Person:Patrick Kelly (15)

Childhood

Patrick Albert Kelly was born in 1884 at 197 Market Street, Birkenhead, Cheshire. His birth certificate gives his date of birth as 14th March, although it is worth noting that when Patrick Albert enlisted with the Royal Marines and the Royal Navy he gave his date of birth as 11th March. One possibility is that he was born on 11th March but that his parents failed to register his birth within 42 days of 11th March and thus would have incurred a fine when they finally got round to registering him on 23rd April, 44 days later. It is therefore possible that they claimed he was born three days later than he really was so as to avoid a fine. He was generally known by his middle name, Albert.

Albert was the tenth (but ninth surviving) child of eleven children of Catherine Kelly, formerly Ralston, and her husband Dennis Kelly, a boiler maker in the shipyards of Birkenhead. Albert's oldest brother was already 21 years old by the time Albert was born, and he would have niece who was just three years younger than him. The family lived at various addresses in the densely packed terraced streets of Birkenhead. In the 1891 census they were living at 8 Eldon Place, just behind Market Street where Albert had been born. The house appears to have had six rooms, with the Kellys (who had seven children at home at this point) having four rooms. In all the censuses from 1871 to 1901 the Kellys shared their home with members of the Kenny family. In 1891, the Kennys were listed as having the other two rooms at 8 Eldon Place. By the time of the 1901 census they had all moved to 13 George Street, and six Kellys and two Kennys were now all sharing just three rooms. By the time of the 1901 census, Albert was seventeen and working as an apprentice baker. Family tradition says that he hated his apprenticeship and so decided to join the Royal Marines.

Royal Marines

On 6th January 1902, shortly before he turned eighteen, Albert enlisted with the Royal Marines at Liverpool. When he joined he was described as being 5'5¼" with fresh complexion, auburn hair, grey eyes and scars on his forehead. He was clearly still growing, as he was 5'6½" when he left the Royal Marines five years later.

He was initially posted to Deal in Kent. After nine months there he transferred to Plymouth in Devon. He was based at Plymouth for the next year, before embarking onto his first ship, HMS Vivid, on 1st October 1903. His character and ability were regarded as very good and he was promoted to corporal on 23rd March 1904, aged 20.

Back in Birkenhead, Albert's father Dennis died on 21st November 1904. A few weeks later, on 28th December 1904, Albert was demoted back to being a private. The reasons for this are not given on his service record; his character was still described as 'good' for that period, although it is perhaps notable that at all other times it was described as 'very good'.

Nearly two years later, on 21st November 1906, Albert was made back up to being a corporal. However, he only served in the Royal Marines for just over four months after his promotion. He purchased a discharge for the sum of £12 and left on 4th April 1907, aged 23. On leaving the Royal Marines he gave his intended place of residence as 40 Somerville Street, Birkenhead, which was presumably one of his relative's addresses. The day after leaving the Royal Marines he joined the Royal Fleet Reserve, and over the next year or so did occasional periods of training for the reserves.

Royal Navy and marriage

On 13th August 1908 Albert joined the Royal Navy. He gave his address as 40 Somerville Street, Birkenhead, showing that he had returned to Birkenhead for the year or so between leaving the Royal Marines and joining the Royal Navy. On joining the Navy his trade was given as fireman. On entering the Navy he was based back at Plymouth (Devonport). He worked as a stoker in the boiler rooms of the ships.

Albert whilst serving in the Royal Navy.

At about the same time as the 1911 census, Albert was involved in an accident on one of the picket boats belonging to the Temeraire. The precise details of the accident are not recorded, but Albert was commended for his "meritorious behaviour under difficult circumstances". He was rewarded with a three month training course at the Mechanical Training Establishment, once he had completed three years service as Stoker 1st Class and Acting Leading Stoker. It appears that Albert did not take this training until 1918, towards the end of the First World War; presumably the demands of the war had been such that he was unable to take the course earlier. He was made a Stoker Petty Officer in May 1913 whilst serving on HMS Conqueror, and then stayed at that rating (and on that ship) after the First World War broke out in 1914 until late 1917. On 31st May 1916 HMS Conqueror was engaged in the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the war. The ship survived the battle unscathed. In October 1917 Albert was posted to HMS Vivid II, which was not a ship, but part of the naval barracks at Devonport. In January 1918 he finally began his long-promised mechanician training course at HMS Pembroke II, which was one of the navy's training establishments on the Isle of Sheppey, where aviation was also being developed - whilst Albert was there it became RAF Eastchurch.

Albert, Winifred and their four children probably early 1920s.

The armistice of November 1918 brought the hostilities of the First World War to an end. Albert continued to serve in the Royal Navy. He was promoted to Acting Mechanician on 1st January 1919, and a year later became a fully qualified Mechanician. He served as a Mechanician until he left the navy in October 1922, aged 38. He was given a trade certificate confirming that he had been employed "on mechanical work, and as a Watchkeeper in H.M. Ships with Superior Ability."

Caversham

In July 1923, less than a year after leaving the Royal Navy, Albert purchased 5 Washington Road in Caversham for £295.^[10] Caversham was historically in Oxfordshire, but by this time was part of the County Borough of Reading.

Albert, Winifred and their two younger sons outside 5 Washington Road. The older lady might be either Albert's or Winifred's mother.

On 11th July 1929, Albert and Winifred's eldest son, Frank, drowned in the Thames in a boating accident, aged just 18. Albert never forgave himself for not being there at the time - he believed he could have done something to save Frank. A policeman had tried in vain to resuscitate Frank. At the subsequent post mortem, Patrick Albert thanked the policeman for his efforts.

After Frank’s death, the family sold 5 Washington Road and moved to a larger house around the corner at Oak Villa, 5 Gosbrook Street (later renamed 5 Gosbrook Road), which they rented. Albert, always a very Victorian father anyway, became even more withdrawn from the rest of his family. Back in Birkenhead, Albert's mother Catherine died in December 1933, aged 87.

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the family was still living at 5 Gosbrook Street. The 1939 Register finds them Albert and Winifred living there with their daughter and youngest son, as well as two brothers aged fourteen and twelve, who were presumably evacuees (the younger of the brothers had been born in London). Albert was working at this time for the police in Reading as part of the war reserve effort, allowing younger policeman to join the armed forces.

Albert's two surviving sons both served in the Royal Air Force, whilst his daughter married a soldier in 1940. Her marriage certificate describes Albert as a special constable. Albert became a grandfather in 1941, aged 57, when his daughter's first son was born. She had another son the following year.

In 1946 Albert's daughter died of tuberculosis, aged 33. The following year the elder of Albert's two surviving sons emigrated to New Zealand.

On 27th January 1950 Winifred died at home at 5 Gosbrook Street of tuberculosis, aged 64. Albert had now lost his wife and two of his four children, whilst one of his two surviving children was the other side of the world. Albert left Caversham and returned to his native Birkenhead, where he had numerous nephews and nieces. He was living back in Birkenhead by April 1952, when he acted as informant for his younger brother Peter's death, after which Albert was the last of his brothers and sisters still living. Albert at this time was living at 45 Beaufort Square. He later moved to 21 Adelphi Street, just around the corner from Market Street where he had been born, where he lived with his niece Mary Ellen Coppack (formerly Kelly), who was his late sister Bridget's daughter, and was only three years younger than him. Mary Ellen died in 1959. The house at 21 Adelphi Street was a small terraced house in a very urban area, with the house standing directly on top of the railway tunnel towards Liverpool and next door to a scrap yard; quite a contrast from suburban Caversham.

Albert died on 19th May 1962 aged 78. He had a total of eight grandchildren, all born in his lifetime, but had probably only met four of them. He was buried back at Caversham in Hemdean Road Cemetery, where his wife and elder two children were buried.

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

   SUPERINTENDENT REGISTAR'S DISTRICT OF BIRKENHEAD
   Registrar's Sub-district of Birkenhead in the County of CHESTER
   No.	When and where born	Name, if any	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden name of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   268	Fourteenth March 1884 197 Market Street U.S.D.	Patrick Albert	Boy	Denis Kelly	Catherine Kelly formerly Ralston	Labourer	C. Kelly Mother 197 Market St. Birkenhead	Twenty third April 1884	Alex[an]d[er] Blaylock Registrar

   Birth certificate
2. ↑ 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 2880; Folio 83; Page 55, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 8 Eldon Place, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   4 rooms occupied
   John Kelly, head, married, male, 49 [1841/2], Dock Laborer, employed, b. Kildare, Ireland
   Catherine Kelly, wife, married, female, 45 [1845/6], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Edward Kelly, son, single, male, 17 [1873/4], Dock Laborer, employed, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Dennis Kelly, son, male, 15 [1875/6], Dock Laborer, employed, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Alexander Kelly, son, male, 13 [1877/8], Scholar, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Frank Kelly, son, male, 10 [1880/1], Scholar, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Mary E. Kelly, daughter, 4 [1886/7], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Peter Kelly, son, male, 3 [1887/8], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Patrick A. Kelly, son, male, 7 [1883/4], Scholar, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   ~ [another household at same address]
   2 rooms occupied
   John Kenny, head, single, male, 49 [1841/2], General Laborer, employed, b. Newry, Ireland
   Catherine Kenny, sister, single, female, 40 [1850/1], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire

   Although the father's name here is given as John rather than Dennis it is quite clear that it is the same family as in other censuses from Catherine, the children and the Kennys living at the same address. Presumably 'John' is a mistake for Dennis.

3. ↑ 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 3388; Folio 165; Page 21, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 13 George Street, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   3 rooms occupied
   Dennis Kelly, head, married, male, 59 [1841/2], Ships Boiler Maker, worker, b. Ireland
   Catherine Kelly, wife, married, female, 55 [1845/6], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Frank Kelly, son, single, male, 19 [1881/2], General Labourer, worker, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Albert Kelly, son, single, male, 17 [1883/4], Apprentice Baker, worker, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Peter Kelly, son, single, male, 13 [1887/8], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Mary E. Kelly, granddaughter, female, 14 [1886/7], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   John Kenny, visitor, single, male, 60 [1840/1], Ragman, own account, b. Ireland
   Catherine Kenny, servant, single, female, 46 [1854/5], General servant, worker, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire

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

   1962
   Kelly, Patrick Albert of 21 Adelphi Street, Birkenhead, died 19 May 1962 Administration Liverpool 13 July to Laurence Peter Kelly sales representative. Effects £929/10s.

5.   Royal Marines Service Records (The National Archives, London)
   Adm/159/79; image 427.
6.   Royal Navy Service Records (The National Archives, London)
   ADM/188/869; Image 215.
7. ↑ Berkshire Burial Index.

   Cemetery: Hemdean Road Cemetery, Caversham
   Name: Patrick Albert Kelly
   Buried: 23 May 1962
   Age: 78
   Abode: 21 Adelphi Street, Birkenhead

8. ↑ General Register Office. 1939 Register.

   Address: 5 Gosbrook Street, Reading, Berkshire
   KELLY Patrick A., male, b. 10 Mar 1884, married, Police War Reserve Reading, R.N. Pensioner Mechanisian [sic]
   KELLY Winifred K., female, b. 26 May 1885, married, Unpaid domestic duties
   KELLY [crossed out and replaced: HILL] Kathleen, female, b. 4 Jun 1913, single, Fabric worker Woodley Aerodrome
   KELLY Laurence, male, b. 14 Aug 1918, single, Draughtsman Fairey Aviation [one other word illegible]
   GRANT Herbert A.R., male, b. 16 Feb 1925, single, at school
   GRANT Alan E.C., male, b. 29 May 1927, single, at school

9.   Transcript of letter found amongst Patrick Albert's personal papers (corresponds with entry dated 22 Apr 1911 on his naval service record, but gives slightly more detail):
   COPY. N.5255.
   Admiralty, 22nd April 1911
   Sir,
   With reference to your submission of 11th instant representing the meritorious behaviour under difficult circumstances of Stoker Petty Officer Francis Thornton and Acting Leading Stoker Patrick Kelly in connection with an accident to a Picket Boat of H.M.S. "TEMERAIRE" I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to inform you that they approve of the following action being taken in these two cases:-
   Stoker Petty Officer Thornton to be specially rated Acting Chief Stoker, for meritorious service.
   Acting Leading Stoker Kelly to be retained in the "Temeraire" in lieu of a Stoker 1st class until he has completed 3 years combined service as Stoker 1st class and Acting Leading Stoker, when he is to be relieved and sent to the Mechanical Training Establishment for the 3 months' course.
   I am, etc.,
   sd / C.J. Thomas
   The Commander-in-Chief
   Home Fleets.
10. ↑ Amongst Patrick Albert's papers is a receipt dated 9th July 1923 for £29 10s "being 10% deposit on purchase of 5 Washington Road Caversham for £295 by Mr. Kelly from Mr. J. Lawrence"