Person:Margaret Meekins (1)

Childhood

Margaret Meekins was born on 12th February 1905 at Woolwich in south-east London, daughter of a field hand and laundry woman called Alice Meekins, formerly Keating, and her husband Henry Meekins (known as Harry), a coal porter, dock labourer and general dealer. Margaret was baptised the following month at St Peter’s Catholic Church in Woolwich, with her date of birth clearly recorded as 12th February. However, it is worth noting that in later life she gave her date of birth as 23rd February.

Margaret was the eighth of nine children that her parents had together, and she also had one surviving half-brother from her father’s first marriage. However, four of her older sisters had been taken into care by the authorities in November 1904, after being found destitute wandering the streets of Woolwich, having already spent time in the workhouse on multiple occasions. These four sisters were therefore brought up at an industrial school run by the Sisters of Mercy in Croydon rather than with their parents. Margaret and her younger sister Norah were both born after the older girls were taken into care, and these two girls were brought up by their parents.

As a child, Margaret spent many periods of time in the Woolwich Union Workhouse at Plumstead. She was first admitted when just a couple of months old, on 2nd May 1905. On that occasion she was admitted with her mother after her father was sent to prison for ten days. On another occasion, after spending a month in the workhouse in January / February 1906, the family was discharged on 22nd February only for Margaret and her mother to be readmitted the following day after “Husband Henry left her in Plumstead Road”. In April 1907, two-year old Margaret was admitted alone, when her mother was imprisoned for 14 days for drunkenness and her father’s whereabouts were unknown.

From mid-December 1907 to mid-May 1908 Margaret lived almost continuously in the workhouse. This coincided with much of her mother’s pregnancy with her younger sister Norah, who was born in June 1908. After the family was discharged in May 1908 they appear to have managed to stay out of the workhouse for over five years.

The 1911 census finds Margaret living with her parents and Norah at 75 High Street in Woolwich.

In October 1913 Margaret and her sister Norah were admitted to the workhouse again. After about a month in the workhouse, the girls were both sent to a Catholic children’s home and school at Orpington. On this occasion they spent ten days at Orpington before returning to Woolwich to be discharged from the workhouse with their parents. However, just a week later they were back in the workhouse. Just over three weeks later, in early January 1914, the two girls were sent again to Orpington, this time staying there for over four months, before being returned to the workhouse and discharged in May. The family appears to have then stayed out of the workhouse for the next two and a half years.

On 26th January 1917, Margaret, Norah and their mother were admitted to the Woolwich Road Workhouse in Greenwich, apparently whilst their father was ill in the infirmary. The two girls were sent the next day to Norwood, likely to a children’s home there, whilst their mother stayed in the workhouse. The girls stayed at Norwood for just over three months, being sent back from Norwood to the workhouse on 30th April and discharged later that day.

The family then moved to Swanley in Kent, but Norah’s father died there just a few weeks later, on 28th May 1917, when Margaret was twelve years old.

In early 1918 Margaret was admitted with her mother and sister Norah to the Woolwich Union Workhouse again, and a few weeks later the girls were sent to Orpington. They stayed at Orpington for two weeks before being returned to the workhouse and discharged with their mother on 16th February 1918. That appears to have been Margaret’s last stay in the workhouse.

In June 1919, aged fourteen, Margaret went away from home with a man called John Frederick King, who was 21. He claimed that she had told him she was eighteen and that it had been her idea to run away. She denied telling him she was eighteen, and claimed that it had been his idea to run away. At the time she was living with her mother at Crockenhill, and she went with King as far as Burgess Hill, some forty miles away, staying with King’s sisters along the way. How long they stayed away is unclear, but in November that year King was prosecuted and found guilty of abduction, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

Adulthood

On 4th June 1921, shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Margaret married Benjamin John Carwardine at Sutton at Hone in Kent. He was six years her senior.

Margaret and Benjamin went on to have four daughters between 1922 and 1927. Three of the four were born in Kent, but the third child was born on the Isle of Wight, where two of Margaret’s older siblings lived.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Margaret and Benjamin were living at Gildenhill Farm Cottages in Swanley (at the time still part of the civil parish of Sutton at Hone). Margaret was a farm worker, whilst Benjamin was working as a horseman on the farm and was also a part time Air Raid Precautions officer.

During the war it would appear that Margaret’s mother came to live with them at Gildenhill Farm. She died there on 26th January 1945, and Margaret acted as informant for the death.

Benjamin died in 1983, aged 85. Margaret survived him by nearly eleven years. She died on 21st February 1994, aged 89. Her last address was given as 20 Lower Road in Hextable.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Baptisms register, in Woolwich, London: Roman Catholic Parish Registers of St Peter the Apostle (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, London).

   Meekins 55 High St[reet]
   Die 12 Februarii 1905 nata et die 17 Martii 1905 baptizata est Margarita Meekins filia Henrici Aliciae Meekins (olim Keating) conjugum:
   a me Gulielmo Monk
   Patrinus fuit [blank] Matrina fuit Winefrida Ryan
   Approximate translation:
   Meekins 55 High Street
   Born 12th February 1905 and baptised 17th March 1905 Margaret Meekins daughter of Henry and Alice Meekins (formerly Keating) his wife
   By me William Monk
   Godfather [blank] Godmother Winifred Ryan

2. ↑ 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 2877; Schedule 79, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 75 High Street, Woolwich, London
   Two rooms occupied
   Henry Meekins, head, male, 49 [1861/2], married, Dock Labourer - Shipowners, worker, b. Southwark (London)
   Alice Meekins, wife, female, 42 [1868/9], married 24 years, 10 children born, 7 still living, Laundry hand, working at home, own account, b. Woolwich
   Margaret Meekins, daughter, female, 6 [1904/5]
   Norah Meekins, daughter, female, 3 [1907/8]

3.   London, England. Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records (London Metropolitan Archives, London).
   Summary table of information drawn from Admission, Discharge and Creed registers.
   

   Admitted	Discharged	Workhouse	Notes
   2 May 1905	10 May 1905	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother Alice. Note against mother’s name says “Husband Henry in prison for 10 days.” Date of birth given as 23 Feb 1905. Discharged with mother.
   9 Nov 1905	18 Nov 1905	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother Alice and brother George. Note against mother’s name saying “Husband Henry left her 7 Nov”. Date of birth given as 23 Mar 1905. Father Henry joined them in workhouse on 14th November, all discharged on 18th November.
   23 Jan 1906	22 Feb 1906	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with both parents and brother George. Discharged with parents and brother George.
   23 Feb 1906	3 Mar 1906	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother Alice. Note against mother’s name says “Husband Henry left her in Plumstead Road”. Discharged with mother.
   26 Apr 1907	10 May 1907	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Date of birth given as 23 Feb 1905. “Father Henry unknown, mother Alice 14 days for being drunk.” Discharged “to mother”.
   19 Nov 1907	2 Dec 1907	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother. Name recorded as “Alice Meekins”, but date of birth given as Feb 1905, so presumably actually Margaret. Note against mother’s name says “Husband deserted”. Discharged with mother.
   11 Dec 1907	1 May 1908	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with both parents. Name recorded as “Kate Meekins”, but date of birth given as Feb 1905, so presumably actually Margaret. Discharged with both parents.
   1 May 1908	12 May 1908	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother. Name recorded as “Kate Meekins”, but date of birth given as Feb 1905, so presumably actually Margaret. Discharged with mother.
   23 Oct 1913	21 Nov 1913	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with sister Norah. Date of birth given as 23 Feb 1905. Father Henry admitted two days earlier with note saying “Wife Alice, Castle Street, Swanley Junction”. Mother Alice joined them in workhouse 28 Oct. Discharged “To R.C. Homes, Orpington” with sister Norah.
   1 Dec 1913	2 Dec 1913	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted “Master’s order, from R.C. Homes, Orpington” with sister Norah. Discharged with parents.
   9 Dec 1913	3 Jan 1914	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with parents and sister Norah. Discharged “To R.C. Homes, Orpington” with sister Norah.
   19 May 1914	20 May 1914	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted “Master’s order, from R.C. Schools, Orpington” with sister Norah. Discharged to parents.
   20 May 1914	26 May 1914	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with sister Norah. Discharged to mother.
   26 Jan 1917	27 Jan 1917	Greenwich (Woolwich Road) Workhouse	Admitted with sister Norah and mother Alice: “Married Fieldhand 17 Crossfield Street Husband Harry in Infirmary / Children of above”. Discharged with sister Norah to Calvert Road Homes at 12.00, readmitted to workhouse at 1.00, discharged to Norwood at 2.25.
   30 Apr 1917	30 Apr 1917	Greenwich (Woolwich Road) Workhouse	Of “17 Crossfield Street, Mother Alice in House”. Admitted “from Norwood” with sister Norah. Discharged with mother and sister Norah, “c/o Mother”.
   4 Jan 1918	1 Feb 1918	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother and sister Norah. Date of birth given as 20 Feb 1905. Discharged “To Orpington”.
   14 Feb 1918	16 Feb 1918	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted from Orpington with sister Norah. Discharged with mother.

4. ↑ General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Dartford Rural District, 29 Sep 1939.

   Address: Gilden Hill Farm Cottages, Swanley, Sutton at Hone, Kent
   Carwardine, Benjamin J. / male / b. 4 Aug 1898 / married / Horseman on Farm / A.R.P. Part Time
   Carwardine, Margaret / female / b. 23 Feb 1905 / married / Farm Worker
   [one record closed]
   Carwardine [later crossed out and replaced with “Cornwall”], Hannah M. / female / b. 10 Aug 1924 / single / Farm Worker

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

   d. Margaret CARWARDINE, February 1994, Gravesend Registration District, Register T13B, District 5621B, entry 144, born 23 Feb 1905

6. ↑ England. National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1858 onwards. (Ancestry.com).

   1994
   Carwardine, Margaret
   of 20 Lower Road Hextable Kent
   Died 21 February 1994 Probate Brighton 30 March Not exceeding £125000
   9451307268V

   Hextable was part of the civil parish of Swanley at this time.

7.   Sevenoaks Chronicle, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 4, Friday 4 Dec 1919.

   KENT ASSIZES.
   EYNSFORD ABDUCTION CASE.
   VERDICT AND SENTENCE.
   At the Kent Assize on Saturday Mr. Justice Bray heard the case against John Frederick King, 21, an engine driver, who was indicted for abducting Margaret Meekins, aged fourteen, at Eynsford, on June 14th. Prisoner pleaded not guilty.- Mr. Fletcher prosecuted and Mr. Wedderburn defended.
   The girl stated that at the time mentioned in the charge she was living at Crockham Hill. On Sunday, June 14th, prisoner saw her at Miller’s Huts, and said “I want you to come away with me, Maggie. If you don’t, you know what a life you’ll have,” and she replied “Yes.” He said “I’ll take you to my sister Kittie’s.” He asked her to meet him at “Ginger’s” place, Gorringe Farm, “Ginger” being his brother. In the morning her mother sent her on an errand, but she went to Miller’s Farm, and then to Gorringe Farm, and waited for the prisoner. They went to Tub’s Hill Station, Sevenoaks, and took a train to Redhill, where they stayed at his sister Kittie’s. On Monday they went to Burgess Hill and stayed with another of prisoner’s sisters. They had slept together, misconduct taking place once.
   Cross-examined, the girl denied having first suggested running away and telling prisoner her age was eighteen.
   Mrs. Meekins stated that in June she was living at Crockham Hill, and knew the prisoner. Her daughter did not go away with her consent.
   Det.-Sergt. Johnson stated that when cautioned at Haywards Heath prisoner said “I did not take her away; she came away on her own. I saw her at Gorringe Farm about half-a-mile away, and she said “Can I come?” and I said “Yes, if you like.” I then went way, and have been with her ever since.”
   Prisoner, on oath, stated that he knew the girl three and a half months previously, and that she first raised the question a week before, when she said “We will go away next week, and I will take you to the Isle of Wight, where my brother is,” and he replied “If you like,” and so the girl was taking him that way. He did not got to stay at his sister’s. On June 14th, when digging his garden, she came to him and said “I will meet you at Gorringe Farm to-night.” They went away together to Redhill and then to Burgess Hill. He admitted the misconduct.
   The Jury found the prisoner guilty.
   Supt. Fowle stated that prisoner was a native of Brenchley, and had previous convictions against him, his sentences including terms of nine months and fifteen months. Prisoner obtained his livelihood by poaching and stealing.
   Prisoner was sentenced to six months’ hard labour.

8. ↑ 1921 Census of England and Wales.

   Address: Homefield Farm, Sutton at Hone, Kent
   Carwardine, Benj[amin] J. / head / 22y 10m [1898] / male / married / b. Rochester, Kent / Horse Driver / J. Langlands, Farmer, Homefield Farm, Sutton at Hone
   Carwardine, Mar[garet] / wife / 17y 4m [1904] / female / married / b. Woolwich, Kent / Field Worker / J. Langlands, Farmer, Homefield Farm, Sutton at Hone