George and Evelyn, taken during the mid-1970's outside their home at No.3, Phoenix Park Terrace, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Click to enlarge.


See George and Eveline's Marriage Certificate

The marriage was witnessed by Ben Isaac Dibden and Amy Knibbs. Amy was George's younger sister, and I suspect that Ben was a work colleague from the Great Western Railway, and probably Best Man at the wedding.

Carole Steele is connected into the same family as Ben, and she tells me that Ben was also a railway porter and in 1901 he was boarding in Hungerford. Hungerford is a stone's throw from Basingstoke and probably just a few stops "down the line" on the old GWR.

Carole also told me that Ben Isaac Dibden was born Dec qtr. 1881 in Wallingford district, Oxfordshire, England, the son of Mark and Eliza (nee Rampling) Dibden. At the 1891 census, he was living in Caversham, Oxfordshire with his parents and siblings, aged 9, born Hagbourne; at the 1901 census, he was aged 19, living at Hungerford, boarding with Elizabeth Bailey. His occupation was that of porter on the railway, the same as George. Ben married in the September qtr, of 1917, in the Gloucester district, to Eva Rose Winfield, and we believe they remained in Gloucester. Ben died 15th January 1938 at the Royal Infirmary Gloucester.

Ben's Dibden family hail from Bramshaw, in the New Forest, Hampshire, England

In George and Ben's days I believe it was not uncommon for workers on the GWR to live quite long distances from where they actually worked. So long as it was somewhere along the railway line, they simply hopped onto a train for free transport to and from work. So, despite living some distance from eachother, they may well have both been employed at the same railway station on the GWR network.

See George's Birth Certificate

See George's Death Certificate

The above photo shows George Levi Knibbs with his wife Evelyn and three children Harold, Phillys (centre) and Winifred. It was taken in 1945, shortly after Harold returned from war. Click the image to see a larger version.
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Between 1888-1895, George Levi worked for for his uncle Thomas Wright at St. James Farm, Clifton, Oxfordshire, England. Thomas Wright gave him a
glowing reference
when he left his employment.
George is next seen aged 24 years living at Basingstoke, Hampshire at the 1901 census.
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Later in life, George worked for the Great Western Railway as a shunter and finally a porter at Basingstoke railway station. He became a member of the Great Western Railway Servants' Pension Fund on 24th November 1900, so I assume he joined the company at around that time. He was well known for his wit and sense of humor. When asked "When is the next train due?" his favorite reply was "You've missed it - the next train has just gone!". I'm not sure that would go down well with the commuters these days.

His pension fund membership was under the name of Levi Knibbs. I think Levi was his preferred name and it came as a surprise to me when I discovered he was George Levi rather than Levi George.
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George can be seen in the 1901 census living at 42 Bunnian Place, Basingstoke, Hampshire, boarding with a man named Ernest Bone and his wife. Bunnian Place was just about 200 yards from where George eventually settled in Phoenix Park Terrace with his wife.
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We see George and his family in 1911 living at 3 Phoenix Park Terrace, Basingstoke, Hampshire:
Levi George Knibbs Head Married M 34 Shunter Oxfordsahire Parish of Deddington
Eveline Knibbs Wife Married 7 F 30 warwickshire Leamington
Phyllis Knibbs Daughter 6 Hampshire Basingstoke
Winifred Knibbs Daughter 1 Hampshire Basingstoke
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I'm told by his daughter Winifred that George was a very vain man. One day during a blackout in WWII, he fell off the end of Basingstoke railway station and blacked one of his eyes. Apparently, he wouldn't leave the house until all the bruising had disappeared. More recently, I came across a photograph of George, taken in his mid to late 20's. Close examination of the photograph showed that some of the hair (where he was already thinning on top) had been drawn on with a pencil - another example of his vanity perhaps?
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George was a keen gardener into his 80's and tended a large allotment close to his home in Phoenix Park Terrace in Basingstoke. He was a very fit and very smart man. I remember from my childhood that even into his 80's, every Sunday afternoon, he would dress up in his best suit and walk from his home on one side of Basingstoke to my parent's home on the other side - a distance of 5-6 miles. He'd give us kids a bag of sweets, have a cup of tea and piece of cake (or "cayek" as he called it) and then catch the bus back home. Quite often, in the summer months, he and my dad would walk a couple of miles in towards Basingstoke to the Stag & Hounds public house. They'd have a couple of drinks together and would each catch the bus home.
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George and his wife Evelyn lived above, at No.3 Phoenix Park Terrace in Basingstoke for all of their married lives. Click the image to see a larger version. Phoenix Park Terrace is just about 200 yards from Basingstoke railway station, so nice and convenient for George's work. In the 1950's the Basingstoke agricultural market was held on the land between Phoenix Park Terrace and the station.
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George is buried at Section G No. 626, Worting Road Cemetery, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England with his wife Evelyn. The ashes of their granddaughter Elizabeth Joy Knibbs were placed with them in 1975.

Eveline Knibbs, probably in 1903 at about the time she and George Married. She would have been around 23 years old..
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I was told by Sarah Ethel's daughter that Evelyn and George Levi Knibbs' sister Sarah Ethel were friends working in service together at Warwick. Sarah Ethel took her home to Clifton one Christmas and that was when she met George Levi.
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I remember being told by my mother that Evelyn was illegitimate. My research supports that.
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Evelyn always suffered from what she described as "the screws" which I believe was rheumatism.
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Identified in the 1881 British Census as living at 9 Norfolk Street, Leamington Priors, Warwick. She was then 7 months old living with her mother Emma and presumably, her grandmother Hannah, a widow aged 76.
Richard BURROWS Head M Male 30 Oxford, Oxford, England Tailor
Helen BURROWS Wife M Female 28 Oxford, Oxford, England Tailors Wife
Louisa BURROWS Daur Female 4 Leamington, Warwick, England
Mabel BURROWS Daur Female 3 Leamington, Warwick, England
Ethel BURROWS Daur Female 1 Leamington, Warwick, England
Sarah MORRIS Lodger U Female 51 Birmingham, Warwick, England Seamstress
Hannah BUTLER Lodger W Female 76 B, Warwick, England In Receipt Of Parish Relief
Emma BUTLER Lodger U Female 26 Whitnash, Warwick, England Dressmaker
Eveline BUTLER Lodger Female 7 m Warwick, Warwick, England

They were all living as lodgers with Richard Burrows, his wife Helen, his three children and another lodger named Sarah Morris, aged 51 from Birmingham.
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At Christmas 1899, she was presented with a Book of Common Prayer from the Reverend H G Dorre (or Dorne) that was purchased from a booksellers in Leamington. I wonder if perhaps she was baptised or confirmed into the church at that time.
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Eveline can be seen in 1901, age 20 years, working as a General Domestic Servant at 74 Cowley Road, Cowley St John, in the Borough of Oxford.
Eveline BUTLER, 20, general domestic, Warwick Leamington

She was employed in the household of Walter Brooks, a Coal Merchants Clerk and Draper.
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Evelyn is buried at Worting Road Cemetery, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England at Section G, No.626.