september 29th 1902 Edith Charlotte NewMAN NEE FLOWERS TO FRANK JAMES FLOWERS

TORQUAY, devon TO NORWICH, norfolk

336 miles

The Message

"Monday

We are having a splendid time here & wish you + Lou could see the place, Edie"
 

The Sender

The sender is Edith Charlotte Newman nee Flowers (1864-1939). She was the older sister of the recipient Frank James Flowers. Edith married George Samuel Newman (1864-1939) in 1889. George worked on the railways and they lived in West Ham. They had three children, Henry George (1892-?), Frank Edward (1894-1960) and Kathleen Edith (1904-1998). My assumption is that working on the railways meant that George got cheap tickets because going to Torquay from Leyton in 1902 was quite a journey with, at the time, two young children. In 1911 George is listed in the census as a Railway Canvasser and this was apparently a salesman who went out looking for freight business for the railway.

The Recipient

The recipient is Frank James Flowers (1872-1940) and he is the younger brother of Edith. The Lou referred to is Louise Flowers nee Reeve (1873-1958). Frank is the son of Henry Zachariah Thompson Flowers (1832-1909), former mayor of Norwich and Charlotte Denton (1831-1909). Note that Frank and Louise' s address is Denton House, although in reality, when you look at the 1901 census, it is number 60, Gloucester Street. Frank was a printer by trade. An example of his work is "The Rules of the Norwich District Branch of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, Manchester Unity Friendly Society" printed in 1905. His father Henry was also a printer. Frank and Louise had two children. The first Phyllis Louie Flowers (1905-1905) sadly died in infancy. The second was Cyril Denton Flowers (1909-2004).

The Places

Torquay

Norwich

what the card says to us

Apart from the distance travelled, the most striking thing about it is that the message has been written on the front in the border around the picture of Torquay. Otherwise it is a simple holiday postcard, albeit late summer, from a sister to her younger brother. It does make you wonder why someone kept it and how, after over 100 years it has come to light.

This is partly explained because it is the first of three cards sent to the Flowers family at this address. For the others see

and