Date Modifier |
Date |
Event |
Description/Notes |
Sources |
On |
7 June 1880 |
Parents’ marriage |
Thomas Rayner and Rhoda Miller married at Godstone Parish Church on 7 June 1880. The marriage was registered 2nd quarter 1880, Godstone Registration District, Surrey. Thomas was 25, Rhoda 32. Thomas’s occupation is given as cab driver, but his address at the time of the marriage is unfortunately unreadable on the certificate, except that it was in St Saviour’s Parish – this would often imply Southwark, but the other word does not resemble that at all. His father was a coachman. Rhoda was living in Godstone, her father was a labourer. |
FreeBMD1; FreeBMD2; SurreyParish1 |
On |
12 December 1880 |
Birth |
Just over six months after his parents’ marriage, George Thomas Rayner was born in Sutton, Surrey on 12 December 1880. The birth was registered 1st quarter 1881, Epsom Registration District. He was baptised at Beddington on 3 April 1881 (coincidentally the day the 1881 census was taken). |
FreeBMD3; EWParishTranscript1; Census1881 |
On |
3 April 1881 |
Census |
George Thomas Rayner, listed as 4 months old though that contradicts the information in his baptismal register entry, was living with his parents Thomas (26) a grocer’s assistant, and Rhoda (33) at 4 Claremont Terrace, Lind Road, Sutton |
Census1881 |
On |
30 August 1882 |
Birth of Brother |
Henry William Rayner, born Sutton, Surrey, registered 4th quarter 1882, Epsom Registration District. According to a transcript of the baptismal register he was born on 30 August and baptised on 3 December 1882. |
FreeBMD4; EWParishTranscript2; Census1891 |
Before |
10 November 1884 |
Birth |
Sidney Frank Rayner, born Sutton, Surrey, registered 4th quarter 1884, Epsom Registration District. Forename given as Sydney in some sources throughout his life. No baptismal record has been traced, even in transcript form. His age at death on 10 November 1918 is given as 34, so he must have been born before 10 November 1884 |
FreeBMD5; Census1891; FreeBMD12; CWGC |
On |
5 April 1891 |
Census |
By 1891 Sydney [sic] Frank (6), scholar was living with his parents Thomas (37), general labourer and Rhoda (42) at 6 Elm Grove, Sutton. Also present were his brothers George Thomas Rayner (10), scholar and Henry William (8), scholar. |
Census1891 |
On |
31 March 1901 |
Census |
In 1901 the family were still living at 6 Elm Grove. Sidney Frank (16) was now a stationer’s porter. He was living with his parents, Thomas (45) cab driver, and Rhoda (52). Also in the house were his brothers: Henry William (18) and George Thomas (20), both grocer’s porters. |
Census1901 |
On |
7 February 1906 |
Peal |
Sidney rang the treble to a peal of Grandsire Triples at Carshalton, George rang the third. It was the first for both the Rayner brothers. Also marked as the first peal for H Rayner, presumably Henry William Rayner. John Webb rang the second, his first peal as conductor. |
BN1 |
Before |
30 September 1907 |
Marriage of brother |
William Henry Rayner married Beatrice Shiner, the marriage was registered in the 3rd quarter 1907 in the Steyning Registration District, Sussex. |
FreeBMD6; FreeBMD7; Census1911 |
On |
10 November 1909 |
Peal |
Sidney rang the treble to a peal of Grandsire Triples at Benhilton. It is the first by either of the Rayner brothers that has been traced, but it is not marked as his first peal. John Webb rang the second. |
BN2 |
On |
29 May 1910 |
Quarter peal |
Sidney rang the third while George rank the fifth to a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples at Benhilton on 29 May 1910. John Webb rang the sixth. |
BN3 |
On |
9 November 1910 |
Peal |
Sidney rang the second to a peal of Grandsire Triples at Benhilton on 9 November 1910, his first inside. John Webb rang the fourth. |
BN4 |
On |
2 April 1911 |
Census |
Sidney Frank Rayner (26) a grocer’s porter, was living with his parents, Thomas (55) cab drive, and Rhoda (63), who had been married for 30 years and three children, all living. Also in the household was George Thomas Rayner (30) also a grocer’s porter. Henry William (28) man servant, was living with his wife Beatrice (26, born St Botolph, Brumber, Sussex), cook domestic in the household of the Hoskyns-Abrahamhall family, Rubers Law, West Byfleet, Surrey. Also in the household were two sons of the owner, Antony Leigh Egerton Hoskyns-Abrahall (7) and Andrew John Chandos Hoskyns-Abrahall (5), but neither the owner or his wife were present on census night; however, there was also a nurse domestic, Mary Haltley (73) and Edith Emily Kenninson (15) a nursemaid. |
Census1911; Census1911-2 |
On |
14 May 1911 |
Touch |
Sidney rang the second for a touch of 1008 changes of Grandsire Triples at Benhilton, rung for Sunday service. John Webb rang the fourth. |
RW1 |
On |
17 March 1912 |
Quarter peal |
Sidney rang the second to a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples at Benhilton rung for the service on Sunday 17 March 1912. John Webb rang the seventh |
RW2 |
On |
31 March 1912 |
Quarter peal |
Sidney rang the treble and George the second to a quarter peal of Plain Bob Major at Benhilton in the evening of Sunday 31 March 1912. John Webb rang the fourth. The quarter peal marked the 14th wedding anniversary of F Ford, who was ringing the fifth. |
RW3 |
On |
2 March 1913 |
Quarter peal |
Sidney rang the second and George the tenor to a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples at Benhilton, with John Webb conducting from the seventh. |
RW4 |
On |
13 April 1913 |
Quarter peal |
Sidney rang the second, and George the sixth, to a quarter of Oxford Bob Triples at Benhilton on 13 April 1913. John Webb again conducted from the seventh. |
RW5 |
On |
9 November 1913 |
Quarter peals |
Sidney rang the second to a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples for morning service, and the treble to quarter peal of Oxford Triples for evening service, on 9 November 1913 at Benhilton. John Webb rang the treble for the first and is listed as conductor of the second, though he is not named by a bell. |
BN5 |
On |
29 March 1914 |
Quarter peal |
Sidney rang the second and George the tenor to a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples for morning service at Benhilton on Sunday 29 March 1914. John Webb conducted from the fifth. |
BN6 |
On |
24 May 1914 |
Quarter peal |
Sidney rang the treble to a quarter peal of Grandsire Triples at Benhilton on Sunday 24 May 1914. John Webb conducted from the seventh. Rung for Empire Day and the birthdays of the wives of John Webb and F Ford (Mr F Ford was ringing the fourth). |
BN7 |
Before |
30 December 1914 |
Marriage |
Sidney Frank Rayner married Ethel M West, the marriage was registered in the 4th quarter 1914 in the Kingston Registration District. |
FreeBMD8; FreeBMD9 |
After |
1 January 1916 |
Posted overseas |
At some point after 1 January 1916, Sidney was posted overseas with the East Surrey Regiment (he was eligible only for the British War Medal and Victory Medal, not the 1914-15 Star or 1914 Star that he would have received if he had gone overseas before that date). Unfortunately no service record has been found, nor an entry in the Surrey Recruitment Registers, so his original enlistment date is not known. Neither does the medal roll indicate which battalion of the East Surrey Regiment he served with. He subsequently transferred to the Labour Corps (again no date is known) which suggests he was medically downgraded for some reason, possibly wound or sickness. |
MIC1; MedalRoll1 |
Before |
30 December 1916 |
Marriage of brother |
The marriage of George Thomas Rayner and Ethel May Galton was registered in the Woolwich Registration District in the 4th quarter 1916. As yet no further details of the wedding have been found. However, a photograph of Ethel can be found on a family history website. |
FreeBMD10; FreeBMD11 |
On |
23 October 1918 |
Brother posted overseas |
On 23 October 1918 George was probably posted to 7th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers in France. The medal cards and roll list only one George Rayner who served with the Royal Fusiliers, which is the regiment given on the roll of honour, but there is no direct evidence to confirm the connection between the George Rayner in official records and this George Thomas Rayner as no service record or Recruitment Register entry has been found. 7th Battalion was part of 190th Brigade in 63rd Division (this was originally a Royal Navy formation but had been absorbed by the army in 1916, though there was still a proportion of Royal Marines and RNVR personnel). Between 5-7 November 1918 the division participated in the passage of the Grand Honelle, part of the Final Advance in Picardy. |
MIC2; MedalRoll2 |
On |
10 November 1918 |
Death |
Sidney Frank Rayner died at Preston Hall Military Hospital, Aylesford, Kent, on 10 November 1918. He was then serving with No 437 Agricultural Company, Labour Corps, which was based at Maidstone. The roll of honour lists him as killed, while Soldiers Died in the Great War lists him as “died”. The cemetery registers of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission do not give a cause of death. It may be that he died in some sort of accident while working with the agricultural company, but the hospital specialised in treating soldier who had been gassed or were suffering with TB or other lung complaints, so it is possibly more likely that one of those was the cause, perhaps exacerbated by the Spanish Flu that was then becoming epidemic. His death was registered in the Malling Registration District, Kent in the 4th quarter 1918. He was buried in Benhilton churchyard, near the west boundary, and within sound of the bells he had spent so much time ringing. |
FreeBMD12; CWGC; SDGW; Effects |
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