PART FIFTY-ONE

Descendents from the Gloucestershire Line (Part Two)

April 2010

This is the family line of Margaret Chadd nee Collett (Ref. 51R1),

Helen Remfry nee Collett (Ref. 51S18), and the longest line, that of

James Collett (Ref. 51T13) who was born in 2009, which is depicted in capitals

Much of the basic data for this line has been in place for over twenty years and displayed in ‘Part 2 – The Secondary Line’, but thanks to the generosity of Margaret Chadd, this has been added to, with more detailed information and photographs taken from her book ‘The Collett Saga’.

Sir Henry Colet was twice Lord Mayor of London, the first time in 1486 and then again in 1496. He was knighted by King Henry the Seventh in 1485 following his involvement in the Battle of Bosworth Field. Details of the family of Sir Henry Colet and his son Dean John Colet of St Paul’s Cathedral School can be found in ‘Part 18 – The Main Suffolk Line’. To date, no link has been found that would connect Sir Henry to the Gloucestershire family of Thomas Collett in 1485. Then in 1933 Sir Charles Henry Collett (Ref. 51P1) became the second Collett to hold the office of Lord Mayor of London, and he was followed more recently by his grandson Sir Christopher Collett (Ref. 51R3) who served during 1988-1989. Christopher took office as the 661^st Lord Mayor of London during November 1988, and was the third Collett to do so, the office being held by a Collett on this occasion for the fourth time. This family line commences with Henry John Richard Collett whose earlier ancestors are detailed in ‘Part 1 – The Main Line’ from Thomas Collett in 1485 (Ref. 1D1) through to John Collett (Ref. 1F9) who starts Part 2 – The Secondary Line as John Collett (Ref. 2F1) and leads through to Henry John Richard Collett (Ref. 2O15).

51O1

HENRY JOHN RICHARD COLLETT (Ref. 2O15) was born on 17.11.1838 at King Street in Westminster, but was baptised at Meysey Hampton near Fairford on 03.10.1841. The IGI confirmed that his parents were Henry John Collett and Amelia Sophia Mawbey. He attended Mrs Bickerdyke’s Academy at Buckhurst in Essex during the late 1840s and early 1850s. Following the agricultural depression in Gloucestershire, Henry went to London where he became a silk merchant. Henry was 24 when he married thirty-one years old Jane Johnson Thomas at Hanover Chapel in Peckham on 23.12.1862. Jane had been born at Bungay on 08.04.1831 and she ran the school at Rye Lodge in Peckham.

During their life together Henry and Jane attended Rendham Congregational Church and their family were all church-workers in Peasenhall, and it is in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church at Peasenhall that both Henry and Jane were buried.

At the time of the birth of his daughter Ethel Mary Collett in 1875, Henry was working as a warehouseman in the Camberwell area of London.

Five years later, according to the census of 1881, Henry J R Collett and his wife Jane were living at 14 Peckham Rye in Camberwell. Henry’s occupation at that time was that of an agent and merchant of foreign goods.

The premises at Camberwell must have been significant as Jane ran a school there, where she was the proprietor and for which she had four boarders and four servants. Her own children at that time comprised Charles Henry 16, Frederick Knowles 15, Clara Jane 13, Agnes 11, Gertrude 9, Ethel 5 and Edgar who was three years old, and all of them born at Camberwell.

Because his wife Jane, and her Thomas family, had all lived in Bungay before moving to London, Henry went to a sale in Suffolk and purchased The Hall at Peasenhall, which then became the Collett family home. The deeds were signed on 10^th October 1892 and gave the London address for Henry as 12 Wood Street. The Hall remained in the family until it was sold in 1926 for two thousand and fifty pounds.

Henry John Richard Collett was a Justice of the Peace and established the Colletts of Peasenhall & Southwold, and it was his eldest son Charles Henry Collett who became the First Baronet.

By April 1911 Henry was 72 and Jane was 79 and at that time they were living at Peasenhall in Suffolk. Still living with them were their two unmarried daughters Clara and Agnes. Three years later Jane died at Peasenhall on 17.04.1914, with Henry dying there from senile decay on 25.11.1923. His daughter Clara was present at the time of his passing.

The photograph above taken in the 1890s shows the complete family at their new home in Peasenhall. From the left and standing are Frederick Noel, Ethel Mary, Henry John Richard, and Clara Jane. Seated from the left are Gertrude Ellen, Agnes Maud, Henry’s wife Jane, and Charles Henry. Lying in front of his mother is Edgar Warin, the youngest member of the household.

51P1

CHARLES HENRY COLLETT

Born in 1864 at Camberwell

51P2

Frederick Noel Collett

Born in 1866 at Camberwell

51P3

Clara Jane Collett

Born in 1867 at Camberwell

51P4

Agnes Maud Collett

Born in 1869 at Camberwell

51P5

Gertrude Ellen Collett

Born in 1871 at Camberwell

51P6

Ethel Mary Collett

Born in 1875 at Camberwell

51P7

Edgar Warin Collett

Born in 1877 at Camberwell

51P1

CHARLES HENRY COLLETT was born at Camberwell on 08.07.1864, the eldest son of Henry Richard John Collett and Jane Johnson Thomas. From 1876 to 1879 he attended Haberdasher’s Aske School in Hatcham. By 1881 Charles H Collett was living with his family at 14 Peckham Rye in Camberwell and at sixteen he was working as a draper’s assistant in Islington which he completed in eighteen months. Around this same time he learnt German at an evening class held by the YMCA in the Exeter Hotel in the Strand, and in 1883 he travelled to Germany to work in the textile trade.

On his return to England a few years later he worked for Cook & Sons Ltd in Wood Street where his father worked. In an essay that he wrote entitled ‘What Religion Means to me in Life’ Charles recorded that he and his family worshipped at St Giles Church in Camberwell, and later at Barry Road Wesleyan Church where he was a Sunday School Teacher.

Charles married (1) Lilian Louisa Ionn at Peckham on 20.04.1892. Lilian was born at Camberwell on 03.11.1869. At the time of the census in 1881 Lilian was eleven years old and was living with her parents at 23 Lyndhurst Road. Ten years later, and one year before she married Charles, Lilian was twenty-one and was living at 198a Peckham Rye, where her occupation was that of a music teacher.

Charles’ and Lilian’s first home was in Beckwith Road and it was there that the couple’s first four children were born. Shortly after the birth of the fourth child in 1898 the family moved to 344 Uplands Road in Dulwich where the next two children were born.

By the time of the census in 1901 Charles and Lilian were living in Dulwich with three of their four children and where Lilian was expecting the couple’s fifth child.

The Camberwell district census return for Dulwich listed the family as Charles H Collett from Camberwell who was 36 and a hosier shopkeeper, his wife Lilian L Collett also of Camberwell and thirty-one, and their three children, sons Henry S Collett who was eight years old and Stanley B Collett who was four, and their daughter Margaret E Collett who was two.

Charles’ and Lilian’s eldest daughter Elsa was not living with the family on that occasion, but was staying with Charles’ sister Agnes Maud Collett (below) in St Marylebone.

It was around this time that Charles, together with his brother Edgar, established the company Colletts Ltd a men’s outfitters and retailers, with shop premises in Shaftesbury Avenue.

Two years after the census day in 1901 the family left Dulwich and moved to Sherstone in Blyth Road in Bromley where the couple’s last four sons were born. In 1911 the family was confirmed as living in the Bromley area where Charles was 46, Lilian was 41, and their children were Henry 18, Margaret 12, Richard, 9, John 7, Thomas 5, David 3, and one year old Roger.

The couple paid three thousand pounds for the large seven-bedroom house that was Sherstone which they maintained with the help two maids and a gardener, plus a young lad that came in on Saturdays to clean shoes and cutlery.

During his time at Dulwich, Charles was the secretary of the Dulwich Philharmonic Society based at Crystal Palace. He was also a Common Councilman of the City of London from 1912 to 1927, an Alderman from 1927 to 1938, a Sheriff in 1932 and 1933, and Lord Mayor of London from 1933 to 1934.

In 1919 Charles purchased Glebe Knoll in the Bromley area of south-east London. The large house with an extensive garden was bought for four thousand pounds and had been previously occupied by the army during the Great War who had left behind a great deal of rubbish which was removed and placed in an air raid shelter in the grounds.

In 1932 the Coat of Arms (on the right) was granted to Sir Charles Henry Collett of Bromley in Kent, and his descendents. Arms were azure on a chevron couped or between three hinds trippant proper collared or an arch sable between two open books proper, crest a demi hind proper collared or resting the sinster foot on an escutcheon cold charged with a maul sable. The family motto is ‘Keep Straight On’. Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries in medieval times.

Charles Henry Collett was the First Baronet of Bromley and Southwold and he and Lilian spent the rest of their life together at Glebe Knoll, as well as at their holiday home in Southwold. Lilian died there on 02.09.1935, and was followed three years later by Charles who died at Bromley on 23.11.1938. Both are buried in the Collett grave in Southwold Churchyard, where other members of the family have since been buried.

At sometime during the three years following the death of his first wife Lilian, Charles married (2) the widow Grace Ashford who became Grace, Lady Collett and was referred to as such in the Will and Will Trust of her husband – see note below.

Under the terms of the Will of Sir Charles Henry Collett dated 21^st December 1936, and after certain bequests, he left the remainder of his Estate to the Trustees to pay the sum of £500 per annum for life to Grace, Lady Collett, and the remainder absolutely to Sir Henry S Collett who became the Second Baronet.

The original Executors and Trustees were named as Sir Henry S Collett, Richard I Collett and Frank S Alexander (the husband of Elsa Mary Collett). Sir Frank S Alexander died on 18^th July 1959 and, by deed of appointment dated 30^th November 1979, he was replaced by Christopher Collett.

Sir Henry S Collett died on 6^th January 1971 and, by a further deed of appointment dated 10^th November 1971, was replaced by Lady Ruth M Collett.

Grace, Lady Collett died on 18^th September 1978 and accordingly the Trustees hold the Estate on Trust under the Will of the late Sir Henry S Collett dated 23^rd January 1967. It was under this same Will that Christopher Collett and Lady Ruth M Collett were appointed as Executors and Trustees.

After certain specific bequests the remainder of the Estate was left to the Trustees to pay the income for life to Lady Ruth M Collett with the power to advance capital to her in the event of serious personal emergency or disaster.

Subject to the above, the Trustees hold the Estate on Trust for the following beneficiaries as shall be living at the date of death of Lady Ruth M Collett and shall have attained the age of twenty-five years or to their issue: Sir Ian Seymour Collett, Bt. One sixth share; Joan Ruth Collett one sixth share; Margaret Ruth Chadd one third share; Christopher Collett one third share.

This photograph captured the family at Glebe Knoll in 1932 on the day that Charles Henry Collett received the news that he had been elected as the next Lord Mayor of London. Only two of his children are missing from the photograph and these were daughter Margaret who had died by then, and son Norman who had died during the Great War.

Standing from left to right are Roger, John Collison, David Brooke, Stanley Beresford, Richard Ionn, Thomas Kingsley, and Henry Seymour. Seated from the left are Lilian Louise, Charles Henry, and their daughter Elsa Mary.

The picture below was taken at The Mansion House in 1933, and shows Charles with four of his sons, Thomas Kingsley, Henry Seymour, Stanley Beresford, and John Collison, just prior to leaving for Buckingham Palace to attend the ceremony of the King’s Levée with King George the Fifth.

51Q1

Henry Seymour Collett

Born on 14.02.1893

51Q2

Elsa Mary Collett

Born on 07.06.1894

51Q3

Stanley Beresford Collett

Born on 27.11.1896

51Q4

Margaret Edith Collett

Born on 27.04.1898

51Q5

Norman Charles Collett

Born on 08.11.1899

51Q6

Richard Ionn Collett

Born on 19.05.1901

51Q7

JOHN COLLISON COLLETT

Born on 06.06.1903

51Q8

Thomas Kingsley Collett

Born on 07.03.1906

51Q9

David Brooke Collett

Born on 06.11.1907

51Q10

Roger Collett

Born on 14.07.1909

51P2

Frederick Noel Collett was born at Peckham in Camberwell on 12.01.1866 the son of Henry Richard John Collett and Jane Johnson Thomas. Some records give his name as Frederick Knowles Collett, as in the census of 1881 when he was fifteen and still at school, while living with his family at 14 Peckham Rye in Camberwell.

He never married and lived for most his adult life at a boarding house in Beckenham in Bromley in Kent from where he was employed as a salesman with the company of Burbury and where he used to play the violin. Frederick was still living at Beckenham when he died in 1925. Upon his passing his left all his money to his niece Elsa Mary Collett.

51P3

Clara Jane Collett was born at Peckham in Camberwell on 11.08.1867, the eldest daughter of Henry Richard John Collett and Jane Johnson Thomas. She was thirteen years old in the census of 1881 when she was living with her parents at 14 Peckham Rye in Camberwell where she was attending school.

Clara and her sister Agnes (below) were still living with their parents at Peasenhall in 1911 when Clara was forty-three and her place of birth was confirmed as Camberwell. And it Clara who was with her father when he died at Peasenhall in 1923.

When her parents left Rye Lodge in Peckham and moved to Peasenhall, Clara acted as housekeeper for the couple, for which she received the grand sum of thirty pound each year. Like her brother Frederick (above) Clara was also an accomplished musician and regularly played the harmonium at the evening services in the local chapel.

Clara never married and at the time just after the Great War she was the president of the Peasenhall Women’s Institute. After the Hall at Peasenhall was sold in 1926, Clara left Suffolk and moved to 46 Meadway in Hampstead where she lived with her sister Ethel (below). However, it was at The Grove in Catton, Norfolk where she died on 14.02.1947 from a cerebral thrombosis haemorrhage.

Just over seven months prior to her death, Clara was a beneficiary under the terms of the Will of her youngest sister Ethel with whom she had lived for many years.

51P4

Agnes Maud Collett was born at Peckham in Camberwell on 06.08.1869. In 1881 Agnes was living with her large family at 14 Peckham Rye in Camberwell, when she was eleven years old and attending school. Her place of birth, like that of all her six siblings at that time was Camberwell. Just after the turn of the century, Agnes was living within the St Marylebone area of London. In the census of 1901 she was listed as Agnes M Collett of Peckham Rye in Camberwell who was thirty-one. Living with her at that time was her niece Elsa Mary Collett (Ref. 51Q2) aged six years who was the eldest daughter of Agnes’ brother Charles.

Agnes never married and at the age of forty-one she had left London and was living with her parents at Peasenhall in Suffolk in April 1911 when her place of birth was confirmed as having been Camberwell. It was while at Peasenhall that Agnes sang in the choir of St Nicholas Church and also took the children’s Sunday School Classes.

Following the sale of the Hall at Peasenhall, Agnes received just under one thousand pounds which she used to purchase her first home at Byways in Keston near Bromley and it was there that she lived for many years with her sister Gertrude (below). During her later years Agnes lived at Nettlestead, at Norstead with her niece Elsa, and at Blythburgh with Richard (Dick) Collett and his wife Helen.

Agnes died in a nursing home at Great Yarmouth on 31.12.1964 at the age of 95, but eighteen years earlier she and her sister Clara (above) had been named as joint beneficiaries in the Will of their younger sister Ethel (below).

With her sister Clara having died only a few months later in 1947, Agnes Collett of Bromley acted as the administrator of Clara’s estate. Agnes’ own Will left her estate to her nephews Gordon Collett and Arthur Collett, and to Richard (Dick) Collett, with her personal effects going to Elsa Alexander.

51P5

Gertrude Ellen Collett was born at Peckham in Camberwell on 16.05.1871. At the age of nine years Gertrude and her family were living at 14 Peckham Rye in Camberwell. It was around eleven years later, in 1892 that Gertrude and her family left Rye Lodge in London and moved to Peasenhall in Suffolk, although she was only there for eight years before she went to keep house for her brother Edgar (below) in 1900.

She was a talented singer and, with her brother Edgar, was a member of the Bromley Congregational Church. During the Great War Gertrude worked as under-secretary to Winston Churchill when he was First Lord of the Admiralty. She later worked for the Ministry of Munitions in Northumberland Avenue in London.

Gertrude never married and after the war she moved to Keston near Bromley to live with her sister Agnes at Byways. And it was there that she died in August 1934, the cause of thrombosis.

51P6

Ethel Mary Collett was born at Peckham in Camberwell on 10.09.1875, the birth being registered by her father who was a warehouseman. Five years later Ethel and her family were living at 14 Peckham Rye in Camberwell. On leaving school Ethel trained as a nurse but never completed the course. As a result she took up employment as a companion to a Mrs Thwaites and lived with her at Golders Green for almost twenty years. Following the death of Mrs Thwaites, Ethel stayed on to look after Mr Thwaites. Eventually she bought a house of her own at 46 Meadway in Hampstead which she shared with her sister Clara (above).

At the time of the census in 1911, Ethel Mary Collett was thirty-five and was a spinster living in the Hampstead area of London.

And it was at Hampstead that she was still living when she died thirty-five years later on 30.06.1946. Her death was registered by T K Collett and here estate amounted to just over eight thousand pounds. In her Will she left a legacy to her maid Florence Barber, and her property was divided between her sisters Clara and Agnes (above). The executors to the Will were Richard (Dick) Collett and David Collett.

51P7

Edgar Warin Collett was born at Camberwell on 10.01.1878 and was three years old at the time of the census of 1881 when he was living with his family at 14 Peckham Rye in Camberwell. After completing his schooling Edgar initially served an apprenticeship with Palmer’s of Great Yarmouth before joining the family business of Colletts Ltd as a buyer.

During his early adult life Edgar lived with his sister Gertrude at Bromley, and then on 10.09.1910 he married Beatrice May Colgate with whom he had five children. Once married the couple settled in Cheam before finally moving to live at Tyrell’s Wood in Leatherhead.

It was at Tyrell’s Wood that Edgar became the Chairman of the Surrey Congregational Union.

Edgar Collett was still living at Tyrell’s Wood when he died on 07.07.1958, and nearly a year later on 14.06.1959 his wife Beatrice died at the age of 77.

51Q11

Gordon Edgar Collett

Born on 29.12.1913

51Q12

Arthur Warin Collett

Born on 05.05.1915

51Q13

Barbara Collett

Born on 10.10.1917

51Q14

Roy Charles Collett

Born on 18.01.1919

51Q15

Donald James Collett

Born on 19.10.1920

51Q1

Henry Seymour Collett was born at Beckwith Road in Camberwell on 14.02.1893 and was eight years old at the time of the Dulwich census of 1901 when he and his family were living at 344 Uplands Road. His first school was Quernmore which he attended while living with his grandparents during his early years due to overcrowding in the family home. In 1903 he was the first in a long line of Colletts to attend Bishop’s Stortford College, which he did until 1909. By 1911 he was eighteen and was back living with his family who by then had moved to the Bromley area of Kent.

Upon finishing his schooling, Henry worked for the family firm of Colletts Ltd under the watchful eye of his father while he undertook training. With the outbreak of war in 1914 he joined the University Public Schools Corps and later transferred to the Suffolk Regiment where he received his commission. It was shortly after this in 1915 that he met his future wife for the first time.

During the following, while Henry was serving his country in the trenches of the Somme, he was shot and wounded, and was taken on a barge down the River Seine to safety, and from where he returned to a nursing home in London. After recovering from his injury, Henry transferred to the Royal Flying Corps.

In 1918 while flying over German occupied territory he was shot down, wounded, and taken prisoner by the Germans and placed in the Kriegsgefangenenlager at Landshutt am Isar in Bayern (Munich). In a letter to his future wife Ruth he wrote “There is no need for you to worry at all about me. We are receiving the very best treatment and we are all quite well and bright. You must not believe what you read in the newspapers”. Interestingly, the next section of the letter had been subject to censorship and had been deleted.

Following his release and a period of convalescence in England and America, Henry married Ruth Mildred Hatch at Bromley Congregational Church on 22.11.1920. Ruth was born on 08.08.1896, the eldest daughter of William Thomas Hatch. On the death of his father in 1938, Henry became the Second Baronet.

Henry’s connection with Bishop’s Stortford School continued throughout his life and included a year as President of the Old Stortfordians. In 1925 he captained a water-polo team, comprising his six surviving brothers, which played against a team from the College.

Sir Henry died on 06.01.1971 shortly after the couple’s Golden Wedding Anniversary.

At the time of the First World War, Ruth Hatch was teaching at Milton Mount College for Girls, following which she was evacuated to the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester.

During their life together, Henry and Ruth spent many of their holidays at Southwold and, it was there in 1985, that Lady Ruth Collett settled, and where she lived at Sunset House until her death on 05.10.1994 at the age of ninety-eight.

51R1

Margaret Ruth Collett

Born in 1922

51R2

David Seymour Collett

Born on 14.06.1924

51R3

Christopher Collett

Born on 10.06.1931

51Q2

Elsa Mary Collett was born at Lordship Lane in Camberwell on 17.06.1894 and was six years old in March 1901 when she was living in the St Marylebone district of London with her aunt Agnes Maud Collett, the sister of Elsa’s father Charles Collett. It is possible that she was receiving her primary educate in London at this time.

Ten years later when Elsa Collett was sixteen she was attending Bromley High School and was living in the Steyning district of Sussex. On this occasion her place of birth was recorded as Dulwich, in which there is still today a road (A2216) by the name of Lordship Lane.

Upon leaving Bromley High School, Elsa went to a finishing school at Lausanne in Switzerland and during the Great War she spent much of her time knitting socks and sending parcels to her brother Henry imprisoned in Germany.

On 16.02.1922 Elsa Mary Collett married Frank Samuel Alexander. Frank was born on 17.06.1881, the son of Edward Alexander and Cora Zwicker. He was educated at Highgate School in Highgate, Middlesex and later gained the rank of Captain in the service of the 72nd Heavy Artillery Brigade. He fought in the First World War, where he was mentioned in despatches.

He held the office of Alderman of the City of London in 1938 and was the chairman of the Baltic Exchange between 1939 and 1946. He was chairman of Alexander Shipping, and held the office of Sheriff of the City of London between 1940 and 1941. He was invested as a Knight in 1942 and held the office of Lord Mayor of London between 1944 and 1945.

He was created First Baronet Alexander of Sundridge Park in Kent on 19^th November 1945, and held the office of Justice of the Peace for the City of London. Sir Frank Samuel Alexander died on 18.07.1959 at the age of 78, just six months after his wife. Elsa died from heart failure while at Norstead Manor on 20.01.1959.

The marriage of Elsa and Frank produced four children for the couple. These were Sir Charles Gundry Alexander (Second Baronet) who was born on 05.03.1923, John Edward Alexander born on 01.08.1924, Elizabeth Jane Alexander born on 14.03.1927, and Margaret Mary Alexander who was born on 24.11.1929.

51Q3

Stanley Beresford Collett was born at Beckwith Road in Camberwell on 27.11.1896. He was educated first at Quernmore School and later at Bishop’s Stortford College where he represented the college at rugby and swimming. He was also musically talented and used to sing duets with his aunt Gertrude Collett who provided piano accompaniment. At the outbreak of World War One, Stanley was declared not fit for military service on account of the fact that he had twice broken his arm playing rugby and had received a broken leg in a riding accident in 1912. He was however, accepted into the Durham Light Infantry and served with the coastguard and took part in night patrols.

He later joined the Royal Navy as a seaman and was appointed personal assistant to Sir Percy Scott in charge of the defence of London. Still during the war, Stanley was accepted into the Royal Flying Corps where he became Flight Commander of 50^th Squadron flying De Havilland DH4 aircraft out of Vendôme. In 1917 and 1918 he was involved in bombing raids on Germany, and it was during the latter that he was promoted to Squadron Leader.

After the war Stanley worked as an articled solicitor and, once he was qualified, he was employed as an assistant solicitor and later assistant secretary with the Great Western Railway. During this time in his life Stanley continued flying and took part in the Hendon Air Pageants in 1923 and 1933.

However, it was the following year that he had another opportunity to fly at Hendon whilst he was escorting the Prince of Wales at the Hendon Pageant. In a final dive over the airfield the engine cut out and the plane crashed in full view of the spectators. His funeral was held at St Paul’s Cathedral and his body cremated at Golders Green.

On 12.04.1923 Stanley married Kitty Griffiths at Bromley Congregational Church. Following his death after just eleven years together, Kitty busied herself in government service, journalism, broadcasting and television and was awarded the Order of the British Empire.

51Q4

Margaret Edith Collett was born at Beckwith Road in Camberwell on 27.04.1898. Not long after she was born the family moved to 344 Uplands Road in Dulwich where they were living in March 1901, when Margaret was two years old. Ten years later she was twelve and was still living with her family which had moved to Bromley where they were living at Sherstone in Blyth Road.

She attended Bromley High School and was active in the Girl Guides although she did suffer with a heart condition. It was while bathing at Southwold when she was just fifteen years old that she was stung by a weever fish which caused blood-poisoning, a high fever, pneumonia and her subsequent death on 28.08.1913.

51Q5

Norman Charles Collett was born at 344 Uplands Road in Dulwich on 08.11.1899. He attended Quernmore School with his brother Stanley (above) and later went to Bishop’s Stortford College in 1911. In 1917 he enrolled in the Royal Naval Air Service on 25^th November 1917, but tragically after leaving training school at Vendôme he was killed in a flying accident at Sleaford on 29.01.1918. The RNAS incident report recorded that the plane, possibly a Sopwith Pup or Aquaplane, developed engine trouble and went into a spin, and in trying to correct it, Norman clipped a brick wall at the aerodrome and sustained injuries that proved to be fatal.

51Q6

Richard Ionn Collett, who was referred to as Dick, was born at 344 Uplands Road in Dulwich on 19.05.1901 but after the end of March that year, since he was not listed with his parents in the census return for Camberwell. By 1911 Richard was nine years old when he and his family were living at Sherstone in Blyth Road in Bromley. From 1909 to 1912 he attended Quernmore School, followed by Bromley School up to 1915 when he went to Bishop’s Stortford College. After this he attended Bangor University from 1919 to 1922 and while there he read agriculture. This photograph of Richard was taken on his wedding day.

On leaving university he secured a position with British Petroleum and worked at many locations for the company including Chelmsford, Portsmouth, plus numerous sites across the West Country, and Northern Ireland.

Richard married Helen Alice Haynes, the daughter of Henry and Alice Haynes, at Wallington in Surrey on 01.12.1926 and their marriage produced four children for the couple. There was a fifth child, a daughter, but sadly she died at childbirth.

Ten years after joining BP, and following the merge with Shell Mex in 1933, Richard became personal assistant at Shell Mex and from 1935 to 1939 he was the deputy manager at Ipswich. During the Second World War he was seconded to the Petroleum Board, only returning to Shell Mex at Ipswich upon the declaration of peace. At that time he and Helen were living at Levington between Ipswich and Felixstowe.

After a few years in the 1950s living in Ireland, Richard and Helen returned to Suffolk where they purchased Mill Farm House in Blythburgh. The couple died while they were still at Blythburgh; first Helen on 15.12.1992, followed just over one month later by Richard on 18.01.1993.

51R4

Norman Ionn Collett

Born on 04.09.1927

51R5

Angela Collett

Born in 1929; infant death

51R6

James Masterman Collett

Born on 05.08.1930

51R7

Richard Patrick Collett

Born on 02.10.1932

51R8

Henry Alexander Collett

Born on 15.02.1944

51Q7

JOHN COLLISON COLLETT was born at 344 Uplands Road in Dulwich on 06.06.1903. When John was seven years old he and his family were living at Sherstone in Blyth Road in Bromley. He was an exceptional sportsman and was the youngest captain of his school’s rugby team, and won the heavyweight boxing championship in 1921. After leaving school he was employed by Marshall & Snellgrove.

This cartoon was drawn during 1921, at a time when he was highly regarded within the rugby team. It includes the comment that “Collett’s kicking at Kingsholme (Gloucester) was terrific. One of these days he will break a window in The Dog (public house) at Over (near St Ives)”. Another reads “In contrast to Collett’s cheerful vigour, Newport As’ fullback maintained a look of depression, lemons and salt. Even the success of his side failed to make him any more joyful than this”

On 05.09.1928 John married Ethel Ruth Glanvill who was the daughter of Benjamin A Glanvill whose family lived at The Hill right next door to Glebe Knoll where the Collett family lived. The couple initially lived at Bickley, where their first child was born, before settling in Bromley where their last child was born.

He later set up his own company and became a director of Collett & Weeks from 1930 to 1939. During the war years he was employed as a welfare officer, and eventually he and his family moved to The Granary in Bishop’s Stortford which became the family’s home from 1947 onwards.

Up until 1955 John worked at De Havillands Aeronautical Technical School, at which point in his life he purchased Carr & Bury Ltd of Bishop’s Stortford where he took the reins as the managing director. One year later on 26.10.1956 John had a heart attack while in his garden at Bishop’s Stortford and sadly died on the way to the local hospital.

Following his death his wife, affectionately known as Rufus, carried on as a director of Carr & Bury and lived in the house adjoining The Granary until her death in 1985.

51R9

JOHN BRIAN GLANVILL COLLETT

Born on 18.07.1929

51R10

Sheila Mary Collett

Born on 26.11.1931

51R11

Peter Glanvill Collett

Born on 05.11.1933

51R12

Diane Collett

Born on 24.08.1940

51Q8

Thomas Kingsley Collett was born at the family home Sherstone in Blyth Road in Bromley on 07.03.1906 and it was there to that he was living with his family in 1911 at the age of five years. He was educated at the County School in Bromley and later at Bishop’s Stortford College. When he finished his schooling, Tom, as Thomas was known, went into printing and became a director of Adams Brothers and Shardlow Ltd (Printers), where he served for thirty years until he retired in 1971. At that time he acted as a consultant to a merchant bank.

Tom Collett married Beatrice Olive Brown at Bickley on 10.07.1930 but the marriage produced no children for the couple. By way of compensation Tom was greatly involved in supporting his father Sir Charles Henry Collett during his year as Lord Mayor of London in 1933/1934 and the years thereafter.

In the war years, Tom was a Lieutenant Colonel and second in command of the 54th Kent Battalion of the Home Guard, and five years after the war he was Commanding Officer of 51^st Kent Battalion until it was disbanded in 1957.

During this time in his life Tom served as Chief Commoner in 1955 and received the Order of the British Empire in 1956 for his services in the Home Guard, and ultimately became Sir Thomas Kingsley Collett in 1968. In the City of London he was more commonly known as Kingsley Collett and as early as 1930 he was admitted to the Freedom of the City. He also became Master of the Worshipful Company of Distillers.

In his role as Chief Commoner Tom was involved in the visits to London of the Premier of the Soviet Union Nikita Krushchev - First Secretary of the Communist Party, and the President of Portugal Francisco Lopez who awarded Tom the Portuguese Order of Christ.

In 1983 Tom and Bea were living at Chislehurst from where, upon the death of his wife in 1986, Tom moved into Morden College retirement home. And it was there that he died the following year on 26.06.1987 with his ashes being interred in the Collett grave at Southwold.

51Q9

David Brooke Collett was born at the family home Sherstone in Blyth Road in Bromley on 06.11.1907. Whilst playing in the garden at Glebe Knoll he found the remains of an incendiary devise from the First World War which exploded and took off some part of the fingers of his left hand. Despite his injury, he captained the school’s water polo team, swam in the Bath Cup team, and played rugby in the first XV. He was educated at Quernmore School and Bishop’s Stortford College where he gained his School Certificate in 1925.

David joined the Dunlop Rubber Company as a trainee, progressing to manager of the works’ personnel department ten years later. On 29.04.1933 David married Mary Cecily Beatrice Aston, the daughter of Hugh Aston, and the couple settled in the Erdington, Birmingham area of the West Midlands where their three children were born.

For a short period during the war years, David worked for the Ministry of Labour and National Service and travelled to Egypt. He returned to Fort Dunlop and in 1945 became General Manager of the new Dunlop Factory at Speke in Liverpool. From 1949 to 1952 he was Vice President and General Works Manager of the Dunlop Tire and Rubber Company in Toronto, Canada, and for a short spell afterwards he was seconded to the American Company in Buffalo, New York.

On his return to England, David was appointed to the Board of Directors of The Dunlop Rubber Company. When he retired he became Chairman of Council and Senior Pro-Chancellor of Loughborough University. In 1980, he was made an Honorary Doctor of Technology. Today one of the halls of residence at Loughborough University bears his name. David also joined the London Electricity Board, was President of the Rubber and Plastics Research Association, President of the Rubber Institute and was on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Committee.

David and Cecily lived in Rickmansworth for forty years. In 1959, David had built of family holiday cottage on the site of the old Grand Hotel in Southwold which is still enjoyed by many friends and relations. In 1993 the couple moved to Buckenham Court in Mill Lane, Southwold.

David always has a strong affection for Southwold. In his teens he had assisted at the Duke of York’s camps on the common, and twice brought scouts from London to camp near the harbour. He loved sailing in the model yachts regattas, and carved and restored several boats. He was a member and later chairman of the Southwold Trust.

David died at Southwold in 1998 at the age of 91, and was followed by Cecily four years later in 2002 when she was 96. Their ashes were interred in the family grave at the Church of St Edmund in Southwold.

51R13

Elizabeth Anne Collett

Born on 22.01.1934

51R14

Anthony Hugh Collett

Born on 12.12.1936

51R15

Bridget Mary Collett

Born on 12.02.1945

51Q10

Roger Collett was born at the family home Sherstone in Blyth Road in Bromley on 14.07.1909 and he was one year old in 1911. Just like most of his older brothers, Roger attended Quernmore School and Bishop’s Stortford College, where he was Head of School House.

He studied at Harrods and was employed at Mills & Mills in Coventry in 1933, following which he started his own business in 1938. His sporting interests included rugby, swimming and polo. Roger joined the Royal Artillery in 1939 and was commissioned in 1941 and sent to India where he was ill for eighteen months.

Roger married Doreen Frances Alvie Platt, the daughter of Sydney Platt and Marjory Grant, on 31.07.1934 from whom he was later divorced but not before the marriage produced a daughter and a son for the couple.

From 1942 to 1945 he served as Aide-de-Camp to Sir Hugh Dow the Governor of Sind. After the war he set up his own factory in Coventry selling stationery. However, when this failed he retired to Ruabon in Wales where he died in 1972.

Thirty-one years after the death of her husband, Doreen died at Bletchingley in Surrey in 2003. Prior to her passing, Doreen lived near to her daughter Susan in Surrey.

51R16

Susan Marjory Collett

Born on 24.02.1939

51R17

Roger James Collett

Born on 14.03.1942

51Q11

Gordon Edgar Collett was born on 29.12.1913 and was educated at Eversley School in Southwold and served an apprenticeship at Ridleys of Ipswich before joining the family firm in London. During the war he was a member of the Army Ski Association and trained officers in Norway. He and his second wife Kay lived in Rye before moving to Sheringham in 2002. Gordon died the following year in 2003.

His eldest son Timothy came from his first marriage to (1) Joan Scarisbrick, while sons Geoffrey and Trevor came from his marriage to (2) Kathleen (Kay) May Poole which took place on 30.10.1948. During the latter years of their life together Gordon and Kay lived at 2 Love Lane in Rye in East Sussex.

51R18

Timothy Stuart Collett

Born on 27.03.1943

51R19

Geoffrey Hamilton Collett

Born on 15.07.1951

51R20

Trevor Alan Collett

Born on 10.07.1953

51Q12

Arthur Warin Collett was born on 05.05.1915. He married (1) Margaret McGowan Galloway on 03.10.1940 and they had a son before Margaret’s untimely death on 01.02.1962. Sometime later Arthur married (2) Diana Kathleen Watson and they lived at End House in Holmbury St Mary near Dorking.

51R21

James Warin Collett

Born on 25.12.1948

51Q13

Barbara Collett was born on 10.10.1917 and she married Leonard Slinn on 30.04.1940. They adopted two children and the family lived at Thorpeness prior to Barbara’s passing on 13.01.1992. Leonard died just five months later on 22.06.1992.

Their two children were John Richard Slinn who was born on 14.07.1952, and Mary Elizabeth Slinn who was born on 15.02.1954 and she married Anthony Michael Locock on 24.09.1977.

51Q14

Roy Charles Collett was born on 18.01.1919 and he tragically died from exposure to the sun while in his pram in the garden of the family home at the tender age of only seven months old. This happened on 12.08.1919

51Q15

Donald James Collett was born on 19.10.1920 just over a year after the death of his brother Roy. This very sad event adversely affected Donald’s mother during the pregnancy and it is this which is attributed to Donald being born with mental health problems. As a result Donald lived most of his life in a home where he died in 1953.

51R1

Margaret Ruth Collett was born at Bromley on 07.07.1922. In 1950 she married Colonel George Victor Nudd Chadd OBE, DL, TD, JP, at Hayes in Kent. George was born in 1907 and was of Mardle House at Wangford in Suffolk where he was High Steward of Southwold. George served in the army during the Second World War and afterwards had the responsibility for holding John Amery and Mrs Mussolini and her children at his internment camp. He later became Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Suffolk, often having to represent Queen Elizabeth II, as well as serving time as the High Steward of Southwold.

In addition to this Margaret is also a Freeman of the City of London and she and her husband served as magistrates and Chairmen of the Bench, and in 1990 Margaret was made an MBE for her services to the County of Suffolk. She is now a trustee of the East Coast Hospice which she is endeavouring to get opened very shortly at Gorleston. The inpatient block will be named in her honour as Margaret Chadd House.

Margaret and George attended the Collett Reunion in Shepton Mallet in 1996, but sadly it was during the following year that George died in 1997. The above picture of Margaret was taken during the 2009 Norway Collett Reunion at Buskerud Gard, the home of the Collett family from 1762 to 1883.

Margaret qualified as a hospital almoner and worked in the burns unit at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead with Archie MacIndoe, the famous plastic surgeon, who specialised in dealing with the burned airmen of all nationalities who were fighting with the allied forces and against the Germans, in addition to civilian air raid casualties.

After the war Margaret became County Almoner for East Sussex and dealt with patients who were suffering from life threatening illnesses. More recently, over the past twenty years, she has been involved with the BRCS as a Welfare Officer and became Vice President, initiating Cruse Bereavement Care in Suffolk and is now endeavouring to establish a much needed hospice for the most easterly part of England, where she lives.

Tragically Margaret’s eldest son Christopher was drowned when the yacht ‘Morning Cloud’ broke up in a freak wave while sailing from Burnham to Cowes in 1974. The yacht belonged to Christopher’s godfather and former Prime Minister Edward Heath, who was also the best man at the wedding of Margaret Collett and George Chadd in 1950.

A further tragedy struck the family just two years later in 1976 when Margaret’s son Timothy was killed when he was hit by a car while crossing a road in Caen in France.

51S1

Christopher George Andrew Chadd

Born on 20.06.1951

51S2

Richard Jonathan Chadd

Born on 14.08.1953

51S3

Timothy Charles Chadd

Born on 04.12.1955

51S4

Nicholas Martyn Philip Chadd

Born on 30.03.1958

51R2

David Seymour Collett was born at Bromley on 14.06.1924. His first school was Miss Skinner’s in Westmoreland Road in Bromley. This was followed by attendance at Carn Brea Preparatory School from 1932 to 1938 in which year he won a scholarship to Bishop’s Stortford College. In 1942 he went to Cambridge where he studied Russian and French languages at Emmanuel College. That same year David applied to Queen’s Royal Regiment and was placed on the reserve list. The following year he was called upon to undertake basic training at Maidstone, and was later that year posted to Alton Towers.

Despite sustaining an injury to his arm during this time, he eventually received his commission in 1944 and was posted to the Middlesex Regiment at Chester and later that year he became an instructor. Two years later, in September 1946, he was released from his military duties and return to Emmanuel College to undertake a further course in Russian.

However, this was not completed, since around that same time David was appointed a member of the Foreign Service in London and by January 1947 he was based in Cairo. Eighteen months later he was transferred to the embassy in Istanbul, and six months after that to Addis Ababa where he was Vice Consul.

A short leave in England was enjoyed in the summer of 1948 before he was posted to the embassy in Moscow where he stayed until 1951. It was while he was in Moscow that he met Sheila Joan Scott of Edinburgh who was working as a secretary at the embassy.

And so it was, that on 20.08.1951 at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, David married Sheila, the daughter of Harold Radcliffe Scott, with his brother Christopher Collett as his Best Man. Initially the couple lived at Bromley where their son was born, before being posted to Athens in 1954 where their daughter was born.

By 1960 the family were back living in a London flat at 11 Collingham Gardens in South Kensington. During the following year he was admitted to the Atkinson Morley Hospital at Wimbledon where he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. Just over a year later David died at St Stephen’s Hospital on 14.11.1962.

Following the death of her husband, Sheila and her two children continued for a while to live at Collingham Gardens before she sold the flat and moved to Wimbledon Common. After spending nearly eighteen years as a widow, Sheila married the Recorder of London, widower Sir James William Miskin QC in 1980 to become Lady Miskin with whom she continued to live in Wimbledon.

It was David’s son Ian Seymour Collett who became the Third Baronet.

51S5

Ian Seymour Collett

Born on 05.10.1953

51S6

Joanna Ruth Collett

Born on 09.05.1955

51R3

Christopher Collett was born at Bromley on 10.06.1931 and was the second son of Sir Henry Seymour Collett. He attended Kinnaird Park School and Carn Brea School before winning a scholarship to Harrow in 1945. At Harrow he won a scholarship to Emmanuel College in Cambridge where he read Economics and Law. His eighteen months in National Service was served with 42^nd Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery. He graduated from university in 1954 and joined Cassleton Elliott & Co. Christopher qualified in 1958 and while he had been at Cambridge he met the sister of his best friend John Griffiths to whom he was eventually married that same year.

In September 1959 at All Saints Church in Fulham, Christopher married Christine Anne Griffiths, the daughter of Oswald hardy Griffiths of Nanthorpe in Yorkshire. Not long after they were married Christopher was sent to Nigeria and it was while he and Christine were in Accra that their first child was born.

Christopher was a Freeman of the City of London, a Justice of the Peace, and a partner in Ernst & Young Chartered Accountant of London and he and Christine and their three children lived at 121 Home Park Road in Wimbledon, where their other two children were born.

He was awarded the Knight Grand Cross (GBE) in 1988 which coincided with the start of his time as Lord Mayor of London. This photograph above was taken in November 1988 and shows Sir Christopher travelling through the streets of London in the Lord Mayor’s Ceremonial Coach on his way to The Mansion House.

The first photograph at the top of this section shows Christopher at The Mansion House dressed in his mayoral robes and standing in front of a picture of his grandfather Charles Henry Collett (Ref. 51P1) who was Lord Mayor of London in 1933.

Following his retirement from Ernst & Young in 1993 Christopher and Ann moved to Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway, but later returned to the south of England to settle in Sussex.

51S7

Alastair John Calvert Collett

Born on 01.12.1960

51S8

Angus Christopher Calvert Collett

Born on 23.11.1964

51S9

Alexandra Louise Calvert Collett

Born on 09.06.1972

51R4

Norman Ionn Collett was born at Box on 04.09.1927 and was educated at Ipswich School, the Perse School, and after at HMS Conway. He later became First Officer of the Orient Line, followed by First Mate of the Vancouver Ferries.

In 1954 he married (1) Ethne Maureen Chadwick, the daughter of Samuel Chadwick, at Tyrone in Northern Ireland. After they were married the couple lived at 78 Waven Road in Donaghadee in County Down, although their children were born at Belfast, Bangor and County Down.

Sometime later Norman and Ethne were divorced, following which Norman married (2) Patricia Jean Williams and the couple set up home at Amhurst Avenue in Sidney in British Columbia, Canada. It was also in British Columbia that Norman died at Sannichton in 2004.

51S10

Kevin Samuel Richard Collett

Born on 17.06.1955

51S11

Norman Michael Collett

Born on 07.01.1959

51S12

Helen Margaret Collett

Born on 17.06.1962

51R6

James Masterman Collett was born at Little Baddow near Chelmsford on 05.08.1930. He was educated at Ipswich, at the Perse School, and at Bishop’s Stortford College. He served for two years with the Royal Navy and then worked for Thomas Cook, and Williams & Glyn Bank.

In 1962 he married (1) Rosalind Mary Lane, the daughter of John Humphrey Lane of Wallington in Surrey. The marriage produced one daughter for the couple who lived at Eden Way in Warlingham in Surrey. Following the death of his wife in 1985, James married (2) Barbara and now lives at Owl’s Hoot in Bramley Avenue in Coulsdon in Surrey.

51S13

Lucinda Mary Collett

Born on 12.06.1963

51R7

Richard Patrick Collett was born on 02.10.1932 and was educated at Perse School, Bishop’s Stortford College, and at Mons in Belgium where he won the Sword of Honour. He then became a Captain in the Royal Engineers (T A) in Northern Ireland. Before joining the family firm of Colletts Ltd in Birmingham, he was employed by Watson & Prickard of Liverpool.

On 23.08.1958 Richard married Gillian Anne Rewes, the daughter of Alfred James Rewes of Sutton with whom he had two daughters. Around the time of the birth of their first child, Richard sustained a serious injury and not long after he left Colletts Ltd to become the manager of Ridley’s of Ipswich, and later their managing director. Richard Patrick Collett died on 24.11.1982 aged 50.

51S14

Jane Louise Collett

Born on 22.10.1960

51S15

Johanna Mary Collett

Born on 31.12.1962

51R8

Henry Alexander Collett was born on 15.04.1944, and was known as Alex. He was educated in Northern Ireland and after, at Bishop’s Stortford College. He became a chartered accountant and worked for Cassleton Elliott, before working in the Middle East. He was a Freeman of the City of London, and is a Steward of the Worshipful Company of Distillers. Henry married Joy Eileen McPherson Heard, the daughter of the Reverend Ross McPherson Heard of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset. The marriage took place in Somerset on 23.08.1969 and produced two sons. The family lived at Mill Farm House in Blythburgh in Suffolk, and are now retired and living at Saint Romain in the Charente district of France.

51S16

Christian Tom Collett

Born on 10.04.1972

51S17

Ross Tobias Alexander Collett

Born on 16.10.1973

51R9

JOHN BRIAN GLANVILL COLLETT, who is known as Brian, was born at Bickley near Bromley on 18.07.1929. He was educated at Taunton and did his National Service with the Royal Artillery. He married Phyllis Ivy Sybil Kiddy in 1959 and they have three children and lived at Countess Well Farm, Framlingham in Suffolk. Brian was given a Collett family bible that once belonged to his grandfather, Sir Henry Seymour Collett formerly of nearby Peasenhall Hall. Local people could remember Sir Henry teaching at the Congregational Church. The bible, had been propping up a desk in a garage in Peasenhall, contains written records of the Collett Family. This photo of Brian was taken during the Norway Collett Reunion in 2009.

He was farm manager of Great Lodge Farms Ltd at Framlingham and later was a director with the company from 1973 to 1984. In 1980, until 1983, he became Chairman of the local pig marketing co-operative Porkofram Limited. Brian and Phyllis later moved later to Shimmen’s Pightle in Framlingham and ran a bed and breakfast business until 2005.

Brian is currently the President of Framlingham Historical Society and was an active member and supporter of Framlingham Cricket Club.

It was Brian who introduced the annual Collett family cricket match, the first time it was played being on the twenty-first of August 1966 at Walberswick. In 1971 the event moved to its present day home of Yoxford Cricket Club.

51S18

Helen Mary Collett

Born in 1960

51S19

Robert Glanvill Collett

Born in 1961

51S20

JOHN CHARLES COLLETT

Born in 1969

51R10

Sheila Mary Collett was born at Bickley near Bromley on 26.11.1931 and was educated at Chantry Mount School in Bishop’s Stortford. After doing a year’s domestic science course at Chelmsford, she worked for two years as a junior matron at Old Buckenham Hall Preparatory School, Brettenham Park near Ipswich.

She then spent a year working in the aerodynamics department of De Havillands Aircraft Company. After that she worked as a matron in one school and housekeeper in another in order to gain more experience, before returning to Old Buckenham Hall Preparatory School.

She married John Donald Sewell on 02.08.1955, who became the Headmaster of the school, where many relatives attended. She had four children, these being David John Elliott Sewell who was born in 1956, Jean Mary Sewell who was born at Brettenham in 1958, Andrew William Sewell (later the Rev. Sewell) who was born at Brettenham in 1961, and Michael James Sewell who was born at Brettenham in 1967.

Sheila and Donald have nine grandchildren, and they also host many Christmas house parties for the extended family at Brettenham Park.

They later lived at Windward in North Road in Southwold, and are active members of St Edmund’s Church, and charitable organisations in Southwold. For the eighteen years up until 2010 Sheila cooked meals at the local day centre once a month, and assisted in medical loans of equipment for the Red Cross.

51R11

Peter Glanvill Collett was born at Bickley near Bromley on 05.11.1933. Following an education at Bishop’s Stortford College, Peter was a lieutenant with 13^th / 18^th Royal Hussars at the time of his National Service, after which he joined the family business at Bishop’s Stortford.

At the age of twenty-five in 1958 he became one of the youngest magistrates in the country, which he continued until 1966. It was at Bishop’s Stortford on 07.02.1959 that he married (1) Cecilia Judith Bromley-Martin, the daughter of Gerald Eliot Meysey Bromley-Martin, who was known as Sally.

After just seven years of marriage, which produced four children for the couple, Sally tragically died on 31.08.1966. Peter raised his family alone for the next seven years and then on 27.07.1973, he married (2) Mary Jean Truelove, the daughter of Leonard George Truelove. This second marriage produced a further two children for Peter who lived at Windhill in Bishop’s Stortford.

51S21

Nicola Mary Collett

Born in 1959

51S22

Gerard Henry Glanvill Collett

Born in 1961

51S23

Thomas John Elliot Collett

Born in 1962

51S24

Alexander Peter Glanvill Collett

Born in 1965

51S25

Rebecca Mary Collett

Born in 1974

51S26

Anna Catherine Collett

Born in 1976

51R12

Diana Collett was born at Bromley on 24.08.1940 and attended Chantry Mount School in Bishop’s Stortford. One of her first jobs was working as a nanny in Aden looking after her cousins and the children of David Seymour Collett (Ref. 51R2) and his wife Sheila.

It was while she was in Aden she met her future husband. Back in England she married (1) Thomas Joseph Henighan on 02.09.1959 at St Michael’s Church in Bishop’s Stortford. During the following year their son was born, and four years later their daughter was born. However, the couple were divorced in 1970. Two years later in October 1972 Diana married (2) Robert Hugh McDonald of Ontario.

Diana worked in as a social worker, while Robert who was known as Robin, worked as a University lecturer. Diana and Robin now live in Canada.

Diana’s two children from her first marriage are Stephen Patrick Glanvill Henighan who was born in 1960, and Phoebe Clare Henighan who was born in 1964.

51R13

Elizabeth Anne Collett was born at Erdington on 22.01.1934. Known as Anne, she was educated at Belvedere School in Liverpool and at Wycombe Abbey. Following a year in Toronto, Canada she trained in Institutional Management at Berridge House, London.

In 1957 she married David Luard Boult of Hoylake,Cheshire and has three children and six grandchildren. Anne is a Freeman of the City of London as are David and their three children. David and Anne moved to Southwold in 1990 and in 2005 to Kent to live near to their family.

51S27

Nicola Anne Louise Boult

Born in 1958

51S28

David Mark Boult

Born in 1960

51S29

Edward William Boult

Born in 1963

51R14

Anthony Hugh Collett was born at Erdington on 12.12.1936. Tony was educated at Liverpool College, Upper Canada College in Toronto and at Bishop’s Stortford College. He then obtained a degree in engineering at Cambridge University.

He joined W S Atkins, Consulting Engineers in 1959, and has worked on major civil engineering projects in the United Kingdom, including steelworks in Sheffield, Scunthorpe and Teesside, the Drax Power Station and the Oil Terminal at Sullom Voe.

He lived in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) for four years working on industrial projects; later he led a World Bank sponsored project management team building new primary and secondary schools in Trinidad. In 1983 he went to Kuwait to head up a major roads improvement project. Tony was made a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in1987 and is also a Freeman of the City of London

In 1962 he married Christine Ann Little and they had three children. Tony and Christine have lived at 7 Drayton Close in Fetcham Park, Leatherhead since 1983.

51S30

Gail Christine Collett

Born in 1964

51S31

Clare Elizabeth Collett

Born in 1967

51S32

June Alison Collett

Born in 1969

51R15

Bridget Mary Collett was born at Yardley in Birmingham on 12.02.1945. She attended kindergarten and first grade in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. After the family returned to England, she went to Rickmansworth PNEU School and Wycombe Abbey.

She trained in Institutional Management and worked for British Oxygen, Habitat Designs Ltd. and Aldeburgh Interiors. In 1980 while visiting Lily Cowles (Ref: ?) and her husband Dick, she met James David Blackburn a mathematician working as an engineer for General Motors.

Bridget and James were married at Saint Edmunds Church, Southwold in Suffolk on 03.10.1981. Since then they have lived at 84 Railroad Mills Road, Pittsford, New York.

In 1985 they adopted their daughter Barbara Ann who was born in 1972, and they have a son, David Peter, who was born in 1986.

51R16

Susan Marjory Collett was born in 1939. She married James Stafford Coombe of Chipstead in Surrey in 1960. Sometime after the turn of the century Susan and James were living at 50 Bramley Avenue in Coulsdon in Surrey. The marriage produced six children for the couple, Caroline, Edwina, Andrew, Georgina, John, and Genevieve.

51R17

Roger James Collett was born in 1942. He was educated at Ellesmore College in North Shropshire, and in 1966 he married Valeria Doreen Beasley, the daughter of Professor Cyril George Beasley. Over the following years Val presented her husband with two children while they were living at Blackheath in south-east London.

Around 1995 Roger was the chairman of a trade association and has been involved with the Blackheath Rugby Club for many years.

51S33

Nicola Valerie Collett

Born in 1971

51S34

Christopher James Collett

Born in 1973

51R18

Timothy Stuart Collett was born on 27.03.1943 and he married Judith Cranfield Manser on 21.09.1968. The couple initially lived at Ashtead in Surrey with their two children, but towards the end of century Timothy and Judith were living in the Bristol area.

51S35

James Kingsley Collett

Born on 28.12.1972

51S36

Belinda Kate Collett

Born on 04.10.1975

51R19

Geoffrey Hamilton Collett was born on 15.07.1951 and he married Lynn Anita Pickford on 24.07.1976 with whom he had two daughters. Geoffrey and Lynn were living in Nottingham around the turn of the century.

51S37

Olivia Helen Collett

Born on 23.12.1980

51S38

Melissa Frances Collett

Born on 02.05.1984

51R20

Trevor Alan Collett was born on 10.07.1953 and he married Diane Patricia Mardler on 03.05.1980 and more recently they were living in Norwich.

51S39

Isabel Fay Collett

Born on 25.07.1988

51S40

Patrick Giles Collett

Born on 03.05.1991

51R21

James Warin Collett was born on 25.12.1948 and on 07.10.1972 he married Cheryl Ann Williams with whom he had two children.

51S41

Emily Jane Collett

Born on 02.08.1977

51S42

Thomas James Collett

Born on 31.05.1981

51S5

Ian Seymour Collett was born at Bromley on 05.10.1953. He attended Bousfield School before going to Carn Brea where he was educated until 1967. His father David Seymour Collett died in 1962, following which, and upon the death of his grandfather Henry Seymour Collett in 1971, Ian inherited the title to become the Third Baronet.

His later education took place at Lancing College in West Sussex from 1971. Two years later he enrolled at Lancaster Gate Law College from where he qualified as a solicitor specialising in marine litigation. Ian later became a Freeman of the City of London.

In 1982 at Lavenham, Ian married Philippa Hawkins the daughter of James Hawkins of Preston St Mary in Suffolk. After they were married the couple lived in London before Ian joined Westhorp, Ward & Catchpole of Ipswich, when they moved to The Glebe House at Aspall near Stowmarket, and now lives at Bedfield, near Woodbridge in Suffolk.

51T1

Anthony Seymour Collett

Born on 06.03.1984

51T2

Georgina Collett

Born on 03.09.1986

51S6

Joanna Ruth Collett was born in Athens on 09.05.1955. She was educated at Bousfield School, and St Paul’s Preparatory School. She read Russian and French at Exeter University and after, she secured a position at the Foreign Office.

It was at the Foreign Office that she met Nigel E Wicks whom she married in 1984 but from whom she was later divorced. Joanna and Nigel were both Freemen of the City of London.

51S7

Alastair John Calvert Collett was born at Accra in Ghana on 01.12.1960 and he later married Jennifer Peck on 02.05.1992 with whom he has two children.

51T3

Aiden Anthony Calvert Collett

Born in 1995

51T4

Edmond Christopher Calvert Collett

Born in 1996

51S8

Angus Christopher Calvert Collett was born at Wimbledon on 23.11.1964 and he married Rachel Beale in 2005. The couple live in London where Angus is a chartered accountant and a financial director, while Rachel is a Pilates practitioner. They now have a son Cassius and a daughter.

51T5

Cassius Collett

Born in 2006

51T6

Leonora Collett

Born in 2009

51S9

Alexandra Louise Calvert Collett was born at Wimbledon on 09.06.1972 and she married Simon Bailey in 2003. Alexandra and Simon have a son, Oscar Bailey, who was born in 2005, and now the family of three live near Alexandra’s parents in Sussex.

51S10

Kevin Samuel Richard Collett was born at Belfast in Ireland on 17.06.1955.

51S11

Norman Michael Collett was born at Bangor in Wales on 07.01.1959.

51S12

Helen Margaret Collett was born at Donaghadee in Ireland on 17.06.1962. She qualified as a nurse and worked in the United Kingdom, including near to her grandparents when she was at James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth, before working in the Middle East.

51S13

Lucinda Mary Collett was born on 12.06.1963 and she married Colin Ayles with whom she had two children, Matthew James Ayles born on 17.10.1992, and Sophie who was born in 1995.

51S14

Jane Louise Collett was born on 22.10.1960.

51S15

Johanna Mary Collett was born on 31.12.1962.

51S16

Christian Tom Collett was born on 10.04.1972 and was educated at Old Buckenham Hall and at Gordonston. He married Melanie Chown in May 2002 – see picture on the right. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers. He has a son Henry Donald who was born in 2006.

51T7

Henry Donald Collett

Born on 30.10.2006

51S17

Ross Tobias Alexander Collett was born on 16.10. 1973 and was educated at Old Buckenham Hall and at Gordonston. He married Alexandra McKenzie-Hill in August 2009 – see picture on the right. He is a Freeman of the City of London, and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers.

51S18

Helen Mary Collett was born on 17.02.1960, the daughter of Brian Collett and Phyllis Kiddy, and was educated at All Hallows School, Ditchingham, Norfolk, and Framlingham Grammar School. Helen qualified as an Orthoptist at Moorfield’s Eye Hospital, London in 1983. She worked at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Hospital before moving to Chelmsford where she became Head Orthoptist and led an NHS team until 2006. She is now an independent private orthoptic practitioner in Essex and Hertfordshire. Helen married John Charles Remfry on 27.07.1990 at Chelmsford with whom she has two daughters.

The above photograph of Helen was taken in 2009 at the time of the celebration of her parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary

Helen’s and John’s eldest daughter Catherine is currently attending Loughborough University and is staying in David Collett Hall, so named after David Brooke Collett (Ref. 51Q9) who was the brother of Helen’s grandfather.

51T8

Catherine Amelia Remfry

Born in 1991

51T9

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Alice Remfry

Born in 1993

51S19

Robert Glanvill Collett was born in 1961 and was educated at Old Buckenham Hall School and Framlingham College, Suffolk. He married Caroline White and they live in the Ipswich area of Suffolk with their three children. Robert is an independent packaging and sales consultant and an active sportsman and organises and captains the Collett Family Annual Cricket Match. This photograph of Robert was taken in 2009 at the time of the celebration of his parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary

51T10

Rachel Louise Collett

Born in 1998

51T11

Andrew James Joshua Collett

Born in 2003

51T12

Felicity Ruth Collett

Born in 2007

51S20

JOHN CHARLES COLLETT was born on 22.08.1969. Like his brother Robert (above), he too attended Old Buckenham and Framlingham, and later obtained a degree in mathematics and actuarial science at Southampton University. John married Rosalind Margaret Holliday in 2004. They live in Sevenoaks with their son. Today John is a chartered accountant and financial director of two companies. This photograph of John was taken in 2009 during the celebration of his parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary

51T13

JAMES ADAM COLLETT

Born in 2009

51S21

Nicola Mary Collett was born on 29.11.1959. She was educated at St Mary’s Convent in Bishop’s Stortford, followed by St Edmund’s College, Ware in Hertfordshire. In 1978 to 1981 she graduated from the University of Leicester with a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in English Literature.

In 1981 to 1982 she gained a PG Diploma in Acting from Mountview Theatre School in London, and in 1986 gained a PGCE in English and Drama from the London School of Education. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Voice Studies, which she received from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

She taught at the Acland Burghley Comprehensive School in the Tufnell Park area of London from 1996 until 2003. Nicola now divides her time lecturing at East 15 Acting School in London and the Guildford College of Further Education.

51S22

Gerard Henry Glanvill Collett was born on 07.02.1961. He was educated at Moreton Hall in Bury St Edmunds and at St Edmund’s College, after which he joined the family business of Carr & Bury where he worked as a sales representative, and later became managing director. He married Nicole Mary Marie Robson on 10.06.1989.

51T14

Sally Elizabeth Collett

Born in 1990

51T15

Charles Henry Collett

Born in 1992

51T16

Alice Victoria Collett

Born in 1994

51S23

Thomas John Eliot Collett was born on 17.07.1962. He was educated at Moreton Hall and at St Edmund’s College, following which he spent several years in various jobs, including a few years in textiles with Courtaulds.

Having completed a degree in Modern Languages at the Polytechnic College in Cambridge, Tom worked for a Cambridge-based holiday company called Beach Villas. In 1997 Tom established Collett’s Mountain Holidays, specialising initially in summer walking holidays in the Italian Dolomites.

Tom married Deirdre Claire Proudfoot (who is known as Dee) at St Edmund’s College in Ware on 30.11.2002. Dee was born at Arbroath in Scotland on 23.10.1974, and the couple now have three daughters.

51T17

Daisy Claire Collett

Born on 07.09.2003

51T18

Martha Mary Collett

Born on 03.05.2005

51T19

Georgie Cecilia Collett

Born on 04.04.2007

51S24

Alexander Peter Glanvill Collett was born on 12.04.1965. He was educated at St.Edmund’s College before graduating in Modern languages at Newcastle University. He moved to Italy in 1990, where he still lives, working for the Italian office of Cambridge University Press in Bologna.

Alexander, who is known as Sandy, married an Italian girl, Gioela Rubini, in 2006. They have one daughter, Lydia, and are expecting their second child which is due in June 2010.

51T20

Lydia Judith Collett

Born on 30.07.2008

51S25

Rebecca Mary Collett was born in 1974 and she lives in Bishops Stortford and works at a fashion company in Chelmsford.

51T21

Maximilian Peter Collett

Born in 1997

51S26

Anna Catherine Collett was born in 1976.

51S30

Gail Christine Collett was born in East Pakistan in 1964. Gail was educated at Stokesley Comprehensive School and played schools hockey for North Yorkshire, before going into the sixth form at Bishop’s Stortford College.

After working for a Business Studies degree at Trent Polytechnic, she trained as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst and Young in London, qualifying in 1991. She married Robert Dean in 1993, having met at Leatherhead Hockey Club, in 1993, but they were subsequently divorced in 2003.

They have two children, Eloise Christine Collett Dean who was born in December 1994, and Jonathan James Collett Dean who was born in November 1996. Gail lives in Little Bookham in Surrey, where she continues to work as an accountant.

51S31

Clare Elizabeth Collett was born in 1967. Clare went to schools in Stokesley and Abbots Bromley before attending Bishop’s Stortford College sixth forms. She obtained a degree in Management Sciences with a Diploma in Marketing at Loughborough University, and now works in Ashford, Kent for Givaudan, the world’s leading company in flavours and fragrances.

In 1993 she married Guy Wordley Williams. They live in Tenterden in Kent with their two sons, Thomas Wordley Williams who was born in December 1994 and Oliver Brooke Wordley Williams who was born in November 1996, and their daughter Alice Collett Williams who was born in May 2004.

51S32

June Alison Collett was born in 1969. She was educated at Abbots Bromley School and Bishop’s Stortford College, before graduating from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Commerce with Spanish, which included a year at ICADE in Madrid.

She married Andrew Kirkwood in 2004 and has two children, Abigail Amy Kirkwood who was born in 2005, and Christopher John Prentice Kirkwood who was born in 2008.

Latterly, until the birth of Christopher, June worked at BBC Worldwide in UK Licensing and more recently in the International Licensing Team. She and her family live in West London.

51S33

Nicola Valerie Collett was born in 1971.

51S34

Christopher James Collett was born in 1973 and he married Suki in 2003, and the following year their son was born.

51T18

Alexander Collett

Born in 2004

51S35

James Kingsley Collett was born on 28.12.1972.

51S36

Belinda Kate Collett was born on 04.10.1975.

51S37

Olivia Helen Collett was born on 23.12.1980.

51S38

Melissa Frances Collett was born on 02.05.1984.

51S39

Isabel Fay Collett was born on 25.07.1988.

51S40

Patrick Giles Collett was born on 03.05.1991.

51S41

Emily Jane Collett was born on 02.08.1977.

51S42

Thomas James Collett was born on 31.05.1981.

51T1

Anthony Seymour Collett was born on 06.03.1984.

51T2

Georgina Collett was born at Eye in Suffolk on 03.09.1986.