33 Sturton Street, Cambridge

A Boiler Maker and his Family

1881

Arthur C. Bacon, head, married, 32, journeyman tailor, b. Wissett, Suffolk
Rosa M. Bacon, wife, married, 28, b. Three Bridges Worth, Sussex
Irene R. C. Bacon, daughter, 4, scholar, b. Saxmundham, Suffolk
Edith E. Bacon, daughter, 1, b. Cambridge

1891

Head of household in 1891 is Charles Henry Ayres, a 24 year old whitesmith.  He grew up at 82 Sturton Street where his father also worked as a whitesmith.

He married Georgiana Faulkner in 1888.  The couple now have a 1 month old daughter named Gertrude Florence.

By 1901 they will be living at 34 Kingston Street.

1901-1945

Head of household in 1901 is George Watkins, a 38 year old boiler maker’s assistant from Cambridge. He is married to Rosa, aged 28, from Fordham.

George grew up on Mill Road at 27 Railway Cottages (now number 130) and 156 Gwydir Street.

In 1902 the couple had a daughter who the named Nellie Rosa.

The 1911 census records that George is now a Tuber in the Locomotive Department.  Nellie is now 9.

George joined the National Union Of Railwaymen in 1917. He is still employed as a tuber.

Between February 1931 and July 1934 “Mrs. Watkins, 33 Sturton Street” appears frequently in the Saffron Walden Weekly News.  Addenbrooke’s Hospital is collecting silver paper, and there is a section in newpaper that lists everyone who has gifted silver paper that week. In The Politics of Hospital Provision in Early Twentieth-Century Britain, Brian M Doyle (writing about the 1920s and 30s) “Mass collection campaigns were also instituted, especially for eggs and silver paper, bringing in a wide range of volunteers, mobilizing supporters … and facilitating support from women and children.”  He continues “Equally important in terms of civic mobilisation, although of considerably less value financially, was the collection of silver paper which took off in the mid-1920s. This activity was well-suited to mass involvement – it was ubiquitous, cost nothing and lent itself to communal efforts”  Rosa was clearly doing her bit for the community.

Nellie Rosa married tailor William F G Miller in 1925. The couple live at 41 Vinery Road.

The couple appear together on the 1939 register still living at 33 Sturton Street, and George is still on the electoral registers here until 1945.

Sources – 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911 UK Census, 1939 register, Trade Union Membership Registers, The Politics of Hospital Provision in Early Twentieth-Century Britain by Brian M Doyle, Civil Registration Marriage Index (1837-1915),