William Henry Cocks
Born into a farming family, William grew up in the countryside of Cornwall. The youngest of 5 children, he became the only surviving sibling of his family at the age of 22. He went on to run the family farm with his father John and later on his own with his wife Annie. Together they had 10 children and ran a successful dairy farm for many years, gaining many accolades for his prize-winning handmade butter. He used his experience as a dairy farmer when, aged 60 he worked for the Trenear Dairy Factory in Wendron, Cornwall during it’s inaugural years as a co-operative business enterprise for local dairy farmers. He died aged 80, outliving his wife and 5 of his children.
Ada Mary Lishmund
One of the daughters of William Henry Cocks, Ada grew up on the family farm. She later moved to Plymouth and was a draper’s assistant, along with one of her sisters. In Plymouth she met her husband and together they had 2 children. When they had been married 7 years her husband disappeared. When her daughter, mother and sister died, she lived with her father until he too died. Upon his death and having been abandoned by her husband, Ada decided to follow her brother to America to make a new start. She and her son settled in California where Ada managed to get a job as an assistant in a department store. She was employed there for the rest of her working life. She died aged 88.
Alexander Henderson
Born into a military family just before the turn of the 20th century, Alexander watched his father, 2 older brothers and 2 brothers-in-law as soldiers. He couldn’t wait for his turn and signed up to join the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry as a boy aged just 15. Alexander enjoyed his training and was a bandsman in the same battalion as his brothers. During the First World War his battalion was sent to Mesopotamia where he and his brothers saw active service. They all served under horrific conditions in sweltering heat with inadequate provisions. He was injured just before the Siege of Kut in December 1915 and was shipped back to India to recover. He died in March 1916 aged 21.
Thomas Charlton
Thomas grew up with an atheist father and a Christian mother. When his father died Thomas became the breadwinner of the family. After being convinced of the truth of Christianity, Thomas became a Primitive Methodist minister. It was obvious that his eloquence with words would make him an excellent preacher. His ‘circuit’ covered an area from Darlington and Liverpool in the north to Cambridge and Norwich in the south. This choice of profession brought with it hardship and persecution. On one occasion he was physically attacked by a group of men from which he never fully recovered. This didn’t take away his love of preaching though and continued to preach to those who would listen. He and his wife had 11 children. Having travelled around the country all his working life, they eventually settled in North Walsham, Norfolk where he died aged 72.