Bertie Edward Gamble

Bertie Edward was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gamble (née Drew). His father Thomas Gamble was born in Radford, Nottingham, in 1846, the son of John Gamble and his wife Mary (née Birch). John Gamble was recorded on the 1851 Census as a bobbin and carriage maker (employer) but by 1871 was a hosier employing 24 hands while his son Thomas (25) was also a hosier, employing 20 hands. His mother Elizabeth Drew was born in Kooringa, southern Australia, in about 1856. Kooringa was a mining township established in the mid-nineteenth century and now known as Burra South, the main part of the town of Burra. Thomas Gamble has not yet been traced on the 1881 UK Census and it is likely that he had already emigrated to Australia. Thomas and Elizabeth were married in about 1880, probably in Australia as there is no UK record of their marriage, and their eldest surviving child was born in Adelaide. According to the 1911 Census, Thomas and Elizabeth had had six children, two of whom died young. Their four surviving children were Mary, Fanny E, Bertie Edward and Nellie. Mary was born in Adelaide in about 1882 while Fanny E. was born 'at sea in the estuary off the Thames' in about 1887, suggesting this was on their return journey to the UK. Bertie Edward was born in Nottingham in 1889 (O/N/D) and Nellie also in Nottingham in 1892. In 1891 Thomas, a bank clerk, and Elizabeth were living on Robin Hood Chase, Nottingham, with their three children Mary, Fanny and Bertie. Also in the household was Elizabeth's unmarried sister, Emma Drew (28 b. Kooringa) who was living on her own means, and a domestic servant. By 1901 Thomas was a lace manufacturer on his own account and living with his wife and four children at 43 Burns Street, Nottingham. Thomas and Elizabeth had moved to 12 Musters Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, by 1911. Elizabeth was named as head of household, occupation boarding housekeeper, while Thomas was an embroidery manufacturer (employer). Of their four children, only Nellie was in the home on the night of the Census; her three siblings have not yet been traced on the UK Census. Also in the household were two male boarders, a mechanical engineer and a chartered accountant. It is likely that Bertie, who would have been 21 in 1911, had already emigrated to Australia. At the time of his death in 1917 his parents were living on Forest Road, Nottingham.