Taken some time around 1944. Click image for larger version.

This picture was taken on 11 July 1949 outside their house at Horsford Street, Weymouth, Dorset, England. I suspect the bicycle belonged to their future son-in-law, Pat Smith, who married their daughter Joan.

I don't know a great deal about Alec. He was known as "Frenchy" at school because his mother was French. She came from the South West of France and Alec inherited the dark Mediterranean good looks. He was never one to mince his words. If a visiting lady had perhaps put on a little weight, Alec would have to say "Daidy gal - you've got big!". Needless to say, his comments weren't always popular with the females of the family, but everyone loved him.

I'm not sure where he was born but believe it was in Dorset somewhere. I remember the word "rabbit" must never be used in the house as it brought bad luck. I assume that's a Dorset superstition?

I believe Alec spent most of his working life working for the Devenish breweries at Hope Square, Weymouth, Dorset, England. I have an undated newspaper clipping that marks his retirement which I assume in those days would have been at the age of 65 years, thus in 1967. It says:
"Nine men, all with 40 or more years brewery work at Weymouth, have had their service marked by the presentation of gold watches by Mr A E Ledger-Hill, chairman of the Devenish Weymouth Brewery........ Mr A Stroud, who started in the boiler house in 1920, switched to transport for nearly 30 years and became chargehand in the cask shed with the merger."

I don't know a great deal about Phillys other than she started work at an early age - she went "into service" at the newly built St Edmund's School in Grayshott, Hampshire, England. She was also in service at Park Prewitt Hospital on the outskirts of Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Phyllis is shown above, front, left of the photo (click on image for larger version). I'm not sure if this was taken at St. Edmunds School or at Park Prewitt Hospital. St. Edmund's school was established in 1874, is still going strong and coincidentally, is just a mile and a bit north of where I now live in Bramshott. Park Prewitt Hospital was closed in the 1980's.
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Phyllis told me a story once about when her family went to visit her at the school in Grayshott. She told my father Harold, who was just a small boy at the time, to behave himself and to not run around on the highly polished floor with his outside shoes on. Of course, being a small boy, he did exactly that, skidded and fell outside the headmistresses office.
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She married Alec in 1928 and they moved to live at Horsford Street, Weymouth, Dorset, England behind the brewery where Alec was employed. They lived in Horsford Street all of their married lives. I remember them living at No. 18 but was told that for several years they lived in No.23, the house on the opposite side of the road. I have seen photographs of Phillys with her two children outside No.23, dated from about 1934/35.
During the war years, whilst Alec was away at war, Phillys went with her children Roy and Joan to stay with her parents George and Evelyn Knibbs in Basingstoke, Hampshire.
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I have in my possession an old family Bible that I remember my father bringing home after his father, George Levi Knibbs died. On the front cover it says "Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge 1698". Inside the front cover is written Smith, Binder. Feb 1834. Whilst the words are clearly printed onto the paper, the dates look as if they were stamped separately so I am presuming this is the date when the Bible was completed ready for sale.

If you go to the following webpage, and click anywhere on the image of the bible page, it will flip over. On the reverse you will see a recording of Phillys' birth. It's written as "Georges baby born august 11 phylliss evelin"

Please view the pages from Hannah's Bible

Inside the front cover is written in very neat handwriting:
Hannah
Middle Aston
Oxfordshire

Hannah woud be Hannah Markham, the Great Grandmother of Phillys.
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Above Hannah's name there are some other names and dates:
James Cother
11th April 1851
Sarah his wife died
9th Feby 1850
Emma their Daughter died
6th Nov 1838
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On the opposite page is written in very different writing
J Knibbs
Married Feb 15 1895

Georges baby born august 11 phylliss evelin

J Knibbs is Hannah's grandson James. George is another of her grandsons. Phylliss Eveline would have been her great-granddaughter who was born in 1904, and probably after Hannah herself had died.