Walter Roland Reed (1906 - 1956)

Born 3 Apr 1906 in Reading, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Lilian Johnson (Sibley) Reed — married 1926 in Reading, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Mary Duncan Lamond (Innes) Conroy — married before 1943 in England, United Kingdom

Died 1956 at about age 49 in United States

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Biography

Walter's birth was registered in undefined in the Reading district.^[1] Siblings: William Henry Nicholas Reed 1885–1954, John Style Reed 1886–, Frederick James Reed 1888–1964, Sidney James Reed 1891–1967, Claude Reed 1896–1946, Lilian Emily Beatrice Eliza Jane Reed 1900–1982. His father worked for the railway.

Family in 1911 in Gulval, Cornwall England:

• John Style Reed Head Male 50 b. Tiverton, Devonshire
• Eliza Jane Reed Wife Female 47 b. Redruth, Cornwall
• Fredrick James Reed Son Male 23 b. Barnstaple, Devonshire
• Claud Reed Son Male 15 b. Birmingham, Warwickshire
• Lillian Reed Daughter Female 11 b. Reading, Berkshire
• Walter Reed Son Male 5 b. Reading, Berkshire

In the 1921 census, Walter (age 15) was the son of John Style Reed at 103, St George's Road, Reading, Berkshire, England.^[2]

He married Lilian Johnson Sibley (1901-1972) in July of 1926. They had five children and lived in Reading. (Lilian's half brother George Wyer married Walter's sister Lilian in 1937.)

In 1930 Walter lived at 103 St George's Road in Tilehurst Berkshire. Other adults at that address were his father John, wife and sister Lilian Emily Reed and Lilian Beatrice Reed.

In 1933 and 1937 there is a Walter R. Reed living at 'Yeoman Cottage' in Great and Little Henny Essex.

During the 1939 Register Walter was living at 15 Prospect Hill Stourbridge as a boarder to Albert and Mary Lexton: "Walter R Reed, 03 Apr 1906, Male, Communication Engineer Telephone & Telegraphs Silmens Bros Employed On Gpc Contracts, Single".

Walter met Mary Duncan Lamond Innes. They had 4 children together. The first child was born in Essex in 1943, the last in Manchester in 1953.

"Walter worked as an electronics engineer (had a PhD), during the war specialising in antisubmarine warfare. He had patented a design for making anti submarine netting. (At some point) he ... was unable to get a job suitable to his qualifications (in England). He applied to work in America – perhaps on the new space rocket program - he got a job and flew over to the states but died very shortly after, in 1956. Details of his death are very few and far between, but the government in the U.S. paid for his cremation and flew his ashes home."^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Registration: "England & Wales Births 1837-2006"
   Volume: 2C; Page: 358
   FindMyPast Image - FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 19 April 2024)
   Walter Roland Reed birth registered in Reading, mother's maiden name Jenkins.
2. ↑ 1921 Census: "1921 Census Of England & Wales"
   Archive: The National Archives; Series: RG 15; Piece number: 05977; District reference: RD 121 RS 1 ED 21
   FindMyPast Image - FindMyPast Transcription (accessed 19 April 2024)
   Walter Rowland Reed (15) son in household of John Style Reed (60) at 103, St George's Road in Reading registration district in Berkshire, England. Born in Reading, Berkshire, England.
3. ↑ Correspondence from P. Reed 2022.

• England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7G9-QBP : 18 July 2019), Walter Reed in household of John Style Reed, Gulval, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• 1st marriage to Lilian Sibley: England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZY-DC3H : 8 October 2014), Walter R Reed and null, 1926; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1926, quarter 3, vol. 2C, p. 1026, Reading, Berkshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England

• 1930 Electoral Roll: Berkshire Record Office; Reading, Berkshire, England; Berkshire Electoral Registers.

• U.K., City and County Directories, 1600s-1900s England Essex 1937 Kelly's Directory. U.K., City and County Directories, 1600s-1900s England Essex 1933 Kelly's Directory.

• 1939 Register Ref: RG101/5796D/007/27 Letter Code: QJQD © Findmypast Ltd

• Ancestry Family Trees

• Second marriage record for Mary D. L. Reed.