Butley is a little village in Suffolk. My Great Granny was born there although for reasons unknown she left and moved to Isfield in Sussex. So, too, did two of her sisters. In fact pretty well the whole family – surname Crosby – left Butley during the second half of the nineteenth century.
My dad took his mum to Butley at some point in the 60s and I have, somewhere, a photo of Granny standing by the school that her mum had attended. I must find it.
My first visit was another thirty years on in 1996. My wife and I camped in Suffolk and on one occasion we took our daughter and niece to the village. I photographed the school too.
It was before my own journey into genealogy, but I always had interest and I recorded a name on the list of local men who had served in World War I.
Aha – photos from the colour print era. How times have changed.
The name that interested me at the time was John Crosby.
I didn’t know at the time that a 3 greats grandfather had been a Cullingford or that a distant Crosby relative had married a Collins. Mind, I do not know of any relationship I have with Bertie Collins or Jack Cullingford.
These three, I now know were cousins of my gran. Her Aunt Eliza (née) Crosby had married Charles Mann. And I suspect there was something of a closeness between the families in Sussex and Suffolk. One of my gran’s brothers was given the forenames Charles Mann which must link him to this family. Sadly, Charles Mann Stevens died in infancy.
The Reeves were more distant relatives. William did not return from France.
Oddly, the one name of interest I can’t trace on that memorial is John Crosby. He must surely be a relative but I have not found out how John connects with the parishes mentioned or how he relates to me.