An early photograph of Agnes Priscilla Giles.

Agnes Priscilla Giles was born on 23 April 1877 in East Coker, Somerset. She had a brother, Charles Henry, born in 1871 in Portsea, Hants, and 3 sisters: Sophia born 1873, Louisa born 1879, and Lily born 1883, all in East Coker. Her parents Edward and Susan (nee Cundham) died in East Coker in 1885 and 1922 respectively. Agnes Priscilla died in 1961 in Godalming, Surrey.

William Henry Burden, Agnes Giles' husband.

I think William Henry and Agnes Burden sat for a pair of formal studio portrait photographs taken by a photographer working in Yeovil, Somerset some time after they were married.

William Henry Burden was born on 16 April 1872 in Charlton Marshal, Dorset. I'm using his full name of William Henry Burden to avoid confusion with his father, William Burden, who died in 1915. William Henry Burden died in 1929 at Bramley near Guildford, Surrey.

Agnes and William Henry had 3 children: Leslie, Marjorie and Ron Burden.

William Burden Senior.

This is the only photograph we have of William Burden Senior (William Henry's father). He was born in about 1836 in Tarrant Hinton and became first, a groom, and then a coachman. He married Mary Ann Harding in 1867 in Poole, Dorset and died on 13 Jul 1915 in Charlton Marshall where he'd lived for most of his life.

Mary Ann Harding.

This is the only photograph we have of Mary Ann Harding, William Henry's mother. She was born in about 1840 in Poole, Dorset. In addition to William Henry, William and Mary had 3 other children: Elizabeth born 1868, Ellen born 1874, and Louisa Mary born 1879. Mary Ann died on 13 Jan 1915 in Charlton Marshall.

The earliest photograph we've got of William Henry Burden.

The rear of the photograph indicates it was taken by a photographer working in Alton, Hampshire and it predates his marriage.

His father was a Coachman, and William Henry Burden followed the same profession. He worked for several employers until joining the Phillips family who lived at Coker Court in East Coker, Somerset, where he met Agnes Giles and married her. William Henry and Agnes moved to Bramley, near Guildford, Surrey, when the Phillips family moved to Unsted Park.

The wedding photograph taken when Agnes married William Henry Burden in 1902.

The rear of the photograph indicates it was taken by the same photographer working in Yeovil, Somerset, who took their formal studio portrait photographs.

Agnes and William Henry were married on 3 September 1902 at the Parish Church of East Coker, where they had met. Agnes was in domestic service in Shaftesbury, and William Henry was Coachman to the Phillips family living in Coker Court, East Coker. He stated his residence at the time was Bramley, Surrey, where the Phillips family had their main residence at Unsted Park. The births of Agnes' sisters were registered in Yeovil, as were most of their marriages, and the Giles were local to Somerset, Yeovil and East Coker.

This is a home (amateur) photograph of William Henry Burden in the garden of the house he and Agnes occupied in Bramley near Guildford, Surrey.

The house was provided by the family for which William Henry was the Coachman. As time passed and the car became the normal mode of transport, he had fewer and fewer horses to look after.

William Henry Burden's sister Elizabeth married Sydney Paul in 1894, his sister Ellen married George Farley in 1899, and his sister Louisa married Arthur Arnold in 1908.

Another home (amateur) photograph of William Henry Burden in the garden of the house near Guildford, Surrey.

This is the last, i.e., most recent, photograph we have of William Henry Burden. William Henry Burden died in 1929 after which Agnes moved to a house near Godalming, Surrey, arranged by the family for which William Henry had been Coachman. She was living there when she died in 1961.

This is Leslie Burden (Les), the eldest of William Henry and Agnes Burden's 3 children.

Les was born in April 1904 while the family lived in East Coker, Somerset. Les married Alison Crookes and they had 5 children: Michael, Maureen, Marjorie, Malcolm and Millicent.

Ronald Burden (Ron), the youngest of William Henry and Agnes Burden's 3 children.

Ron was born in 1917. Ron never married but stayed at home, looking after Agnes in her later years. He worked at Kinch and Lack, a famous Outfitter in Guildford. Ron served in the Army during WWII and fought in the Market Garden Operation, landing near Nijmagen and narrowly avoiding capture when the operation failed to achieve its objective.

Marjorie Agnes Burden (Mollie), the only daughter of William Henry and Agnes Priscilla Burden, born in August 1908, between the births of Les and Ron.

This photograph was taken on a rare trip to the South coast from Godalming in the period 1920-1930.

Mollie married George Lockie on 12 September 1939 in Godalming and they had 2 children: Marquita, and Melvyn.

An early family photograph of Mollie and Leslie Burden. However, it's possible to see the likeness between Les and his father, William Henry.

Mollie with her first child, Marquita. This was taken in the garden of the house in Godalming that was arranged for Agnes after William Henry's death.

The Burden family together.

From left to right, Ron, Mollie, Agnes and Les Burden.

An early photograph of Les Burden's wife, Alice.

She was born Alison Crookes in Selkirk, Scotland.

This is Alice with Michael, the eldest of Les and Alice Burden's 5 children.

Alice with (left to right) Maureen, Marjorie and Michael.

Les Burden with Michael and Maureen.

Alice with her mother, Maureen and Michael.

A later photograph of Ron relaxing in the garden of the house in Godalming.

Ron with his dog.

Maureen.

Les and Mollie standing at William Burden's grave in Charlton Marshall, Dorset. The memorial inscription records 3 family members: William Burden (William Henry Burden's father, and therefore Les and Mollie's grandfather) who died on July 13 1915 aged 79 years, his wife Mary Ann (nee Harding) who died on January 13 1915 aged 74 years, and Ellen Farley their daughter who died on March 5 1913 aged 39 years. Ellen and George Farley (they married in 1899 in Chertsey) had 2 daughters: Winifred (Aunt Win to Les and Mollie) who was born in 1900, and Dorothy in 1903.

A unique photograph of a large gathering of Giles descendents. In about 1962, Mollie visited Aunt Lily (nee Giles) who lived in Taunton and she gathered all her relatives for this one-off family meeting. Lily Giles' first marriage (registered Jun 1902 at Yeovil) was to Arthur Ralph Rendell who died on May 10 1915 (in Iraq, WWI). Lily and Arthur had 4 children: Winifred 1900, Albert 1904, Dorothy 1906, and Irene 1911. Lily's second marriage was to Charles Coombes with whom she had 3 children: Kenneth 1918, Donald 1922 and Joan 1925. Lily died in 1969. From the left is: Mel Lockie, Marjorie Burden, Lily Giles, Donald Coombes with his sons David and Michael, Amelia Langdon (Albert Rendell's wife), ?, Hazel Toogood (Donald Coombes' wife), Marina Bowker, Doris Horner (Kenneth Coombes wife), and Kenneth Coombes.

Alice (Alison) Crooks sitting in front of siblings and parents
l/r back: William Crooks b. about 1904,
William Crooks senior b. 21 Nov 1866 d. 3 Jun 1953 m. 23 Jan 1903,
Robert Cleghorn Crooks b. 1908
l/r middle: Elizabeth Smith Crooks b. 1906,
Margaret Crooks (nee Cleghorn) b. before Dec 1869,
Janet Selbie Crooks b. 1903
Front: Alice (Alison) Crooks b. 12 Nov 1911.

Cousins Mollie Burden and Odette Paul pictured together in Dorking in May 1941.

The wedding of Odette Paul and Charles McCall in January 1946 at a Roman Catholic church in Haslemere, Surrey. The groom Charles McCall is between Odette and her bridesmaid, and Odette's mother Eugenie (Jeanne) is next to the best man. Louisa Burden is on the far left, front. William Paul, Odette's father is behind the bridesmaid. On the far right, second row, is Harold Paul carrying a 2-year old Wendy Paul while Wendy's mother is directly behind the bride. Jim Lanham, Louisa Burden's husband is directly behind the groom.

Ernest Paul and Winifred Farley.

This is the only formal portrait photograph of Susan Cundham, also known as Granny Giles. She was born in 1848 and married Edward Giles, a RN Stoker, in 1869 before living with him in Portsea, his home port. Their children were born soon after: Charles Henry (b. 1871), Sophia (b. 1873), Agnes Priscilla (b. 1879), Louise (b. 1880), and Lily (b. 1883). Charles Henry was born in Portsea, but the others were born at Susan and Edward's home in West Coker.

Lily Giles when she was a young woman. Lily was born in East Coker in 1883 and married twice. First to Ralph Rendell in 1902, with whom she had four children: Winifred, b. 1902, Albert, B.1904, Dorothy, b. 1906), and Irene, b. 1912. After Ralph Rendell's death, her second marriage was to Charles Coombes with whom she had three children: Kenneth, b. 1918, Donald, b. 1920, and Joan, b. 1923.

In her later years she was the undisputed matriarch of a large and close-knit family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

This photograph is of Susan Cundham, also known as Granny Giles, with two of her daughters. Agnes Priscilla (b. 1879) - my grandmother - on the left, and Louise (b. 1880), on the right.