Henry Wall was the sixth child of William Wall & Mary Ball born 1880 at Ocker Hill, Tipton, & christened September 19th, 1880 at Wednesbury, Staffs..
In 1881 Henry & his parents & brothers & sisters were living at 72 Lea Brook Rd, Tipton.
Henry was still living at home at Lea Brook Rd in 1891 with 2 sisters & 2 brothers & his mother, who had remarried after the death of Henry’s father. His step-father, Joseph Groves, was a boatman.
Henry (listed as Harry in the census) was still at home in 1901, now 11 St James St, Wednesbury. His mother & younger brother & sister were also at home but his step-father was not. Harry was working as a tapper of locomotive wheels for the railway.
Harry married Sarah Jane Brookes in July-September 1902 at Wednesbury, St James. Sarah Jane (known as Jennie) was christened June 20th, 1882 at St James, Wednesbury, the daughter of Elizabeth & Joseph Brookes, a miner.
In 1911 Harry & Jennie were living at 40 Meeting St, Wednesbury & Harry was now described as a wheel & axle worker at the axle works. They had 4 children – Charlotte Ivy (8), Gertrude Sylvia (7), William Henry (6) & Sydney (1). It was noted on the census that one of their children had died before the 1911 census.
Daughter Charlotte married Henry J L Taylor in 1921 at Lichfield, Staffs. Charlotte married again in 1927 in West Bromwich, her second husband being James H Cooper.
Daughter Gertrude married Afanacia Topaka in 1921 at West Bromwich, Staffs. Afanacia was born in Vladivostok, Russia in 1897 & served in the Russian Navy before serving with the South Staffordshire Regiment in WW1. He attained the rank of Lance Sergeant before being court marshalled for drunkenness & dismissed in 1920.
Daughter Minnie married Thomas Owen Bond in 1931 & in 1939 they & their 3 children were living at 9 Terrace St, Wednesbury where Thomas was a ‘timber man pipe layer for contracting.
The 1939 register shows Harry & Sarah J (Jennie?) living at 51 Woden Rd, North, Wednesbury & Harry was a labourer at the iron & steel works. With them was son William born in 1918 who was a navvy on the roads & daughter Olive, a nut facer at the Aero factory. Also listed with them was granddaughter Irene Lilian Taylor (born July 26th, 1921, daughter of Charlotte & Henry Taylor) who was an inspector at a tools works, & another granddaughter, Ruby Dorothy Cooper (born December 17th, 1928, daughter of Charlotte & James Cooper). Living next door was Harry & Jennie’s son William Henry, a steel worker, & his wife Leah (nee Kendrick) & their family.
Daughter Charlotte & her husband James & the rest of their family were still living in Wednesbury in 1939 at 22 Sheldon Avenue. James was a carter in the public works department. Daughter Gertrude & husband Afanacia Topako & family were living at 119 Bryce Rd, Brierley Hill, Staffs in 1939 & Afanacia was a cupola man.
Daughter Olive married Timothy D T Evans in 1942.
Jennie died aged 66 in Jan-March 1949 at Wednesbury.
Harry died aged 77 in October 1958 at Wednesbury.
The children of Henry Wall & Sarah Jane Brookes were:
w.9.1.6.1 Charlotte Ivy Wall born November 18th, 1902 at Wednesbury, Staffs; died July-September 1979 at Sandwell, Staffs
w.9.1.6.2 Gertrude Sylvia Wall born January 26th, 1904 at Wednesbury, Staffs; died December 1973 at North Bierley, West Yorks
w.9.1.6.3 William Henry Wall born February 4th, 1905 at Wednesbury, Staffs; died Jan-March 1973 at West Bromwich
w.9.1.6.4 Sydney Wall born c1910 at Shettlestone, Glasgow, Scotland
w.9.1.6.5 Minnie May Wall born May 4th, 1911 in Wednesbury; died November 8th, 1995 in West Midlands
w.9.1.6.6 William Wall February 1st, 1918 in Wednesbury; died October 2001 at Sandwell, Staffs
w.9.1.6.7 Olive Wall born May 22nd 1920 in Wednesbury; died Jan-March 1999 at Sandwell, Staffs