Biggleswade, Shortmead Street 1925

Henry Tingey - Ancester

My great grandfather Henry Tingey, was born November 18, 1819, in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.  He was the son of James Tingey and Elizabeth Boniss.  James and Elizabeth, and family later moved from Bigglewade, Bedfordshire, and moved Lower Caldecut near the 46th milestone from London in the perish of Northhill.  The family of father and mother and two boys and four sisters were in the business of raising wholesale vegatable and garden seeds and were very successful.  
In 1849 the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (Mormons) told their gospel message to Henry and his wife Ann Young, (daughter of James and Lucy Young).  Henry and Ann joined the Latter-Day-Saint church and migrated to America in 1849.  They spent three years in St Louis, Missouri and then traveled by oxen and wagon train to Salt Lake City, Utah arriving in September 1853.  Henry became a very devote follower of the Mormon Church.  He settled in Sessions Settlement (now Bountiful, Utah), and later moved to Brigham City Utah, where he was in the garden and fruit business.  He was named Bishop of the First Ward in Brigham in 1877, and set apart by Brigham Young, who was the president of the LDS church at that time.  Henry Tingey was given a blessing that his family would be numerous.  This blessing was fulfilled as Henry lived during the time of polygamy and he married four wives and fathered 31 children.  Henry Tingey passed away at the age of 77, on February 14, 1896 in Brigham City, Utah.  He is essentially, the father of the well known, Tingey families in Davis and Box Elder Counties, in Utah.  Almost all of his children, grand children and great grand children, and great grand children (as of December 2007) number into the thousands and have been pillars, leaders and devote members of their community, and of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Henry Tingey was truely regarded as noble man and respected citizen in Brigham City, Utah.  Biggleswade, England can be proud that such a good man was born in their city.  It is astonishment, that such a young man as Henry Tingey, could come from humble circumstances in England in 1849, and accomplish what he did as a pioneer in the American West,.   

Land Resettlement

My parents moved to Pottonin 1937 on the Land Resettlement Scheme from Sunderland. As I was only 18 months old at the time and we were not there long, my memories consist of photographs only and these are of members of my family working the land. Shortly before the Second World War broke out we moved to Bygrave in Hertfordshire. During our time there we had avacuees staying with us and Canadian forces were billeted in the village. My father was sent to work at Cammel Lairds in Birkenhead and we moved to Wallasey in 1942. I now live in north Wales.

Lord Astor

I grew up in Wrestlingworth between 1966 and 1978. In the late sixties and early seventies we often used to see a rather distinguished gent driving a stately car, a Riley I think. He had silver hair and always waved in a benign manner to us youngsters. I got it into my mind that he was Lord Astor who lived at Hatley St George. We were even more impressed at this.
We also used to see the Co-op van in the village. In those days not everybody had cars and the older residents couldn't always get to Biggleswade or wherever. So its arrival was always noticeable if only because of the people who would gather around.
One day I wandered over to the van to see what was on offer. It came as something of a shock to see the aforementioned Lord Astor serving from behind the hatch. What a generous chap I thought. And how socially enlightened to provide such a valuable service to the old folks in the village.
Flushed with warmth and feelings of excitement at such a revelation I couldn't wait to explain to my family that which I'd learned.
Well, it came as something of a shock to discover that the man from the Co-op wasn't Lord Astor at all, just an ordinary chap. I felt embarrassed, confused, and not a little stupid.
Thereafter, I never could quite look at the smiling gent with the same degree of automatic respect and deference!

My Dad, Dennis

Hello. My dad was born in Arlesey 1926 at 77 High Street, his name is Dennis James Saunderson. His mother was Ada Lillian Saunderson and his father was Arthur Taleyson Jones, they married in Biggleswade registry office December 24th 1924. My grandfather disappered after 1926, and his mother went back to her maiden name. I would be grateful if anyone out there has family who lived there at that time, could tell me why or where or what happened at that time? Thank you so much. 77 High Street was where they all lived with Ada's grandparents, Hannah and Charles Saunderson. Thank you, I have been looking for information for over 13 years and haven't got any family alive now that can tell me. From Mrs Denise Saunderson-Charter.

Arlesey, Bedfordshire

When my dad was demobbed after the war in 1946, we had to move back to London because of his job. We had all our funiture put on a lorry, and the local publican, a Ted Bland, delivered us to a requestioned place over a shop in Hornsey Road, Holloway, Islington, London. This became the second phase in my wonderful childhood, but it took some time to get used to the locals, at the finish they turned out to be the best people you could ever meet, but while we tried to settle in we were pining for Arlesey, and could not wait to go for a visit to my gran, grandad and cousin Terry, we idolised him. My eldest brother Ted was always his biggest fan. We would go to Kings Cross and pick up the Birch Brothers coach, and sit back and enjoy the wonderful scenic route through the countryside, eventually arriving at the Henlow crossroads two hours later. We stayed with them at 40 Stofold Road. Next door to them lived a family I believe called Aylott, who had a small market garden, they had part of my grandad's garden. I had got used to the lights of London because when they turned the lights off I was frightened it was so black, never-the-less the days were great. It was all fields around us, we used go into the field opposite and play rounders for hours, and all the grownups would join all the aunts and uncles who came down. Some days we used to go over what was called the Bunny Hills which was near the big lake, which was a clay pit originally. Apparently our great-grand father Aaron Gibbs lived in the house near to the lake, he was quite well known, and our gran would tell us about the times when he used to ferry them around in a pony and trap. We used to love the uncles and aunts arriving, because the would give us money for icecream, and we would run up to Chadwicks, who sold the best you ever tasted, and if you felt like it you would go for a walk up to the Arlesey house, stopping off at Maud Suttles and old Mrs Ketch (I think that's the right name) to maybe buy an apple, the shop had a beautiful smell of apples I can still remember it now sixty years later. Alas our holiday would be ending soon. That was the only time I hated the sound of those lovely bells ringing at St Peter's Church were my gran and grandad now rest in peace.