#On This Day 19th December

I'd like to share the story of Walter George Eldridge as the only person in my database with an event listed today.

Walter George Eldridge, my first cousin twice removed, passed away on this day in 1989. There are many significant events to help us to appreciate the world he lived in.

In this year:

March: The Purley rail crash occurred in Surrey, the same county where Walter was living. Two trains collided, resulting in the tragic loss of six lives.

May: Our family moved from Gloucestershire to West Sussex, a significant personal milestone for us.

November: The fall of the Berlin Wall signaled the reunification of Germany, allowing Germans to travel freely between West and East Berlin. This historic event was marked by a visit from Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the day after the wall fell.

Walter George Eldridge was born in 1919 in Battle Registration District, Sussex, England. He was the son of James Eldridge (1866-1950) and Annie Gardner (1872-1959). In 1938, Walter married Violet Ransom, and they had at least one daughter, though there may have been more children I haven't researched yet. Walter passed away on December 19, 1989, in Surrey.

Walter's father, James Eldridge, was the older brother of my great-grandmother, Ellen Eldridge. Walter also had an older sister named Rose Ellen Eldridge, born in 1906. I wonder if she was named after Ellen's daughter, Rose Ellen Clark, my grandmother, who was born in 1892.

There are a few notable events that happened on this day throughout history:

1843: Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol," selling 6,000 copies. I wonder if Walter enjoyed reading classic literature like this.

1924: The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was sold in London, England, a dream car for many during that time.

1958: The first radio broadcast from space took place. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a Christmas message to all mankind, wishing for peace on Earth and goodwill to all.

1972: Apollo 17, the last of the Apollo Moon landing missions, returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean southeast of Samoa.