HARRY OLIVER(21st June 1871 - 11 July 1943)

 

Harry Oliver son of John and Mary Oliver was born on the 21st of June 1871 in Muswell Hill,London.

 

He was 1of 10 children(Louisa 1851,Sarah 1853,Elizabeth 1856,Fanny 1858,James 1860,Mary Ann 1863,Frank 1867(the first Oliver to be born in London),Kate 1869(who died just 4 months later) and Alice who was born and died on the 4th of February 1874.

 

I have no idea of where he went to school but the church his father worked at(St James´s in Muswell Hill) also doubled up as a school so it is a possibility he went there.

 

I cannot find Harry in the 1881 census.His mother Mary dies on the 7th December at St Bartholomew`s Hospital in London so he might have been staying at a relatives house whilst his mother was ill.

 

His father John re-married on October 1st 1882 at St James´s Church to Emma Bendall.On the 19th January 1884 his half brother John Bendall Oliver is also born in St James´s Lane,Muswell Hill.

 

His father John dies on the 12th of January 1893 whilst Harry was living at 5 Johnston Terrace in Cricklewood.

 

The 1891 census show Harry as a private in the 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars but only 8 days after his father died he joins the Royal Artillery.

On the 24th of January he transfers to the to the Northumberland Fusiliers.

 

He was arrested many times whilst in the army.He was charged with things like,creating a disturbance,resisting arrest and even deserting his majerstys service.I have copies of his military service and he certainly was not afraid of coursing trouble.

 

He saw lots of action in the Boer War in South Africa and was involved in some heavy fighting.He fought in the Battle of Belmont(23 Nov 1899) and just 5 days latter he fought at Modder River where the British lost over 300 soilders in one day. He also served in the Orange Free State and Transvaal campaigns.

 

He fought in South Africa between 1899 and 1902 and was awarded the Kings and Queens South African medals but because of the trouble he got into these were taken back by the army and it is not know whether he got them back.

 

Things go a bit quiet until 1910 when he meets Eliza Ash(formerly Perkins).Elizas first husband Ernest Ash died in 1909 and they had 5 children between them(Leonora 1901,Ernest 1903,Elizabeth 1904,Lydia 1905 and Miriam 1908).

 

Harry and Eliza have the first of 7 children when Norah Patricia is born teh 15th July 1911 at 8 North Road in Burnt Oak.

On the 8th March 1913 they get married at St Pauls Church(no longer exist) in Kilburn whilst living at 7 Kilburn Square.On the 20th September 1913 Kathleen Rose is born ar Kelson Street in Hampsted.

 

In 1914 when WW1 starts he joined the 5TH Middlesex Regiment in Mill Hill.The 5th were a reserve unit and they moved around a lot and I believe he was in France after the war.He was discharged on the 17th September 1920.

 

Harrys half brother John Bendall Oliver was killed in action in WW1 on the 2nd December 1917 in Bourlon Woods in Northern France.

 

In 1915 Frank was born at 34 Palmerston Road in Hampsted.On the 19th of April 1919 James(Jim) was born at Bridge Street,Kilburn.Harry was born the 15th November 1921,John was born the 3rd of Febuary 1923 and Dennis was the last to be born at Bridge Street on the 25th January 1927.

 

The Oliver family were still living in Bridge Street in1933 but moved to 1D Oxford Road in 1935 and in 1936 they were living at 13 Cambridge Avenue.In 1939 they were living at 11 Cambridge Avenue. Both roads are close to Bridge Street in Kilburn.

 

The family moved afterwards to 6 Charteris Road in Willesden.Charteris Road is possibly the most important house in the modern Oliver history.

 

Harry Oliver dies on the 11th July 1943.He is buried at New Willesden Cemetery plot 2251E with his wife Eliza(died 1961) and daughter Norah Patricia(Sinfield) who died in 1969.