William Oliver Orridge

William Oliver was the son of John and Agnes Bertha Orridge (née Platts). His father John was born in 1868 at Wysall, Nottinghamshire, the son of Isaac and Elizabeth Orridge. John was baptised at Wysall Holy Trinity on 27 December 1868. In 1871 his parents were living at the Plough Inn, Wysall, with John and four other children. His mother Agnes Bertha was born on 2 June 1868 at Whitwick, Leicestershire, the daughter of Samuel and Sarah Ann Sabina Platts (née Jeffcoat). Agnes Bertha was baptised at Whitwick St John the Baptist on 28 October 1868. (It is likely that there had been a sister, also named Agnes Bertha, born 1867, who died in 1867.) John and Agnes Bertha were married at Basford register office in 1890 and had at least eleven children one of whom died in infancy, Their first child, John H. Platts (later records Orridge), was born in Whitwick, Leicestershire, in 1888, over a year before their marriage. Their other children were: Samuel Harry b. Basford 1890 bap. Wysall Holy Trinity 11 November 1894; Bertram Percy b. Basford birth registered 1892 (J/F/M) bap. Holy Trinity 11 November 1894; Dorothy Mary b. Wysall 1894 bap. Holy Trinity 11 November 1894; William Oliver b. Wysall 1896 bap. Holy Trinity 27 September 1896; Alfred Jeffcoat b. Bunny 10 March 1898 (A/M/J Basford); Thomas Aubrey birth registered 1900 (J/F/M) d. 1900 (A/M/J); George Wallace b. Gotham 1901; Sabina May b. Gotham 1905; Beatrice Elizabeth b. Gotham 1908 and Thomas Isaac b. 1913. In 1891 John (22), a coal miner, and Agnes were living at Griffins Row, High Street, Basford, with their sons John H Platts (2) and Samuel H. (under 1 year). Three of their children were baptised at Wysall parish church in November 1894 and one in September 1896; the baptismal registers give the family residence as Wysall. However, by 1901 the family had moved to The Moors (Smith's Barn), Gotham, where John was working as a wagoner on a farm. He and Agnes now had five children, John, Samuel, Berram (9), Dorothy (6) and Alfred (3). Another son, Thomas Aubrey, had been born the previous year but died at a few months old. Also in the household was a lodger, Henry Hubbard (18 b. Ruddington), a farm labourer. John, a plaster miner, and Agnes were living on Monk Lane, Gotham, at the time of the 1911 Census. Six of their nine surviving children were in the home on the night of the census: Samuel, who was also working as a plaster miner, William a pony driver, Alfred, George, Sabina and Beatrice. The eldest child, John, had married Rose Edith Savill in 1908 and they were living in Loughborough, with their three children John Edward, Walter and Alice; John was working as a horseman for a dealer. Dorothy Mary was a housemaid in the employ of farmer Thomas Adams and his unmarried sister, in Long Whatton, Leicestershire. Bertram Percy has not yet been traced on the 1911 Census. The family had moved to Deepdale Farm, Little Dalby, near Melton Mowbray, by the time William attested in September 1915 - he was still living with his parents. John and Agnes were living in Burton Lazars near Melton Mowbray when he was killed in 1917. However, when his mother completed a form in either 1918 or 1919 for the army listing William's surviving blood relatives she and her husband were living in Melton Mowbray. She named: Parents: John and Agnes Bertha Orridge, 30 King Street, Melton Mowbray Brothers: John (31) of Shirebrook Derbyshire, Samuel H. (29) of Burton Lazars Leicestershire, Bertram (28) of Wolford St Mary Wiltshire and George W (18) and Thomas Isaac (6) both of 30 King Street. Their son Alfred Jeffcoat was not included on the form but was still living. Sisters: Dorothy Mary (25), Sabina May (15) and Beatrice Elizabeth (11) all of 30 King Street. William's father, John, probably died in 1930. His widow Agnes was living on Queen's Street, Melton Mowbray in 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled. She died in 1942. William's brother Alfred Jeffcoats served in the Leicestershire Regiment (46340 Private); he survived the war but was awarded a disability pension. Their sister Sabina married Jack Arthur Walter in 1925. Jack was the son of Arthur George Walter, a race horse owner and trainer, and his wife Ethel. His father had served in the ASC (R/258447 Private) and died of pneumonia at 2nd Southern General Hospital, Bristol, on 28 March 1918 (buried Wantage).