Selected Biographies

Spilling, Charles – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1844.  Parents: Charles Cushing Spilling of Woodbridge, Suffolk and Sarah [née Betterham].  Family Connections: Uncle of Charles Cushing Spilling [b1871], John Spilling [b1881], Miss Eva Maud Spilling [b1883] and Miss Mabel Spilling [b1884].  Home: Waterloo House, Hall Street, Long Melford (1851 to 1891), Waterloo Road, Ipswich, Suffolk (1901).  Occupation: Grocer and Draper (1861 to 1891), Commission Agent (1901).  Married: Frances Anna Sewell in 1877.  Commercial Record: Charles established a Grocers and Drapers store in Hall Street before 1861, in 1892 he decided to sell the business by auction, the successful bidder being William Thomas Mullen.  Mullen had previously inherited a Grocery and Drapery in 1878 in North Walsham in Norfolk from his uncle but had sold it shortly after.   With Mullens’s death in 1893 the business was taken over by Thomas Spicer carried on trading for another thirty years.[1]  Died: Ipswich, Suffolk in 1909.

Spilling, Charles Cushing – Born: Newport, Monmouthshire on 24.8.1871.[2]  Parents: Edward Henry Spilling of Long Melford (Whitesmith) and Margaret [née Allam].  Family Connections: Nephew of Charles Spilling [b1844]; also, cousin of John Spilling [b1881], Miss Eva Maud Spilling [b1883] and Miss Mabel Spilling [b1884].  Home: 5 St Woolos Road, Monmouthshire (1871), 36 Wheatstone Road, Kensington, London (1881), 70 Nellfield Road, Streatham, London (1891), 11 Cunliffe Street, Streatham (1901), 17 Green Hill Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire (1911), 43, Greyfriars Walk, Bedford (1921 to 1939).  Occupation: Gardener (1891), Plumber (1901), Whitesmith (1911), Fitter for Peak Frean & Co (1921).  Married: Bessie Heath in 1898.  Service Record: Charles was an Air Raid Precaution Warden in Bedford during the Second World War.[3]  Died: Bedford, Bedfordshire in 1955.

Spilling, Miss Eva Maud – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 15.8.1883.[4]  Parents: John Spilling (Grocer and Draper) and Georgiana [née Vertigen].  Family Connections: Sister of John Spilling [b1881] and Mabel Spilling [b1884]; also, niece of Charles Spilling [b1844] and cousin of Charles Cushing Spilling [b1871].  Home: Spilling’s Store, Toppesfield Lane, Great Yeldham, Essex (1891 to 1901), St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1911) to [1966].  Occupation: Shop and Home Duties (1921).  Service Record: Eva was a volunteer with the British Red Cross Society and a member of the Red Cross Working Party in Long Melford from January 1917 to February 1918.[5]  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk on 9.6.1966.[6]

Spilling, John – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 8.6.1881.[7]  Parents: John Spilling (Grocer and Draper) and Georgianna [née Vertigen].  Family Connections: Brother to Eva Maud Spilling [b1883] and Mabel Spilling [b1884]; also, nephew of Charles Spilling [b1844] and cousin of Charles Cushing Spilling [b1871].  Home: The Green, Long Melford (1881), Spilling’s Store, Toppesfield Lane, Great Yeldham, Essex (1891 and 1901), living with James Vertigen (uncle) in St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1911), 46 East Street, Epsom, Surrey [1915], 110 Coggeshall Road, Braintree, Essex (1921), 17 South Street, Manningtree, Essex (1939), The Park, Mistley, Essex [1953].  Occupation: Grocer and Draper (1891 to 1911), Grocer’s Assistant (1921), Master Baker and Confectioner (1939).  Service Record: John enlisted on 20.2.1915 as Dvr.T4/060806 with the Horse Transport Section of the Army Service Corps.[8]  He may not have been mobilised immediately as he is also recorded as a member of the Long Melford Volunteer Training Corps in December 1915.[9]  Died: Mistley, Essex on 8.10.1953.[10]

Spilling, Miss Mabel – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 26.7.1884.[11]  Parents: John Spilling (Grocer and Draper) and Georgiana [née Vertigen].  Family Connections: Sister of John Spilling [b1881] and Eva Maud Spilling [b1883]; also, niece of Charles Spilling [b1844] and cousin of Charles Cushing Spilling [b1871].  Home: Spilling’s Store, Toppesfield Lane, Great Yeldham, Essex (1891, 1901), living with James Vertigen (uncle) in St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1911 to 1921).  Service Record: Mabel was a volunteer with the British Red Cross Society and a member of the Red Cross Working Party in Long Melford from January 1917 to February 1918.[12]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1929.

Notes – [1] East Anglian Daily Times 14.4.1892 and Suffolk and Essex Free Press 10.8.1892.  [2] 1939 Register.  [3] 1939 Register.  [4] Baptism Register 18.10.1883, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [5] See her British Red Cross Record Card under the surname Spelling [sic].  [6] National Probate Calendar.  [7] Baptism Register 25.7.1881, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [8] Surrey Recruitment Registers 1908-1933, Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [9] For Training Corps articles see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 10.3.1915 and 29.12.1915.  [10] National Probate Calendar.  [11] Baptism Register 24.10.1884, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [12] See her British Red Cross Record Card under the name Mable Spelling [sic].