Occupiers of No. 8 Gloucester Road

Percy & Beatrice Hand

We do not know who occupied number 8 after the Pitchers.  The next family we can clearly identify as living there is that of Percy Hand.   The earliest electoral roll we have seen so far that shows the Hands in number 8 is that of 1932.

Percy has caused us some concern as we heard several different stories about him.  One that he worked for BAC, another person said that he worked as a tile cutter for Edmund Cullimore in his brickworks.  Both these people said that Percy was well known as a football referee.  We were told that when he died there was a big funeral organised by the Bristol and District Football Association and attended by a number of their members who turned out in full referee outfits.  However we were also told that Percy was definitely working as a senior cutter for Thomas Cox Smith & Son, a tailor at Porch House in Castle Street.

It took us some time to realise that amazingly there were two Percy Hands, both of whom were said to be living in the terrace.  It was the Percy Herbert Hand, the tailor, who lived in number 8.  Win Jenkins (who was later to live next door at number 10) told us that as a young girl she had delivered newspapers to Percy the tailor at number 8.  She also said that the other Percy William Hand, the referee, lived next door at Laburnum House.  This Percy was to move from Gloucester Road to live at Eastlands Road.

Percival Herbert Hand was born in Bedminster, Bristol in 1896.   He lived at a house in Easton Hill, Crossways from 1926 in a house owned by P. G. Hawkins. He was paying a rent of £7 16s per quarter.  Percy vacated this house on 24th June 1930.  We don't know whether he moved directly to Gloucester Road or lived elsewhere for a short time.  He lived at number 8 with his wife, Beatrice Louise Hand.  The Council School records show that their son, Raymond Frank, entered the school in 1930 and another, Derek James, entered in 1939.  Win Jenkins had said that the family had three sons.

Raymond joined the RAF and was still in uniform when he married in Upton in December 1949.  His wife was Joan Godwin.

Beatrice died in September 1969 aged 73.  The 1970 electoral register lists just Percy as living in the house.   It appears that Percy moved to Tetbury, as he was there when he died in October 1973 aged 75.  His body was brought back to Thornbury for the funeral.

We do not know the connection between the two Hands families, but an elderly neighbour who used to deliver newspapers to the two families has said that she thinks they were cousins.
 

This page was last updated: 21/03/2012