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A Celebration of the Life of Gretta Blacknell

A service to celebrate the life of Gretta Blacknell was held at Beckenham Methodist Church on Monday, 22nd January 2024 at 2pm.

Mum during her Golden Wedding Anniversary Weekend. 11 May 2011

The chief mourners were Mr & Mrs Paul Blacknell (Farnham) and Mr & Mrs Andrew Blacknell (London), sons; Anna Blacknell, Tom Blacknell, Libby Blacknell, Harry Blacknell, Joe Blacknell, Jed Blacknell and Ben Blacknell (grandchildren). The general body of mourners included Ms Sharon Thornton (niece) and Ms Nichola Goad (niece), Mr & Mrs Mark Blacknell (nephew) and Mstr Ben Blacknell (grand nephew) . The bearers were Gretta’s seven grandchildren.

recording of the service is available to replay via YouTube along with a copy of the Order of Service.

The Eulogy was delivered by Paul and a Family Tribute by Andrew.

Gretta was laid to rest next to David, the following day at Clandon Wood, a natural burial ground comprising thirty-one acres of traditional wildflower meadowland, lakes, wetland and young woodland. An informal ceremony was held, attended by her immediate family, where they shared memories with each other.

Please feel free to view photographs taken during the service and committal.

Paul & Andrew

The family have asked that donations are made to Dementia UK in her name.

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Feel free to get in touch

If you’ve any comments and especially if you think you might be connected to the Blacknell Family History then please get in touch.

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Funeral Service Photographs – Gretta Blacknell

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Gretta Blacknell – A Family Tribute

Thank you so much to all of you for coming from the different areas of Mum’s life. Thank you especially to our American cousins who have flown over for just three days to be here. Thank you Mark, Lisa and yes there are two Benjamin Blacknells here. Thank you for coming. We really appreciate it.

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Gretta Blacknell Eulogy

Gretta was born in 1933 to these two folk in County Donegal in Ireland – William Quigley and Mary Anne Colhoun. Here they are on their wedding day. Mum was the second of five children – the first two were daughters and it’s probably fair to assume that farmers needed sons as a priority. Life for the eldest two must have been hard.

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Gretta Blacknell

Paul, Mum, Andy. 90th Birthday celebrations. 25 February 2023

It is with great sadness that Andrew & I share the news that our mother passed away this morning.

As you may know Mum was diagnosed with dementia several years ago. After Dad collapsed in 2020, she moved into a residential care home in Orpington and since then we have visited her frequently – which hasn’t been easy at times. The care home took excellent care of her and she has been as comfortable and content as we could have wished.

It was a relief that the ending was as peaceful as we could have hoped for and she passed away quickly.

Mum & Dad were married for 59 years and set a fantastic example in marriage and family life. Gretta was a great mum to us and grandmother to her seven grandchildren – she was immensely proud of them all. Throughout our lives there was nothing Mum wouldn’t do for us and she played a central role in shaping who we both are. We will be forever grateful.

The funeral will be held at 2pm on Monday 22nd January at Beckenham Methodist Church.

Gretta Blacknell
1933-2023

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1921 Census – first findings

So, the long awaited 1921 census has finally been published online. At £3.50 for each record it isn’t cheap but as a devoted genealogist I have been saving my pennies in anticipation for a while. My first purchase was the record for my great-grandfather, Frederick Blacknell.

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Pickpocket caught in the act

A curious report involving a member of the Freer clan appeared in the local newspaper in 1895. The article describes an incident in Wrexham where a Thomas Daley tried to pick the pocket of a Mrs Annie Freer.

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Clara’s & Arthur’s Funerals

After the attempted pickpocketing, there was a long gap when the Freers were out of the limelight. The next reference found in Welsh Newspapers Online was from 28 March 1918, when the funeral of my great-grandmother, Clara Blacknell (née Freer) was reported, along with Arthur’s two months later.

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A Wedding Gift

Another search of Welsh Newspapers Online has revealed that in summer 1884 the local paper devoted a good few pages to the wedding of Herbert Lloyd Watkin Williams-Wynn, heir to the Wynnstay Estate and his cousin Louise Williams-Wynn.

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School Prize Giving

One always likes to think that one’s ancestors were talented so I was pleased to find a number of accounts in the Welsh Newspapers Online website of various Freers winning school prizes.