Watson Family History



I want to make sure that you all know a little about the background of our family, so no real story in this one.

Nanny’s family lived at 110 Higham Road in Tottenham, which is a district in Haringey, a borough in North London. My Mom’s grandfather worked for the city of London, and her Dad Percy Howard followed in his footsteps as a deputy superintendent of roads and sewers from 1904-1946.  As far as I know, her Mother Florence (Flossie) didn’t have a job outside of the home. They all lived in London during the German Blitz of WWII. Mom mentioned several times about having to go down to the air raid shelters when the Germans bombed London.
                                
Nanny was an only child who was very close to her parents. She said she was an average student who had planned on doing secretarial work as an occupation. She wasn’t that interested in sports but as you all  know she was very accomplished in dance. Her parents weren’t rich but I always got the impression that her family was fairly well off and she didn’t do without things.

During the war Nanny served in the British Air Force as a radio mechanic (as did Papa except with the Canadian Forces) and became engaged to a British serviceman who was killed during the war. Nanny and Papa met when they were stationed together and married on April 22, 1944 at All Hallows Church in London. Brian was born on Oct. 7, 1945 in a castle (as I’m sure you’ve all heard) that had been turned into a hospital during the war. Dad came home to  Cumberland after the war ended while Mom made the trip on the Queen Mary with Brian later on in 1946 and travelled with her baby across the ocean to Halifax, and then across Canada by train to Cumberland. I can’t imagine how difficult this must have been for Nanny and also for her parents. I’m not sure when her parents moved to Hastings but that is where I visited them on my two trips to England - 72 Canute Road, Hastings. Mom was able to travel back to England on several occasions. They went back with the 3 older boys before I was born and I went with Mom and Sherri for about 3 months in 1962 and then the whole family went in 1966. Her parents came to visit us in Cumberland a few times as well - usually for a couple of months.

I remember her parents very well. Her Mom was a very affectionate lady who was very talented musically (the piano) and did a lot of knitting. I remember her always calling people ‘ducks’ which is the British term for dear. She regularly made me snacks of bread with ‘real butter’ and tea without milk or sugar when we visited England. My Papa always smoked a pipe and wore the hat you see in all the pictures.  I remember him making us laugh and being an incredibly fast walker that I couldn’t keep up with when going with him to get the mail. 
Mom had 3 or 4 very good friends in England that she kept in touch with throughout her life. I believe Jason and Christine both met Rita (and her husband Ron) and Joan (and her husband Bob) when we went to Europe and I know Mom wrote regularly to her friends Peggy and Sheila.  I remember visiting a couple of aunts and uncles when we were in England but I don’t think she kept in touch with them later on.

Papa’s family lived in the Lakes District in Northern England, in the district of Cumbria or Cumberland which was primarily a coal mining region.  My Papa Watson was born in a small town called Brigham and my Nanny was born in Aspatria. I believe they were coal miners who decided things weren’t great in England and wanted to try their luck in the Canada. 

My Dad was born in Cumbria in 1909 and moved to Nanaimo with his parents as well as other relatives and family friends. My Papa worked for Dunsmuir Collier in the mines in Nanaimo under pretty difficult conditions. Their family lived in a tent in the area for quite a long time after moving here.  My Nanny Watson went back to England for the birth of their son Jack, and I gather wasn’t sure she was coming back. My uncle Jack was born in England in 1912 and my Nanny came back soon after. My Auntie Edna was born in Nanaimo in 1914 and then the family moved to Cumberland in 1919. Auntie Kay (Kathleen) was born in Cumberland in 1925 and my Uncle Lee in 1930. This was 21 years after Dad was born and apparently my Nanny wasn’t too thrilled. They ended up buying the house on Allen where my Nanny lived until she passed away in 1978 at the age of 88. My Papa passed away in 1960 when he was 73.



Uncle Jack lived in Cumberland his entire life. I’m not sure what he did when he was younger (logger maybe) but he eventually built and ran the gas station on the main street in Cumberland. He married Lorraine and they had 3 children - Noelle who married Tony Piket and had 3 children; Colleen who married Robert Poole and had 2 children and Raymond. Auntie Edna married Jock Hutton and lived in Cumberland for years before retiring to Gartley Beach in Royston. They had 2 children - Gail who married Ron Ross and had 2 children and Brenda who married Richard Simmons and had 3 children. Gail and Ron live in Alberni and Brenda lived in Victoria before she passed away. I think you know that Edna was a teacher at Courtenay Elementary and I don’t remember Uncle Jock working. Kay was a teacher in New Westminster for nearly her entire career before retiring in Parksville with her partner Sandy, who was also a teacher. Kay apparently came back for a year or two to help out at home near the end of the war.  Uncle Lee had to quit school in grade 9 to help out at home - I’m not sure why. He had many jobs until he became a very successful realtor and moved to Campbell River. He married Auntie Tom (real name Marianne) and they had 3 kids - Joe, who was a fishing guide for years; Lee-Anne, who also went into real estate and married Peter Kruse and had two kids; and Dawn, (not sure of her career) who married Rick Mah and had 2 kids. I’m not sure where everyone lives and the names of their kids but I’m pretty sure Mom does.

I’m not sure how much of this is useful information but I wanted to get it down on paper.

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