James Thomas Twigger

James Thomas was the son of John William and Mary Ann Twigger (née Martin).

His father John William was born in Nottingham in 1875, the son of Isaiah Twigger (b. 1853) and his wife Emma (née Rossiter m. 1875 Nottingham St Saviour), siblings Elijah (1877) and Annie (1877). His mother Mary Ann was born in 1876, also in Nottingham.

John William and Mary Ann were married in 1896 (reg. JAS Nottingham) and had eleven children between 1896 and 1920. John completed the 1911 Census with the information that they had had six children, all of whom were living. However, they had had a son, their second child, who died in infancy. With the exception of their first child, also a son, who was born before their marriage, the subsequent registrations of birth all included the mother's maiden name, 'Martin'. There were no contemporary Twigger marriage registrations in Nottingham, wife surname Martin.

Their eleven children were: George Martin (later documents Twigger) b. 1896 JAS, Isaiah b. 1898 JFM d. 1898 JFM, Sydney b. 1900 JAS, Annie Gertrude b. 1902 JAS, Isaiah b. 1906 AMJ, John b. 1908 OND, James b. 1911 AMJ d. 1912 JAS, James Thomas b. 1913 JAS, Emma b. 1915 JAS, Thomas b. 1917 JAS and Kathleen b. 1920 JAS.

John, a coal miner, Mary, and their two sons, George and Sydney, were living a 1 Middle Furltong Road, Meadows, in 1901. By 1911 they had moved to 52 Lamcote Grove, Meadows where they were living with their six children, George, an office boy (foundry), Sydney, Annie, Isaiah (4), John and James who was under one year old.

James died the following year and James Thomas was born in 1913 followed by a second daughter, Emma, then Thomas and the youngest child, Kathleen, in 1920.

By the time of the 1921 Census, John and Mary had moved to 56 Glapton Road, Meadows. Seven of their children were in the home on the night of the Census: Sidney, Annie who was in the lace trade, Isaiah, and John, James and Emma who were school age and Kathleen who was 10 months old. John senior and two of his sons, Sidney and Isaiah, were coal miners at Clifton Colliery but the census form was noted that all three were 'out of work'.

The miners took strike action in 1921 against the government's return of the mines to private ownership, the new terms of which would mean lower wages and poorer conditions. This resulted in a mine owners' lock-out which began on 1 April; the transport and rail unions decided on 15 April not to take strike action in support of the miners. One of the disruptions as a result of the industrial unrest was that the census planned for 24 April did not take place until June.

In 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled, John, whose employment was described as 'pit stone emptying', and his wife were still living at 56 Glapton Road. Only their youngest child, Kathleen, a robe machinist, was still living at home.

James Thomas joined the Royal Marines some years before the war (there is a record that he had been promoted corporal by 1938). He married Muriel M Jones in Portsmouth in 1941 (JAS) and they had a son, Ronald Thomas, in August 1942 (reg. Wokingham Berkshire); ‘Father of Ronnie Twigger’ (RM Commando website). His widow was living in Emsworth when the CWGC record was compiled. She may have remarried in 1957; Muriel M Twigger to Patrick A Maddison, 1957 JAS Gosport. Ronald Twigger married in 1965 (reg. Gosport) and died in 2001 (reg. Worthing).

James' mother, Mary Ann, died aged 80 in 1957 (reg. JFM) and his father, John, in 1960 aged 84.