Curriculum Vitae
Names:
Elizabeth Milne-Redhead.Kirkby, only daughter of Jane Wells.Milne-Redhead and Arthur Milne-Redhead.
Dates:
Not yet known. But PBA’s impression is that she may have been similar in age to her cousin Gwen Penfold.Archer (his mother), so perhaps she was born about 1909 (plus or minus 5 years).
PBA recollects from a discussion with Elizabeth’s daughter Jonnet that she died in her sixties, within a year or two of her husband, Robert Kirkby. So, as she was present at Jonnet’s wedding (to Andrew Garner) in 1969 (Boxing Day?), perhaps she died in the ‘early 1970s’.
So, her dates (on a ‘best guess’ basis) are: about 1909 to about (say) 1973.
Parents:
Jane Wells.Milne-Redhead, daughter of William Wells (‘Junior II’), horticulturalist, and (Oxford-educated) Arthur Milne-Redhead, ‘man-of-property’ or ‘of independent means’.
Siblings:
Otho, Milne-Redhead, himself, who was (confirmed by Jonnet) in the Merchant Navy, and who lived (confirmed by Jonnet) to almost 100, married Mary (maiden name not known, but distinguished from Mary, wife of Richard, as ‘Mary O’, according to his niece Jonnet). Mary O had been a psychiatric nurse, and they made Holden Clough into a nursing home for a time when they inherited the place. Jonnet says that they had one child, Maurice, born about 1940. Otho died at Machynlleth, North Wales.
John Milne-Redhead. Jonnet says that John married Renee who was a cousin, so they had no children. He was aged about 45 when he died. They lived in Chester. Jonnet says ‘We used to visit them on our way to the Welsh cottage as kids’, and ‘Daphne will be able to give you more information.
Richard (‘Dicky’, to Gwen, or ‘Uncle Dicky’ to Jonnet) Milne-Redhead,, who was in the Merchant Navy, and who married Mary (distinguished from Otho’s wife Mary, as ‘Mary R’). He was the father of Daphne Milne-Redhead, who in 2006 lives at Bolton-by-Bowland, Nr Clitheroe, Lancs. Richard and Mary had six children: Daphne, David, Jean (adopted), Pamela, Michael, Anthea. No doubt Daphne could give me much more information. Richard published a book (‘Recollections of a country gentleman’, or something like that) about the place where he lived, Bolton-by-Bowland;
Elizabeth, herself, (1913 – 1974, per Jonnet Kirkby.Garner) who married Robert Nanney Kirkby (1904 – 1972, per Jonnet Kirkby.Garner) in 1936. He was a barrister educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, who visited Elizabeth’s home at Holden Clough from London in 1936, at the invitation of Elizabeth’s elder brother Otho. They married in 6 weeks from meeting, and had children Peter, Tim, Jonnet, and Jasper. Jonnet says she will send copies of her brother Jasper Kirkby’s ‘family tree book of our family details’. Elizabeth lost her father at the age of 16. Jonnet says she saw something of her father in Robert Kirkby, both men having been to Oxford Colleges to study law. Elizabeth was away at boarding school from the age of 8 to 16 years, and missed her father terribly. He used to buy her jewellery and ‘was very fond of her and did not hesitate to gently show his love’ (per Jonnet) whereas Jane was the ‘strong decision maker. Elizabeth also loved plants, gardens and animals. She knew the Latin and common names of most plants we come across (per Jonnet). She was most happy when outside and and a glorious free spirit. Jonnet recalls going on a hike with her and Andy (Jonnet’s husband) ‘up some forested path in British Columbia (where J and A lived), in the early 1970s. We came out to a clearing and there was a deep babbling brook. She was about 58. She took-off some of her clothes and jumped into the water (and Andy with her). She loved horses and dogs. She had her own horse ‘Mascot’ and owned several black labradors. ‘In her early twenties she and a girl friend owned a stable in or near Oxford where they re-trained polo ponies to be used for riding. She used to ride with the hounds on fox hunts’.and
Cecil, who married Margaret and the WPFT shows only a question mark for their children, if any. An e-mail from Jonnet Kirkby.Garner in December 2006 shows that: (i) they had two children: Brian, 1939 – 2005, and Bridget born 1947; and (ii) Cecil ‘loved cars and car engines. He was ‘very sporty in the 1920s/30s. Worked for Rolls-Royce’. In 2006, Cecil was living in Hampton Dene, Hereford, and that there was talk of him moving-in with his daughter Bridget Halpern, at 41 Bodenham Road, Hereford, HR1 2TP. Bridget’s husband is apparently a lawyer, and they have 3 grown sons, all a little older than Jonnet’s 3 children (Cameron, Nicholas and Elizabeth), Cecil being the youngest of Janie Milne-Redhead’s children.
(these five children of Jane and Arthur Milne-Redhead, were of course cousins of Gwen Penfold, the daughter of Jane’s sister Rosa, whose recollections in 2000, form the starting point for all the substance of these records of the Wells and Penfold families)(pba.01.12.2006);
(thus there were 5 children in the family, including William, the eldest, which is 2 fewer than in the previous generation, which itself was 3 fewer than the preceding one);
Education:
Not yet known.
Married:
Robert Kirkby in 1936. Photographs of the wedding exist in the Wells/Penfold photo albums.
Elizabeth had met Frederick George Blake Archer in Oxford in 1936, at the stables at Port Meadow at Wolvercote, Oxford. She had been going out with him for some time before Elizabeth introduced him to her cousin Gwen Penfold. He married Gwen about 6 months later. Elizabeth met and married Robert Kirkby within that same 6 months as the two weddings were within a very short space of time from each other.
It seems coincidental (‘introductions to cousins’) that Gwen Penfold.Archer’s son Philip introduced the brother (Andrew) of his girl-friend Ruth Garner, to his (second) cousin Jonnet Kirkby in the 1960s, and they later married.
It seems likewise coincidental (‘introductions via stables’) that Philip Archer’s son Graham met his future wife Paula Easton at the stables in Newcastle where Graham had gone to work at the Newcastle office of Philip’s firm, Urquhart-Dykes & Lord.
Children:
Peter, Tim, Jonnet, and Jasper.
Peter married Joan (maiden name not known) and lived in Canada all or most of his adult life, having graduated from (recollection by pba) Mc Gill University in Quebec, where he met Joan. They had children: Bruce, Heather, and another (name not recalled by pba). Can ask Joan by e-mail. Peter died in the 1990s in a tractor accident at the farm at which (not too sure about this) he assisted/liked to spend some of his spare time. It was apparently a typical tractor sideways-tipping accident. Not known whether the tractor had a safety frame.
Tim is about the same age as PBA (who was born in 1941), and in his young days spent some time doing adventurous things like diving in the Mediterranean, in such places as (PBA recalls) Cyprus. In later years Tim’s health deteriorated, and it has been wondered whether this was due to inadequate attention in such diving to carrying out the decompression steps properly/sufficiently slowly. Tim was in about the 1960s in some way associated with a nun at a time when Tim was living at the family home at 51 (approx) Poppythorne Lane, Prestwich , Manchester. The significance of this association needs to be clarified with Jonnet, his sister. Later, Tim had an accident with a handgun of some sort, possibly an air rifle or a 0.22 calibre rifle, which left him seriously injured, though in what way is not altogether clear to pba. Following this accident he has lived in Wales for a good many years. In at least the period of about 1995 onwards, he is believed to have had access to the services of a carer. His sister Jonnet and her husband Andrew Garner visit him whenever they can when they come over from Canada.
Jonnet married Andrew Garner (brother of Ruth Garner.Archer, wife of Philip Archer) in 1969 and they immediately or soon went to live in Canada in Quebec at Montreal, and have lived in Canada, at Montreal and Vancouver ever since.
Jasper married (name of his wife not yet known), and moved to Switzerland and has two or three daughters, at least one of whom was (in about 2005) a student at Oxford University. Jasper is believed to be a scientist, probably a physicist, and may well be involved with the ‘high physics’ project at Cern
Occupation:
Elizabeth was clearly seriously interested in horses before she married. She was (pba believes he has been told, presumably by Elizabeth’s daughter Jonnet) ‘sent’ away from home (presumably at ‘Holden Clough’ at Bolton-by-Bowland) in order to put a stop to a relationship, which seemed to be getting too serious, with a much older man. PBA cannot remember who that man was. Perhaps that doesn’t matter. She went to work at the stables at Wolvercote, Oxford as stable-girl, where she met Fred Archer (FGBA) who had ridden horses on Port Meadow probably for years, and they started going out together (or at a minimum had a common interest in horse-riding). Elizabeth was invited to visit her cousin Gwen Penfold at Kingston. She would have had to use public transport to get there, and probably discussed this with Fred, and he probably offered to take her there in his car, and did so. He met Gwen Penfold, and they married about six months later on 31st October 1936. Elizabeth married Robert Kirkby at about the same time.
Following marriage, in the 1930s, a young woman was not expected to have a career outside the home, and very probably Elizabeth did not. As likely as not she and Robert started their family soon after they married in 1936. PBA recalls that Peter Kirkby, their first child, was a little older than PBA’s elder brother Michael (MJA) who was born on 17th August 1938, so perhaps Peter was born in the first half of 1938.
PBA recalls that Elizabeth Kirkby’s daughter Jonnet (PBA’s second cousin) told him that her mother really died of worry and overwork in the home. Her son Tim’s poor health in the 1960s, and other aspects of his life, were a serious source of worry. As to overwork, Jonnet said that her husband Robert (need to check this against the note I made at the time of Jonnet telling me) basically expected her to wait on him and, for example, bring him his breakfast in bed.
Lived:
The Milne-Redhead family is believed by PBA to have lived at a large house called ‘Holden Clough’ at Bolton-by-Bowland. See Richard’s book and Gwen Penfold.Archer’s reminiscences. So perhaps that is where some or all of the children were born, and where Elizabeth spent most of her pre-marriage life.
Other biographical details:
Some photographs of the Milne-Redheads have recently come to light and certainly include photos of Elizabeth and Robert Kirkby’s wedding..
Sources of this data:
‘Wells/Penfold Family Tree (‘WPFT’), ‘Mk II’ by REA/GMA, which is marked: ‘Put together in Summer 2000 by R.Edward Archer from information supplied by Gwen Archer, nee Penfold.
Based on Jane Wells.Milne-Redhead’s c.v., adapted (via those of Otho and John and Richard).
Dates of entry of data:
01.01.2007;
This document pasted into this page of the website 19.7.15.