Member, David Tyler, is looking at the residents of Moorland Road, Weston-super-Mare over the years. If you have any connection with Moorland Road please reply to this Query with a comment so that we can show how this road has changed over time. It was a vibrant shopping area in the mid 20th Century and is now gradually reverting to being the residential area it was originally.
This photograph has been posted on our Facebook Group and I'm curious about Walter Charles WISEMAN and his family.
"Dead Man's Penny" of Walter Charles Wiseman of Weston-super-Mare. Killed in action 25th May 1918. These unique items were issued to the next of kin of each person killed in The First World War. Very, very heavy heavy bronze memorial plaque.
I have tried to find out more about Walter Charles WISEMAN 1893-1918. He was in the 2nd Bat Essex Regiment and is not on the Grove Park Memorial. Although born in Weston it seems that his parents travelled around quite a bit and his father had different occupations. His father is listed as:
Lecturer when he married in 1889 in Swansea,
Various Entertainer in 1891 in Swindon
Musician in 1894 in Farnham, Hampshire
Photographer in 1901 & 1911 in Bexley Heath, Kent
Don't think his family were in Weston for very long!
What were they doing in Weston-super-Mare?
Do you have one commemorating a member of your family?
The late Pat Jenkins did some tremendous work in identifying some of the patients at this hospital - just known locally as "Wells Asylum". It opened in 1848 as the "County Asylum for Pauper Lunatics", using the terminology of the time.
Pat extracted the patients on the censuses from the 1851 census and later who came from North Somerset. Although the patients were entered using only their initials she checked them against the Case Notes.
I am attaching a copy of her findings for 1851 - It includes a John HARSE who was actually John HASE so be aware of spelling variations on surnames. Are you researching any of these names?