Person Page - 11

Richard Quinton married Emily White, daughter of Thomas White and Susanah Appleton, in 1851 in London.¹

Frederick George Shaw, son of Frederick William Shaw and Emily Sarah Abbiss, was born on 28 November 1885 at Frederick Street, Islington, London,^1,4 but lived at Ickleford from about 3 years of age.⁵

Frederick George Shaw married Edith Florence Gray, daughter of Frank Gurney Gray and Elizabeth Lavinia Kingsley, on 2 August 1913 at the Parish Church of Holy Saviour, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.^1,2,6 Frederick George Shaw lived at Ickleford at the time.⁷

His mother died on 9 December 1914 intestate and a widow.⁸ He was granted Letters of Administration for the estate on 4 January 1915. The estate amounted to £47 4s 10p.⁸

Frederick George Shaw lived at 64 Glebe Road, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, on 31 October 1921.⁹ He insured the contents for £150 on 31 October 1921 with the Fine Art and General Insurance Company of 66 Threadneedle Street at EC2.⁹

Frederick George Shaw was a witness at the marriage of Leslie Varley MVO MBE and Joan Katharine Shaw on 25 November 1939 at St Nicholas' Church, Norton, Hertfordshire, by licence.^10,11

Frederick George Shaw died on 6 October 1948 at age 62 at 123 Norton Way, Letchworth, aged 62 years from cerebral haemorrhage and arterio sclerosis.^1,12 and was buried in Letchworth Cemetery. The funeral arrangements were undertaken by A Favell & Son of Letchworth. They provided a best waxed elm coffin with best fittings and interior, motor hearse, bearers and two morning cars at a cost to his widow of £25 12s 6p.^2,13

Frederick George Shaw was a Sheetmetal Worker on 2 August 1913^1,6,11

Frederick George Shaw was the owner of a bible which passed to his daughter Joan.^14,15

Frederick George Shaw was a Mechanical Engineer on 8 October 1948.¹²

Frederick George Shaw was the owner of small bible inscribed "FG Shaw."¹⁶

Edith Florence Gray, daughter of Frank Gurney Gray and Elizabeth Lavinia Kingsley, was born on 16 May 1887 at Pirton, Hertfordshire. Family lore has it that she was born in Northaw but her mother's bible records that she was born in Pirton. This seems the most likely place as her birth was registered at Hitchin which covered Pirton but Northaw was covered by Hertford.^{1,5,6,7,4,8,9,10} It is not known where she was baptised butshe was confirmed at St Saviour's on 2 May 1902.⁴ She was put into service with the Goodhalls who kept a big housein Chobham. They were very good to her and the three children gave her a silver tea-set when she got married.¹¹ Edith Florence Gray is known to have been a Children's Nurse during her life so it is assumed she was employed as such by the Goodhalls.¹

Edith Florence Gray married Frederick George Shaw, son of Frederick William Shaw and Emily Sarah Abbiss, on 2 August 1913 at the Parish Church of Holy Saviour, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.^1,5,12 Edith Florence Gray was in service and resident at St Saviour's at the time.^7,12 Later she became a Straw Plaiter.⁷

By 12 October 1948 she lived at 64 Glebe Road, Letchworth, Hertfordshire.^13,14

Edith Florence Shaw and Joan Katharine Varley were jointly granted Letters of Administration for her husband's estate, which amounted to £1871 5s 1d, on 24 November 1948.^15,16 On 31 January 1949Ernest Frederick Shaw and Joan Katharine Varley entered into a Deed of Family Arrangement making her the sole beneficiary.¹⁴

Edith Florence Gray died on 26 March 1959 at age 71 at 64 Glebe Road, Letchworth, from cardiac failure and coronary thrombosis.^17,5,4,18

In 1895 she a received a bible inscribed inscribed Edith Florence Gray from her loving mother. Watch and pray 1895. It appears to have been her mother's bible as it is also inscribed Elizabeth L Kingsley July 20th 1883. A gift from Mrs Mawson.⁴ She also owned a small bible inscribed "Edith Gray May 19th 1905 from K & A Little" (the 9 is overwritten in pencil with a 6).¹⁹

Joan Katharine Shaw, daughter of Frederick George Shaw and Edith Florence Gray, was born on 15 June 1917 in Glebe Road, Letchworth.^1,3 When she was eight years old, her mother used to send her to see her Granny in Hitchin a lot. On these occassions Joan was given a bucket of water and a scrubbing brush to clean the four concrete steps at the back of the house.⁴

Joan Katharine Shaw married Leslie Varley MVO MBE, son of Lawrence Varley and (?) Hamshaw, by licence on 25 November 1939 at St Nicholas' Church, Norton, Hertfordshire.^1,2

Joan Katharine Varley lived at 64 Glebe Road, Norton, Letchworth, between 1939 and 31 January 1994.^5,2,6

On 24 November 1948 Joan Katharine Varley and Edith Florence Shaw were jointly granted Letters of Administration for her father's estate, which amounted to £1871 5s 1d.^7,8 On 31 January 1949Joan Katharine Varley and Ernest Frederick Shaw entered into a Deed of Family Arrangement with their mother making her the sole beneficiary.⁶

Joan Katharine Varley was a Supervisor.¹

She possessed a number of family heirlooms one of which was a small metal box made by her father. She kept her family papers in it and stored it in the suitcase given to her by her husband.⁹ She also had a copper warming pan which came to her when her Granny Gray died.¹⁰ Two more items which she had were the suitcase which her husband gave her as a 21st birthday present¹¹ and small bible inscribed "Joan Shaw Dec 25th 1930" It includes a short note; 13 Florence St. Just to write you many happy returns of your 21st birthday. Will you please buy yourself some little thing with the enclosed. Wishing you the best. Grannie.¹² Another item she had was her father's bible. It was stolen by a neighbour from her home at 64 Glebe road about 1990. Her son Richard said that she was burgled. He believed it was taken by a neighbour because Joan had shown them where it was kept.^5,13

In 1971, Joan Katharine Shaw appeared in a photograph taken at the Graduation and Passing Out Parade of Anthony George Patrick Mooney from RAF OCTU, RAF Henlow. Ernest Frederick Shaw, Ruth Grace Pickard, David Arthur Drury, Eleanor Grace Blanks and Ralph Henry Pickard also appeared in the photograph.¹⁴

Leslie Varley MVO MBE, son of Lawrence Varley and (?) Hamshaw, was born on 22 June 1915 in Wakefield^4,5 Leslie Varley MVO MBE lived at Glasgow at the time⁶ and married Joan Katharine Shaw, daughter of Frederick George Shaw and Edith Florence Gray, on 25 November 1939 at St Nicholas' Church, Norton, Hertfordshire, by licence.^1,7 Leslie Varley MVO MBE later married Edna May Dixon.³

Leslie was first a carpenter⁸ and then a soldier when he joined the Royal Army Supply Corps eventually being promoted to on 25 November 1939⁷ Regimental Sergeant Major.⁸ Heleft the Army in 1962 and worked at the Tower of London⁹ where he was the Chief Yeoman Warder until 1980.^8,9

Leslie was the Parish Clerk at the The Chapel Royal St Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, from circa 1978 to circa 1992.⁹

Barbara Seabright-Moore of Canada said of him in 2016:

I knew Leslie Varley very well in the 1970’s and 80’s. He was a very good friend of my Uncle Brian Seabright and was the Godfather of my twin cousins Dianne and Debbie Seabright who were baptised, by Leslie’s petition to the Queen, at the chapel in the Tower of London. I stayed at Leslie and his wife’s house in the Tower in 1976 when I was 15 and was visiting my relatives there. I always knew him as such a charming and lovely man with such a lovely sense of humour. He took us on private tours of the Crown Jewels and invited us to the Ceremony of the Keys for a private encounter which always stood in my memory. I have never been able to find anything about him and discovered your page with his picture which I instantly recognized as my "Uncle Les" as we always called him. So lovely to see that picture of him as I always remembered him. I came back to England in 1980 and went to theatre school in Guildford and saw him once or twice I think in the year I was there. He was such an integral part of my family, especially being that he was my twin cousins’ God Father.¹⁰

Leslie Varley MVO MBE died on 19 December 1994 at age 79 at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, in his sleep¹¹ and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery, Brookwood, Surrey, at 11 a.m. on Thursday 29 December 1994.¹¹

On 9 February 1969 Leslie Varley MVO MBE had prayer book inscribed Leslie Varley in memory of his confirmation by the Lord Bishop of London and of his first Communion in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula in H.M. Tower of London, on February 9, 1969 and signed Robert London(?) TP Butler Resident Governor, John G Nicholls Chaplain.¹² He had another prayerbook inscribed simply Leslie Varley.¹²

A Tower of London souvenir booklet from about 1976 has a striking picture of him on the front cover and another two of him inside.¹³

In an email dated 28 June 2017

Ady Stimpson said:


Click the icon to see the inscription.¹⁴

Frederick William Shaw was born in 1859.³

Frederick William Shaw married Emily Sarah Abbiss, daughter of George Abbiss and Mary Lawman, on 24 May 1884 at the Ickleford Parish Church.^1,3,4

Frederick William Shaw lived with Emily Sarah Abbiss in a cottage on the green at Ickleford (it wasn't there in 1994).⁵

Frederick William Shaw was a Railway Fireman in 1888.³

Frederick William Shaw lived at 25 Frederick Street, Islington, on 4 July 1888.³

Frederick William Shaw died on 4 July 1888 at the Royal Free Hospital after falling from a tender by coming into contact with overhead wires attached to a signal box. The death certificate records the cause of death as: Died of shock. Compound fracture to legs. Run over by train near Stroud Green Station G.N.R.³ He was probably buried in Ickleford Church Yard.⁵

Emily Sarah Abbiss, daughter of George Abbiss and Mary Lawman, was born circa 1856 in Ickleford, Hertfordshire.^4,5

Emily Sarah Abbiss married Frederick William Shaw on 24 May 1884 at the Ickleford Parish Church.^1,4,6

Emily Sarah Abbiss lived in a cottage on the green at Ickleford (it wasn't there in 1994).⁷

Emily Sarah Abbiss died on 9 December 1914 intestate and a widow.⁸ She was buried at Ickleford Church Yard in an unmarked grave near to the graveyard wall adjacent to the road. There was no visible sign of the grave in Jun 1994.^2,7,9 She was granted Letters of Administration for his estate which amounted to £47 4s 10p.⁸

Emily Louise Shaw also went by the name of Aunt Um. Pamela Thompson couldn't say 'Emily' as a child and always said 'Aunt Um' instead. No-one else dared call her that.² She, daughter of Frederick William Shaw and Emily Sarah Abbiss, was born circa 1887 in Islington, London.³

Emily Louise Shaw was an Embroiderer.² Joan Varley said that she worked for a private firm which had to close down. Queen Mary, who had work done by the firm, got her a job at the Royal School of Needlework so that her expertise would not be wasted. She taught at the Royal School of Needlework. Amongst her pupils were King George V, Queen Mary and the Duke of York who later became King George VI.^4,5 It has also been said of her that she was a skilled embroiderer and embroidered cushions for royalty.²

Emily Louise Shaw was a witness at the marriage of Frederick George Shaw and Edith Florence Gray on 2 August 1913 at Parish Church of Holy Saviour, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.^6,7,8

Emily Louise Shaw lived in Hills Road, Cambridge for most of her life^9,4 and she went to live in Seven Kings, London after she retired.⁴ She was a spinster all her life.^1,4

Emily Louise Shaw died in December 1962 in Hornchurch Hospital, Seven Kings, London.^7,9,2,4,10

Agnes G Shaw, daughter of Frederick William Shaw and Emily Sarah Abbiss, was born circa 1888 in Islington, London.²

Agnes G Shaw married Arthur Groves.¹

Agnes G Shaw died.³

Frank Gurney Gray, son of George Gray, was born on 26 March 1855 in Luton.^4,5,67 And married Elizabeth Lavinia Kingsley, daughter of Abraham Kingsley and Abigail Hanscombe, on 3 June 1886 in the Parish Church, Willian, Hertfordshire. The marriage was solemnised after banns by LW Denman. The groom was a bachelor aged 31, a resident of Willian and the bride was a spinster aged 20, a resident of Pirton. The witnesses were George Kingsley, Mary Ellis and Laurel Aubrey Ellis.^1,8,4,5,9 They lived in Northaw, Hertfordshire. He had a house there where Edith Florence Gray was born.¹⁰

He joined the Army using the name F Eaves and lying about his age. It's not certain when he joined up but it was possibly either during the gap in the ages of his children or after they were all born. He served in the Boer war.^7,11,10,4

At some point he moved his family to 13 Florence Street, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.¹⁰

Frank Gurney Gray was a witness at the marriage of Frederick George Shaw and Edith Florence Gray on 2 August 1913 at the Parish Church of Holy Saviour, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.^12,7,13 Frank Gurney Gray was a Painter at the time.¹⁴ Earlier in his life he had been a Baker and a Coachman.^15,13,9

Frank Gurney Gray died on 8 January 1936 at age 80.⁵

Elizabeth Lavinia Kingsley was born on 18 December 1865 at Pirton.^3,4,5 She married Frank Gurney Gray, son of George Gray, on 3 June 1886 in the Parish Church, Willian, Hertfordshire. The marriage was solemnised after banns by LW Denman. The groom was a bachelor aged 31, a resident of Willian and the bride was a spinster aged 20, a resident of Pirton. The witnesses were George Kingsley, Mary Ellis and Laurel Aubrey Ellis.^1,6,3,4,7

Elizabeth Lavinia Kingsley was renowned for her work as a straw plaiter doing very fine work on elegant hats. All the Hitchin people worked like this at home. Barbara Gray has a little wooden instrument for splitting straw. The straw was held in the mouth and in the hand and the tool was inserted over the straw splitting it into strands.⁶ She got her son Thomas a job in Nottingham through the Stationmaster at Hitchin whom she knew but everyone thought she was awful to send him away like that.⁸

Elizabeth Lavinia Kingsley had a wheelchair from circa 1920 She had suffered from puerperal fever and lost a leg as a result. Edith Florence Gray went round vicars, doctors etc. and into London to obtain the eight signatures needed to qualify for an artificial limb. However, Elizabeth Lavinia found it uncomfortable to wear and didn't use it. It was kept hanging on the back of the pantry door at 13 Florence Street, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.^6,3

Elizabeth Lavinia Kingsley died on 13 September 1957 at age 91.⁴

In 1883 she a received a bible inscribed Elizabeth L Kingsley July 20th 1883. A gift from Mrs Mawson. She appears to have given it to her daughter as it is further inscribed Edith Florence Gray from her loving mother. Watch and pray 1895.⁴

Ernest Frank Gray, son of Frank Gurney Gray and Elizabeth Lavinia Kingsley, was born on Thursday 14 January 1889 at Leicester.^3,4,5 Ernest Frank Gray was called Curly.⁶

Ernest Frank Gray married Polly Allam.¹