Samuel Philip Corke
1916 - 1977
My aunt always believed she had the same dad as her sister (my mum); an Irish man called Harry Flanagan that she’d never met (see NOT my grandad).
But when she was sixteen, she needed her birth certificate so that she could get her first passport. When it arrived, a different man was named as her father. His name was Samuel Philip Corke.
Er…what?
It was a big shock. Her mum (my grandma) had died, but my mum was able to explain that Samuel was a big part of their mum’s life for a few years. She wouldn’t say any more about Samuel though, no matter how much she was asked, so my aunt knew next to nothing about him. Just that he worked on the railways and lived up a hill near Bala Lake. She’d never even seen a photograph of him.
Research highlights
Being sent this photo!
Finding Mark, a kindred Ancestry spirit
Visiting the cottages where Sam and my grandma lived
My approach
My approach followed three threads:
DNA: The first step was for my aunt to submit her DNA to Ancestry. I then took over the management of her account, so that I could get to work on her close matches. There wasn’t a lot to go on.
I contacted one (distant) match who was unsure how she fitted into anything because she didn’t know who her father was (that was one brick wall!), but there was a closer match which turned out to be a (half) first cousin to my aunt.
Tree building: Meanwhile, I started to build an independent family tree for the Corkes on the Ancestry platform with the information I already had, so that I could follow ‘hints’ from other people who had Samuel in theirs.
I quickly found Mark (son of my aunt’s match), who was the grand nephew of one of Samuel’s brothers (his grandad was one of Samuel’s brothers). Mark and one of his cousins had already spent a lot of time on their immediate family branch (and some shared ancestors) and I am very grateful to them. The problem was that there was no information about Samuel. They didn’t even know that he’d had a daughter (my aunt), nor anything about my grandma.
I also learnt that there seemed to be a divide in the Corke family. I could find very little information about Sam’s immediate family, no photos.
Facebook sleuthing: I found the Facebook Group “Llangollen Faces and Places in Times Gone By” which turned out to be a bit of a treasure trove. Especially this exchange, after I posted a photo of a group of Fusilliers asking if anyone knew a man called Samuel Philip Corke:
Pat Davies ended up being another half cousin to my aunt! She’s the one who hunted around and found the amazing photograph that we have of Sam. That was a bit of a pinch-me moment.
Sam’s paternal ancestors
Sam’s father came from a long line of cordwainers (boot makers - also called Gutta Perchas workers) from Uffculme in Devon. We’ve gone back as far as Sam’s fifth great grandad (born in 1678); the family is thankfully well-documented. There’s a file in the National Archives called ‘The Corke family from Plymouth’. I haven’t looked at it yet, so I don’t know if it’s ‘our’ Corkes.
Pictured are:
The main square at Uffculme in 1800s
The last will of one of Sam’s 3rd great uncles; “Cordwainer of the parish”
A stock photo of a Cordwainer from the British Museum
A newspaper announcement when Sam’s grandad retired
The profession of bootmaking skipped a generation with Sam’s second great grandad who was a Labourer and a ‘Mason’. When he was 49 he was arrrested and sentenced for stealing some cheese. When he was 50 he was arrested for stealing a duck, and sentenced to ‘transportation’. He died on the convict ship.
For six generations, Sam’s direct paternal bloodline were exclusively called Philip or William. Sam’s paternal grandma had a father called Samuel which is when the name Samuel entered the line.
The line moved to Llangollen in mid 1800s
Sam’s great grandad (William) brought the family line to Llangollen in the mid 1800s (via Glamorgan).
Sam’s ancestors are buried in Llangollen cemetery (pictured is the headstone for his aunt Eliza and grandad).
Sam’s maternal ancestors
I’ve traced Sam’s mother’s ancestors back to 1815, and as far as I can see they were always from Llangollen. Most of them worked as weavers (a staple of north Wales industry - all those sheep!) in the mills and factories built along the River Dee.
This census return from 1911 shows Sam’s maternal grandad and uncle working at the ‘Flannel Factory’ in Llangollen (this would have been the mill). His grandad is a ‘Weaver’. This old photo is the Flannel Mill/Factory as it was, and next to it the building now; right on the river.
Tragedy
Killed in action:
One of Sam’s uncles - Samuel Philip Corke (Sam’s namesake) - was killed in France and Flanders in WW1, he was only 35.
He fought in the Boer War too, quite the war hero.
Pictured are a WW1 memorial in the centre of Chirk, where Sam’s uncle lived with his wife and his son, also Samuel.
Double tragedy
Died from poisoning:
Tragically, one of Sam’s aunts - Myfanwy May - took her life just a few months after her brother was killed and a few years after her sister, Eliza, died from meningitis.
She was only twenty. This was a really sad discovery.
Sam’s siblings
Brother Reginald (pictured)
A labourer by trade, and a Gunner with the Royal Artillery in WW2.
He fought in Italy and France, and returned with a German wife (which apparently upset the family)
Brother Cyril - a painter (like his dad) in the 1939 census. I believe Cyril also fought in WW2 but have found no record yet and extended family don’t know
Sister Kathleen (Cassie) - worked as a domestic, married and moved to Wrexham where she had two children. One was named ‘Kathleen Victoria’ and died as a toddler. We believe she was the namesake of my aunt’s middle name.
Sister Doris - married Jack, moved to Chester and had two children
School
The siblings probably went to school at The National School pictured here just a short walk from Aberadda Cottages.
Sam’s parents
With Mark’s help and the information from Ancestry hints, I was able to build a solid picture of Sam’s immediate family.
Sam’s father - Owen Charles (Charlie) Corke - born near Llangollen. A few facts:
He was a shoemaker in the 1911 census (like his ancestors) but by the 1921 census and 1939 Register he was a Painter (with one of his sons)
He fought in the Boer War, and in the trenches in France and Flanders; he lost his brother in those trenches
I love this ‘graffiti’ (pictured). It was found under the wallpaper of an old house in Llangollen (courtesy of the Llangollen Facebook group).
Charlie Corke died at 57 (when Sam was only 24).
Sam’s mother - Louisa Davies - was from a long line of weavers from Llangollen (see previous section). She worked as a domestic and lived a long life.
Sam’s Addresses/jobs
As always, the addresses found in census records, birth and wedding certificates, and army records help bring a person’s story to life.
Sam’s family lived at 1 Aberada Cottages (white cottages pictured). Sam was born here in 1916.
According to anecdotes Sam lived in Flag Station House - right on the shore of Bala Lake - with his future wife (more later).
My aunt has a vague memory of Sam in the signal box of the Bala Lake railway. This is a lovely site about the railway Bala Lake Railway – Home of Alice the Little Welsh Engine, including photo of little red engine.
The 1939 Register tells us that Sam was a ‘Railway Goods Porter’ when he was living very close to Llangollen station (picture with railway staff here). It was also a cycle ride from Glyndyfrdrwy Station (see postcard) where my grandma lived before moving to Llangollen. She worked in a bar there.
Sam’s marriage to Agnes
As soon as I had Sam’s date of birth from the 1939 census, I searched information about him on Ancestry and found his marriage certificate. (Incidentally I hadn’t been able to find a marriage certificate for Sam and my grandma - even though she was ‘Mrs Corke’ on my aunt’s birth certificate - because they never married).
I found Agnes’s grandaughter on the Ancestry platform and she sent me this lovely photo of Agnes. She also sent me the wedding photograph of one of Agnes’s sisters, which she believed had a photo of Sam standing behind Agnes who was bridesmaid.
Sam met Agnes when she was sorting gun cotton in a munitions factory during WW2. She was from Toxteth and they married in Liverpool a year into the war. She then moved to Llangollen to live with Sam.
Sam’s story was starting to come to life.
Sam’s war
Sam was exempt from military service overseas for reasons I couldn’t see listed on his military records. I wonder how he felt about that. Especially since his dad fought overseas, his uncle was killed in the trenches, his brother fought in Italy and France.
He enrolled with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, 4th Battalion. I love this big group photo. I can’t find Sam, but no doubt he would have known some of these characters.
This website was fantastic for insight: Second World War – Amgueddfa Llangollen Museum
Sam mostly worked as a guard at Prisoner of War camps up and down the country. I had no idea there were so many. This website Camps listed under lowest number allocated. – WW2 P.O.W. Camps in the UK helped interpret his record:
Overview of Sam’s postings:
Bournemouth - probably looking out for parachutes landing on the beach
Prisoner of War camp - Lodgmore Camp Sheffield. Mostly German prisoners and overcrowded. Sam’s not in this photo, but this is what he’d have been doing).
Prisoner of War camp - Winter Quarters Ascot. Focus was re-education of German POWs. Reading, lectures, films, discussions. Better food and more casual atmosphere than other camps.
Prisoner of War camp - Toft Hall, Knutsford, Cheshire. Camp for Italian prisoners. 20 huts for guards, 58 huts for prisoners, enclosed by a double perimeter fence with watch towers. Sam’s card (below) shows that he was fined for stealing a prisoner’s property; they docked 3 days pay. Naughty Sam! It also shows he went AWOL at one point and ‘Committed a Nuisance’!
Prisoner of War camp - Hallmuir Camp, Lockerbie. This was for Italians and Germans. Prisoners were humanely treated; they grew vegetables, had a good diet, played football and did art. After the war, the place was used to house Ukrainians who couldn't return home. They built Ukrainian chapel which is still there (pictured with blue sky).
Llangollen - after the war - enter my grandma
After the war, my grandma moved to Llangollen with my mum (then a young teenager). This postcard was one of our few clues to her life in North Wales. We found it amongst my mum’s things, and couldn’t believe it when we saw the address - 3 Aber Adda. We’d already established that Sam’s family lived at number 1. Sam was living with Agnes at this time, but his parents were still there when my grandma moved in.
We also know that my grandma worked in the bar in the Grapes Hotel (pictured) at the foot of the hill. At the same time, a Priest from Ireland (Father Shannon) held Catholic Mass in the hotel for all the Catholics who’d fled Liverpool during WW2 until a Catholic church was established. This becomes relevant to Sam’s story.
When I was in touch with Agnes’s grandaughter, she told me that Agnes and Sam got divorced because Sam had been unfaithful with the barmaid in his local pub (see extract from divorce certificate). Naughty Sam!
This is me and my aunt standing outside number 3 Aberadda Cottages. Treading in the footsteps of my mum and grandma (and no doubt of Sam!). I bet she kept that step clean.
After the fallout
From little snippets I’ve gleaned from one of my aunt’s half cousins, Sam and my grandma did stay in Llangollen for a little longer, at one time living in a cottage in the woods, but their movements are sketchy.
They also lived together in Flag Station House by Bala Lake.
Regardless, it must have been a difficult time for them, and perhaps it’s no wonder that they moved away to Birmingham.
It seems Sam’s extended family lost touch with him after this.
Birmingham
The next address for Sam and my grandma (and, at first, my mum) is Larches Street (row of terraced houses pictured) in Sparkbrook (near Small Heath - Peaky Blinders territory!). It’s demolished now, but I found this photo on the Birmingham History Forum. My aunt’s birth certificate shows that Sam and my grandma were both living here when she was born. Electoral rolls show that Father Shannon’s extended family were also living at the same address; the father of the family also worked at the gasworks.
Sam worked as a Coke Charger maybe at the nearby gasworks at Nechells or Adderley Street. These black and white photos give a feel for the area at the time.
The romance between Sam and my grandma was shortlived. After a few years, postcards amongst my mum’s collection showed that Sam and my grandma were living at separate addresses.
Sam moved to lodgings in Hockley, and eventually he moved away to Sheffield.
Later (taken from his war pension documents), he’s living in Cecil Street (pictured), Birmingham. I think it’s safe to say that, at this point, Sam had fallen on hard times.
Another chance at happiness for Sam
I was pleased to discover that Sam married again - a lady called Winifred.
Sam was working as a ‘Steel Sawyer’. This photo is from - of all places - The Daily Star! They had a series of photos from inside a steel factory in Sheffield from the 1960s, just a little later than when Sam was working there.
Winifred was working as a ‘Canteen Assistant’ at an engineering works. Perhaps she worked in the canteen where he worked; I liked to think so.
They had no children and, despite trying, and trying, and trying, I’ve not been able to connect with any of Winifred’s extended family’s descendants. I’d love to find a photo of Sam as an older man. I will perservere.
Sam and Winifred had twenty years of (hopefully happy) marriage before Sam died. He died from the effects of working as a Coke Charger.
RIP Sam.
My aunt started out with just a name, now she knows her dad’s life from cradle to grave.
She framed the photograph and has it by her bedside.