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A History of Preston in Hertfordshire
Anatomy of a postcard - The Marshall family
1811c
1
The postcard is from Preston. It is from ‘Lily and Jack’ to their Preston School teacher. She is at
Sedgeford, Norfolk. The family is about to move. Father has business at Liverpool. The stamp has
Edward VII’s head, so the date it was posted was between 1902 and 1910.
The research plan
An epitome of the evidence:
Part of writing local history is solving puzzles. This is an example - who are shown on this postcard?
A) Determine when the teacher was at Preston School
This website provides the answer - Link: Preston School 1900 - 1939
7 June 1904. Miss Mabel Alice Bone (27, born in Norfolk) has been appointed as Assistant
30 October 1908. Miss Bone resigned
22 June 1908. Miss B Moore is acting as supply teacher during the absence of Miss Bone.
Miss Bone was an assistant teacher at Preston School from June 1904 until October 1908. She was
absent on two occasions in connection with her duties. The only other time she was noted as being
away was in June 1908.
The reason for Miss Bone’s absence was probably to attend the funeral of Henry Bunkle on Saturday
20 June 1908 at Sedgeford, Norfolk. Among the mourners was Mr B H Binks, whose family were
connected to the Bones by two marriages, he himself had married Miss Bone’s sister. She may have
been included among the ‘many others’ mentioned in the following news report:
B) Identify the two Preston school children, Lily and Jack
At the link shown below there is a listing of the registration of Preston school children. There are
only two children that fit the profile:
Lilian and Jack were the children of coachman, George (not James) and Fanny Marshall. Lilian had
started at Preston School in 1901; Jack in 1903. They had then briefly moved away in July 1906,
returning in the September of that year, before moving to Hatfield, Herts. some time later.
Sure enough, the family of four were to be found at Coachman’s Cottage, Woodhill, Hatfield in the
1911 census, which revealed where each had been born:
In 1915, Jack now a motor groom, joined the Royal Navy at Devonport and served as a
steward/domestic until February 1919. Like many, he gave a false birth-date when he enrolled, aged
seventeen.
After WW1, George and Fanny moved to 27 Alvaston Mews, Kensington, London. George was now a
‘mechanised coachman’, that is, a chauffeur:
Kenneth L Marshall was Lilian’s son, born at
Clapton nr. Hackney, London in the
December Qtr of 1918. Perhaps he was with
his grandparents because Lilian married
William Ernest Rudlin in early 1921 at
Colchester, Essex.
C) Identify the Marshall’s home
The firmest information about where the family were living was in 1903 when they were noted as
being at Temple Dinsley stables:
This was confirmed by the 1906 electoral register:
Remembering that Lutyens had not begun his work at the mansion in 1906, the stables were in the
separate block to the east of Temple Dinsley. Access to them was presumably at the rear - which
adds a little detail to the buildings at the house during this time.
Conclusion
And so the postcard’s secrets are revealed - by consulting other documents of the time - for this is how
history is researched.