Florence Ida Smith: biography

Biography of Florence Ida Waghorn né Smith.

Florence was born on 4th August 1889 in 31 Brunswick Street, Haggerston, Shoreditch bc. She was the eldest of four children of Robert and Annie Smith, and the only girl. She was 1 year old when the 1891 census was completed. By this time the family had moved one street west and were living at 21 Weymouth Terrace, a late Victorian 2-storey terraced house. hb The family consisted of Florence, her mother and father, a boot maker, grandmother, two aunts and an uncle. A different family occupied 2 rooms of the house and there was a lodger cs The family had moved further north by the time of the 1901 census to live at 24 Dunn Street where she lived with just her mother, father and little brother Victor. The census returns list Florence’s father occupation as Grocery Stores. Den used to say that he remembered his gran, Annie, working in a general store. Perhaps this is evidence for that memory. cs. In 1911 they were living in Rosebury Avenue, Tottenham cs. Florence married Albert Edward Waghorn on 30th October 1915 mc. At that time she was living at 89 Avenue Road, Tottenham and states her occupation as "relief stamper". These were employed in making pencils, so perhaps at this early age Florence was working at Eagle pencils. She had 2 sons, Victor k/a "Son" and Dennis Albert and used to take "Son" and Dennis to Llandudno each year for a summer holiday. The family would also visit Sheerness quite often, sometimes, according to Den, “for a week or so”. We know from photos and Den's accounts that she had three close life-long friends, Ethel Bray, May and another Ethel. Ethel Bray was a witness at her marriage. Florence worked in "Burndie's" fishmongers before the war, and Ethel (not Bray) used to help her by doing her house cleaning. During the war she worked in Dickinson's, a paper processing factory in Tottenham Hale. She and Albert lived in Crompton Crescent, Tottenham from 1929-34 er and she moved with her sons to 17 Somerset Road in 1933-5 er where her parents were living when Albert left home. She continued to live there, with her sons, then with Den, Joan and their children. Joan remembers Florence taking her to the theatres in London to see the musicals when Den was still in the RAF. Dave remembers his “gran" going to work at the Eagle Pencils factory and still has some Eagle pencils of that age. He remembers her retiring "sometime in the 1950s".They moved to 228 Alexandra Park Road in 1969/70 due to the compulsory purchase of 17 Somerset Road. She was a smart, hard-working woman with a strong character. She grew up in a busy family home with three brothers cs, then married a sailor who was away in the war through 1915-18, then worked on merchant ships. It is tempting to assume that those periods when he was at home coincided with the times she lived away from her parents, and that during his years at sea she moved back into 17 Somerset Road. She certainly had family around her to help with her sons, and she in her turn was able to help care for her grandchildren and give Den and Joan time out together. Florence became increasingly frail through 1970/71 and died in March 1972.di

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bc birth certificate
hb historical background , notes and photos of old Haggerston
cs census results
mc marriage certificate
er Electoral registers
di Death Index: Enfield Jan-Mar 1972, Vol 5b, p384

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