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James Choyce |
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James
Choyce, Farmer, Of Oldbury and Over
Whitacre
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Sarah
"Sallie" Choyce, d/o Anne Hunt)
and James Choyce, married William R. Haines.
They lived in Canada. |
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"Another country was heard from…"
in the person of Richard Parkes, grandson of Fanny
(Knowles) and William Thomas, whom Richard said
was often called "Jim".
Richard explained that W.T. received the nickname,
Jim , from his employer, Mr. Salt. Richard said,
"A son of Mr. Salt, also called William, had
died shortly before my grandfather came to work
for him at his butcher's shop on the Parade in Sutton
Coldfield.
"My grandfather served in the Royal Army Veterinary
Corps in France during the Great War. We still have
his diaries from this period. We also have the many
postcards he sent to his future wife.
Click link under images to enlarge.
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W.T. returned to the UK on leave at Christmas in
1918 and married my grandmother, Fanny Knowles,
at her home village of Plemstall (near Mickle Trafford,
Cheshire). A cousin of my mother still lives at
the cottage where Fanny was born on 26 May 1891.
When my grandfather was demobbed in 1919, he and
my grandmother moved in with James and Ann Choyce
at Mill House Farm, Furnace End, Over Whitacre.
Shortly afterwards, James and Ann retired and moved
to another house in the village (this house eventually
passed to Ida's father in law, James Choyce). W.
T. Choyce took over the Mill House and the farm.
He and Fanny had two children, William Eric Norman
Choyce…and my mother, Vera Madeleine Choyce….
The farm was very old-fashioned and not profitable,
so my grandfather sold up in 1927 and bought a butcher's
shop in Saltley in Birmingham. Unfortunately, he
got double pneumonia in the early 1930's and the
business failed during the six months or so that
it took him to recover. He moved back to Sutton
Coldfield and worked for another butcher there.
His address in Sutton Coldfield was Springfield
Place, Park Road. My grandmother, Fanny Choyce died
in the summer of 1948.
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Family
group including W.T.
and Fanny with Anne (Hunt) Choyce
at the center back.
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A
mixture of Choyces and Knowles families,
"… taken at tea outdoors
on the lawn during haymaking in
1926."
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My mother, Vera Choyce married Donald Parkes of
Sutton Coldfield in 1951. Shortly afterwards, my
grandfather moved in with my parents and left Springfield
Place to his son Norman .(William Eric Norman was
always known as "Norman") and Norman's
wife, Betty Dawson.
My grandfather retired from the butcher's and did
engraving work for a company that produced test
gauges for the motor industry. He finally gave up
work at the age of 77!….He died at 87.
I am sorry to report that my mother's brother, William
Eric Norman Choyce died on the 9th of July 1998.
He had been in poor health for some time."
Richard's most interesting family history was accompanied
by interesting photographs of the early years of
his ancestors.
I regret that none of this material will appear
in THE CHOICE/CHOYCE COMPENDIUM because of its late
arrival. However, the material was too pertinent
and too valuable not to make it available for posterity.
Richard would be pleased to correspond with any
interested family member. He can be reached at:
richard.parkes@mediawatch.com.
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