Harry RUNDLE, British Army Soldier, born 1874, Luton, Bedfordshire UK

[jim1]

Re-reading part of Alice's letter (May 1915) she says she found about Harry's infidelity
since joining the previous August & that Minnie was passing herself off as his wife with
2 children of his. So she seems quite specific in what she says & I can't see her just
passing on gossip to an authoritative figure such as a Lt. Col. without knowing the facts.

[Nodrog50]

Hazel was born 4 years after Harry Rundle passed away, so has little in the way of recollections.
I'm not aware of Harry contacting any of his other children; my Gran seemed to have a soft spot for him. It's odd how she was chosen to go & live with with Harry & Minnie when Alice Maud was struggling. Some of the children apparently lived for a while with their paternal grandparents in Ernest Rd. as well.
So Stanley was put in a Children's Home too? I thought he may have been taken in by that member of the Inchley family who gave the additional info when he died.
I've followed the thread of the conversation for the last few weeks (inc.Genealogy.com) and looked at Joseph Rundle's military records (inc. the photos!). Very interesting.
Re. photos, those are the only ones of Harry & Alice Maud that I know of; on the reverse are 'Harry Rundle' then in someone else's writing 'my granddad', & 'Gran Rundle' then 'Alice Maud Le Boutillier, born July 23rd 1879, St. Helier, Jersey.' I'm unsure as to their provenance.
Attached is a group photo from a Rundle wedding, Uncle Harry's younger daughter Mary Rose to Frank William Room, 22nd March 1952, St. John's, Ladywood, B'ham. The Rundles are on the right hand side of the photo. The rather fed-up little boy giving his mother a hard time is me next to my Gran with Hazel in front of us.

[Nodrog50]

Won't be around for a few days. We're staying with our daughter & her family; they live (would you believe?) in Balsall Heath! She's a community worker & almost got involved in Balsall Heath Local History Society's 'The Lost Children' project as she knows Val Hart. Like me, our daughter didn't know we had a family connection....

[jim1]

Take the map & do a trip down memory lane.

[PIGLET392006]

Hi Nodrog50,

Thank you for the group photo. From your description I'm assuming you're the little boy being held by your grandmother, Edith (the lady with what looks like a black handbag) & Hazel is the little girl with a dark-coloured coat standing slightly in front of your grandmother. Is your mother the lady to the left of you? Fairly tall lady, curly hair, black gloves? The elderly man in the dark suit, with his hands crossed in front of him, standing next to one of the bridesmaids - is that the bride's father, Henry Charles Rundle? It's a lovely photo.

You mentioned Alice Maud sent Edith to live with her father & Minnie Hales at one stage. This would've enabled her to spend time with her half-brothers & half-sisters. Are there any recollections within the family of Edith's time with them? Or if any other siblings of Edith lived with their father & Minnie for a period of time? When Minnie died in 1923, & some of the children were placed in Middlemore home, it must've been quite sad for Edith as she would've gotten to know her "other family" quite well by then. Are there any recollections within the family of Edith or any of her siblings keeping in touch with Harry & Minnie's children, particularly as they were eventually separated & sent to other parts of the world?

Have a nice stay with your daughter & family, & yes, a trip down memory lane would be quite an eye-opener!

Regards 

[Nodrog50]

Back from Balsall Heath but without a computer at the moment. Will be with you asap. Thinking abt spending a bit of money on this research. Best wishes.

[Nodrog50]

Hello again.
I've noted your personal message & will sort something, though it could be a while yet. I'll also reply to your queries once I no longer have to do everything on this phone!
I've just read an article abt Father Hudson Homes (the RC equivalent of Middlemore) & how they tried to contact family to ask whether anyone could take a child in before sending him abroad. I wonder whether Middlemore did this & just Stanley was taken to.
New computer on order!

[Nodrog50]

Apologies for the hiatus.
Balsall Heath was a deprived area 100 years ago & it still is!
Re. the wedding photo, I’m in the arms of my Mom & my Gran is on the right of her with Hazel in front of both. It made me smile when you surmised my Mom was fairly tall; she was just over 5ft! I think that’s Uncle Les front right in the photo with David Rundle, Uncle Bert’s son who I corresponded with for a while, at his right shoulder. That’s Henry Charles Rundle in the middle with presumably Aunt Clara beside him; I only recall her in her later years but she’s fondly remembered.
I didn’t see that much of my Mom’s family as I was growing up, & when my Mom & I did visit the men were usually out at work. My Dad was one of a large family of Smiths in Hockley & I was pretty much brought up surrounded by that family.
Mention of my Gran going to live with Harry & Minnie and some of the other children temporarily living with their paternal grandparents almost certainly stems from snippets that my Gran dropped out over 20 years ago; she was usually not that keen on raking over the past, not surprising really. Harry’s ‘other’ family appears to have been a grey area &, of course, most of my Gran & my Mom’s generation have now passed on.
I am in occasional contact with Nora, Uncle Les’s eldest child, but she is now in her 80’s & I don’t recall her adding to the narrative after I’d sent her copies of Alice Maud’s letters.
Any progress with your family?
I don’t think I’ve put up Harry’s death cert.
Good to be back!

[Nodrog50]

Essential information about Minnie that I've just accessed!