#On This Day 23rd December

Today, we take a look at the story of James Clark and Annie Gardner, who married on this day in 1905, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire.  James is my great great uncle.

A range of events that happened in England in that year.

The Natural History Museum in London: The unveiling of "Dippy," an exact replica of the skeleton of the Diplodocus carnegii dinosaur, became a popular exhibit.

Cadbury Dairy Milk: The iconic chocolate bar was first produced in Bournville.

Literary Milestone: E. Nesbit wrote the well-known book, 'The Railway Children,' which became a classic in children's literature.

James Eldridge, son of William Eldridge (1843-1868) and Caroline Poile (1847-1927), was born on October 21, 1866, in Bodiam, Sussex, England. He was baptized in Bodiam on February 3, 1867. James was one of three children. He married Annie Gardner in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, on December 23, 1905. The marriage was witnessed by Alfred Gardner and Rose Gardner. After their marriage, James and Annie moved to Sussex. My research shows that they had one girl and four boys, born between 1906 and 1919: Rose, Alfred, Arthur, and Richard.

I have done little research on Annie, although I have found that she was born in 1872. It's intriguing to think about how James met and married someone from Gloucestershire. James died in Sussex in 1950, and I believe Annie died nine years later.

James had a younger sister, my great-grandmother, Ellen Eldridge, who married George Clark. Their daughter, my grandmother, was named Rose Ellen. This makes me wonder if James and Annie's daughter was named after the wedding witness Rose Gardner or after James' niece, my grandmother, Rose Ellen.

There were several noteworthy events in England on this day:

1815: Jane Austen's novel "Emma" was published in London.  It is quite likely that Annie would have read this novel.

1888: The birth of J. Arthur Rank, a film magnate from Hull who founded the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.  I am sure they will have watched a film produced by the Rank Organisation.

1922: The BBC began daily radio newscasts, a significant development in broadcast journalism.  Most people listened to the radio news until television became the favourite media later in the century.

1937: The first flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber, widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War.  The war would have made a big impact on James and Annie's lives and living in the South East would have seen and heard many planes flying overhead during the war.

Vickers Wellington Bomber