Person:Hubert Tompkins (1)

Hubert Tompkins was born on 7th February 1881 at Markyate, son of a plait machinist called Sarah Tompkins, formerly Biggs, and her husband Arthur Walter Tompkins, a baker. The village of Markyate at this time straddled several parishes and two counties, with Hubert apparently being born in the part of the village which fell within the parish of Flamstead in Hertfordshire. The family also appear there in the 1881 census a couple of months after Hubert's birth. By 1891 they were living on the High Street in Markyate, but in the part of the village which was within the parish of Caddington.

Around the mid 1890s, Hubert went to serve an apprenticeship for a grocer called Mr Negus at Woburn Sands, about fifteen miles north of Markyate. He was baptised there in 1897. He later reported that he had served as an apprentice for three years at Woburn Sands.

By 1901 Hubert was living in the town of Luton, back closer to his native Markyate. He was working as a fish fryer's manager at 62 Wellington Street, which was then one of the main shopping streets in the town centre.

In January 1904, Hubert volunteered to join the militia. His attestation form records that he was 5 feet 6¾ inches tall with blue eyes and brown hair. Shortly after volunteering, he was sent for a medical examination at Bedford. He was declared unfit to serve in the militia due to deficient sight in both eyes.

In 1905, aged 24, Hubert married Bethia Jane Moss, who appears to have been known as Jane or Jenny. She had a son, Sidney Oliver, who had been born in late 1903. It is not clear whether Hubert was actually Sidney's father, but he certainly took on the role of father and the boy adopted Tompkins as his surname, even though his birth had been registered under his mother's surname of Moss.

Hubert and Jane do not appear to have had any further children after their marriage. The 1911 census finds them and Sidney living at 152 Chapel Street in Luton, in the same house as Jane's father and her brother's family. Hubert's brother Oliver also lived with them. Hubert was working as a general labourer at this time, whilst Jane was a hat sewer.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Hubert and Jane were living at 23 Elizabeth Street in Luton and Hubert was working as a furniture manufacturer.

Hubert died in 1942, aged 61. Jane survived him by about 29 years.

1. ↑ Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   b. Hubert TOMPKINS, March Quarter 1881, Hemel Hempstead Registration District, Volume 3a, page 530, mother's maiden name Biggs

2. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 1445; Folio 43; Page 17, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: New Town, Flamstead (Ecclesiastical Parish of St John's Markyate Street), Hertfordshire
   Arthur W. Tompkins, head, married, male, 27 [1853/4], Baker (Journeyman), b. Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Tompkins, wife, married, female, 28 [1852/3], Plait Machinist, b. Flamstead, Hertfordshire
   Laura Tompkins, daughter, female, 2 [1878/9], b. Redbourn, Hertfordshire
   Hubert Tompkins, son, 2m [1881], b. Flamstead, Hertfordshire

3. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 1275; Folio 120; Page 8, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: High Street, Markyate Street, Caddington, Hertfordshire
   Arthur Tompkins, head, married, male, 39 [1851/2], Baker, employed, b. Gaddesdon Row, Hertfordshire
   Sarah Tompkins, wife, married, female, 39 [1851/2], employed, b. Markyate Street, Hertfordshire
   Laura Tompkins, daughter, female, 12 [1878/9], Scholar, b. Redbourn, Hertfordshire
   Hubert Tompkins, son, male, 10 [1880/1], Scholar, b. Markyate Street, Hertfordshire
   Oliver Tompkins, son, male, 8 [1882/3], Scholar, b. Markyate Street, Hertfordshire
   Elsie Tompkins, daughter, female, 4 [1886/7], Scholar, b. Markyate Street, Hertfordshire
   Elizabeth Tompkins, daughter, female, 1 [1889/90], b. Markyate Street, Hertfordshire

4. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast).

   ch. 7 Mar 1897, Woburn Sands, Bedfordshire: Hubert / Arthur Walter & Sarah / Tompkins

5. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 1514; Folio 27; Page 4, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 62 Wellington Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Alice Duce, wife, married, female, 28 [1872/3], Fish Fryer, employer, working at home, b. Bradford, Yorkshire
   Jonas Ackroyd, father in law, married, male, 64 [1836/7], Dyer (Cotton), worker, b. Bradford, Yorkshire
   Ruth Ackroyd, mother in law, married, female, 63 [1837/8], b. Bradford, Yorkshire
   Harry Ackroyd, nephew, single, male, 10 [1890/1], b. Bradford, Yorkshire
   Hubert Tompkins, boarder, single, male, 20 [1880/1], Fish Fryer's Manager, worker, b. Markyate, Bedfordshire

6. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), (formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 9013; Schedule 607, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 152 Chapel Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   3 rooms occupied
   William Moss, father, 75 [1835/6], Widower, married 40 years, 17 children born alive, 12 children still living, Gardener, worker, b. Caddington
   Hubert Tompkins, head, male, 30 [1880/1], married 6 years, 1 child born alive, 1 child still living, General Laberor, worker, b. Markyate, Hertfordshire
   Oliver Tompkins, boarder, male, 27 [1883/4], single, General Laberor, worker, b. Markyate, Hertfordshire
   Jenny Moss, wife, female, 31 [1879/80], married 6 years, 1 child born alive, 1 child still living, Sewing Hats, worker, b. Caddington, Bedfordshire
   Sidney Moss, son, male, 7 [1903/4], School, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

7. ↑ General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Luton Municipal Borough, 29 Sep 1939.

   Address: 23 Elizabeth Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Tompkins, Hubert / male / b. 7 Feb 1881 / married / Furniture Man[u]f[acture]r General Labourer
   Tompkins, Bethiar [later hand has added "Jane"] / female / b. 15 Apr 1878 [later hand adds "79"] / married / Unpaid domestic duties

8. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Hubert TOMPKINS, March Quarter 1942, Luton Registration District, Volume 3b, page 937, aged 61 [1880/1]

9.   British Army Service Records 1760-1915 (The National Archives / findmypast.co.uk)
   WO96.

   Summary information:
   Attestation for the Militia or Reserve Division of the Milita
   No. 4854
   Name: Hubert Tompkins
   Corps: 3rd Bedfordshire Regiment
   Born: Markyate
   Now resides: 142 High Street, Markyate
   Age: 21 years 11 months
   Trade: Grocer
   Are you or have you been an Apprentice? Have Served 3 years to Mr J. Negus, Grocer, Woburn Sands
   Oath taken at Luton, 19 Jan 1904
   Height: 5 feet 6¾ inches
   Complexion: Fresh
   Eyes: Blue
   Hair: Brown
   Medical examination: 14 Mar 1904 at Bedford - deemed unfit for the Militia due to "Deficient sight both eyes".
   Next of kin: Father Arthur & mother Sarah of Markyate, sister Laura (elder) of Wellington Road, Edmonton, Middlesex and brother Oliver (younger) of Markyate.

10. ↑ Unusually, the ecclesiastical parish of Woburn Sands straddles two counties (and continues to do so in 2019), with the parish church of St Michael, Woburn Sands actually being in the civil parish of Aspley Heath in Bedfordshire. The civil parish of Woburn Sands, which was created in 1907, only covers the parts of the ecclesiastical parish which lie within Buckinghamshire.