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| Above: Edmond Crompton's baptism certificate 19 April 1908 with the family living in Fleetgate, Barton on Humber, |
1807 Info 3j: James Crompton |
Edmond Thomas CROMPTON - Arthur and Jane's first child
Edmond Thomas, known as Ted, was born on 24 February 1908 (GRO ref: Glandford Brigg 7a 710). Ted was baptised in St Mary's, Beverley on Easter Sunday 19 April 1908. Though this was the church where his his parent's were married and in his mother's home town, it was a tremendous journey from Barton to Beverley requiring a crossing of the Humber at Goole, a distance of around 60 miles in 1908.
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| Above: Edmond Crompton's baptism certificate 19 April 1908 with the family living in Fleetgate, Barton on Humber, |
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| Above: 12 Fleetgate, Barton front garden showing the possible position of a lean-to shop front | Above: 12 Fleetgate, Barton-on-Humber in 2009, where Ted was born |
1911 Census: Sun/Mon 2nd April/3rd April 1911
Source: TNA Ref: RG14 PN20114
Reg. Gen. Ref: RG78 PN1202 En.Dist: 20 Sched: 45
RegDist: Glanford Brig SubDist: Barton
Dwelling: 12 Fleet Gate
Place: Barton on Humber, Lincolnshire
Rooms in dwelling, other than scullery, landing, lobby, closet, bathroom: 4
Years married: 3
Children: Alive 2, dead none
Name Rel Age Mar Occupation Status Birthplace
Arthur Crompton Head 35 M Beef pork butcher Employer Yorks, Preston
Jane Crompton Wife 30 M Yorks, Beverley
Edmond Thomas Crompton Son 3 Lincs, Barton
Bessie Crompton Dau 7mn Lincs, Barton
Mabel Watkinson Serv 14 General servant (Domestic) Lincs,
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| Left: The first three children - Ted, Bessie and Don circa 1913, at about the time of Don's first birthday and before Geoffrey's arrival |
During World War 1 Ted was six. Arthur had Arthur Sanderson working for him. When Arthur Sanderson was called up, Ted, at the age of 8, returned from school, had something to eat and went to bed. At 10pm his mother got him up to stand on a stool linking sausages. (Ted kept in touch with Arthur Sanderson, who emigrated to Australia, for the rest of his life.)
| Right: Arthur CROMPTON and family May 1914.
Left to right: Jane, Geoffrey (Geoff), Bessie, Arthur, Donald (Don), Thomas Edmond (Ted) |
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The family moved to 78 High Street, Barton where Arthur took up his pork butchers
shop. The photograph on the left shows Jane with Ted and Bessie standing outside their
butcher's shop, with meat displayed in the window. The arrangement of windows and
doors match the modern number 90 High Street.
Left: 78 High Street, Barton c.1912 with Ted and Bessie standing outside the shop with mother Jane. Source: Family photo |
| Hoverbox Photo Gallery - 90 High Street, Barton Author: June 2016 This feature does not function correctly on phones and tablets |
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1. Mason, Baggot & Garton Solicitors of 90-92 High Street 2. Mason, Baggot & Garton front office showing access |
to the properties out buildings 3. Mason, Baggot & Garton's out buildings used as pig pens and slaughter house |
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
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1921 Census: Sun 19th June 1921
Source: RG15; Piece: 15583;
RegDist number: 424; SubDist: 3; ED 14; Sched: 77;
Reg District: Glanford Brigg; Parish: Horkstow;
Dwelling: 78 High Street
Place: Barton on Humber, Lincolnshire
Name Rel Age Mar Occupation/ Employer Work place Birthplace
Yrs Mn School
Arthur Crompton Head 46 9 M Butcher Employer At home Yorks, Preston
Jane Crompton Wife 41 6 M At home Yorks, Beverley
Edmund Thomas Son 13 4 S Whole time Lincs, Barton on Humber
Bessie Crompton Dau 10 10 S Whole time Lincs, Barton on Humber
Donald Arthur Crompton Son 9 - S Whole time Lincs, Barton on Humber
Geoffrey Crompton Son 7 7 S Whole time Lincs, Barton on Humber
Ted's late teens
As years went on Arthur got in with a ropy crowd and hit the bottle. Ted was the whipping boy because he was the eldest child. There are family stories of Arthur threatening Ted with a knife, though Ted never held this against his father. Aged 17 Ted was a galley boy on an Ellerman Wilson line's ship from Hull to the Baltic ports. His seaman's ticket shows that he registered for his first, and perhaps only ship, in Hull on 28 September 1925 as his Seaman's Pouch didn't contain further 'tickets'.
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| Above: Ted Crompton's seaman's pouch Source: TNA BT 349 |
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| Above: An advertisement for the Wilson Line's intended sailings to the Baltic, suggesting Ted could have sailed to the Polish pre-war Stettin, now Szczecin, Danzig, now Gdansk, Copenhagen or Stockholm 1 |
To Canada
Jane realised that it was time for Ted to leave home because of Arthur'ss temper. In 1926, aged 18, Jane, with a very heavy heart, saw him off from Liverpool. He sailed on the Megantic, arriving Quebec on 30 October 1926, 2
| Megantic was built by Harland & Wolff, Ltd., Belfast, in 1909 as a 14,878 tons, twin-screw,
quadruple expansion engines of 17 knots. The name Megantic derived
from Lake Megantic in Quebec Province. Her maiden voyage from Liverpool-Quebec-
Montreal was on 16 June 1909 with 230 first, 430 second, 1,000 third class
passengers. She was the first ships completed for the White Star Line service to
Canada.
Right: RMS Megantic |
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In Canada Ted lived with Jane's brother, his Uncle Fred and Auntie Lilly Watts. Fred wasn’t as wonderful as Jane thought. Ted worked in shoe factory as chief cook and bottle washer.
1931 Census of Canada Date: 1 June 1931 Entries translated from French
Page: 0201; Line: 16;
Address: 183 de la Reine, St. Roch; District: Quebec East; Sub district: 23
Owner: Leblanc Louisa
Description of home: Owned; Value: 25; Class of home: Full floor; Constructed: 'Brick panelling'; Rooms: 5; Radio: No
Relationship Gender Marital Age Birth Immigration Naturalisation Race Language Religion Education Occupation Total 1930
status place year year En Fr Read Write earnings
Crompton Edmond
Lodger M S 23 England 1926 - English Y Y Anglican Y Y 'Maker' Shoes 1000
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| Above: St Roch, in the heart of downtown Quebec |
| Right: 181 de la Reine, St Roch. There is no obvious 183. 181 looks like a tenement house. |  |
In 1967 Ted took the author to Quebec. Although we visited the Heights of Abraham, very close to Saint Roch, and many other sites of Quebec, there was no mention of de la Reine Street.
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On the reverse Ted has written 'Taken sometime in April 1930 in front of Quebec Jail.
About six feet (2m) of snow.' His dress suggests a degree of affluence. Right: a family snap of Ted in Quebec in the April 1930 |
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Fred and Doris Cole took pity on Ted, who he met through some church organisation, perhaps a youth club. They felt sorry for Ted, who went to work on the Cole farm, where, in the early 1930s, he met Bessie BRADLEY. Fred was Bessie’s brother-in-law.
Ted and Bessie were to marry and to live in a tied cottage on Fred’s farm. However, one of the worker got Bessie’s sister pregnant and so took the cottage. Ted returned to UK in 1938 looking for work but was called up in to the RAF and for war service in Kenya.
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| Above: A composite image of the Ascania's passenger list showing Ted Crompton's immigration on 27 November 1938 from Quebec to London. He gives his UK address as 2 Cliff(ton) Street, Hornsea, his parents home. Source: TNA BT 27 |
| The 14,400 tons Ascania was launched in late 1923 for the London to
Montreal route. She carried 1,200 third class passengers.
Right: Cunard Ascania |
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Bessie BRADLEY
Bessie was the first of the Bradley family to be born in Quebec. The family originated in Broughton, Northamptonshire with Fred being a skilled technical worker.
1901 Census Sun/Mon 31st March/1st April 1901
Source: FHL Film TNA Ref RG13
Piece: 1446; Folio: 17; Page: 3; Sched:
Dwelling: 17 Kettering Road
Place: Broughton, Northamptonshire, England
Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Status Birthplace
Fred Bradley Head M 31 Engine & Machine Maker - iron turner and fitter Worker Northants, Cransley
Elizabeth Bradley Wife M 27 Northants, Northampton
Hector P Bradley Son 2 Northants, Broughton
Doris M Bradley Dau 5mo Northants, Broughton
Two years later, on 3 June 1903, part of the family emigrated to Canada in 1903.
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| Above: A composite image of the Bradley's emigration to1903 |
The Pretorian left Liverpool on 05 June 1905 bound for Quebec and Montreal with Elizabeth BRADLEY (Mrs F Bradley), Hector, Doris and Mabel as passengers. It is assumed that Fred had already emigrated, but at this time there is no obvious record of his sailing. The final column records their final destination, which, apart from beginning with 'R' and ending in 'ville' is illegible. It is assumed this is an industrial area of Quebec province.
| Built
in 1900 for the Liverpool-Quebec-Montreal route the 14 knot
Pretorian took 600 steerage passengers. Right: Allan Royal Mail Line's SS Pretorian |
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A page from the Quebec Vitals records:
Fred Bradley Mechanical Engineer Quebec City and Elizabeth Rhoda Heirmey his wife had a daughter born to them on the eighth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and five and was registered by the name of Bessie Kathleen Bradley on the thirteenth day of May in the same year by me Richard PH King Minister Baptist Ch Fred Bradley Elizabeth Rhoda Bradley
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| Above: Bessie Bradley's baptism Source: Ancestry Quebec Vitals |
By the time of the 1911 census the family was complete and living in a home in Stadacona, an area north of the Charles River where the original French settlers landed in 1534.
1911 Census of Canada Date: 1 June 1911 Page: 3; Line: 6-13;
Address: Province: Quebec District: 188 Quebec East; Sub district: 41 St Malo Ward
Location: Stadacona; Dwelling: 16
Name Rel Sex Stat Date of Age Place of Nationality Religion Occupation Location Hours Earning a Education Lang
birth birth week 1910 Read Write Common
Fred Bradley Head M M Jan1870 41 England Canadian Baptist Tool maker Arsenal 60 800 Y Y Eng
Eliz Bradley Wife F M Apr1873 38 England Canadian Baptist None Y Y Eng
Hector Bradley Son M S Sep1898 13 England Canadian Baptist None Y Y Eng
Doris Bradley Dau F S Oct1900 11 England Canadian Baptist None Y Y Eng
Mabel Bradley Dau F S Dec1902 9 England Canadian Baptist None Y Y Eng
Bessie Bradley Dau F S Mar1905 6 Quebec Canadian Baptist None Y Y Eng
Nelly Bradley Dau F S Nay1906 5 Quebec Canadian Baptist None Y Y Eng
Norah Bradley Dau F S Sep1908 3 Quebec Canadian Baptist None N N Eng
In 1916, Hector enlisted from Domaine Lairet so it is possible that this was the location of the 1911 Census home. In 1967, I recall being shown an area of three story wrought iron balcony fronted terraces, which I can't locate. In 2024 much of the area has been redeveloped to low level detached homes and modern three story apartments. The Arsenal was at Taillon Street, Québec City)
In the 1940s voters list, Bessie was a teacher in Loretteville, Quebec, north-west of the city, on Rural Route 2.
Ted and Bessie's marriage
After Ted's war service in the RAF looking after prisoners of war in Kenya, Ted returned to the UK to his parent's home at 2 Clifton Street, Hornsea to be demobbed. On Tuesday 09 December 1945 Bessie arrived Glasgow, on City of Paris, to be met dockside by Fred Cook – Eva Taylor née Watts (of Beverley) son-in-law and Jane’s nephew-in-law – who was a serving naval officer. He greeted her by asking ‘Miss Bradley?’
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| Above: A composite image of Bessie Bradley's arrival on City of Paris 11 December 1945 as a teacher, bound for 2 Clifton Street, Hornsea |
| Right: City of Paris (1922) |  |
Having never seen each other for seven years, the couple were married at St Andrew’s Church, Hornsea on 13 December 1945 (GRO ref: Holderness 9d 293) Jack BRADLEY, Bessie's soldier brother, gave her away and was then immediately repatriated to Canada.
| Right: Where Ted and Bessie were married. St Andrew's Church, Hornsea in 1924 with Cliff Road to the left and New Road on the right. |  |
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| Above: Ted CROMPTON's wedding photograph in the back garden of 2 Clifton Street, Hornsea. Left to right: Geoff, Bessie, Arthur, Jane, Ted, Don Source: Family photo |
After their marriage they lived at 2 Clifton Street, Hornsea, with his mother. Ted worked for his Uncle Arthur Watts for £1 10 shillings a week. He got up up at 5am and cycled the 14 miles from Hornsea to Beverley each day, taking over an hour each way. There he humped furniture for his Uncle Arthur at Watts Bros at 49 Lairgate. At his brother Geoff and Joan's wedding, on 19 January 1946, Bessie wore a fur coat; a fur coat hadn’t been seen in Settle during the War.
Bessie never wanted to stay in the UK and there didn’t seem to be any prospects. Bessie, a religious education schoolteacher had a comfortable amount of money in Canada. The couple returned to Quebec in 28 March 1947, without jobs, sailing from Gothenburg on the MS Gripsholm arriving in New York 7 April 1947. There is no obvious record of the journey from Hull to Gothenburg or from New York to Quebec.
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| Above: Ted and Bessie Crompton MS Gripsholm passenger list arriving New York 28 March 1947. The list records Ted as a farmer and Bessie a bilingual housewife |
| The diesel-powered MS Gripsholm built in 1924 for the Swedish America Line
on their Gothenburg-New York run with a capacity of 1,557 all class passengers, Right: MS Gripsholm |
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The move to Ottawa
After the war Ted got a substantial back pay from the Canadian Veterans Association. Being a Canadian citizen he should have been drawing Canadian forces pay rates. Jack BRADLEY, Bessie’s brother, lived in Ottawa and Fred COLE had a chicken farm on the outskirts of the city. With his gratuity and veterans back pay, Ted bought land from Fred COLE and built his red painted wood clad bungalow. This was Hurdman's Bridge, on Ottawa's RR6 – Rural Route 6, which became 1660 Russell Road. His land was below the level of the road. Rather than performing a hill start, in his blue Austin Cambridge, Ted took a flier incurring the wroth of a passing police car. In Ottawa Ted joined the Government Income Tax branch.
| Russell Road has been extensive redeveloped with 1660 becoming a quiet 10 unit
apartment building costing C$1875 a month for a one bedroom apartment (2024). Next
door is a similar apartment block with two story brick buildings either side.
Across the road are low-level industrial buildings.
Right: 1660 Russell Road Ottawa in 2021 |
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| On retirement he joined Canadian Corps of Commissionaires and was based at the
federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) headquarters, Ottawa, 3.4km from his home.
Right: The old RCMP HQ Ottawa entrance, Hurdman's Bridge |
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Further visits
Ted visited in November 1954 flying by Trans Canada Air Lines from Montreal to London. This was the first time the author met him and when he bought me a large scale die-caste red Massey Ferguson tractor.
| From 1954 Trans-Canada flew 14 Super Constellations, from Montreal on the
trans-Atlantic route, with between 53 and 75 passengers.
Right: A Lockheed Super Constellation landing at Heathrow in 1954 |
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After visiting the family, particularly his mother, left London on 21 November 1954 on flight 505-20.
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| Above: Trans Canada Air Line passenger manifest for 21 November 1954 |
His next visit was was in September 1964 to visit his mother.
| Right: Crompton family reunion 1964 possibly at 23 Egerton Road, Wembley Left to right: Ted, Jane, Bessie, Don, Geoff. Note the photograph of Jane and Arthur on the table. |  |
On 16 July 1967 the author visited his uncle, landing at Dorval, Montreal. Ted took me to Niagara and Quebec, staying in a motel near one of the bridges, and onto Arvida on the Sagueney. The author made trips to the 1967 Expo 67 in Montreal and to Edmonton by bus, staying with Bessie's sister Doris COLE. The UK government restrict the amount of money taken out of the country to £50 so it was necessary to hitch hike: one lift from Edmonton to Calgary and onto Toronto. On 31 July 1974, his brother Geoff and sister-in-law Joan landed at Dorval.
Ted's last visit was in 1977 when he and Bessie, together with Bessie's sister Doris COLE, came to the UK for a holiday. This was when he met the author's son James Thomas CROMPTON, then under a year old and named after Edmond Thomas and the person to carry the family name forward.
Their death
| Right: The author's last photo of Ted and Bessie at an unknown date. Bessie always wore a wig. Also featured is their nephew Ronnie BRADLEY, Jack's son. |  |
Ted died on 19 December 1997 in Ottawa, with his obituary posted in the Ottawa Citizen on 21 December 1997. Bessie predeceased Ted on 4 January 1997, with her obituary posted in the Ottawa Citizen on 5 January 1997.
| Right: The Crompton headstone in Capital Memorial Gardens, Ottawa |  |
As part of Ted's will was the clause 'If my wife predeceases me pay the following cash legacies:- the sum of C$10,000 to my brother Geoffrey Crompton'. This amounted to £4,123.03 or £9,000 RPI equivalent in 2023.
Epilogue
This is a biography of a young 'boy' who had a tough early life without his family. I'm sure this is a mark of his character. His successful post-war life was made possible by his marriage to Bessie who waited a seven year separation before marrying him.
End notes
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| This page was created by Richard Crompton and maintained by Chris Glass |
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Version A2 Updated 27 December 2024 |
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