edward thomas mallindine + elizabeth henrietta bristow
Edward was one of twin boys born, to George Mallindine and Susan Bromley, at the family home on Redmans Road in Mile End on 24 December 1879. By 1891, his family had moved from Redmans Road to Tent Street in Bethnal Green where his father continued to work as a Plumber’s Labourer but although his twin brother James appears in the census with his family, twelve year old Edward does not and hasn't been found elsewhere.
He married Elizabeth Henrietta Bristow on 28 January 1900 at St Paul in the Old Ford area of the Tower Hamlets in East London. Elizabeth’s sister, Florence Louisa, witnessed the marriage along with Ralph Scott. Elizabeth’s birth record has not been located but her date of birth is listed in subsequent records as 24 May, most likely in 1882 or 1883, but the years range from 1881 to 1887. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Bristow, nee Avis, and her father is believed to be Henry Crouch.
Edward and Elizabeth haven’t been found in the 1901 census but on 30 March, the eve of the census, their first son, Edward Thomas was born. Like his father, he seems to have been called James by his family but appears under his legal name in most records. Elizabeth Jane, known as Lizzie, was born on 24 November 1902. She was baptised on 9 December 1903 at St Simon Zelotes in Bethnal Green and the baptismal register lists the family’s address as 18 Prospect Place and Edward’s occupation as a Coal Porter.
On 15 June 1904, Edward enrolled his son in the Atley Road School in Bow and the admission record notes the family’s address as 527 Old Ford Road. But as little Edward was only three years old, he was removed from the school for being under age. Like many other families living in over-crowded conditions in the East End, Edward and Elizabeth left Bow and moved to West Ham and they had settled at 5 Dalbar Road by the time their daughter Florence Lena, known as Florrie, was born on 27 November 1906. She was baptised at All Saints in West Ham, under the name Florence Eleanor, on 15 April.
Ada May was born at 22 Hutterd Street in West Ham on 5 March 1908 and baptised two weeks later at St Thomas. But by 1 June, they had returned to Bow and Edward was once again enrolled in the Atley Road School but this time, his sister Lizzie was enrolled as well. The family was living at 5 Socton Street but their return to Bow was short lived as they had returned to West Ham by 22 May 1910 when their son Robert Charles was born.
In 1911, Edward, Elizabeth and their five children occupied three rooms in a house at 36 Harcourt Avenue in Manor Park. Also in the household, was Edward’s younger brother Alfred and a lodger, Charles Bridger. Edward was still working as a Coal Porter but his 27 year old brother Alfred was not employed and in the Infirmity column of the census return, there is a notation that Alfred was ‘Afflicted 14 years of age’ but there is no further description as to what this means. The note has been crossed out by the enumerator so it appears whatever the affliction was, it did not meet the definition outlined on the form.
Around this time, Elizabeth began a relationship with Charles Bridger and they remained together until her death in 1941. Edward eventually left the family and although he was gone by the early 1920s, it is not known exactly when he left or if Elizabeth started her relationship with Charles while her husband was still in the family home.
c. 1915
Ellen Rosina, known as Nell, was born in West Ham on 8 September 1912 followed by Charles Verdun on 9 March 1916 and Margaret Frances on 20 April 1918. It appears that Edward believed he was the father of Margaret and her younger siblings as he paid maintenance for their care and it was Margaret who as a young child was sent to meet him outside the factory gates where he worked to collect the maintenance each week. It is widely accepted in the family that Elizabeth’s four youngest sons were fathered by Charles Bridger but it is not known if Nell, Charles and Margaret were Edward’s or not. There was obviously doubt in the minds of the children as Nell asked her mother on her death bed who her father was but Elizabeth refused to answer.
The first known son of Elizabeth and Charles Bridger, Herbert Charles, was born on 23 November 1921 but he was registered under the name Mallindine as were all her children. Elizabeth and Charles had three more sons — Albert Stanley born in 1924, William John, known as Johnny, in 1930 and one son still living. In later years, the boys referred to their father as Charles Mallindine so they obviously recognized that Charles Bridger was their father and probably assumed they were given his surname.
In 1939, Elizabeth was living at 27 Northern Road in West Ham along with her five youngest sons: Charles, who was working as a House Painter, Herbert as a Woodwork Machinist, and Albert, Frank and Johnny. Charles Bridger was still living with her although he was again listed as a single lodger. He was working as a Builder’s Labourer and Elizabeth worked as a midwife earning extra money for her family. Her husband Edward was listed as James in the 1939 Register and was living alone at 2 Franklin Road in Poplar and working as a Carman, or someone who drove a horse drawn cart, for a Public Works Contractor.
Their eldest son, Edward, had married Lily Edwards in West Ham in the spring of 1922 and they had three children — Lilian in 1923, Edward born and died in 1925 and Frank in 1927. Edward stole money collected by a Christmas club and he was not able to cope with the guilt and shame and sadly, he committed suicide by drinking poison in 1938. The following year, his wife and two surviving children were living at 160 Upton Lane in West Ham and Lilian was working as a Hospital Cleaner to support her children.
Lizzie married Frank Legg in the spring of 1925. They had two sons and later moved to Tottenham in North London where Frank worked as an Engine Driver for the London and North Eastern Railway. Lizzie died in Havering in 1986.
Florrie married Albert Philip Crispin in West Ham in the fall of 1929 and they had 8 children. In 1939, they were living at 6 Rosher Road in West Ham and Albert was working as a Labourer for a Gas company.
Ada May married William Scott on 15 May 1932 at St John’s church in Stratford and they had two children. Five years later, Ada died of cancer of the nose in Uxbridge in north west London aged only 30 years. The family lost contact with William and know nothing of what happened to their children.
Nell married John William Romer in 1934 and they had two children. In 1939, they were living at 160 Upton Lane in West Ham in the same house as John’s parents and younger siblings and Nell’s sister-in-law, Lily Edwards, and her children. John died in Southend on Sea in 1996 and Nell in Rochford in 2005.
Robert married Winifred Banks in West Ham in 1935 and they went on to have three children. In 1939, they were living at 232 Kempton Road in East Ham with Winifred’s mother Ellen and brother Frederick and Robert was working as a Factory Hand for a Wood Supplier. They left Essex and moved to Norfolk were Robert died in 2005, aged 90 years.
Margaret married Leonard Baker on 20 May 1937 in West Ham and they had three children. In 1939, they were living at 130 Essex Road in Romford and Leonard was working as a Plater’s Mate in the local steel works. When they retired, they left Essex and settled first in Suffolk but after Leonard’s death in 1977, Margaret moved to Kings Lynn in Norfolk where she died on 7 October 1998.
Elizabeth Henrietta Bristow died of stomach cancer in Romford in June 1941, aged approximately 59 years. When she died, her three youngest sons were still under age — Johnny 11 years, Frank 15 years, and Albert Stanley 17 years — and initially went to live with their sister Lizzie and her family. But according to the boys, Lizzie did not treat them very well and ‘living with her was awful’ but whether this meant the living conditions were poor or whether it referred to her treatment of them is not known. When sister Margaret heard about their situation, she went round to her sister’s and banged on the door until Lizzie answered and took the boys away to live with her; they stayed with Margaret until they joined the army. Charles Bridger has not been traced beyond 1941 and it is not known if he had any contact with his children after Elizabeth died.
When he was 21, Herbert married Hilda Smith at St Margaret in Barking on 22 April 1942 and they had three children. On the register, his father was listed as Charles Edward Mallindine — an interesting combination of Bridger and Mallindine. After the war, they settled in Romford and lived on Fairholme Road for a number of years but they retired to Suffolk where Herbert died in 1999. He was predeceased by his wife Hilda in 1991.
Charles Verdun married Patricia Tebb in East Ham in 1946 and they had two daughters. He died in Newham in 1977 and his wife in 2007. Albert Stanley married three times and he met his first wife, Gertrude Schneider, while serving in the army in Austria.They married in Austria in 1947 and when they returned to England, they initially settled in Hackney before moving to Bury St Edmonds in Suffolk where three of their four children were born. Albert married a second time in 1976 and had two more children before marrying his third wife in 1991. Albert died in Suffolk in 2010.
Edward Thomas died of cancer in Poplar in the fall of 1949. Few details are known of his later life including whether he lived alone or if he was in contact with his children or grandchildren.
Youngest son Johnny married in West Ham in 1956 and had two children. He died in 2011 leaving only one surviving son of this branch still living.