The memorial in question in South Lopham churchyard reads:
“In / affectionate and loving / memory of / ROBERT EDWARD / eldest son of / ROBERT & ELIZABETH COX / who was accidently shot in the 14th year of his age / Also near this stone lay his infant / brother and sisters / A man that has friends must shew / himself friendly: and there is a / friend that sticketh closer / than a brother”
Strangely no dates appear on the memorial, but the inscription indicates that some of Robert Edward’s siblings died young and were buried close by.
When looking into the life of a person I often begin by seeing if there are references to that person in local newspapers. I found:
“SHOCKING GUN ACCIDENT. - A most alarming gun accident occurred on Sunday morning last, whereby a boy named Edward Cox, aged 13 years, and son of Robert Cox, farmer, was shot dead. ……” (Full article here )
The extract above was from the Diss Express, Friday, 21 November, 1890.
The full article described the events of that fateful Sunday, 16 November, when Robert Edward Cox, more often just known as Edward to possibly avoid confusion with his father, lost his life, with details of the shooting and the subsequent Coroner’s inquest.
From this and other past research, I have found that accidental shootings were not that uncommon. Maybe the firearms were not as safe as more modern weapons, or ‘health and safety’ and gun ownership were not as rigorous as it is now. In my own village of Tharston, in 1906, Robert Edward Lloyd Aldridge accidentally shot his mother outside their farmhouse home.
Robert Edward was the oldest son of Robert and Elizabeth Phoebe (nee Spear), being born in 1877 in South Lopham, and baptised there on 25th September 1880. He was one of 11 children, 5 girls and 6 boys.
The Census of 1881 shows the family living on Redgrave Road in South Lopham; head Robert (36, an agricultural labourer), wife Elizabeth (30), son Edward (Robert Edward) (4), and daughters Eliza (3) and Hebe (1). Also with them was Robert’s mother Elizabeth (80, a widow).
On the day of his death on 16th November 1890, Edward, aged 13, was out with a friend, Noah Elner aged 18, reportedly going to shoot a rabbit. They had a double-barrelled shotgun with them. When leaving a field, Noah was passing through a fence when the gun went off killing Edward. He at once ran home and told his father. News of the incident finally reached the local constable and the lad Noah was arrested and remanded in custody. The Coroner’s Court held on the Monday found the incident to be an accidental shooting and Noah was released.
Edward’s parents were Robert, born 1845, and Elizabeth Phoebe (nee Spear), born 1851. They were married on 11th January 1874 in South Lopham. Robert started his working life as a farm labourer but went on to be a farmer at Oak Farm in South Lopham, in some documents call Oak Tree Farm. Robert died on 14th June 1920 but no date of death is known for Elizabeth.
Robert Edward’s siblings were:
Eliza : born on 12 September 1878 in South Lopham and baptised there on 26 September 1880. In 1901 she was in service as a cook domestic in the household of Philip Phelps, a medical practitioner, in Loughborough, Leicestershire. She married Ernest Edgar Footer in 1905 and they went on to have 3 children.
Husband Ernest first served in the army from 1900 with the 27th Co. 7th Batt. Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa. He was wounded and returned home in 1901. He was a soldier in The Great War, serving in the 84th Company of the Machine Gun Corps, Private 79178, but died in a field hospital of influenza and pneumonia on 24 November 1918. He is buried and commemorated at the Ari Burnu Cemetery, Anzac.
According to the 1921 Census Eliza was residing in Blo Norton but by the time of the 1939 Registration, then a widow, she was registered in Lawford in Essex, living with her daughter Mary and family. Eliza died in 1974, registered in Colchester, Essex and was buried in St. Andrews Churchyard, Blo Norton.
Hebe : born in 1880 in South Lopham and baptised there on 26th September 1880. She died in 1881 in South Lopham and was buried there on 21st August 1881. (Presumably she is one of the infant siblings referred to on Edward’s memorial.)
Hebe : born in 1881 in South Lopham and baptised there on 7th April 1881. Sometime between 1891 and 1901 Hebe left home and went into service, first to East Harling with William Soffe, a surgeon, and then by 1911 to Lancashire where she served the Pollar family.
Nothing further can be found and confirmed after 1921, but it may be that by 1939 she had moved to Suffolk and was the housekeeper for a Mr. Walpole, a merchant, in Thurston. No record of any marriage has been found. She may have died in 1961, again, unproven.
Edward Robert : born on 10th March 1883 in South Lopham and was baptised there on 21st February 1889. He married Mary Louisa Hurrell in 1912. Prior to his marriage he was assisting his father on the farm but by 1921 he was assisting his mother-in-law, Louisa Hurrell aged 83, on her farm. He probably died in 1967.
James : born in 1885 in South Lopham and was baptised there on 7th April 1889. At some point between 1891 and 1901 he moved to Lancashire where he was a farm servant for his uncle Henry Spear on his farm. He was married by certificate to Nellie Andrew on 19 August 1911 in the Stamford Street Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Ashton-under-Lyme, Cheshire. They had 4 children. James died in 1967, registered in Oldham, Lancashire in quarter 3.
Jane Elizabeth : born on 24 May 1887 in South Lopham and was baptised there on 7 April 1889. She married William Debenham in 1908 and they lived in Rickinghall. They had 7 children. Jane died in Crossways Cottages, Yaxley, Suffolk on 29 April 1962.
Henry Harry : born on 5th November 1889 in South Lopham and baptised there on 20th September 1896. During The Great War he served with the 10th Bedfordshire Regiment, Private 28169, enlisting on 25th March 1916 in Norwich, joining his regiment on 4th April 1916.
For most of his life he lived at Oak Farm. He died in 1977 when living in Thomas Manning Road in Diss in what was probably assisted living accommodation. Henry was buried in South Lopham Churchyard on 1st May 1977.
Frederick William : twin of Thomas Edward, was born on 5th August 1891 in South Lopham and baptised there on 18th October 1891. He died the same year, aged 3 months, and was buried on 5th November 1891. (Presumably he is one of the infant siblings referred to on Edward’s memorial.)
Thomas Edward : twin of Frederick William, was born on 5th August 1891 in South Lopham and baptised there on 18th October 1891.
Query: there is a death registered in the Thetford District [1913 Q3 Thetford Norfolk Vol 4B Page 426], correct name and age. South Lopham was at the time in the Thetford Registration District. As no details found after the 1911 Census, maybe this is correct.
Sybil Maud : born on 16th March 1895 in South Lopham and was baptised there on 20th September 1896. She married George Rivett on 24th September 1922 in South Lopham, and they probably had 3 children. They lived in Roydon where husband George farmed at Manor Farm. Sybil died on 18th March 1966 in Roydon and was buried there on 21st March.
So tragedies fell on this family as it probably did many more: a son accidentally shot, two infant deaths, a son-in-law wounded in The Boer War and died in The Great War.
