The Alabaster Chronicle

The Journal of the Alabaster Society

NUMBER TWENTY-TWO, SPRING/SUMMER 2004

Contents

• Editorial, by Laraine Hake
• D-Day: Alabaster Experiences of World War II,
           compiled by Laraine Hake.
• Sir Chaloner Alabaster (IIC), by Angela Alabaster (IIA).
• Sir Chaloner Alabaster, Obituary
• A Personal Postscript to Chaloner Alabaster,
           by Angela Alabaster (IIA)
• Chaloner Alabaster writes to his Aunt, by Nan Kenyon (IIC)
• Postscript and Index to A Closer Look at William Alabaster,
           by John S. Alabaster (I).
• 1901 Census, by Laraine Hake.

 "News from Around the World"
         has been held over to the next Chronicle owing to technical problems.

Editorial

by Laraine Hake - June 2004

A very warm welcome to Alabaster Chronicle Number 22. - As I type these words, I am aware that I will still not believe they contain any truth until it is actually posted. Within the past couple of months, I have lost everything on my computer, including all Alabaster data and all correspondence, not merely on one occasion, but on TWO! I have now managed to re-install, for the second time, a slightly old copy of the data, but much of the correspondence is lost. Hence, you may notice that this Chronicle's appearance is more sylph­like than you have been used to for the past several years, but even that is only thanks to those to whom I had already posted articles for proof­reading, which served as an additional back-up when even the "back­ up disc" was corrupted! Thank you Ivor and thank you (twice!) to George and Millie, John and Angela!

On a positive note, I do hope that you will agree that the brevity of the journal is more than compensated by the 159 pages in the enclosed complimentary (to members) copy of

"A Closer Look at William Alabaster (1568-1640) Poet, Theologian and Spy?"
by John S. Alabaster

See Tony Springall`s report in Alabaster Chronicle 21, Autumn / Winter 2003, page 3: A Forthcoming Publication: William Alabaster, Poet written by John Stammers Alabaster.
.......providing, of course, that your subscription for 2003/2004 has been paid (should this have not been the case, rush your subs to Robin and I will send your copy with the next Chronicle)!

Emails and letters from you would be very much appreciated - I have lost my email address book along with everything else on the computer. Please note my change of email address, although the old one will hopefully still find me!

I do hope you are all well. The first few months of 2004 were not wonderful for me, health-wise, but I hope I am well on the way back to being my normal self!

Plans are still afoot for the seventh Alabaster Gathering to be held on Saturday 23rd April 2005. Booking forms will be sent with the next Chronicle. I do hope to see you there! -Laraine 3/6/2004

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6th June 1944, D-Day: Alabaster Experiences of World War II

Compiled by Laraine Hake

When it was pointed out that this Summer is the 60th anniversary of D­Day, it occurred to me to wonder what Alabaster members remembered: were they aware of any build-up to D-Day? what were their individual experiences of that time and of the war in general? As ever, I was gratified by the fascinating variety of responses I received. (Comments in italics are mine!)

*****************

Tony Moore (IIA)
I do not remember D-Day as such, apart from the activity and troop movements approaching that period. My tenth birthday was on the 2nd June and the V1 doodlebugs started arriving shortly after that. I remember them well, like 2-stroke motorbikes puttering by.
I was part of the second big evacuation some time after that. I was evacuated to a small village called Lupset on the outskirts of Wakefield in Yorkshire and I do remember on the train, we watched out of the window as one of the aforementioned accompanied us for a short part of our journey when the puttering stopped there was a hushed silence as the V1's descent and arrival point were awaited with bated breath.
My uncle Reg (Reginald Alabaster 1917-1989) was in the D­ Day landings. I remember him telling us of going ashore and running, then looking around and seeing the gaps where men had been hit and fallen on the beach. Also he told us of when they were dug in on the edge of a field and some 'wallah', as he called him, arrived from the rear to say a tank battle up ahead was going badly and that if they broke through they were to "fight to the last man". Then he (the 'wallah') went back to headquarters for a cup of tea. Luckily the tanks did not break through. He also told of diving into a trench, gasping with relief and immediately turning to gasping with fright as he saw a German also in the trench, facing him. He realised after the initial shock that the man had been shot. Some mother's son.
Uncle Reg was also was at the relief ofthe Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. A horrific experience that lived in his memory, as you can imagine.

Nan Criddle Kenyon (IIC)
What I remember about D-Day on June 6th 1944 was that I was teaching in a small country school at Griswald, Manitoba, Canada. I was not qualified but teachers were very scarce because of the war, so I was hired on a permit. A year later, May 8th 1945, was V.E. Day and I certainly celebrated that! I was in Winnipeg at Teachers` College and we were all out in the streets (in the rain) long into the night! The result was I caught pneumonia and I spent much of the remaining college term in hospital! I was well enough however to take part in the graduation ceremonies at the end of June.

Shirley and John Brian Alabaster (IV)
Your email re D-Day made John and me think of our very different experiences during WW2. At D-Day John was 7 and I was 5. John lived near Feltham Goods Yard which was a German target, and I lived in a small market town in Dorset where occasionally bombers flew over. Neither of us can remember D-Day itself.
John's Dad (Alfred John Alabaster 1908-1991) became a prisoner of war at the evacuation of Dunkirk, having been wounded. John's mum decided to keep her children with her seeing as their father was a prisoner of war, then she and the children would live or die together. At this time my mum was giving a home to evacuees, a mum, her toddler son and her sister. The mum's husband was in the RAF. My own dad was in the Home Guard as he worked on the land, this was considered to be a vital occupation.
In 1944 John and his family were bombed out when a bomb fell near their house, badly damaging it. They were all in the air raid shelter at the time. Because of the effects of the bombing John attended three junior schools, while I was lucky and stayed at the same school at this time.

Tricia Dyer (nee Alabaster) (IIA)
My father "Bert Alabaster", (Herbert Sidney Alabaster 1908-1956, pictured below) did not go over on D-Day but was in Europe. As he was a builder, he was leading a company of Pioneers, intent on pressing forward and building bridges.
Some research on the internet provided the following information about the Pioneers: "Pioneer Companies took part in the assaults in North Africa, Sicily Italy and Normandy. On D-Day 26 companies totalling 7,500 men landed on the beaches. Within two months they had been joined by a further 60,000. They worked on the beaches, laid prefabricated track were involved in stretcher bearing and road making. Pioneer Companies worked on the construction of the Mulberry Harbours and PLUTO ( = Pipe-Line Under The Ocean - RW), constructed airfields and erected bridges.
Capt. H. S. Alabaster of the Pioneer Corps was Mentioned in Dispatches 10th May 1945.

Geoff Mansfield (IIA)
I was in the RAF at the time, but in Canada training as a navigator, so did not see any of the preparations for D-Day. My sister, Margaret, was in UK at the time in the Land Army. She says her main recollection is of several Nissen huts appearing on the side of the road (Stanford le Hope by-pass) alongside where she was working on Ministry of Agriculture land, and Canadian troops packing stores, ammunition etc, into them. They all disappeared a few days later and the D-Day landings were announced. It was all fairly hush-hush of course for security reasons, but they did talk to the troops for a few minutes one day and Margaret remembers how young they were. Thank goodness it was a successful operation!

Evelyn Oram (IIA) (my mother!)
I was working in a shoe factory in Leyton. Word buzzed round that tanks were going by along Lea Bridge Road for D-Day. We all ran out up to Lea Bridge Road; the tanks were going towards Bakers Arms. They were big tanks, the first I had ever seen. All the girls were waving and cheering and one of my work mates, Florrie Curry, threw her address; I can still see the face of the fellow who caught it.
Sometime later, out of the blue, Florrie heard from this soldier and they eventually married!

Angela Alabaster (IIA)
My home was in Bournemouth on the south coast, and I was 13 the day before D-Day. For weeks there had been a build up of trucks of all sorts parked under the pine trees which lined the roads. They were Canadian troops in the ones near us. I was a weekly boarder at a school to the north of the town. We knew D-Day had arrived when we heard, and later saw, as we leaned out of the dormitory windows, wave after wave of aeroplanes heading for the Channel. All the trucks had disappeared next time I went home.
There was a tremendous sense of excitement and of hope for a speedy end to the war; little thought for the ghastly battles and experiences those involved would go through. It was 11 months before my brother was liberated from his prison camp where he had been for 5 years. But D-Day was an unforgettable day.

R. Cliff Alabaster (IIIA)
My memory of D-Day is that, after weeks and weeks of expecting it, despite being on RAF stations, we were not privy to the planned date. However, having gone through pilot conversion from October 1943 up to date, Iwas based at Little Horwood OTU (near Bletchley, Bucks.) for a short time doing a course on the Wellington and on that particular morning, Iwas walking from the mess to the flight offices before flying, when the sky became busy with lots of fighter aircraft, Tempests and Typhoons returning to another nearby base. Iremarked to my colleague Ken Lawson who had endured the training course so far with me, "I think it's started! Why couldn't they wait for us?" We then spent the rest of the morning doing "circuits and bumps".
Then, qualified on the "Wimpey", a week or so later, we were posted to the PFF Conversion Unit, Warboys, Huntingdonshire (as it was then) to convert on to Lancasters before joining "the fray" with 582 Squadron at Little Staughton, Beds.

Cliff Alabaster received various awards. When Iasked him to specify what they were, his reply included a reminder that we should remember that he was decorated because he was lucky enough to survive: "those who were killed received nothing except a note in the obits !!
19 April 1941 awarded DFC, 9 July 1943 Bar to DFC, 5 November 1943 awarded DSO May 1945 (end of war) Bar to DSO.

Philip Alabaster (IIA)
I do not remember much about the D-Day landings but I do remember that London was still under fire from doodlebugs and V2 rockets. I was 15 and busy with the approach of School Cert. I was in the section of the school which remained in North London. The other section was evacuated to Wisbech.
By D-Day there was a lot of bomb damage in the area in which I lived, Stroud Green, North London. I lived in the middle of a triangle of railways and we had land mines and high explosive stuff. We would take emergency rations to school just in case we were unable to get home at the end of school time, 16.04.
Because we lived in a very large house, we offered the kitchen to the local council to establish an air raid warden's post which was manned day and night. The telephone line with the Town Hall made it possible for us to be warned of enemy aircraft, a) over the French coast, b) over the south coast, and c) over London.

These are the pages of the logbook belonging to my Uncle Stan (Stanley Harvey) that include the night of 5th /6th June 1944. He was with 51 Squadron, and was the wireless operator in a Halifax Mark 3. This plane appears to have been one of the many bombers that flew over the Battery at Montfleury which was part of the section of the Normandy coast named Gold Beach by allies as part of the D-Day landing strategy.
(Whilst my Uncle Stan could not be classed as "an Alabaster", his sister, my mother, was married to the son of an Alabaster at this time!)

Millie and George Knox (W of W)
From the time he left school until his 18th birthday, George was working for commercial structures in Leyton on war work. He was called up to enter the Royal Air Force as a National Serviceman in March 1944, and at the time of the D-Day Landing was on a training course at Melksham in Wiltshire and was not involved in operations. Although the war in Europe ended on VE-Day in May 1945, George's war lasted until 1948 when he was demobbed after serving on camp security in Palestine.
I (Millie) was employed as a ledger clerk at Allinson`s Flour Millers` offices in Cambridge Heath Road during the war years in a reserved occupation, and work-wise was not aware of anything special happening at the time. However, when we were at home, living near the Crooked Billet in Walthamstow, it was obvious for quite a while before D-Day that something was in the air, as convoys of Army Vehicles were streaming down the North Circular Road towards Woodford and beyond, at all hours of the day and night.
My father was employed by a firm who were involved in the building of the Mulberry Harbour, which was a vital part of the D-Day landing, although of course he could not tell us much about it at the time and probably did not know the significance of the work himself until much later. So although too old to be in the forces, he was instrumental in doing his part. You can imagine the great excitement when the news ofthe landing was announced on the wireless.
The civilian workers were able to carry on, as all mums were busy keeping their families fed and making the rations stretch to make tasty meals from the most unlikely ingredients. Fortunately, we all survived and give thanks for living to see the end of the war.

*****************

Not having been born until 1951, and thus having no memory of the war at all, I have found this article absolutely fascinating to compile. The variety of experiences of the generation hardly any older than myself is so very interesting and the opportunity to glimpse the different parts the Alabaster family played within these few years, has been amazing.
We usually look at the history of our family at a more distant time, although I am always fascinated to be able to pinpoint the happenings at one specific time, as with the census returns. Here then is yet another photograph in time of the Alabaster family, on 6th June 1944.  LH

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Sir Chaloner Alabaster (IIC)

by Angela Alabaster (IIA)

In 1840 a terrible tragedy hit a young family living in London. James Chaloner Alabaster and his wife Harriet both died of tuberculosis within 3 months of each other, leaving three small boys: Charles aged 7, Henry 4 and Chaloner 18 months. Fortunately their aunt, Mary Ann Criddle, took the boys into her home and became a much loved mother to them. Later, Mary Ann and her husband Harry had a son, Percy Criddle, who founded the Canadian branch of the Family.
The Alabaster boys were bright. Each of them won a scholarship to King's College School in the Strand, London. Charles matriculated in1852 and went up to Oxford where he obtained his BA in 1856. There he also married his wife, Ann O'Conner Warner, and he was ordained. However, it was found that he also had TB and he was advised to take a long sea trip. Ann and Charles sailed to New Zealand and were the founders of the New Zealand branch of the Family. Six years later he died.
King's College was the only establishment teaching Chinese for the China Consular Service, so the Principal was well placed to direct suitable candidates to serve in the Far East. Chaloner was sent as a Student Interpreter to Hong Kong at the tender age of 16. Henry stayed on at King's College to study engineering and a wide spectrum of subjects which were to be useful to him in Siam. In 1856 he went to Hong Kong, and from there to Bangkok as a Student Interpreter. He was the founder of the Thai branch of the Family: the Savitsilas (Savitsila meaning White Stone in Thai = alabaster).

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The Obituary of Chaloner Alabaster

taken from the North-China Herald, July 11, 1898, p. 59:

Sir Chaloner Alabaster

The older members of the British communities all over China will feel a sense of personal loss and really deep regret at the news of the death of Sir Chaloner Alabaster. For some years he has passed out of our immediate sight; but so marked a personality as his once known could never be forgotten; and he was so good and true a friend to those he liked, while he was as good an enemy of those he did not like, that the impression he made on all those with whom he came in contact was ineffaceable. It is only the colourless people that we forget when they have passed out of our circle.
Chaloner Alabaster was educated at King's College, London, and matriculated at London University in 1852, so that he has passed away at the comparatively early age of but little over sixty. He was appointed a student interpreter in China in 1855, being attached to the Superintendency of Trade at Hongkong. He was present at the first bombardment of Canton, and was attached to Admiral Sir M Seymour until the capture of Canton, for which service he received the China medal with Canton clasp. When it was determined to send the bloodthirsty Commissioner Yeh in exile to Calcutta, Alabaster was chosen to accompany him, and remained with the prisoner until the latter's death. Much of Alabaster's peculiar and recondite knowledge of Chinese philosophy was gained from his conversations with Yeh during his captivity. On his return to China he was first attached to Sir Frederick Bruce's mission, and was successively interpreter at Canton, Amoy, and Swatow, having plenty of experience of fighting against piratical villages while he was attached to the Swatow Consulate. He was appointed interpreter at Shanghai in 1861, and accompanied the EverVictorious Army under Gordon and his predecessors in several of its engagements with the rebels. In August 1862 he was lent to the Chinese Government to assist in the reorganisation of the Sungkiangforce. He was one of the organisers of the Mixed Court here, and is called in the Foreign Office List "Joint Magistrate", this being obviously the position that the so-called ''Assessor'' should always take. He was successively in charge of the Consulates at Chefoo, Swatow, Shanghai, Ningpo, Amoy, Ichang, and Hankow. In 1885 he was acting Consul-General at Shanghai, and was then transferred to Canton, where he was made Consul­General. In the distribution of Birthday Honours in 1892 he was made a K.C.M.G., and in November 1892 he retired on a pension after more than thirty-seven years' invaluable service. His wife was a very well-known and very amiable and popular Shanghai lady, Miss Laura Macgowan, and she survives him. The last years of his life, which has ended too prematurely, were passed at Bournemouth.
St. Paul, referring to himself, in his second letter to the Corinthians, says: "His letters are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible." Alabaster's friends often had this text in mind when they were with him, for his bodily presence was weak, and his letters were very mighty. He was one of the cleverest and ablest men in the Consular service; with strong opinions of his own, and absolutely ignorant of fear. He was much too original, too decided, too anti-Chinese, to please Sir Thomas Wade, and he would have got on better if he had been more ready to fall in with his chief`s views; but his experience generally, and especially his long and intimate companionship with Yeh, had shown him what the Chinese mandarin is in his heart; and he could not be imposed upon by them as his simpler and more soft-hearted chief was. As we have said before, Alabaster was a man of intensely strong likes and dislikes; those whom he liked he loved, and these whom he disliked he hated; and as he had a bitter tongue and an ever-ready wit behind it, those whom he disliked called him Thersites; but his friends knew that with all his occasional bitterness he had a heart of pure gold, and would take any amount of trouble to help people who were really in trouble. He had no patience with shams and pretensions; he saw through them directly, and the man had to get up early who proposed to get round "the Buster, " as he was affectionately termed It was worth a great deal to spend an evening with "the Buster, " who would be smoking two cheroots at once, and the Dean, and hear them discuss men and things, with an incessant flow of wit and humour. It was Alabaster who turned Trinity Church here into a Cathedral and his friend the Chaplain, Mr. Butcher, into a Dean. He had no authority to do it beyond the public approval, but he did it.
Socially, Alabaster was very popular, and this popularity was enhanced by the respect that even those who were not his personal friends had for his spirited performance of his Consular duties. He was one of the founders and leading spirits of the Beefsteak Club and the original Debating Society, and one of the founders and warmest supporters of the Amateur Dramatic Club. Old stagers will long remember the assistance given the Club by Mr., or when the occasion demanded Miss, Chrysolite Gypsum. His mind was an ususually active one and he was a constant contributor to the local Press, and even Sir Thomas Wade, who did not love him, has confessed to the writer that, as regards Chinese philosophy, which no-one ever really succeeded in fathoming, Alabaster "had the root of the matter" in him. "The Buster" was not intended by nature to shine infield sports or athletic exercises of any kind, but his sympathies knew no limits, and he could enjoy hearing of a good run with Antrobus's beagles or after the volatile paper, as much as of a contest of wits on the Bund, in the days when the Bund was the rendezvous after the day's work was over. The "mysterious Colonel," John George Dunn, was one of his intimates, and when Alabaster, Dunn, and the Dean foregathered, the ears of those they disliked - if the Dean ever really disliked any body - tingled, however far away they were in the flesh.
If Alabaster has been blessed with a physical constitution to match his mental endowments he would have risen very high in the world; as it is, there are very few who know what he might have become, and they will deeply lament his death; while all who knew him and his wife must most deeply sympathise with Lady Alabaster and the two sons and the daughters he has left behind him. Many a time when we have had a less energetic Consul here have old residents sighed, "Oh for an hour of Alabaster!"

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A Personal Postscript to Chaloner Alabaster

by Angela Alabaster (nee Preston) (IIA)

My grandfather, Donald Preston, moved to Bournemouth in the 1870s. It was an attractive, newly developing seaside town, and he founded a firm of solicitors there. My father, Kerrison, was born in 1884; he already had two sisters called Evelyn and Dorothy.
It was in 1892 that Sir Chaloner Alabaster retired from China and took his family to live in Bournemouth. He had three sons, and two daughters called Dorothea and Evelyn.
One of Kerrison' s Christmas presents was a diary for 1898. It is about 3 inches tall by 1 1/2 wide, and is bound in leather. The entry for January 3 reads Awfully jolly dance at home 7-11.30. See memoranda page 1. On page 1 there is a list of his Partners; numbers 10 and 11 are Dorothea and Evelyn Alabaster! The entry for January 4 reads Went to Lady Alabaster's and Mrs Pearight's dance at the Salisbury Hotel.
Such was the social life of Victorian teenagers, and my father's introduction to the Alabaster family. Seventy-two years later he was glad to give away his youngest daughter, me - Angela, to be married to Adrian Alabaster.

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Chaloner Alabaster writes to his Aunt

This item is in addition to the Alabaster Chronicle. It was supplied by Nan Kenyon (IIC)

Aug 14 1880

My dear aunt

Laura got your kind letter in bed having just presented me with another son who is of course a remarkably fine baby, & who certainly does not cry much.

I write only a line for I am not very well having been a little overdone with work & worry but hope with cooler weather soon to be better and write you a long letter such as we used to exchange.

Believe me I love you as much as I used to and regret bitterly the cloud which gathered between us & for which I blame myself not you. I trust to get home next year and then we will once more revive old times. We are a queer lot we Alabasters but there is a good deal of good in all of us & in you more than I ever gave you credit for although I knew you were the best of us

Your loving nephew

Chal Alabaster

Pictures: above left, the Arblaster shield on Chaloner`s writing-paper; above right, the first page of a letter written by Chaloner to his aunt, Mary Ann Rebecca Criddle (nee Alabaster).

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Postscript and Index to
A Closer Look at William Alabaster

by John S. Alabaster

The search for more information on William continues, and there may be something new in an updated entry for him by Professor Francis J. Bremer of Millersville University, Pennsylvania, soon to be published in the Dictionary of National Biography.
Recently, I received news of a possible fourth letter of William - the one stolen from him when he was returning from Rome to England carrying treasonable messages for the Earl of Essex (p. 63) - and hope to report on it later. Also, it has been stated that William's brother, John, who was killed in the Netherlands, was fighting, not as I assumed for the English Protestants, but actually on the Catholic side. If anyone has further information on this I would be most interested to hear about it.
Since publishing the 2003 edition of 'William' I have actually had difficulty in finding particular items in it that I wished to refer back to (!), and realise from this bitter experience my mistake in relying only on headings and not including any other form of index. I trust, therefore, that the columns that follow will meet most of readers' needs. 
 

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1901 Census

by Laraine Hake

Almost every member of the Alabaster Society is descended from a common ancestor, John Alabaster baptised Hadleigh, 20 September 1624, gt grandson of Thomas of Hadleigh.
With this common ancestor in mind, how fascinating it is to see the diversity of his descendants! The census taken 31st March 1901 really throws this into the spotlight for the families of the descendants.
(For those who have less experience of using the census, may I remind you that the first column gives the forename and surname - I have abbreviated Alabaster to "A." - the second column gives the relationship to the head of the household, third is marital status, fourth is age, fifth is occupation whilst the sixth and last gives the parish in which the person was born. Do bear in mind, this information can never be treated "as gospel" - it is only the information that was received by the enumerator at the time)!

112 Grove Road, Bethnal Green

Edwin S.  A.	Head	M	66	Carpenter	Essex Stratford
Mary A.  A.	wife	M	61		Essex Stratford
Edwin  A.	son	Wid	42	Carpenter	Essex Stratford
Florence  A.	dau	S	22	Lady clerk	Essex Chingford
John A.  A.	son	S	20	Tailor	Essex Chingford
Edwin  A.	Gson	S	14		Essex Stratford
Wm   A.	Gson	S	11		Essex Stratford
Licester(?)  A.	Gdau	S	8		Essex Stratford
Ellen Jackson	serv	S	17	domestic serv.	Essex Stratford

This is the family of Edwin Stammers Alabaster and his wife Mary Ann (nee Rickard) (Branch I), gt grandparents of William Henry Elliott Alabaster, John Stammers Alabaster and Dorothy Howell. The wife of Edwin and Mary Ann's eldest son, Edwin Rickard Alabaster, had died in 1898, aged 33. It appears that Edwin had moved back to the family home with his three children. His son William, aged 11 at the time of this census, was to die in France on 5th April 1918, towards the end of the Great War. His war service was featured in detail in Chronicle 16 "Two Generations of Soldiers" by John Stammers Alabaster.

15 Driffield road, Bethnal Green

Thomas  A.	Head	M	37	Iron Worker	Bethnal Green
Alice M.  A	wife	M	34		Bethnal Green
Rose  A.	dau	S	10		Bethnal Green
George Mason	visitor	Wid	65	Living on Own Means	Cheapside

Thomas John Alabaster and his wife Alice Mary (nee Yeldham) (William of Woodford Branch) were the grandparents of Ian Alabaster. Ian's father, Thomas Ian, was not born until 1908. He was the second child of Thomas and Alice.

32 Chilton Street, Bethnal Green

Mary Ann  A.	Head	Wid	49	Washing &c	Bethnal Green
James  A.	Son	S	18	General Cabinet Maker	Bethnal Green
William  A.	Son	S	28	Dock Labourer	Bethnal Green

Mary Ann was the second wife of James Alabaster (Branch IIB) who had died in 1894. They were the gt grandparents of Michael William Alabaster, James being Michael's grandfather. The second son, named William. was probably Mary Ann's son from her first marriage - she was a widow when she and James married.

17 Crondall Street, Hoxton

William  A.	Head	M	30	General Labourer	London N.K.
Annie S.  A.	Wife	M	24		London N.K.
Annie S.  A.	Dau		1		London N.K.

William and Annie (nee Summers) were the grandparents of Frank Nottage and Theresa Byrne (Branch IIIB), their mother, Elizabeth Florence Alabaster being born to William and Annie in 1909. William was the son of Elizabeth, (nee Rawlinson) by her second Alabaster marriage. 2 Interesting to note that the "Where Born" column is completed as "London, NK. (not known)" It is unlikely that this answer was supplied by William or Annie since their daughter had actually been born at 17 Crondall Street in 1899! Possibly the enumerator did not ask the correct question. .. !

10 Granby Row or Place, Bethnal Green

John  A.	Head	Mar	39	Wood Box Maker	Shoreditch
Susan  A.	Wife	Mar	40		Shoreditch
John  A.	Son	S	17	Cycle Engineer	Bethnal Green
James  A.	Son	S	13		Bethnal Green
Wil1iam  A.	Son	S	8		Bethnal Green

John (James) Alabaster and his wife Susan (nee Gibbs) were the gt grandparents of Denis Alabaster (Branch IIIB), Denis's grandfather being John, aged 17 according to the census return in 1901 (actually 19!) and a "cycle engineer" which was truly a sign of the times! Brothers John and James married sisters, Frances and Martha Agass in 1907 and 1911 respectively, Their children, Alfred Alabaster, the son of John and Frances, and Martha (Doll) Alabaster, the daughter of James and Martha, then married each other in 1934, causing quite a headache when research was first done on this side of the family - but that would hardly have been their number one priority!

104 Wentworth Street, Shoreditch

Richard  A.	Head		35	Wool Warehouseman	Bethnal Green
Mary  A.	Wife		37		Bethnal Green
Alice M.  A.	dau		13		Wapping
Emily  A.	dau		11		Shoreditch
Lilian  A.	dau		7		Shoreditch
James  A.	son		5		Shoreditch
Henry  A.	son		4		Shoreditch
Ethel  A.	dau		2		Shoreditch

This is an interesting entry, and shows the fallibility of the census enumeration system! Mary Alabaster (nee Onions) and six of her first seven children are shown here, the only problem being that the name of her husband was Alfred. The age, occupation and place of birth of "Richard" are all correct for Alfred, so it appears that it could have been a simple case of mishearing a name!
According to my records, there was another Alfred missing on census night, son Alfred would have been about 10 years old at the time. I have since found an Alfred Alabaster, aged 10, in Alex Hospital, Holborn. His death was registered in September 1909 at the age of 18. Alfred and Mary's next child, a daughter Violet, was born four days after the census which was taken on 31st March 1901, and was the mother of Raymond Williamson (Branch IIIB). Here are the actual pages from the census:

86 Bonner Road, Bethnal Green

Elizabeth  A	Head	Single	79	Living on own means	Shoreditch
Ann   A.	Sister	Single	71		Bethnal Gn
Mary Ann Mansfield	Niece	Single	53	Milliner	Bethnal Gn
Edward  A.	Nephew		39	Commercial Traveller	Hackney
Henry  A.	Nephew		37	Commercial Clerk	Bethnal Gn

Elizabeth and Ann Alabaster were the daughters of Charles Henry Alabaster and his wife Sarah (nee Mead), Branch IIA. From at least 1871 onwards, Elizabeth and Ann, along with their sister Sarah who died in 1881, appear as three elderly aunts who raised and gave homes to various of the offspring of their brothers and sisters. Even in 1901, their household still includes their niece, Mary Ann Mansfield, daughter ofWilliam James Mansfield and Mary Ann (nee Alabaster), gt grandparents of Geoffrey Mansfield and Margaret Evans. Also present was their nephew Henry, fourth son of their elder brother Charles who had died in 1872, appointing his sister Elizabeth as the guardian to his infant sons. Lastly, there was Albert Edward Alabaster, third son oJ Robert Alabaster and his wife Harriet (nee Harris), gt grandparents of Beryl Neumann, Philip Alabaster and Norman Alabaster.

131 St Johns Road, Shoreditch

Robert  A.	Head	M	46	Bricklayer`s Labourer	London
El1en  A.	Wife	M	47		London
Robert  A.	Son	S	19	Glass Blower	Hackney, Ldn
John  A.	Son	S	16	Fishmonger	Shoreditch,Ldn
Frederick  A.	Son	S	11		Shoreditch,Ldn
Bertram  A.	Son	S	9		Hackney, Ldn
Rose   A.	dau	S	4		Shoreditch,Ldn

Robert Alabaster and his wife Ellen, (nee Meads) were the gt grandparents of John Brian Alabaster and Marion Williams (Branch IV). Ellen has proved very difficult to trace, having given a variety oJ parishes oJ origin to census enumerators over the years. Two oJ her sons shown here, John, aged 16 and Bertram, 9, were killed in WWI.

47 Forest Road, Kingsland, Hackney

Albert Alf  A.	Head	M	44	Carman(Gen)	Essex Hornchurch
Sarah Maud  A.	Wife	M	42		Shoreditch
Albert H.  A.	son	S	17	Printer & Compositor	Islington
Wm Henry  A.	son		14	Errand Boy (Printers)	Dalston
Nellie  A.	dau		11		Dalston
Annie Marg.  A.	dau		6		Dalston

Albert Alfred Alabaster was the grandson of Roger Alabaster (Branch IIIA) iron founder of Hornchurch, Essex. This was the first generation of this branch to come to London. Their eldest son, Albert Henry Alabaster was the grandfather of Bryon Alabaster, gt grandfather of Clive.

11 Catternie Road, Tottenham

Alfred  A	Head	M	50	Builders Carpenter	Bethnal Gn
Alice J.  A.	Wife	M	51		Hackney

This Alfred Alabaster was the youngest grandson of William Alabaster "of Wood ford, Essex" as William memorably stated at his marriage in 1806! Alfred and Alice were the gt grandparents of Peter Robert Alabaster (WofW)

79 Brougham Road, Shoreditch

William H.  A.	Head	M	51	Carpenter	Essex Hornchurch
Elizabeth E.  A.	Wife	M	47		Wilts Calne
Arthur J.   A.	Son	S	20	Carpenter	Shoreditch
Leonard E.  A.	Son	S	17	Engine Cleaner	Shoreditch
William H.  A.	Son		13	Train Engine Boy	Hackney
Louisa E.  A.	Dau		7		Hackney
Clifford H. Rieple	Boarder		18	illegible	Somerstown

Another entry of particular interest to me! William Henry Alabaster was the eldest grandson of Roger Alabaster (1IIA) ironfounder, and so the older brother of Albert Alfred (above). William and Albert were two of the eleven children of WaIter Goddard Alabaster and his wife !-ouisa (nee Patten), eight boys and three girls. The brother who came between William and Albert in age was WaIter John Alabaster, a policeman, who had died in January 1901, 3 months earlier. WaIter was the grandfather of R. Clifford Alabaster and gt grandfather of Susan, Janet, Rob, John, and Valerie. Walter John's wife, Rosa (nee Rieple) had pre-deceased him in 1893 at the age of 36. Clifford H Rieple who was living in the household of William Henry in 1901, was thus the step-son of his deceased brother, Waiter John, half-brother to Waiter John's own sons who were living elsewhere at this time. William Henry and Elizabeth (nee Clifford) were the gt grandparents of James Christopher Alabaster (Jim) and the gt gt grandparents of David Parker.

Longfield, Salisbury Road, Moseley, Worcestershire

Arthur  A.	Head	M	44	Manuf. Jeweller	Dalston
Catherine  A	Wife	M	40		Birmingham
Arthur S.  A.	Son	S	16		Birmingham
Frederick C.  A.	Son		14		Worc. Moseley
George R.  A.	Son		12		Worc. Moseley
James W.  A.	Son		11		Worc. Moseley
Edward B.  A.	Son		7		Worc. Moseley
Enid C.M.  A.	Dau		3		Worc. Moseley

This is Arthur Alabaster(IIA} who with Thomas Wilsonfaunded the Company, Alabaster & Wilson, in 1887 in the heart of the historic jewellery quarter in Birmingham. The company is still very much alive today, naw run by the third and fourth generations; that is Peter Douglas Alabaster, his sons Paul and Stephen and daughter Wendy, son and grandchildren respectively of Arthur S. Alabaster, all of whom are members of the Alabaster Society! It is they who manufacture our silver and gold crossbow brooches - see inside front cover!
Other members descended from thisfamily include the late Adrian . Alabaster, author of "A Quintet of Alabasters ", son of George Herbert, and John E.S. Alabaster, son of Edward Beric Alabaster. Frederick, aged 14 in 1901, was ta became 2nd Lieutenant Royal Warwickshire Regiment and die of wounds 25th August 1916.

4 Frederick Terrace, Erith, Kent

Ernest  A.	Head	M	32	Iron Turner	Essex Hornchurch
Annie  A.	Wife	M	31		Essex Havering
Lillian  A.	Dau	S	9		Leicester
Walter  A	Son		6		Leicester
Edward Clifford	Nephew		23	Labourer Gun Factory	Calne Wiltshire

Ernest was yet another descendant of Roger the irorifounder, he was the youngest of his grandsons. Interesting to note that he had an allied trade to "the family firm"! It is also of interest to see how much Ernest and Annie (nee Sitch) had moved about. At the comparatively young age of 32, they had moved from Essex to Leicester and were now in Kent. Nevertheless, the brothers still appear to have been in close contact with each other. Edward Clifford, "nephew", would appear to have actually been the nephew of Ernest's brother's wife, Elizabeth (nee Clifford), see previous page. Waiter was the grandfather of Lynn Alabaster whilst Kay Simon 's father, Albert Harry Alabaster, second son of Ernest and Annie, was born on 13th April 1901, precisely 13 days after this census was taken.

15 Willow Walk, Bermondsey

Frederick  A.	Head	M	45	Grocer	Brixton
Louisa  A.	Wife	M	40		Clerkenwell
Robert W.  A.	Son		10		Bermondsey

Frederick Alabaster and Louisa (nee Knight) were unusual for Alabasters living in London in that they had strayed south of the River Thames! Their son, Robert William, was the father of Colin Alabaster, grandfather of Martin.

25 Haroldstone Road, Walthamstow

George  A.	Head	M	37	Bricklayers Labourer	Shoreditch
Charlotte  A.	Wife	M	29		Essex Walthamstow
Celia   A.	Dau		9		Walthamstow
Elizabeth  A.	Dau		6		Walthamstow
Frances  A.	Dau		5		Walthamstow
Charlotte  A.	Dau		4		Walthamstow
Lucy   A.	Dau		1		Walthamstow

George (W of W) was a gt grandson of William of Woodford. In addition to the five children shown here, he and his wife, Charlotte (nee Pritchard) went on to have a further seven children. Amongst those seven were the grandfathers of Josie Alabaster, Malcolm Alabaster and Brian Alabaster. Two other babies had died as infants making a total of 14 births spread over 26 years.

High Street, Hornchurch

Harry  A.	Head	M	38	Tailor	Hornchurch
Albert  A.			10		Hornchurch
Louisa  A.			9		Hornchurch
Rosa			5		Hornchurch
Harriett	Sister	S	51	Housekeeper	Hornchurch

Henry Hedges Alabaster (Harry)( Branch IIIA) was yet another son of Walter Goddard Alabaster, son of Roger the ironfounder. Harry's wife had been buried on 18th October 1900, five months before this census was taken, aged 33 years. She and Harry were the gt grandparents of Peter Chapman whose grandfather was Albert. Interesting to see that, once again, a maiden aunt appears to have been called upon to step into the breach.

Leigh Bank, Sutton, Surrey

Henry  A.	Head		53	Publisher	London Finsbury
Helen E  .A.	Wife		37	Middlesex	Harrow

Henry Alabaster (IIA) was the youngest son of James Alabaster, the publican. At the time of the 1901 census, his two children, aged 10 and 12, were away at school. According to the census returns, Henry had a varied career; in 1871, aged 24, he was listed as an "art student", in 1881, he appears to have been working in a library, then in 1891 he was a newspaper proprietor. 1 have a bound copy of "The Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review" July-December 1889 which he apparently owned. Certainly the front page reads H Alabaster, Gatehouse & Co., 22 and 29 Paternoster Row. It makes fascinating browsing and includes such headlines as "WILL ELECTRICITY SUPPLANT STEAM ON CITY RAIL WAYS?" July 19 1889 and "WILL ELECTRICITY SUPPLANT GAS?" August 2 1889.

These are just some of the entries for the Alabaster family; they are certainly varied. Perhaps more will be traced at a later date and can be included in a future Chronicle.

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