John Robert was a soldier during WW1, a Rifleman with the 2nd/16th Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles). He was hit by a stray shell while travelling home through France on leave and was buried at the Bailleul Communal Cemetary Extension, Nord, France. His parents, brothers and sisters were living at 206 Chatham Avenue, Islington, London at the time. William Bond was the messenger who delivered the news to John senior and that's how he got to meet and eventually marry Jessie.

John R was engaged to a girl named Kate who lived in the same buildings in Chatham Ave. They were due to be married on his return from war in 1918 and money had been spent on the preparations. When he was killed, Kate sued his mother Emma for all of his possessions (so the story goes) and a bitter relationship followed. Kate eventually married a man named Walter Piper. Years later when Kate was dying she made Walter promise to look after Grace (who was about 60 then), John Bayliss' sister. This he did and ended up marrying her in the late 1960's after Grace's first husband Jack Hall had died.

It is thought that John R went to university (no mean feat in those days for the working class). Being aged 20 at the outbreak of war he may have been articled to a company in the City of London.

George took the job in America with an insurance company that had been promised to John R, prior to his death during WW1, apparently his mother Emma had pleaded with the company for this favour. George moved to Long Island, New York and remained there until his death.

Jessie (my grandmother) told me that the family were poor, even Christmas presents being limited to a piece of fruit and a nut. She learnt to do 'invisible mending' and sometimes repaired other childrens clothes when they got torn so that their parents wouldn't find out and scold them. Sometimes her father would take her with him when he went to Dirty Dicks (a famous London pub) where she would play with other children in a children's room while the fathers would be drinking beer. Motor cars were a rare sight then in the streets full of horse drawn carts and would always attract attention.

Emma was born at 14 Park Street, Hoxton and was living at 36 Styman Street when she married. She was a seamstress doing embroidery and blouses.

Page update: May 2003