William & Cordelia nee Halder

see Family Tree

(generation 20 W&CH William = Cordelia)

William, 'Will', was born during 1875 in Aston, the son of Henry and Ann Salisbury and the grandson of John and Esther Whitehouse. In 1881 he was living with his father at Dudley and separate from his sisters. He was mad on cricket and was a supporter of Gloucester presumably from his time in Cheltenham. Family legend is that he won a choral scholarship to Kings College Cambridge.

In 1906 he married Cordelia Longridge Halder at Holy Trinity Church in Heworth, York. She was known as 'Corry' to her friends and became known in the Trease family as "Froggie" or "Frog", possibly because she wore fashionable clothes in the French style. As Will seemed to have a nickname for everyone, it is possible that he was the originator of this name.

Will had known Froggie since she was 17 or younger. Her father, Charles Halder, was a builder in York. Her brother, Will, lived in Stillington, a village in the Vale of York and never married. Her sister. Amy, never married but lived with a Doctor Lakin in Thornton-le-Dale, a picturesque village between York and Scarborough. It appears that Doctor Lakin did once have a legal wife by whom he had a daughter 'Sissy'. Sissy, Amy, and Froggie who were all about the same age and the best of friends, used to go out together.

Will and Froggie lived in a flamboyant lifestyle. When he was courting, Will used to cause a stir by driving up to her house in Heworth in a pony and trap to take her out. After marriage, they appear to have lived in the Manchester area where they had four children two of whom died in infancy.

When he married, Will was a draper, no doubt introduced to this career by his Uncle William. From 1910, he also had a portfolio of residential properties which provided an income. For a time he ran a collar renewal business with a man called Bush but the business failed taking much of Will's money with it. About 1928 he moved the family to temporary accommodation in Manchester while he came down to London to find work. Initially he stayed with his sister Florence at St. James Drive before finding 'digs' in Ladbroke Grove. Florence persuaded her husband to give Will a job but moneylending wasn't Will's "cup of tea" and the job did not last long. Will then bought/leased a property in Clanricarde Gardens in Notting Hill Gate W.2 which he sub-let into flats and the family lived there. Will found it difficult to let the rooms because of the depression and eventually he sold the lease/property.

About 1935 Will bought the lease of a hotel called Palace Court. He ran this business for several years but it had to close because it was not profitable. Will then bought a large house in Tulse Hill and advertised for a paying guest. Doris, whose German husband had been interned, applied. While Doris went to work, her son was looked after by Frog and Will. Doris and Frog became lifelong friends. The son became an insurance broker and retired to the Channel Islands.

Frog and Will lived at Tulse Hill until Will died on 26th August 1946. Will almost certainly died of penicillin poisoning. He was taking penicillin for a leg infection. By all accounts, Will was a larger than life character, very easy going, full of fun, and a genuine friend. Everybody seemed to speak of Will with great affection and memories of him brought a chuckle.

After he died, Frog became a “companion/home help” mainly to old people. She always looked much younger than her real age. Many of the old people she companioned did not realize she was older than they were! Eventually she went into a nursing home in Brighton, where she died in 1974 aged 92.

• Son, Kenneth Henry, was born in 1908 in Manchester. He was educated at Bowden college. Like his father, 'Ken' was very easy going and he and Will were the very best of friends. They enjoyed fishing, shooting, and sports. His cousin Ivan recollected 'I was always in awe of cousin Ken because he was so much older than me; knew about wireless in the early days and also knew about fishing. I remember he made our first crystal set in a cigar box, about 1924/1925 - it was the only set we had until I made a valve set when I was about 13.'
  Ken worked for an electronics company in South London and because of his work he was excused active service during the Second world War. After the war he certainly worked for Mullard Research laboratories. He retired to Brighton.
  As he grew older Ken was increasingly affected by asthma although he never had experienced it when he was younger. Eventually he became a chronic asthma sufferer and used to take Ventillin regularly throughout the day. He died in Brighton from a chronic asthma attack.
  
  
• Son, Derek, was born in 1912 in Manchester and died the following year. Will's sister, Florence, writes in a postcard dated June 13th 1913 'Will has sent me several cards about poor little baby Derek & yesterday the final one what a terrible trouble it will be to them for they are so fond of their kiddies, hard lines to lose him at 18 months when the worst was really over with him - I am very grieved about it & keep thinking about them'
  
  
• Son, Gordon William, was born in 1915 in Manchester. He was always known as 'Bill'. After a number of clerical jobs he became director of a private manufacturing company in West London. After the business was sold he became a buyer for a linen supply company. A contemporary observation of him and his brother was 'Both Ken and Bill were workaholics. I remember Bill never talked much but when he did speak it was worth waiting for.' Like his brother, he suffered from asthma. In his later years, he suffered increasingly from Parkinsons Disease. Bill retired in Hillingdon where he died.
  
  
• Daughter, Joan was born in 1920 in Manchester and died the same year