Alexander Leahair Kirk | [1893 - 1939] | MMF |
Born: 22 November 1893
Birth Certificate:
Registration District | Islington |
in the Sub-District of | Highbury |
in the County of | London |
When and where born | 22 November 1893, 42 Isledon Road |
Name | Alexander Leahair |
Sex | Boy |
Name of Father | Robert Kirk |
Name of Mother | Eleanor Amelia Kirk, formerly Leahair |
Profession of Father | Law Clerk |
Informant | Eleanor A Kirk, Mother, 42 Isledon Road Islington |
When Registered | 1 January 1894 |
Baptised: 14 March 1894, St Barnabas Islington
Father: Robert Kirk
Mother: Eleanor Amelia Leahair
Ralph Leahair Kirk sailed to New York on the SS Majestic arriving 13 April 1913, his final destination being Spy Hill SK Canada. Shortly after, he adopted the name
The obituary for Virginia L Kirk in the San Mateo Times of 19 May 1955 says she was a resident of Los Angeles and native of Illinois. She died at the home of her daughter, Mrs Marjorie L Trover, 970 Magnolia Drive, Millbrae. She was also survived by sister Mrs Harriet H Bristow of Eugene OR, brother V G Barnhouse of Pasadena, and two unnamed grandchildren.
Married: Sybil May Bonas 15 November 1915
Marriage Certificate:
Registration District | Edmonton |
Solemnized at | The Register Office |
in the County of | Middlesex |
When Married | 15 November 1915 |
Name and Surname | Alexander Leahair Kirk |
Age | 22 |
Condition | Bachelor |
Rank or Profession | Railway Porter |
Residence | 59 Greenfield Road, Tottenham |
Father's Name | Robert Kirk |
Father's Profession | Clerk to a fountain pen maker |
Witnesses | C Bonas, C Rawlings bride's sister Charlotte, family friend - there are Rawlings in ALK's Birthday Book? |
The Marriage Certificate gives the date of marriage as 15 November 1915, but is dated 5 November. Examination of the entries before and after in the Register shows that the ceremony took place on the 15th.
Children:
Died: 22 January 1939
Death Certificate:
Registration District | Colchester |
in the Sub-District of | Colchester North West |
in the County of | Essex |
When and where died | 22 January 1939, Severalls Hospital |
Name and Surname | Alexander Leahair Kirk |
Sex | Male |
Age | 45 years |
Occupation | of 143 134 Collingwood Road, Lexden Colchester, Railway Gate Keeper |
Cause of death | 1(a) Pulmonary Tuberculosis certified |
Informant | S M Kirk, Widow of deceased, 134 Collingwood Road, Lexden Colchester |
When Registered | 24 January 1939 |
Buried: 27 January 1939, Colchester
Newspaper: Unknown, January 1939:
The Late Mr. A. L. Kirk The funeral took place at St. Leonard's, Lexden, on January 27th, of Mr. Alexander Leahair Kirk, of 134, Collingwood Road, Lexden. Deceased was for some time in the employ of the L.N.E.R., and was engaged at the level crossing at Chitt's Hill. He was a popular personality. Death occurred after a long illness, patiently borne. There were numerous wreaths. The chief mourners were the widow, Vena and Violet (daughters), Henry (son), Gilbert (brother of deceased) and Mrs. G. Woodrow (sister-in-law). The service was conducted by Rev. S. L. Dolph, and the funeral arrangements were carried out by the Colchester Co-operative Society.
Employment:
He worked at several stations, firstly on the Great Eastern Railway, then on the London and North Eastern Railway following LNER's takeover of GER in 1923: Brimsdown, possibly Tottenham Court Road, Swaffham, Roudham Turnpike Level Crossing, and finally Chitts Hill (to which he moved in February 1932).
At Brimsdown in 1914 |
While he was permanent crossing keeper at Roudham Turnpike Level Crossing, there was an accident on 27th October 1926:-
"As a 2-ton pneumatic-tyred open Morris type motor lorry, owned and driven by a poultry carrier of Attleborough, was passing over this level crossing from the direction of Norwich on a journey to London, it was run into by the 1.20 pm. down special goods train, Peterborough to Yarmouth.I regret to report that [the driver] sustained injuries from which he succumbed in Thetford Cottage Hospital early next morning. [Two passengers] were travelling on the front seat with him. The former was seriously injured and the latter severely shaken, singed about the face, and bruised on the legs and back."
His daughter Violet remembers the injured men being carried into the gatekeeper's cottage. The report on the accident makes it clear that the accident happened while Alexander Kirk was away due to illness, his job being temporarily performed by two replacements.
WW1 Service:
Directory:
1933-45: Benhams Colchester | A L Kirk, 134 Collingwood Rd |
134 Collingwood Road, Colchester (as Alexander Kirk Kirk) | 1936-7: Lexden Ward, Colchester |
Addresses:
1893 | 42 Isledon Rd, Islington (Booth Map) |
unknown | 60 Elwood St, Highbury (Booth Map) |
1901 | 57 Fulbourne Terrace, Walthamstow |
1907-1911 | 44 Hawksley Rd Stoke Newington |
1915 | 59 Greenfield Rd, Tottenham |
1917 | 134 Effingham Road, Harringay |
circa 1930 | 22c Alfoxton Ave, West Green, London N15 |
1921 | Swaffham parish NFK |
1931 | 48 Turnpike Crossing, Roudham |
1933-9 | 134 Collingwood Rd, Colchester [TL963245] |
His addressbook (written in several hands - not all of which can be his, as the entries refer to people born after his death - and containing the addresses 60 Elwood St, Highbury, N and 44 Hawksley Rd, Stoke Newington), contains the following entries:-
Date | Entry | Notes |
---|---|---|
January 1 | Mrs. Harriet Bonas | |
January 4 | Alice Barnes | § |
January 9 | Winnie Kirk | Sister |
January 12 | Harriet Bonas | Mother in law |
January 16 | 1899 Thomas Leahair | Grandfather. 1899 was the year of his death, but January 16th not the date of death, so perhaps the birthdate |
February 10 | 1923 Arnold Rawling age nine | |
February 12 | Mr. Eric Bonas | Brother in law |
February 18 | W Austin | |
February 20 | Mr. Barnes | |
February 22 | Willie Sherman | "I think the Willie Sherman mentioned is my grandfather (1880-1927). I think so because he had a sister who married a Kirk; I also remember my father talking about his Aunt Alice, probably the same; they lived in the same part of London, and they had some sort of connection with the Deepings in Lincs." (Mick Sherman [[email protected]]) |
February 26 | Agustas F Read | |
March 6 | 1917 Miss Lavinia May Kirk - 1942 Lavinia May Watson | Daughter |
March 10 | Enid Reeve age 15 a friend | |
March 12 | 1942 Walter William Watson | Son in law. 1942 is his year of marriage |
March 16 | Gilbert Kirk | Brother |
March 18 | 1906 Coralie Norman | |
March 20 | A Sherman - Mrs. A Kirk | Step-mother § |
March 21 | Percy Vivash | Married Alice Sherman's sister Annie |
March 31 | Arthur Harber put in the year 1929 | |
April 1 | Gilbert Hollis | |
April 4 | Henry Bonas | Brother in law |
April 5 | Ralph Leahair Kirk | Brother |
April 8 | 1913 Ethel Grace Kirk | Sister |
April 11 | Marion Hume | |
April 13 | Annie Sherman - Annie Vivash | Alice Sherman's sister |
April 15 | Amelia L Thorn Fanny Thompson | |
April 21 | Alice Chance | |
April 22 | Mr. Sherman | § |
April 28 | Harold Thompson | |
April 29 | Miss Pansy Bonas, Post Office St, Castle Acre, Kings Lynn, Norfolk | Sister in law |
May 1 | Doris Brown | |
May 2 | 1909 George Kirk | Brother |
May 6 | Frances M Huggings age 15 a friend | |
May 8 | Alice E Barnes | |
May 9 | Mrs. Lottie Rawlings | |
May 11 | Mrs. Thorn | |
May 12 | Miss Dulcie Dutchman | |
May 14 | Ernest Vivash | Son of Alice Sherman's sister Annie |
May 18 | Dorothy M Rust age 15 a friend | |
May 20 | Maud Lloyd | |
May 23 | Violet Sybil Kirk 48 Turnpike Crossing Roudham nr Thetford Norfolk | Daughter |
May 25 | 1906 Arthur William Bonas | |
May 28 | Laura M E Kidd | |
May 29 | John Berriman | Grandson |
June 20 | Richard Sherman | § |
June 21 | G Pettbridge [entry deleted] | |
June 23 | Henry Thompson | |
June 25 | 1903 age 15 Louie Hackman | |
July 2 | Heather Berriman | Granddaughter |
July 6 | Ronald Brown Sybil Bonas Mrs Sybil May Kirk Sybil May Bonas 21st 1914 | |
July 7 | Freddie Thompson | |
July 11 | Susan Berriman | Granddaughter |
July 21 | G Petherbridge | |
August 5 | 1900 Eleanor Amelia Kirk | Mother. 1900 was her year of death. |
August 7 | 1918 Henry Cecil Kirk | Son |
August 10 | 1924 age 7 Joan V Rawlings | |
August 23 | 1908 Fred Bonas | Father in law |
August 24 | Edith T Kirk | Sister |
September 6 | Jim Haggs | |
September 12 | Jas H Cunningham | |
September 14 | 1914 Albert Leahair Bonas | Brother in law |
September 16 | Hd Kirk | Brother Harold Leahair Kirk? |
September 17 | 1893 Wolly Webber | |
September 19 | Mrs. Sherman | § |
September 24 | Vera M Woodrow age 10 | |
September 28 | Cecil Kirk | Brother |
September 29 | 1898 Catherine Leahair | 1898 was her year of death, but September 29 1898 cannot be the date of death, as it was registered in the 1st qtr 1898, Edmonton, aged 44. |
October 2 | Roland Vivash | Son of Percy Vivash and Annie Sherman |
October 8 | Miss Edna Grace Woodrow | |
October 9 | William Thorn | |
October 14 | 1906 Stanley Kirk | Brother |
October 25 | Laurence Walter Kirk (?) | Brother |
October 31 | 1948 John Hall Berriman | Son in law. 1948 is his year of marriage |
November 5 | Nellie Kinsey | |
November 9 | Mrs. Hegarty | |
November 12 | 1906 Lesile Read | |
November 16 | 1893 Alice Thompson | |
November 19 | Edwin John Harber 1930 age 2 | |
November 22 | 1893 Alex Leahair Kirk | Himself |
November 25 | Eric Kirk | Brother |
November 29 | Emma Sherman | § Mrs Grace Woodrow |
December 1 | Robert Kirk Bonas 1936 | |
December 6 | Leslie Reeve 1918 Iris Harriet Harber 1931 | |
December 9 | Sat - D - 1922 Jun 3rd Violet Bonas (sic) | Sister-in-law? |
December 15 | Daisy Webber | |
December 26 | Louie Guyatt | |
December 30 | Ethel Stuart Turner - Ethel Stuart Kirk | Sister in law: married Harold Leahair Kirk |
December 31 | 1918 Ronald Simpson |
§ In the 1901 census (RG13/177 f100 p1), Alexander's brother Harold is listed as a visitor at 295 Liverpool Road, Islington. The Head of the household was George Sherman (70). Also in the household were his wife Mary A Sherman (52), daughters Alice Sherman (27), Emma Sherman (24) and Mary A Sherman (15), sons William Sherman (20) and Richard Sherman (12), and visitor Alice M Barnes (7). In 1871, the Kirk family was living at 108 Liverpool Road.
He spent some time at the Herman De Stern Convalescent Home in Felixstowe Suffolk. The Home is shown on
a postcard he sent to his wife as "Mrs A L Kirk, 22c Alfoxton Ave, West Green, South Tottenham, London N-15",
which reads:
Nov 23rd
Dear S
Just a card to say got letters and B'day Cards alright. Thank little Violet, I feel 27 today. Well dear I'm still getting fat for Xmas you wont know me. I'm here for another 2 weeks. I shall be at Hospital about (11-30 AM on Dec 6th)
Goodbye
Alec
The card is postmarked 24 November, but the year cannot be read. However, from Violet Kirk's recollection,
and the reference "I feel 27 today'', the year 1930 (in which he was actually 37) seems likely. In the same
year, he also attended the London Hospital - hence the family moved back to Alfoxton Avenue for about 6
months - and convalesced in Herne Bay. The costs of these convalescences may have been met by the London and
North-Eastern Railway Company.
According to a family tradition, he once tried to break into Buckingham Palace to see the Queen (Mary of Teck?).
Amongst the photographs kept by his daughter Violet was a cutting from an unidentifiable newspaper, with a poem attributed to A. SELL KIRK:-
WHAT'S THE M.L.S. CROSSING KEEPER?
I am on duty twenty-four hours a day, My freedom, there is none to dispute. From this centre I give right of way To the man, the motor and brute. O servitude! where are the charms Through these gate I oft put my face, Better be in the mid'st of some farms Than dwell in this out-landish place. I am out of humanity's reach While I stand by these gates all alone; Never hear the sweet music of speech, But some growls like a dog at a bone. The beasts that roam over the "main," My form they can hardly see, They are so unattended by man, And their lameness is shocking to me. No society or friendship. I shove These gates are too much for one man. O, had they the wings like a dove, How soon I'd taste freedom again. My sorrows I then in old age Would soothe with religion and truth; Might learn to live out of this cage, And be cheer'd by the friendship of youth. Ye winds that make me your sport Sometimes in the morning at four; "Gate, gate!" Oh, I've heard the report. Some day I shall hear it no more. My friends, do you ever intend Or wish to liberate me? O tell me I yet have a friend, Though a friend I never can see. When I think of my own bit of land, Scant moments I've time to be there. Forty times a day with my hand I open these gates in despair. The bird is gone to its nest, The beast is down on the moor; They have a season of rest - I my fate in my cabin deplore. No mercy for me in this place - Not one encouraging thought. I've no time to buy boots or a lace Now I am stopped the few hours I had got.
The similarity of the names A. SELL KIRK and Alexander Kirk is interesting. Was Alexander the poet? There is no known railway with the initials MLS — the closest being the MSL (Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire) and LMS (London, Midland and Scottish), but there is no evidence to suggest he worked for either.
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