Ancestors, A Lost Uncle And Kind People

I live in France, but many of my ancestors come from Dorchester on Thames. It's too complicated to go into the history of how I managed to be living here on the border with Spain, but for me Dorchester is a key element in what has made me who I am.

As far back as I can go at present, my earliest ancestor was Joseph King, born in Dorchester in about 1767. The family has lived there down the generations, and perhaps some of them still do. I may have distant cousins still living there.

When I took up my interest in family history it seemed natural that I should visit the place where so many of my ancestors come from. It was not an unmoving experience. It is amazing also the consistency with which the same given names are repeated down the generations. However not all stayed in Dorchester. My maternal grandfather, Kenric Vincent King, moved to Ireland and was married in Dublin in 1909. His slightly older sister, Bertha Stacey (nee King), was frequently spoken of and occasional visits were made to keep family links alive, although I do no think she ever came to Ireland. However, Kenric died in 1950 and Bertha, probably shortly after. I regret that I never had the opportunity of getting to know her. All I have is a photograph of her with my Irish grandmother together in her garden, somewhere in Dorchester.

Of course it goes without saying that if anyone has any information about the King family, or any photos, I would be happly to learn of this. In the meanwhile I am hoping that I will be able to visit Dorchester again, before too much time passes. But it is a long journey. Even so, I met with much kindness, interest and help when there, which, family apart, makes it a good place to be.

So, in 2007 and this year I managed two very brief visits to Dorchester. On one of these I discovered I had an uncle of whom I was not even aware. Horace King is one of those commemorated on the Village's war memorial. The poor lad was only 19 when he was killed in the Great War in 1915. He is commemorated also on the Menin Gate. It is ironic that during my career there was a period when I was in liaison with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (there are many war graves in Ireland too), not realising how close the terrible loss of life in the Great War had come to my own family.

It has been very interesting to read the contributions here. I was particularly wondering about the reference to a 'Mr. King', and whether he might be related... Who knows....

Thanks for reading.

David