On trail of my aunts

Published: 25 June, 2010

• MY father, Alec Rider Fincham, died in 1965 having never spoken of his family. Now, in my early 70s I am trying to research his family and early years.

He was born on April 5, 1903, to Henry John Fincham and Mary (formerly Rider) at 5 Marquess Grove, Islington.

Alec was the eldest of Henry and Mary’s children.

The others were daughters Ellaline Sydney, born 1905, Monica Teresa, born 1908, and Doris May, born 1910.

I realise my aunts are dead by now but there may be unknown relatives or friends.

Any information about my aunts and their family would be gratefully received.

We have extensive information about dad from 1921 onwards regarding his army life and his coming to Dorset.

By 1911, Alec and his young sister Monica were living with a family in Ringmer, Sussex.

The other sisters went to live in Winston Road, Hackney, according to the 1911 census.

We don’t know why the children went to live with other families.

Until recently my brother and I had no knowledge of the fact that our father had three sisters, Alec enlisted into the Army on March 3, 1921, and latterly was in Army Reserves 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers.

He became batman to a brigadier general and had a successful career as a jockey in Iraq, Sudan, Egypt and India.

On leaving the army he stayed with the brigadier general and came to live in Dorset, where he married my mother, a farmer’s daughter, and had two sons – my brother and I.

Please contact me at n.fincham1@btinternet.com
NJ FINCHAM
Dorset