KINSON Coat of Arms
KINSON is an Anglo-Saxon name that comes from King, a nickname for some-one with kingly qualities. This family were originally from Hampshire where they had a family seat. At this early time there were no hard and fast rules for spelling so the name has many variations including Kingson and Kingsoun.
KINSON is an Anglo-Saxon name that comes from King, a nickname for some-one with kingly qualities. This family were originally from Hampshire where they had a family seat. At this early time there were no hard and fast rules for spelling so the name has many variations including Kingson and Kingsoun.
Robert Kinson (1670 - ) By virtue of the fact that Robert is the listed father of William Kinson born and baptised in Kingsley, Staffordshire in 1692, it can be assumed that Robert was born about 1670. He was married to a Alice Chaundler. No records of his death have been found to-date.
William Kinson (1692 - ) By virtue of the fact that William is the listed father of William Kinson born and baptised in Kingsley, Staffordshire in 1718, it can be assumed that William the elder was born about 1696. He was married to a Sarah Johnson. No records of his death have been found to-date.
William Kinson (1718 - ) eldest son of William and Sarah is mentioned in local parish records. These records confirm his birth in 1718 and then his marriage in 1736 at St Giles Church, Baswich to 22 year old Alice Haywood from Haughton, Staffordshire.
James Kinson (1764 - 1837) the son of William & Alice, he meets and then marries Elizabeth Richardson in Edingale in 1789. They set up home and have six children, Samuel b 1790, James b 1791, Hannah b 1793, Thomas b 1795 and Francis b 1796.
It is worth noting that from this point in time, Edingale Village, with less than 150 people, will become the focal point for the next three Kinson generations. Most people living here are employed in farming or agriculturally related trades although there is evidence of other trades and occupations. In a book called Edingale - a village in perspective there is a section called "village families". It recalls the very early Kinson's; i.e. James and Elizabeth, and of whom it states, ".....moved to the village as a young couple......."
Tragically for James and his young family, wife Elizabeth dies on 12 November 1797 but as was the custom in those times, widower James seeks to re-marry; and on 13 February 1810 he weds Mary Peace from another nearby village, Bloxwich. They have no children.
James continues to work in Edingale as an agricultural labourer all his life, indeed right up until his death on 11 August 1837; he was buried three days later on the 14 August 1837 in Edingale's Holy Trinity Churchyard. His death certificate records his age as 73 and also shows the informant to be wife his Mary Kinson (nee Peace). She survives him another 17 years.
One interesting fact associated with James' death is that he holds the distinction of being one of the earliest deaths recorded in the Parish under the newly introduced Act of Parliament "The Registration Act" which required all births, marriages and deaths to be recorded by a Registrar with effect from 1st July 1837 and is, of course, still law today.
Thomas Kinson (1795 - 1872) James and Elizabeth's third son was born and lived for all his life in the same village as his parents, Edingale. He marries Elizabeth Hall on 13 November 1832 whilst known to be working as a gardener and seedsman, an occupation that appears to run through many of the early Kinson families. Thomas and Elizabeth have five children; three sons, John b 1834, George b 1838 and William b 1839 and two daughters, Eliza b 1835 and Emma b 1842; who in time all marry locally and continue to live in the village - giving Thomas twenty-nine grandchildren.
As with his father, Thomas loses his wife relatively early. Elizabeth dies in 1850, she was aged 49 and because none of her children at that time were over sixteen years old, she never sees her grandchildren. It appears from village records that upon her death Thomas gave up his gardening and seedsman role to become the village grocer. One imagines he did this to spend more time with the family by "working from home", although by all accounts, his young daughter Emma, takes on the role of his housekeeper.
Just a year before his death the 1871 census returns confirm that Thomas, aged 76, was, after 21 years, still running the village shop. When he dies on the 21 July 1872, the shop passes to his youngest son William and his wife, Jane (nee Walton).
John Kinson (1834 - 1903) was the eldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth, born in Edingale he was baptised in the village's Holy Trinity Church on a Tuesday, 21 January 1834. Following formal schooling he is "missing from Edingale" for the 1851 census with the most likely reason for this being that just a year earlier, aged 16, his mother Elizabeth died at the age of 50 leaving his father Thomas to bring up the five children, the youngest Emma, just eight years old.
It seems John found work some 8 miles away from Edingale in the village of Drakelow. This village had at the time Drakelow Hall, the principal residence and home to the Gresley Baronets who were, at different times, MP's for Derbyshire or High Sheriff's of Derbyshire. The Drakelow Farm (and later The Brewery) were nearly 700 acres in size and employed 26 men on its land, one of whom was John. From there he returns to Edingale with his new wife Frances (Fanny) Collier from nearby Rosliston who he had married in nearby Church Gresley on Monday 22 October 1855. John is 21, his bride is just 14 years old (albeit she claims she is 16 years old).
The next census taken in 1861 does not give an exact address for them both but it is thought it was close to The Holly Bush public house (now the Black Horse) and Schofield Lane; Edingale Fields. The village at this time still had only 350 residents including John's younger siblings George, William and Emma, who were all still living with their Dad in rooms behind the village grocers shop.
John and Fanny have eleven live births: Thomas b 1856, William b 1858, Eliza b 1863, John b 1865, Charles b 1867, Arthur b 1869 and Joseph 1873 all born in Edingale. When the next census records the family has moved to Rosliston 5 miles away in 1881, they have Amos b 1875, Emma b 1879, Fanny b 1880 and Alice b 1884. Sadly for the family three more children were born but died at or soon after their births; Mary b 1861, James b 1871 and Emily b 1877.
All the time John worked in Edingale it was as an agricultural labourer but perhaps because of the new work to be had in Rosliston, he and many of his Kinson relatives who follow, go to new work - that of a coal miner. In the next three census returns of 1881, 1891 and 1901 John and Fanny are recorded as living in either Chapel Yards Rosliston (by St Mary's Church) or at Burton Road, Rosliston next door to the Plough Inn (still there today). In his very last years and up until his death on 22 February 1903, age 69, John works as a road labourer. At his death he had been married 48 years and Fanny his wife would survive him by another 12 years.
William Kinson (1692 - ) By virtue of the fact that William is the listed father of William Kinson born and baptised in Kingsley, Staffordshire in 1718, it can be assumed that William the elder was born about 1696. He was married to a Sarah Johnson. No records of his death have been found to-date.
William Kinson (1718 - ) eldest son of William and Sarah is mentioned in local parish records. These records confirm his birth in 1718 and then his marriage in 1736 at St Giles Church, Baswich to 22 year old Alice Haywood from Haughton, Staffordshire.
James Kinson (1764 - 1837) the son of William & Alice, he meets and then marries Elizabeth Richardson in Edingale in 1789. They set up home and have six children, Samuel b 1790, James b 1791, Hannah b 1793, Thomas b 1795 and Francis b 1796.
It is worth noting that from this point in time, Edingale Village, with less than 150 people, will become the focal point for the next three Kinson generations. Most people living here are employed in farming or agriculturally related trades although there is evidence of other trades and occupations. In a book called Edingale - a village in perspective there is a section called "village families". It recalls the very early Kinson's; i.e. James and Elizabeth, and of whom it states, ".....moved to the village as a young couple......."
Tragically for James and his young family, wife Elizabeth dies on 12 November 1797 but as was the custom in those times, widower James seeks to re-marry; and on 13 February 1810 he weds Mary Peace from another nearby village, Bloxwich. They have no children.
James continues to work in Edingale as an agricultural labourer all his life, indeed right up until his death on 11 August 1837; he was buried three days later on the 14 August 1837 in Edingale's Holy Trinity Churchyard. His death certificate records his age as 73 and also shows the informant to be wife his Mary Kinson (nee Peace). She survives him another 17 years.
One interesting fact associated with James' death is that he holds the distinction of being one of the earliest deaths recorded in the Parish under the newly introduced Act of Parliament "The Registration Act" which required all births, marriages and deaths to be recorded by a Registrar with effect from 1st July 1837 and is, of course, still law today.
Thomas Kinson (1795 - 1872) James and Elizabeth's third son was born and lived for all his life in the same village as his parents, Edingale. He marries Elizabeth Hall on 13 November 1832 whilst known to be working as a gardener and seedsman, an occupation that appears to run through many of the early Kinson families. Thomas and Elizabeth have five children; three sons, John b 1834, George b 1838 and William b 1839 and two daughters, Eliza b 1835 and Emma b 1842; who in time all marry locally and continue to live in the village - giving Thomas twenty-nine grandchildren.
As with his father, Thomas loses his wife relatively early. Elizabeth dies in 1850, she was aged 49 and because none of her children at that time were over sixteen years old, she never sees her grandchildren. It appears from village records that upon her death Thomas gave up his gardening and seedsman role to become the village grocer. One imagines he did this to spend more time with the family by "working from home", although by all accounts, his young daughter Emma, takes on the role of his housekeeper.
Just a year before his death the 1871 census returns confirm that Thomas, aged 76, was, after 21 years, still running the village shop. When he dies on the 21 July 1872, the shop passes to his youngest son William and his wife, Jane (nee Walton).
John Kinson (1834 - 1903) was the eldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth, born in Edingale he was baptised in the village's Holy Trinity Church on a Tuesday, 21 January 1834. Following formal schooling he is "missing from Edingale" for the 1851 census with the most likely reason for this being that just a year earlier, aged 16, his mother Elizabeth died at the age of 50 leaving his father Thomas to bring up the five children, the youngest Emma, just eight years old.
It seems John found work some 8 miles away from Edingale in the village of Drakelow. This village had at the time Drakelow Hall, the principal residence and home to the Gresley Baronets who were, at different times, MP's for Derbyshire or High Sheriff's of Derbyshire. The Drakelow Farm (and later The Brewery) were nearly 700 acres in size and employed 26 men on its land, one of whom was John. From there he returns to Edingale with his new wife Frances (Fanny) Collier from nearby Rosliston who he had married in nearby Church Gresley on Monday 22 October 1855. John is 21, his bride is just 14 years old (albeit she claims she is 16 years old).
The next census taken in 1861 does not give an exact address for them both but it is thought it was close to The Holly Bush public house (now the Black Horse) and Schofield Lane; Edingale Fields. The village at this time still had only 350 residents including John's younger siblings George, William and Emma, who were all still living with their Dad in rooms behind the village grocers shop.
John and Fanny have eleven live births: Thomas b 1856, William b 1858, Eliza b 1863, John b 1865, Charles b 1867, Arthur b 1869 and Joseph 1873 all born in Edingale. When the next census records the family has moved to Rosliston 5 miles away in 1881, they have Amos b 1875, Emma b 1879, Fanny b 1880 and Alice b 1884. Sadly for the family three more children were born but died at or soon after their births; Mary b 1861, James b 1871 and Emily b 1877.
All the time John worked in Edingale it was as an agricultural labourer but perhaps because of the new work to be had in Rosliston, he and many of his Kinson relatives who follow, go to new work - that of a coal miner. In the next three census returns of 1881, 1891 and 1901 John and Fanny are recorded as living in either Chapel Yards Rosliston (by St Mary's Church) or at Burton Road, Rosliston next door to the Plough Inn (still there today). In his very last years and up until his death on 22 February 1903, age 69, John works as a road labourer. At his death he had been married 48 years and Fanny his wife would survive him by another 12 years.
Arthur Charles Kinson (1869 - 1956) Village census records show that Arthur and all his family lived on The Fields, Edingale close by to the village pub The Holly Bush. His birth certificate initially gave him the name of Charles until the Registrar corrected it to Arthur on the day as he was baptised, 14 November 1869, in the Holy Trinity Church. As Arthur's mother Fanny could neither read nor write then perhaps when she collected the original birth certificate she did not realise that it was wrong only that it "clashed" with his elder brother, already named Charles.
Schooling for Arthur was interrupted when his father moved the family in the mid 1870's some five miles away to Rosliston although as a 10 year old, it would be expected of him to assist the family with labouring to earn his keep. In 1884, aged just 14, Arthur enlisted into the newly formed South Staffordshire Regiment as a Bugler. He served in Egypt at the Battle of Kirbekan on 10 February 1885 under General Earle. The British lost 60 men. A brass plaque on the north wall of Lichfield Cathedral commemorates this battle.
On 11 September 1893, and still in his Army Service, Arthur marries 18 year old Annie Johnson, a general servant, in St Mark's Church, South Shields, County Durham. Why Arthur was there is not clear, but again it could be that more work existed on Tyneside rather than back home. Children arrive, Laura b 1894, Thomas b 1895 and Arthur b 1898 (but who sadly fails to survive). Another son, John Robert is born 1900 and then Albert b 1902, the year their father completes his 16 years military service.
Just two years later in April 1904 Arthur re-joins the Reservist Army as a Private with the Durham Light Infantry. Within three months he is promoted to Sergeant.
More children arrive at home, Alfred b 1904 and Gertrude b 1906 although the latter dies soon after her birth along with her four year old brother Albert. To add to these difficult times it appears in the years between 1907 and 1909, and despite the fact that Arthur has resigned from the Reservists (4 April 1908), his wife Annie goes to live with a seafarer, Fenwick Slade.
Perhaps reflecting the state of this marriage and only 4 months after resigning, Arthur re-joins the Reservists. It is 30 August 1908, and he is posted to the Queen Victoria and King Edward Lines - part of the northern defences of the fortifications of Gibraltar. Now "single", albeit a father of four children, when he returns home in early 1910 he meets a South Shields widow, Elizabeth Ashby. Together with her own three children and his 10 year old son John Robert Kinson they move across country to Deepcar in Yorkshire and they marry on 26 July 1910 in the City of Sheffield. Sometime in 1915 and following formal schooling, John Robert returns to South Shields to live with his Mother. Arthur and Elizabeth meanwhile move again to Hednesford, near Cannock in Staffordshire. Sadly it will be here that Elizabeth will die aged just 50, on 9 January 1917 with pulmonary tuberculosis.
After Elizabeth's death Arthur brings her three children back to South Shields. These "Ashby" children go to their family whilst Arthur continues with the armed forces in a Reservist role stationed at a Prisoner of War camp in Rose Hill, Eastgate, County Durham. It is there in Chester-Le-Street on 28 July 1917 and only 200 days after losing Elizabeth, that he marries for the third time to a widow, the 61 year old Priscilla Forrest. Upon completion of his period of service in 1918 he takes work as a Caretaker at Palmer's Apprentices Athletics Club in Monkton, Jarrow. There, on the 10 April 1920 Priscilla dies with Colon Cancer.
It appears Arthur either visits Chester-Le-Street or through his Army Reservists connections meets the 23 year old Lillian Moonen (nee Joyce) and her young daughter Maria. (Lillian had married a Birtley Belgian just 4 months before Arthur had married Priscilla. This was Emile Moonen, and as with all the Birtley Belgians after the end of WW2 had been repatriated home where he had joined the Merchant Navy). Arthur persuades Lillian to move in with him in Monkton, Jarrow. Very soon Lillian is pregnant with their first child, a son, Arthur Foster Kinson born in 1922.
Records suggest that Arthur resigns from his post and he, with Lillian and the two children Maria and Arthur, move to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland where he finds work at the local Colliery. Over the following years the family grows with Lillian giving birth to Norman in 1925 (but who dies in 1929), John in 1927 and Charles in 1929. After some 10 years of living together, Arthur and Lillian then suddenly decide to marry in Woodhorn Parish Church on 1 December 1931. Arthur is 62 and Lillian 35. Just one year later, on the 18 November 1932, another son, Oswald, is born.
Following a period of retirement Arthur dies in 1956 at the grand age of 86. Lillian, then only 60 will survive him by 30 years.
John Robert Kinson (1900 - 1971) Born in South Shields on 20 February 1900, John Robert was the third son to Arthur and his first wife Annie Johnson. As confirmed by the 1911 census, John Robert is the only child of the marriage taken away from his siblings to live at Deepcar, Yorkshire by his father Arthur and his wife to be Elizabeth Ashby and her three children.
In early 1915, when John Robert has finished school, he leaves his Father in Yorkshire to return to South Shields and to his mother Annie and his siblings. Annie has now left Fenwick Slade (the cause of the split with his father Arthur Kinson) and is planning to marry Albert Smith, another seafarer. The family home now is Somerset Street, South Shields.
John Robert's first job is with the local colliery but in February 1918 he enlists with the Royal Navy. Following his time at the RN Training School in London he is posted to HMS Glasgow (a light cruiser) as Stoker where he serves his time in both the Adriatic and Mediterranean waters. He is discharged from sea service on 26 May 1919 and immediately returns home and his work in the colliery.
Living in the same street as John Robert and having been regularly courted by him, he marries Maria Herbert Richardson Newham on 16 July 1921. Their first child, also named John Robert is born in November that same year followed by George Downey Kinson born 2 November 1923, Stanley b 1926, Elizabeth b 1929, Arthur b 1931 and James b 1934.
From 1923 -1926 the family lived in shared tenement lodgings, and, given it was the time of the "depression", then along with the crowded housing came extreme hardship and poverty. It is left to wonder; was John Robert part of the General Strike in 1926 when police launched a baton charge at the striking miners in the Town after reading them the Riot Act? At this time John Robert moves the family back into Somerset Street and his mother's already crowded house.
Fortunes turn a little over the next couple of years and in 1930 accommodation is found in Eglesfield Road. Whilst it was less than 30 years old, the property was still a "back to back" terraced, one up-one down house that shared the outside toilet with other residents. These houses were also notoriously ill-lit, had poor ventilation and offered no private space.
As with many other families, John Robert kept his family constantly on the move; three houses in ten years. Then on the 2 October 1941 whilst living in Canterbury Street, South Shields takes direct hits from enemy war planes and in less than two hours the resultant damage causes 2,000 people to lose their homes. Family fatalities are nil, but the bombs wrecked John Robert's house. He and the family were rehoused in temporary accommodation until they were able to go back to their original property.
After the war, and after more house moves, new council housing became available. For John Robert and Maria, once it was secured it must have seemed a world away from the years spent in the "back to back" houses in the poorer part of Town. This was a semi-detached house with all modern facilities including a garden! Shops were close by. Buses ran past the front door and despite post war rationing, better times were looming. John Robert was still working at the local pit and whilst money was not good it was secure. Maria literally made everything "stretch" and for the next 20 years+ the house became a centre for all the family to meet, particularly on a Sunday, but also on high days and holidays too!
When Maria passed away in 1967 John Robert remained in the house where it fell on his only daughter to look after him. Four years later, in 1971, aged 71 years he too passes away. The end of a certain era and sadly, the end of a certain type of canny shields folk!
Schooling for Arthur was interrupted when his father moved the family in the mid 1870's some five miles away to Rosliston although as a 10 year old, it would be expected of him to assist the family with labouring to earn his keep. In 1884, aged just 14, Arthur enlisted into the newly formed South Staffordshire Regiment as a Bugler. He served in Egypt at the Battle of Kirbekan on 10 February 1885 under General Earle. The British lost 60 men. A brass plaque on the north wall of Lichfield Cathedral commemorates this battle.
On 11 September 1893, and still in his Army Service, Arthur marries 18 year old Annie Johnson, a general servant, in St Mark's Church, South Shields, County Durham. Why Arthur was there is not clear, but again it could be that more work existed on Tyneside rather than back home. Children arrive, Laura b 1894, Thomas b 1895 and Arthur b 1898 (but who sadly fails to survive). Another son, John Robert is born 1900 and then Albert b 1902, the year their father completes his 16 years military service.
Just two years later in April 1904 Arthur re-joins the Reservist Army as a Private with the Durham Light Infantry. Within three months he is promoted to Sergeant.
More children arrive at home, Alfred b 1904 and Gertrude b 1906 although the latter dies soon after her birth along with her four year old brother Albert. To add to these difficult times it appears in the years between 1907 and 1909, and despite the fact that Arthur has resigned from the Reservists (4 April 1908), his wife Annie goes to live with a seafarer, Fenwick Slade.
Perhaps reflecting the state of this marriage and only 4 months after resigning, Arthur re-joins the Reservists. It is 30 August 1908, and he is posted to the Queen Victoria and King Edward Lines - part of the northern defences of the fortifications of Gibraltar. Now "single", albeit a father of four children, when he returns home in early 1910 he meets a South Shields widow, Elizabeth Ashby. Together with her own three children and his 10 year old son John Robert Kinson they move across country to Deepcar in Yorkshire and they marry on 26 July 1910 in the City of Sheffield. Sometime in 1915 and following formal schooling, John Robert returns to South Shields to live with his Mother. Arthur and Elizabeth meanwhile move again to Hednesford, near Cannock in Staffordshire. Sadly it will be here that Elizabeth will die aged just 50, on 9 January 1917 with pulmonary tuberculosis.
After Elizabeth's death Arthur brings her three children back to South Shields. These "Ashby" children go to their family whilst Arthur continues with the armed forces in a Reservist role stationed at a Prisoner of War camp in Rose Hill, Eastgate, County Durham. It is there in Chester-Le-Street on 28 July 1917 and only 200 days after losing Elizabeth, that he marries for the third time to a widow, the 61 year old Priscilla Forrest. Upon completion of his period of service in 1918 he takes work as a Caretaker at Palmer's Apprentices Athletics Club in Monkton, Jarrow. There, on the 10 April 1920 Priscilla dies with Colon Cancer.
It appears Arthur either visits Chester-Le-Street or through his Army Reservists connections meets the 23 year old Lillian Moonen (nee Joyce) and her young daughter Maria. (Lillian had married a Birtley Belgian just 4 months before Arthur had married Priscilla. This was Emile Moonen, and as with all the Birtley Belgians after the end of WW2 had been repatriated home where he had joined the Merchant Navy). Arthur persuades Lillian to move in with him in Monkton, Jarrow. Very soon Lillian is pregnant with their first child, a son, Arthur Foster Kinson born in 1922.
Records suggest that Arthur resigns from his post and he, with Lillian and the two children Maria and Arthur, move to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland where he finds work at the local Colliery. Over the following years the family grows with Lillian giving birth to Norman in 1925 (but who dies in 1929), John in 1927 and Charles in 1929. After some 10 years of living together, Arthur and Lillian then suddenly decide to marry in Woodhorn Parish Church on 1 December 1931. Arthur is 62 and Lillian 35. Just one year later, on the 18 November 1932, another son, Oswald, is born.
Following a period of retirement Arthur dies in 1956 at the grand age of 86. Lillian, then only 60 will survive him by 30 years.
John Robert Kinson (1900 - 1971) Born in South Shields on 20 February 1900, John Robert was the third son to Arthur and his first wife Annie Johnson. As confirmed by the 1911 census, John Robert is the only child of the marriage taken away from his siblings to live at Deepcar, Yorkshire by his father Arthur and his wife to be Elizabeth Ashby and her three children.
In early 1915, when John Robert has finished school, he leaves his Father in Yorkshire to return to South Shields and to his mother Annie and his siblings. Annie has now left Fenwick Slade (the cause of the split with his father Arthur Kinson) and is planning to marry Albert Smith, another seafarer. The family home now is Somerset Street, South Shields.
John Robert's first job is with the local colliery but in February 1918 he enlists with the Royal Navy. Following his time at the RN Training School in London he is posted to HMS Glasgow (a light cruiser) as Stoker where he serves his time in both the Adriatic and Mediterranean waters. He is discharged from sea service on 26 May 1919 and immediately returns home and his work in the colliery.
Living in the same street as John Robert and having been regularly courted by him, he marries Maria Herbert Richardson Newham on 16 July 1921. Their first child, also named John Robert is born in November that same year followed by George Downey Kinson born 2 November 1923, Stanley b 1926, Elizabeth b 1929, Arthur b 1931 and James b 1934.
From 1923 -1926 the family lived in shared tenement lodgings, and, given it was the time of the "depression", then along with the crowded housing came extreme hardship and poverty. It is left to wonder; was John Robert part of the General Strike in 1926 when police launched a baton charge at the striking miners in the Town after reading them the Riot Act? At this time John Robert moves the family back into Somerset Street and his mother's already crowded house.
Fortunes turn a little over the next couple of years and in 1930 accommodation is found in Eglesfield Road. Whilst it was less than 30 years old, the property was still a "back to back" terraced, one up-one down house that shared the outside toilet with other residents. These houses were also notoriously ill-lit, had poor ventilation and offered no private space.
As with many other families, John Robert kept his family constantly on the move; three houses in ten years. Then on the 2 October 1941 whilst living in Canterbury Street, South Shields takes direct hits from enemy war planes and in less than two hours the resultant damage causes 2,000 people to lose their homes. Family fatalities are nil, but the bombs wrecked John Robert's house. He and the family were rehoused in temporary accommodation until they were able to go back to their original property.
After the war, and after more house moves, new council housing became available. For John Robert and Maria, once it was secured it must have seemed a world away from the years spent in the "back to back" houses in the poorer part of Town. This was a semi-detached house with all modern facilities including a garden! Shops were close by. Buses ran past the front door and despite post war rationing, better times were looming. John Robert was still working at the local pit and whilst money was not good it was secure. Maria literally made everything "stretch" and for the next 20 years+ the house became a centre for all the family to meet, particularly on a Sunday, but also on high days and holidays too!
When Maria passed away in 1967 John Robert remained in the house where it fell on his only daughter to look after him. Four years later, in 1971, aged 71 years he too passes away. The end of a certain era and sadly, the end of a certain type of canny shields folk!
George Downey Kinson (1923 - 1985) was born on 3 November 1923. The affectionate naming of "Downey" came from the influence of his Mother's sister, his Auntie Hannah, who married a George Downey - part of a large and well known family in South Shields. In his early years George was constantly moving houses around the Town but he always had a place at Hannah's. It is thought that George completed his schooling locally at both St Bede’s Junior and the Laygate School's.
In 1941, and after a heavy enemy bombing raid on South Shields, he would have seen both those schools and his own house, badly damaged by German bombs and, as with hundreds of others, was evacuated and re-housed.
George's first real job was as a Store-man. There he met Norah Walker, a 22 year old Shop Floor Worker who was destined to be his wife. Courting and marriage had to wait though as he enlists in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He is assigned to HMS Wildfire, the Royal Naval Gunnery School at Sheerness in Kent before then joining the Royal Navy's Grey Goose 9, a steam gunboat classed as a fast minesweeper. This ship was commanded by (Sir) Lt/Cmd Peter Markham Scott DSC, DSC, RNVR and who in WW2 won both of his two distinguished service medals whilst George was in action with him and serving as one of his Anti-Aircraft Gunners.
On 25 September 1943 George married Norah at St Peter's Church, South Shields before returning to sea. His next posting was to HMS Benbow a shore establishment at Manzanilla Bay in Trinidad and Tobago where he remained until December 1945. His ship - ML 378 - was a fast boat designed for harbour defence, submarine chasing and armed high speed air-sea rescue. On this tour of duty George would have learnt of the birth of his son Paul born back in South Shields in April 1945.
Following his demob in 1946, George celebrated with his brothers and sister at his parent's newly acquired council house. Most men had come home from the war and resumed their work in the mines, shipyards or heavy industry - George takes on work in the local dockyard. In October 1947 he and Norah celebrate a daughter's birth, Judith. In 1951 he secures a post at Whitburn Colliery (his father and brother were already working there), signalling the start of a 34 year Miner's career until his death in 1985. George rose to the position of Winding Engineman, raising and lowering the shaft cages that move people and coal from underground to the surface.
In 1953, because of an accident, George was off work for many months which meant times became hard with very little income. Perhaps from out of those times George earned his reputation as a family man, a conscientious hard worker and someone who would always help out others be it family, friends or neighbours. He joined The Companions, an organisation offering fraternity membership and then, with a brother-in-law, became involved in South Shields Football Club (the Mariners). As a lead in the supporters club he saw its Social Club grow to 13,000 members, saw two grandstands built and erect floodlights.
George's personality also led him to take an active role in the National Union of Miners and in addition to supporting current miner's causes he raised issues on behalf of the retired miners, regularly visiting many of them in their homes. This and his Companionship work and his time at the football ground made him extremely well known in the Town.
In October 1967 two of the local coal mines were earmarked for closure. This meant 820 men losing their jobs when the final shift came to an end on 8 June 1968. This action, and similar action across the UK, led to a national miners' strike (the first time since 1926). The strike lasted seven weeks. Then, another national strike in early 1974 which lasted 16 weeks caused such major disruption that the country went on a three-day week. In 1983 the Government and the National Coal Board announced that they were to close yet another 20 coal mines, a loss of another 20,000 miners jobs. Yet another national strike was called. Many essential workers agreed not to strike though an action that caused many tense situations in communities including picket lines outside of the Collieries. It was within this scenario that George, an essential worker, defended his right to work and stood opposed to picket lines.
The strike ended on 3 March 1985 but the stress placed upon George had began to show. On 24 July 1985 and ahead of going to work, George suffered a severe heart attack and died immediately. He was 61 years old. Following George's death his wife Norah received many letters and cards of heartfelt condolences from family and friends. She also received letters from National Coal Board officials - in all of these letters there are strong themes that run through them. They tell how George was held in extremely high regard for his kindness, caring and gentle manner as well as his ability to offer friendship to anyone. Norah will survive him by 21 years.
In 1941, and after a heavy enemy bombing raid on South Shields, he would have seen both those schools and his own house, badly damaged by German bombs and, as with hundreds of others, was evacuated and re-housed.
George's first real job was as a Store-man. There he met Norah Walker, a 22 year old Shop Floor Worker who was destined to be his wife. Courting and marriage had to wait though as he enlists in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He is assigned to HMS Wildfire, the Royal Naval Gunnery School at Sheerness in Kent before then joining the Royal Navy's Grey Goose 9, a steam gunboat classed as a fast minesweeper. This ship was commanded by (Sir) Lt/Cmd Peter Markham Scott DSC, DSC, RNVR and who in WW2 won both of his two distinguished service medals whilst George was in action with him and serving as one of his Anti-Aircraft Gunners.
On 25 September 1943 George married Norah at St Peter's Church, South Shields before returning to sea. His next posting was to HMS Benbow a shore establishment at Manzanilla Bay in Trinidad and Tobago where he remained until December 1945. His ship - ML 378 - was a fast boat designed for harbour defence, submarine chasing and armed high speed air-sea rescue. On this tour of duty George would have learnt of the birth of his son Paul born back in South Shields in April 1945.
Following his demob in 1946, George celebrated with his brothers and sister at his parent's newly acquired council house. Most men had come home from the war and resumed their work in the mines, shipyards or heavy industry - George takes on work in the local dockyard. In October 1947 he and Norah celebrate a daughter's birth, Judith. In 1951 he secures a post at Whitburn Colliery (his father and brother were already working there), signalling the start of a 34 year Miner's career until his death in 1985. George rose to the position of Winding Engineman, raising and lowering the shaft cages that move people and coal from underground to the surface.
In 1953, because of an accident, George was off work for many months which meant times became hard with very little income. Perhaps from out of those times George earned his reputation as a family man, a conscientious hard worker and someone who would always help out others be it family, friends or neighbours. He joined The Companions, an organisation offering fraternity membership and then, with a brother-in-law, became involved in South Shields Football Club (the Mariners). As a lead in the supporters club he saw its Social Club grow to 13,000 members, saw two grandstands built and erect floodlights.
George's personality also led him to take an active role in the National Union of Miners and in addition to supporting current miner's causes he raised issues on behalf of the retired miners, regularly visiting many of them in their homes. This and his Companionship work and his time at the football ground made him extremely well known in the Town.
In October 1967 two of the local coal mines were earmarked for closure. This meant 820 men losing their jobs when the final shift came to an end on 8 June 1968. This action, and similar action across the UK, led to a national miners' strike (the first time since 1926). The strike lasted seven weeks. Then, another national strike in early 1974 which lasted 16 weeks caused such major disruption that the country went on a three-day week. In 1983 the Government and the National Coal Board announced that they were to close yet another 20 coal mines, a loss of another 20,000 miners jobs. Yet another national strike was called. Many essential workers agreed not to strike though an action that caused many tense situations in communities including picket lines outside of the Collieries. It was within this scenario that George, an essential worker, defended his right to work and stood opposed to picket lines.
The strike ended on 3 March 1985 but the stress placed upon George had began to show. On 24 July 1985 and ahead of going to work, George suffered a severe heart attack and died immediately. He was 61 years old. Following George's death his wife Norah received many letters and cards of heartfelt condolences from family and friends. She also received letters from National Coal Board officials - in all of these letters there are strong themes that run through them. They tell how George was held in extremely high regard for his kindness, caring and gentle manner as well as his ability to offer friendship to anyone. Norah will survive him by 21 years.