Derby Alsbury's

My grandfather, Charles Edward Alsbury (died 1979), lived in Derby at 231 Portland Street. The house was not far from Derby County's football ground - known as the Baseball Ground - and looking across the recreation field behind the house, and the railway line beyond, you could see the Rolls-Royce factory where he had worked in payroll and accounts. He had worked there all his life except for during World War I, in which he had served first in the Derbyshire Imperial Yeomanry and later in the Durham Light Infantry before being taken prisoner-of-war.

Born in 1896 Charles Edward was the only surviving son of Charles Alsbury (1865-1927) and his wife, Sarah Ann Sandall. It is this Charles, whose birthplace I am still unsure of. His parents George and Harriet were from Corston (near Bath) where they were married on the 12th October 1851. By 1865 they were living in Hope Street, Derby but their movements in between are uncertain. Family tradition suggested that Charles was born in the Bristol area, but the 1871 Census indicates Derby and the 1881 Census records Holyhead (in Wales) as his birthplace ! After George's death in 1872, Harriet was married again to a William Tufnell. The known children of George and Harriet are William George (1851-1923), Samuel (1853-1908), James (born 1858), Sarah (1863-1865), Charles (1864-1927), Mary Ann (1865-1868) and John (1871-1955).

One of Samuel's sons, James (1880-1914), is commemorated on the cenotaph near Derby railway station having been killed whilst on active service during the first world war. James Alsbury was a Leading Seaman on the 'Good Hope', flagship of Admiral Cradock at the battle of Coronel in November 1914. This encounter off the coast of Chile with the 'Scharnhorst' and 'Gneisenau' under the command of Admiral Graf von Spee was tragically one-sided and at 7.50 pm, already on fire amidships, the 'Good Hope' with guns still firing suddenly blew up. There was no prospect of rescue of survivors from the icy sea.