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The wedding of Richard Gilbert and Elsie Hewitt at All Souls Church, Eastbourne on 15 June 1935, with a Boy Scout guard of honour.
Left to right are; Scouts, William Gilbert (groom's brother), Mabel Hewitt (bride's mother), Groom, Bride, Ellen Isabel Gilbert (groom's mother), Marjorie Hewitt (bride's sister), first scout (just visible) is Jack Stevens (groom's friend and father of Lawrence Stevens seen in Richard's 1974 picture below).
Photo; Panoramic Photo Co, 12 Terminus Road, Eastbourne.

FAMILY MEMBERS ARRANGED IN DATE ORDER

To earlier Gilbert family members

1894 - 1988 RICHARD GILBERT

Richard Gilbert around 1897. Photo; G & R Lavis, 71 Terminus Road, Eastbourne.

Born 13 May 1894, in the new bakery building, Eastbourne at 6:10 a.m.
Parents; David Gilbert (1861-1902) = Ellen Isabel Morris (1857-1951)
First school was with Miss Ensom, who lived over Gowlands bookshop, now No.22 Seaside Road, then to Sussex College on the north side of Hartfield Square.
Married; Elsie Mabel Hewitt (1906-1990) on 15 June 1935 at All Souls Church, Eastbourne. His brother William was best man. The organist was his friend Gilbert Alcock, organist at St.John's, Meads.
Children; David (born 1939), Hilary Richard (born 1947)

Robert Morris's diary extracts from "Fernhurst", London Road, Uckfield;
26 May 1894; "R.G. visited 66/67 Seaside Rd."
(In October 1902, on the death of their father, Mary and Richard were sent to "Fernhurst", Uckfield, probably partly to avoid the risk of infection, but also to reduce pressure on the Eastbourne household.)
30 April 1906; "William and Richard sailing boats on Pilt Down Pond. Richard's cutter sank."
12 Sept 1906; "Richard accidentally hit William on the forehead with a coal hammer this morning. Dr.Langdale put sticking plaster on the wound."
20 Dec 1906; "Charlotte, Mary, William and Richard arrived at 'Ryderswells' this evening." (Ryderswells, London Road, Uckfield)
15 April 1907; "Ellen arrived at Ryderswells at 1 pm, and Nelson & Richard arrived about 3 pm, having come up from Eastbourne with a sort of car on wheels, which they call a land-boat."
10 Feb 1908; "Richard sent results of Cambridge Local Examinations - William 1st class hons. Richard 3rd class hons. William had two distinctions."
15 Aug 1908; "This evening we received a post card from Mrs.Gilbert informing us that Richard has broken his arm at St.Anthony's Hill - probably at the Martello Tower."
17 Aug 1908; "Richard is progressing very favourably. He is walking about."
25 Aug 1908; "Richard arrived from Eastbourne this evening. He has his left arm in sling."
23 Apr 1909; "Richard spent day at Uckfield with 3 school fellows."
17 Jan 1910; "Mary & Richard returned to Eastbourne this morning."
30 May 1910; "Richard is in bed ill."
8 Jun 1910; "Mary, Ellen and Richard to Protestant Demonstration at Lewes."

22 Sept 1911; "Richard arrived at Ryderswells late this evening."
6 Jul 1912; "Richard here this evening on bicycle, returned to Eastbourne later."
15 Feb 1913; "Richard spent the day at Ryderswells."
13 Sept 1913; "Richard arrived on bicycle this afternoon."
4 Oct 1913; "Richard and his friend Bergge arrived on bicycles this afternoon." (Gerald Bergg)
8 Oct 1913; "Did an enlarged drawing of Exceat church from the survey of 1587 for Richard, and continued watercolour of Paradise Wood for Harry."
29 Nov 1913; "Richard & his friend Bergge arrived at Ryderswells on bicycles this afternoon."
1 Dec 1913; "Richard & friend left by rail at 8 am, both have colds."
24 Dec 1913; "Received presents of tobacco from Mrs.Gilbert & family, and a nice pipe from Richard."
5 Jan 1914; "Copied picture for Richard. Captain Knox's sketch of Beachy Head during the breeding season."
19 Feb 1914; "Wrote out a list of birds observed by me at Beachy Head for Richard."
9 May 1914; "Richard and his friend Bergg arrived at Ryderswells at 2 pm."
14 July 1914; "We hear Richard is going to have one of his compositions played at the R.C. Church."

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Richard lived at;
1855-1903; Gilbert's Bakery, 51/52 Seaside Road, Eastbourne
1903-1909; "Lulworth" 15 The Avenue, Eastbourne
1909-(1921); "Baylands", 5 Old Orchard Road, Eastbourne

Richard Gilbert 1917. Photo; Frederick A Bourne, Eastbourne.

Richard's addresses during the Great War would seem to be;
1 Sep 1916; Isolation Hospital, Aldershot (Measles!)
22 Sep 1916; Isolation Hospital, Thorn Hill, Aldershot
10 May 1917; No.41 Camp, Bourley Bottom, Aldershot
17 Jul 1917; Aldershot
7 May 1918; France
7-8 Jun 1918; Hospital, France
19 Sep 1918; Hospital, Bath
30 Sep 1918; Hospital, Bath
14 Dec 1918; Rugeley, Staffordshire

Richard's addresses after WW1 were;
(1909)-1921; "Baylands", 5 Old Orchard Road, Eastbourne
1921-1934; 22 Upper Avenue, Eastbourne
1934-1935; 96 Chatsworth Road, East Croydon (temporary lodgings)
1935-1959; 48 Chisholm Road, East Croydon.
1959-1987; 19 Mountney Road, Old Town, Eastbourne.
1987-1993; Flat 13, Millington Court, Mill Lane, Uckfield, East Sussex

Richard occupied himself with a mixture of musical, natural history, local history, Boy Scouts and journalistic activities until 1934 when, with his marriage looking imminent, Richard obviously decided that a more conventional and reliable employment was called for. Accordingly he took up an editorial position with the Croydon Advertiser and moved to Surrey.
Richard married in 1935, and the honeymoon was at a cottage, 'The Bluff' at Bucks Mills, near Bideford, N.Devon, lent to them by his friend Gerald Bergg, with whom he had been at Roborough School. A report of the wedding from the Eastbourne Gazette can be found in Ellen I.Gilbert's newspaper cuttings album page 139, and also in Charlotte Gilbert's cuttings album pages 58-60, both in H R Gilbert's records.
Elsie then joined him in Croydon and they bought 48 Chisholm Road, Addiscombe, where they settled for the next 24 years.
During the second world war he joined the 60th Battalion, Home Guard in Croydon, which was based at Woodside School, although his wife was never told where they met!
In 1959, on Richard's retirement, the family moved back to Eastbourne and purchased 19 Mountney Road, Old Town.

Mary Gilbert's diary 17 Mar 1971; "Dick not well, had a giddy turn on Feb 25th Thursday, fell right down, eyesight seemed affected, memory a little and speech not easy, we were disturbed about it."
Died; 23 May 1988 at Uckfield Hospital. The death certificate and a copy of the will is held in H.R.Gilbert's records. The will left his entire estate to his widow, Elsie Gilbert. Excluding his share of joint assets held with his wife (such as the flat at Millington Court) he left £50,000.
By his wish, he was cremated and his ashes scattered at Cuckmere Haven, Sussex, as were his wife's two years later.

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Lawrence Stevens (1939-2020), a good friend of Richard and son of one of his old scouting colleagues, wrote the following obituary for the Eastbourne Herald, 4 June 1988;
"The well-known local naturalist, journalist and historian, Richard Gilbert, died last week at the age of 94. His quick brain, mischievous sense of humour and catalogue of amusing tales, enlivened any flagging conversation."
"His father, David Gilbert, ran a bakery business in Seaside Road. Richard Gilbert was born on May 13 1894 and attended Roborough School. In 1911 he was apprenticed as a trainee journalist with the Eastbourne Chronicle (now incorporated with the Eastbourne Herald). In the same year he became a member of the Eastbourne Natural History and Literary Society, becoming secretary in 1912 and editor of the transactions the following year until 1934, when he left Eastbourne."
"His interest in natural history, botany and ornithology were gained from his uncle, Robert Morris of the local iron founding family. In 1923 he became president of the Eastbourne Natural History and Literary Society, an honorary member in 1925 and was re-elected president for 1930-32. He was a founder member of the Sussex Ornithological Society."
"In 1916 he joined up in the First World War with the 12th Royal West Kent Regiment, with whom he did service in France from where he returned nature notes! After the war he returned to Roborough School where he taught literature, annually presenting a Shakespearean play. One of his young actors was Alec Guinness."
"He freelanced with the Eastbourne Herald writing for Nature Notes for 11 years. Some articles were re-published in 1927 in his book, Everyman's Sussex, and later some were published in 1950 in Margaret Goldsworthy's Sussex Bedside Anthology."
"His interest in music probably emanated from his father, who introduced an organ to Cavendish Place Chapel in 1885 and which Richard Gilbert subsequently played. He was a member of the Guild of Organists and, with Professor Gilbert Alcock organist of St.John's Church, Meads, composed orchestral music and conducted compositions at the Winter Garden Music Festivals in the 1930s."
"As Scoutmaster, he ran the 3rd Old Roborian Scouts. He was chairman of the Old Roborian Association until 1928. In 1934 he was appointed assistant editor, music and drama critic of the Croydon Advertiser until he retired in 1959, to Eastbourne."
"He contributed numerous articles to the Sussex Archaeological Collections and Sussex Notes and Queries. His last contribution to local history was in an article on Gildredge Park and Manor Gardens, published in the Sussex Archaeological Collections during the week of his death."
"The funeral service at Woodvale, Brighton, was conducted by his elder son, David Gilbert of the Church Army. He leaves a widow and a younger son, Hilary and two (sic) grandchildren."

Richard Gilbert during his last week at work, Croydon Advertiser newspaper office, May 1959.

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His old employer, the Croydon Advertiser, ran the following obituary on 27 May 1988;
"A former Advertiser arts editor, Mr.Richard Gilbert, died on Monday aged 94. He joined the Advertiser in 1934 and retired to Eastbourne with his wife, Elsie, in 1959. They moved to Uckfield just before Christmas."
"He saw service in the first war and was in the House (sic) Guard in the second. Mr.Gilbert is survived by two sons, David, a captain in the Church army, and Hilary Richard. Captain Gilbert will conduct the funeral service prior to cremation today (Friday)."
"Last week Captain Gilbert also conducted the service at the funeral of Mr.Gilbert's sister, Miss Ellen Gilbert, who died in Eastbourne aged 102 years."
Geoff Collard, former editor of the Croydon Advertiser and later the Newspaper's publishing director, wrote:
"Dick Gilbert was a man of wide interests and talents who lived a rich artistic and intellectual life. An immense musical knowledge underlay his music criticism. Writing in the Advertiser for many years as 'Amphion', he much influenced the musical development of the town."
"His greatest love was Wagner, and his knowledge of the texts of The Ring cycle was phenomenal. He was a distinguished naturalist and ornithologist, and his general knowledge was vast: when he retired, many reference books had to be bought to replace him."
"He was also a great character, noted for his sharp wit - and for his pipe, filled with a mixture of the strongest tobacco and a collection of herbs he gathered and cured himself. He had a long retirement, nearly 30 years filled with walking his beloved Sussex, researching historical and naturalist subjects and writing on them for learned journals. In his high eighties he said to me 'I can't walk any more. It's a great sadness to me. I can't manage more than six or seven miles now!'"
"Dick Gilbert deserves the highest accolade one local journalist can pay another: he was a great servant of the paper and of the community."

Richard Gilbert with his great friend and fellow archaeologist Lawrence Stevens (1939-2020), celebrating the publication of their book "Eastbourne's Roman Villa", 2 February 1974 at Richard's house in Mountney Road, Eastbourne. Photo; Peter Ekin-Wood, Eastbourne.

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Held in H.R.Gilbert's records are;
Post Office savings books 1895-1930
Copy of birth certificate (for call-up?) dated 1916
Letters to his sisters from military hospitals, 1918
Demobilisation papers dated 1919
Original marriage certificate, 1935
Newspaper accounts of wedding, 1935
National Registration Identity Card 1940
Press Certificate dated 1945, issued by Ministry of Information
National Union of Journalists life membership card, 1959
90th birthday cards, 1984
Will and cremation certificate
Copies of obituaries
WW1 medals (British War Medal, Victory Medal)

Also with H.R.Gilbert are the following collections of his writings;
'Stories', 'Religious writings', 'Poems', 'Plays', 'Musical writings', 'Natural History', 'Sketches', 'Local History', 'Shipwrecks', 30 volumes of his press cuttings 1913-1987, Bird Diary & observations of Cuckmere valley 1959-1965.
A huge collection photographs are held in H.R.Gilbert's records (as well as a host of uncatalogued Boy Scout camping pictures from the 1920s)
(For aiding the dating of photos, Richard grew a beard around 1945)

1906 - 1990 ELSIE MABEL GILBERT (nee HEWITT)

Elsie Hewitt around 1911.

Born; 5 Mar 1906, Hammersmith, London. (According to her sister, Elsie was nearly born on Hammersmith Broadway when her mother slipped over on the ice.)
Parents; William J.Hewitt (18??-1971) = Mabel A.Hedgecott (1883-1973)
The family lived at;
1907; 14 Belmore Road, Eastbourne.
1911; Bournemouth.
1913; 58 & 68 Cromwell Road, Weymouth.
1914; 77 Channel View Road, Eastbourne.
1929 onwards; 38 Gore Park Road, Eastbourne, for the rest of her life.
William left the family around 1930 but they remained in the Eastbourne house.

Elsie Hewitt, around 1925, Eastbourne. Photo; G Churchill, Eastbourne.

Married; Richard Gilbert (1894-1988) on 15th June 1935 at All Souls Church, Eastbourne.
Children; David (born 1939), Hilary Richard (born 1947)

An accomplished pianist, she met her husband through musical connections.
Richard Gilbert moved to Croydon in November 1934 to take up a position with the Croydon Advertiser newspaper. He stayed in lodgings at 96 Chatsworth Road until 18 (or 19) May 1935 when he moved into 48 Chisholm Road, Addiscombe, which he had bought. His older sister Ellen joined him there for a while to cook and help him get settled in, but this was to become his new marital home after his marriage to Elsie on 15 June.
The honeymoon was at a cottage, "The Bluff" at Bucks Mills, near Bideford, N.Devon, lent to them by Richard's friend Gerald Bergg, with whom he had been at Roborough School. A report of the wedding from the Eastbourne Gazette can be found in Ellen I. Gilbert's newspaper cuttings album page 139, and also in Charlotte Gilbert's cuttings album pages 58-60.
In 1959 Richard retired and he and Elsie moved back to Eastbourne, having bought 19 Mountney Road, Old Town.

Elsie Gilbert, June 1969.

Died; 5 Jul 1990 at Eastbourne District General Hospital and was cremated at Langney Crematorium 16 Jul 1990.
Her ashes were scattered at Cuckmere Haven, as were her husband's.
Her will dated 13 Sept 1989 left small bequests to her three grand children, around £7500 to her sister Hilda Marjorie, and the residue to her two sons equally.
Held in H.R.Gilbert's records are the following;
Original marriage certificate, 1935
Newspaper accounts of wedding, 1935
National Registration Identity Card 1943
Death certificate and cremation certificate
A very large number of photographs of Elsie are held in H.R.Gilbert's records.

More details of Elsie's parents and the Hewitt, Hedgecott and Kyte families

Born 1939 DAVID GILBERT

Born; 26 Mar 1939, Uplands Nursing Home, 54 Ashburton Rd., Croydon, Surrey
Parents; Richard Gilbert (1894-1988) = Elsie Mabel Hewitt (1906-1990)
Attended Elmhurst School and Whitgift Middle School in Croydon, then joined Jeppesen, Heaton & Co., shipbrokers of Leadenhall Street, London. Became a full-time employee of the Church Army in the 1960s.
Lived at Coventry, Milford on Sea, Louth, Sherborne, Hackney, Croydon and Uckfield.

Born 1947 HILARY RICHARD GILBERT

Born; 28 Oct 1947, Shrublands Nursing Home, Croydon, Surrey
Parents; Richard Gilbert (1894-1988) = Elsie Mabel Hewitt (1906-1990)
Married; Kathleen Irene Clementson (born 1949) 19 June 1971, Barking
Children; Amanda Kaye (born 1973), Joanne Sarah (born 1975), David Richard (born 1976)
Worked in the aviation business in Sussex, Kent, Heathrow, Alderney, East Midlands, Gatwick and Heathfield.

Born 1949 KATHLEEN IRENE GILBERT (nee CLEMENTSON)

Born; 3 April 1949, Barking, Essex.
Parents; Frederick G.Clementson (1923-2004) = Irene Ethel Wall (born 1927)
Occupation; Nurse (State Registered Nurse and District Nurse), trained at Hammersmith Hospital.
Married; Hilary Richard Gilbert (born 1947) at Barking in June 1971.
Children; Amanda Kaye (born 1973), Joanne Sarah (born 1975), David Richard (born 1976)
Many photographs of Kathleen from 1949 onwards are held in H.R.Gilbert's records.

More details of Kathleen's (Clementson) family

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