A Marriage in Gretna Green, Scotland

Quite recently I spotted this postcard and was immediately intrigued. Was this a case of young forbidden love, rushing across the border to tie the knot? The genealogist in me had to have a little poke about to see if I could identify anything about this couple. I know, but I could not help it!

A search of Ancestry.co.uk revealed that the couple Olive Emily RIDSDEL and Hector Graeme MAPPIN married in Billericay Essex in the June Quarter of 1929. Which implies that the couple married in Scotland at Gretna in April and married again in Essex in England in June of the same year. I say married in Scotland on the basis that this feels a little more than a young romantic gesture as the card indicates witnesses and the name of the priest was completed and is shown to be Jessie Rennison. Was one of the couple, or perhaps both, under age in England, but free to marry in Scotland in April then the individual had a birthday and was then of age to marry in England. Was perhaps Hector in the services and stationed in Scotland? I comment on this because it was quite common for servicemen to marry twice, as they had to have the permission of their commanding officer.

A look at the 1911 Census reveals the following and does show that in 1929 Olive would have been 20 and therefore under age to have married. It also reveals that her parents had been married for 5 years at the time of the 1911 Census.

Name	Relation	Condition/ Yrs married	Sex	Age	Birth Year	Occupation	Where Born	Original census image
RIDSDEL, Ernest Bramwell	Head	Married	M	29	1882	Secretary To Limited Company	Nottingham N K
RIDSDEL, Lilian Ethel	Wife	Married 5 years	F	30	1881		Hebdon Bridge Yorkshire
RIDSDEL, Olive Emily	Daughter		F	1	1910		Bramhall Cheshire
RIDSDEL, William Bramwell	Son		M	1	1910		Bramhall Cheshire
SILVESTER, Helen Louisa		Single	F	20	1891	General Servant Domestic	Virginia Water Surrey
RG number: RG14 Piece: 3682 Reference: RG14PN3682 RG78PN138 RD42 SD2 ED29 SN144 Registration District: Bromley Sub District: Beckenham Enumeration District: 29 Parish: Beckenham Address: 171 Venner Road Sydenham County: Kent

I wondered where Olive's father was going to be in the 1901 Census. With a distinctive name he was fairly easy to find and was in 1901 located in London, is a boarder with a Salvation Army family and himself is recorded as an Salvation Army Officer and is aged 19 years.

UK Census 1901 London

A further search revealed that Ernest married Lilian Ethel Spencer in 1906 which is confirmed by the 1911 Census details. Usually the Spouses last name is not given for marriages prior to 1912, but a search does reveal that the surname of his bride is Spencer.

Name:	RIDSDEL, Ernest Brsmwell
Registration District:  Help	Macclesfield
County:	Cheshire
Year of Registration:	1906
Quarter of Registration:	Apr-May-Jun
Spouse's last name:	Not available before 1912
Volume No:  Help	8A
Page No:  Help	329

In order to be consistent I had a quick look for Lilian Ethel Spencer in the 1901 Census and here she is with her parents and siblings. There was no obvious signs if Lilian's family were also involved in the Salvation Army, but her father had a business in Yorkshire.

UK Census 1901 Hebden Bridge Yorkshire

The research which reveals that there is an Salvation Army influence may well be one of the root causes of why there was two marriages, plus the additional issue that Olive was just under the official age limit to marry freely. I wonder if her parents knew that she had married prior to the event in Essex? A quick glimpse reveals that they at least had one daughter born in 1930 and a son a few years later.

I am going to enjoy the card for a little while, before seeing if I can reunite the card with the family. I did a quick Google search to see if that revealed any one researching the family or linked directly to the family. I was therefore very surprised to see the following newspaper article from the Singapore Newspaper, The Straits Times 22nd May 1929 

Page 12 

There was a further newspaper article in the Miami Post for 8th July 1929, which shows an earlier link between the families, and the rather fun personalities of the pair.

What a wonderful and romantic story.

....And all this from a postcard!

St Mary's Church Foulness Island, Essex

I was alerted to the following for sale information.

Here are the details from the website (I have copied the data below for the benefit of preservation!)

"Foulness Church is situated centrally on the on Foulness island and surrounded entirely by open views to the horizon. The land however is controlled by the MOD and has a population of about 160. It is a drive of a few miles from the gate, across MOD land to the Church. The Church has been closed for some years and is now in need of considerable remedial repairs to re-instate it to a usable condition. Any repairs will need to be prior approved by the listed buildings authority. 

You should also be aware of the following which we understand to be the situation regarding access and utilities:

• The public rights of access to the island are subject to tides and the range byelaws. When the tide is out and the flags are down, there is vehicular access along a byway from Wakering Stairs to Foulness Island along The Broomway (tidal) and then across the island. The MOD have said that long-term arrangements to use the private road can be agreed.

• Access to water supply will need to be addressed with the supplier and contracts agreed as presently this is not operational.

• The access to an electrical supply has been suspended and the cost of reinstating the supply is not known. The supply is off a private network managed by the MOD.

• We do not believe there is an existing connection to the main sewer.
If a connection is made, the MOD will need to be made aware of the plan first as there are vital services in the area."

The selling price is £9,000 and is a bargain for someone with the finances to put the Church into a liveable condition and the will to plough their way through the red tape!

Disclaimer - I am not connected with the current owner or the selling agent.
Abbreviation - MOD is Military of Defence.