Gaius Penny Walter (1856-1943) was the son of
of , Somerset, England.
He was described as a draper in New Street
and
in the 1880s. In 1884 Gaius advertised for a 'good General Hand wanted immediately' in the Western Gazette of 13 June. He described himself as a
tailor of London House, Somerton.
The photograph above shows his name above the premises known as ,
a Grade II listed building dating from the early 19th century at the corner of New Street and
.
In 1885, he placed the following advert in the Western Gazette of 2 October:
WINTER DRAPERY.-G. & S. WALTER are now
showing large deliveries of WINTER GOODS of superior
qualities. Ladies' Reversible Macintoshes, 4s 6d to one
.-guinea. Jackets and Ultsters in large variety.-LON-
DON HOUSE, Somerton.
S Walter is likely to have been his sister .
On 6 June 1890, the following adverts appeared in the Western Gazette:
CHESTNUT COB (useful) FOR SALE. Without vice. Been
down.-G.P.WALTER, Draper, Somerton.
APPRENTICES.-G.P.WALTER, London House, Somer-
ton, has VACANCIES for TWO APPRENTICES for
Drapery and Clothing.
Intriguingly both pictures show that in the early 1900s Gaius was also conducting business as an
undertaker while the postcard below has 'Millinery' on the fascia and hats visible in the shop window.
Gaius' Shop, Somerton - Corner of New Street and Broad Street (c.1903-1906)
Gaius married Mary Adelia Carter (1870-1940) on 14th January 1891 in the Wesleyan Chapel, Somerton witnessed by his brother
and her parents and older brother.
Mary Adelia was the daughter of Alfred Carter (1839-1918)
(a Sergeant Instructor of Volunteers and then licensed victualler keeping the
in Broad Street, Somerton)
and Annie Belle McLeod (born Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada 1851) from South Petherton
in March 1891.
On 9 October 1891 Mary Adelia's advertisement in the Western Gazette asked for:
GENERAL SERVANT (good) WANTED. Must understand
plain cooking. Small family.-Mrs.WALTER, London House, Somerton, Somerset.
On 6 December 1898 Gaius was mentioned in the Western Gazette:
BLANKET CHARITY.-The annual distribution of the
charity blankets took place on Thursday, Nov. 28, when
sixty-two blankets of superior quality, supplied by Mr.
Gaius Walter, draper, London House, were given to the
second poor of the town. (...)
Gaius Penny and Mary Adelia had children including:
- Dorothy Mary (Mary)(1891-1971; died Surrey)
- Ada Elsie (1892-1945)
- Lillian Kathleen (Lily) (1894-1982)
- Caroline Eveline (Eveline) (1896-)
- Christina Irene (Christiana) (1900-1999)
- Hugh Penny Wesley (1901-1975)
- Harold Philip McLeod (b.1905; Castle Cary)
On 19 January 1900, Mary Adelia had the following advert in the Western Gazette:
GIRL (16) REQUIRED for general work. Respectable.
Good home.-Mrs.WALTER, London House, Somerton, Somerset.
In 1911 the family lived in The Cottage,
North Street, Somerton (excluding Dorothy Mary). Gaius is listed in a 1914 directory for Somerton when he was described
as a draper (Broad Street) and a tailor
(New Street). When Lillian Kathleen married in 1920 she gave her
address as Waterloo House, Waterlooville, Hampshire. Gaius was described as a draper on the marriage certificate. Dorothy Mary's husband came from
and their children were born in Portsmouth District from 1917 onwards. Between 1923-1935 Southsea trade directories
list Gaius as a draper at 111-113 Eastrey Road. In 1927 administration of his grandmother
's will passed to
him from his brother, Jacob who had died in 1924. Gaius Penny, Mary Adelia and Elsie Ada died in Portsmouth District in 1943,
1940 and 1945 respectively. On his death certificate, Gaius' last address was given as 3, Chitty Road, Southsea, his occupation Master Draper
(retired) and the informant was his daughter D.M. Storey of the same address (see below). He actually died at 1,
Chitty Road. Probate was granted in May 1943 to his daughter Ada Elsie Walter (spinster) - value £342 2s 10.
Dorothy Mary Walter. In 1911 Dorothy Mary was living in Clapham Road, London, boarding with the Collingridge family and
working as a shop assistant. She married Fred George Storey (29) on 8th October 1916 in the Holloway Chapel,
Camden Road, Islington witnessed by G. and A. Walter (presumably Gaius and ?Mary Adelia). Dorothy was then living at
426, Holloway Road {426-436 were the premises of B. Davies & Co. Fancy Drapers} and Fred (a newspaper office collector)
was living in Southsea. They had children including: Granville L.G. Storey (b. June quarter 1917), Renee Mara Storey
(1918-1995; died Surrey) and John Walter Storey (1923-2002; died Southend-on-Sea) all born in Portsmouth.
Granville married Vera G.J. Barlow in Portsmouth in 1939;
Renee married Donald Maxwell V.D. O'Hanlon (1909-1988; died Surrey) in Portsmouth in 1940;
John married Betty E. Turner in Gosport in 1944.
Lillian Kathleen Walter married Royal Ivo Spencer Aldridge (1894-1982; died Portsmouth)
on 5th April 1920 in the Baptist Church, Waterlooville, Hampshire witnessed by members of Royal's family.
Lillian Kathleen also died in 1982.
Royal Aldridge was the son of Thomas Aldridge (c.1871-) and Amelia Rachel (Minnia) Spencer (c.1871) who lived in Waterlooville. He had an older
sister Ivy Grace Aldridge (b.1892) and also Olive Amelia Aldridge (b.1898-1987). Royal Aldridge appears on Aquitania and Berengeria
crew lists as a waiter or pantry steward between and New York in 1920-1923.
Royal Ivo Spencer Aldridge in 1920
Christiana Irene Walter married Norman Frederick Speck (1904-1986) in Portsmouth in 1927.
Norman was a tailor (N.F. Speck & Co.). In the Southsea trade dirctory for that year he lived at 2 Devonshire Gardens.
By 1958 they had moved to 163 Francis Avenue. Christiana died in SE Hants district in March 1999.
Hugh Penny Wesley Walter married Florence Alice Woolvin (1901-1986; b. South Stoneham, d. Southampton) in 1922 in Southampton.
They had a son John Harold Walter (1927-2005; died Aylesbury) who married Joyce Patricia Campbell
(1926-1998) in 1949 (both events in Southampton ).
Harold Philip Mcleod Walter married Edith Catherine Spahn nee Binden in St Giles on 14th September 1929.
Also on 14th September 1929 Harold McLeod Walter left on SS Pembrokeshire (Glen Line Ltd) travelling 1st class from
London to Port Swettenham (Port Klang) Malaysia. His marriage certificate gave his address as 16, Catford Hill,
Catford. However, the ship's manifest gave his address in the UK as 2 Devonshire Avenue, Southsea (the home and
business premises of his brother-in-law Norman Speck) and his profession as journalist. No reference was made to
his wife. There were 12 passengers on board and the vessel was bound for the Straits, China and Japan. He returned to
Southampton (2nd class) onboard the SS Patria from Singapore in 1931 giving his home address as 13 Newton Mansions, NW18 and age as 28.
Edith divorced him in 1934 and remarried in 1936. There is a conflict between his registered birth (September Quarter 1905) and the
date usually shown on shipping records: June 6 1903. A Mr H P Walter left London for the Cape, South Africa on 8 April 1936 aboard the Union-Castle
Durham Castle (no further information shown).
At some point in 1946/7 Harold reappeared from Bombay on the
, a P&O liner that docked at Southampton,
with 163, Francis Avenue, Southsea, Hants given as permanent UK address. On 31st May 1947 Harold left Liverpool on board the Cilicia
(Anchor Line) bound for Bombay. India was given as his country of intended permanent residence and his UK
address as c/o Chartered Bank, Bishopsgate. Family information states that he worked for The Times of India in Bombay. He landed in Southampton on September 23 1954 from the Cunard Samaria, this time with the
Francis Avenue address but an intended address outside the UK (no details). On September 13 1955 he arrived from New York on the
Nieuw Amsterdam (Holland America Line) showing England as his last permanent abode and the Bank as address.
On 23rd March 1958 he left Liverpool again on board the Cilicia bound
for Karachi stating that he was single and that his country of intended permanent residence was Pakistan. He gave his
UK address as c/o Mr N. F. Speck, 163, Francis Avenue, Southsea, Hants but his last permanent residence as Jersey,
Channel Islands. He reappeared on May 19 1959 on the P&O Iberia with a wife Elizabeth Walter born July 1909.
Their UK address was shown as 66 Abingdon road, Kensington, W8 and India as last country of residence.
In 1968 Harold Philip McLeod Walter married Indian journalist Manorama Kathju (Katju) (born 26 April 1925), former editor of Screen
magazine and
a niece of Pandit Nehru, at the Kensington Register Office. They had originally met when he worked for the The Times of India. Both gave their
addresses as Hotel Europe, Cromwell Road. Harold gave his status as divorced. The family knew Harold as 'Max' and Manorama as 'Manni'. Around 1970
they moved to Malta where they remained until relocating again to New Delhi in 1994.
Edith Catherine Binden was born in December 1897 to Benjamin Tilt Binden (b.1865)
{an Indian Government Inspector at the time of her marriage} and Sarah Eliza Tickner (1867-1930; died Lambeth)
who were born in London and Nottinghamshire respectively and married in 1891. Edith first married John Leslie Spahn
in September quarter 1918 and had a child John L. Spahn in March quarter 1919. Both events (and her marriage
to Harold Walter) took place in St Giles District (Bloomsbury). John Spahn was probably from Buffalo, N.Y. and in
1902 married Helen May Butler (1867-1957) "The Female Sousa" by whom he had two children: Helen May (b.1903) and Leslie Erlander (b.1905).
According to her family , she was the leader of a rare all-female band.
John Spahn "discovered" them and renamed them "Helen May Butler and her Ladies Military Band" promoting them as an "Adam-less Garden of Musical Eves".
Although normally known as "Jack" he disguised his gender by signing his name J. Leslie Spahn. They divorced in
1908 and Helen remarried James H. Young in 1911.
John Leslie Spahn continued as a "music producer" specialising in all-female vaudeville.
His
went to Europe, including England, at the end of 1917. Edith's marriage certificate to Harold states that she was
divorced . There is no trace of Edith travelling to the USA or accompanying Harold on any of his known voyages as a
journalist although her divorce petition states that she lived with him in Kuala Lumpur. Edith's son John was thereafter known as John Leslie Walter (1919-1994). After divorcing Harold in 1934, Edith C. Walter or Spahn married Frederick W. Wallace in
Paddington in 1936. She died in Hove aged 62 in 1960. John Leslie Walter married Mary Lauriston McKinnon (1909-1994). A birth was registered
in 1944 for the couple (he was a Captain in the Gurkha Rifles, she was a sister in Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service) at Shillong in North-East India).
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