FREDERICK HERBERT’S family relationships, facts, document/photo gallery in ANCESTRY – https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/23784401/person/1427605541/facts
FREDERICK RICHARD HERBERT married ELSIE BRIDGMAN at the Congregational Church, Stratford-on-Avon on 14th March 1905 when they were both 22. He gave his Father’s name as JOHN HERBERT (deceased) but in fact JOHN was his Grandfather. His Mother was FANNY HERBERT.
She gave birth to him at 10 Mill Street, West Bromwich on 17th September. 1882. She was only 16 17 at the time and on his Birth Certificate his Father’s name is “unknown”. He was evidently brought up by his Grandparents and may not have known that FANNY was his Mother. If he did, he never told anyone, and FRED’S children always referred to FANNY as Aunt FANNY. (His father now traced by DNA = The REV. FREDERICK RICHARD ANDREWS). Read FANNY’S full story here.
On FRED and ELSIE’S Marriage Certificate his occupation and that of his “Father” is given as Hay and Straw Dealer. They then lived at 164 Moor Street, West Bromwich.
During the First World War FRED was in the Army and spent a long time in the trenches in France.
FRED and ELSIE lived at 5 Grange Road, West Bromwich.
FRED and ELSIE had five children :‑
WINIFRED born 27 December 1906 d. 7 July 1990
KATHLEEN b 22 November 1908 d Jan 2000
ARTHUR EDWARD b 22 February 1916 d Jun 1920
PHILIP RICHARD b 2 November 1921 d 29/30 June 1942
FREDERICK CLIFFORD b 29 November 1922 d 13 May 1990.
FRED bought a car just after the War and used to take all the children and his wife to Selsey for a month each Summer. He used to leave them there and return each weekend.
They also had holidays in I.O.W. and St. Asaph, N. Wales. They always had a live-in maid.
He was in partnership with WILLIAM HERBERT (his Uncle) but always referred to as his Brother. The partnership was called W & F Herbert, Wholesale Corn Merchants, Sandwell Road, West Bromwich and later at Town Corn Mills, Shaftesbury Street, Carters Green, West Bromwich.
WILLIAM drank and the partnership was dissolved about 1928. When WILLIAM died some years later FRED offered to pay for the funeral and when the bill arrived the flowers from the widow and various other members of his family were included!
OWEN HERBERT’S family ran a Corn and Seed shop and the Post Office at Carters Green.
LIZZIE and FANNY once ran a shop in Bull Street, West Bromwich, financed by FRED. He also bought them a house in Cordley Street, Carters Green. LIZZIE died first and when FANNY died in 1949/50 FRED sold the house.
FRED bought WILLSON & Hood Ltd. Corn Merchants, Market Place, Bridgnorth after the Second World War. He also bought the Maltings next to the River Severn and two cottages plus a quarry in Shropshire.
In 1953 he bought “Willowbrook”, Roughton, Worfield, Bridgnorth and he moved there with his wife ELSIE and eldest daughter WINIFRED in 1955. This was a lovely Georgian house with a large ornamental pool, kitchen garden, paddock, 5 garages, 3 loose boxes and stabling. The total area was 2 acres – 2 roods – 20 perches! He paid £6,000 for all this and spent vast sums having it renovated.
See sales particulars when this was sold by auction on May 26 1971 for just under £20,000.
In 1967 FRED sacked an employee of Willson & Hood who went back one night with a friend and set fire to the buildings in a number of places. It was reputed to be the biggest fire in Bridgnorth for over 70 years. The two men went to prison for three years, but it ruined FRED as he had not insured the premises sufficiently. He borrowed heavily from the Bank to rebuild although he was over 80 at the time. The builders were “cowboys” and he had to change to other builders in “mid—stream”. In the meantime he closed W. & F. Herbert in West Bromwich and sold Town Corn Mills. He then ran the two firms from Bridgnorth.
FRED was a short dapper man of about 5ft. 4 ins. He smoked quite heavily all his life until he was nearly 80 when he had an attack of asthma and gave up smoking overnight. He had his suits, shirts and shoes made to measure. He was a keen racegoer and in later life spent his holidays at Worthing so that he could go to Goodwood races each day, leaving his wife ELSIE alone at the hotel. She was stone deaf from the age of 40.
Her Mother HANNAH BRIDGMAN had also been deaf from middle age. ELSIE’S daughter WINIFRED also became deaf in her early 40’s. A relative, DR. NEVILLE McCARTHY who lived in Australia had to give up his practice as he too became stone deaf.
ELSIE died on 24th August 1968 in Queen Victoria Nursing home, Wolverhampton of cerebral thrombosis.
FRED died in August 1970 shortly before his 88 birthday.
Millichips,Solicitors, West Bromwich dealt with the Estate and kept the Death Certificate It was found that the affairs were very muddled and Willson & Hood Ltd went bankrupt There were also insufficient funds left to pay all the debts of W & F Herbert but rather than let them go bankrupt and leave WINIFRED with nothing but her own bits and pieces of furniture, FRED‘S son FREDERICK CLIFFORD who had been a partner for some 20 years until 1965, paid them out of his own money which was due to him on a Promissory Note of £11,500 – his share of the partnership CLIFF also owned shares in Wilson & Hood which should have realised some £7,000 but turned out to be worthless.