JOHN ARCHIBALD JACOBS

John was born in Haxton (part of Fittleton parish) on January 4th 1901, so just made it to the 1901 census; ten years later obviously he was in the 1911 census

John joined the Royal Navy as a telegraphist, and it was in Portsmouth that he met and married Lily Evans Huzzey, on April 28th 1925 

John and Ted Jacobs

John and Lily had three children:

Elizabeth Anne born 6th March 1926 in the Naval Nursing home at Southsea
Kathleen Dorothy born 21st August 1927 in Newcombe Road, Fratton
Thomas Richard born 15th March 1929 in the Naval Nursing home at Southsea

The family around mid-1940s. John, Kathleen, Tom, Anne, Lily

John’s naval postings - from Tom’s files, supplied by Natalie:

HMS Dainty 1933-34
Gibraltar 1939 (I have his Military Pass) and a stamped Handbook from Gibraltar dated 30.7.42 (maybe he was in Gib twice.
HMS Victory 9.3.41 - 15.4.41
HMS Elfin 16.4.41 - 21.9.41
HMS Bacon 3.2.42
Admiral's staff Portsmouth 3.2.43 - 10.9.43
HMS Scotia 25.10.44 - 28.5.45
Dockyard Plymouth 10.6.45 - 10.10.45
Lackham School of Agriculture - Certificate of Horticulture 28.8.47
HMS Collingwood 9.3.49 - 2.3.50
Retired 4.4.50
HMS Resource 8.5.50 for another 2 years
HMS Bellerophon September 1952
HMN Adamant 10.1.53 - Fractured Humerus.
Finished with Bellerophon 28.11.54
Joined Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Limited in April 1955 and moved to Coventry
 
In 1938 he received a bronze medal from the Royal Humane Society for saving the life of an 18 year old from 'deep water, heavy surf and strong undercurrent' in Gibraltar.

It was my Dad's ambition to have a smallholding after he left the Navy, but the War intervened and when he was demobbed afterwards he went to Lacock on an agricultural course and then worked on a poultry farm at Liphook pending being allocated a smallholding.  However, things moved very slowly, and while still waiting he took a temporary job on a farm near Chalton, where his job was cutting wood for the charcoal burners.  This meant living in a tied cottage, where he did, indeed, keep about a dozen hens.  During this time, it became evident that there was no way my Mum would be able to cope with the change of life-style that would be necessary for life on a smallholding, which was why he went back into the Navy.  They were "mothballing" a number of ships and he worked on HMS Vanguard, I think for a year.  Subsequently he had a 10 year contract with Armstrong Whitworth at Coventry, working on something called Sea Slug (which I believe was later scrapped).  At the end of that contract he bought the bungalow in Figheldean, where he spent the rest of his days.

Kathleen

John died on 3rd November 1982 in Figheldean

Lily died 17th June 1988 at Ashley Lodge Nursing Home, New Milton, Hants