Ephemera

An Empty Envelope

addressed to C C Ridgeway at Lockers Park School, Hemel Hempstead in 1915

Just an old envelope - but what does it tell us? If you are going through old family records it is always worth wondering what such a "useless bit of paper" can tell you about the family.

Lockers Park was a prep boarding school at Hemel Hempstead and the headmaster was Percy Christopherson. So is could be a letter sent to a teacher or a pupil at the school.

A search of FreeBMD for C* C* Ridgeway between 1850 and 1910 revealed the following:

Surname First name(s)  District Vol Page 
Births Sep 1872   (>99%)
     RIDGEWAY Charles Spencer C F  Upton 6c 321
Births Mar 1904   (>99%)
     Ridgeway Charles Campbell  Thanet 2a 1075

     RIDGEWAY Cyril Charles  Watford 3a 831

A Search of the 1911 census on FindMyPast reveals the following family living at St Peter's Lodge, Broadstairs Thanet, Kent:

RIDGEWAY, Fitzgerald Head Married M 38 Schoolmaster In Preparatory Worcestershire Malvern
RIDGEWAY, Jean Wife Married 11 years F 32   London Bayswater
RIDGEWAY, Charles Son   M 7   Kent Broadstairs
PERRING, Nellie Servant Single F 35 Cook Domestic Essex Wanstead
EDGCOMBE, Alice Servant Single F 27 Parlourmaid Domestic Cumberland Penrith
HOSKINS, Laura Servant Single F 29 Housemaid Domestic Kent Crayford
WOOD, Marion Servant Single F 24 Nurse Domestic Surrey Norbiton

 And the envelope was posted from Broadstairs, Kent

So the envelope provides evidence that Charles Campbell Ridgeway, son of Fitzgerald Ridgeway, was a pupil at Lockers Park School, Hemel Hempstead, in 1915, at a time when Percy Christopherson was the headmaster. The 1911 household suggests that the family profile supports the idea that their son might be sent to a boarding school.

A later check on Ancestry provides a family tree and the following obituary from The Times:

Charles Campbell Ridgeway: 14th February 1904 - 5th September 1973

If you can add to the information given above tell me.