James Lewis Foster

Sixth Generation - b.1910 - d.1982 (aged 72)

Birth Certificate

Marriage Certificate

Death Certificate

James Lewis FOSTER (grandfather) was born on the 01 November 1910 at 4 Sandown Terrace, Sandown Road Deal in Kent and his marriage certificate confirms he married Bertha Kate Appleby on 21 April 1935 at St Botolphs Church, Colchester in Essex. Bertha Kate Appleby was born on the 07 March 1911 at 111 Canterbury Road.

Married Bertha Kate APPLEBY, in Colchester Essex on 21st April 1935 and had the following children:

01 Alan John Foster

02 David Charles Foster born 05 Sep 1941 at the Colchester Maternity Hospital (father)

03 Barbara Lilly Foster

Jim as a young man.

Having moved with the family from Deal in Kent to Colchester in Essex in 1913, James Lewis Foster (Jim) attended the Greenstead Road Church of England School and was also a member of the choir of St Andrews Church (on the hill). When he left school aged fourteen he trained and worked as a carpenter, and would cycle miles looking for work before he found permanent employment as a pattern maker at the Davey Paxman and Company Limited Standard Ironworks off Hythe Hill Colchester, (manufacturers of industrial boilers, rotary vacuum filters and diesel engines). It would appear he later became an engineering inspector working at their Britannia Works a mile or so down the road behind the St Botolphs railway station during the second world-war years on the much needed landing craft diesel engines being built by Davey Paxman. On one dark evening in February 1944, Colchester suffered from a terrible bombing raid that saw the destruction of St. Botolphs corner by enemy bombing. The Britannia Works was very badly damaged by firebombs; and much of its machinery was totally destroyed.

During the war years it had been extremely difficult with wartime rationing to get anything at all. Most things that people had been accustomed to buying, not questioning where they had come from was no longer in the shops. Long queues for food were common place, hardly anything including clothing and furniture could be purchased without the necessary ration-book coupons. At some time after the war years he returned to the Standard Ironworks after being promoted to foreman inspector on the Goods Receiving section where he remained until his forced early retirement in 1974 due to ill health. I can remember for many years prior to his retirement he had suffered with stomach ulcers taking all sorts of prescribed medication, none of which ever seemed to help, but during and after his illness he never complained or took any further medication, the so called stomach ulcers were apparently no longer a problem.

As a young man he was a keen cyclist and a member of the Colchester Rovers Cycling Club during which time he won several cycling medals. It is of note that during the 1928 season he recorded the fastest novice 10 mile race time of 28min 3secs and also the fastest 50 mile race time of 2hr 24min 49secs.

Jim & Bertha
with the children

Following his marriage to Bertha Kate Appleby on 21 April 1935 they rented a three bedroom terrace house at 3 Anglesea Road, Wivenhoe where your living room was your bathroom and your toilet was outside in the cold. In 1938 he joined the part time fire service attached to the Wivenhoe Fire Station until his retirement some thirty years later at the rank of Sub Officer. He was also for several years a member of the committee of the very successful Wivenhoe Rangers Football Club and on each Boxing Day morning all the family went by coach to the Land Lane Sports Ground in Colchester to watch them win the Amos Cup final which they did for many years. He was a keen gardener but with only a small back garden he kept an allotment a mile away at Rectory Road (the cross) for many years. My father can remember cycling with him to his allotment as a youngster helping out with the odd jobs such as watering and cleaning his tools etc. He was also into making wine with his little red book that contained recipes he obtained from newspaper cuttings etc.  

Jim and Bertha

on holiday in Ramsgate.

In 1954 they bought the house in Anglesea Road Wivenhoe, and proceeded to demolish the kitchen and back bedroom before building a kitchen, bathroom and back bedroom extension onto the property. They continued living at Anglesea Road until he became ill when they decided to sell their house and move into a council bungalow at 3 Wyvern Court, Wivenhoe where they both remained until their deaths.

James Lewis Foster’s death certificate confirms he died on the 27 April 1982 aged 72 and his wife continued living at 3 Wyvern Court for another twenty one years until her death. Bertha Kate Foster’s (nee Appleby) death certificate confirms she died at 3 Wyvern Court Wivenhoe on 04 September 2003 aged 92. Both James Lewis Foster and his wife Bertha Kate Foster were cremated at the Colchester Crematorium.