Walter Samuel Pocock (1860 – 1922)

Sarah Ann Pocock (1856 – 1935)

Walter Samuel Pocock was born on 8 April 1860 in Greenham, the son of John and Mary, nee Jacobs, Pocock. He was named as Samuel Walter on the registration of his birth and was recorded as Samuel in the 1861 to 1881 censuses but from 1891 onwards he used the name Walter.

Walter was living with his parents and four siblings at Greenham Common in the 1861 census, his father John was a wood dealer. In the 1871 census Walter was still living with his parents along with six siblings at Greenham Common with John now a woodman.

In the 1881 census Walter was living with his sister Alice and brother John in St Johns Road in Newbury. Walter was recorded as a gardener, Alice a dressmakers and John an errand boy.

Sarah Ann Watts was born in 1856 in Winterbourne Monkton near Ramsbury in Wiltshire, the daughter of Thomas and Eliza, nee Woolford, Watts. She was baptized on 19 October 1856 at Winterbourne Monkton. She was recorded with her parents and five siblings in Aldbourne in Wiltshire in the 1861 census, her father was a shepherd. Ten years later in the 1871 census Sarah was living with her parents and five siblings in Ramsbury, her father was still a shepherd.

In the 1881 census Sarah was living in Speen and her occupation was a cook. Two years later Walter and Sarah married on 3 April 1883 at Ramsbury.

Eight years later in the 1891 census Walter and Sarah were living at Rose Cottages in Greenham with son Albert aged 7 and daughters Elsie aged 6 and Evelyn aged 4. Walter was recorded as a gardener. In the 1901 census Walter and Sarah were living at 9 Netherton Terrace in Newbury with son Albert Leslie aged 17 and daughters Elsie Mary aged 16, Evelyn Emma aged 14 and Mabel Annie aged 5. Walter was recorded as a domestic gardener and Albert as a learner in the Post Office.

In the 1911 census Walter and Sarah were living at Glen View, Boundary Road in Greenham with daughter Mabel aged 15 and a boarder. Walter was recorded as a market gardener while Mabel was a student.

Walter died 30 April 1922 aged 62 and was buried at Newtown Road Cemetery on 4 May 1922, he was still living at Glen View in Boundary Road. He left a will and probate was granted on 30 April 1922 to his widow Sarah. The value of the estate was £582 10s.

Sarah died 17 August 1935 aged 78 and was buried at Newtown Road Cemetery on 20 August 1935, she was living at 12 Stanley Road in Newbury. She left a will and probate was granted on 11 December 1935 to her children Albert Leslie Pocock, a postmaster, and Elsie Mary Pocock. The value of the estate was £555.

Walter’s sister Emma Stephens was buried at Newtown Road Cemetery on 1 September 1914 aged 50.

Author: G Soper
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