Russell Webster
25 March 1888 - 23 July 1974
Russell Webster
Russell Webster was born on 25 March 1888 in Bethnal Green, Hackney, Middlesex, England. He was the seventh born (fourth and last son) of William James Webster (1853-1928) and Elizabeth Amelia Aburn (1853-1938). His parents married in 1874 in Whitechapel in England.
Elsie and Russell's Wedding in 1920. Photo: Courtesy of Richard Marshall.
Standing (L to R) Lily Bayliss née Abbott, Unknown, Elsie Abbott (bride), Russell Webster (groom), Eric Abott, Lilian Southwick née Webster, Eve King née Abbott and Maureen King in front of Eve
On chairs: Angela Bayliss, William Webster (father of the groom), George Walter Abbott (father of the bride), Percy Webster
On the ground: Will King, Douglas Abbott
On the 27 September 1920 Russell and Elsie Mildred Abbott married. They were both five foot nine inches (about 175cm) tall. He had brown eyes and hers were green. There were no children to the marriage.
Russell's House November 1924
Photo: Percy Webster.
In 1934 Elsie applied for a divorce. Russell was the only one of the nine Webster children to divorce and he became known by some as 'the black sheep' of the family. Following the divorce Russell married Irene in France.
Russell served in WWI, and was wounded at the battle of the Somme, left for dead on the battlefield...then one of the horse drawn ambulances came along and someone saw him move, so, he was picked up and taken to an army hospital. He was shot through the jaw and I think part of his shoulder, consequently he had no feeling on one side of his face. He recovered but had recurring infections for several years afterwards. Then one day he had toothache on the side of his face that had feeling, the dentist removed the tooth, and found a massive infection in his jaw. He had all his teeth removed and [after] the doctors cleared up the infection he was fitted with a set of false teeth, and was in good health for many years. Because of the damage to [the] jaw the bone shrank and he needed to have a lot of replacement false teeth over the years. He did not talk about the war much, but it must have been a terrible ordeal, my father served in the Royal Ordinance Corp. and my father-in-law was a courier in the Queen Victoria Rifles, and sadly was exposed to mustard gas and suffered ill health afterwards. We did not eat corned beef or baked beans in our house until WWII, when we had food rationing!
Cynthia
Russell Webster at his desk.
Russell died on 23 July 1974 in Hamilton, Bermuda.
References:
Ancestry.com. London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
One page in the series The Websters of Ashleigh