There are two official documents which give his age - the Marriage Certificate for his marriage to Alice Dowell in 1938 which gives his age as 59, i.e. born in 1879, and his Death Registration which in 1947 gives his age as 80, i.e. born in 1867. Fortunately Horace Richmond is a relatively unusual name and a search of death registrations between January 1860 and December 1880 produced a record of a Horace Richmond born in the quarter ending September 1866. From this it was possible to obtain a copy of his Birth Certificate.

Address: Biggleswade, Bedford

She signed with he mark which indicates that she was illiterate.

Address: Church Way

as a member of the household of John Richmond who was his Uncle. Judging from the fact that John is described as landowner and the house was on the edge of the village it may have been a farm. The other members of the household were John's nieces Elizabeth who was the housekeeper and Ann E. Richmond who was going to school. It is not known whether they had the same father or were cousins. Judging from the Elizabeth's age (35) and Horace's age it is more likely that they were cousins. Ann who was 10 may have been Horace's sister but they were born about 40 miles apart.

Address: Devizes Road

He was a boarder with Charles and Elizabeth Smith. He had moved from Haddenham, a distance of some 70 miles, to be near to his father Joseph Richmond who was the Chief Male Attendant at the Wiltshire County Lunatic Asylum in Devizes and lived in. Although Joseph is shown as married it is not know where his wife was living as the list of asylum staff does not include a woman with the surname Richmond. Horace probably attended the village school. Sometime he played truant!

There are a number of conflicting sources for his occupation. In the 1901 Census he is shown as a parcel sorter for the Post Office; in the 1911 Census he is shown as a civil servant working for the Post Office but it does not say in what capacity; the 1921 Census says he is a postman; and his Death Certificate confirms that he had a Post Office pension which means that he must have worked for the Post Office for at least 30 years presumably retiring at the age of 65, i.e. in 1931. However on his Marriage Certificate for his marriage to Alice Dowell in December 1938 he is described as a retired horticulturist and he certainly grew magnificent flowers and vegetables. Alice also told her son Jack that at some stage in his career he had, in a fit of temper, destroyed a tomato which he was hybridising and left his employer. Where he had learned his skills and at what stage of his life he was a horticulturist and for who he worked for is not known. The best explanation is that he was apprenticed after leaving school probably at the age of 16 (according to the 1881 Census he was still at school and there is no record of him in the 1891 Census) as a gardener and worked his way up to the position of a head gardener but that after he fell out with with his employer could not get a reference and so was forced to join the Post Office. He also told his adopted son Jack that he had been in the army and that the marks on his nose were powder burns from firing a rifle. On reflection this seems bit far fetched and there is no record of him being in the army.

When he became a Spiritualist is not known. Perhaps it was the death of his son Joseph in 1903 at the age of six followed by the death of his first wife Caroline in 1921. After moving to the Stockwell area on his marriage to Alice in December 1938 he attended the Clapham Spiritualist Church which was near Clapham North Underground Station. His step son Jack accompanied him with his mother to some of the services and remembers the medium conveying messages from the dead.

Although Horace was not a medium he would sometimes have a premonition about the future and undoubtedly saved his own life and the lives of those who were living in the same house by insisting on the family moving - see entry on residences between 1939 and 1947. His wife would consult him over important decisions and he would go into a trance before giving an answer.

which was shown as his residence on the Certificate for his marriage to Alice Dowell. After their marriage he moved to Alice's house. How long he had lived at Hassocks Road is not known. Alice's son, Jack, who he later adopted remembers being taken to tea there.

Before their marriage Horace was living in rented house at 3, Hassocks Road, Mitcham. Alice and her son Jack were living in a rented house at 8 Allen Edwards Road, Lambeth which she shared with her sister Harriett (Ett), Ett's husband Edward (Will) Mackellow, her brother William (Will) and her sister by adoption Louisa (Lou) Fippen.

After their marriage Horace moved to Allen Edwards Road because Alice, who was domicilary midwife, needed to stay in the area.

The whole family moved to 25, Rhodesia Road just before the house in Allen Edwards Road was destroyed by a direct hit in the Blitz.

They moved once again to 55 Binfield Road just before the house at 25 Rhodesia Road was destroyed in a bombing raid - just as the house in Allen Edwards Road had been.

On each occasion the reason for moving was that Horace, who was a Spiritualist, had a premonition that the houses would be destroyed.

Horace died in February 1947 at Binfield Road but Alice continued the tenancy.

Cause: cancer of the small intestine

Address: 55 Binfield Road

During his final illness he was nursed by his wife Alice and her sister Ett who lived in the same house. His step-son Jack remembers that he was confined to his bed and was eating bread and milk because his tongue was so swollen. Until he saw the Death Certificate he thought that his step-father had died from cancer of the throat.

Address: Lambeth

Caroline Walker (1860-1921)

Joseph Charles Richmond (1896-1903)

A search for the marriage of Horace Richmond to a Caroline was fruitless so either the marriage was omitted from the registration index (which is unlikely) or it not take place. On the assumption that the marriage did take place the probable year has been estimated from the age of their son (4) given in the 1901 Census and the number of years they had been married (16) given in the 1911 Census.

Address: “Uptons” 28 Bungalow Road

It is assumed that they moved there after their marriage in 1895 until Caroline's death in 1921

Address: “Uptons”, Bungalow Road

The family consisted of Horace, his wife Caroline and their son Joseph. They were also looking after a 6 month old baby - Frank Etherington. The family occupied what is assumed from the street name to be a bungalow. From the 1911 Census it had six rooms. There were similar properties with only names in the road. Whether they were all the same is not known.

Address: 28 Bungalow Road, South Norwood, S.E.

They were living by themselves in a six roomed property.

Address: 28 Bungalow Road

The household consisted of Horace, his wife Caroline and two visitors Charlotte and Vera Trench.

Alice Eleanor Dowell (1896-1987)

Address: Lambeth, London

Harriet (Ett) was Alice's sister and Edward (Will) Ett's husband. Whether anyone else was present is not known.The marriage was one of convenience undertaken by Alice to 'give her son (Jack) a name'. It was certainly not for financial reasons. Alice was financially secure by reason of her job with the London County Council as a domiciliary midwife. Her marriage to Horace Richmond brought no financial advantage. Indeed Alice supported Horace who became, to use a modern term, a househusband and also created a wonderful garden. Horace was much older than Alice. Although he gives his age as 59 he was in fact 13 years older having been born in 1866.

How they met is not known - probably though an introduction agency. Although Alice had hoped to marry when Jack was sufficiently young not to remember his entry into their lives and so to accept him as his real father he does remember their first meeting. As he was only 4 he would probably not have remembered the visit except that Jack remembers Horace upsetting the teapot – probably due to nervousness – and trying to scrape up the tealeaves from the tablecloth with a knife. Whether this was also Horace's and Alice's first meeting is not known - it probably was.

After they were married Horace came to live at the house which Alice rented at 8 Allen Edwards Road. It must have been winter because Jack remembers that it was dark and he was still up. How much Horace brought with him is not known but Jack remembers a fireside chair with curved wooden arms and a backrest which could be adjusted by moving a round bar into one of three slots. Jack thought it was a new toy as it was possible, when the back was not in place, to roll the bar down the arms to where it could lodge in one of the three slots or, if it was pushed it hard enough, roll off the end of the arms – rather like a simple game of bagatelle.

Address: 8 Allen Edwards Road

The household consisted of Horace and his wife Alice, Alice's brother William and her adopted sister Louise Fippen. Just before the register was compiled 3 other members of the household – William and Harriet Mackellow, and Jack Richmond (Harriet was Alice's sister and Jack was her son) moved to Brighton to live with William’s brother and his wife (Harry & Francis Mackellow) as part of the voluntary evacuation from London.