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Eric Herbert John GOATHAM
1921 - 2004 (82 years)
Has 444 ancestors and 4 descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
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Name Eric Herbert John GOATHAM Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Born 11 May 1921 46a, Dornton Road, Balham, London, England 
- GRO ref: Goatham, Eric H J q2 1921 mother's maiden name: Inman, Wandsworth RD 1d 1280; GRO online index shows middle names as Herbert John
Birth certificate for Eric Herbert John Goatham Baptised Sep 1921 St. Stephen’s Church, Balham, London, England - The photos which appear to show him in a Baptismal robe are marked Sept. 1921, I have no other evidence of this date.
I didn't make a note of where Daddy was baptised when he was alive - from memory I think it was St. Stephen's. I know he said it had a pulpit in the centre! (see the church website)
Gender Male Education From 1926 to 1935 St. Mary’s CofE School, Balham, London, England - Approximate dates
Religion From 1934 to 2002 Altar Server - In various places
My Dad was taught to serve at St. Mary's Balham by Will Massey, I believe c. 1934 or 5 and only ceased serving after a stroke in 2002 which impaired his mobility.
He served regularly at St. Mary's Balham from c. 1935 - 1956, except for being away serving in the RAF for much of WW2 - though he continued to serve in various parts of the world throughout his RAF years.
When my parents moved to Petts Wood on marrying he became a server at St. Francis, where he was head server and sacristan for a good mumber of years up to 1988. Although mainly involved with St. Francis, he also served regularly at the 11am High Mass at The Annunication, Chislehurst until 1971 when it was necessary to cease going there to fit in with his children's Sunday School attendance at St. Francis.
In 1988 on retiring to Devon he became a server at St. Saviour's Dartmouth where he continued as a server until his stroke in 2002.
He joined the GSS on 26 Jan 1947 and remained a member for the rest of his life.
Confirmation 11 Dec 1934 St. Mary’s Church, Balham, London, England Occupation From 1935 to 1940 Draughtsman - On leaving school (in about 1935) my father became a draughtsman in a drawing office (from what he said). The 1939 registration shows he still was (he is described there as 'Junior Draughtsman (Gen Engr)', but I know that he moved to work for National Benzol before joining the RAF in WW2; end date is a guess based on this.
War Service From 1939 to 1941 Balham, London, England Auxiliary Fire Service - messenger boy - Before he joined the RAF.
The bombs which fell in the London blitz are shown on a map on the Bomb Sight website, the bombs in Balham can be seen here.
Residence 29 Sep 1939 Cavendish Road School LEB Sub Station, Wandsworth, London, England - At this address were 20 Auxiliary Firemen (all men), my father, who was an 'AFS [Auxiliary Fire Service] Messenger', 4 whose entries were still closed (as at 18 Feb 2016) - probably messengers or firemen - and last listed a 25 year old woman, Joyce HUGHES (later THOM) shown as W. A. F S (no doubt Women's Auxiliary Fire Service - but her role is not spelt out - I guess admin or caring for the men!)
[Address as transcribed by FMP; not vieweable on image as at 18 Feb 2016 as first person at the address closed; FMP transcribers are not the best and so the address must be viewed with caution until viewable on the image]
Occupation From 1940 to 1979 London, England Accounts clerk Military Service From 1941 to 1947 RAF in WW2 
In his RAF uniform
See more photos of my Dad during his RAF years in this album.Residence 1946 17e, Balham Park Road, Balham, London, England - From electoral register of those in the services (qualifying date 30 Jun 1946).
Hobby / Interest From 1947 to 1988 (mainly), Orpington, Kent, England TocH - My Dad joined TocH on 8th July 1947 as member no. 95633. I don't know what branch he belonged to initially but joined the Orpington Branch after moving to Petts Wood on marrying in 1956. He was treasurer of that branch from 15 Nov 1957 to 31 March 1976.
After moving to Dartmouth in 1988 he investigated but there was no branch nearby - I think the nearest was Newton Abbot - and his involvement ceased.
Residence From 1988 to 2003 18, Yorke Road, Dartmouth, Devon, England In retirement - Once free of responsibilities for relations in Sussex, my parents retired to Devon where my mother had always longed to live.
Died 23 Feb 2004 Salisbury District Hospital, Wiltshire, England Cremation 1 Mar 2004 Salisbury Crematorium, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England Funeral 1 Mar 2004 St. Mary the Virgin Church, Gillingham, Dorset, England Buried 7 Mar 2004 St. Peter’s Church, Stoke Fleming, Devon, England Grant of Administration 6 Apr 2004 Probate Registry Office, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England Calendar entry - From Find a will website and I was the person granted admon.
(Salisbury is a sub-office of the Winchester Registry)
Medical - My Dad used to tell a tale of how when he was a boy he had his tonsils out. While he was in the hospital, on the day of his op., there was a serious tram crash and beds were needed for the injured - so he was sent home that day!
He enjoyed pretty good health, with rarely a day off work, until his memory started failing slightly and he had a TIA in, I think, 1987. But the memory problem remained very slight until the late 1990s, and it was only the last year or so of his life when it really became a bit of an issue.
My mother was the one most affected - when, for example, she was waiting as arranged at one place while he waited at another! Luckily, knowing so many people in Dartmouth someone thye knew would notice and tell them where the other was. I experienced incidnets like this a few times. For example, when we went to Eastbourne together in 2000, following my Godmother's death, and my Dad decided to browse in the Tourist Information Centre while my mother and I went to the florist. We'd agreed to meet him there - but when we got there he'd gone. Fortunately it didn't take us too long to locate him.
In August 2002 he had a small stroke which was more than a TIA, resulting in him being in hospital for a few weeks. His mobility was affected rather than his speech, and he never drove again (not that he should have been driving up until then, but thankfully he had no accidents).
Miscellaneous - I could write lots about my Dad - and will add more in time. But my notes will probably be a bit unbalanced for quite a while, because I'm adding anecdotes as they come to my mind, which may well slip it when I sit down to right a balanced account of my Dad.
A train enthusiast, there is a plaque to both my parents at Totnes Littlehempston Station for the voluntary work they did for the South Devon Railway.
Patriarch & Matriarch 
Person ID I5 All | Teresa's direct ancestors, England: Kent Group (in Go(a)tham One-Name Study), England: Kent Group - subjects of Go(a)tham One-Name Study, All in the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study , All subjects of the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study, The descendants of Charles Court and Frances née Tapner, The descendants (and other halves) of Charles Goatham and Sybilla née Hunt, The descendants (and other halves) of George Goatham and Ann née Winch, The Inman eighth - ancestors and descendants of Philip Inman and Sarah née Craven, The descendants (and other halves) of John Prior and Amy née Reynolds, The descendants (and other halves) of Richard Whitehead and Mary née Grigsby Last Modified 13 Mar 2022
Father Charles Robert ("Charlie") GOATHAM, b. 6 Jul 1885, 2, Westbrook Cottages, Westbrook, Kent, England , d. 10 Apr 1951, St. John‘s Hospital, St. John‘s Hill, London, England (Age 65 years) Mother Maggie Alice Gwendoline ("Dollie") INMAN, b. 21 Mar 1883, 22, Fawcett Street, Fulham, London, England , d. 29 Apr 1965, Lubbock House, Tubbenden Lane, Orpington, Kent, England (Age 82 years) Married 31 Oct 1911 St. James’ Church, Westgate on Sea, Kent, England - GRO ref: Goatham, Charles R to Inman, Maggie A G q4 1911 Thanet RD 2a 2285
Photos 
Family ID F48 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family Brenda Evelyn BAILEY, b. 1 Jan 1930, “Electra”, 84, Main Ridge, Boston, Lincolnshire, England , d. 21 Jun 2003, Torbay Hospital, Torquay, Devon, England (Age 73 years) Engaged Abt 1955 Balham, London, England Banns of marriage Jun 1956 The Ascension, Balham Hill, Malwood Road, Balham, London, England In the Parish my Dad lived in Banns of marriage Jun 1956 St. Luke’s Church, Battersea, London, England In the Parish my Mum lived in Married 7 Jul 1956 St. Mary’s Church, Balham, London, England - GRO ref: Goatham, Eric H J to Bailey, Brenda E q3 1956 Wandsworth RD 5d 1595
Certificate for the marriage of Eric Goatham to Brenda Bailey Children2 children Last Modified 27 Nov 2017 Family ID F2 Family Group Page | Family Chart
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Photos 
At wedding at Coventry
My grandfather and great aunt Doris at the wedding of a nephew; also my father.
Albums 
My Dad (Eric Goatham) as a boy (4)
I have many small photos of my Dad as a boy. I have very few of him before the age of about 3 so would guess my grandfather bought (or was given) a camera in about 1924. (His younger brother William Frank who had emigrated to the USA sent a photo taken in August 1923, on the day he had bought a camera - perhaps this prompted my grandfather to do likewise). Over time I will be scanning all the photos and probably adding them here, though I may create a Flickr album instead and give a link here to that.
At the moment there are some more pictures in my Picasa albums.
My Dad (Eric Goatham) during WW2 (7) 
My Dad (Eric Goatham) as a young man (1)