Thomas Dove

Thomas was the son of William Dove and his wife Annie Eliza nee Davidson. William Dove was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield in about 1861. Annie Eliza was born in Mansfield in about 1860 and in 1871 was living with her widowed grandmother, Ann Davidson (65), a seamstress, and her uncle, George (25), at 4 Dunn Yard, Mansfield. William and Annie were married in 1885 (O/N/D Mansfield) and had at least eight children who were all born in Mansfield: Florence A (Florrie) b. 1885 (O/N/D Mansfield), William b. 1886 (J/F/M Mansfield) bap. 4 April 1886 SS Peter & Paul Mansfield, Elizabeth b. 21 August 1889 (J/A/S Mansfield) bap. 30 October 1889 SS Peter & Paul, Thomas b. 1891 (J/F/M Mansfield) bap. 4 February 1891 SS Peter & Paul, John b. 1894 (J/A/S Mansfield) bap. 18 July 1894 SS Peter & Paul, Annie b. 1887 (O/N/D Mansfield) bap. 11 November 1897 SS Peter & Paul, Harry b. 1899 (J/F/M Mansfield) bap. 13 March 1899 SS Peter & Paul, and Helen (Nellie) b. 1901 (A/M/J Mansfield). Thomas' RN record gives his date of birth as 22 December 1891 although his birth was registered in the first quarter of 1891 and he was baptised in February of that year; he may therefore have been born on 22 December 1890. At the time of the eldest son William's baptism in 1886 the family was living in Dunn's Yard, Mansfield, and still living there at the time of the 1891 Census. William (29), a bricklayer, and Annie (30) had four children by 1891 but only Florence (6), William (5) and Thomas (under 1 year) were in the home on the night of the census; their second daughter, Elizabeth, who would have been about 2 years old, has not yet been traced on the census. Also in the household were William's brother Edward (25) and Annie's grandmother, Ann Davidson (86). John's baptismal record of 1894 shows the family was then living at 4 Brown Cow Yard, Mansfield, and they were still at the same address when Harry was baptised in 1899. However, by 1901 William and Annie had moved to 35 Gladstone Street, Mansfield. In the home on the night of the census were seven of their eight children: Florence (16) who was working in a cotton factory, William (14) a bricklayer, Elizabeth (11), Thomas (10), John (6), Annie (3) and Harry (2). Annie Eliza died in 1902 (A/M/J Mansfield) and her widowed husband had remarried by 1911. William had been married to his second wife for eight years at the time of the census and it is likely that he had married Harriet Bagley in 1903 (J/F/M Mansfield) - her first name on the 1911 census was written as 'Arret' (b. abt. 1861). He and Harriet had a son, Leonard, who was probably born in 1906 (J/A/S Mansfield); the mother's maiden name was given as 'Shottles' but no trace has been found of a Harriet Shottles in either birth or marriage records. The Dove family home was still at 35 Gladstone Street, Mansfield, in 1911 when five of William's children by his first marriage were still living at home: Thomas (20) a coal miner hewer, John (16) a bricklayer's labourer, Annie (13) a packer at a boot factory, and Harry (12) and Nellie (9) who were still at school. Leonard, his son by his second marriage, was four years old. William's brother, Harry, who was born in 1899, enlisted in the Sherwood Foresters (16046) on 9 September 1914 apparently giving his age as 19 and occupation as coal miner driver at Crown Farm Colliery, Mansfield. He served in France from 2 May 1917 but suffered a shrapnel wound to his thigh in October 1918 and was evacuated to England and admitted to Colchester Military Hospital on 18 October. He was discharged from hospital on 18 November 1918. Harry re-enlisted in in the Royal Fusliers (129271) on 16 April 1919 'for Russian Relief Force' although his army record suggests he remained on home service from 17 April until 11 December 1919 (239 days) when he was discharged to Class 'Z' Army Reserve. Harry was discharged to his father's home at 35 Gladstone Street.

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