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  • Christian+Gertrude & earlier
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• The Hampshire Families
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• The Londoners
  • The Snells, London
  • The Murchs
  • The Jeffs
  • The Moores
  • The Timberlakes
• Mysteries

The Murchs

"Uncle Ferg" was special - (formally Frederick William George Murch born 1887, Kensington)

I remember him for the for the amazing, inventive letters that he sent to Jan and me. Letters where the words spiralled around into the centre, so that you had to keep rotating the paper to read it - where each character was formed by filling in the space around where the character should be - my sister Jan had one with a cutout down the side, labelled "nose-rest". He must have spent many days on each of these letters. We probably just said thank you at the time, perhaps we were made to write 'thank-you' notes in our best (in my case, awful) handwriting. He couldn't have known what a lasting impression he made.

In the 1911 census, Frederick William George Murch is shown at 117a Kilburn Lane, Willesden, aged 23, a Telegraphist GPO, with his laundry packing younger sisters Ada Louisa and Dorothy May, plus Mum and Dad - Louisa Constance Maria aged 48, married 24 years and from Gloucester, and William aged 49, a Watch and Clock Repairer from Kensington.

I'm not sure what Ferg did in the Great War, but this one fits - Frederick William Murch, Quartermaster Sergeant in the Royal Army Medical Corp - awarded the 'Meritorious Service Medal', but I'm not sure what it was for, because they had taken the precaution of writing the citation in invisible ink. Damn cunning, these secret service types, what?

In 1919, Uncle Ferg redeemed himself by marrying the eldest of Henry and Blanche Tenten's children - Blanche Rose. Good show.

Uncle Ferg and Auntie Blanche had three children: Sheila 1920-2008, Brian William H Murch 1924-2003, Colin Anthony Murch 1933-1988.

Brian Murch married Gwen - don't know when. Stephen Murch arrived in the world in 1947. They emigrated to S. Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in November 1949 - Brian onboard the 'Stirling Castle' on 24 November, Gwen and baby Stephen onboard the 'Durban Castle' on 3 November (probably - but listed as Mrs and Miss March, so that may just be an extraordinary coincidence). Sadly the marriage didn't last and Stephen returned to the UK - don't know when. Brian arrived back in Southampton on 21 September 1958, aboard the Jagersfontein.