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:-D :-D :-D

Oh, wow, thanks, ErikaH!

I'm delighted to know that she didn't end up as an unrecorded vagrant.

Iris Margaret Brealey DoB 22.05.1903 died April 1986 in Camden

I bought a copy of Iris's mother's Will, which was written in 1951...

This solves part of the mystery, but raises more!

She mentions ". . . my six children . . ." and among them she lists Iris Margaret May Brearley.

So this looks like Iris in 1939:

Iris M Brearley
in the 1939 England and Wales Register
Name: Iris M Brearley
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Married
Birth Date: 22 May 1903
Residence Date: 1939
Address: 8 Chalcot Crescent
Residence Place: St Pancras, London, England
Occupation: Unpaid House Duties
Line Number: 12
Schedule Number: 161
Sub Schedule Number: 2
Enumeration District: Ascr
Borough: St Pancras
Registration district: 9/1
Inferred Spouse:
Joseph Brearley - 20 Aug 1896
Household Members Age
Joseph Brearley 43
Iris M Brearley 36


In 1936 Iris and Joseph are at 18 Frith Park, Lingfield, Surrey:

Iris Brearley
in the Surrey, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1962
Name: Iris Brearley
Residence Year: 1936
Parliamentary Division/Constituency: Eastern
Residence Place: Surrey, England



Possibly Joseph's death:

Joseph Brearley
in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
Name: Joseph Brearley
Death Age: 64
Birth Date: abt 1896
Registration Date: Jul 1960[Aug 1960] Sep 1960]
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Registration District: Westminster
Inferred County: London
Volume: 5c
Page: 295


However -
1. I don't see their marriage.
2. Can't see Iris's death. She must have been still living, and using the name Brearley, in 1951.

Approx 1945 - 1965 there's an Iris M Brearley living in King Henry's Road, Hampstead - but no Joseph with her. Possibly not "my" Iris.




3. Iris's mother mentions "my six children" - but she had seven.
This is the one not mentioned in the Will:

ALLEN, VERA KATE mmn BUTLER
GRO Reference: 1906 J Quarter in BICESTER Volume 03A Page 1098

Vera is with her parents and siblings in 1911 (already posted) and also in 1921, when they were in Stratton Audley.
In 1925 she married Douglas E S Cameron in Bicester.
In 1939 she and Douglas, plus a closed record (presumably their son Douglas) , are in Hethe, Ploughley, Oxfordshire.
Vera died in 1955 in Brackley, Northants.

I wonder why her mother seems to have forgotten about her? Did they have a terminal falling-out?? Another mystery with no answer to be found.

In 1939 the hospital is listed as Battle Hospital, with no address given, and is in a separate part of the census records, containing only hospitals and other institutions, so not listed with other addresses on Oxford Road:

Edith S Frankum
in the 1939 England and Wales Register
Name: Edith S Frankum
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Birth Date: 23 Dec 1878
Residence Date: 1939
Address: Battle Hospital
Residence Place: Reading, Berkshire, England
Occupation: Matron (Hospital)
Line Number: 25
Schedule Number: 5
Sub Schedule Number: 3
OVSPI: Officer
Enumeration District: Dsbq
Borough: Reading
Registration district: Special
Household Members Age
David C Thomas 40
David F Rees 26
Edith S Frankum 61
Dorothy E Brace 35
Ivy Winifred Morris 33
Rosalind M Archer 37
Edith A Richards 34
Catherine McCarthy 33
Ida Cox 81
Dores O Waight 25
(and many others)

An address search for 344 Oxford Road in 1939 produces only 344a as a result

Looking at some of the other women listed with Iris at 344 Oxford Road in 1931 -

Lena [Helena] Victoria Macbeth was registered as a midwife at Battle Infirmary in 1928.
Reca Conny Ford was registered as a nurse in 1931, having trained at Battle Infirmary 1928-31.
Gladys Devonald was a nurse at various hospitals in Wales in the 1940s.
Edith Sarah Frankum was at 344 from 1922 until at least 1939 - she's Matron of Battle Hospital in 1939.
Lesley Bangham was a nursing sister when she went to Kenya in 1946.
Sarah Lilian Bevan was registered as a nurse in 1932, having trained at Battle Hospital 1929-32.
Emily Booth Slack was there from 1922 until at least 1937, having registered as a midwife in 1905, and as a nurse in 1923.
Ivy Constance Lewis was registered as a nurse in 1933, having trained at Battle Hospital 1929-32.
Nora Ellen Batts was registered as a nurse in 1934, having trained at Battle Hospital 1930-33.

and so on . . . .

So Iris does seem to have been in a nurses' home, presumably training as a nurse.

However, there's no sign of her on the nursing register, as already said, so it looks as if she didn't finish her training.

Thanks for that, Alviegal.

I'll think about contacting them - though she could have ended up anywhere, poor girl.

ADDED:
Up-to-date link, just in case it's of use to anyone else:

https://www.reading.gov.uk/life-events/deaths/crematorium-and-cemeteries/funeral-services/burials/burial-and-cremation-register-searches/

Unfortunately, they want to know the year of death.

There's no obvious death record. Perhaps she's one of the "Unknown Unknown" deaths registered.

Quote from https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=834939.0 when I looked for 344 Oxford Rd.

London Road Cemetery has been closed to burials for a long time now. The records of the burials are at Reading Crematorium. They will search the burial registers for a fee.

https://www.reading.gov.uk/article/11255/Burial-and-cremation-register-searches

There are a lot of burials with no grave marker. Our relatives were somewhere in an open grassy area with lots of others.


This seems to be where deaths from the workhouse ended up.

What a truly horrifying read Argyll ... those poor, poor people, I really hope Iris managed to sort herself out and get out of that toxic way of life.

Great find, Alviegal! Thank you!

Maybe after 1931 she returned to vagrancy and dropped off the official radar.
Very sad.


General info here about vagrancy after 1930:

https://www.workhouses.org.uk/vagrants/#Post-1930

Vagrancy. -Iris Margaret May Allen, a young girl, was charged with offences under the Vagrancy Act, and after evidence had been given by Acting P.S. Taylor of Wendover, defendant was remanded for a week to enable arrangements for her welfare to be made. The girl's mother said that although well brought up, defendant got out of hand, and it was feared that if she were bound over and taken home she would not remain there. Supt. Wooton described the case as very painful and attributed the girl's downfall to insufficient arrangements having been made to safeguard her interests when she was dismissed from a situation as domestic servant. Before her arrest on the present charge, she had been cautioned by the police.

15 May 1920 - Bucks Herald - Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England

According to Wiki Battle hospital had previously had a ‘vagrants’ ward. I wonder whether one was still in operation.

No help in finding her later on AG but this seems to be her in 1920.

Bound Over. Iris Margaret May Allen (17) of Wendover, who was remanded at the last Court for offences under the Vagrancy Act, was again brought before the Magistrates. Defendant stated that she was willing to be sent to a home and Mrs Blanche Moline of the Oxford Diocesan Prevention and Rescue Mission, intimated that she would undertake responsibility in that direction. Defendant was therefore bound over in the sum of £10, and placed under the supervision of Miss Moline for two years.

22 May 1920 - Bucks Herald - Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England

If Iris was indeed an "inmate" of the home in 1921, she must have either had her child in 1919-21, or else at least have been pregnant by 19th June, the census date.

Gladys's birth therefore looks too late to be the reason for Iris being in the home - but doesn't necessarily rule her out as being a later child of Iris.

I don't see any Allen/Allen birth in Wantage in 1919-21 (other than Cyril).

Maybe Iris wasn't actually an inmate in 1921, but only working and living there.

Sadly, no, that 1939 from FMP is mistranscribed.

That Cyril J is in the household above that of Henry and Albert:

Cecil J Allen [ Cyril J Allen on image ]
in the 1939 England and Wales Register
Name: Cecil J Allen [Cyril J Allen]
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Birth Date: 29 May 1921
Residence Date: 1939
Address: Beedor Hill
Residence Place: Wantage, Berkshire, England
Occupation: Coal Merchant Labor??
Line Number: 25
Schedule Number: 52
Sub Schedule Number: 4
Enumeration District: Durd
Borough: Wantage
Registration district: 118/2
Inferred Father:
James Allen
Inferred Mother:
Sarah Allen
Household Members Age
James Allen 76
Sarah Allen 74
Annie Allen 37 - single
Cecil J Allen 18


And if Annie is his mother, then that accounts for the 1921 birth - illegitimate, but not a child of Iris.

Still in wantage

Beedon Hill, Wantage, Wantage R.D., Berkshire, England
First name(s) Last name(s) Birth date Sex Occupation Marital status Schedule Schedule sub number
Cyril J Allen 29 May 1921 Male Coal Merchants Labou Single 53 1
Henry Read 23 Feb 1868 Male Gardener Retired Single 53 2
Albert Becket 09 Feb 1883 Male - Single 53 3

I wonder !

Name: Cyril J Allen
Death Age: 35
Birth Date: abt 1922
Registration Date: Apr 1957
[May 1957]
[Jun 1957]
Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun
Registration District: Newbury
Inferred County: Berkshire
Volume: 6a
Page: 45

Another ???

ALLEN, CHARLES PETER -
GRO Reference: 1923 D Quarter in WANTAGE Volume 02C Page 511 Occasional Copy: A

Thanks, Shirley.

That's the woman I mentioned in 1921, so I'm grateful for the full transcription.
The somewhat mangled POB seems to confirm that she's "my" Iris.

Although she's listed as a "laundry and domestic service" employee , she's also an "inmate".
This fits with info about St Mary's Home for Penitents, which was for "fallen" women. They were expected to stay there for two years, and were "occupied in laundry work and needlework."
http://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/WantageStMary/

So I assume she had had an illegitimate child. Maybe she wasn't penitent enough and had two.

???

ALLEN, CYRIL JAMES -
GRO Reference: 1921 J Quarter in WANTAGE Volume 02C Page 592

ALLEN, GLADYS JOAN -
GRO Reference: 1922 S Quarter in WANTAGE Volume 02C Page 549

As a pure guess, I imagine she wasn't a nurse in 1929-31, but more likely a domestic employee at Battle Hospital