Tom Bramwell

Tom Bramwell was the second child & first son of Joseph Henry Bramwell & Edith Lillian Payne.

He was born on 6 Jul 1915 in Pontefract, Yorkshire

After the death of his sister, the family moved to Kent.

He married Kathleen Amy Eastland on 16 Nov 1940 at the Parish Church, Minster, Thanet, Kent. Kathleen was the daughter of Walter Elvy Eastland & Ellen Matilda Notley & was born on 12 Nov 1919 in Minster, Thanet

They had 3 children:
Joseph Henry Bramwell
Valerie Ann Bramwell
Peter John Bramwell

Uncle Joe the shorter told me, the reason Tom had returned from Kent to Chapel-en-le-Frith was because they had asked him (as the eldest son) to carry on the Sextonship of the Parish Church. He used to dig the graves and was vey good at his job. He would dig them very deep and the sides were as straight as you could get them and none of them ever collapsed. But he would only get a few shillings for each of them. Uncle Joe said he was always drinking and had a lot of arguements and fallings out with the vicar of the church too. Next door to the church, going down Burrfields, was a big factory called Ferodo Brake Linings. The men earn't a lot of money there and so he left the church and went to work at Ferodo. He was the last Bramwell to be Sexton of the church.

They lived at 64 Park Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith. Around 1972 Tom & Kathleen divorced and Kathleen took the youngest son Peter to Epsom in Surrey. Joe & Val were married by this time.

A few years later, Tom left Park Road and went to live in London with his son Peter where he died on 10 Nov 1983.

Uncle Joe the shorter told me that a lady stopped him in the street one day (in Chapel-en-le-Frith) and asked him what he wanted done with his brother Tom's ashes? Uncle Joe had no idea that he had even died. Apparently Peter Bramwell, Tom's son, had had him cremated in London. (He had lived with them for the last few years of his life.) He had bought his ashes back to Chapel and left them in a plastic bag in the vestry of the church with a note attached, saying, his last wish was to be put in the same grave as his grandparents, Peter & Susannah Bramwell. Uncle Joe contacted a few members of the family but not many wanted to know. Tom had been divorced from his wife, Kathleen, for a long time and had physically & mentally abused his children and so they didn't want anything to do with him. A few older members of the family including his brother (Uncle Joe) went to the church and he was put in the grave of his grandparents. When Uncle Joe had gone to settle the bill for the funeral with the vicar , the vicar said Tom's son Peter had left enough money to cover all the expenses.