Lilian Maude BOWDLER (nee EVANS) 1885 - 1952 (General)

by JaneyH , Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Monday, March 03, 2014, 21:59 (3926 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin

Mike - Many thanks for this.

After the initial post alerting me to the court case at Littledean Petty Sessions involving Lilian Maude "wandering abroad" in Cinderford I took out a 2-day trial subscription at the Newspaper Archive to see what else I could find.

While I was very much time-limited I think I found most of the articles you mentioned. The compensation case related to my grandfather Dennis who was injured when a car backfired, which meant the starting handle smashed into his leg causing considerable injury. Reading between the lines I wonder whether Oliver William was trying to get his hands on his son's compensation entitlement to buy a smallholding! The divorce in 1945 I now believe to relate to Lilian Maud, given that despite considerable research I've been unable to find any record of a marriage to Florence Brooks in between. I also have a record of a meeting of creditors from a 1932 article, suggesting financial difficulties.

I think this all goes to prove that Oliver William was a bit of a "rogue". Certainly with three women in his life, 18 children (that's what I've documented so far; family stories suggest 22); and numerous different and varied jobs mean he certainly "got about" a bit.