Table of Contents
This family group is one of the most extensive in my family history, and so to aid readability it is split across eight parts.
G5: William James Copus (1843-1902)
Birth: William James Copus was born in Charlemont, County Armagh during July 1843. He was the third child of William and Mary. His father was an English soldier stationed there with the Royal Artillery. They soon moved back to England to live in Woolwich.
Military service: William followed in his father’s footsteps and enlisted into the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 29 September 1857 at Woolwich. He was aged just 14 years and two months. In 1859 he joined the 5th Battery, 7th Brigade stationed on Jamaica, where he remained for the next five years. This must have been a fabulous experience at a time when foreign travel was virtually unknown for the working man. After a few years serving with the Depot Brigade, he joined the 9th Battery, 2nd Brigade at Penang in Malaysia. He was discharged in March 1871 after contracting hepatitis due “to the effects of climate while doing his ordinary duties as a clerk in the battery pay office”. He had been a patient at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley near Southampton. At this time, he was described as 5 feet 7 inches tall with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and light brown hair.
Marriage: to Elizabeth Emily Togwell on 4 July 1871 at St Mary Magdalene Church in Woolwich. He was aged 28 and she was 22.
Spouse history: Elizabeth had been born on 14 July 1848 in the village of Steeple Ashton in Wiltshire to William Togwell and Patience Rawlings, being christened in August. By 1851 they lived in the hamlet of Bleet in Wiltshire, where her father was an agricultural labourer. Over the next decade with the industrial revolution in full swing, her parents were drawn to the growing metropolis of London and by 1861 lived in Woolwich, with her father working as a builder’s labourer. Their circumstances remained relatively unchanged over the next decade.
Children: (1) Elizabeth in 1872, (2) William in 1873, (3) Amelia in 1875, (4) James in 1877, and (5) Esther in 1879. Sadly, Elizabeth died before her first birthday.
Residences: the newlyweds got a place of their own close to their parents on Kidd Street. They briefly lived in Middlesbrough for a couple of years between 1873-75, following William’s sisters Elizabeth, Jane, and Mary, but evidently did not take to the growing northern steel town and soon moved back.
They first lived on Harden Street overlooking the railway embankment in the very west of Woolwich, before moving to Prospect Row in the north and finally settling in a terraced house on Paget Road, just a few doors down from William’s brother George and family. The steep road was in the very south of Woolwich, just to the northeast of the Royal Military Academy, and William and Elizabeth would live here until their deaths.
- William: Ann Street, Woolwich (1851); Rush Grove, Woolwich (1852); 5 Rush Grove Street, Woolwich (1856-1857); 5 Rush Grove Street, Woolwich (1871); 8 Kidd Street, Woolwich (1872); 21 Dale Street, Middlesbrough (1873-1875); 21 Harden Street, Woolwich (1877); 35 Prospect Row, Woolwich (1880-1881); 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1890-1902)
- Elizabeth: 3 Mary Ann Place, Woolwich (1861-1871); 17 John Street, Woolwich (1871); 8 Kidd Street, Woolwich (1872); 21 Dale Street, Middlesbrough (1873-1875); 21 Harden Street, Woolwich (1877); 35 Prospect Row, Woolwich (1880-1881); 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1890-1910)
Occupations: after leaving the army William initially continued to work as a clerk, while Elizabeth was a domestic servant. After moving back to London from Middlesbrough, William became a labourer and by 1891 was selling bags of coal to the public, probably via a horse and cart.
The 1901 census showed that William was now a trimmer in the nearby Royal Arsenal. The munitions factory used huge amounts of coal and had a dedicated coal pier, on which the trimmers sorted and stored the coal.
Deaths: William died in Woolwich on 24 February 1902 when aged 58 and was buried on 1 March. His estate of £230 7s was left to his daughter Amelia. Elizabeth died at home on 28 November 1910 and was buried on 6 December. She left her effects of £220 to her son James.
G4: Elizabeth Emily Copus (1872)
Birth: Elizabeth Emily Copus was born in Woolwich on 27 June 1872. She was the first child of newlyweds William and Elizabeth.
Christening: on 14 July 1872 at St Mary Magdalene Church in Woolwich.
Residence: 8 Kidd Street, Woolwich (1872)
Death: she died within a few weeks of birth.
G4: William Theophilus Henry Copus (1873-1916)
Birth: William Theophilus Copus was born in Middlesbrough on 2 November 1873. He was the second child of William and Elizabeth but the first to survive infancy.
Christening: on 23 November 1873 at St Paul’s Church on Newport Road. He was baptised Theophilus William Henry Copus but was commonly called William.
Marriage (1): to Clara Jane Lumb during 1899 in Woolwich. He was aged 25 and she was 23.
Spouse history (1): Clara had been born in Woolwich during 1876 to labourer William Orson Lumb and Laura Austin. Curiously, her older brother Penrose had been born in America two years earlier. By 1881 the family lived on the main Beresford Street that led to the entrance of the Royal Arsenal, moving before 1891 to North Kent Grove, a short street of terraced houses that formed the northern boundary of Cambridge Barracks. Both Clara’s father and elder brother worked in the Royal Arsenal.
Children: (1) William in 1900.
Death: Clara died on 27 August 1905 when aged just 29 and was buried on 1 September.
Marriage (2): to Gertrude May Dyer during 1908 in Woolwich. He was aged 34 and she was 26.
Spouse history (2): Gertrude had been born in the small village of Polstead, Suffolk on 2 May 1881 to farmer Charles Frederick Dyer and his wife Alice Stow. In 1891 the family had Moat Farm on the road between the villages of Edwardstone and Mill Green. Gertrude moved to London over the next decade, where in 1901 she was employed as a domestic servant in one of the grand townhouses on Kensington Gardens Square in upmarket Bayswater. This was the home of Thomas Vickery, a self-employer solicitor in the City of London.
Children: (1) Eileen in 1909, (2) Jack in 1914, and (3) Alan in 1915.
Occupations: by the time that he was aged 18, William worked as a brass tuner, most probably in the Royal Arsenal. This was someone who operated a lathe for machining brass articles to cylindrical form (such as shells and bullets). He worked as a metal case machinist for the rest of his life.
Residences: the census of 1901 captured the newlyweds William and Clara and their young son living on Alexandra Street in the centre of Woolwich.
After marrying Gertrude, the couple had a reasonably sized terraced house on Cardiff Street, a brand-new road in Plumstead on the very edge of the rapidly expanding metropolis. As a widow, Gertrude lived with daughter Eileen for many years.
- William: 21 Dale Street, Middlesbrough (1873-1875); 21 Harden Street, Woolwich (1877); 35 Prospect Row, Woolwich (1880-1881); 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1890-1891); 16 Alexandra Street, Woolwich (1901); 19 Cardiff Street, Woolwich (1911-1915)
- Clara: 59 Beresford Street, Woolwich (1881); 7 North Kent Grove, Woolwich (1891); 16 Alexandra Street, Woolwich (1901)
- Gertrude: Moat Farm, Edwardstone (1891); 76 Kensington Gardens Square, Westminster (1901); 19 Cardiff Street, Woolwich (1911-1934); 5 Yorkland Avenue, Welling (1937-1950)
Deaths: William died on 4 December 1916 when aged 43. Gertrude never remarried and died at the Southern Hospital in Darenth on 21 June 1950, when aged 69. She left her effects of £280 to her daughter.
G3: William James Copus (1900-1980)
Birth: William James Copus was born in Woolwich on 30 May 1900. He was the only child of newlyweds William and Clara.
Military service: William enlisted into the newly formed Royal Air Force on 19 September 1919 when aged 19. He was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall with light brown hair, blue eyes, and fresh complexion. He stated that his civilian occupation was a shoemaker, and he continued this trade in RAF service. The 1921 census captured William at No.40 Section of the School of Technical Training at RAF Halton near Aylesbury. This course trained RAF technicians over a 3-year period. His service record is difficult to interpret, but he was given service number 337976 and it appears that he served at home throughout his 10-year service, eventually being discharged on 27 December 1929. He had been promoted to Leading Aircraftman in 1923, also earning a good conduct badge. He was called up to return to the RAF following the outbreak of war in 1939.
Marriage: to Doris Violet Goddard on 25 June 1927 in Hornsey. He was aged 27 and she was 24. William lived in Tooting and curiously gave his occupation as a porter rather than as a serving member of the armed forces. Doris lived with her parents in Hornsey.
Spouse history: Doris had been born in Edmonton on 12 August 1902 and together with her twin brother Alfred were the first children of labourer Alfred Ernest Goddard and Alice Ricketts. They were christened at St Peter’s Church on Wightman Road during September. The family lived a mile away in a terraced house on Campsbourne Road next to Alexandra Park. By 1911 they lived around the corner on North View Road. Her father was a stationary engine driver for the Metropolitan Water Board. They had moved to a terraced house on Rectory Road in Hornsey by 1921, with Doris working in domestic service for a Mr Holland of Langley House.
Children: (1) Peggy in 1929, (2) Peter in 1933, (3) Michael in 1935, and (4) Rosemary in 1941. The 1939 Register shows that 9-year-old Peggy lived with a Charles Howard and his wife in Cambridge, while 3-year-old Michael was with Doris’s parents. They had likely been sent away due to the fear of imminent bombing.
Residences: after being discharged from the RAF in 1929, William and Doris lived with another couple in a terraced house on Florence Road next to Finsbury Park in Haringey. They then moved through a series of apartments all in close proximity to Finsbury Park.
During the war the family moved to Cambridge and remained there afterwards. They had a relatively new town house on Cambridge Road in the nearby village of Fulbourn, moving to the neighbouring village of Little Gransden during 1948 where they lived in Brook Farm Cottage.
The family moved back to London where they lived in a terraced house on Chestnut Rise, just to the north of Plumstead Common until at least 1965.
- William: 16 Alexandra Street, Woolwich (1901); 19 Cardiff Street, Woolwich (1911-1924); 27 Florence Road, Hornsey (1929-1930); 152 Tollington Park, Finsbury Park (1932-1934); 90 Tollington Park, Finsbury Park (1935-1936); 14 Turle Road, Finsbury Park (1937-1938); 15 Turle Road, Finsbury Park (1939); 12 Cambridge Road, Fulbourn (1945-1947); Brook Farm Cottage, Little Gransden (1948); 99 Chestnut Rise, Woolwich (1949-1965)
- Doris: 24 Campsbourne Road, Hornsey (1902); 29 North View Road, Hornsey (1911); 5 Rectory Road, Hornsey (1921-1927); 27 Florence Road, Hornsey (1929-1930); 152 Tollington Park, Finsbury Park (1932-1934); 90 Tollington Park, Finsbury Park (1935-1936); 14 Turle Road, Finsbury Park (1937-1938); 15 Turle Road, Finsbury Park (1939); 12 Cambridge Road, Fulbourn (1945-1947); Brook Farm Cottage, Little Gransden (1948); 99 Chestnut Rise, Woolwich (1949-1965)
Occupations: during the pre-war years William worked as a porter and .
Deaths: William died in Worthing, West Sussex, during December 1980 when aged 80. Doris survived him for nine years and died in July 1989 when aged 86.
G2: Peggy Claire Dorothy Copus (1929-1999)
Birth: Peggy Claire Dorothy Copus was born in London on 16 January 1929. She was the first child of William and Doris.
Marriage: to Joseph Thomas Keen during 1955 in Woolwich. She was aged 25 and she was 28.
Spouse history: commonly known as Joey, he had been born in London to decorator Joseph Thomas Bilauschek Keen and Ethel Harriet Charlotte Brown on Christmas Eve 1926. His father was of Austrian descent, although had been born in London. Joey was christened at Christ Church in Notting Hill in January 1927. From 1933 until the outbreak of war the family lived on Toorack Road on a new estate in Harrow.
Children: it is not thought that they had any children.
Occupations: Joey worked as a machine operator for a forklift truck company.
Residences: at the time of her death, Peggy and Joey lived on a post-war housing estate in northeast Basingstoke.
- Peggy: 27 Florence Road, Hornsey (1929-1930); 152 Tollington Park, Finsbury Park (1932-1934); 90 Tollington Park, Finsbury Park (1935-1936); 14 Turle Road, Finsbury Park (1937-1938); 15 Turle Road, Finsbury Park (1939); 54 School Lane, Fulbourn (1939); 12 Cambridge Road, Fulbourn (1945-1947); Brook Farm Cottage, Little Gransden (1948); 99 Chestnut Rise, Woolwich (1949-1955)
- Joseph: 53 Toorack Road, Harrow (1933-1939)
Deaths: Peggy died of bronchopneumonia at Silver Park Nursing Home in Fleet on 3 January 1999 when aged 69. Joey survived her for four years and died of bronchopneumonia and heart disease in the North Hampshire Hospital on 10 May 2003 when aged 76.
Notes: when the 1939 National Register was taken 9-year-old Peggy was living with farm carter Charles Howard and his wife Florence in the village of village of Fulbourn near Cambridge. She had perhaps been evacuated due to the fear of imminent bombing.
G3: Eileen Gertrude Copus (1909-1971)
Birth: Eileen Gertrude Copus was born in Woolwich on 2 October 1909. She was the first child of William with second wife Gertrude.
Marriage: to Arthur Boyce during 1933 in Woolwich. She was aged 23 and she was 22.
Spouse history: Arthur had been born in Lewisham on 23 November 1910 to George Boyce and Maria Gosney. The family of six lived on Manwood Road in Lewisham. Arthur’s father was a lamplighter for the gasworks, later becoming a slot meter collector for the Metro Gas Co.
Children: their only child was born in 1943.
Residences: the newlyweds moved into a relatively new large semi-detached house on Yorkland Avenue, part of the Falconwood estate in Welling. This would be their home until at least 1965, and they were joined there by Eileen’s mother in 1937.
- Eileen: 19 Cardiff Street, Woolwich (1911-1934); 5 Yorkland Avenue, Welling (1937-1965)
- Arthur: 70 Manwood Road, Lewisham (1911-1921); 5 Yorkland Avenue, Welling (1937-1965)
Occupations: in September 1939, Arthur worked as a cashier and a salesman, whilst Eileen was a clerk in a department store. It is noted that Arthur was a member of the store first aid post.
Deaths: Eileen died in Bexley on 30 October 1971 when aged 62 and was cremated. Arthur survived her for some 25 years and died in Blackpool in April 1996 when aged 85.
G3: Jack Copus, MBE (1914-2005)
Birth: Jack Copus was born in Woolwich on 6 September 1914. He was the second child of William with second wife Gertrude.
Marriage: to Nina Mary Eileen Woodrow on the last day of 1938 at St Michael and All Angels Church in Willesden. He was aged 24 and she was 22.
Spouse history: Nina had been born in Willesden on 20 November 1916 to William Harry Woodrow and Mabel Alice Baker. She was christened on Christmas Eve in the same church that she was later married in, and the family lived nearby in an upmarket terraced house on Crouch Road. By 1921 they had moved to a similar house on Kingthorpe Road.
Children: (1) a girl in 1940, (2) a boy in 1949, (3) a girl in 1951.
Military service: like his stepbrother, Jack joined the Royal Air Force (service number 564560). He remained in the service post-war, which included a period of service in Singapore in the early 1950s where his third child was born. He was awarded an MBE in the 1957 Birthday Honours List, at which point he was a Warrant Officer.
Residences: when the National Register was taken in September 1939, Nina was staying with her parents. Their first child was born in Blackpool the following year – since they had both grown up and married in London, it’s possible that pregnant Nina had been evacuated there during the Blitz. Post-war, they followed Jack around the country with the RAF. In 1949 they lived on Booth Road in Colindale, adjacent to what was then RAF Hendon. Their third child was born in Colchester.
Jack then appeared to serve in Singapore, as 35-year-old Nina and her children arrived at Liverpool onboard the M.V. Dorsetshire on 28 September 1952, which was carrying home military families from the colony. Their last home together in the 1980s was a bungalow on Vauxhall Road just down the road from RAF Waddington.
- Jack: 19 Cardiff Street, Woolwich (1914-1930); 17 Vauxhall Road, Bracebridge Heath (1983-2006)
- Nina: 18 Ground Row, Willesden (1916); 9 Kingthorpe Road, Willesden (1921-1939); 7 Booth Road, Colindale (1948-1949); 17 Vauxhall Road, Bracebridge Heath (1983)
Deaths: Nina died in Lincoln on 21 August 1983 when aged 66 and was buried at Waddington Burial Ground, on the boundary with RAF Waddington. Jack died in St Michael’s Residential Care Home in Waddington on 12 November 2005 when aged 91. He was buried in the same plot as Nina.
G3: Alan Rodney Copus (1915-2007)
Birth: Alan Rodney Copus was born in Woolwich on Christmas Eve 1915. He was the third child of William with second wife Gertrude.
Marriage (1): to Evelyn Winifred Hardy during 1942 in Gainsborough. He was aged 26 and she was 24.
Spouse history (1): Evelyn had been born in Gainsborough on 5 August 1917 to John Hardy and Sarah Brumby, although curiously they were cited as Harry and Annie in the 1921 census. They shared their home on Marlborough Street with Arnold Brumby though, so almost certainly the same family. Her father was an iron moulder. When the National Register was taken in September 1939, 25-year-old Evelyn was a mental health nurse at the Rampton State Institution near Retford. Opened as an overflow facility for Broadmoor Hospital in 1912, Rampton was built as a high security psychiatric hospital near the village of Woodbeck. By 1939 there were 1,300 patients. Staff were required to live on-site and an estate of cottages for their use was built in the 1920s and 1930s. Most of the patients had come through the criminal justice system and had been committed as potentially posing a serious threat to others. Sadly, the hospital had a reputation for cruelty and mistreatment of patients.
Children: (1) Philip in 1943, (2) a girl in 1948.
Death: sadly, Evelyn died at the Westminster Hospital on 30 June 1963 when aged just 45.
Marriage (2): to Beatrice A. Llewellyn during 1967 in Bath. He was aged 51 and she was 50.
Spouse history (2): Beatrice had been born in Clutton, Somerset on 13 July 1916. In 1939 she had lived with the family of her future husband, William John Mills, on George Street in the Bathwick Hill area of Bath. She was a grocer’s shop assistant. The couple were married four years later and had one child together. It is not known whether they divorced or if William died.
Residences: curiously in 1946 Alan was registered to vote at the address of his mother and sister on Yorkland Avenue in Welling, but by the following year the couple lived in Southall where they had several houses over the next 20 years.
- Alan: 19 Cardiff Street, Woolwich (1915-1934); 5 Yorkland Avenue, Welling (1946); 87 Hambrough Road, Southall (1947-1949); 29 Northcote Avenue, Southall (1949-1961); 22 Kingsley Avenue, Southall (1962-1964); 19 Cleveland Court, Bathwick Hill, Bath (1993-2006)
- Evelyn: 45 Marlborough Street, Gainsborough (1921); 87 Hambrough Road, Southall (1947-1949); 29 Northcote Avenue, Southall (1949-1961); 22 Kingsley Avenue, Southall (1962-1963)
- Beatrice: 12 George Street, Bath (1939); 19 Cleveland Court, Bathwick Hill, Bath (1993)
Occupations: Alan was an engineering draftsman. When he retired in January 1976, he was awarded the Imperial Service Medal – given to recognise the achievements of manual grade civil servants with at least 25 years’ service and a good record. His last job was as a Professional and Technology Officer for the Ministry of Defence (Royal Navy).
Deaths; Beatrice died in Bath on 30 June 1993 when aged 77 and was cremated. Alan died in North Lincolnshire on 26 February 2007 when aged 92.
G2: Philip Rodney Copus (1943-2016)
Birth: Philip Rodney Copus was born in Newark on Trent during 1943. He was the third child of Alan and Evelyn.
Marriage: to Edith Hilary Earle during 1965 in Hillingdon. He was aged 22 and she was 21.
Spouse history: Edith had been born in Wokingham during 1944.
Children: two girls in 1967 and 1974.
Residences: Philip may have served in the armed forces, as in 1967 their first daughter was born in Singapore. Their second child was born in Weston-Super-Mare in 1974. Later in life the couple moved to Devon where from at least 2003 they resided on Bodley Close on an estate in Exeter.
- Philip: 87 Hambrough Road, Southall (1947-1949); 29 Northcote Avenue, Southall (1949-1961); 22 Kingsley Avenue, Southall (1962-1964); 14 Bodley Close, Exeter (2002-2016)
- Edith: 14 Bodley Close, Exeter (2003-2003)
Deaths: Edith died on 6 February 2010 when aged 66, and Philip on 27 July 2016 when 73.
G4: Amelia Patience Copus (1875-1962)
Birth: Amelia Patience Copus was born in Middlesbrough on 18 June 1875. She was the third child of William and Elizabeth.
Christening: on 11 August 1875 at All Saints Church on Linthorpe Road.
Marriage: to William Henry Harley on 8 December 1900 in Woolwich. She was aged 25 and he was 37.
Spouse history: Clara had been born in Woolwich during 1876 to labourer William Orson Lumb and Laura Austin. Curiously, her older brother Penrose had been born in America two years earlier. By 1881 the family lived on the main Beresford Street that led to the entrance of the Royal Arsenal, moving before 1891 to North Kent Grove, a short street of terraced houses that formed the northern boundary of Cambridge Barracks. Both Clara’s father and elder brother worked in the Royal Arsenal.
Children: (1) Victor in 1901, (2) Eric in 1911.
Military service: when William Harley enlisted into the army in 1877 as a 14-year-old boy he likely did not expect to be beginning a 43-year career. He joined the 94th Regiment of Foot, which embarked for South Africa in the spring of 1879 and saw action at the Battle of Ulundi during the Anglo-Zulu War and the Battle of Bronkhorstspruit during the First Boer War. The Regiment was amalgamated with the 88th Foot in 1881 to form the Connaught Rangers. He served in Ireland (1882-1883), India (1883-1887), Malta (1889-1892), Cyprus (1892-1895), Egypt (1895-1896), and finally the Sudan (1896-1897), where he was part of the Dongola Expeditionary Force under the command of Lord Kitchener. He then spent the next 23 years as a Quartermaster Sergeant on the Staff of the Army based at Woolwich Barracks. He retired in 1920 after an exemplary career, being awarded for long service and good conduct.
Residences: in 1901 the family lived with Amelia’s parents on Paget Road, close to Woolwich Barracks. By 1908 they had a large terraced house of their own on Paget Terrace, which ran above and behind Paget Road.
75-year-old William still lived on Paget Terrace when the National Register was taken in September 1939, which he had shared with his son Eric and daughter-in-law Gladys since 1934. Amelia was unfortunately a patient in Cane Hill Hospital, which was a psychiatric facility in Coulsdon, and had not been listed on the electoral register at home since 1925. Post-war, William resided with his son until his death.
- Amelia: 21 Dale Street, Middlesbrough (1875); 21 Harden Street, Woolwich (1877); 35 Prospect Row, Woolwich (1880-1881); 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1890-1901); 12 Paget Terrace, Woolwich (1908-1925)
- William: 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1901); 12 Paget Terrace, Woolwich (1908-1939)
Deaths: William died on 13 May 1949 when aged 85. He was buried at St Martins a few days later. He left his effects of £2491 11s 8d to his sons. Amelia died aged 87 on 13 January 1962 in London and was cremated on 22 January.
Notes: the 1911 census reveals that Amelia had been “totally deaf” since the age of 20 (1895).
G3: Victor William Harley (1901-1990)
Birth: Victor William Harley was born in Woolwich on 24 February 1901. He was the first child of William and Amelia.
Military service: Victor followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the army, but by 1921 had been discharged as ‘permanently unfit’.
Marriage: to Dorothy Taylor during 1924 in Woolwich. He was aged 22 and he was 23.
Spouse history: Dorothy had been born on 6 September 1900, the fifth child of John Taylor and Ada Dray. Her father was a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery, and the family lived in the Brookhill Married Quarters in Woolwich. She was christened in October. After leaving the army her father became a labourer at the Royal Arsenal, with the family living on Prince’s Road in Plumstead during 1911. In September 1912 Dorothy was enrolled into Eltham Secondary School, by which time they had moved around the corner on Barnfield Road. She was educated there for seven years before going on to Twyedon Training College to train as a teacher.
Children: (1) Victor in 1928.
Residences: Victor and Dorothy lived in a terraced house on Timbercroft Lane for almost a decade, before moving to a new large semi-detached house on Moordown in 1936. This would be their home for the next 30 years, although the National Register of 1939 recorded Dorothy at Trevano on Station Road in East Malling, where she and the other occupants were school mistresses. By the 1980s they had a small flat in Sidcup
- Victor: 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1901); 12 Paget Terrace, Woolwich (1908-1923); 102 Timbercroft Lane, Woolwich (1925-1934); 148 Moordown, Woolwich (1936-1965); 10 Edwin Arnold Court, 139 Main Road, Sidcup (1987-1990)
- Dorothy: Brookhill Married Quarters, Brookhill Road, Woolwich (1901); 115 Prince’s Road, Woolwich (1911); 77 Barnfield Road, Woolwich (1912); Trevano, Station Road, East Malling (1939); 10 Edwin Arnold Court, 139 Main Road, Sidcup (1987)
Occupations: in 1939 Victor worked as a ‘carpenter joiner (examiner) traveller’. When awarded part of his father’s estate in May 1949, he was described as a civil servant. In September 1962 he was possibly awarded the Imperial Service Medal. This Victor worked as a Grade III Engineering Technical Class for the War Office.
Deaths: Dorothy died at home on Main Road on 31 March 1987 when aged 86. Victor followed three years later and died on 30 September 1990 when aged 89.
G3: Eric Cecil Harley (1911-1972)
Birth: Eric Cecil Harley was born in Woolwich on 16 November 1911. He was the second child of William and Amelia.
Christening: on 17 December 1911 at St George’s Garrison Church, part of the barracks of the Royal Artillery.
Marriage: to Gladys Emily Bridge during 1933 in Woolwich. He was aged 21 and he was 20.
Spouse history: Gladys had been born in Woolwich on 29 August 1912 to Alfred Bridge and Lilian Phipps.
Children: unknown.
Residences: in 1933, 22-year-old Eric lodged on Plumstead Common Road just to the east of the barracks. After their marriage, the newlyweds lived with Eric’s father.
- Eric: 12 Paget Terrace, Woolwich (1911-1939); 12 Plumstead Common Road, Woolwich (1933)
- Gladys: 12 Paget Terrace, Woolwich (1934-1939)
Occupations: Eric was an electrical engineer and in 1939 worked for an electrical instrument maker. He was also part of the Special Constabulary, the part-time volunteer police force. During the Second World War, besides their normal duties, they were trained to deal with a range of eventualities such as first aid in case of injury, initial coordination of the security of aircraft crash sites, clearing people from the vicinity of unexploded bombs, handling of unignited incendiary bombs and checking compliance with lighting regulations.
Deaths: Eric died in Bromley during 1972 aged 61. Gladys survived him for 24 years and died in Crawley during December 1996 when aged 86.
G4: James Theodore Copus (1877-1938)
Birth: James Theodore Copus was born in Woolwich on 22 July 1877. He was the fourth child of William and Elizabeth.
Christening: on 2 September 1877.
Marriage: to Frances Hannah Brummitt during 1910 in Woolwich. He was aged 33 and she was 20.
Spouse history: Frances had been born in Woolwich on 11 January 1889, the fourth child of grocer Albert Alfred Brummitt and Elizabeth Grimison. In 1891 they lived on Charles Street near the Royal Dockyard, which was shared with the four members of another family. The family continued to grow, but their low income meant that a decade later they still had to share a house, which was a cramped terraced on Anglesea Road close to the Royal Engineers barracks. Alfred was now a labourer while Frances (cited as Hannah) was in school.
Children: (1) Alfred in 1911, (2) Horace in 1913, (3) Stanley in 1915, (4) Olive in 1917, (5) Florence in 1925, and (6) Lilian in 1928.
Occupations: in 1891, 14-year-old James worked as an errand boy, but he soon joined his father in the forging shop of the nearby Royal Arsenal. He still worked there in 1911, as a labourer in the Royal Laboratory Depot, moving to the Royal Gun Carriage Factory by 1921.
Residences: the electoral register shows that from 1901-1902 James paid his parents 5 schillings per week rent for a single furnished room, rising to 6 schillings in 1904. He got a better deal once he was married, with his widowed mother charging 5 schillings for two unfurnished rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. They inherited the house in 1911 and lived there until their deaths. The street was later named Paget Rise.
They took in lodgers in the interwar period, including some who lived with them for many years, such as James and Annie Clark (1919-1934) and Edward Pryer (1921-1938), who was an engineer’s labourer about the same age as James.
- James: 21 Harden Street (1877); 35 Prospect Row (1880-1881); 1 Paget Road (1890-1938) – all in Woolwich
- Frances: 4 Charles Street (1891); 54 Anglesea Road (1901); 1 Paget Road (1911-1965) – all in Woolwich
Deaths: James died in Woolwich during 1938 while aged 61. Frances died on 27 December 1968 when aged 79 and was cremated on 8 January 1969.
Notes: curiously, the 1911 census captured James as being married to a woman named Maud. The GRO records do list a Maud McKenzie on the same record as the marriage of James and Frances, but all further evidence points to him being married to Frances.
A James Theodore Copus served with the Royal Garrison Artillery with serial number 109748 during the First World War and is very likely the same person.
G3: Alfred James Copus (1911-1991)
Birth: Alfred James Copus was born in Woolwich on 28 July 1911. He was the first child of James and Frances.
Military service: Alfred enlisted into the Territorial Army element of the Royal Artillery on 31 May 1927 when aged just 15 years and 10 months, although he did not actually join until he was 16. Given service number 775117 he served his four-year term of service.
Marriage: to Ivy Rose Turner during 1934 in Woolwich. They were both aged 24.
Spouse history: Ivy had been born on 8 June 1911 to labourer George Turner and his wife Charlotte Woods and was christened in June at St Mark’s on Plumstead Common. The family lived in a terraced house on nearby Garland Street.
Children: (1) a girl in 1938, (2) a boy in 1940.
Occupations: Alfred worked in the Royal Arsenal making shell fuses.
Residences: in 1936 newlyweds Alfred and Ivy lived in a reasonably large terraced house on Camrose Street in Plumstead, where they probably lodged with the Clements family. They moved into a relatively new house on Abbey Grove on the Abbey Wood estate by 1939. The houses were of good quality, with large gardens and close to new schools, shops, and other amenities. By the late 1950s they had moved to Newport in Wales.
- Alfred: 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1911-1933); 9 Camrose Street, Woolwich (1936); 59 Abbey Grove, Abbey Wood (1937-1939); 18 Richmond Road, Newport (1991)
- Ivy: 8 Garland Street, Woolwich (1911); 9 Camrose Street, Woolwich (1936); 59 Abbey Grove, Abbey Wood (1937-1939)
Deaths: Alfred died in Newport on 3 January 1991 when aged 80. Ivy survived him for almost four years and died in the Ashton Park Residential Home on Christmas Eve 1994 when aged 83.
G3: Horace Copus (1913-?)
Birth: Horace Copus was born in Woolwich during 1913. He was the second child of James and Frances.
Military service: Horace also enlisted into the Territorial Army element of the Royal Artillery, a few months after his older brother Alfred, despite being aged just 14 and a half on 14 September 1927. He was given service number 776344 and eventually discharged on 31 December 1930 under Regulation 199 (6a) meaning service was no longer required.
Residences: 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1913-1936)
Notes: we know that Horace lived with his parents until 1936, but he then disappears and there is no further record of him.
G3: Stanley Copus (1915-1989)
Birth: Stanley Copus was born in Woolwich on 17 August 1915. He was the third child of James and Frances.
Marriage: to Ethel May Selina Bramble during 1940 in Woolwich. He was aged 24 and she was 18.
Spouse history: Ethel was six years younger than Stanley and had been born in Lambeth on 26 August 1921 to dock labourer John Percy Bramble and Ivy Lily Selina Kimmings. When the National Register was taken in 1939 Ethel worked as a battery hand and lived at home with her parents, which was literary around the corner from her future husband.
Children: two girls in 1941 and 1943.
Residences: by the 1950s the family had settled in Portsmouth on the south coast.
- Ethel: 97 Eglinton Road, Woolwich (1939); 9 Stirling Street, Portsmouth (2003-2008)
- Stanley: 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1915-1938)
Deaths: Stanley died in Portsmouth in June 1989 when aged 73. Ethel survived him for 19 years and died on 8 August 2008.
G3: Olive Marjorie Copus (1917-1984)
Birth: Olive Marjorie Copus was born in Woolwich on 11 September 1917. She was the fourth child of James and Frances.
Marriage: to Leonard Everest during 1937 in Woolwich. She was aged 19 and he was 28.
Spouse history: Leonard had been born in Woolwich on 16 September 1908, the fourth child of baker Harry Edgar Everest and Emma Hammond. In 1911 the family had a house on Sladedale Road in the east of Plumstead and Leonard would live here with his parents until his own wedding. His father was one of the army of labourers who worked in the nearby Royal Arsenal.
Children: a boy and a girl in 1944 and 1948.
Residences: at the time of their marriage the couple shared a large terraced house on Vernham Road with two other couples. The next year they moved into a house of their own on Chestnut Rise. In 1954 they moved into Leonard’s childhood home which presumably they had inherited. They would live here for the rest of their lives.
- Olive: 1 Paget Road (1917-1937); 16 Vernham Road (1938); 19 Chestnut Rise (1939); 22 Sladedale Road (1954-1984) – all in Woolwich
- Leonard: 22 Sladedale Road (1911-1936); 16 Vernham Road (1938); 19 Chestnut Rise (1939); 22 Sladedale Road (1954-1972) – all in Woolwich
Occupations: Leonard was a milkman in 1939.
Deaths: Leonard died in London on 17 June 1972 when aged 63. Olive survived him for 12 years and died in London on 22 April 1984 when aged 66.
G3: Florence May Copus (1925-1987)
Birth: Florence May Copus was born in Woolwich on 12 April 1925. She was the fifth child of James and Frances. She was likely commonly known by her middle name.
Marriage (1): to Peter J. Vandenbosch during 1943 in Woolwich. She was aged just 17 and likely pregnant at the time.
Children (1): Peter in 1943, (2) a boy in 1947. Peter sadly died soon after birth.
Marriage (2): to Alick Cushing during 1960 in Bermondsey. She was aged 34.
Occupations: in 1939 May worked as a bottle stopper fixer and factory hand.
Residences: during the early 1960s, May and Alick lived on Plough Way close to Greenland Dock in Rotherhithe.
- May: 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1925-1939); 92 Plough Way, Rotherhithe (1959-1965)
- Alick: 92 Plough Way, Rotherhithe (1959-1965)
Deaths: Florence died in Southwark on 26 June 1987 when aged 62 and was buried on 6 July.
G2: Peter John Vandenbosch (1943)
Birth: Peter John Vandenbosch was born in Woolwich during 1943. He was the first child of Peter and Florence.
Deaths: he died soon after birth and was buried on 9 July 1943.
G3: Lilian Dorothy Copus (1928-2005)
Birth: Lilian Dorothy Copus was born in Woolwich 26 March 1928. She was the sixth child of James and Frances. She was likely commonly known by her middle name.
Marriage: to George E. Long during 1950 in Woolwich. She was aged 21.
Children: three girls and a boy between 1952 and 1960.
Residences: the couple lived with Lilian’s mother until 1965.
- Lilian: 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1928-1965)
- George: 1 Paget Road, Woolwich (1951-1965)
Deaths: Lilian died in Greenwich on 6 October 2005.
G4: Esther Louise Copus (1879-1880)
Birth: Esther Louise Copus was born in Woolwich on 4 July 1879. She was the fifth child of William and Elizabeth.
Christening: on 14 August 1880 at St Thomas’s Church in Charlton.
Residences: 35 Prospect Row, Woolwich (1880)
Death: during 1890 and buried at St Thomas’s on 26 August.
