Thomas Howard Russell (1879 - 1967)

Born 18 Mar 1879 in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Alice May (Hickson) Russell — married 3 Apr 1907 (to 1932) in West Ham, Essex, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 29 Jun 1967 at age 88 in Lewisham, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kenneth Evans [send private message]

Biography

Thomas 'Tom' Russell was born on 18th March 1879 in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom. He was the son of Frederick Russell and Elizabeth Willson. ^[1]

Tom married Alice Hickson in 1907 in the Registry Office, West Ham, London.

Tom Russell migrated from England to Australia.

Tom and Alice emigrated per the SS Rangatira; departing London on 5th July 1911 and arriving at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in August 1911. They travelled third class with their firstborn daughter and 42 other British immigrants. They eventually had seven children:

1. Ella Maude Russell (1909-58), never married; worked as housekeeper for several affluent Sydney families.
2. Thomas Russell (1912-12), infant mortality.
3. Howard James Frederick Russell MA (1912-2007), professor of mathematics at the University of Sydney; grandfather of actor Rel Hunt.
4. Evelyn Hazel Mary Russell (1915-2005), married Alan Weston and later Les Polack; mother-in-law of actor Denis Grosvenor.
5. Marjorie Hazel Beatrice Russell (1917-91), married 'Billy' Bunt, a pioneer interstate truck driver.
6. Selwyn Thomas Wilmot Russell (1921-75), was a truck driver.
7. Joan Mary Louise Therese Russell OAM MSc (1925-2009), scientist with the CSIRO; never married.

Tom worked as a plumber and a ship's steward.

After separating from Alice about 1932 (after several brief attempts) Tom firstly lived in the eastern Sydney suburb of Maroubra, before moving to Kurnell on the southern shores of Botany Bay. Today, Kurnell is mostly oil refineries, although a great park and museum remembers the first landing in Australia of Lieutenant James Cook RN and the HMS Endeavour in April 1770.

Tom passed away, aged 88 years, in 1967 and is buried nearby in Woronora Memorial Park. ^[2]

Historical setting

Leaving an 'old' country behind, with all the signs of a huge war looming, for a brand-new Commonwealth of Australia on the other side of the world, raised possibilities and potential. The South Pole was reached by intrepid explorers. He saw the effects of the catastrophic First World War and the traumatic days of the Second World War close to home. He was the subject of six monarchs: Queen Victoria, Kings Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI, and Queen Elizabeth II.

Sources

1. ↑ UK FreeBMD births vol 3a page 233
2. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #3126/1967; registered at Lewisham

• first hand information
• shipping transcript for SS Rangatira