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An uncle in Lydney (born 1915) while alive is believed to have mentioned a Nesta Fryer as a cousin. There's a vague recollection that he said she came from Etloe or Gatcombe. I'm trying to firm up on who she was.

I found one researcher making a suggestion that a Nesta Fryer was born in the Westbury registration district around 1913. No such name shows up in this site's parish records. However, a Nesta Mary Brookes Fryer shows up in Glos BMD as born 1913 (apparently at Newnham, which of course then came under Westbury, but I would have put Etloe and Gatcombe under Awre) with mother's former surname Phelps.

Also, I have discovered a Nesta Fryer depicted at Blistors, Bream, in a 1919 wedding photo on www.sungreen.co.uk as a daughter of the best man.

An Eileen Phelps is believed to have been the source of a 1913 photograph of my grandparents' wedding (Essex-Sterrey) at Lydney, but I can't find her if indeed she's still with us, so I don't know if she is identical with or related to Nesta's mother.

The bridegroom Pritchard at the Bream wedding was from the same Pritchard family as my great-grandmother Clara Pritchard later Sterrey.

So (with my brain going a bit numb right now) on that basis a Nesta Fryer was my great-grandmother's nephew's or brother's best man's daughter, which gives her a slender chance of being buddies with my uncle but doesn't exactly make her his cousin. I do appreciate that sometimes the term "cousin" is used loosely.

I can find no trace of a wedding or death of any Nesta Fryer anywhere in Glos.

Does anybody here have corroboration of any of the above or any knowledge of a Nesta Fryer in the Forest neighbourhood at all?

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Gloucestershirebdm

Arthur Edwin FRYER married Vera Emmeline PHELPS
Forest of Dean
Westbury on Severn (FOD)
Register Office 1912

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England & Wales, Death Index - 1916-2007

Name: Nesta Mary B FRYER

Birth date: 30 March 1913

Age at death: 93 (March Qtr 2006)

Registration District: Gloucester

Inferred County: Gloucestershire

Volume: -1

Page - 1

Register Number : B71

District and Subdistrict: 483/1B

Entry Number: 057

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Fod Records

Baptim at Monmouth Wesleyan Methodist - 19 May 1883

Vera Emaline PHELPS

parents: Robert and Emma TUCKER

residence: osbaston, Monmouth

Memoranda: daughter born May 2 1883

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1911 Census, Lower Viney Farm, Blakeney

Robert PHELPS - 73 - married 35 years - 7 children born alive, six living, 1 dead - Grazier, born Somerset
Emma J - 62 - born Glos. West
Vera - 27 - born Mon.
Lillie GORDON - dau - 26 - born Mon.
Rufsel GORDON - grandson - 5 months - born Blakeney

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Good evening Peter, nice to see you're still keeping busy.

I'm afraid I can't remember if you use any of the subscription FH sites, so just in case you haven't looked I can confirm that Ancestry's free search page only seems to find one Nesta Fryer born abt that time, and that she indeed appears to be the Nesta BM Fryer you've already found born W-o-S in 1913. The site shows a Nesta Mary B Fryer passed away in "Gloucestershire" in 2006 (paidup members could find out where in the county)#. This suggests she was not married so maybe left no children ?.
The site also has Electoral records of a "Nesta Fryer" residing in Warwickshire in 1935, 1939, 1945 and 1955.
Also these Travel Records which may be the same lady ?;
Name: Brookes Nesta Mary Fryer
Birth: abt 1913
Departure: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Arrival: 25 Aug 1952 - London, England.

Name: Nesta Fryer
Departure: 25 Jul 1959 - Southampton, England
Destination: New York, USA

So, sadly not a lot of help to you except to confirm, I think, that the record you've found is most probably "your" Nesta, especially given her unusual name.

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I would suggest an open letter to the Forest newspapers could quite possibly find someone who knows of "your" Nesta.

Good luck, Jeff.

# While I was writing this post I see MPG has also posted and confirms this death was in Gloucester, thanks for that.

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Well done, mpg and Jefff, and thanks. It certainly looks that there's only one Nesta Fryer in the frame even though it doesn't seem to have been a cousin and the Phelps family doesn't seem to have included an Eileen. I'll have my ear to the ground down there in a couple of weeks and meanwhile I'll try to find something in obituary reports.

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Arthur Edwin Fryer was at Etloe in the 1911 census.
Etloe, Blakeney, Newnham, Glos.
Edward Henry Fryer head widower 66 wheelwright born Fretherne, Glos.
Arthur Edwin Fryer son single 31 joiner born Awre, Glos.
Caroline Louisa dau. single 28 housekeeper born Awre, Glos.
Dorothy May Virgo grand daughter 10 school born Awre, Glos.

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By Googling Nesta Mary Brooks FRYER - this come up....

London Gazette - 17 August 2006

Interest in the Estate deceased people etc....

FRYER Nesta Mary Brookes

"Salmonstone" Etole
Blakeney
Gloucestershire

Retired - 28 March 2006

Gwyn James & Co
Cavendish Buildings
Hill Street
Lydney
Gloucestershire

27 October 2006

Gwynn Craig Pitman & Pauline Virgo

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Brilliant - thanks both

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Brilliant - thanks both

Between Purton and Gatcombe

Salmon Stone, Etloe, Blakeney GL15 4AX

Nesta M Fryer living in Blakeney 2002 - 2006 ( Electoral Registers)

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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1935 Electoral Register
52 Bromford Lane Erdington Birmingham

1939 Electoral Register
11/13 Silver Birch Rd

1945 Electoral Register
7 Kingsbury Rd Erdington Birmingham

1955 Electoral Register
15 Kingsbury Rd Aston Birmingham

Name:Brookes Nesta Mary Fryer
Birth Date:abt 1913
Age:39
Teacher ( in a group of teachers and students from across the UK )Highfield Estate Blakeney
Port of Departure:Buenos Aires, Argentina
Arrival Date:25 Aug 1952
Port of Arrival:London, England
Ports of Voyage:
Buenos Aires
[Montevideo]
[Santos]
[Rio de Janeiro]

Ship Name:Highland Chieftain
Shipping Line:Royal Mail Lines Ltd
Official Number:148161

Name:Nesta Fryer
Teacher "Highfield" Etloe Blakeney Glos
Born 30.3.13
Gender:Female
Departure Date:25 Jul 1959
Port of Departure:Southampton, England
Destination Port:New York, USA
Ship Name:Maasdam
Shipping Line:Holland-American Line
Master:Cheearin

Name:Arthur Edwin Fryer of Highfield Etloe
Probate Date:19 Jan 1965
Death Date:9 Nov 1964
Death Place:Gloucestershire, England
Registry:Gloucestershire, England
Probate to widow Verra Emmeline £655

Name:Vera Emmeline Fryer
Birth Date:2 May 1883
Date of Registration:Jun 1975
Age at Death:92
Registration District:Forest of Dean
Inferred County:Gloucestershire
Volume:22
Page:1749

today's address if you go looking with Sat Nav
Highfield, Blakeney GL15 4BH

--
Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Wonderful. It keeps rolling in. Thanks, Slowhands.

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The Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment

Private F FRYER

Private Francis FRYER, G/16722, 1st Battalion, Queens Own Royal West Regiment, killed in action, Flanders France - 3 October 1817

Born Blakeney, Gloucestershire, enlised 9 December 1915, Eastbourne, Sussex, age 30, height 5ft, weight 126 lbs, resided 16 Ceylon Place, Eastbourne, Sussex, Formerly reporter.

Next of Kin (brother) - Arthur Edwin FRYER, Highfield, Etloe, Blakeney, Gloucestershire. Two sisters.

Commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial, Panel 106 to 108. Zonnebeke, West-Vlannderen, Belgium.

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1911 Census, 11 Ceylon Place, Eastbourne

lodging with Annie HOLLIST

Francis FRYER, 25 - single (Pressman - Newspaper) - born Awre, Glos

1901 Census, Etloe

Edward H FRYER - 56 - Carpeneter & Wheelwright - born Saul
Elizabeth - 56 - born Woodchester
Arthur E - 21 - born Blakeney
Francis - 15 - Journalist Apprentice.

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Thanks once again, mpg, and I confidently assume that by 1817 you meant 1917.

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Hi again Peter,
nothing you couldn't have found out yourself but further searching tinternet gives these nicely-presented pages wrt the abovementioned Edward Henry Fryer and his family tree. The site has contact details for other researchers who may be able to help re Nesta ?

http://www.hibbitt.org.uk/familytree/fam52655.html

As I'm sure you know the above searches give several directory links to a FRYER family still farming in the area, search "Farm, Rookery Lane, Lydney" and the resulting contact phone number may be worth your trying.

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Well there's something I didn't know, Jefff, and wouldn't have found without your tip. Thanks.

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Your most welcome kind sir !.

Finally and perhaps desperately, I see one of the most recent FRYER PRs on this site is at The ROOKERY, HEWELSFIELD.

Entry Number 232
Year 1966
Month Nov
Day 21
Surname FRYER
Forenames William Francis
Residence The Rookery Hewelsfield
Age at death 71
Officiating Minister F H J Thomas Vicar
Event Burial
Cause of death
Memoranda
Notes
Register Reference P175 IN 1/12
Page No 29
Parish Chapel Hewelsfield

Now I realise that "Rookery" isn't the rarest address in the rural parts of our county, but then again perhaps not the most common in the Lydney area ?. I therefore wonder if there is any link between the above PR and the Rookery Lane farm mentioned on my previous post ?. As the farm hint involves living people I'll let you research this off-forum as you see fit, web searches will give you postcode clues etc.

Similarly I don't know what relation, if any, William is to Nesta's family ?. His Baptism & Marriage PRs are also on this site;

Record_ID: 102651
Entry_Number: 672
Year: 1896
Month: Mar
Day: 29
Parents_Surname: FRYER
Child_Forenames: William Francis
Fathers_Forenames: John Augustine
Mothers_Forenames: Julia Mary Ann
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Tutshill
Occupation: Carpenter
Officiating_Minister: FC Bland
Event: Baptism
Memoranda: Born July 14 1895
Notes:
Register_Reference: P333/2 IN 1/1
Page_Number: 84
Parish_Chapel: Tutshill
Soundex: F660

Record_ID: 144207
Entry_Number: 238
Year: 1856
Month: Oct
Day: 19
Parents_Surname: FRYER
Child_Forenames: John Augustine
Fathers_Forenames: John
Mothers_Forenames: Sarah
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Overton Arlingham
Occupation: Waterman
Officiating_Minister: Tho[ma]s H. Ravenhill Vicar
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P18 IN 1/8
Page_Number: 30
Parish_Chapel: Arlingham
Soundex: F660

etc.

Hoping this helps, J

??

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It does. All detail does. Thanks.

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Ah, Nesta Mary Bookes Fryer, I remember her well, after all, who could forget a name like that! She was the Headmistress of Hatherley Secondary Modern School for Girls in Hatherley Road, Gloucester. I was at the school from 1957 until I left in 1961 and I think she was already there in 1957 as I don't remember there being any other Heads apart from her while I was there. This is going back a lot of years so my description may be a little out but I remember a rather small "dumpy" woman with red or ginger hair and she was VERY formidable!!! If anyone was sent to her office they literally shook with fear. I've asked my siser if she has any more to add about Nesta as we were both there at the same time and will post more info if I have anything else to add.

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I have a little bit more information about Miss Fryer. My sister said "Yes i can remember her and yes she was ginger but i dont think she was that short.She was plump as well.I cant remember much more about her except the one day as we all filed past her every one said excuse me and i didnt and was hauled up in front of every body to say sorry.I never did it again".

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Thanks, Spindles. Sounds scary!

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I have a book called 'The Ferry Between Newnham and Arlingham' by Margaret Willis published in 1993. It contains the following paragraph...

Nesta Fryer, who was born in 1913 and still lives at Etloe, vividly remembers the carefulness with which, in about 1928, the ferryman, clad in oilskins, carried her over the mud to the ferry boat. She and her friend, the late Margaret Morse (the daughter of Mr Charles Morse of Gatcombe, who rented all the fishery between Gatcombe and Wellhead Bay from the Bathurst Park Estate), had decided to take their bicycles in the guard's van, the station being about a mile from Etloe....

Hope this helps.

Annie
www.hibbitt.org.uk

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Thanks, Annie. By amazing coincidence I'm in Lydney tomorrow for a couple of days with my cousin (who first put me on to the name Nesta Fryer) and we spoke yesterday of going to Etloe on a kind of Fryer pilgrimage. Your timing couldn't have been better!

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Glad I could help. I have Fryer ancestry primarily based in Arlingham but there are a few offshoots in Etloe, Awre, Blakeney, Chepstow and Tidenham. I haven't tied Nesta into the tree though.

My family tree is at http://www.hibbitt.org.uk/familytree/surnames.html in case you find anything there to connect us.

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Thanks again, Annie.

Although there was mention that she may have been my uncle's cousin, which is where this whole thread kicked off, I don't think that Nesta Fryer was in fact "one of ours." The nearest I can get is that she was one of three daughters (see below) of an Arthur Fryer who was best man to W E E "Eddie" Pritchard whose father J F Pritchard was my great-grandmother's brother. (She was Clara Sterrey nee Pritchard.)

I have just been looking at the names list on your family tree site where I see 105 Fryers including three Arthurs. It's just possible that one of those three is the Arthur Fryer who appears in the wedding photo at www.sungreen.co.uk/Bream-Forest-of-Dean/The-Blistors-1919-1976.htm. If you get in touch with Roger Dennis who posted that photo, he might know the names of Nesta's two older sisters, and that might help you - if only with elimination. Simply from the probabilities angle, however, it would strike me as surprising if Nesta wasn't somehow related to a clan of 105.

There has also been mention in this thread of a Fryer family farming quite recently near Hewelsfield which isn't far off Blistors where the wedding photo was taken.

J F Pritchard owned the Lydney Coal Company and anecdotally I believe his son Eddie became Superintendent of the Gloucester Wagon Works. Apparently (per Roger Dennis under that photo) Eddie was the pre-war business partner of Arthur Fryer.

If I get any clues from sleuthing in the next 2 or 3 days down there, I'll be right back on here.

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More info a-plenty as I'm just back from Lydney. Went with my cousin to Etloe as he remembered visiting Nesta Fryer there in an old house on the right as you come down from Blakeney. We found the old house called Highfield and, further down and on the left, the much newer bungalow called Salmon Stone which was built by Nesta and her mother after Nesta's father died.

An old man gardening in the front of Highfield told us he had been taught by "Miss Fryer" at Viney Hill primary school, which itself leaves us with a bit of a mystery because we know Nesta Fryer spent time teaching in the Americas whereas there are posts on the sungreen website indicating that a Miss Fryer (no first name cited) taught for very many years at Viney Hill until retiring in the mid-1950s. Both "Miss Fryer" and Nesta Fryer were described by locals as short, well-built, with gingerish hair in a bun, but we could not established whether there were two Misses Fryer.

The present owner of Highfield (a Scot) together with a man who happening along the lane, described how Nesta's grandfather had caught a record-sized salmon in the Severn, and the family had drawn round its outline on a stone, and then chiselled it, hence the name of the new bungalow. The outline is replicated, apparently on a smaller scale, in the name plate on the front of the bungalow, the original larger stone apparently being "round the back" - we didn't get to see that.

To add to the info that Nesta is mentioned in a history of the Newnham ferry, we learned that the present owner of Highfield has a book by Nesta herself which is a history of Etloe and includes a photo of her standing outside Highfield. I'm after a copy, so watch this space (subject to copyright!)

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