BRITISH

TIMELINE

(Main Ref: Chronicle of Britain
ISBN: 1-872031-35-8
)

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James Owen of Penrhos

and his descendants
Use the left column to jump to a date &/or scroll up & down
1800
Second attempt to assassinate the king, George III.
Great Britain & Ireland united by Act of Union.
1801
Opening of a trans-Pennine canal completes a nationwide, waterborne transport network.
General Enclosure Act: Designed to improve agricultural productivity by simplifying & speeding up the process of fencing in & consolidating common land, open fields & wasteland. Transformed rural landscape but led to small-holders losing their own food supply & having to work for meagre wages.
1802
Act to improve conditions for child labour; they should no longer work more than 12 hours a day but children continued to work up to 18 hours a day e.g. in the Lancashire cotton mills.
Thomas Douglas, earl of Selkirk, proposed programme of mass emigration to Canada to cope with Britains population explosion.
1803
Britain declared war on France; the war did not end until 1815.
General Enclosure Act simplified process of enclosing common land.
Thousands died in an Irish influenza epidemic.
1804
Spain declared war on Britain.
1805
Horatio Nelson destroyed French & Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar but was mortally wounded.
Offical opening of London docks, covering 18 hectares (45 acres); construction had begun in 1802.
Income tax increased to finance European wars.
b: 1805   d: 1868MORGAN, Susannah m (1829) OWEN, James.
1806
Britain declared war on Prussia following signing of a Franco-Prussian treaty.
Napoleon began the French blockade of British ports.
b: c1806   d: 1886OWEN, James m1 (1829) MORGAN, Susannah; m2 (1870) MORRIS, Mary;
* ONE OF FIRST 12 CONSTABLES OF THE MONTGOMERYSHIRE CONSTABULARY.
1807
Britain began blockading all harbours from which British ships were banned & sought to prevent any direct French or French-allied trade with American or French colonies (prompted outrage in USA).
1808
Large scale enclosures were changing the rural landscape, particularly in Wales.
1810
Napoleon's trade restrictions proved effective; at least 10 businesses in Manchester declared bankrupt.
1811
Luddite disturbances in Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire (Luddites prepared to destroy labour-saving machinery in order to protect jobs).
1812
All the major European powers were fighting for supremacy in Europe.
USA declared war on Britain over Canada.
British PM, Spencer Percival, assassinated, shot by a man who had fallen into debt.
1812-19
The Highland Clearances in Scotland left many homeless & without work.
1814
Indecisive end of 2 year war between USA & Britain.
1815
Napoleon finally defeated by troops under Wellington at Waterloo & exiled for life to St Helena.
Corn Law: Prohibited imports of corn until home prices increased. Protected farmers & landlords but put up price of bread & for several years there was huge discontent among the poor.
1817
Large scale emigration from Ireland as potato famine killed thousands.
1819
11 killed & 500+ injured in 'Peterloo' massacre in Manchester at a peaceful meeting concerning parliamentary reform; the Reform Movement had gained ground in the wake of the French Revolution.
1820
Death of George III; he had not ruled since 1811 due to his mental instability.
Unpopular Prince Regent crowned George IV.
1823
Webb-Ellis initiated the game of rugby.
1825
First passenger steam railway in the world opened from Stockport to Darlington.
Credit crisis in Britain; 60 banks collapsed.
1826
Menai suspension bridge completed linking Anglesey to mainland Wales.
1827
St David's college of theology, Lampeter, the first all-Welsh-speaking theological college, opened.
b: 1827   d: 1896SHELBY, John m (1850) OWEN, Sarah Ann; Lead miner; possibly quarry owner in Denbighshire.
1829
Robert Peel established first police force, the Metropolitan Police in London.
1830
Death of George IV; succeeded by his brother who became William IV.
Beer Act: Any ratepayer could henceforth obtain a licence for £2 to brew & sell beer on his premises. (35,000 new pubs opened in next 3 years; there were 18 in Llanidoes. Drunkeness was an ongoing problem for James Owen in his police duties.
b: c1830   d: 1898OWEN, Sarah Ann m (1850) SHELBY, John;
1831
At least 30 miners killed when troops opened-fire on a demonstration in Merthyr Tydfil. The demonstration, partly the result of simmering industrial unrest & partly the result of the instability created by agitation for parliamentary reform, did win important concessions in an 1832 Act.
b: c1831   d: 1895OWEN, Isabel aka Isabella m1 (1851) ROBERTS, John, m2 (1870) GIBBONS, George
(& cf BENNETT, John & TREVETHAN, Ezekiel Osborne).
1832
Reform Act finally passed: Redesigned electoral boundaries to take account of expansion of towns and cities, attempted to end appointment of MPs by wealthy landowners & buying of votes but still no secret ballot & property value condition for franchise meant working classes & many in the north still not able to vote. In England & Wales 1/5 of adult males able to vote, 1/8 in Scotland & 1/20 in Ireland.
New law to try to curtail the the payment of miners' wages in goods rather than money (called 'truck') but it did not prevent mine owners over-pricing goods in their shops & blackmailing workers into paying the prices if they wanted to keep their jobs.
Estimated that over 20,000 people died in a 2-year cholera epidemic in Britain.
1833
Slavery abolished throughtout the British Empire.
Factory Act re children working in textile mills: Prohibited for under 9s, no more than 9h for aged 9-13 & no more than 12h for aged 13-18, compulsory 2 hours schooling each day for children.
b: 1833   d: 1899OWEN, Rev. Elias, MA m (1858) PIERCE, Margaret ; * ANTIQUARIAN & WRITER;
Teacher, Llanllechid; vicar, Efenechtyd & Llanyblodwel; HMI
1834
6 of the approx. 40 Men from Tolpuddle in Dorset who had formed a 'Friendly Society' (Trade Union) in 1833 became martyrs when sentenced to deportation to Australia.
Poor Law: Outdoor relief restricted to the old or infirm. Able-bodied had to enter a spartan 'workhouse' where families were split up. It was intended to deter people from depending on the parish for relief as this had become prohibitively expensive with population growth & the depression in agriculture.
1835
Highways Act led to creation of toll gates.
b: c1835   d: NKBENNETT, John Partner of OWEN, Isabella in 1860s
b: 1835   d: 1894OWEN, Rev. Elijah, MA m (1863) ADAMS, Elizabeth. Teacher, Bethesda; vicar, Anglesey.
1836
Charles Darwin (27) returned with many specimens after 5-year voyage around S America & Pacific.
1837
Death of King William IV at Windsor; succeeded by 18-year old niece, Victoria.
Following the passing of several acts in 1836, civil registration of births, deaths & marriages introduced but not compulsory (poss. 1/3 popn. missing from early records). Marriages could take place in a local register office.
b: 1837   d: 1920ADAMS, Elizabeth m (1863) OWEN, Elijah
1838
Act of parliament: All public records to be permanently preserved in a new Public Records Office.
The first steamships (both wood-burning but one also used sails) crossed the Atlantic.
Railway expansion: The line linking London to Birmingham opened.
People's Charter published: Sought annual parliaments, universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, removal of property qualifications for MPs, a secret ballot & payment for MPs. The movement became known as Chartism & received massive support from the working class.
b: 1838   d: 1900OWEN, Jemima m (1870) JONES, William. From infancy lived in Llanidloes.
1839
20 killed & 50 wounded in 'shoot out' when troops fired on rally of Chartists (mainly miners & iron-workers) in Newport, Wales. There was also a major incident in Llanidloes.
Samuel Morse in USA & Cooke & Wheatstone in UK developed systems for "writing at a distance".
County Police Act: Rural areas able to establish their own police forces.
William Henry Fox Talbot developed first (black & white) photographs.
Literacy: Survey in England & Wales showed that 2/3 of men & 1/2 women at least able to write their own name. Wales bottom of the league with just 52% of men & 30% of women able to write; one problem there was that most were Welsh speaking & had difficulty reading books printed in English.
b: c1839   d: 1895DUTTON, Jane Elizabeth m (1865) OWEN, Edward James
1840
British annexed New Zealand but Maoros retained title to their lands.
Upper & lower Canada became one 'self-governing' province.
Elizabeth Fry, then 60, established a nurses' training home in London.
'Penny post' initiated by Post Office.
Massive increase in production of iron & coal in Wales with introduction of steampower technology.
Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Montgomeryshire Constabulary created; James Owen sworn in as one of first 12 constables.
(Of personal interest: James Pimm created 'Pimm's Number One' & Schweppes created tonic water by adding quinine & sugar to its soda water.)
b: c1840   d: 1895JONES, William m (1870) OWEN, Jemima; a lead miner & later an assurance agent.
b: c1840   d: 1905OWEN, Edward James m (1865) DUTTON, Jane Elizabeth; outfitter and hosier in Birmingham.
b: c1840   d: 1901+PIERCE, Margaret m (1858) OWEN, Elias
1841
The Great Western Railway & Wales's first railway, the Taff Vale Railway, opened; both were built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The latter between Cardiff & Merthyr Tydfil opened up the markets of the world to the coal valleys of S Wales via the recently constructed Bute West docks of Cardiff.
The census confirmed the massive exodus from country to towns & cities though over 1 million still worked in agriculture. 2 million men & over 1/2 million women employed in manufacturing & trade.
b: 1841   d: 1884GIBBONS, George m (1870) OWEN, Isabel; Labourer & carpenter
b: 1841   d: 1907JONES, Robert L. m (1870) OWEN, Isabella Ellen Slate quarrier & quarry owner * To USA
1842
Military operations in China, India & Afghanistan perpetuated the 5 year budget deficit & Peel re-introduced income tax, first introduced as an emergency measure in the Napoleonic Wars.
A report revealed appalling poverty amongst highland and Irish migrants in Scotland. In Glasgow courtyards were open sewers & half the children under 5 died. Edinburgh was little better.
1843
One of the most serious Rebecca Riots occurred in the workhouse in Carnarvon. Often Rebecca Rioters attacked toll gates in protest at the Poor Law, tithes (payments to the Church of England) & tolls. (Read here (2 pages) about an attack encountered by James Owen.)
b: 1843   d: 1923OWEN, Rev. Thomas William m1 (1878) HUMPHREYS, Elizabeth, m2 (1901) HOLMES, Annie; Vicar of St Nicholas, Leicester & of St. Peter's, Empingham
b: 1843   d: 1924OWEN, Timothy Morgan aka MORGAN-OWEN, Timothy, MA, JP, HMI m (1876) MADDOX, Emma; HMI, property owner
1844
Mines Act: Employment in the mines of boys younger than 10 years & females was banned; often children had started working in the mines aged under 7 & sometimes as young as 4. They would haul loaded wagons along narrow tunnels or act as 'trappers', sitting in the dark to open doors. Women & girls had often worked as much as 16 hours a day for 2s (10p). Mining accidents were commonplace.
1845
Potato blight destroyed the crop in Ireland & W Scotland.
General Enclosure Act: More land was enclosed for farming; the countryside became a chequerboard of fields.
1846
Previous year's potato blight resulted in devastating famine in Ireland & W Scotland.
Corn Law finally repealed after years of protest.
b: 1846   d: 1932OWEN, Elisha Edwin m (1868) WILDING, Harriet Land surveyor, station master, corn merchant, grocer (shop included post office).
b: 1846   d: 1934WILDING, Harriet m (1868) OWEN, Elisha Edwin
1847
10 hours Act: No woman or child (under 18) to work more than 11h a day, 63h a week (to be reduced to 10h a day, 58h a week in 1848).
Mass emigration from Ireland to cities & to USA following famine & severe winter; in desperation some left aboard vessels in such a poor condition they were called 'coffin ships'.
Prof. James Young Simpson demonstrated the efficacy of chloroform to numb pain.
b: 1847   d: 1880HUMPHREYS, Elizabeth m (1878) OWEN, Rev. Thomas William
1848
Public Health Act: To combat contagious diseases, every major city & borough to have a medical officer; open sewers still ran through many towns.
Revolution erupted in several European countries; Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Emperor Napoleon, elected president of France & deposed French king, Louis Philippe, sought refuge in England.
Publication of The Communist Manifesto by Marx & Engels.
The Chartists seeking electoral reform presented a second petition which was rejected by Parliament.
First university college for women, Queen's College, established in Bloomsbury.
b: c1848   d: 1921MORRIS, Mary m (1870) OWEN, James
1849
Cholera epidemic reached a peak in Britain. Death rate approx. 2000 per week; almost 13000 died in 3 months that year in London alone.
1850
Robert Stevenson's Britannia railway bridge over Menai Strait opened; by then there was a network of railway lines in England but very few in Scotland & Wales.
After series of mining disasters new rules & inspections brought in to improve safety & conditions in mines.
Public Libraries Act: Local authorities could levy up to 1/2p towards running of museum or public library.
b: c1850   d: 1923MADDOX, Emma m (1876) OWEN, Timothy Morgan
1851
Pope Pius IX issued a papal brief to re-establish a Roman Catholic hierarchy in England & Wales; seen as a threat to the power of the state.
Following the California Gold Rush of 1848, Britons were amongst those heading to New South Wales in an Australian Gold Rush.
The Great Exhibition was held in "the Crystal Palace"; Peach Bottom slate from Pennsylvania was exhibited & was adjudged the finest in the world. This was where Isabel Ellen Owen's husband, Robert L. Jones worked from about 1860 & where he later owned a quarry.
1852
First flushing public lavatory for gentlemen opened in Fleet Street, London.
Postal service introduces 'pillar boxes; first ones in the Channel Islands.
The 'Highlands & Islands Emigration Society' formed; many Scots were emigrating, particularly at that time to Australia & New Zealand.
First patients arrived at the Hospital for Sick Children opened in Great Ormond St, London, with just 10 beds.
b: c1852   d: 1940JONES, John m (1885) SHELBY, Louisa Morgan; labourer, waterworks labourer, inspector of reservoirs
b: 1852   d: 1917ROBERTS, Isabel Ellen aka Isabella or Nellie m (1870) JONES, Robert L * TO USA
1853
Australia refused to take any more convicts so proposed that criminals be given longer sentences with hard labour.
Compulsory vaccination against smallpox introduced for babies; it's efficacy had been demonstrated by Jenner almost 50 years earlier.
b: 1853   d: 1931SHELBY, Louisa Morgan m1 (1881) LABRON, John m2 (1885) JONES, John
1854
Crimean War: Britain fought to help Turkey (Russian attacking Ottoman Empire); breakdown in communication led to massive British losses at Balaclava ('The Charge of the Light Brigade').
Florence Nightingale (the lady with the lamp) arrived to tend the troops in the Crimea. Her staff would reduce the death rate (from injury, cholera, typhus, dysentery, etc) from 42% to approx. 2% & cause overhaul of army medical service.
Authorities closed last of great Mediaeval fairs (thought immoral & source of petty crime) in London, Bartholomew Fair; traditional big country fairs with puppet & theatrical shows, games of chance, freak shows, dog-fights, bear bating, wrestling, food & drink had almost all shut down.
A physician proposed that there was a link between cholera & water supplies.
b: 1854   d: NKROBERTS, Catherine Ann
1855
David Livingstone discovered & named the Victoria Falls in Africa.
Examination introduced for entry into the civil service; a report had previously criticized the system of patronage in operation which attracted "the unambitious ... the indolent or incapable".
b: 1855   d: 1929STARKEY, Harry (m?) (c1891) BENNET, Victoria; baker, commercial traveller, salesman, foreman baker.
1856
Crimean War ended in victory for Allies & Queen Victoria instigated the 'Victoria Cross'.
114 miners killed & 42 seriously injured in gas explosion in Cymmer colliery, South wales.
Natal was made a British Colony, Awadh became 4th state in India to be annexed by Britain & Australia (popn. then about 1 million) was given the qualified independence previously granted to Canada.
Oxford University joined Cambridge in admitting Catholics & dissenters as undergraduates but not to higher degrees or offices.
Prison & police reform: Cities building new model prisons to replace out of date prisons, including 'prison hulks' (old ships used as prisons), with solitary confinement but no more ancient punishments such as treadmills & with religious instruction. Every borough & county to establish a police force.
b: c1856   d: 1916TYSON, William John m (1890) OWEN, Mary employed in father's company, John D Tyson & Co, marine insurance brokers.
1857
Britain already at war with Persia after it invaded Britain's ally, Afghanistan, together with France declared war on China. Britain was also having to supress rebellion in India.
Matrimonial Causes Act: Establishment of divorce courts but whilst adultery was a basic grounds for divorce a wife ALSO had to prove cruelty or desertion!
b: 1857   d: 1925SHELBY, Miriam aka Nell m (1895) OWEN, John William
1858
First transatlantic message from Trinity Bay, Newfoundland to Valentia, Co. Kerry via newly laid cable.
Indian rebellion put down & Crown takes over East India Company as Britain governs India through a viceroy.
'Big Ben' clock tower completed for the new Houses of Parliament.
b: c1858   d: 1882LABRON, John m (1881) SHELBY, Louisa Morgan; tin-plate maker
1859
Isambard Kingdom Brunel died, aged 43.
Darwin published The Origin of the Species.
b: c1859   d: NKBROWN, Henry m (1884) BENNETT, Victoria; carter, baker journeyman
b: c1859   d: 1928OWEN, Rev. Edwin James m (1888) PATERSON, Jessie Beatrice
1860
Florence Nightingale opened nursing school at St Thomas's Hospital; aimed at making nursing a career for ladies (nurses had to be fully literate, sober, honest, orderly, clean & neat).
Royal Navy launched its first iron ship , HMS Warrier; iron plates were bolted onto a teak hull.
First tram/ street railway opened in Birkenhead; horses pulled carriages of 60-70 people.
Building of first London underground, the metropolitan Line, started.
Peace treaty signed by China, Britain & France to end long-standing fighting since first "Opium War" (1839-42).
Prestwick golf club stages first open golf championship.
b: 1860   d: 1932SHELBY, Margaret Jane unm.
b: 1860   d: 1936CARR, Mary Evelyn m (1899) OWEN, Bernard Edward
b: 1860   d: 1937OWEN, William Pierce m (1892) ROBINSON, Ethel Ann; solicitor
* WELSH FOOTBALL INTERNATIONAL
1861
American Civil War: Britain remained neutral.
Prince Albert died, aged 42, of typhoid.
Newspapers: Abolition of duty on paper, following on from abolition of duty on advertisements & abolition of stamp duty on papers increased circulation & made papers available to the masses.
b: 1861   d: 1907PARRY, Zilla aka Zillah m (1886) OWEN, Elias (jun)
1862
Non-denominational teacher trainig college opened at Bangor (there were already Anglican colleges at Caernarfon & Carmarthen). Welsh federal university planned with colleges at Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, Swansea & Lampeter.
Grants awarded to schools where children passed an exam in the "three Rs".
b: 1862   d: 1939/40BENNETT, Timothy Owen aka ROBERTS, Timothy Owen m (1890) HARRISON, Margaret; marble mason
1863
Parliamentary Act enforces registration of births, deaths & marriages in Ireland.
London underground opened.
Newly formed Football Association laid down rules for the game which had been played for centuries in Britain, often between parishes, but becam popular at universities & in public schools (group of public schools had drawn up the "Cambridge Rules for football in 1848).
b: 1863   d: 1888OWEN, Elias m (1886) PARRY, Zilla * WELSH FOOTBALL INTERNATIONAL
b: 1863   d: 1949SHELBY, James Pritchard aka SELBY, James Pritchard m (1905) ROGERS, Sarah Elizabeth; school teacher, headmaster
1864
First International (aka International Working Men's Assoc.) founded in London; its general council included British TU leaders & foreign exiles such as Karl Marx.
b: 1864   d: 1923PATERSON, Beatrice aka Jessie Beatrice m (1888) OWEN, Rev. Edwin James
b: 1864   d: 1937BENNETT, Victoria aka ROBERTS, Victoria Bennett m1 (1884) BROWN, Henry (m2?) STARKEY, Harry
1865
Transportation of criminals to colonies stopped by Act of Parliament.
In Manchester 39 deaths per 1000 people due to insanitary conditions & a report highlighted appalling, insanitary conditions in Edinburgh.
b: 1865   d: 1932DANIELS, Eleanor Roberts m (1889) OWEN, Rev. Thomas Edward
b: 1865   d: 1936/7OWEN, John William m (1895) SHELBY, Miriam; school teacher, headmaster
b: 1865   d: 1932OWEN, Rev. Thomas Edward m (1889) DANIELS, Eleanor Roberts; solicitor's clerk, vicar of St Hywyn, Aberdaron, of Blaenau-Festiniog & of Llangawaladr w Llanfeirion, Bangor.
b: 1865   d: 1953SHELBY, Susannah Ellen m (1900) GREEN, Richard Lionel
1866
Following failure of first attempt to lay an underwater cable linking Britain & N America in 1865, Great Eastern completed the link in Newfoundland & first morse message transmitted.
About 5000 people in Britain died in 3 weeks in a Cholera epidemic.
Issue of electoral reform brought down the Government & there was violence during a huge demo organised by the National Reform league.
b: 1866   d: 1927OWEN, Bernard Edward m (1899) CARR, Mary Evelyn; hosier, hosier's assistant
b: 1866   d: 1940OWEN, Mary m (1890) TYSON, William John
b: c1866   d: NKOWEN, Mary
1867
British North America Act: Self-governing nation called the Dominion of Canada formed from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec & Ontario (a small part of what is now called Canada).
Swedish inventor, Alfred Nobel, demonstrated first use of 'dynamite'.
Karl Marx published first volume of Das Kapital.
Second Reform Bill gave many working men the vote but still no votes for women.
Michael Faraday, who despite little formal education pioneered the use of electricity, died, aged 75.
An attempted revolt by the Fenian Movement, which had been campaigning for some years for Home Rule for Ireland, was suppressed & 3 leaders (the 'Manchester Martyrs') were hanged. An attempt to free Fenian prisoners in a London jail caused an explosion that killed 12 & injured almost 100.
b: 1867   d: 1918HARRISON, Margaret m (1890) BENNETT, Timothy Owen
b: c1867   d: 1937HOLMES, Annie m (1901) OWEN, Rev Thomas William
b: c1867   d: 1922OWEN, Clara unm.
b: 1867   d: 1931OWEN, Jessie m (1895) MAGRATH, Edward
1868
Last public hanging at Old Bailey in London.
First meeting of National Society for Women's Suffrage held in Manchester.
First Trades Union Congress formed to represent all trades union.
b: c1868   d: 1929OWEN, Effie Rosina unm.; owner of dress shop in Bond St, London
b: 1868   d: 1950OWEN, Eyton Pritchard m (1918) BECKER, Kathleen Nora; school teacher, headmaster.
* To SOUTH AFRICA
b: c1868   d: 1940OWEN, Susan Ellen m (1899) GREENGRASS, William
b: 1868   d: 1908SHELBY, Thomas Francis m (1900) JACKSON, Rachel Jane; solicitor's clerk, poss. engine driver.
* To ARGENTINA
b: 1868   d: 1930/1TREVETHAN, Elijah aka ROBERTS, Elijah Trevethan/Trevallon m (1892) MASKREY, Mary Emma; cart driver, labourer
1869
Bedford College, London, opened for women & a college for women (linked to Cambridge University) was opened at Hitchen.
Women rate-payers given right to vote in local elections.
Joseph Lister intoduced phenol as surgical disinfective; reduced death rate from 45% to 15%.
Cutty Sark, a speedy tea clipper, launched at Dumbarton.
b: 1869   d: 1954ROBINSON, Ethel Ann m (1892) OWEN, William Pierce
b: 1869   d: 1954SHELBY, Timothy Morgan Owen m (1905) POWELL, Bertha; school teacher, headmaster
1870
Education Act: Elected School Boards to be established to create new schools in areas without church schools & pay fees of poorest children; could make attendance compulsory for aged 5-13. Universities broadening their curricula & extending admission; women making progress in obtaining the right to a higher education.
British Red Cross Society formed.
Married Women's Property Act: A husbands no longer 'owned' his wife & all her possessions; married women given limited independent rights (e.g. to retain their earnings).
Dr Thomas Barnardo opened his first home for destitute boys in London's East End.
Franco-Prussian War. French emperor, Napolean III captured by Prussians & his wife & son fled to England. Paris was declared a republic.
Telegraph cable linking Britain to India opened.
An act was passed which gave Irish tenants certain rights (an attempt to calm some of the ongoing unrest in Ireland).
b: c1870   d: NKJONES, Rev. (John) James m (1895) OWEN, Margaret Ellen
b: 1870   d: 1923MAGRATH, Edward m (1895) OWEN, Jessie; varnish manufacturer
b: 1870   d: 1922
   or 1950
MASKREY, Mary Emma m (1892) TREVETHAN, Elijah
b: c1870   d: NKOWEN, Margaret Ellen m (1895) JONES, Rev. (John) James
b: c1870   d: 1939OWEN, Rev. Oswald Williams m (1904) CLAY, Edith Margaret Hogarth; Vicar of Allendale, Northumberland, & of St. Mary the Virgin, Newcastle
1871
Trade Union Act recognised unions but included ambiguous clause about picketing that angered TU leaders (employers could bring in replacement labour during strikes so picketing an important right).
Strikes in S Wales after miners given 5% cut in wages; eventually miners won a pay increase. Employers began organising their own associations to combat the increased powers of the unions.
In Africa, near Lake Tanganyika, Henry Morton Stanley found Dr David Livingstone who for 4 years had been presumed dead.
Diamond rush in S Africa where Britain annexed diamond-rich region of Griqueland West.
Darwin published The Descent of Man.
b: 1871   d: 1950JONES, Elizabeth Susannah aka Lizzie unm.
b: 1871   d: 1913JONES, Rev. (John) James m (1895) OWEN, Margaret Ellen; cleric
b: 1871   d: 1876OWEN, James Morris
b: c1871   d: NKOWEN, Lizzie m (1899) WILDE, Edward * To CHILE
b: 1871   d: c1874OWEN, Oswald James
b: c1871   d: 1935WILLIAMS, David m (1901) OWEN, (Gwen) Lily; grocer.
1872
Secret ballot introduced for elections.
In an attempt to reduce drunkeness, the Licensing Act limited opening hours of liquor retailers & brought them under under control of magistrates.
First football international; Scotland played England at Queen's Park, Glasgow.
Smallpox epidemic in London.
First university college in Wales, University College, Aberystwyth, opened.
b: 1872   d: NKJONES, Emma E. * USA
b: c1872   d: 1906OWEN, Edith unm.
b: c1872   d: 1874OWEN, Gertrude Evelyn
b: 1872   d: 1950OWEN, John Oswald m (1904) FYNN, Mary; teacher
b: 1872   d: 1923SHELBY, Sarah Ann aka Lally unm.
1873
This was the start of the "Long Recesssion" which would last at least 6 years. Financial problems in both Europe & US were exacerbated by over-investment in industrial & railway expansion. Workers had to accept huge wage-cuts often after prolonged strikes & families faced great hardship but that year a 3 month strike forced ironmasters & coalowners of S Wales not to implement a 10% wage reduction.
Divorced women won the right to seek custody of their children.
b: c1873   d: 1856JONES, Margaret aka Maggie m (1919) OWEN, Owen
b: 1873   d: 1957MORRISON, Amy Mary m (1914) OWEN, Frank Ifor Moran * CANADA
b: 1873   d: 1943OWEN, Llewellyn Bernard m (1904) WHITE, Amelia; railway clerk, railway signalman
b: c1873   d: c1874OWEN, May
1874
Births & Deaths Registration Act: Made registration compulsory - Births within 42 days or a £2 fine (if time limit exceeded parents might lie about the dob or not register & hope not to be found out); still a common belief that baptism registered the birth. Deaths needed doctor's certificate & had to be registered within 5 days.
New PM, Disraeli, ensures passage of Factory Act: No child under 10 to be employed, womwn, girls & adolescents boys to work max. 10 hours between 6am & 6 pm & men max. 10 1/2 hours.
Motion proposing home rule for Ireland heavily defeated in Parliament but it remined a burning issue.
Rules of lawn tennis were laid down.
b: 1874   d: 1939+CLAY, Edith Margaret Hogarth m (1904) OWEN, Rev. Oswald Williams
b: c1874   d: 1947GREEN, Richard Lionel m (1900), SHELBY, Susannah Ellen; Royal Navy seaman.
b: c1874   d: 1949GREENGRASS, William m (1899) OWEN, Susan Ellen; schoolmaster, headmaster.
b: c1874   d: 1936/7JACKSON, Rachel Jane Jackson aka Jenny m (1900) SHELBY, Thomas Francis
b: c1874   d: NKJONES, (William) John * USA
b: c1874   d: 1934?WHITE, Amelia m (1904) OWEN, Llewellyn Bernard
1875
Use of child chimney sweeps as young as 5 finally outlawed.
Amalgamated Association of Miners bankrupted after long strike involving 17000 miners in S Wales. Families close to starvation & Employers' Federation forced 12.5% pay cut on Welsh miners.
Ladies colleges, Newnham & Girton, opened at Cambridge but with exams different to men's tripos.
Acts passed to fascilitate slum clearance & improve public health. Main sewerage system in London completed.
Disraeli negotiated controlling interest in Suez Canal for Britain, securing shorter sea route to Far East.
Capt. Matthew Webb first man to swim English Channel.
b: 1875   d: 1948OWEN, Maurice Handel m1 (1902) MILLS, Margaret Ellen, m2 LETELLIER, Germaine Josephine, m3 BARNES, Kathleen Marie-Lousie; surveyor's clerk, bank inspector for the Standard Bank of S Africa
* To SOUTH AFRICA
b: c1875   d: 1958/9ROGERS, Sarah Elizabeth aka Sally m (1905) SHELBY James Pritchard/ SELBY, James Prichard
1876
Alexander Graham bell made the first telephone call
Overloading of ships outlawed by introduction of "Plimsoll line" (named after its proponent, Samuel Plimsoll MP).
Medical Act: Permitted registration of female doctors.
b: 1876   d: 1924GRINDON, Nellie Edith m (1910) OWEN, Reginald Wynn
b: 1876   d: 1958JONES, Sarah Jane m (1908) BOWGEN, Frederick John
b: 1876   d: 1950OWEN, Reginald Wynn m1 (1910) GRINDON, Nellie Edith m2 KLIPSCH, Lily Mabel (née TOMKINSON); architect.
1877
Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India. Through colonial expansion European powers embraced two thirds of world & there was a danger of friction, in part due to recession & protectionism.
Britain annexed Boer republic of Transvaal, bankrupted by war between Boers & Zulus.
Inconclusive verdict reached on publishers of booklet about physical contraception.
Wales played its first football international, losing 4-0 to Scotland in Glasgow (see 1881). All England Croquet & Tennis Club staged its first lawn tennis championship.
First official test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground; Australia beat England by 45 runs.
b: c1877   d: 1936DAY, John Robert Conway Fitzgerald m (1910) OWEN, Beatrice Marion; brewer, rubber plantation manager.
b: 1877   d: 1928JONES, Arthur L.m (1905) NK, MollieGeneral Store owner then machinest in Peach Bottom, Pa * USA
b: 1877   d: 1950MORGAN-OWEN, Lt-Col Morgan Maddox, DSO, TD, JP m (1925) TURNER, Doris Marjorie; schoolmaster. * WELSH FOOTBALL INTERNATIONAL
b: 1877   d: 1933OWEN, Herbert Ultimus (m?) Sarah Ellaline NK; insurance agent.
b: c1877   d: 1967OWEN, Myfanwy m (1881) MOSS, Albert Henry; Cunard ship's steward
b: c1877   d: 1946OWEN, Owen m (1919) JONES, Margaret; post office clerk, postmaster.
b: 1877   d: 1972TOMKINSON, Lily Mabel m1 (1910) KLIPSCH, Frederick Arthur m2 (1926) OWEN, Reginald Wynn
1878
Russia defeated Turkey (Britain's ally) over Balkans. Britain's concern about control of Med. & routes to India allayed by Congress of Berlin but Russia, Greece & some Balkan states dissatisfied with outcome.
Over 600 people drowned when a collier rammed a pleasure steamer in the Thames.
268 miners killed in explosion in Abercarn mine in S Wales.
Factory Act of 1874 extended to include sweat shops & small factories.
City of Glasgow Bank collapsed with directors arrested for stealing over £5 million.
b: 1878   d: 1965?HUBAND, Henry Robert whitesmith (i.e. tinsmith)
b: 1878   d: 1926MILLS, Margaret Ellen m (1902) OWEN, Maurice Handel
b: 1878   d: 1960MORGAN-OWEN, Nesta Mary m1 (1907) WOOD, Maxwell, m2 (1946) ABRAHAMSON or ASHTON, Harold Sidney
b: c1878   d: 1955OWEN, Frank Ifor Moran m (1914) MORRISON, Amy Mary; architect. * To CANADA
b: 1878   d: 1969OWEN, Frank Penrhos m (1906) PRESTON, Lilian Renira; schoolmaster
b: 1878   d: 1972PRESTON, Lilian Renira m (1906) OWEN, Frank Penrhos
b: c1878   d: 1950WALFORD, Ethel Berry m (1914) MORGAN-OWEN, Llewelyn Issac Gethin
1879
Zulu War: Britain avenged January massacre of Isandhlwana (over 800 soldiers killed) & defeated Zulus at Ulundi but removal of Zulu threat was to prompt Boer activity to oust British.
Many farmers ruined by worst harvest for decades in Britain due to appalling weather & loss of millions of sheep from outbreak of liver rot.
Tay Bridge (longest bridge in world) disaster: Almost 100 railway passengers killed.
Irish Land League formed, President Charles Stewart Parnell (already President of Home Rule Confederation of GB) following increase in number of tenant evictions in Ireland.
London's first telephone exchange opened.
b: 1879   d: 1960MORGAN-OWEN, Maj-Gen Llewelyn Issac Gethin CB, CMG, CBE, DSO m (1914) WALFORD, Ethel Berry * PROFESSIONAL SOLDIER
b: 1879   d: 1880OWEN, Eleanor Jane
b: 1879   d: 1969OWEN, Gwen Lily aka Lily m (1901) WILLIAMS, David
b: c1879   d: 1975POWELL, Bertha m (1905) SHELBY, Timothy Morgan Owen
b: 1879   d: 1960RAWLINSON, David m (1912) JONES, Catherine Ann; solicitor's clerk, administrator for Oxford council.
1880
1000 of 3500 British troops killed by Afghan rebels in Maiwand, India (July); Gen. Sir Frederick Roberts VC ("Bobs") then lifted the seige of Kandahar & defeated the rebels (Aug.).
1870 Education Act resulted in construction of many new schools so new Education Act could make school attendance compulsory for all children up to age 10.
National Eisteddfod Association formed in Wales to guarantee funding of an annual national Eisteddfod with literary & music prizes (modern eisteddfod dates from 1789). Elizabeth Owen had won an eisteddfod prize in 1874 & her son, Reginald Wynn Owen, would win one in 1900.
First consignment of frozen meat arrived from Australia.
Bill to ensure compensation for evicted Irish tenants defeated so Irish Land League called for action which inluded witholding rent & leaving evicted farms empty (hence term 'boycotting': Capt. Boycott was one of the landlord's agents).
b: 1880   d: 1962BECKER, Kathleen Nora aka Nora m (1918) OWEN, Eyton Pritchard * SOUTH AFRICA
b: 1880   d: 1963FOWLER, Launcelot m (1909) OWEN, Ivy May
b: c1880   d: 1960JONES, Jemima aka Emma unm.
b: c1880   d: 1948MATTHEWS, Sarah Elizabeth m (1905) OWEN, James Darwin; with husband ran a public house
b: c1880   d: 1943WOOD, Maxwell m (1907) MORGAN-OWEN, Nesta Mary
1881
Boers defeated the British at Majuba Hill & Britain gave Boers of Transvaal complete independence.
Sunday drinking banned in Wales (banned in Scotland in 1853, in England in 1854).
Land Act gave greater protection to tenants but failed to get support of Irish Land league.
Irish Land League outlawed. Attempt to prosecute its leaders failed but later they were arrested and thrown into jail.
Football: William Pierce Owen made the first of his 12 consecutive appearances for Wales.
b: 1881   d: NKMOSS, Albert aka Albert Charles m (1907) OWEN, Myfanwy; Cunard ship's steward
b: 1881   d: 1970OWEN, James Darwin m (1905) MATTHEWS, Sarah Elizabeth; publican
b: 1881   d: 1975OWEN, Sarah Louisa aka Sally m (1912) HARRIS, Arthur Andrew
b: 1881   d: 1954OWEN, Vera Wilding unm.
1882
Plans to open museums & public galleries on Sundays rejected by House of Commons.
The new Irish chief secretary & his under-secretary murdered in Dublin. Leaders of Irish Land League released from prison on understanding they would help to quell the disorder in Ireland.
Women allowed to own property in their own right (previously all property owned by their husbands).
50 Europeans massacred in Alexandria. British force sent out to prevent mob rule defeated the revolutionaries.
Electricity increasingly used; generating station opened at Holburn Viaduct to provide street lighting.
b: 1882   d: 1964JONES, Catherine Ann aka Cassie m (1912) RAWLINSON, David
b: 1882   d: NKJONES, Isabella * USA
b: 1882   d: 1923LABRON, Charlotte Miriam aka Miriam Charlotte m (1919) MORGAN, Edward
b: c1882   d: 1922MORGAN, Edward Morgan m (1919) LABRON, Charlotte Miriam; army captain, official at the Ministery of Labour
b: 1882   d: 1953MORGAN-OWEN, Hugh unm. * WELSH FOOTBALL INTERNATIONAL; DIPLOMAT
b: c1882   d: NKOWEN, Enid
1883
Pamphlet revealed the truth about the squalor of the slums of London & shocked MPs & the queen. The gap between the poor, working class & the upper class appeared to be widening.
Act to regulate & limit expenses in elections & to extend the liability for coercion/bribery to gain votes.
British led army in Sudan massacred. Concern re Suez Canal but British forces to be evacuated.
Workmen already paid less on London trains & this was extended by law to all railways.
b: 1883   d: 1955HEDLEY, Osborne Janion m (1911) JONES, (Sarah) Gladys Patricia; dispensing chemist.
b: 1883   d: 1916MORGAN-OWEN, John Gurth aka Gurth unm.; teacher * Killed WWI
b: 1883   d: 1946JONES, Maurice Robert m (1914) OWEN, Eva Margaret
b: c1883   d: c1960OWEN, Norman Wilding unm.; draper, possibly owned a dressmaking salon ("Nigel Ltd")
1884
General Gordon sent to Sudan to organise British evacuation felt it unnecessary & that victory over the army of Mohammed Ahmed was possible but Khartoum then besieged.
Franchise extended to male householdres with a property worth more than £10.
NSPCC founded.
"Machine gun" invented.
The University College of North Wales was opened at Bangor.
First time woman could sit exams at Oxford & enter the Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon.
Socialism began to appeal more to intellectuals & more socialist societies were being formed.
b: c1884   d: NKNK, Sarah Ellaline (m?) OWEN, Herbert Ultimus
b: 1884   d: 1943JONES, John Edward m (1917) BROWN, Mary aka STARKEY
b: 1884   d: NKOWEN, John Lowry Morgan m Mary NK; missionary * SOUTH AMERICA
1885
National hero General Gordon who had served his country with great courage & integrity for 30 years was killed at Khartoum.
Young Wales movement (Cymru Fydd) formed to promote Home Rule for Wales.
Irish Home Rule continued to be an issue & contributed to the fall of Gladstone's Government.
b: c1885   d: NKBOWGEN, Frederick John aka Fredrick John m (1908) JONES, Sarah Jane; house painter.
b: 1885   d: 1968BROWN, Isabel Ann aka STARKEY, Isabel Ann m (1904) MINSHALL, John Wilfred
b: 1885   d: NKHARRIS, Arthur Andrew m (1912) OWEN, Sarah Louisa aka Sally
b: c1885   d: 1897OWEN, Gladys Elaine
1886
Irish Home Rule again dominated politics with Parliament rejecting the Home Rule bill. Riots occurred in Belfast.
Leaders of the Social Democratic Convention put on trial one of their meetings in Trafalgar Square led to rioting.
Shop Hours Act restricted hours worked by shop workers under 18 to 74 hours (13.5 hours for 5 days & 6.5 hours on Sat.)
b: 1886   d: 1921BROWN, Mary aka STARKEY, Mary m: (1917) JONES, John Edward
1887
Many injured at Llangwm, near Mold, in Wales when mounted police charged Welsh farmers protesting against tithe taxes on land (these had to be paid to the Church of England & many objected not only on grounds of economic hardship but also because approx. 80% of Welsh farmers were nonconformists).
Country celebrated Queen Victoria's jubilee.
UK hit by droubt in August & there was a scarlet fever epidemic in London in October. GB was losing its position as leading industrial nation in the world.
b: 1887   d: 1937OWEN, Ivy May m (1909) FOWLER, Launcelot
b: c1887   d: 1978MORGAN-OWEN, Gwendolen Morfydd aka Gwen unm.
b: 1887   d: 1937OWEN, William Parry m (1915) SELBY, Marion May; wagonner/farmer. * TO AUSTRALIA
b: 1887   d: 1975SHELBY-JONES (Sarah) Gladys Patricia m (1911) HEDLEY, Osborne Janion
1888
Female workers at the Bryant & May match-making company in London went on strike & won better pay & conditions
John Dunlop's invention of the pneumatic tyre promised to boost interest in cycling.
Keir Hardy founded the Scottish Labour Party.
County Councils set up & boundaries redrawn in major overhall of Local Govt.
Jack the Ripper killed 5 women. over period of 10 weeks.
b: 1888   d: 1972OWEN, Eva Margaret m (1954) WILLIAMS, Derek Laurence
b: 1888   d: 1973OWEN, Nigel Ambler Wilding m (1938) HUDSON, Audrey Grace; Dentist.
1889
In Wales county joint education committees established to create county schools partly subsidised by public money (before there were such subsidies in England).
A report showed that 1/3 London's 5.5 million popn. lived below the poverty line.
For 3 months dockers went on strike & won 6d an hour & to work minimum 4 hours at a time.
b: 1889   d: 1964GLENDINNING, Halbert m (1920) TYSON, Gwladys Mary; professional soldier, instructor at military college, market gardener, ran a shooting syndicate.
b: 1889   d: 1968JONES, Maggie Gwendoline aka Gwen m (1916) GILL, Harold Arthur
b: 1889   d: NKOWEN, Beatrice Marion m (1910) DAY, John Robert Conway (JRC) Fitzgerald * To NEW ZEALAND via MALAYA
1890
Anglo-German Convention: Germany & Britain came to agreement over territory in Africa. Cecil Rhodes became PM of Cape Colony.
In London the first electric power station was opened at Deptford.
The Times appointed first ever female foreign correspondent & a woman came top in the Cambridge maths tripos, outshining male students but women still not awarded degrees.
Campaigns for female suffrage began.
The Graphic became first illustrated daily newspaper; in its special Jubilee edition of 1897 it included a picture of Timothy Morgan Owen's beacon-fire (see letter to Lecky).
Solicitor David Lloyd George elected as Liberal MP for Carnarvon Boroughs. With a group of Welsh Liberal members he supported a programme of disestablishing and disendowing the Church of England in Wales, temperance reform, and Welsh home rule.
b: 1890   d: NKSELBY, Marion May m (1915) OWEN, William Parry * TO AUSTRALIA
b: c1890   d: 1950/1SMITH, Lizzie Dilnot m (1916) STARKEY, Elijah
1891
Census shows increased movement from country to towns & cities. Estimated that a third of all women aged 15-20 in domestic service.
Elementary education made free of charge.
London became linked by telephone with Paris.
Irish activist Parnell died aged 45; 1890 scandal when he was cited in divorce proceedings.
b: c1891   d: 1952GILL, Harold Arthur Alfred m (1916) JONES, Maggie Gwendoline; General Manager of wholesale/retail store.
b: 1891   d: 1969JONES, Idris Robertm (1923) NK, Anna HayOne time slate quarry manager in Delta, Pa * USA
b: 1891   d: 1957OWEN, Edwin Augustus m1 (1914) GREGORY, Winifred Nellie, m2 (1921) EDWARDS, Nellie; planter, owned & managed a hotel, possible bigamist & bankrupt.
b: 1891   d: 1962OWEN, Marjorie m (1919) BOXER, Harold Richard
b: 1891   d: 1973PRITCHARD Leonora m (1924) JONES, John Owen
b: 1891   d: NKSTARKEY, Cicely
b: 1891   d: 1983TYSON, Gwladys Mary aka Gladys m (1920) GLENDINNING, Halbert
1892
Welsh demanded disestablishment of Anglican Church in Wales & reform of tithes & land tenure.
Keir Hardie elected for West Ham as first Labour MP.
In N Wales the river Vyrnwy was dammed to create a reservoir serving Liverpool.
b: c1892   d: 1962ABRAHAMSON, Harold Sidney, aka ASHTON m (1946) MORGAN-OWEN, Nesta Mary
b: 1892   d: 1980DUTHIE, Sir William Smith aka Bill, OBE m (1921) TYSON, Elizabeth; Canadian Bank of Commerce, Western Biscuits, wartime Government Advisor on Food Defence Plans with the Board of Trade.
* POLITICIAN: MP for Banffshire 1945-1964
b: c1892   d: NKGREGORY, (Winifred) Nellie m (1914) OWEN, Edwin Augustus * TO AUSTRALIA
b: 1892   d: 1952ROBERTS, Timothy Edward m1 (1915) ELDER, Florence Gallagher, m2 (1923) PURTELL, Margaret; chief steward in merchant service. * To AUSTRALIA
1893
Independent Labour Party formed by Keir Hardy & 2 socialist independent MPs.
School leaving age raised to 11.
15 week miners' strike in Midlands & N England supported by hauliers in S Wales; pitched battle between hauliers & about 2000 miners who wanted to work. National Free Labour Association formed by employers to counter increasing power of unions.
Colleges of Lampeter (1827), Aberystwyth (1881), Cardiff (1883) & Bangor (1884) became the new federal Unversity of Wales.
Britain's first ladies' golf championship took place at Royal Lytham
b: c1893   d: NKROBERTS, Thomas E m (1922) DRURY, Eva Violet Annie; steam hammer driver.
1894
Manchester Ship Canal, London's Tower Bridge & Blackpool's Tower all opened.
Death duty increase hit hard wealthy landowners, mill owners, mine owners, etc.
b: 1894   d: NKPURTELL, Margaret m (1923) ROBERTS, Timothy Edward * AUSTRALIA
b: 1894   d: 1922ELDER, Florence Gallagher m (1915) ROBERTS, Timothy Edward
b: 1894   d: 1973ROBERTS, Thomas Edward m (1922) DRURY, Eva Violet Annie
b: 1894   d: 1977TYSON, Elizabeth aka Elsie m (1922) DUTHIE, William Smith
b: 1894   d: NKSTARKEY, William
1895
Gas for street & domestic lighting & for cooking on increase. More expensive electricity less popular.
British mounted unsuccessful raid on gold-rich Transvaal where British workers outnumbered ruling Boers but were heavily taxed & politically impotent.
Oscar Wilde given 2 years' hard labour for homosexuality.
National Trust founded.
Previously rugby strictly amateur with Rugby Union but professional Rugby League established.
b: 1895   d: 1985BARNES, Alexander m (1920) ROBERTS, Christina; butcher's journeyman.
b: 1895   d: 1974/5BOXER, Harold Richard m (1919) OWEN, Marjorie; wireless technical assistant.
b: 1895   d: 1986DRURY, Eva Violet Annie m (1922) ROBERTS, Thomas E
b: 1895   d: NKROBERTS, Mary E
b: 1895   d: 1972ROBERTS, Mary Louise m (1918) BARNES, William H
1896
Farmers who had suffered several years of bad harvests & lower prices from cheap imports were given rate remittances.
Red flag no longer required to preceed motor cars & speed limit raised from 4 mph to 20 mph.
"Moving picture" shows arrived from USA.
State owned museums & art galleries permitted to open to the public on Sundays.
Advances being made with medical use of X-rays.
Dangers of rapid advances in technology illustrated when opening of mountain railway up Snowdon marred by 2 trains going out of control & colliding.
b: 1896   d: 1897OWEN, Rachel Violet
b: 1896   d: 1918STARKEY, Frederick * Killed WWI
b: 1896   d: 1957TURNER, Doris Marjorie m (1925) MORGAN-OWEN, Morgan Maddox
b: 1896   d: 1918TYSON, William Noel Dawson aka Noel unm. * Killed WWI
1897
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
Workers able to claim against employers for disease as well as injury but excluded large groups such as seamen, agricultural workers & domestic servants.
Electricity employed in transport systems; Glasgow District Subway underground railway re-opened to public (problems after initial opening in Dec 1896).
Women's Institute founded at Stoney Creek, Ontario.
b: 1897   d: c1977JONES, Rev. (Richard) Garmon m (1929) HORROCKS, Norah; Rector of Llanfynydd, Denbigh (1933-45), of Bangor Monachorum (1945-54) & of Trofarth w Bryn-y-Maen, Denbigh.
b: 1897   d: 1908MAGRATH, Alec Owen
b: 1897   d: 1897OWEN, Olwen
1898
Vaccination no longer compulsory.
Kitchener with an Anglo-Egyptian force inflicted heavy defeat on Sudanese at Omdurman, avenging death of General Gordon in 1885.
b: c1898   d: 1964JONES, Gwendoline E m (1934) PRICHARD-SELBY, Roger William
b: 1898   d: 1987MAGRATH, Donald OBE, MB ChB, MRCS, LRCP, DPH, DPM m (1936) MACALISTER, Isabella; Medical Officer, RAF Wing Comm., Deputy-Superintendent of Botleys Park Hospital for the Mentally Handicapped, Assistant Medical Officer at Caterham Mental Hospital.
* DISTINGUISHED DOCTOR AS JAPANESE POW (WWII) & WITH THE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED
b: 1898   d: 1917OWEN, Herbert Ernest Malcolm unm. * Killed WWI
b: c1898   d: 1977/8OWEN, Olwen Ethel m (1921?) THOMAS, Emrys
b: 1898   d: 1985ROBERTS, Christina m (1920) BARNES, Alexander
b: c1898   d: 1981ROBERTS, Susannah unm.
b: 1898   d: 1966?STARKEY, Harry
b: c1898   d: c1978THOMAS, Emrys m OWEN, Olwen Ethel; dairy farmer.
1899
British Uitlanders (foreigners) in S Africa presented petition with grievances over treatment by Boers to Queen Victoria.
Negotiations to settle S African disputes failed & war broke out between Boers with 50000 mounted troops & British with 15000 regular troops. Orange Free State sided with Transvaal against the British. British reinforcements under Sir Redvers Buller heavily defeated at Colenso. Lord Roberts & General Kitchener sent to change British fortunes & thought possible if able to lift Boer sieges at Ladysmith, Kimberley & Mafeking.
At end of century British Empire, protected by the supreme Royal Navy, covered one fifth of world's land mass & British vying with Germany & France to control territories in Africa.
School leaving age raised to 12.
b: 1899   d: 1966ROBERTS, Edwin JamesS m (1921) HEWTON, Josephine
b: 1899   d: NKWILDE, Henry Elias * To CHILE
1900
In Boer War, Ladysmith & Mafeking sieges relieved, Britain annexed Orange Free State & Transvaal. Nationwide flu epidemic claimed 50 lives a day.
British lead 10000 man force to end 56-day siege of Europeans in Peking ('Boxer Rebellion').
First long-distance bus service (weekly service London-Leeds took 2 days) launched.
b: 1900   d: 1990GREENGRASS, Myfanwy Minnie m (1929) WINTER, Frederick Ernest
b: 1900   d: NKROBERTS, Michael Francis
b: 1900   d: NKWILDE, Edward Owen * To CHILE
1901
Queen Victoria died, aged 81 & after ruling for over 63 years; succeeded by son, Edward VII.
Great criticism of prison camps (first use of term 'concentration camps') in S Africa; originally set up to accomodate refugees from Boer War, Kitchener started filling them with families of Boers still fighting to coerce capitulation which caused overcrowding & death from starvation & disease.
House of Lords ruled that employers can sue unions for damages arising from strike action; a railway union had to pay Taff Vale Railway £32000.
Marconi responsible for first wireless message being sent across Atlantic, between Cornwall & Newfoundland.
b: 1901   d: 1971BROTHERTON, Oswald m (1932) WILLIAMS, Catherine Margaret
b: 1901   d: 1989HEWTON, Josephine m (1921) ROBERTS, Edwin James
b: 1901   d: 1980HUDSON, Audrey Grace m (1938) OWEN, Nigel Ambler Wilding
b: 1901   d: 1903SHELBY, Olwen Mary Owen
b: 1901   d: 1978STARKEY, Arthur aka Cyril m (1921) WILLIAMS, Sallie
b: 1901   d: NKWILDE, Ivy * To CHILE
1902
Britain victorious in Boer War
Education Act replaced school boards by Local Educational Authorities (LEAs) to organise funding, employ teachers and allocate school places on local basis. Government funding of Anglican & Catholic schools, which retained some autonomy, angered nonconformist churches.
Over 37000 women textile workers presented petition to parliament demanding votes for women.
Edward VII crowned after delay due to appendicitis.
Over 300 unions suported universal state pensions.
b: 1902   d: 1904GREENGRASS, William
b: 1902   d: 1970OWEN, Derwent Holford aka Taffy m1 HARRIS, Molly, m2 ROBERTSON-GRANT, Edna Marguerite; solicitor.
* SOUTH AFRICA
1903
Women's Social & Political Union formed under Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst to promote women's suffrage.
Royal commission set up to address traffic congestion in London, mainly caused by horse-drawn vehicles.
Revealed that Boer War & Boxer Rebellion cost a third of national budget.
British forces sent to attack "Mad Mullah" in East Africa.
Parliamentary debate calls for immigration restrictions.
Southern England devastated by storms.
Land acquired to build first 'Garden City' at Letchworth.
b: c1903   d: 1984ANGELL, Ernest Gladstone m1 (1944) STARKEY, Jean, m2 (1975) STARKEY, Thelma C
b: 1903   d: 1962HILLHOUSE, Ernest m (1930) ROBERTS, Elizabeth
b: 1903   d: 1976JONES, Robert Lewis m (1932) OWEN, Beatrice Nesta
b: 1903   d: NKJONES, Albert m Elizabeth NK; chauffeur, garage manager.
b: 1903   d: 1904MAGRATH, Robert Roy
b: 1903   d: 1984PAYNE, Edward J m (1934) MOSS, Irene Margarate Ellen; owned and ran an ironmonger business.
b: 1903   d: 1977ROBERTS, Elizabeth m (1930) HILLHOUSE, Ernest
b: 1903   d: 1980SHELBY, James Henry aka Jim m1 (1938) JAMES, Constance Winifred, m2 (1952) POOLE, Eva Nell
b: 1903   d: NKWILDE, Lizzie * To CHILE
1904
Britain & France sign 'Entente Cordiale'.
Poverty in Britain on increase; 520000+ people on poor relief & 250000 more in work houses (11% up on 1903).
Viceroy of India sent British 'mission' into Tibet to counter growing Russian influence along India's northern frontier.
Russian ships accidently fired on a fleet of British trawlers in North Sea, killing 2 people.
11 men died in trials of inovative submarines in Solent.
Charles Rolls & Henry Royce created "Rolls-Royce" company to build & market cars.
b: 1904   d: 1997DAVENPORT, Thomas Joseph m (1927) MINSHALL, Ruth
b: 1904   d: 1988GREENGRASS, Margaret Ellen m (1967) POTTER, Ernest J
b: 1904   d: 1944OWEN, Beatrice Nesta aka: Betty m1 (1921) GOSLING, George, m2 (1932) JONES, Robert Lewis
b: 1904   d: NKROBERTS, Annie Eveline
b: 1904   d: 1976 STARKEY, Edith m (1944) O'HARE, Peter
b: 1904   d: NKWILDE, May (aka Mary) * To CHILE
b: 1904   d: NKWILLIAMS, Dorothy Enid m (1924) ROBERTS, William John * To CANADA
1905
More than 150 died in 2 separate mining accidents in S Wales.
7 died in train crash near Barnsley & 23 died in storms off Cornwall; winds reached 100 mph.
Typhus outbreak in East End of London; poverty resulted in massive overcrowding & poor sanitation.
Revealed that almost 2 million people belonged to unions.
Christabel Pankhurst & Annie Kenney jailed having refused to pay fines as women's suffrage movement became more militant.
14 men died when their submarine sank at Plymouth.
New nationalist party, "Sinn Féin", founded in Ireland.
"Automobile Association" founded in Britain to overcome prejudices & police hostility against motorised transport.
b: 1905   d: NKGREEN, Sara Constance
b: 1905   d: 1987HORROCKS, Norah m (1929) JONES, Richard Garmon
b: 1905   d: 2001JONES, Donald L * USA
b: 1905   d: 1998MACALISTER, Isabella aka Isa m (1936) MAGRATH, Donald; occupational supervisor at Caterham Mental Hospital.
b: 1905   d: 1980MINSHALL, (Elizabeth) Victoria m (1944) GILLESPIE, Joseph Henry
b: 1905   d: 1962OWEN, Elizabeth Jean Edith aka OWEN, Elsie Jean Edith, unm.
b: 1905   d: 1969ROBERTS, John m (1930) ROGERS, Florence Amelia
b: 1905   d: NKWILDE, William * To CHILE
b: 1905   d: 1982WILLIAMS, Griffith Richard m (1926) COLLINS, Florence M; motor mechanic, part-owned & ran family transport business.
1906
Massive expansion of navy to counteract German naval expansion; Britain launched advanced battleship, Dreadnought.
2 new "tube" railway lines built under London.
Suggragettes demonstrated in the Commons; 11 of them arrested & jailed.
After 5 year struggle by unions, employers no longer had right to damages following strikes (see 1901).
b: 1906   d: NKEVANS, Hugh Arthur m (1940) WILLIAMS, Barbara Hamstone; local government Chief Financial Officer.
b: 1906   d: 1993GREENGRASS, Enid m (1930) BALDWIN, Albert Maurice
b: 1906   d: 1907GREENGRASS, Vera
b: c1906   d: NKJONES, Leonard L? * USA
b: 1906   d: NKOWEN, Hilda
b: 1906   d: NKOWEN, Mary Dorothy
b: 1906   d: 1938OWEN, Mary Jane unm.
b: 1906   d: 1969PRICHARD-SELBY, Roger William m (1934) JONES, Gwendoline E; cable-laying, telecommunication.
b: 1906   d: NKSTARKEY, Elsie
b: 1906   d: 1988WINTER, Frederick Ernest m (1929) GREENGRASS, Myfanwy Minnie
1907
2 shot dead by troops as British soldiers protected those wanting to work during 3 month strike by Belfast dockers & unskilled workers.
British liner Lusitania makes record-breaking crossing of Atlantic in less than 5 days.
New Zealand gained autonomy as a dominion within the British Empire.
Suffragettes increasingly appearing in court & more than 70 of them jailed for non-payment of fines.
Liberal David Lloyd George called for retsrictions on powers of House of Lords.
Meeting of BMA voiced concern about children smoking.
b: 1907   d: 1979BALDWIN, Albert Maurice m (1930) GREENGRASS, Enid
b: 1907   d: 1984OWEN, Dorothy Mary unm.
b: 1907   d: 1982OWEN, Herbert Ultimus m (1930) WATKINS, Ada Adeline
b: 1907   d: 1996OWEN, Trevor Greenlees m (1942) BALL, Marjorie; employed by Bank of England.
b: 1907   d: 1977ROBERTS, (Frederick) Vincent m (1938) BAKER, Hazel Doreen
b: 1907   d: NKROGERS, Florence Amelia m (1930) ROBERTS, John
b: 1907   d: 2000SHELBY, John Vivien m (1940) PRESNEIL, Elizabeth Bryant; teacher, intelligence officer, HMI, advisor to Ministry of Education, writer & lecturer in history.
1908
Following 7-week strike in Lancashire cotton mills workers agreed to pay cut.
About half a million people demonstrated in Hyde Park against Licencing Bill which would cut drinking licences by about one third.
First edition of Scouting for Boys to promote the movement headed by Baden-Powell, a hero form Mafeking in Boer War.
Emmeline Pankhurst & daughter Christabel jailed after sensational trial.
60-year old WG Grace retired from cricket after a career which began in 1870, included 22 caps for England; claims to fame include being first to score century for his country, first to score 100 centuries, first to score 1000 runs & take 100 wickets in a season.
b: c1908   d: 1949JAMES, Constance Winifred m (1938) SHELBY, James Henry
Britain staged the Olympic Games.
b: 1908   d: 1931OWEN, James Ezechial Matthew unm.
b: 1908   d: 1913OWEN, Sheila Joyce
b: 1908   d: 1989SHELBY, Thomas William Anderson aka Andrew m (1945) ALLISON, Florence Ellen
b: 1908   d: 1991WATKINS, Ada Adeline m (1930) OWEN, Herbert Ultimus
1909
Union of S Africa (British Cape Colony & Natal & Boer Transvaal & Orange Free State) became last of the all white colonies of the British Empire to become self-governing.
In Britain thousands queued for first state pension though it was not very generous & many people did no qualify. Hoped this would ease burden on institutions; in cities almost one third ended up living in children's homes, infirmaries, lunatic assylums or workhouses.
Inquiry to be held into accusations of 'force feeding' of imprisoned suffragettes on hunger strike.
House of Lords rejected the "People's Budget" of Lloyd George, Liberal Chancellor of the Exchequer, which greatly increased taxation of wealthy to finance such things as the state pension.
b: 1909   d: 2004FOWLER, Marjorie Constance unm.
b: 1909   d: 2002GREENGRASS, Gwladys m (1940) GLOVER, Sidney P
b: 1909   d: 1988MINSHALL, Ruth m (1927) DAVENPORT, Thomas Joseph
b: 1909   d: 1972MOSS, Irene Margaret Ellen aka Rene m (1934) PAYNE, Edward J
b: 1909   d: 1994OWEN, Hugh Wynn m BIASSUTI, Emilia; solictor.
b: 1909   d: 1979ROBERTS, Anthony Norman
b: 1909   d: 1990WILLIAMS, Catherine Margaret m (1932) BROTHERTON, Oswald
1910
Edward VII died & was succeeded by George V.
A dam burst in the Rhondda Vallet killed 500 children but another 494 saved.
Mining disaster in Lancashire killed approx. 350.
Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith, had to be rescued by police when mobbed by suffragettes.
2 General Elections proved indecisive in efforts of Liberals to resolve issue of power of the Lords & of the monarch.
Strikers from the Cambian collieries in S Wales clashed with police but order restored by troops.
'Girl Guides' founded.
Tranatlantic radio used to catch Crippen after he had murdered his wife & sailed to Canada.
Almost 3 million emigrated, mainly to USA & British dominions, in first decade of century & rate of emigration increased up to 1914.
b: 1910   d: 2000BAKER, Hazel Doreen m (1938) ROBERTS, (Frederick) Vincent
b: c1910   d: NKJONES, Eleanor I * USA
b: 1910   d: NKOWEN, James Handel aka Handel
b: 1910   d: 1980OWEN, John Oswald Matthew unm.; painter and decorator.
b: 1910   d: NKROBERTS, Isabel Ellen
b: 1910   d: 1988ROBERTSON-GRANT, Edna Marguerite m OWEN, Derwent Holford * SOUTH AFRICA
1911
Parliament Act resulted in Lords having no power over money bills & could hold up other measures for at most 2 years. Also election period reduced from at most 7 to at most 5 years. No change to franchise; only 8 million from popn. of 42 million could vote.
60000 women marched through London demanding the vote.
2500+ children died in August heatwave.
3 policemen murdered by anarchist gang led by "Peter the Painter" & gang cornered in Sidney Street, London, by 1000 police & troops. Gang set house ablaze after a siege & 2 bodies found.
Norwegian Roald Amundsen beat British Robert Scott to S Pole by a month.
b: c1911   d: 1970OWEN, Edward Denstone Vaughan aka Ned m Sheila NK; professional tennis coach.
b: 1911   d: 1979/80OWEN, Mary Hannah m (1934) DAVIES, Ivor
b: 1911   d: 1993WILLIAMS, Elias Owen m (1936) CANNON, Lily Beatrice
1912
Well planned attacks on shop windows in London's West End by suffragettes caused extensive damage & led to arrest of 120. 96 more arrested in attack on House of Commons.
White Star liner Titanic attempting fastest crossing of Atlantic hit iceberg & sank. 1500 lost, 700 saved.
Robert Scott reached S Pole. He had led the 1901-4 'Discovery Expedition' that got close to Pole but prioritised research & discovery.
Coal Miners' Act fixed minimum wage for miners.
British fleet ordered to North Sea to counter German naval build up.
Royal Flying Corps formed.
Home rule for Ireland continued to be a contentious issue even as Home Rule Bill passing through parliament. In Belfast 120000+ Ulstermen attended a rally against home rule.
Sickness insurance scheme introduced offering sickness pay to workers earning less than £3 per week & unemployment insurance to cover small proportion of workers.
Worst August rainfall on record cut off Norwich & other towns.
b: 1912   d: 1998HEDLEY, Gladys Olwen aka Olwen unm. * HISTORICAL WRITER
b: 1912   d: 1913OWEN, Ruth M
1913
400+ miners killed in explosion at a pit in Aber valley near Cardiff. By then over a million men (10% of the workforce) employed in mines & a third of the output was exported.
Cat & Mouse Act allows release of imprisoned suffragettes on hunger strike (avoids martyr deaths in prison) & then permits their rearrest.
Emily Davison died from injuries received when she through herself under king's hprse in the Derby.
Having reached the S Pole in a 15 month expedition & within 11 miles of home base, Scott, Wilson & Bowers froze to death; fellow members of the expedition, Evans & Oates, had died a little earlier.
b: 1913   d: 1996CANNON, Lily Beatrice m (1936) WILLIAMS, Elias Owen
b: 1913   d: 1990DANBY, Ian William m (1936) OWEN, Ruth Wynn; executive in coal industry.
b: 1913   d: 1964FOWLER, (Victoria) Grace m (1938) PARROTT, Walter H.
b: 1913   d: 1989OWEN, John Cledwyn M aka Morgan m Ivy NK; worked for the Singer Sewing Machine Company .
b: 1913   d: 1913OWEN, Lindis
b: 1913   d: NKRAWLINSON, Barbara A. m (1939) BARTLES, Roy H
b: 1913   d: 1982WILLIAMS, Barbara Hamstone m (1940) EVANS, Hugh Arthur
1914
Emmaline Pankhurst & 56 others arrested after trying to present petition to king & clashing with police at Buckingham Palace. Increasingly violent tactics of some other suffragettes became unnacceptable to their colleagues.
Ulster Loyalists opposed to home rule received some massive deliveries of arms.
On 4 August Britain declared war on German & the British Expeditionary Force was dispatched to France.
The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) allowed government to take over coal mines, railways & shipping. Lloyd George, Minister of Munitions, set up state-run munitions factories.
Reality of war brought home with bloodshed at Mons & mixed fortunes in early months of war; at one stage 600 Paris taxis commandeered to transport troops to front.
300 German-born citizens interned at Olympia.
700 sailors killed in explosion aboard HMS Bulwark at Sheerness.
War expanded beyond Europe into Mediterranean, Dardanelles & Africa.
Troops on front line organised spontaneous Christmas truce.
b: 1914   d: 1979ALLISON, Florence Ellen m (1945) SHELBY, Thomas William Anderson
b: 1914   d: 1998BRADLEY-DYNE, (Harriet) Rosemary m (1946) OWEN, Gwynnedd Morrison * CANADA
b: c1914   d: c1964FOSTER, Richard Ernest aka Ernest Richard m (1941) WILLIAMS, Vera Gwendoline; sea captain.
b: 1914   d: 1993GILLESPIE, Joseph Henry m (1944) MINSHALL, (Elizabeth) Victoria
b: 1914   d: 2008MORGAN-OWEN, John Gethin CB, MBE, QC m (1950) RIMMINGTON, Mary;
barrister, Judge Advocate (judicial staff of the Judge Advocate General), Deputy Judge Advocate General, Judge Advocate General. * JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL
b: 1914   d: 1914ROBERTS, Elijah
b: 1914   d: 1988SPANNER, Kathleen Frances m (1972) GOSLING, George Patrick
1915
On home front there was severe flooding in Thames valley in January, Zeppelins made bombing runs so communities were blacked out & women war workers in some factories increased production by two & a half times.
Allied troops spent 8 disasterous months fighting in Gallipoli.
Liner Lusitania sunk with loss of 1200 lives as German submarines blockaded British ports.
200 soldiers killed in train crash in Scotland
Stalemate on Western Front led to changes in senior officers managing the Allied forces. German were first to use poison gas.
1000 British suffragettes arrived in France to carry out war work.
b: 1915   d: 2002DIMAMBRO, Angelina Dominica m (1940) DAY, John Michael Fitzgerald
b: 1915   d: 1985FORBES, George Andrew m (1943) OWEN, Elaine Wynn; draper & schools' outfitter.
b: 1915   d: 2003JONES, William m (1942) GOODGER, May
b: 1915   d: 1938OWEN, Florence Gwendoline unm.
b: 1915   d: NKOWEN, Oswald J M aka Morgan
b: 1915   d: 1992OWEN, Ruth Wynn aka WYNN-OWEN, Ruth m (1936) DANBY, Ian William
* ACTRESS & FOUNDER OF 'Y PLANT BRAN'
1916
Conscription introduced in UK.
In Britain, zeppelin raids on southern England killed 12, wealthy were asked to release their servants for war work, clocks put forward 1 hour in May to help conserve coal. For duration of war to be no importing of spirits, pianos & motors & Natural History & British museums to be closed.
Lord Kitchener, war minister, killed when his ship hit a mine.
Tanks used successfuly for fist time by Allies but there were horrific losses at the Somme (several hundred thousand men by all sides).
"Easter Rising" in Dublin: On Easter Monday nationalists attempted to take over the city & 7 leaders declared Ireland a republic; 5 days of bloodshed. Ireland under martial law & all leaders court martialled & killed by firing squad.
On outbreak of war Irish nationalists, in particular Roger Casement, looked to Germany for support. Casement was captured as was a large consignment of arms intended for the "Easter Rebellion"; he was tried for treason & hanged.
b: 1916   d: 2005BIASSUTI, Emilia m OWEN, Hugh Wynn
b: 1916   d: NKJONES, Elizabeth * USA
b: 1916   d: 1986JONES, Stanley Parry m (1944) KIRLEW, Lily
b: 1916   d: 1940KLIPSCH, Paul Henry unm. * Killed WWII
b: 1916   d: 1988PRESNEIL, Elizabeth Bryant aka Betty m (1940) SHELBY, John Vivian
b: 1916   d: 1922ROBERTS, Mabel E
1917
Allied troops trying to implement Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haigh's plan to break out of the Ypres Salient floundered in the mud of Flanders.
Planes originally used only for reconnaissance had begun to be used for aerial combat & for bombing; 76 killed by air-raids on SE coast & 100 killed by raids on east end of London.
U-boat attacks on American shipping contributed to bringing USA into the war.
Russian Revolution.
b: 1917   d: 1942DAY, John Michael Fitzgerald m (1940) DIMAMBRO, Angelina Dominica * Killed WWII
b: 1917   d: 2010MINSHALL, (John) Wilfred m1 (1944) HOLLINGWORTH, Clara m2 Living
b: 1917   d: 1999OWEN, Eric Wynn aka WYNN-OWEN, Eric m (1943) HANCOCK, Winifred Joyce; teacher
b: 1917   d: 2003OWEN, Gwynnedd Morrison m (1946) BRADLEY-DYNE, (Harriet) Rosemary; A. E. Ames & Co. (stockbrokers), Pacific Naval Laboratory at Esquimalt, training officer with the Victoria Reserve Squadron (radar) RCAF, bulb grower & market gardenener, wrote articles for Sidney Review, citrus fruit grower (NZ). * CANADA
1918
Restaurants ordered to have 2 meatless days a week & butter & margarine started to be rationed.
Germans launched their 'Spring Offensive' with early advances at the Somme & then in Flanders but Allied counter-attack proved the more effective.
Armistice signed; guns fell silent at 11th hour of 11th day of 11th month & in UK church bells & factory hooters created a cacophony of noise. British casualties totalled 3 million with 3/4 million dead.
Royal Flying Corps & Naval Air Service merged to form the RAF.
Education Act raised school leaving age to 14 & introduced additional services, such as medical inspections, nurseries & special needs provision.
Women allowed to stand as MPs & almost all men over 21 & women over 30 were given the vote.
Spanish flu epidemic claimed thousands of lives; first time on record that deaths outnumbered births & for several months.
b: 1918   d: 1987JONES, Vera m (1954) TOBOLSKI, Tadeusz
b: 1918   d: 1988TOBOLSKI, Tadeusz m (1954) JONES, Vera
1919
Over 200000 workers (police included) went on strike; discontent over high prices but fear that Bolshevik agitators involved.
Sinn Féin MPs ignored Westminster & established own 'parliament' in Dublin though 34 of their MPs including leader, Eaman de Valera, were in prison.
Another flu epidemic; world wide deaths from flu exceeded deaths in the war.
First London-Paris air service inaugurated & Alcock & Brown made first non-stop flight across Atlantic.
British troops, firing without warning on a rioting crowd at Amritsar, India, killed 379 & wounded 1200.
In Russia British troops helped White Russians defeat a Bolshevik offensive.
b: 1919   d: 1995HEDLEY, Olive Gwendolen Patricia Hedley aka Patricia unm.; BSc worked in hospital laboratory.
b: 1919   d: 1997OWEN, Elaine Wynn m (1943) FORBES, George Andrew
b: 1919   d: 1989OWEN, Eyton Pritchard aka Taffy m (1946) ALLEN (née BURR), Audrey; employed in accounts dept. of Mercedes-Benz. * SOUTH AFRICA
b: 1919   d: 1921STARKEY, Frederick W.C.
1920
Irish Republican Army (IRA) under Michael Collins had adopted a strategy of assassination & Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) enrolled British special constables ("Black & Tans"). "Bloody Sunday" when IRA murdered 11 unarmed British officers & then Black & Tans killed 12 in firing on Gaelic football crowd led to imposition of martial law which caused more rioting. Attempt to resolve situation by partitioning Ireland satisfied neither Sinn Féin nor Ulster Unionists.
First meeting of Council of League of Nations gave Britain mandate to control Palestine & Mesopotamia.
Communist Party of GB was formed
Oxford University gave women equal rights & enrolled 100 women students.
Experimental wireless broadcasting took place but not to include entertainment.
Motor buses enter service & main roads were classified and numbered.
b: 1920   d: 1944HOLLINGWORTH, Clara m (1940) MINSHALL, (John) Wilfred
b: 1920   d: 1922ROBERTS, Edward T
b: 1920   d: 1974STARKEY, Jean m (1944) ANGELL, Ernest Gladstone
b: 1920   d: 2002WILLIAMS, Vera Gwendoline m (1941) FOSTER, Richard Ernest
1921
Unemployment reached 2.2 million & 2 million workers were involved in pay disputes.
Cease fire in Ireland after months of guerilla warfare & reprisals. Agreement for formation of Irish Free State as a dominion.
Following pioneering work of Marie Stopes, first birth control clinic opened in N London.
Unemployment insurance made available to all workers earning less than £5 a week.
Property boom in England since the Great War ended; many landed families forced to sell off estates due to agricultural depression, higher taxes & death duties.
Production of Austen Seven would enable more to take up motoring.
b: 1921   d: 1936BARNES, Alexander William
b: 1921   d: 2011GLENDINNING, (Halbert) Peter Gray Tyson m (1969) STANIER, (Constance Lutra) Hope
b: 1921   d: 1994HANCOCK, Winifred Joyce m (1943) OWEN, Eric Wynn
b: 1921   d: 2004JONES, Gwladys Mary m (1945) OWEN, Robert B
b: 1921   d: 1996JONES, (Maurice) Robert m (1949) PEERS, Sylvia
b: 1921   d: 1991OWEN, Gethyn Wynn m (1950) BIRD, Margaret Heathcote; employed in Sugar Mill in NZ then in steel industry in SA [cost clerk then sales with Bartle & Co, regional manager (Pietermaritzburg) for Baldwins]. * SOUTH AFRICA
b: 1921   d: 1994POOLE, Eva Nell m (1952) SHELBY, James Henry
b: 1921   d: 2011STARKEY, Thelma C m (1975) ANGELL, Ernest Gladstone
1922
British Broadcasting Company (BBC) formed.
Civil war in Irelend followed signing of Anglo-Irish peace treaty & Michael Collins was assassinated but Irish Free State established by Act of Parliament.
British archaeologists discovered the 3000-year-old tomb of Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun
b: 1922   d: 1994DUTHIE, Mary Elizabeth aka Betty unm.
b: 1922   d: 1991GOSLING, George Patrick m1 NK, m2 (1972) SPANNER, Kathleen Frances, m3 (1991) BUCKINGHAM, Pamela Constance; motor mechanic
b: 1922   d: 2000ROBERTS, Henry James
1923
Implementation of the 1921 Railways Act; most of the privately-owned pre-war railway companies reorganised into 4 regional groups.
BBC opened wireless studios in London & launched "Woman's Hour"
Duke of York married Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon.
Liquor Bill prohibited sale of alcohol to under 18s.
Policeman on white horse prevented disaster at FA Cup Final where crowd was nearly double max. capacity of new Wembley Stadium.
b: 1923   d: 1992SIMPSON, Freda McRobert m GILL, Geoffrey
b: 1923   d: 1988STARKEY, Beryl Doris m (1948) KIRLEY, Royston R
1924
Britain briefly had its first Labour (minority) government but Conservatists then won landslide victory after alleged links between Labour & Bolsheviks.
Britain's 4 main pioneering airlines amalgamated as 'Imperial Airways'.
British climbers, Mallory & Irvine, were lost close to summit in their latest attempt to conquer Everest.
b: 1924   d: 1998GLENDINNING, Barbara Mary m (1948) WILLIS, (Edward) Peter R
1925
Following jazz, Charleston arrived from US as 'Roaring Twenties' took off.
Rate of emigration up to pre-war levels as cheap loans offered to those going to Australia.
Summer Time Act made annual daylight saving permanent.
To try to reduce number of traffic accidents white lines painted down middle of roads & stiff penalties introduced for drink-driving.
2 main Welsh nationalist groups merged to form "Plaid Cymru".
BBC claimed to have wireless audiences of over 10 million.
Jack Hobbs broke WG Grace's record for number of cricket centuries scored.
b: 1925   d: 2010JONES, Garmon Owen m (1951) ROBINSON, Elsie
b: 1925   d: 2004ROBERTS, Dorothy Minnie m (1945) CAMERON, Norman G * To CANADA
1926
General Strike (first ever in Britain) for 9 days as TUC supported miners in fight against longer hours for less pay but teams of volunteers kept essential services going.
Anglo-Persian Oil Company granted 25-year exploitation contract.
First widows' pensions paid.
British Empire became 'The Commonwealth'.
At Royal Institution John Logie Baird demontrated sending of moving pictures by wireless (television).
b: 1926   d: 1985BARNES, Olive Mary m (1949) GREENLEES, Gordon
b: 1926   d: 2007GOSLING, Robert James (aka Robin) m (1982) TOMIN, Mary Josephine
1927
BMA warned that deaths from cancer, particularly of chest & lungs, rose sharply in previous 2 decades. Britons smoked far more than any other nationals.
Birth rate lowest on record.
12000 soldiers sent to protect British nationals in Shanghai under threat due to Chinese civil war.
50+ miners killed in explosion as Ebbw Vale. Seeking their long-term ambition of nationalisation 200 unemployed miners marched from Rhonda Valley to London but PM, Stanley Baldwin, refused to meet their leaders.
Storms in Lancashire left 50 dead & 400 homeless.
Adoption of children (previous adoptions were informal) became regulated.
In effort to bolster burgeoning British film industry new act obliged picture houses to show a min. quota of British films.
Rivalry between 2 Britons, Malcolm Campbell & Henry Seagrave, pushed land speed record over 200 mph.
The British Broadcasting Corporation took over from the British Broadcasting Company.
b: 1927   d: 1998JONES, (Eva) Margaret m (1954) WILLIAMS, Derek Laurence
b: 1927   d: 1994ROBERTS, William John
1928
In London Professor Ian Flemmimn discovered penicillin.
Severe flooding following sudden thaw, severe winds & high tide left 14 dead in London & many more homeless. In Britain more gales left 11 dead.
So-called "flappers" granted right to vote as age for women lowered from 30 to 21.
Non-stop London-Edinburgh train service (Flying Scotsman) started. 23 killed in rail crash at Darlington.
Morris Minor car came into production at Oxford. Concerns over increase in number of accidents & deaths on the road (there was no driving test & many exceeded the 20 mph speed limit).
b: 1928   d: 1961DAVENPORT, Thomas W S m: (1951) OWENS, Rita D
1929
'Chain stores' such as Marks & Spencer had begun to appear on the High Street.
Labour were returned to power.
94 pmh hurricane caused 26 deaths. In Paisley at Hogmanay 69 children died in cinema fire.
First 22 public telephone boxes became operational.
In America shares crashed on Wall Street, sparking the great depression.
In Jerusalem the British had to declare marshal law after fighting between Arabs & Jews left 60 dead.
b: 1929   d: 1990GLENDINNING, Alexander David aka Sandy unm.; worked for Car Mart in St John's Wood.
b: 1929   d: 1999WILLIAMS, Derek Lawrence m (1954) JONES, (Eva) Margaret
1930
Unemployment reached 2 million with coal, iron, steel, shipbuilding & textile industries hardest hit.
R101 airship crashed in France en route to India from London killing 64.
Despite widespread civil disobedience by nationalists led by Mohandas Gandhi in India, Government commission reported that British rule necessary to cope with divisions of race, religion, language & cast.
Amy Johnson became first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
More subsidies for slum clearance with emphasis on enlarging cities with housing estates on outskirts.
b: 1930   d: 1991BURGIN, Anthony Joseph m (1955) HILLHOUSE, Maureen
b: 1930   d: 2000JONES, David Garmon aka GARMON-JONES, David m (1967) BINNS, Helen M; employed by Midland Bank
b: 1930   d: 1994JONES, Peter Garmon aka GARMON-JONES, Peter m (1955) PORTER, Margaret Sylvia; GP
b: 1930   d: 2005PORTER, Margaret Sylvia m (1955) GARMON-JONES, Peter
1931
Census returns show a drift from the north to the south.
Statute of Westminster recognised autonomy of the dominions but India retains a Raj.
Run on pound led to devaluation & economic crisis brought down Labour government. Pay cuts, cuts in unempoyment benefit & higher taxes resulted in protest.
Following success of traffic lights in London they are to be introduced nationwide.
b: 1931   d: 2000BALDWIN, Gerald Maurice m (1958) CHENERY, Gwendoline F * To NEW ZEALAND
b: 1931   d: 1999MORGAN-OWEN, John Maddox, DL m (1958) BRIDGMAN, Elsa Courtenay aka Jillworked for Pilkington Glass, insurance consultant & a General Commissioner of Income Tax
b: 1931   d: 2004ROBERTS, John Trevallon
1932
At Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, Sir Ernest Rutherford's team succeeded in splitting the atom.
10% tariff on imports with concessions for the Empire
Ireland's new parliament buidings were opened at Stormont.
First main-line electric train ran from London Bridge to Three Bridges in Sussex.
Unemployment hit all time record. In cities marches & protests led to clashes with police. King George made first Christmas broadcast by a monarch to the Empire.
The 3 Methodist churches unite.
Oswald Moseley founded the British Union of Fascists.
b: 1932   d: 1997HILLHOUSE, Maureen m (1955) BURGIN, Anthony Joseph
1933
In London 50000+ marched in protest at Nazi anti-semitism & TUC called for boycott of Germany.
PM, Ramsay MacDonald, went to Rome to discuss disarmament with Mussolini & MPs backed an Anglo-German trade pact.
Trade sanctions against Soviet Union as Britons appeared in one of Stalin's "Show Trials", charged with espionage.
Irish parliament gradually severed ties with British crown; would no longer offer oath of allegiance.
Controversial 'bodyline tour' to Australia in which England won the Ashes.
Oxford students voted they would not "fight for king & country".
.
b: 1933   d: 1982STANIER, (Constance Lutra) Hope m (1969) GLENDINNING, (Halbert) Peter Gray Tyson
1934
Reluctantly Britain accepted necessity for build up of arms; RAF boosted by 41 new squadrons.
Subsidies had resulted in fewer slums, more house building (2 million built in previous decade) & there was a boom in property ownership. Also seen that planning controls necessary as suburbs spread into the countryside.
Explosion at Gresford colliery near Wrexham costs about 500 lives.
Fierce fighting broke out at fascist rally at Olympia.
Road traffic signs were standardised & pedestrian crossings introduced.
The standardised red telephone kiosks appeared & by then there were over 2 million home or business telephones in use.
In Britain "radio direction finding" patented as a method of using radio waves to locate aircraft.
b: 1934   d: 1997BUCKINGHAM, Pamela Constance m (1991) GOSLING, George Patrick
1935
First voluntary & then compulsory driving test introduced, "Cat's Eyes" used for first time & speed limit in urban areas made 30 mph.
An LNER steam locomotive reached 108 mph, Sir Malcolm Campbell reached 301 mph in Bluebird to break his own land-speed record & Jaguar produced a car that could reach 90 mph.
First 10 "Penguin" paperbacks published.
King George V & Queen Mary celebrated Silver Jubilee.
Thousand protest over means-testing for unemployment benefit.
Import & sale of contraceptives prohibited in Irish Free State.
b: 1935   d: 2004BROTHERTON, David Oswald m (1964) HUGHES, Gladys
1936
King George V died, Edward VII abdicated over his love for Mrs. Wallace Simpson & his shy brother, bertie, became George VI
Jarrow March: 200 marched peacefully from Jarrow to London with a petition signed by 11572 to highlight local poverty & unemployment.
'Spitfire' made first test flights.
New film studios opened at Pinewood
Civil War broke out in Spain (Nationalists v Republicans) & many foreigners became involved.
Britain granted use of Suez Canal for 20 more years.
1937
Working hours for women & young people cut to 44-48 hours a week.
In defence build-up, RAF greatly expanded & at Birkenhead the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal launched. MPS backed building of air-raid shelters.
Neville Chamberlain became PM.
Irish Free State became 'Eire' with new constitution.
Billy Butlin opened first holiday camp & there was a huge demand for new cinemas (40% of adults went to the pictures every week).
1938
1000 Spitfires ordered for RAF, £200000 to be spent on air-raid shelters & all schoolchildren to be issued with gas masks.
Foreign Sec., Anthony Edan, resigned over appeasement policy towards Italy (had annexed Abyssinia). 10 days after German troops occupied Austria PM assured France & belgium of assistance in event of attack. Similarly Britain & France promised to defend Czechoslovakia. PM returned from visit to Hitler waving the Anglo-German peace agreement & claiming "it is peace for our time".
World's larget liner, Queen Elizabeth, launched in Glasgow.
Len Hutton made record-breaking test score of 364.
Mallard set new record for steam engines when it reached 126 mph between London & Newcastle.
b: 1938   d: 2013DANBY, Sarah (aka Sally) m Living
b: 1938   d: 2014DANBY, Anne m (x2) Living
1939
IRA thought to be behind bomb explosions in several English cities.
End of Spanish Civil War & Britain recognised new government headed by General Franco.
Britain put on war footing with mobilisation of forces, evacuation of children, free air-raid shelters in likely target cities & legislation for limited conscription.
Germany invaded Poland & British troops sent to France but little fighting on land for months in so-called 'phoney war'. Eire opted for neutrality but rest of Empire supported Britain. At sea, battleship Royal Oak sunk by U-boat at Scapa Flow & other British ships sunk by magnetic mines until method found to neutralise them. German pocket battle ship Graf Spee scuttled in mouth of River Plate.
Driving test suspended for the duration of World War II (resumed in 1946) & church bells fell silent, only to be rung if there was a German invasion.
b: 1939   d: 1971MAGRATH, Anne Cameron m TIMBERS, Lt. John W; staff nurse (St George's Hosp.), midwife.
1940
Winston Churchill PM of all-party coalition.
Germany invaded Norway & Denmark; a large British force sent to take Trondheim was defeated by a much smaller German force & had to be evacuated.
German troops attacked France, Belgium, Holland & the Channel Islands, which they occupied.
Italy & Japan entered war on Germany's side.
Fleet of "little ships" & naval vessels successfully evacuated Allied troops from Dunkirk.
Battle of Britain won by RAF prompting Churchill to say, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much been owed by so many to so few".
British cities were bombed; 568 people killed when the cathedral & much of the city of Coventry were destroyed.
Food rationing initially on butter, sugar & bacon.
Local Defence Volunteer force renamed 'Home Guard'.
U-boats in Atlantic inflicted heavy losses on British merchant fleet.
b: 1940   d: 1940OWEN, Daphne
b: 1940   d: 1940OWEN, Diana
b: 1940   d: 2010SHELBY, John James m [living]; worked in book shops in the Bristol area & latterly at Woodland Grove Residential Home in Bath; interests: reading, history, gardening, walking, nature.
b: 1941   d: 1942MINSHALL, Cecilia E
b: 1944   d: 1993DANBY, Charles Christopher m1 (1966) Living, m2 (1982) Living
b: 1944   d: 1964FORBES, Janet Margaret unm.
b: 1945   d: 1992WORTHINGTON, Christine
b: 1945   d: 1981WYNN-OWEN, Peter Vaughn unm.; lecturer in art at Birmingham University, mental nurse at Shenley Mental Hospital & the Central Middlesex Hospital.
b: 1950   d: 1984ROBERTS, Allan Roy
b: 1971   d: 1989OWEN, Benjamin John