Frederick Stansfield (1892

Frederick Stansfield (1892 - 1977)

Parents: Amos Stansfield and Frances

Harriet (Miles)

Born: 25 June 1892 at Darfield

Died: 19 Oct 1977 from acute congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, and thrombosis of the coronary artery.

Siblings

William Arthur born 1878

Beatrice born 1880

Ernest born 1881

Philip born 1882 died 1889

Albert born 1884

Ethel born 1886

Horace born 1888

Elsie born 1894

Marriage 19 July 1918 at the Parish Church of Portsea, Portsmouth, to Julia Elizabeth Christian (aka Barnes 1911) born 27 May 1896

Children

Wilfrid Beevors born 1920

Mary Joan born 1922

Margery Joyce born 1924

Charles Frederick born & died 1926

Charles Arthur born 1927

Geoffrey Albert born 1933

Residence

1892 Born in Station Cottages, Darfield

31 Mar 1901 Station Cottages, Darfield

2 Apr 1911 Shanklin, Hampshire (Royal Navy)

1926 12 Dearne Street, Great Houghton

1932 & 1939 40 Brampton Terrace, Great Houghton, Yorkshire

#? Pleasant Ave, Great Houghton

village shop in Holloway, Matlock

“Ridgecot”, Lea Shaw, Holloway, Matlock

Occupation

Mechanic

Day Tally man in colliery

Stoker in Royal Navy (see Naval History)

Royal Fleet Reserve (ditto)

Sewage Works Manager

Foreman Glass Worker

Evidence

Other facts

Julia Elizabeth's residence at time of marriage was Crich, Derbyshire - just up the road from Holloway, to which they moved later in life. Her father was John Christian, a platelayer on the railways (like Amos (Frederick's father).

Her brother, John William 'Jack' Christian, was found dead in his home in South Witham on 9 June 1988, having been bludgeoned to death. His own son, John K Christian, was tried for his murder but acquitted. John K was married to Joyce E Stokes - no known relation to Margaret Stokes (Julia Elizabeth's niece) who married Charles Arthur (Charlie), despite them being first cousins. This would only have been a potential issue had they been of child-bearing age.

Sources

- Birth Certificate

- Marriage Certificate

- Death Certificate

- Father's Death Certificate

- Nat. Arch. RN Registers of Seamen's

Services, Ref. ADM 188/884/8649

- England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915

- England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005

- England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906

- Census 1891, 1901,1911

- 'Census' 29 Sept 1939

- England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916-2005

- West Yorkshire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1813-1922

- West Yorkshire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1813-1935

- West Yorkshire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1910

- England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915

- West Yorkshire, England, Electoral Registers, 1840-1962

- England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915

- England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005

- England & Wales, National Probate Calendar

(Above) 25 June 1892 Frederick's Birth Certificate.

(Below) 19 July 1918 Frederick and Julia Elizabeth's Marriage Certificate.
This simply refers to the Parish Church of Portsea, but there are three Anglican churches in Portsea Parish: St Mary’s, St Wilfrid’s, and St Faith’s. It is not known which was the location of the ceremony, though St Wilfrid's seems a good bet as this was the name chosen for their first child.

(Left and below) Julia Elizabeth's passport details.

Foreign Office endorsement of Passport indicating intention to visit Gibraltar, presumably to meet up with Frederick on shore leave.

Description:
Age: 23
Profession: none given
DoB: 27 May 1896 Oakham
Maiden name: Christian
Hgt: 5ft 2in
Forehead: low
Eyes: grey
Nose:ordinary
Mouth: ordinary
Chin: oval
Hair: light brown
Complexion:fair
Face: oval

(Left) "Ridgecot", Lea Shaw, Holloway, nr Matlock, Derbyshire.

(Right) Julia Elizabeth with Charlie (left) and Geoff (right) in the garden at "Ridgecot".

(Above) 19 Oct 1977 Frederick's Death Certificate.

(Below) 29 Dec 1987 Julia Elizabeth's Death Certificate.

TRANSCRIPTIONS OF CENSUS RETURNS

31 Mar 1901

Address: Station Cottages, Darfield, Yorkshire.

Registration District: Barnsley.

HOUSEHOLD

Name Age Born Occupation Where Born

Stansfield, Amos 44 1857 Foreman Platelayer Darfield, Yorks

Stansfield, Frances H. 42 1859 Wife Brighton, Sussex

Stansfield, Albert 16 1885 Stone Quarry Apprentice Billingley, Yorks

Stansfield, Horace 12 1889 Painter's Errand Boy Darfield, Yorks

Stansfield, Fred 9 1892 Darfield, Yorks

Stansfield, Elsie 6 1895 Darfield, Yorks

2 Apr 1911

Isle of Wight

List of Officers, Crew, and Royal Marines on Board at midnight on Sunday, April 2nd, 1911

Name Age Condition Rank/Rating Birthplace

Frederick Stainsfield 18 Single Stoker 2nd Class, Engine Room Yorks, Barnsley

29 Sept 1939

This was not a census as such. In December 1938 the government announced that, in the event of war, a National Register would be compiled; this was to list the personal details of every civilian in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This Register was used to issue identity cards and organise rationing, among other things. Identity cards continued to be used after the war and were a legal requirement right up to 1952.

As the 1931 census returns were destroyed in an air raid on London, and the 1941 census was never taken, the National Register of 1939 remains a vital record for the family history researcher. It is only accessible as a digital record.

However, a person's records remain closed for 100 years from their date of birth or until proof of death is produced. Consequently, some household records have a number of blanked out lines, indicating closed records of individuals deemed to be still alive until advised otherwise.

Both the original record and its transcription are shown below.

ROYAL NAVY SERVICE RECORD

Enlistment details

Enlisted: 12 Sept 1910 and served for 12 years

Age: 18

Height: 5ft 6 ⅟4 inches

Chest: 37 ⅟4 inches

Hair: Dark brown

Eyes: Blue

Complexion: Fair

Wounds, scars or marks: Scar edge r/hand. Scar upper lip.

Date of Birth: 25 June1892

Place of birth: Barnsley, Yorkshire

Occupation: Mechanic

Ships served on

Note: Victory II was a shore-based training establishment

HMS Victory II 12 Sept 1910 to 30 Sept 1910, Stoker 2nd Class

HMS Renown 1 Oct 1910 to 21 Jan 1911, Stoker 2nd Class

(Below left and right) HMS Renown was a battleship of 12,350 tons launched in 1895 and sold for scrap in 1914. A newer incarnation was launched in 1916.

HMS Victory II 22 Jan 1911 to 14 Mar 1911, Stoker 2nd Class

HMS Hecla 15 Mar to ?, Stoker 2nd Class

HMS Hecla 13 Sep 1911 to 15 Jan 1912, Stoker 1st Class

This incarnation of the Hecla was a torpedo boat carrier/depot ship purchased in 1878, modernised in 1912, and sold in 1926.

HMS Venus 16 Jan 1912 to 11 Dec 1913. Passed educationally for Petty Officer 2 Sept 1913.

The Venus was an Eclipse-class protected cruiser built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, built in 1895 and sold for scrap in 1921.

The Eclipse-class ships were 373 feet (113.7 m) long overall, had a beam of 53 feet 6 inches (16.31 m) and a draught of 20 feet 6 inches (6.2 m). They displaced 5,600 long tons (5,700 t) at normal load. To reduce biofouling, the hulls of the ships were sheathed with wood and copper. Their crew consisted of 450 officers and enlisted men.

During their sea trials, all of the lightly loaded ships exceeded their specifications and reached a top speed of 20 knots (37 kph; 23 mph). The ships carried five 40-calibre 6-inch guns protected by gun shields. One gun was mounted on the forecastle, two on the quarterdeck and one pair was abreast the bridge. The secondary armament consisted of six 40-calibre 4.7-inch guns, three on each side.

Defence against torpedo boats was provided by eight 12-pounder guns and six three-pounder Hotchkiss guns. Four of the 12-pounders were mounted in the sides of the hull fore and aft while the remaining four guns were interspersed between the 4.7-inch guns. The ships were also equipped with three 18-inch torpedo tubes, one submerged tube on each side and one above water in the stern. The ammunition supply consisted of 200 six-inch rounds per gun, 250 shells for each 4.7-inch gun, 300 rounds per gun for the 12-pounders and 500 for each three-pounder. Each ship also carried ten torpedoes, presumably four for each broadside tube and two for the stern tube.

(Below) HMS Venus

Between 1903 and 1905, all of the ships in the class except for HMS Eclipse had their mixed armament replaced with a more uniform armament of 11 six-inch, nine 12-pounders and seven 3-pounder guns.

HMS Woolwich 12 Dec 1913 to 19 Jan 1914, Stoker 1st Class

HMS Woolwich was a destroyer depot ship of 3,380 tons with a crew of 263, launched in 1912 and sold in 1926.

(Below) HMS Woolwich

HMS Hecla 20 Jan 1914 to 14 Jun 1914, Stoker 1st Class

HMS Victory II 10 Jul 1914 to 17 Jul 1914, Stoker 1st Class

HMS Zealandia 18 Jul 1914 to ?, Stoker 1st Class

HMS Zealandia 21 Sep 1916 to ?, Leading Stoker

HMS Zealandia 21 Mar 1917 to 19 Sept 1917, Leading Stoker

HMS New Zealand was a King Edward VII-class battleship of the Royal Navy. She was renamed HMS Zealandia in Dec 1911, the only Royal Navy ship to have carried this name. Built at Portsmouth 1903-1905 at a cost of £1,424,643 she was decommissioned 1917.

With a displacement of 16,350 tons she carried a crew of 777 and was armed with:

4 x 12in guns, 4 x 9.2in guns, 10 x 6in guns, 14 x 12-pounder guns, 14 x 3-pounder guns and 5 x torpedo tubes.

At the outbreak of World War I, the 3rd Battle Squadron including the Zealandia was assigned to the Grand Fleet and based at Rosyth, supplementing the Grand Fleet's cruisers on the Northern Patrol. During this duty, Zealandia rammed a German submarine on 10 September 1914. On 2 November 1914 the squadron was detached to reinforce the Channel Fleet and returned to Portland. It returned to the Grand Fleet on 13 November 1914. During sweeps by the fleet, she and her sister ships often steamed at the heads of divisions of the far more valuable dreadnoughts, where they could protect the dreadnoughts by watching for mines or by being the first to strike them.

(Below) HMS Zealandia at Portland in 1911 shortly after her name change.

On 6 November 1915 a division of the 3rd Battle Squadron consisting of battleships Hibernia (the flagship), Russell, Albemarle, and Zealandia was detached from the Grand Fleet to serve in the Dardanelles Campaign. Albemarle had to return for repairs after suffering severe damage on the first night of the outbound voyage, but the other three ships pressed on and arrived at the Dardanelles on 14 December 1915. In late January 1916 Zealandia and Hibernia left the eastern Mediterranean to return to the UK arriving at Portsmouth Dockyard on 6 February 1916. Zealandia underwent a refit there that lasted until March 1916 then rejoined the 3rd Battle Squadron and the Grand Fleet on 26 March 1916.

On 29 April 1916 the 3rd Battle Squadron was moved to Sheerness. The Zealandia remained there with the squadron until September 1917, undergoing a refit at Chatham Dockyard from December 1916 to June 1917.

On 20 September 1917 Zealandia left the 3rd Battle Squadron and was paid off into reserve at Portsmouth Dockyard. While in reserve, she was refitted between January and September 1918 for use as a gunnery training ship.

When Frederick was transferred to the Zealandia, she would have been in need of new stokers. On 3 Mar 1914 a number of the crew, including eight stokers, ‘mutinied’ and were subsequently court martialled and imprisoned. According to a document held by the National Archives the sentences were deemed “too severe and annulled owing to irregularities in proceedings of Court” – see “Making a mutinous assembly” ref ADM 116/1376 and the subsequent annulment ref ADM 156/77.

HMS Victory II 20 Sept 1917 to 30 Sept 1918, Leading Stoker

Note: On his Marriage Certificate, dated 19 July 1918, Frederick's residence lists HMS Zealandia, which does not tally with his official naval record.

HMS Cormorant (Donovan) 1 Oct 1918 to ?, Leading Stoker

HMS Cormorant (Donovan) 28 Aug 1919 to 28 Aug 19, Stoker 1st Class

HMS Cormorant (Clio) 29 Aug 1919 to 4 Dec 1919, Stoker 1st Class

Note: I don’t understand the additional bracketed references of these entries. The Cormorant, Donovan and Clio were all Royal Navy sloops.

HMS Victory II 5 Dec 1919 to 14 Feb 1920, Stoker 1st Class

HMS Vernon 15 Feb 1920 to 21 Mar 1922, Stoker 1st Class

Note: After the first two such-named ships, HMS Vernon was a torpedo school and the name was used to denote both an onshore training establishment and a succession of training ships.

HMS Victory II Apr 1922 to 11 Sept 1922, Stoker 1st Class

Royal Fleet Reserve: joined 12 Sep 1922

Note: Unemployment Insurance Form sent to Ministry of Labour, Register No. 23914.

My thanks to researcher Joanne Backhouse for her collaboration and guidance regarding the Stansfeld family and Calderdale.