THE JEPHCOTT FAMILY

Thomas Edward Jephcott was born at Colchester Maternity Hospital, Lexden Road, Colchester on 31st August 1988. His first school was Prettygate Infants School, Plume Avenue, Prettygate, Colchester. At the age of 6 years (or thereabouts), following his parent's divorce, he went to Taupo in New Zealand with his mother, where she married her second cousin, Graham Scanlen. Sorry, I don't know any more than this, other than that Tom had a few visits back to England to see his family, the final visit ending in April 2002.

Eye Colour: Hazel; Hair Colour: Brown; Blood Group: unknown

Jeph was born in Birmingham, on 7th June 1915 but moved with his parents to London when he was three years old.

 (There is a great family mystery over his parents' circumstances, as no marriage record has ever been found, his father was known to have married in 1876, not to Jeph's mother, his wife's history is unknown and the move to London was done in a hurry at the toss of a coin and all questions from Jeph and his older sister Nancy, went unanswered. Jeph's mother was 29 years younger than his father.)

 His first school was St Dunstan's in the West, Fetter Lane, and then at the age of 5 or 6 he was sent to St Clement Danes School, Drury Lane. Jeph became a chorister at the age of 17 and took a job with a firm of solicitors as an office boy. Next he went to Lever Brothers working in the stationary department and carrying messages and other duties. Next he was posted to a garage at Battersea and ended up getting the sack for spending to much time watching the mechanics working on the vehicles. For a while he was unemployed but then got a job with Dales manufacturing in Pimlico as a clerk. Mother and father got a job with Hamiltons in the West End as caretakers to the various empty houses that were scattered around the area and owned by far wealthier people. They lived in Lord Mitcham's house in Harlington Street (now known as Harlington House). For a time they lived in Beau Brummel's house at the side of St James Palace.

In 1933 or 1934 Jeph fell through a glass roof and ended up spending 8 weeks in hospital. In 1935 he took a job with the European Investment Trust Company in Grosvenor Crescent until the outbreak of War, where he was involved in general office duties and repossessing vehicles, etc. It was whilst working there that he met Mary Voss, his wife to be, who worked for British Railway Traffic, an associate company.

Jeph volunteered for the Army where he was called up in June 1940 on 2 shillings pay. He started with Infantry Training Battalion, Exeter in Devonshire and ended up in the Regimental Barracks in Exeter.  He was put on the 'Empress of Japan' heading for India with 'HMS Birmingham' in support. After a very grim time fighting the Japanese in Burma, contracting malaria and other diseases he received a signal for home leave in March 1945. After a sea journey home, he was able to catch the train home on 6th June 1945 which was 'Victory in Europe' day.

He was re-mustered at Thirsk and was told that there would be no more overseas postings. He requested to get married and after some difficulty with the Army system, was eventually married in 1945. He was posted to Norwich and then, despite the assurance of no more overseas postings, was sent to Germany to assist with that country's rebuilding. Shortly afterwards came victory in Japan. Jeph had lost many friends in Burma. He was eventually discharged in March 1946.

Jeph and Mary lived at Kingsbury in London, with Mary's family and they eventually got an offer of a maisonette in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire in 1947/48. They stayed there until 1955, when they moved up to Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, with Jeph getting a job in personnel with Woods of Colchester Limited, a major industrial fan manufacturing company. They had four children, Una May b 1950, Jess Arthur b 1953, Trudy Jane b 1956, Innis John b 1961.

Jeph retired from Woods at the age of 65 and they moved to a new house in Clays Road, Frinton-on-Sea, only to move to 7 Oaklands Road, Dovercourt, a couple of years later. After Mary died in 2002, he moved into a flat in Dovercourt.

Eye Colour: Hazel; Hair Colour: Brown; Blood Group: unknown

Henry Jephcott was born in Foleshill, Coventry in 1857. Henry was apprenticed in Coventry as a Plumber, Painter and Glazier, thereby gaining the freedom of the city. We know that he married Mary Jane Cox, the parish records showing us that he lived for a time in Spon Street and had three sons. He is a mystery man in that he said very little to his son Arthur and daughter Nancy about his early life.

In the 1901 census he is recorded as living in Aston, Birmingham with his 'wife' Clara aged 37, with their two children Doris aged 4 and Frederick aged 2, both children born in Birmingham. We believe that Henry Jephcott and Clara Annie Phipps were not married to each other. What became of the children, we do not know.

At some point, presumed to be around the year 1912, he had a relationship with 9 Eunice May Innis, with a 29 year age gap between them. They lived in Molesley Road, Sparkbrook in 1915 when 4 Arthur was born and they moved to London in 1916. No record has been found of a marriage to 9 Eunice May Innis (Tom's great grandmother) with whom he had three children and from which union Tom is descended. Henry was very active with his newly adopted church in London and was made a Freeman of the City. He died in Clapham in 1939 at the age of 81 and is buried in Morden Cemetery. In the 1980's, his grave was visited by us where we discovered that there was no stone. A stone was commissioned for him soon after.

Joseph was born in Foleshill and was baptised in 1828 at St Lawrence church, Foleshill. He was a builder by profession.Joseph Jephcott (AA302), the third son of James and Hannah, like his elder brother John, also took up the trade of bricklayer. At the age of 27 years he married Selina Wallace, the daughter of a cattle dealer. They had nine children. Selina died in 1875 at the age of 44 and Joseph remarried around 1885 to another Selina (maiden name unknown). 

Joseph died in 1910 and is buried in St Laurence churchyard, Foleshill. In his will, Joseph's address was given as 520 Stoney Stanton Road and in it he directed that his property should be offered to his son Joseph for the sum of 700 pounds and which was presumably somewhat less than the market value. In addition he left legacies of 20 pounds to his children Emily Mason, Annie Cantrill, May Selina Jephcott, Henry, and Joseph, and to his grand-daughter, the child of his daughter Annie Maria Norgrove. To his son George Edwin, he left 10 pounds. He left his first wife's clothes box to his daughter Emily Mason and his own clothes box to his son Joseph. The residue of his estate was left to his daughter May Selina.

 The Church Registers show that he was baptised on the 6th October 1793. However, in the 1841 census return he gave his age so that it inferred he was born in 1801, in 1851 it would have been a birth in 1800, in 1861 it would have been 1802 and in 1871, 1805. He was clearly reluctant to give his true age, perhaps because his wife Hannah was 12 years younger than him. Even at his death in 1877 his death certificate gave his age as 82, whereas he was in fact aged 84 years.

James married Hannah Dalton in January 1824 and in February 1824 their first child was baptised. Just in the nick of time so to speak!

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