Roobert Outen was born in Whichers Gate, Rowlands Castle in 1836. He married Hopesill Baker, a Havant girl, in 1859 and they had 11 children. 1861 CENSUS Robert and Hope were living in the household of Alex Halloman, Railway Station Master at Rowland’s Castle. Robert’s occupation was recorded as a labourer and his wife, [...]
RAILWAY EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES
This section tells the stories about of those employed on the Hayling Branch line and their families. These stories provide an interesting glimpse into the past and how the railways impacted on the family life in early days. The railways not only fueled the industrial revolution but created a revolution of their own by expecting families to move with the job, something that is commonplace today.
Extract from Hampshire Telegraph dated 30/6/1888 of an incident on a5/6/1888. During the heavy thunderstorms which prevailed on Monday a man named Barnes, employed at Langstone by the LB&SCR Company, was struck by lightning and has temporarily lost the use of one side. He was taken to his home at North Hayling as soon as [...]
Samuel Walder Sam continued in his father's footsteps by joining the railway as a porter at Havant for the LB&SCR. Sam is second on the left, middle row Promotion to Guard came in 1899 at which time he worked on the Hayling Branch Line. Sam worked on the Hayling Branch line between 1899 - 1934. [...]
A photocopy of a comic postcard relating to the speed of the railway engine on the Hayling Island line. The author of the message was clearly a friend of Samuel Walder, the Railway Guard. Samuel lived at 7 Lymbourne Cottages, not far from the Havant station with his wife Emily nee Cripps and his [...]
Frederick John Norris "Box Boy". When the Hayling Branch Line closed in 1963 one of the guards, Mr Frederick Norris, told The News that he had started work in 1913 as a "box boy" in the Havant signal box. In the Havant Register of Appointments (1864 to 1917) he is described as a "signal lad", [...]
This account was submitted by Jenny Odey. All images copyright Jenny Odey. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1Alf was born May 6th 1900 in Dorking, Surrey to George and Alice Stanford. George was a railway gateman at Dorking in 1900. The 1911 census has the family living at The Toll Gate, Langstone with father George,aged 42, as a Toll [...]
The following article and pictures were submitted by Jenny Odey She was known as Mabel throughout her adult life. Mabel was born on the 4th February 1900, to George and Harriet Crassweller, at Rails Lane, South Hayling. Although Mabel was my Great Aunt, I only got to know her, when she was widowed for [...]
My name is Kenneth Ewings. I was born 1933 in Alton, as were my brothers George (1928) and Raymond (1935). My father, Cecil Donavan Ewing, was born in Gosport in 1895 and died in 1955. My mother, Gladys, was born in 1905 and died in 1998. My father was a 3rd generation Railway Employee dating [...]
My father was born in Rugby, Warwickshire on the 9th May 1913 and was named Arthur Raymond Woolgar. He was always known as Ray when he left school. He worked as a garage hand and later decided to join the Royal marines and enlisted in 1931 for 12 years. My father and mother married in 1935. [...]
This one of a series of articles which appeared in the 2003 editions of the Hayling Islander. These were to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the closure of the Hayling branch line. Reproduced here with the kind permission of the editor of the Hayling Islander. RAY WOOLGAR was station master for Hayling until the closure [...]
