On January 28th 1878 Alfred Bostock, living at 46 Leamington Street married Emma Marriott, who was living at 33 Leamington Street. The street no longer exists as it was part of the clearance to make way for the Narborough Road North and a housing estate in the 1960’s and 70’s.
The couple later moved to 291 Avenue Road Extension, Clarendon Park. Alfred was working as a Bricklayers Labourer and the 1901 census shows that they had 10 children living with them. The oldest 5 were all working in Shoe manufacturing. Clarence who was born on 5th March 1892 was the couples seventh child.
By the 1911 census only 4 children were still living at home, Edward the eldest had died in 1905. The next oldest, Lillian had married William John Mason in 1905 at St Michaels & All Angels Church, later he was to die in the War and is also included on the same war memorial. Edith the 3rd child had married Percy George Burrows in 1907, he was later to become a Church Verger. Another brother, John Sidney had also married, and his youngest sister Gladys had died aged 10 in 1910.
Clarence had also moved out of the family home, on 23rd June
1909 he had enrolled in the Royal Marine Light
Infantry, Plymouth Division. The 1911 census
shows that the 19 year old Clarence was on HMS
Hannibal, which was placed in reserve from
1907, it was later mobilised in July 1914 just prior to the outbreak of the war.
He embarked HMS Colossus on 9th May 1917, a Dreadnought Battleship, which had been at the Battle of Jutland. According to the WW1 Naval Casualties list he was killed or died as a direct result of enemy action on 26th October 1917 and no information received as to location of a grave, he was 25 when he died.
Clarence is remembered at Tyne Cot Cemetery near Leper in Belgium. The memorial lists the names of 35,000 British and New Zealand me with no known grave, nearly all died between August 1917 and November 1918.
