HARD TIMES

Thomas Richards remains something of a mystery. It is still not clear whether he was born in Bristol or elsewhere. It is certain that he married a Bristol girl [Annie Pearce] and that they were married in St Mary Redcliff Church in 1873, the year after the spire had been completed. However, by 1884 they were living in Plymouth where Ernest was born. It is also clear that Ernest Edwin Richards was brought up by his Aunt Alice and Uncle George Crocombe and that Alice [Annie's sister] and George were married in Bristol in 1872. What the true facts are concerning Ernest being given into the care of his aunt and uncle we may never know.

The 1901 census shows that Alice, George and 16-year-old Ernest were living at no. 8 Warry's Court Redcliff. George, who was 64 years old at the time, was listed as a bargeman and Ernest was a general labourer. Warry's Court was situated somewhere off Redcliff Street, in the area of Three Queens Lane and Phippen Street. The court was one of many in that area and the courts were considered some of the worst slums in the city. They were the homes of labourers, dockworkers and others such as millers and potters employed in local industries.

By the time of his marriage in 1907, Ernest had moved a short distance to 15 Phippen Street. It is likely that at that time no. 15 was a pub or lodging house. In December 1907 Ernest married Ellen Gertrude Woolfrey at the Bristol Register Office. Ellen's background is also a mystery, as there appears to be no trace of her or her sister Ethel on the 1901 census, neither is there mention of her father “Charles Woolfrey restaurant keeper". However, there are details of James Woolfrey, who kept dining rooms at no.77 Old Market Street, next to the Stag and Hounds public house. Family photographs would confirm that Ellen was connected to the Old Market Street, Woolfreys. Certainly by the time of Ellen's marriage in 1907,her father was dead and also the Woolfreys had ceased trading in Old Market Street.

Ernest and Ellen continued to live in the southern parishes after their marriage and although life was hard and money always short, they successfully brought up three children; Ernest [Jnr], Ethel and Violet. All three reached adulthood and had families of their own. Work on the docks was physically demanding and Ernest frequently came home with his back bleeding and raw from carrying heavy loads. In later life he was unable to open up his hands, as a result of constantly gripping sacks and boxes. The family frequently moved from one rented accommodation to another, often in the middle of the night, if the rent could not be found.

Ernest [Jnr] would seldom talk of those early years with his parents, but just occasionally he would recall the hardships he experienced as a child; the indignity of living in a cobbled court with only one outside toilet for six families, the times when he was not able to go to school because he had no shoes to wear, the excitement in representing Bristol in the boys rugby team but knowing that he would have to play in borrowed boots; the pride in receiving a medal for his rugby achievements and then the disappointment of finding it missing, only to then see it in the pawnbrokers window, with the unfulfilled promise from his mother that one day she would get it back.

Occasionally a bonus would be received when something would "fall off the back of a lorry" at the docks and this would be brought home and shared amongst the family. Ellen contributed to the family income by taking in washing, but in 1933 she developed bronchial pneumonia. By this time Ernest Jnr had been married some four years and was living at his wife’s fathers house in Dunkerry Road. He was most concerned that his mother should see his newly born second child [David], and held him up to the window so that his mother could see him. He returned home to tell his wife, Kathleen, that he thought that his mother appeared to be a little better and showed signs of improvement. The following day he again called at the house, but was met at the door by his cousin, Ernest Brice. "I've some bad news for you Ern", he said. His mother was dead. She was just forty-two years old. The family was devastated and Ernest Edwin struggled to find the £4-10s needed to purchase a burial plot in Amos Vale Cemetery

He never remarried but for many years lived with his youngest daughter, Violet and her family. He would always attend the family gatherings and would happily converse with his wife’s sister, Ethel Brice. Retirement did not interest Ernest Edwin and he worked on at the Docks well into his late 60s, continuing to enjoy a pint or two at the Naval Volunteer in King Street and chatting to his old mates as they sat beneath Neptunes statue, overlooking the Docks.

In December 1958 he went into hospital for an operation and this was so successful that by January he was able to help the nurses take down the Christmas decorations. However after making a good recovery, something went wrong and on 2nd January 1959, he quietly drifted away. He was laid to rest with Ellen, in the grave he had purchased some 26 years before, in Amos Vale Cemetery. Since that time the three children have joined their parents in the same plot - a family reunited.

John Richard