Thomas COOPER = Constance Martha ELLIOT

Married Saturday 17 July 1926, Parish Church St Luke Blackburn, LAN, ENG

Thomas COOPER:

Born Friday 26 July 1901, 18 Bastwell Road Blackburn, LAN, ENG¹
Died Friday 12 August 1983, Blackburn, LAN, ENG
Buried Blackburn Cemetery, LAN, ENG
Occupation: cotton loom overlooker²
Tom was born at 18 Bastwell Road Blackburn, He was living at 22 Douglas Place as a boy and 522 Whalley New Road at time of marriage in 1926 to Connie Elliot. He worked as a weaver at Roe Lee Mill. In the early 1930's he had bought a house at 36 Kenyon Street. It was there that children Connie and Reg were born. Financial difficulties led to the loss of this house and the family then lived in a series of unpleasant rented houses at 47 Providence St., Florence St., 2 Yew St. In the early 1940's Tom bought 21 Cromwell Terrace and lived there for remainder of life.
Tom saw service through WW2 as a fireman. He joined the Auxilliary fire Service (AFS) 23 Sept 1939 and later the National Fire Service (NFS) on 18 August 1941 as Fireman No.319249. Tom fought fires in Liverpool Blitz and later in the war was stationed at Andover. There is a story of firefighting at the Heinz baked beans factory and wading though beans all day and being given baked beans for dinner back at the fire station.
Tom was released from the NFS 1 January 1945 and he returned to cotton weaving as a Cotton Loom Overlooker at Birtwistle & Oddie Ltd. Prospect Mill, Wharf Street, Blackburn. Together with Enoch Barnes he designed and made curtain material with the Blackburn coat of arms commemorating the centernary of the Town Hall (1851-1951) which hung in the Town Hall up to the 1970's. A cushion made from a remnant is with MDP. Tom retired in 1966.
Tom was widowed in 1981. He suffered from deafness from the noise in the weaving sheds and empysema related to smoking but he lived to be 82 years old dying eventually of bowel cancer.
In Blackburn Cemetery in the TE plot the left hand stone reads "also Tom Cooper 1901-1983 her devoted husband"


Thomas Cooper 1926


Thomas Cooper AFS 1940


Overlooker Thomas Cooper and weavers Prospect Mill 1953


Thomas Cooper 1982


Constance Martha ELLIOT:

Alias Constance Martha COOPER
Born Sunday 17 August 1902
Died Friday 21 August 1981
see Elliot tree for details


Constance Elliot 1920


Constance Elliot 1926


Constance Cooper nee Elliot at work, back centre 1938

Constance Margaret COOPER = Fred PICKUP > Family

Married Saturday 6 June 1953, St. Matthews, Blackburn, LAN, ENG

Constance Margaret COOPER:

Alias Constance Margaret PICKUP
Born Wednesday 25 June 1930, 36 Kenyon Street, Blackburn, LAN, ENG
Christened Monday 28 July 1930, St. Judes, Blackburn, LAN, ENG
worked as secretary at time of marriage. Correspondence Clerk at Blackburn Town Hall until retirement
rhumatoid arthritis
lived at 21 Cromwell Terrace, Blackburn with parents then 18 Randolf Street, Blackburn after marriage then 4 Sunny Bower Close, Blackburn
b cert copy
m cert copy


Constance Cooper 1946


Constance and Reginald Cooper 1936


Fred PICKUP:

Born Friday 20 September 1929
Occupation: motor mechanic then electrical fitter³
see PICKUP tree for details

Reginald Thomas COOPER = Nora MCGREW > Family

Married Saturday 28 June 1958, St Oswalds, LAN, ENG

Reginald Thomas COOPER:

Born Monday 12 November 1934



Nora MCGREW:

Alias Nora COOPER
Born Friday 6 November 1936

Silver Wedding celebration 30th June 1951 at the Grosvenor Hotel, Lord Street, Blackburn

1 :
does not appear on 1901 census but would have been a few months old
2 :
worked at Birtwistle & Oddie Ltd, Wharf Street Mill both before WW2 and again after the war until retirement.
3 : "(see notes)"; Primary evidence
worked for Northwestern Electricity Board (NORWEB) and Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB)