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I've just been looking at your website, it really is a masterpiece....

Your grandfather and my grandfather were brothers. My mother is from Edwin's second marriage.... Maggie

Edwin Bird had three children by his second marriage a girl Joan and two brothers Peter and Richard both died some years ago; neither had sons to carry on the family name.

Evidently Edwin's first wife (name unknown) died in childbirth; the child named Nessie was originally brought up by a nursemaid/housekeeper called Alice May who came from Sleaford - she later married Edwin and their children were Joan and her two brothers.

The interesting thing about this is that the infant Nessie was brought up by her aunt Jessie in Sleaford, rather than by her father, Edwin. The Birds weren't a close family, and there seemed to be something of a 'taboo' about asking about the family members.

Edwin was a skilled carpenter, and his grandaughter has couple of items he made. She says she shall treasure these, particularly as he has now become more than just a name.

The impression was that Edwin was slightly more astute with money than Harry - on more than one occasion Edwin had to 'bail out' his brother financially there are rumours that Harry allegedly drunk away some of the profits from the family pub business.

Joan was evacuated to Sleaford during WWII, and met with her grandparents . She remembers Rebecca Bird being blind, and thinks she had been blind for some while. She says that her grandparents Rebecca and Thomas moved back to Sleaford in the 1900s to run the Marquis of Granby pub. She was aware that both her parents' families came from Electric Station Road.

Jessie and Arthur Green had three children, Joyce Newton, Norman and Hazel

"Edwin didn't serve in the War. I believe he was in a reserved occupation - believe he taught, though I can't remember what. Maybe woodwork, carpentry? " Maggie

We would like to thank Maggie so much for providing all these family memories

Joseph Newton Bird Edwin and Harry's cousin emigrated to South Africa. He travelled back and forth to the UK and on the last two ocassions in 1936 aged 58 and in 1950 aged 72 he gave his address as 44, Chatsworth Avenue Merton, so he must have stayed with Edwin