Worthy Norman Slade Pettiford/ Mary Dorothy Aileen Cook (General)

by admin , Forest of Dean, Tuesday, January 10, 2006, 04:07 (6883 days ago)

I'm looking for information about my mothers family

Worthy was the youngest son of Elizabeth Slade(n)and William Pettiford. He was born on 16th June 1905. He married Mary on 12th December 1928 and they lived in one of the cottages on the main road at Crosshands in Lydney. They had 3 children Lilian, Joyce and Norman.

Worthy had 4 brothers, Sidney, Percy, George and Cyril(who was killed in a mining accident)and a sister Edna

Mary was the daughter of John and Gertrude Cook (Green). She had two brothers John and Arthur and two sisters Kate and Elsie. After John (Snr)died, Gertrude and Elsie used to walk from Lensbrook (Between Lydney and Blakeney) into Lydney to the cinema then go into the Albert Inn for a drink then walk home.

Getrude was a tiny woman, with a sharp face and a bent back. She always dressed in black and wore a hat where ever she went. One evening around Christmas 1950 she was walking up Highfield Hill, where the pavement ended when she was knocked over and killed by lorry driver who probably didn't know he'd hit her. Elsie wasn't with her.

When Gertrude died, the owner of the house she lived in turned Elsie out and for a while she lived in a barn possibly owned by relatives (Greens) she then went into Westbury Workhouse where she worked to earn her keep. She later became a resident of Westbury Court where she lived until quite recently.

John (Jnr) was a miner. When he tried to claim his old age pension he found that he had no birth certificate and his birth had not been registered.