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| Site contents © Copyright Michael Crouch, 2009. This web site was launched on 7 June 1998 |
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The Crouch and Woodcock families Greenford, Middlesex Archibald and Florence Crouch had the first of their four sons in 1932. John Aleric Crouch was followed in 1934 by Raymond Edward Crouch, by Peter Norman Crouch in 1936, and by my father, Francis David Crouch on December 19, 1937. Almost one month later, Pamela Woodcock, my mother, was born on January 16, 1938 to Ernest and Kathleen Woodcock. A sister, Patricia Woodcock followed in 1940. Kathleen Ellen Jefferson's job as a telephone switchboard operator came to an end when she, Ernest and the two daughters moved from Stamford Grange in Hampshire into London. With the outbreak of the Second World War, many services in Britain became increasingly depleted of manpower. As a consequence, Ernest Woodcock joined the Voluntary Police Service, a kind of Dad's Army for the police force. This spanned from approximately 1940 through to the late 40's when he then joined the British Broadcasting Corporation as a House Foreman at the BBC's Delaware Road site in 1949. By now the family were living in Olive Road, Cricklewood in London. The Crouch family and their sons were living in Elton Avenue in Greenford, London. It is in Greenford that the Woodcock and Crouch families came together. The Woodcock family had moved from Cricklewood to Greenford to get away from the built-up confines of the city and move into the suburbs, many of which including Greenford backed up onto open country. My mother, Pamela, then aged 17, had been working for Phyllis Earle Hairdressers in Dover Street, Picadilly, a job she held for about four years. My grandfather, Ernest, was now employed by the BBC and Kathleen enjoyed working in a local newsagent store in Cricklewood. My father, Francis David Crouch, was born in Greenford and had worked for a firm laying baize cloth onto billiard tables. In 1956, like many men of his age since the war, he received his call-up papers for his National Service tour of duty. He was drafted into the Royal Horse Guards, no. 23313283, and stationed in Cyprus for the best part of two years. Cyprus was under British occupation and the army was expected to maintain the peace and combat the activities of the islands EOKA terrorists who supported Cypriot independence. The days however were largely idle ones and David (he never liked the name Francis) would volunteer for special duties just to stave off the boredom of sitting around. The hostilities were fairly remote and relations with most of the local people were good. David would escort senior officers from place-to-place in armoured scout cars, and upon leaving the army in 1958, his papers declared him to be holding the position of "Batman"! Francis David Crouch returned to Greenford and shortly after he met Pamela Woodcock at her 21st Birthday party. They were married in All Hallows Church in Elton Avenue, Greenford on September 9, 1961. They have two daughters, a son (myself) and three grandchildren. Following many generations in different locales and following different lives in different levels of society, the family continues to forge new directions and new histories. |
The Marriage of Francis David Crouch |
