THE GILLAM FAMILY OF CROYDON AND BRIGHTONChapter 2 |
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Kathleen Ada GILLAM (1907 - 1949)
My maternal grandmother was Kathleen Ada GILLAM. I never knew her as she died almost a year before I was born. She lived with my grandfather, William George PRIOR (known as George) in Wrythe Lane in Carshalton, Surrey. George worked for the South East Gas Board and was in charge of the running of the gasholder that supplied the Carshalton area. There are fascinating stories of the gasholder being hit by shrapnel from bomb drops during the Second World War and burning from all the holes.
According to her birth certificate Kathleen was born on 15th July 1907 at 142 Gloucester Road, West Croydon, Surrey. She was the sixth of seven known children born to William GILLAM (at that time a Journeyman Butcher) and Sarah Jane KING. Kathleen married George on 4th June 1927 at Holy Trinity Church in Selhurst, Surrey. Below is a photo taken on the day (Back Row L to R: Unknown (possibly a sister of Kathleen), Gladys Violet GILLAM. Front Row L to R: Bill REEVES, William George PRIOR, Kathleen Ada GILLAM, Charles GILLAM). Witnesses to this event were Charles Thomas GILLAM (Kathleen's brother) and William REEVES. Despite the fact that Kathleen was only 19 when she married the marriage certificate states that she was 21!
The PRIOR-GILLAM Wedding in 1927 George and Kathleen had the following three children (see Figure 6):
Kathleen died at the remarkably young age of 41. Her death certificate records that she died on 18th January 1949 at St Helier Hospital, Carshalton, Surrey, of ovarian cancer.
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