My grandfather, George Frederick Wood, was the eldest in an upper middle class family of eight children, four brothers and four sisters. However, a sister died in infancy from pneumonia aged about 2 years. His parents were his father, George Lancelot Wood, founder and owner of a prosperous undertaker's business in Bristol and later standing as a candidate for Lord Mayor of Bristol, and his mother, Alice (née Wookey). As a child, though he attended a private school run by a Dr. Bumble, he was never a very interested scholar being practical by nature. He left at 14 years of age to enter his father's undertaker's business to become an apprenticed coffin maker. At this he excelled. All his life he was most conscientious and skilful.
At 18 years of age he met at his undertaker's shop, Kate Sanders, who had recently lost her father and was struggling to make a living at sewing although she had come from a good middle class family. They married but did not begin a family, possibly because of some minor impairment of his wife, until 1909 when their first child, Phyllis Kate, was born on December 31. A son, John, was born in 1912 but died as an infant of about 2 years from croup. Then my mother, Frances Alice, was born on September 23, 1914. Their last child, Kenneth Leslie, a son, was born in 1917 on January 8. George was never conscripted into the First World War because of a back problem caused by tuberculosis.
On December 19, 1923 his wife was most tragically killed as a pedestrian in a motor car accident. This great loss was acutely felt by all the family. A widow who had just lost a son at about the same time came to him for the funeral arrangements and they became friendly in their shared grief. He decided to marry her primarily to have someone to look after his young family. However, they never really were very compatible and eventually separated. Later, because George wanted to marry again, they divorced in 1940 after an expensive court case in London. During those years all his children had left home. His eldest daughter married at Christmas, 1930, and his other daughter, Frances, went to live with her stepmother after their separation. His son stayed with his father until he was 19 years of age and then moved into rented rooms.
After the Second World War he moved to Southwell Street, Kingsdown, Bristol to be close to his workplace -- a yard which was just a minute's walk further along the road. There he lived with Alice Sanders, the widow of Jack Sanders one of his first wife's brothers, whom he had wanted to marry but his divorce had cost him all his money, and she became his housekeeper. Her son, Anthony, lived with them too. His father and employer, George Lancelot Wood, died aged 96 in 1954. The estate was substantial (about 12 million US dollars) and all his children were beneficiaries except the youngest, Harold, who had left home as a young man and refused to participate in the family business.
In 1959, at the age of 80, my grandfather finally retired. Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and this was removed but he could never speak again. It was probably caused by being a lifelong pipe smoker. Nevertheless, he remained content and enjoyed little luxuries, such as fruit cake, honey, malt loaf and champagne, he could never afford before. In 1962 his beloved younger brother, Frederick, died from lung cancer. As a boy he had taken him for outings in a pram. Whilst paying his last respects, George suffered a stroke caused by shock at seeing his dead brother and fell across the coffin. He was taken home in a coma and though he briefly regained consciousness, he died in a coma shortly afterwards. Indeed, I was the person as a young boy who noticed his breathing stop and his face become white. He was 83. Alice was greatly distressed. His coffin was interred in the family vault.
At 18 years of age he met at his undertaker's shop, Kate Sanders, who had recently lost her father and was struggling to make a living at sewing although she had come from a good middle class family. They married but did not begin a family, possibly because of some minor impairment of his wife, until 1909 when their first child, Phyllis Kate, was born on December 31. A son, John, was born in 1912 but died as an infant of about 2 years from croup. Then my mother, Frances Alice, was born on September 23, 1914. Their last child, Kenneth Leslie, a son, was born in 1917 on January 8. George was never conscripted into the First World War because of a back problem caused by tuberculosis.
On December 19, 1923 his wife was most tragically killed as a pedestrian in a motor car accident. This great loss was acutely felt by all the family. A widow who had just lost a son at about the same time came to him for the funeral arrangements and they became friendly in their shared grief. He decided to marry her primarily to have someone to look after his young family. However, they never really were very compatible and eventually separated. Later, because George wanted to marry again, they divorced in 1940 after an expensive court case in London. During those years all his children had left home. His eldest daughter married at Christmas, 1930, and his other daughter, Frances, went to live with her stepmother after their separation. His son stayed with his father until he was 19 years of age and then moved into rented rooms.
After the Second World War he moved to Southwell Street, Kingsdown, Bristol to be close to his workplace -- a yard which was just a minute's walk further along the road. There he lived with Alice Sanders, the widow of Jack Sanders one of his first wife's brothers, whom he had wanted to marry but his divorce had cost him all his money, and she became his housekeeper. Her son, Anthony, lived with them too. His father and employer, George Lancelot Wood, died aged 96 in 1954. The estate was substantial (about 12 million US dollars) and all his children were beneficiaries except the youngest, Harold, who had left home as a young man and refused to participate in the family business.
In 1959, at the age of 80, my grandfather finally retired. Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and this was removed but he could never speak again. It was probably caused by being a lifelong pipe smoker. Nevertheless, he remained content and enjoyed little luxuries, such as fruit cake, honey, malt loaf and champagne, he could never afford before. In 1962 his beloved younger brother, Frederick, died from lung cancer. As a boy he had taken him for outings in a pram. Whilst paying his last respects, George suffered a stroke caused by shock at seeing his dead brother and fell across the coffin. He was taken home in a coma and though he briefly regained consciousness, he died in a coma shortly afterwards. Indeed, I was the person as a young boy who noticed his breathing stop and his face become white. He was 83. Alice was greatly distressed. His coffin was interred in the family vault.
My grandfather, George Frederick Wood, was the eldest in an upper middle class family of eight children, four brothers and four sisters. However, a sister died in infancy from pneumonia aged about 2 years. His parents were his father, George Lancelot Wood, founder and owner of a prosperous undertaker's business in Bristol and later standing as a candidate for Lord Mayor of Bristol, and his mother, Alice (née Wookey). As a child, though he attended a private school run by a Dr. Bumble, he was never a very interested scholar being practical by nature. He left at 14 years of age to enter his father's undertaker's business to become an apprenticed coffin maker. At this he excelled. All his life he was most conscientious and skilful.
At 18 years of age he met at his undertaker's shop, Kate Sanders, who had recently lost her father and was struggling to make a living at sewing although she had come from a good middle class family. They married but did not begin a family, possibly because of some minor impairment of his wife, until 1909 when their first child, Phyllis Kate, was born on December 31. A son, John, was born in 1912 but died as an infant of about 2 years from croup. Then my mother, Frances Alice, was born on September 23, 1914. Their last child, Kenneth Leslie, a son, was born in 1917 on January 8. George was never conscripted into the First World War because of a back problem caused by tuberculosis.
On December 19, 1923 his wife was most tragically killed as a pedestrian in a motor car accident. This great loss was acutely felt by all the family. A widow who had just lost a son at about the same time came to him for the funeral arrangements and they became friendly in their shared grief. He decided to marry her primarily to have someone to look after his young family. However, they never really were very compatible and eventually separated. Later, because George wanted to marry again, they divorced in 1940 after an expensive court case in London. During those years all his children had left home. His eldest daughter married at Christmas, 1930, and his other daughter, Frances, went to live with her stepmother after their separation. His son stayed with his father until he was 19 years of age and then moved into rented rooms.
After the Second World War he moved to Southwell Street, Kingsdown, Bristol to be close to his workplace -- a yard which was just a minute's walk further along the road. There he lived with Alice Sanders, the widow of Jack Sanders one of his first wife's brothers, whom he had wanted to marry but his divorce had cost him all his money, and she became his housekeeper. Her son, Anthony, lived with them too. His father and employer, George Lancelot Wood, died aged 96 in 1954. The estate was substantial (about 12 million US dollars) and all his children were beneficiaries except the youngest, Harold, who had left home as a young man and refused to participate in the family business.
In 1959, at the age of 80, my grandfather finally retired. Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and this was removed but he could never speak again. It was probably caused by being a lifelong pipe smoker. Nevertheless, he remained content and enjoyed little luxuries, such as fruit cake, honey, malt loaf and champagne, he could never afford before. In 1962 his beloved younger brother, Frederick, died from lung cancer. As a boy he had taken him for outings in a pram. Whilst paying his last respects, George suffered a stroke caused by shock at seeing his dead brother and fell across the coffin. He was taken home in a coma and though he briefly regained consciousness, he died in a coma shortly afterwards. Indeed, I was the person as a young boy who noticed his breathing stop and his face become white. He was 83. Alice was greatly distressed. His coffin was interred in the family vault.
At 18 years of age he met at his undertaker's shop, Kate Sanders, who had recently lost her father and was struggling to make a living at sewing although she had come from a good middle class family. They married but did not begin a family, possibly because of some minor impairment of his wife, until 1909 when their first child, Phyllis Kate, was born on December 31. A son, John, was born in 1912 but died as an infant of about 2 years from croup. Then my mother, Frances Alice, was born on September 23, 1914. Their last child, Kenneth Leslie, a son, was born in 1917 on January 8. George was never conscripted into the First World War because of a back problem caused by tuberculosis.
On December 19, 1923 his wife was most tragically killed as a pedestrian in a motor car accident. This great loss was acutely felt by all the family. A widow who had just lost a son at about the same time came to him for the funeral arrangements and they became friendly in their shared grief. He decided to marry her primarily to have someone to look after his young family. However, they never really were very compatible and eventually separated. Later, because George wanted to marry again, they divorced in 1940 after an expensive court case in London. During those years all his children had left home. His eldest daughter married at Christmas, 1930, and his other daughter, Frances, went to live with her stepmother after their separation. His son stayed with his father until he was 19 years of age and then moved into rented rooms.
After the Second World War he moved to Southwell Street, Kingsdown, Bristol to be close to his workplace -- a yard which was just a minute's walk further along the road. There he lived with Alice Sanders, the widow of Jack Sanders one of his first wife's brothers, whom he had wanted to marry but his divorce had cost him all his money, and she became his housekeeper. Her son, Anthony, lived with them too. His father and employer, George Lancelot Wood, died aged 96 in 1954. The estate was substantial (about 12 million US dollars) and all his children were beneficiaries except the youngest, Harold, who had left home as a young man and refused to participate in the family business.
In 1959, at the age of 80, my grandfather finally retired. Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and this was removed but he could never speak again. It was probably caused by being a lifelong pipe smoker. Nevertheless, he remained content and enjoyed little luxuries, such as fruit cake, honey, malt loaf and champagne, he could never afford before. In 1962 his beloved younger brother, Frederick, died from lung cancer. As a boy he had taken him for outings in a pram. Whilst paying his last respects, George suffered a stroke caused by shock at seeing his dead brother and fell across the coffin. He was taken home in a coma and though he briefly regained consciousness, he died in a coma shortly afterwards. Indeed, I was the person as a young boy who noticed his breathing stop and his face become white. He was 83. Alice was greatly distressed. His coffin was interred in the family vault.
