William Bodger and Elizabeth Ann Bodger nee Ainsworth.
William was born at Grafham in Huntingdonshire in 1836, the third son of Charles Bodger and Jane Wright.
Elizabeth was born at Huntza Grafham in Huntingdonshire in 1841. Her parents were Daniel Ainsworth
and Elizabeth Hills. They were married at Grafham in 1865 but lived their lives in London
and Leytonstone in Essex. William and Elizabeth had eight children: Frederick, Ada, William Ainsworth,
Hector Charles, Francis, Arthur Joseph, Mabel and Herbert Ainsworth.
Ada and Mabel Bodger c1931.
Ada and Mabel were the older sisters of Herbert Ainsworth Bodger.
Ada was born in Marylebone in London in 1871, the oldest daughter of
William and Elizabeth Bodger (nee Ainsworth). Her sister Mabel was born
in Leytonstone in Essex in 1884. The 1901 census shows both girls as single and
living with their parents and siblings at 56 Chadwith Road in Leyton in Essex.
By 1931 Ada had married a William Unknown (see the photo below).
We don't know as yet whether she and Will had children. Ian and Moina Bodger
tell us that Mabel never married, and lived most of her life in Portsmouth in Hampshire.
She died there in 1962, aged 78 years.
Frederick Ainsworth Bodger.
Frederick, or Fred, was born at Marylebone in London in 1866,
the eldest son of William Bodger and Elizabeth Ainsworth. In 1901
he was living with his parents at Leyton in Essex and working as a publisher's clerk
(as his photograph shows he was also a keen amateur artist).
We don't know if Fred married. He died in 1927.
William Ainsworth Bodger.
William was born at Stoke Newington in England in 1873,
the second eldest son of William Bodger and Elizabeth Ainsworth. In 1901
he was living with his parents at Leyton in Essex and working as a carriage builder.
The British archives indicate that he served in the First World War in the
Royal Field Artillery rising to the rank of Warrant Officer Class II.
Taken in England in 1931 during Herbert and Edith's honeymoon visit,
this photo is of, from right to left, Herbert Ainsworth Bodger ('Bert'),
his sister Ada Bodger, Ada's husband William (or 'Will') and
Herbert's older brother William Ainsworth Bodger.
Hector Charles Bodger and his wife Florence Beatrice Fountain.
Born in London in 1874, Hector joined the Royal Navy sometime before 1891.
He married Florence at West Ham in London in 1909. She was
born at Bow in London in 1889. Hector and Florence had seven children before
Hector's death in 1919. Florence later married Albert Ernest Cooper
and died in Romford in Essex in 1979, aged 89 years.
The photo on the left is of Herbert Ainsworth ('Bert') Bodger and his wife
Edith Maud ('Edie') Bodger (nee Bennett) in New Guinea in the early 1930s.
Bert and Edie met at Edie Creek in New Guinea and were married there on 22 August 1931.
The photo on the right shows Edie and her son Ian Ainsworth Bodger about to walk from
Edie Creek to Wau (Ian and Moina tell us that there was then 'no road between Wau and Edie Creek,
only a narrow bush track, which meant they had to walk and carry all their possessions.
Wau was 1300m altitude and Edie Creek 2200m').
Bert and Edie about to fly from Wau to Salamaua.
The following two images are of postcards sent to Bert from England before the First World War.
At that time he was working on his farm 'Utopia' at Gin Gin in Queensland
(Gin Gin is some 50 kilometres inland from Bundaberg).
This card of 'The First UK Aerial Post' was sent to Bert on 13 September 1911 by his older brother Arthur.
Arthur was then living at 46 Fairlop Road in Leytonstone in Essex. On the back is written: 'This card is a
bit of a novelty, it being one of those carried by the first Aeroplane post. They are sent from Hendon
to Windsor by air and are then sent on to their destination by the usual channels. The first airman
travelled with the mail at the rate of about 120 miles an hour. The second merchant made a bloomer,
came down wallop to break both his legs. Hence the postmaster's notice that he does not take
responsibility for delays.
This card of the Titanic was also sent by Arthur on 3 May 1912, less than a month after the liner
was sunk in a collision with an iceberg on 14 April the same year.
