I think I’ll write a little about my dad’s side of the family. He was one of three children, with one brother and one sister. I knew from my mum that he had a brother who died young and she thought there were a few other children who were deceased. My dad, as I said in an earlier post, was never very forthcoming about his family and when I searched the new 1911 census I found that my Grandma BRADSHAW had 9 children and only the three survived.
This side of the family lived in Lancashire, which is where I was born. Mum’s side came from Cumberland but moved there too later on.
My dad’s name was Clifford BRADSHAW and he was the youngest of the three that lived. He had a sister May and a brother Bertram (Bert). I haven’t been able to find Bert’s birth year. May married and her husband and my Grandad BRADSHAW both died when I was quite young. I don’t remember Uncle Fred and my only recollection of my grandfather is being taken into the front room of their house to see him in his coffin. I think I was about 4 or 5 years old, but haven’t been able to find their death records either. I think its probably because they’re still relatively recent. At one point my grandad played the piano for the silent movies. Auntie May and Uncle Fred used to sing semi-professionally at sea-side shows in Babbacomb, Devon where they lived. But this is all recent, so I should start at the beginning.