a night to remember.”
Cecil was also known to like his rum. “His (Norman’s) Dad enjoyed his rum and he would bottle it while he was away then there was always some when he got home again, for his reserves as Dad put it.”
Although she never knew her grandfather, Cecil, Anne elaborated on her Grandmother.“My grandmother (Kathleen) was an awesome woman. Big cuddly and always smelling of either lavender or home baking / preserving and as a child to me it seemed they had such an enormous three storey house. Boy was the attic a fabulous place to explore. And the garden, peas, beans, goose berries, black currants, raspberries, it seemed to have everything. Many a time I helped her harvest, pod peas and prepare beans to be salted down. She was a resourceful woman, in hindsight I suppose she had to be. She must have been because when Dad married Mum and wanted to buy a house, she lent him the £100 he needed, presumably for a deposit. “Then Dad bought a house down the road at number 78 Osborne Road, where I grew up.”
Cecil and Kathleen on the left with Julie
Young Norman aged 5 in 1935
Norman and his family moved to New Zealand in 1966s. His Children are Anne, Karen and Michael. During WWII on the Isle Norm used to build model ships and aircraft “ from perspex taken from crashed German aircraft–or at least we liked to think so.” On leaving school Norman had become an aircraft Woodworker making helicopter blades for helicopters and later model ships for the experimental department of British Hovercraft. In NZ he joined the Dockyard as a boat builder before being asked to become the official modelmaker.
Anne Overton nee Ford had this to say about Cecils’ son, Norman. “He ended his working career as a model maker for the Royal NZ Navy. But he also made models for himself when he retired. I have those models. Two will be of particular interest as they are from his Dad’s career with Trinity House. One is of the lifeboats that was similar to that which his Dad and Syd? served on and the other is of I think the ship his Dad served on- light house tender / service boat called Patricia. Interestingly enough they still have in service a Patricia today.”
He has many in the Naval Museum at Devonport- One in Sydney and one of HMNZS Endeavour that was presented to the City of New Plymouth in 1988.
 Norman presenting a Naval cutter to Sir David Beattie |
 LIFE BOAT “PATRICIA” |
From an Article “Norm’s built’ em all”
Norm and Cecil Jnr’s family were very close. The two sister in laws Eileen and Audrey enjoyed holidays in Peacehaven, Guernsey and Newhaven. Vanessa, Elaine and Patricia were Cecil’s three children.
A few years back we met up with Anne Ford in Sydney. Anne's husband Bob is ex Navy, her sister, Karen lives on a restored ex Target Towing boat and her brother Michael is the Captain of a pleasure cruiser. Sea water definitely running in their veins.
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| Second cousins reunited Bob and Steve Anne and Robyn |
My husband has a DNA match to a descendant of Cecil's son Norman.
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