Alec Hopson, miner 1930s, but where ?? (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Sunday, June 23, 2019, 15:54 (1763 days ago) @ sherriebaby63

Hi Sherrie,
to assist anyone with this query, this prior thread shows that Alexander (Alec) Hopson was playing football for a Ruspidge team in the 1930s.
https://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=49316

FreeBMD shows he was born in Cheltenham area in 1908.
GlosBMD has;

Marriage Details
Groom Surname Groom Forename Bride Surname Bride Forename District Parish Building Year Register Entry
HOPSON Alexander MORGAN Lydia Forest of Dean Westbury-on-Severn (FoD) Register Office 1927 20 104

He was buried at the local church Cinderford St John in 1965, helpfully the PR states he was then living in Victoria Street Cinderford.

Record_ID: 69665
Entry_Number: 413
Year: 1965
Month: Mar
Day: 16
Surname: HOPSON
Forenames: Alexander
Residence: 129 Victoria Street Cinderford
Age_at_death: 57 years
Officiating_Minister: C C J Brick
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes: 9/65 written in margin
Register_Reference: P85/1 IN 1/17
Page_No: 52
Parish_Chapel: Cinderford St John
Soundex: H125

So it seems likely he was working at one of the local pits around this time, eg Lightmoor or Eastern United, altho it must be remembered it wasn't unusual for miners to walk some miles thro' the woods to their work.

Sherry, do you have his entry in the 1939 Register, that might help narrow it down ?
It MAY possible state where he worked, just as earlier Census records occasionaly did, or failing that would give more clues re home address etc.

This forum's seen several enquiries like yours, but sadly there's no easy answers, databases etc. Indeed even in the C20th with National Insurance numbers etc the employment records are rather patchy. Sadly even for the "modern" pits many of these paper records haven't survived the closures, for example I recall reading about the bonfires of such paperwork when Northern United (northwest Cinderford) closed in the 1960s.
I strongly suggest contacting the Dean Heritage Centre at Soudley who will know what records exist to be searched thro, they've helped other forum posters with similar queries in the past. See here
https://www.deanheritagecentre.com/learning/collections

PS He died quite young, I wonder if this was work-related ? Perhaps there might be a mention of this in the local papers, for example ?

Good luck !