Charles Joseph Saddington (1870 - 1916)

This post comes to you courtesy of Google, without which I may never have come across the Great Explosion at Faversham, Kent which took the life of the subject of this post.

Charles Joseph Saddington was born in Margate in the December quarter of 1870, the second son of Charles Saddington and Ann Long.

The family appears on the 1871 census at 2 Wheatleys Place, Margate, but under the name of Long. This is, I believe, because Charles and Ann are not yet legally married despite having registered their three existing children under the name Saddington.

In 1871, Charles Long (otherwise Saddington) is enumerated as a 36 year old bricklayer born in Oundle, Northants (where many Saddingtons can be found). Ann Long is enumerated as a 33 year old laundress born in Reading Street, Kent. The children were enumerated as Susannah and Louisa, aged 11 and 9, both scholars and born in Lambeth, London, [probably Ann Long's daughters by a previous relationship as they are registered as Long] and Mary A, age 4, John, age 2, and Charles, age 5 months, all born in Margate, Kent and the elder two being scholars.

A second daughter, Elizabeth Jane, was born in the December quarter of 1872 in Margate.

It may be that Charles and Ann were waiting for Ann's previous husband to die or otherwise disappear as they did not marry until the June quarter of 1873, possibly at St Laurence in Thanet, Margate.

The now legalised family was increased by the birth of Isaac Robert in the September quarter of 1875 and Ellen in the June quarter of 1878, both in the Thanet Registration District.

Then tragedy struck. Charles Saddington died in the March quarter of 1881, apparently aged 48. The date of death can be narrowed down to being before 3 April 1881 because Ann Saddington appears on the 1881 census held on that date as a widow.

In 1881, the Saddington family were living at 73 Dane Road, Margate. Ann was enumerated as a 46 year old widow, working as a laundress. Living with her was her son, William Long (presumably from the same relationship as Susannah and Louisa), aged 23 and a fisherman born in Lambeth. All six of the children from her relationship with Charles Saddington were also living with her from Mary, now aged 14 and a general servant, through to Ellen (enumerated as Nelly) age 2. Also lodging with the family was one Ellen L Raymond, a 47 year old single woman born in Gloucester who was living on the income from an allowance.

By the 1891 census, the family had moved on, back to Lambeth. Ann Saddington, now a 52 year old widow working as a 'washer', was sharing 3 rooms at 1 Neptune Cottages, Lambeth, with her three sons, John (a bus conductor, age 22), Charles (a waiter, age 20) and Isaac (enumerated as Robert, a van boy, age 16), and two of her daughters, Mary (an ironer, age 24) and Elizabeth (an ironer, age 19). What has happened to Ellen/Nelly, as yet I do not know.

I have been unable to locate Charles Joseph Saddington in the 1901 census as yet, and there is the possibility that he might be overseas, perhaps fighting in the Boer War in South Africa.

However, by the June quarter of 1906, he has reappeared and proceeds to marry Susan Gibbs in the Steyning Registration District. This is none too soon as their first child, Susan Annie E Saddington, is born in the December quarter of 1906, again in the Steyning Registration District. A son, Charles Joseph, follows in the September quarter of 1908, this time in the Brighton Registration District.

There was obviously something about Lambeth which attracted this branch of the Saddington family because the 1911 census finds Charles Joseph and his family living at 2a Wheatsheaf Lane, South Lambeth. Charles is enumerated as a 36 year old laundryman, married for 6 years with both children of the marriage still living. Susan is enumerated as aged 30 and born in Canterbury, Kent.

The evidence seems to show that Charles Joseph and Susan had two more children whilst living in Lambeth; Kathleen L, born in the March quarter of 1912, and William F, born in the September quarter of 1914.

At some point after the birth of William, the family moved back to Margate and Charles Joseph got a job at the Explosive Loading Company's factory at Uplees near Faversham, about 27 miles away.

At 2.20pm, on Sunday 2 April 1916, some empty sacks caught fire at the factory, resulting in the explosion of 15 tons of TNT and 150 tons of ammonium nitrate. The explosion was so huge that it shattered windows in Southend on the other side of the Thames and the tremor could be felt in Norwich. Details can be found on a number of websites including Faversham's own website, the Kent section of the Roll of Honour website, and Wikipedia amongst others.

The death toll totalled 109 men and boys, including the whole of the Works Fire Brigade and Charles Joseph Saddington. The female members of the factory's workforce was saved by the fact that it was Sunday and women were not permitted to work the Sunday shifts.

Charles Joseph Saddington's body could not be identified following the explosion and so he has no death certificate. Whatever was found of him was buried in a mass grave on 6 April 1916 at the Faversham Borough Cemetery. He is named on the grave as J. Saddington because, as stated in his obituary in the Isle of Thanet Gazette of 22 April 1916, he was generally known as 'Joe'.

According to John Breeze's "Faversham Explosives Personnel Register 1841 - 1934,Part 3: S-Z", he is however listed on the Margate War Memorial as "C.J. Saddington, killed in Faversham munitions explosion".

At the time of Charles Joseph's death, the family were living at 205 High Street, Margate. What happened to them after his death, I am not yet sure. But if you are descended from Charles Joseph Saddington or any of his siblings, I would be delighted to hear from you.