Wherefore are thou Uncle Eric?

[Anstey Nomad]

After yesterday's taster on FB, here is what I have on Uncle Eric.

My mother had a scrapbook full of newspaper cuttings that I loved to look through as a child. In this book was a picture of a man pulling a number of razor blades out of his mouth, tied at regular intervals on a ribbon. Apparently he liked to crunch them with plenty of salt and pepper - as you do. This cutting, and the one of his wife publicising her patriotic poetry, dated from WWII.

"Mum, who's this?"
"That's your grandad's brother Eric Phillips"

Apparently he was a magician,high up in magic circles (no pun intended) and a friend of David Devant, possibly the premier magician of his day.

I looked for him before and not found him, so had another look yesterday:

Here is the family in 1911 at 43 Bartholomew Street in Leicester.

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/23...l=ReturnRecord

You will note that they declare nine children in total and five children living. I have identified one of the four dead children, little Elsie, born and died in 1891 and I suspect that Charlotte Margaret, born and died in the DQ of 1895 is another one of theirs, otherwise the name is just too much of a coincidence.

With five children living and five children in the house on census night in 1911, Eric becomes a bit of a mystery. I am satisfied that none of the boys on the 1911 census is otherwise known as Eric. Edwin was my grandfather, Harry is my second cousin's grandfather, Frank was KIA in 1918 and George was killed when he was knocked off his bike in Narborough Road in 1931. The two boys alive at the date of the press cuttings are both accounted for.

So who the heck was Uncle Eric?

I have identified three men named Eric Phillips who died in Leicester:

Eric Kimberley Phillips (c1896-1960) - he was married to Mabel Violet England and I have a feeling that the poetry writing Auntie was called Mabel. Other than that, I can't find him on the 1911 census and he appears to have married in Liverpool

Eric William Phillips (1909-1970) - according to the 1911 census he's a Londoner

Eric Charles Phillips (1907 - 1992) - I can't find him on the 1911 census either.

I'm completely baffled by this one. Does anyone have any ideas? Any ideas at all?

Can somebody wave a magic wand?

[Anstey Nomad]

From the V & A catalogue:

Birthday card | V&A Search the Collections
collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1177371/birthday-card-unknown/
Birthday postcard, with a poem printed on it entitled 'Baby's First Birthday', written by Mabel Phillips, probably published in Great Britain, ca. 1944.

Coincidence?

[Merry]

This cutting, and the one of his wife publicising her patriotic poetry, dated from WWII.

Do you know his wife's name?

[Merry]

.......and don't say, "Mrs Phillips"

[Merry]

lol I didn't type that slowly - how did you sneak in??

[Anstey Nomad]

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/23...l=ReturnRecord

Now I was not expecting to find Mabel Violet England in the centre of Leicester. They look like an interesting family and I love May's occupation. I wonder which of the girls is her mother.

[Anstey Nomad]

I have a sort of feeling, nothing more, that it was Uncle Eric and Auntie Mabel and the greetings card thing is coming back to me too. Was she called Mabel and did she write verses for greetings cards. Was the patriotic stuff "Montgomery, Montgomery, his name is everywhere" just a side line?

[Merry]

So, is this him?


Births Sep 1896

Phillips Eric Kimberley Leicester 7a 291

[Merry]

Son of Joseph and Alice E Phillips on the 1901 census (aged 4)

[Phoenix]

Just spotted your FB post and was reminded immediately of Dad's Uncle William, who is commemorated in a Streatham cemetery as George Belmont (not his surname) together with his wife Maud Belmont aka Mary Jane Elizabeth. Belmont was a street they had lived in.

(That little nugget took forty years and was given to me - I don't think I would ever have found it!)