George GREGORY

1915 - 1993  (78 years)

• Name	George GREGORY
  Born	1915	Brents, Kent, England
  Gender	Male
  Died	9 Nov 1993	Faversham, Kent, England
  Person ID	I2328	Young Kent Ancestors
  Last Modified	19 Jan 2020

  
  

  Father	George GREGORY,   c. 18 May 1879, Faversham, Kent, England ,   d. 4 Nov 1959, 18 Priory Row, Faversham, Kent, England  (Age ~ 80 years)
  Mother	Mary Jane BRIDGE,   b. 1883,   d. 19 Oct 1956, Ham Farm, Faversham, Kent, England  (Age 73 years)
  Married	18 Sep 1910	St John the Evangelist, Brents, Faversham, Kent, England
  Family ID	F1004	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Alice M. THEOBALD,   b. 1919,   d. 1987  (Age 68 years)
  Married	Dec Qtr 1937	Faversham Dist., Kent, England (vol. 2a, p. 2787)
  Children	1. Ann GREGORY,   b. Dec Qtr 1938, Faversham Dist., Kent, England (vol. 2a, p. 1766) ,   d. 5 Mar 2019, Faversham, Kent, England  (Age ~ 81 years)   2. Living
  Last Modified	20 Mar 2022
  Family ID	F1006	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  George GREGORY and Susan Dara YOUNG are 2nd cousins 2 times removed. Their common ancestors are Edward GREGORY and Christian MILSTED. This is the fellow with whom I corresponded during the early 1990s up until his death. Christopher, his son, at Christmas 2002 very generously sent me two books from the Fleur-de-lis Heritage Society: Faversham Oyster Fisheries through the Years and a photographic record of the town. I have been in touch with Christopher sporadically over the years since his father's death. He, during the early 1990s was the Captain of the Dover-Calais ferry and is frequently away from home. A news article appears in the local Faversham newspaper on 1 February 1987 in the "Chronicler's Diary" column, a transcript of which follows below. "George's fond farewell. George Gregory, the man who has single-handedly maintained Faversham Creek swing bridge for five years, will soon be ending his third career. For George, now a spritely 71, will be retiring from his post as bridge hand for the Medway Ports Authority early in the new year. He has worked on the bridge over the town's waterway for 13 years, but before that was a shopkeeper at Davington and, for much of his life, a farmer at Ham. Born at Lower Brents in 1915, George attended Davington School and then joined the family farming business at Ham Farm. In the early days his father concentrated on dairy farming, and George ran the retail milk round, first with a pony and trap, then with a motorcycle combination and finally a pukka milk van. Although he was an entered apprentice with the Faversham Oyster Fishery Company in 1929, he never pursued that vocation because an Act of Parliament the following year ended many of the rights and privileges of company Freemen. However, he was a shareholder of the ancient company. George reckons his family, along with the Danes and Jemmetts, is one of the oldest in the town and he has traced back his lineage 800 years. [A claim that has not been proven through my research, as of yet.] Henry II granted royal rights for oyster fishing to the Gregorys. And George is certain some of his ancestors fought for England against the Spanish Armada in the 16th century. He has been in love with the creek ever since wading into the water on Front Brents as a three-year-old. "In the 1920s I remember lying in bed in the early mornings and hearing the dredgemen in their thigh length leather boots crunch past our home on their way to Hollowshore," he said. For around 25 years he worked on and latterly ran Ham Farm before finally selling it in 1961. For the next 11 years George and his wife Peg ran a general store at Priory Row, Davington, which did good business. George sold the shop when he was 58 but then he heard that the post of bridge hand was vacant so he joined river inspector John Cotton at the Creek Bridge. The closure of the Grain Refinery led to the redundancy of John Cotton and many others. So since November 1981 George has soldiered on alone. His duties in the part-time post have included looking after the gates, maintainin the 106-year-old bridge lifting mechanism and punt house, swinging the bridge, recording arrivals and tonnages and notifying local wharf-owners of arrivals. He has kept a close eye on the creek, noticing any problems and ensuring that the waterway was always kept clear. "A little bit of me will die when I leave here," George admits. "I've always felt a special affection forf the Creek and the Brents. But now I want to devote more time to my wife who has been very patient with me over the years."" A photograph appears with the article. There may have been two other children of George Gregory and Alice born in Durham: Births Dec 1941 (>99%) Gregory Brian Theobald Durham N. 10a 938 Scan available - click to view Births Mar 1944 (>99%) Gregory Theodore Theobald Durham N.W. 10a 495 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- George GREGORY and Colin Michael STROUD are 1st cousins 2 times removed. Their common ancestors are Thomas GREGORY and Emma AUSTIN.