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1 AUDREY SPENCER APRIL 12th 1926 – JULY 16th 2019.

AUDREY SPENCER was born in NEW HERRINGTON, HOUGHTON LE SPRING, COUNTY DURHAM on 12th April 1926, the daughter of JOHN ROBERT and MARGARET EVA HINCHLIFFE Her sister SUSANNAH was born 2 years and one day later on the 13th April 1928.


Audrey and Susannah’s mum MARGARET EVA sadly passed away when her daughters were still very young children and the girls were raised by their maternal Grandfather RICHARD THOMAS OLIVER.

Their Grandfather looked after Audrey and Susannah until he was taken ill and was left with no other choice than to place his beloved Grandaughters into a childrens home.

Audrey’s memories of MEDOMSLEY EDGE COTTAGE HOMES where she and Susannah lived for a number of years were never sad ones. Audrey always said they (the children) were treated firmly but fairly.


When Audrey reached 14 years of age she had to leave the childrens home and was placed into ‘service.’ Audrey’s first place of service was with a family in Bishop Aukland, Durham. Audrey wasn’t happy being in service but she stuck with it because she said she had to wait for ‘my Sister Sue.’


Audrey went on to join the ATS in 1946 where she met her future husband JACK BRISTOW.

Audrey and Jack married in Bristol in April 1947 and lived in Shirehampton until they got their own home, a brand new house in Lawrence Weston.


Audrey and Jack had 5 children, SUSAN, ROBERT, MALCOLM, CHRISTOPHER and PAMELA. Christopher was Malcolm’s twin but he tragically passed away when he was just a few weeks old.

Audrey was a stay at home wife as most ladies of her generation were. But on one occasion she did have a part time job working the evening shift with other ladies at the Peek Frean biscuit factory in Avonmouth where on occasions and if possible she would sneak out the odd Bourbon biscuit as a treat for one or other of her children.

Audrey was very house proud and would spend many hours keeping her home spotlessly clean. She also used to knit and sew and made the majority of the clothes for Jack and their children.


Audrey and Jack divorced in 1967 and Audrey went on to have one more child GEOFFREY with her new partner RON.

Audrey, Ron and Geoff lived in Bushey, Hertfordshire for a number of years before eventually relocating to Bristol.


After Ron passed away Audrey got itchy feet and decided it was time to start seeing a bit of the world. She didn’t want to fly so she went on foreign holidays by coach thoroughly enjoying herself visiting many places in Europe and on these holidays making a number of new friends.


Audrey always tried to learn a few words in the language of whatever country she was visiting but one particular time her new language skills very funnily let her down. She was in a restaurant in an Eastern European city and asked for what she believed was a cheese sandwich. She said the waiter gave her some very strange looks but none the less took her order and went off to place it for her. When her cheese sandwich arrived it wasn’t what you would exactly call a cheese sandwich. Audrey had ordered a whole loaf of bread and a large block of cheese !!!


Audrey loved classical music and went to see many of the great opera singers including of course Luciano Pavarotti.


Audrey led a very busy life and worked until she was nearly 80 years of age. She used to clean for who in her words she called ‘my poor old ladies.’ Those ladies were in fact all younger than Audrey.

Any spare time Audrey had once her house was spick and span would be used decorating or gardening. She also enjoyed doing crosswords and flicking through the TV channels and quite often would end up watching something that was in a foreign language even though she had no idea of what was being said.


Geoff moved back home to live with his mum and his son BEN also lived with them. Audrey adored Ben and helped Geoff to raise him. She also of course loved all her other Grandchildren, HELEN, CHRISTOPHER, DARREN, LUCIE, SERENA, ANDREW and DAVID. There are a number of Great Grandchildren and also some Great, Great Grandchildren.


Audrey would quite often talk about her childhood and would mention the names of cousins that she could remember from her childhood so when her Daughter Sue got her first computer and went online she started to search ‘up North’ as Audrey would say for her Mum’s family. As luck would have it Sue found those cousins and in 2001 Sue and her partner TREVOR took Audrey up to Durham on the pretence of Audrey showing them around where she grew up. 2 days later Audrey received a big surprise as she met cousins BILLY, SHEILA and JUNE and had tea with them. Sue had also contacted the Sunderland Echo newspaper and they sent a reporter and photographer to the meeting so that Audrey could tell them her story and have it published in the hope that more family would be found. Sadly no other family in Durham came forward.


As time went on a half sister JILL who lives in Essex with her husband DEREK and son ROBERT were also found.

Audrey met Jill, Derek and Robert on numerous occasions as she did with her cousins in Durham. Then surprisingly, another cousin MARION who lives in Australia was found. When MARION and her husband RON came to the UK on holiday in 2010 Audrey was taken to meet Marion and Ron. They all spent a really lovely day together.

Audrey was so happy that she had finally found ‘family.’ It was no longer in her words ‘just me and my Sister.’


Around 9 years ago Audrey was very sadly diagnosed with Vascular Dementia and 7 years ago she went to live at DEERHURST CARE HOME in SOUNDWELL. Because of the wonderful care compassion and love Audrey received from everyone employed at Deerhurst including GRACE, MILA, NONG, DEAN and of course the Manager, LESLEY she became one of Deerhurst’s longest surviving residents.  
Hinchliffe, Audrey (I40)
 
2 notes Hinchliffe, Audrey (I40)
 
3 Sidney Attwood,
Was a man I really should have got to know, but like many Grandchildren this only realised after it is too late.

He clearly was adventurous, he immigrated to Australia as a young man, responded to the 'call' of WW1, some how survived Gallipoli and France.

At wars end he met Mabel Burchell (nee King) and he two young Sons, William George Burchell and Harold Burchell.

Mabel and Sid had a daughter Audrey in England.

Sidney Attwood married Mabel in England and returned to Australia with a 'ready made' family, all of which he treated and looked after very well.

 
Attwood, Sidney James (I39)
 
4 Updated: After the Deaths of Margaret Hinchliffe and Fredrick Gould Dinning.

During a recent Visit to the North of England, Marion Burchell (nee Dinning) and Ron Burchell made contact with Marion Timothy who is a relation of Fredrick Gould Dinning. Marion Timothy has completed an extensive 'Dinning' Family Tree investigation.

Marion Timothy advised Marion Burchell that there had been a number of infant children on the Dinning side that had sadly died at an early age, she suspected that Spinal Muscular Atrophy may have been the cause.

The presence of Spinal Muscular Atrophy is confirmed with the death of Keith Dinning, (Son of Margaret Hinchliffe and Fredrick Gould Dinning) aged 1 on 12/11/1951. We understand that Jack Jackson paid for an autopsy which was undertaken as a final confirmation that Spinal Muscular Atrophy was the cause of Keith's death.

Margaret Hinchliffe was always insistent that Keith's death was caused by the use of 'Teething' powder that contained Mercury.
For reasons best known to themselves Margaret Hinchliffe and Fred Dinning kept the real cause of the death Keith Dinning to themselves and did not warn any Family Members of the risks that would surround Children that they produced.

The real cause of the death of Keith Dinning did not surface until 1999.

It is absolute fact that Marion Burchell was fathered by Fredrick Dinning. Descendants of Marion Burchell (nee Dinning) need to be aware that the Spinal Muscular Atrophy gene is about.

On a brighter note, there were comments made that indicate there is the slight possibility that Fredrick Dinning may not have fathered all of Margaret Hinchliffe's children, which if proven true, will be fantastic relief to those descendants.

 
Dinning, Fred Gould (I11)
 
5 Updated: April 2010

My brother Keith Dinning was born at 5 Money Road, Caterham Surrey, England 14th October 1950.

Keith died and joined the Angels when he was a baby still on 8th November 1951. Keith died from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and on research it seems Muscular Dystrophy to be a genetic occurrence in his Father's family line.

Keith was buried in a grave at St Mary's Church, Caterham on 12th November 1951. The grave was left unmarked.

The first time Ron and I visited the UK in 1988, we were unable to locate the grave,as it was still unmarked and the Church office was closed. We guessed a spot and left a rose.

After several years of further inquiry from Australia to the UK, we managed to locate the grave and also having discovered the practice of infants of poor families being placed in unmarked shared graves, we pursued this line of enquiry. In 2010 at St Mary's church, it was confirmed that Keith was placed in a shared grave.


We then found that on March 30th, 1914, Patricia Alice Kersley died at the age of one year as a result of Meningitis. Patricia was buried on 1st April 1914. Patricia's father was a Grenadier Guard, stationed at Caterham Barracks. Harry Kersley, his wife Alice Maud Clark.
Patricia was born on the 13th March 1913 at the Guards Depot Caterham Surrey England.

Patricia and Keith share this resting place, Two Bonnie Bairns. We now have a marble vase to mark their place together, and our family in Godstone often place beautiful flowers in the marble vase. One of our family heard a child's tinkling music box while there one day, so I think the Bairns are happy now they are being looked after again.

May you Always have an Angel by your side, love from your sister Marion xx

There is further information that may assist Descendants contained in 'Notes'

 
Dinning, Keith (I37)
 

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