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The Birth of Lawn Tennis

Carl chinn says that the street was named after the whole family, including Thomas Henry and his father William Henry.
Mike
 
If anyone is going to Warstone lane, the grave has been tidied (a bit) - the whole area behind the mint was full of dead timber and years of leaf litter(and vodka bottles).
Richard, Colin & myself have been trying to make access to both major Gem & Pvte Cooper VC, and it is now fairly safe and accessible.
Gem has his tennis ball marking the grave. Pvt Cooper has and wooden cross with an old Xmas wreath.
It's not pefect, but a lot more accesible now than it was - you couldn't get close at all before.
Funny, the council pushed over & buried loads of headstone to grass it for easy mtce, and than let the saplings & leaf litter & knotweed, etc take over.
Nowadays, you cannot touch the knotweed (classed as 'dangerous' because it is so invasive, cannot touch any trees 'protected', cannot unbury the headstone without paying the bishop for 'permision' - What price heritage?

Anyone popping into Warstone Lane who wants to take a rake or trowel, please feel free to do a bit for history!
 
That's sterling work Brian (& Richard & Colin) - hope you get some more willing volunteers. It amazes me that not just the grave of Gem but of a VC owner (and goodness knows who else) is treated in this shabby way. The monetary value of a VC can be £400k yet his resting place uncared for.... To stray off topic for a moment, do you know/could you share his citation or Gazette entry please?
 
I'll puthis brief biography on a separate thread for ease.
Pvte james Cooper V.C.

Give me afew minutes. I have 8 spare digits when trying to type - and they slow me up a bit by getting in the way. I usually get the right letters - but not necessaily in the right order!
 
Thomas Henry Gem (1834-1912) and Major Thomas Henry (Harry) Gem (1819-1881) are related.
Thomas Henry Gem (1834-1912) was the brother of my Gt Gt Grandfather and he married Emma Amelia Bunn on May 26th 1865. Thomas's parents were Samuel Edward Gem (1798-7.6.1871) and Mary Anne Parker (1799-27.7.1835) and they married 25.5.1824 at spernall, Warwickshire. Samuel's Parents were Samuel Gem (b1772) and Catherine Gem (b 1769) and they married 13th April 1795 at St Philip's Birmingham. I believe they were cousins. Catherine's parents were Thomas Gem (1735) and Mary Harvey (1735) and they married Sept 9th 1764. Theire second child was Thomas Gem (1767) and he married Maria Hobson on May 10th 1791. Their eldest Child was William Henry Gem (1792 - 1855) father of Major Thomas Henry Gem.

There are several other Gem's in Warwickshire who are related and some I've yet to connect conclusively

Hope you can follow this and hope it helps.

Lin
 
Re: Major harry gem, article in birmingham sunday mercury to0day (27 june 2010)

Brian Colin and Richard are our unsung hero's I can't tell you how much time and effort they put into the restoration of these two cemeteries. Thank you for making the two graves accessible so we can visit. xx
 
Found some of the elusive census returns today, so time to recap on the census returns we have for Gem family:

William Henry Gem:
--------------------------
1841 – family name transcribed as GENN. Following in Lozells Road, Aston:
William Gem 45 Attorney
Sarah 25
Frances 2
Agnes 7 months
+ 5 others (servants I think)
NB Charles (3) is missing from this list. He can be found elsewhere, staying with a John Cope in a terrace near Sandpits. Can’t imagine why!
1851 – family name transcribed as GARM. Following at Wood End House, Erdington:
William H Gem, 59 (attorney)
Sarah 37
Charles H 12
Frances A 11
Agnes S 10
George S 9
Helen M Gem, 53 (William’s sister)
Thomas Henry, 30, Attorney *** Age means that THG cannot possibly be Sarah’s son
+ 5 assorted servants
1861 – William Henry died in 1855, but widow Sarah (aged 49), fundholder and children Charles H (aged 23), Frances A (21), Agnes S (20) and George S (19) living in Devonshire House, R?sh?n Road, Northfield, Worcs [note that in 1871, George S is with Thomas Henry Gem]

Thomas Henry Gem:
---------------------------
1841 - Still can’t find this return
1851 – At Wood End House, Erdington, with father, Sarah and half-siblings
1861 – Mosely Road, Balsall Heath, with wife Ellen [posted by Aiden previously]
1871 – 18 Congreve St, with Ellen and half-brother George S (Attorney’s Assistant) + two servants
1881 – 5 Hamilton Terrace, Leamington Priors with Ellen and two servants
 
Trip to the library produced a few interesting bits. All the following concerns William Henry Gem.

William Henry Gem (father of Maj Thomas Henry Gem)
We had established that W H G died in Q5 1855. I had assumed that the proving of the will would provide a date of death; I had forgotten that the detail wasn't that great on the early Admon registers. So, the only detail that I got was that the will was proved in January 1856 (Prerogative of Canterbury)
As was looking up something else in Aston Juxta, decided to take a look and bingo!
WHG was buried on Dec 8th 1855 at Aston Juxta (St Peter & St Paul) Address given as Wood End, Erdington. Looked in Birmingham Gazette (Dec 8th 1855) and found the death announcement
On the 3rd inst at Wood End, Erdington in the 64th year of his age, Mr William Henry Gem of this town.
​
At that time, there were no reports on funerals or obituary, so we’re out of luck there. According to the transcription books, there is no memorial to WHG.
Finding his first wife (Thomas Henry’s mother) is going to need a bit of luck.

Children of WHG and Sarah (nee Hayward), who married 2 Nov 1831 (Aston Juxta)
William Gem bapt 2 Jun 1835, St Mary’s Handsworth, living Aston [no date of birth shown on bapt registers].
Sarah Maria Gem bapt 19 Oct 1836 St Mary’s Handsworth, living Aston. She dies 19 Jan 1837 (see #58 above).
Charles Henry Gem, born 27 Oct 1837, bapt 22 Dec 1837, St Mary’s Handsworth, living Aston.
Frances Alven Gem, bapt 14 Jul 1839, St Mary’s Handsworth, living Aston.
Agnes Sarah Gem , born 8th Nov 1840, bapt 14 Jan 1841, St Mary’s Handsworth, living Aston.
George Stanley Gem, born 10 Jan 1842, bapt 21 Jul 1842, St Mary’s Handsworth, living Aston.
Edith Mary Gem, born 12 April 1847, bapt 22 Oct 1847, St Mary’s Handsworth, living Aston. She dies on 26 April 1848 (see #58 above).
​
Outstanding questions:
· No baptism for Thomas Henry Gem (searched through Hansdworth and Aston Juxta today)
· Name of WHG’s first wife and her date of death.
 
That is great and detailed work Les - thanks for sharing it. It is strange about his baptism isn't it. Many of my rellies are similar. maybe the verger had a swig too many to update the register on that day?
 
I'm starting to think that it is like one of 'my' lot, where the baptism was delayed by many years.
Somehow, we (or rather our written sources) seem to 'know' that THG was born on 21 May 1819; the only place that this can have come from with any degree of certainty is the baptism register - if you look back, it's not mentioned on the gravestone. Maybe WHG's first wife died at/soon after birth and I just haven't looked far enough in the records/ right church. Maybe it isn't St Mary's Handsworth or Aston Juxta and I'll have to widen the search. We need it really to find the first wife's name so that we have a complete story.
 
Information on THG's military connection
Date of first commission was 8 Nov 1959. Wrote "The History of the First Warwickshire (Birmingham) Battalion of Rifle Voluteers" , an account of its raising, progress and exploits. Published in 1876.
Birmingham Archives have a couple of copies.
 
Thanks Les. I assume he was in the Rifle Volunteers for his whole military career. Were they "Regular" army or were they equivalent to the Territorial Army today?
 
The volunteer corps were "not dissimilar to the Local Defence Volunteers raised in the mid 1940's, subsequently reorganised as the Home Guard" ( Miltary Manouvers in Bingley Hall - Ch 12 available from Midlands Historical Data) There are several documents on Midlands Historical Data website pertaining to Major Gem's involvement with the 1st V.B. The Royal Warwickshire Regiment and the Volunteer Corps.
https://www.midlandshistoricaldata.org/
Lin
 
Finally got round to taking the photo of the only standing memorial to Gem in Warstone Lane.

Brian, Colin and Richard have done wonders in that section of the cemetery - I forgot to take a photo to include the display of vodka bottles that they have retrieved.
 
Great to have the pic and thanks for taking the time out to share it (and reiterated bravo to Brian, Colin and Richard of course). I am just surprised that a bit of Wimbledon or tour monies haven't filtered down to a slightly more lavish MI & upkeep - or even statue, tho Birmingham has never been one for statues.

Any news of a pic of the blue plaque yet, seems to me the main public memorial such as it is?
 
It's a good point Aiden. I think I'll try writing to the LTA to see if they would at least fund the restoration of the grave.

I haven't forgotten the plaque, just got side-tracked! I'll try to phone the lady this afternoon.
 
Brian/Wendy - Thinking about it again, I am a member of Friends of Key Hill & Warstone Lane, so if I draft a letter explaining about the research, the Sunday Mercury article and the work of FKHWL, do you think it could go out to the LTA on Friends notepaper? When I speak to the lady living at Perera's house, I willask her if she has any contacts as well.
 
I think it would be a great idea to send to the LTA and the information would make a great piece for the newsletter and also the archive.

I am sure Brian can forward the Key Hill and Warstone Lane headed paper
 
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Thanks Les for the pic - the area is still a bit of a bombsite, so to speak, but it is now more accessible and tidier than it was.
There are plenty of spirits in the area - 134 vodka bottles to date ! Colin is seeking to make it a gross (his Pen Room background) before photograghing them and than to collect the penny on the empties.........If only !

Thanks for all the support & research - your'e all doing much more for preserving heritage than we are
 
Brian you and Colin do a fantastic job in both cemeteries and if it wasn't for people like you we would not be aware of this heritage, and it would be lost. Keep up the good work! I will do what I can on paper! x

I am sure Les would agree with that.
 
Absoluetly! I wouldn't have got interested if it hadn't been for the results you've had!
 
Brilliant - we have a full set! I'll make another trip to the library tomorrow or Friday to look in parishes adjoining Handsworth for his baptism. There is also a photo in the Stone collection that I want to try to access. I suspect that it is a proper photo.
 
Wow what a clever lot. There is a lot of info for a family tree now!
 
I was secretary to the Edgbaston Archery & Lawn Tennis Society for a number of years and have been involved in researching the early history of lawn tennis and its origination here in Birmingham. Your findings are fascinating and well done to all for the effort in digging through various records. I notice someone has mentioned a blue plaque. There is one up on the house in Ampton Road and you'll find a monograph on the Birmingham Civic Society website: https://www.birminghamcivicsociety.org.uk/lawntennis.htm. Major Gem and his wife were members of Edgbaston Archery in the 1860s before they moved to Leamington. It has always been assumed that Perera came from Spain, although I think the name to be more common to Portugal? However, there is now a suggestion that he may have been born in Ireland, his wife was Irish and went back there from Leamington prior to emigrating to USA. I am writing the history of Edgbaston Archery & Lawn Tennis Society which includes a section on the origins of lawn tennis here in Birmingham. The book forms part of a wider heritage project through which I hope to raise funds to restore the Major's grave. I shall be making an approach to the LTA in due course. By the way, there appears to be no connection to Pereira Road in Harborne.
 
Robert this has been a fascinating thread and now you have added a lot more information. I am amazed all this information is not more widely known, although it will be now:D This site is very popular. I wish you the very best of luck with your book. I would love to see the Major's grave restored:). Wendy
 
Re: Major harry gem, article in birmingham sunday mercury to0day (27 june 2010)

Hi Aidan, here is a link to the Sunday Mercury article. https://www.sundaymercury.net/news/...-of-lawn-tennis-left-in-ruins-66331-26734089/ The picture in the article is not of the area where Gem is buried although I sent them photos they used a stock photo. Here is one of the photos I sent, not as pretty a picture as the one they used. Will be taking Ghost Walk into Warstone Lane tonight and make them aware of lack of Grave stone for Mjr Harry
View attachment 53457
 
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Well it looks a lot better now work has been carried out to clear the area by the volunteers Brian Colin and Richard of The Friends of Warstone Lane and Key Hill Cemeteries. See post 75. I do hope something can be done for a proper memorial. Are there any living family as permission has to be given to add or change the memorial I believe.
 
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