Children of Wm & Mary Leech

THE CHILDREN OF WILLIAM AND MARY

Issac Leech born c1872.  From the 1891 census, Issac was working as a Joiner aged 19, living at home with his father at 22 Cellar Street, Pendleton.  This property had two rooms.  Issac had two brothers and a sister.

On the 1901 census, Issac aged 29 was living at 14 Bright Street in the Civil Parish of Salford, the Ecclestical Parish of Salford Christ Church and the Parliamentary Borough of South Salford.  Issac’s occupation was given as Joiner/Carpenter.  The census shows that Issac was married to Alice born c1873 maiden name unknown and on this census she was aged 28.  Issac and Alice at this time had two children Frank, born c1895 aged 6 and Arthur, born c1897 aged 4. 

Thomas Leech was born c1873 in Manchester.  He married Sarah E born c1873 maiden name at this time unknown.  Thomas and Sarah had two children Mary E born c1895 at Horwich Lancashire and William Leech born 1900 in Manchester.  The 1901 census form lists the family as living at 2 Cooper Street, Salford.

Francis Leech was my husband’s grandfather born to William and Mary on the 30th April 1885 at 11 Croft Road Pendleton.  Francis married Mary Jane Phillips on 20th May 1907 at Dovaston Congregational Chapel Kinnerley, Shropshire.  On the day of their marriage Francis was 22.  He was listed as a bachelor, profession was listed as Porter to the Gas Office.  His residence at the time of his marriage was 37 New Park Street, Castlefields Shrewsbury.  His father William Leech (deceased) whose profession was a Labourer.  Mary Jane Phillips was aged 28, a Spinster and a resident at Dovaston her profession was Domestic Servant.   According to my father-in-law up until the time of her marriage Mary Jane worked at Shrewsbury School.  This is an in-joke between my  husband and me.  My family supposedly went to Shrewsbury School and his family worked there as domestics!  For anyone who remembers the television program ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ will understand the significance of this.

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LOCAL NEWS

This article was taken from one of the local papers during the floods in Towyn, North Wales around March 1990 and is relevant because it involved Reg and Jennie Leech.

1,000 plucked from homes in ‘Dunkirk’ boats rescue

By Martin Barlow in Towyn

A North Wales holiday resort was deserted after the mass Dunkirk style evacuation of more than 1,000 people, rescued from icy water up to 5ft deep in places.

A flotilla of small boats, rescue craft, helicopters and large vehicles plucked people – including a former Shropshire couple – from their flooded homes in Towyn.

But a handful of people are not quitting their homes, depite the fact there is a complete power blackout and the threat of more bad weather.

They had taken to upstairs rooms – prepared to brave blasting gales and ever increasing floodwater.  And their is no likelihood of the power being back tonight.

Most of the rescued were taken to emergency rest centres outside the town in a fleet of ambulances, while other sort refuge with friends and relatives.

Those refusing to leave their homes have ignored appeals from Assistant Chief Constable for North Wales John Owen, that the situation could become even more dangerous.

Another high tide was due at noon, with 70mph winds threatening to further breach a sea wall – a 600 yard section of which was smashed in yesterday’s vicious storms.

REFUGE

Most people in Towyn and nearby Kimnel Bay were unaware of the drama that was about to unfold, when torrents of water started pouring over the sea defences and into the streets.

In only a matter of minutes the sea water, fanned by gale force gusts, was beginning to flood homes – a large number of bungalows belonging to retired people.

Reg and Jenny Leech who lived in Lloyd Street, Oswestry, before retiring to their dream bungalow in Towyn, were forced to seek refuge in the loft as three feet of water submerged the home.

“We climbed up a ladder into the loft because everything was……..

Unfortunately the rest of the article is missing as it moved to another page.

Reg and Jennie were evacuated to Boddelwyddan Castle, North Wales where they spent a couple of nights.  Thankfully because of their age they were transferred quite quickly to a Residential Home in Conwy where they spent five months before they could return to their home.  They had just celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary and they lost all their treasured photographs, clothes and houshold belongings.  It was a desparate time for them but they came through and spent another fifteen years in their bungalow before they moved to Warwickshire to be near their son and his family.