Parish : Andrew the Great
This grave was not found by CFHS and is therefore not able to be found today
George Chapman Ellis (1856 – 1 March 1921)
George was the son of George and Emma Ellis, and his unusual middle name was the surname of his paternal grandmother.He was baptised at St. Andrew the Less Church on 10 August 1856 and grew up at 13 Church Street and then City Road. His father was a shoemaker and George worked as a college porter at King’s College (1881) and then at Christ’s College (c.1886 onwards). He married Sarah Maria Green in 1886 and the couple had six children: Emily Florence May (1887-1922), Herbert Charles Stanley (1889-1921), Annie Violet (1890-1979), George Reginald (1892-1944), Charles Benjamin James (1895-1944) and Elsie Maud (1898-1965).
The family lived at 1 Silver Street (1891/1901), 20 Warkworth Street (1911) and 14 New Street (1921) and Sarah ran a lodging house from at least 1911 onwards. George died at home aged 64 years old and was buried at Mill Road Cemetery on 5 March. Many representatives of Christ’s College attended the funeral, and the Master sent a wreath.
Corporal Herbert Charles Stanley Ellis (1889 – 9 March 1921)
Herbert (known as Bert) died 8 days after his father. George Ellis’ funeral reports noted that his son had left his sick bed in London and returned to Cambridge to attend the funeral, but had developed pneumonia and had been unable to be there. He died as a consquence.
He was the eldest son and had been baptised at St. Andrew the Great church on 3 February 1889. He was a pupil at the Perse School and a chorister of Trinity College. Bert then worked as a clerk in a building company. He joined the Cambridge Territorials and went to France in the 1st World War with the 1st Battalion, where he was badly gassed whilst serving with the battalion.
He died at New Square and was buried at Mill Road Cemetery on 14 March. It was reported that ‘a military funeral could not be arranged, but RSM H. Hatcher, RQMS H. Coker and Sergt-Instructor G W Wheeler followed to represent his old battalion, whilst the Union Jack covered the coffin’. His mother and two of his siblings were unable to be at the funeral. Newspapers noted ‘Mrs. G Ellis and family wish to thank all friends for their great kindnesses and sympathy shown by them in their great bereavement, their second sad loss within ten days’.
Emily Florence May Cook (née Ellis) (1887- 3 September 1922)
Emily was born in Cambridge and was the eldest daughter of George and Sarah Ellis. She married Arthur Cook at the Cambridge Register Office on 26 March 1910 and they had three children: Winifred Alice Mary (1910-1988), Arthur George Charles (1911-1989) and Violet Elsie May (1916-2005).
They started married life living in two rooms in Lambeth, and Arthur worked as a machine hand in a bird seed factory. He later worked as warehouseman. By 1921 they had returned to Cambridge, and lived at 14 New Square with Emily’s mother and youngest sister Elsie. Emily died at Addenbrooke’s Hospital aged 34 years old after ‘a long and painful illness,, patiently borne’ and was buried at Mill Road Cemetery on 7 September 1922 in the same grave as her brother and father.
Private Arthur Cook (1882 – 20 November 1923)
Arthur was the youngest child of Charles (1830-1893) and Sarah Ann (née Wilkin) (1839-1916) and was born in Cambridge. His father was a general dealer and he grew up at 30a Broad Street. Aged 18 he was working as a printer’s porter and married Emily Ellis when he was 27 years old. He was called up for war service in December 1916 and served with the Royal West Kent Regiment in India and also the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry in Salonica and Bulgaria. He was discharged in October 1919 From army records it is known he was 5ft 11.5″ tall. In January 1922 he wrote to the Infantry War Office as he had still not received any war medals. It is believed he received a British War Medal as a result of writing.
In 1921 he was working as a porter at Jesus College and died at Addenbrooke’s Hospital aged 41 years old. His funeral was held on 23 November where representatives from the college attended. Local newspapers reported that ‘Mr Cook passed away after a long illness, consequent upon his service during the war’. His death left three orphans: Winifred aged 13 years, Arthur aged 11 and 7 year old Violet.
Arthur’s father Charles was buried in the St Andrew the Less area of Mill road Cemetery in December 1893 – his grave has also not been found.
Sarah Maria Ellis (née Green) (1858 – 21 May 1934)
Sarah was born in Great Wilbraham and baptised there on 12 September 1858. She was the daughter of Charles and Charlotte Green, and grew up in Gazeley where her father was a farm steward. Aged 14 he was living at 4 Emmanuel Street and working as a general servant (1871). She then moved to Silver Street where she worked as a housemaid for achitect William Milner Fawcett (1881).
Sarah died at the Mill Road Infirmary aged 75 years old and her funeral was held on 24 May. Newspapers noted she was ‘a well known university lodging house keeper…she had been in failing health for about two years’.
Sources:
Ancestry
Parish Burial records
Newpaper archives
by Claire Martinsen
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