APPENDIX II
Enoch Lolley, Billy Lolley, George Hanley, Arthur Green,
Jane Lolley, Mary Hanley, Ann Green, Sally Hanley.
(circa 1920)
Enoch Lolley - married Jane Hanley who was my mother’s maternal grandmother. Jane Hanley had been brought up by her grandmother Mary Hanley, my mother’s Great Grandmother, and the one with whom my own mother lived during her childhood and whom she loved dearly and who was always known as Granny Hanley.
Enoch had been a builder before the Boer War in which he fought. He returned to the building trade and helped to build the Chapel at Cliffe. He was a volatile, bad-tempered man, probably as a result of having had malaria when serving in Africa where he had been a Mounted Policeman. Although he was a man with violent mood swings he was very religious being a Verger at Hemingborough Church.
Billy Lolley - was one of two sons of Enoch and Jane. There was also four further daughters plus my own maternal grandmother in the family. When the photograph was taken, Uncle Billy had just returned from the First World War. He had become a soldier when only sixteen. In order to ‘join up’ he gave an incorrect age of seventeen which was the minimum age for joining the army. He served in the army for twenty-one years being posted all over the world. When he left the army, he gained employment with Lloyds Bank in Sunderland. His interest in the army continued when he became a trainer in the Territorial Army. He also became a Freemason.
The first time I met Uncle Billy and Auntie Gladys was when I was about twelve and riding my bike up the village. They had just arrived by train to live in the village of Cliffe, Yorkshire, less than half a mile from Tithe Farm which had been farmed by our family (Holman) for many years. Being a precocious child and feeling confident that I should be aware of everyone and everything that happened in my village, I approached and talked to them. It was good to discover that these two gentle and unassuming people were the same Auntie Gladys and Uncle Billy who my eldest sister, Margaret, had visited in Sunderland when she was still only a child. They moved into Harry Houghton’s house less than a quarter of a mile from Tithe Farm. Harry always used to call me Topsy as I passed his gate on my way to school. His father, Garland, ‘blew his head off’ when I was still very young. Auntie Gladys seemed so refined and didn’t really fit into our rather rough and ready ways. But she did enjoy playing card games and it was from her I learned many different games of rummy and cribbage. When Uncle Billy died I was about eighteen, I was the one who slept over with Auntie Gladys. She was totally bereft and unhappy without him and never overcame her fear of living alone. My mother continued to keep an eye on her and I think they became quite close in a strange sort of way in spite of being very different kinds of women.
George Hanley - my mother’s great-uncle. As a young man, he worked as a joiner at a pit somewhere near Durham, moving back to the pit at Thorne when it opened. He married Sally and together they had one daughter, Mary, who sadly died whilst still young. My mother often stayed with Uncle George and Aunt Sally and became good friends with Mary. Both my mother and dad went over to stay at their home in Hatfield before they married. On the day that Mary was due to start training to be a nurse, she died of meningitis. Uncle George never got over it. Aunt Sally always stayed close to her family who were at Crook near Durham. Uncle George and Aunt Sally were staying for a few days at Crook when Uncle George felt so poorly he had to go home. Aunt Sally stayed behind with her family only to find that when she got home a few days later, Uncle George had hung himself. A kind and gentle man as my mother remembers him.
Arthur Green - married my mother’s Great-Aunt Ann Hanley. He was postmaster at Selby until being moved to the new town of New Seham near Sunderland. He was an amateur photographer in his spare time. Their two daughters, Dot and Mabel, remained unmarried, being teachers and career women. Dot became blind so Mabel cared for her for the rest of her life.
Granny Lolley - wife to Enoch and my mother’s maternal grandmother. She became pregnant before meeting Enos and the baby, who was to become my Granny Smith, was brought up by Granny Hanley.
Granny Hanley - her husband died whilst still young leaving her to bring up lots of children.
Aunt Ann - was Uncle Arthur’s wife. They only visited the area two or three times a year after moving to New Seham.
Aunt Sally - Uncle George’s wife and Mary’s mum. She made powerful wine and my mother remembers getting drunk on some of her Beetroot Wine.
