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Gem Street

Chunky AC said:
Hello Lyn,
I am sorry to say that I did not research grandad Watkins any further. I am grateful for the information re the tree of life inscription.
I was told by Grandma Edith that grandad died in the air raids. Possibly near Snow Hill. Alf.C
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ok alf i will look into it again to try and pin him down but it could be him...finding a burial or cremation with an age of death could help...edit..i see you already know of his burial so the best way of finding out how he died would be to buy his death cert
lyn
 
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An aerial view from 1933, map from 1950s and Kelly's 1955. The Crown and Anchor is marked with a red spot.
 

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Chunky AC said:
Hello Lyn,
I am sorry to say that I did not research grandad Watkins any further. I am grateful for the information re the tree of life inscription.
I was told by Grandma Edith that grandad died in the air raids. Possibly near Snow Hill. Alf.C
Click to expand...
hi chunky maybe you could get his death cert ?

lyn
 
Another aerial view of the other side of Gem Street (1950),

I have very few memories of my early childhood but do remember when I was 5 or 6 being taken by my auntie to Gem Street Dental Clinic to have a tooth removed, I can still smell the rubber mask now.
 

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Gem St how could I forget this street , working as an apprentice electrician in the 60's me and the sparks I was mating were asked to go to a place in Gem St to fix the overhead crane . My word the gaffer at our place saw us pair coming when he give us this job , guess what it was a factory was my first thought that dealt in charcoal. The place was covered in the stuff you were breathing it in you couldn't get away from the stuff, putting new cable on it and re-using the rawhide suspenders we couldn't wait to get out of the place. The truth is with charcoal if you touched something that had it on you couldn't just wipe it off you had to wash it off . Checking tonight in 1966/7 Kelly's it turned out it was Joseph Gilman Drysalter charcoal being kept to obtain potash from , it had to be the dirtiest jobe I've ever been on
 
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