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Regards

Paul

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!)

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.

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

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

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

??

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.

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.

----

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.

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

Brilliant - thanks both

Between Purton and Gatcombe

Salmon Stone, Etloe, Blakeney GL15 4AX

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