30 August – Searching for Charles Tilden Baker – my grandfather

After breakfast, Johanne does a bit of shopping for some toiletries while I take my time getting ready to go out. Though our destination today is Lewes and the Records Office, on the way we’ll be stopping at Chelwood Gate. Last year, we visited the house where my mother was born and lived. Maureen Noble, the current owner of Whyteleaf Cottage, allowed us to tour her house. During the winter, Johanne did some digging with the help of the East Sussex Records Office and found some interesting information regarding the history of Whyteleaf. We plan to go by Maureen’s house and drop off the information. In case Maureen is out, I write her a note that I attach to the documents. Johanne comes back and off we go. It’s a short drive to Chelwood Gate and Maureen’s house on Stone Quarry Road. I knock on the door and her daughter answers. Maureen is away until next week. I explain why I’m there, chit chat for a bit and leave the envelope. Now to Lewes where, during the war, Canadian soldiers lived, loved and laughed while waiting to be sent off to war. Lewes is a beautiful town nestled in the South Downs. Just before noon we arrive downtown with not a vacant parking spot in sight. I manage to find one in a short-term lot and we start walking to the Records Office which is near the Lewes Castle, bypassed earlier in the week in favour of Eastbourne. On the way, I take a few photos of the Castle while Johanne marches on looking for the Office.

We walk past the site of the former Castle Tilting Ground (for jousting) that was converted to a Bowling Green in 1640. The Records Office is located on the opposite side of the Green. They don’t have the computer-based interactive entrance exam, but they do require we put most of our stuff in a locker. We go to the reading room and Johanne explains what we’re seeking. The clerk’s initial response is that the information we want will be in the West Sussex Records Office. Johanne isn’t settling for this. She feeds him more facts, and Drew (presumably the Andrew who Johanne corresponded with for the Whyteleaf information) thought he might be able to help. A bit more digging turns up nothing. “Your Grandfather would most likely have been buried in Brighton because that’s where he lived before he died. You should check with the cemetery in Brighton.” “We did last year,” Johanne tells him, “and we spent hours going through their records.” “Well, considering he passed away in Haywards Heath St Francis Hospital, you should contact the cemetery there.” “We did last year and they have no record of a Charles Tilden Baker,” she responds. It’s clear we’ve come to a dead end. We thank Drew and take our leave. “What do we do now?” Johanne asks discouraged. When in doubt, suggest a restaurant. I do and we find a nice Italian restaurant on High Street. Over lunch and a couple of glasses of wine we discuss our options. No point in returning to Brighton, because we conducted an exhaustive search of their records last year. In addition to the negative search by Haywards Heath Cemetery Authorities to Johanne’s query last year, Viv & Brian were also unable to find Charles Tilden Baker in their search of the cemetery. I suggest we look once more in the Danehill cemetery near Chelwood Gate. We didn’t find him last year when we looked but as it is on our way home to Forest Row, why not. A short while later, we’re there. I take one side of the cemetery and Johanne the other. We find other Bakers who no doubt are on Robin’s Family Tree, but no Charles Tilden. Before we leave, I say hello to my Great Grandmother, Mary Pinker. Remarkably, her stone remains in excellent condition unlike most others on the grounds.
We return to the Chequers and go for supper. The temperature outdoors is 15C and that puts Johanne in the mood for a Steak & Ale Pie. I have Harvey’s beer battered fish & chips. For now, we put our search for my grandfather’s gravesite on hold. Tomorrow we’ll be heading for Bournemouth, a 2 ½ hour drive to the west coast to visit with my mother’s cousin Joan. Hopefully, we’ll find our way!