Yorke Family

Grandmother Ethel Richards was born on 23 June 1886, daughter of Edwin and Ann Richards, nee Bailey. They were living at 3 Tuns Yard and Edwin was employed as a Gasworks Stoker. When Edwin and Ann were married on 25 February 1879, Edwin was living in St Peters Street and Ann in North Street. As a youngster Ethel would probably have attended the Forster Street School or Radford Boulevard School.

When Ethel was a young woman she met and eventually married John Yorke in 1910 at All Souls Church, the one at the corner of Radford Bouevard and Ilkeston Road. Jobs were hard to find and John Yorke decided to move to Yorkshire to find a job in the pits. They moved to Maltby and my father Francis Yorke was born there on 2 July 1914. He did not have long to spend with his newborn son as the Army beckoned. Ethel and John moved back to Radford where, after a stay in Pine Street, they moved to 44 Salisbury Street. John was a reservist with hte Army having joined on 8 June 1904 and they soon had him in France with the Worcestershire Regiment L/Cpl no 8436. He served in France from 13 July 1914 - 23 April 1915. After some leave he was sent back on 23 March 1916 when he was injured on the Somme and had a leg amputated. He was demobbed in 1917, and finding himself back in Radford, decided to learn the trade of cobbler.

This enabled the family to have some money coming in, as there were no social services to fall back on. In later life Ethel had an accident which left her slightly crippled in one leg and for the remainder of her life had to wear a caliper. John Yorke died in the 1960s and Ethel stayed at Salisbury Street with two of her grandchildren, Lenny Woolley and Pat Dredge. when they left to get married, Ethel moved to Clifton with her daughter, but pined for Salisbury Street and died 6 January 1968.

Valerie and myself would love to hear from any Radford people that may have known the Yorkes. Please contact us via email.

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