Before the Buses

WILLIAM JOHN DOYLE (1866–1935)

William was born in early 1866 at Cardiff in Glamorgan, the son of John Doyle (a Ship Rigger) and Sarah Ann née Yeates who were married on 26th December 1856 at the church of St. Stephen in Bristol, their fathers being named as Peter Doyle and John Yeates.

The Doyle family are found living at Tyndal Street in Cardiff at the time of the 1871 Census (Ref: RG10 Piece 5361 Folio 123 Page 63). John Doyle is 35 years-old, his wife Sarah is 36 years-old, and their children are Emily (aged 13), Selina (aged 7, William John (aged 5 and indexed as John W), and 1 year-old John.

By the time the next Census was taken on 3rd April 1881, John Doyle had passed away. It appears that his death was registered in early 1879, and he was recorded as being 43 years-old. The family had also moved to Lillywood Cottage on Pearl Street, in the Roath area of Cardiff where they are found in the 1881 Census (Ref: RG11 Piece 5287 Folio 63 Page 35). Sarah is now aged 46 and recorded as a Stevedores Widow, and her children still with her are William John (a 15 year-old Labourer), John W (a 10 year-old Scholar), Sarah (a 6 year-old Scholar), and Tom (a 5 year-old Scholar). Also living with the family is Maria Smith, a 49 year-old Charwoman who was born at Holborn in Middlesex.

On 8th June 1889 at the church of St. Margaret in Roath, Cardiff, William John Doyle (a 22 year-old Labourer) married 19 year-old Mary Louisa née Evans. They were both of 21 Bertram Street, and their fathers were named as John Doyle (a Stevedore) and Richard Evans (a Fitter).

Mary Louisa was the daughter of Richard Evans and Caroline née Green who were married in the spring of 1865 in the Ross area of Herefordshire. When the 1881 Census was taken, the Evans family are found living at 26 Ascog Street in Roath, 40 year-old Richard being recorded as an Engine Fitter (Ref: RG11 Piece 5288 Folio 26 Page 45). Richard, Caroline and Mary Louisa were all said to have been born at Ross in Herefordshire. Their other children were Caroline (aged 9), Lilian (aged 4), Hubert (aged 2), and Hannah (aged 11 months).

William and Mary’s first child, their only son named Richard John, was born on 22nd February 1890 at Cardiff. He is a little over a year old when the 1891 Census was taken on 5th April, his family’s address being given as 11 Howard Street in Roath (Ref: RG12 Piece 4389 Folio 26 Page 46). William is a 24 year-old Dock Labourer, and his 21 year-old wife was said to have been born at Hereford.

Almost 15 months after that Census was taken, William and Mary’s second child, their only daughter, named Sarah Louisa, was born on 1st July 1892 at Cardiff. By the time the 1901 Census was taken on the night of 31st March, the Doyle family had moved to 34 System Street in Cardiff (Ref: RG13 Piece 4980 Folio 32 Page 55). William is recorded as a 34 year-old Hydraulic coal tipper, his wife is 30 years-old, and their children are aged 11 and 8 respectively.

By the time the 1911 Census was taken on 2nd April, the Doyle family had moved up into the coalmining valleys of Monmouthshire, specifically to 17 Glanarafon Terrace at the northern end of Bournville near Blaina (Ref: RG14 Piece 31830 Schedule 152). William is now a 44 year-old Miner Hewer, his wife is 41 years-old, Richard is a 21 year-old Miner Hewer, and Sarah is 18 years-old. For Sarah, the 1911 Census is one of those somewhat unusual situations where she is recorded twice. She was also found visiting her uncle and aunt, Benjamin Frederick Pain and Sarah née Doyle, at 32 Park Road in the Southville area of Bristol (Ref: RG14 Piece 14917 Schedule 140).

Electoral Registers show that by 1912, the family had moved about 2 miles down the Ebbw Fach Valley to 35 Granville Street in Abertillery. The following year, Sarah Louisa Doyle gave birth to a daughter on 18th November at 35 Granville Street, and she was named Mary Kathleen Franklyn Doyle. Intriguingly, on her birth registration, her mother’s maiden name was recorded as “Williams,” and her father was named as Leonard Franklyn Doyle (a Domestic Gardener).

In the spring of 1914, Richard John Doyle married Ann Cecil née Hall (born 25th December 1886 at Leyton in Essex). She was the daughter of Nathaniel Hall (a Road Foreman) and Emily Esther née Turner who had been married on 18th September 1869 at the church of St. John at Hackney, London, their fathers being named as Nathaniel Hall and William Turner. In the 1911 Census, the Hall family are found living at 10 Winscombe Street in the St. Pancras area of London (Ref: RG14 Piece 766 Schedule 405).

In late 1916, Mary Louisa Doyle née Evans passed away, her age being recorded as “49.” Then in early 1918, Sarah married Patrick O’Sullivan (who had been born at Cork in Ireland). They had one child together, a son named Eugene, who was born on 14th November 1923 at Abertillery.

When the 1921 Census was taken on 19th June, 53 year-old William John, 7 year-old Mary Kathleen Franklyn, 45 year-old Patrick, and 30 year-old Sarah Louisa are found at 35 Granville Street (Ref: RG15 Piece 26099 Schedule 233). Just around the corner at “Heathlands” on Lower Royal Lane are 32 year-old Richard John Doyle (a Collier), his 33 year-old wife Ann, and their two children 6 year-old Audrey Emily and 2 month-old Keith (Ref: RG15 Piece 26099 Schedule 122). They also had a daughter, Joyce Mary, who was born in the summer of 1919, but very sadly she died at the age of just 7 months on 23rd February 1920.

Electoral Registers show that William John Doyle and Patrick and Sarah O’Sullivan returned to Blaina around 1924, their address being recorded as 17 Coronation Street. They soon moved to nearby 57 Alexandra Road where they stayed until about 1932, at which point they returned to 17 Coronation Street. Around the same time they moved to Blaina, Richard and Ann moved a short distance from Lower Royal Lane to 33 Clynmawr Street.

The South Wales Gazette of Friday 14th June 1929 published a very favourable article which clearly showed the type of person William John Doyle was:

The following year, the South Wales Gazette of Friday 30th May reported on applications that had been made to operate bus services to the Abertillery area:

In 1935, Sarah had to cope with the deaths of both her husband and father within less than two months of each other. Patrick O’Sullivan passed away on 7th June, and just seven weeks later, William John Doyle passed away on 26th July.

While still mourning the deaths of her husband and father, Sarah found herself in trouble as recorded in the South Wales Gazette of Friday 15th November 1935:

Bert Langley had been born on 7th June 1892 at Abersychan near Pontypool. He had operated buses from the High Street in Abersychan for some years, before disposing of his bus and coach company in 1936. In the 1939 Register, he is found at 36 Union Street in Abersychan where he is recorded as a Bus Driver (Ref: RG101 Piece 7459G Schedule 116). William Osment Minton had been born on 11th December 1913 at Blaina, and in the 1939 Register is also recorded as a Bus Driver. He is found living at 14 Hope Street in Blaina (Ref: RG101 Piece 7455I Schedule 145).

In 1936, the South Wales Gazette of Friday 6th November reported on a fire at Sarah O’Sullivan’s garage at Blaina:

Electoral Registers show that shortly after the fire, Sarah moved some miles down the valley to 27 Glannant Street in Cwmfelinfach, a village located about 5 miles north of Risca in the Sirhowy Valley of Monmouthshire. It’s there that she and Eugene are found when the 1939 Register was taken on 29th September (Ref: RG101 Piece 7454G Schedule 68). They are recorded in the household of widowed Sydney Williams and his brother Alfred, and Eugene was said to be seeking work.

Sarah’s brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Ann Doyle, remained at Abertillery, and in this Register are found living at 33 Clynmawr Street (Ref: RG101 Piece 7432K Schedule 352). Richard is working as a Colliery Hewer, and along with him and his wife are their sons Keith (who is recorded as Incapacitated), and Clifford John (an Outfitters Shop Assistant).

Just a few months before the 1939 Register was taken, Mary Kathleen Franklyn Doyle married Philip Purnell (born 5th August 1912 at Abertillery). Philip was the half-brother of Michael Purnell, Michael being one of only three men to have survived the Six Bells Mining Disaster on Tuesday 28th June 1960. It was impossible to find Philip and Mary Purnell in the 1939 Register, and the reason why is most likely found in the newspaper clipping seen right.

Electoral Registers show that Eugene O’Sullivan moved from Glannant Street to 4 Bridge View in Cwmcarn shortly after the end of World War II, and Sarah joined him there in about 1949. Very sadly, Richard John Doyle passed away on 4th January 1952 at 33 Clynmawr Street. He was 61 years-old, and was laid to rest at the Blaenau Gwent Cemetery.

Two years later, Eugene O’Sullivan and Mary Georgina née Tasker were married in early 1954. Mary had been born on 18th November 1933, her name at birth being registered as Nellie Georgina. She was the daughter of Edward Tasker (a Colliery Labourer) and Esther née Jenkins who were married in the spring of 1925. When the 1939 Register was taken, the Tasker family were living at 95 Commercial Street in Aberbargoed (Ref: RG101 Piece 7440A Schedule 90).

Around 1960, Eugene and Mary moved to St. John’s Crescent and stayed there for several years, before moving to Tregwilym Road in Rogerstone about 1968.

Meanwhile, Ann Cecil Doyle née Hall passed away on 16th July 1962 at the St. Woolos Hospital in Newport. She was 75 years-old, and had survived her husband by more than 10 years. She was laid to rest at the Blaenau Gwent Cemetery.

In the late 1960s, Sarah Louisa O’Sullivan née Doyle was recorded in Electoral Registers as living at St. John’s Court. She survived her husband Patrick by more than 40 years, until she passed away at the age of 83 in late 1975.

Philip Purnell passed away at Exeter in Devon on 18th December 1996, he was 84 years-old. His wife, Mary Kathleen Franklyn Purnell née Doyle, survived her husband by almost 8 years, until she passed away on 15th November 2004, just 3 days before her 91st birthday.

Eugene O’Sullivan passed away on 2nd January 2015, he was 91 years old.

CREDITS

The Doyle coat of arms is by houseofnames.com