Page 95 - ‘A Blaker Family History’ The family history of Joseph Blaker (1916-2007; ‘Joe’)

© The Blaker Society
© The Blaker Society

At the time of their marriage, ‘Jim’ was living at 7 Auckland Place and ‘Eva’
was living at 16 Elder Road. ‘Jim’ and ‘Eva’ started their married life living
at 32 Knights Hill, West Norwood.

‘Jim’ and ‘Eva’ had 2 children:
• Marion Eveline: b. 1938, Kings College Hospital, Lambeth
• Lewis James: b. 1949, Dulwich Hospital, West Dulwich
Further information about their children is given in section 6.30.

From the Electors’ Lists, we can trace the various properties where ‘Jim’
and ‘Eva’ lived:
• 32 Knights Hill, Norwood: 1930-1931
• 11 Hubbard Road, Norwood: 1932-1934
• 13 Cotswold Street, Norwood: 1935-1937
• 81 Auckland Hill, West Norwood: 1938-?
• Basement Flat, 67 Auckland Hill, West Norwood: 1945
onwards

Auckland Hill, Norwood: Contemporary View

‘Jim’ worked as a ‘Milk Roundsman’ – plenty of early morning starts for
him to ensure that fresh milk was delivered to his customers in time for
their breakfasts. My father, ‘Joe’ Blaker, once recalled that as a young boy,
he helped his elder brother, ‘Jim’, deliver samples of ‘Ex-Lax’ chocolate to
addresses in West Norwood. Unfortunately, they both decided to sample
copious amounts of the chocolate themselves, not realising that it was a
stimulative laxative! The results were explosive, and they needed to use
several of ‘Jim’s’ customers’ toilets to obtain relief - a lesson was learnt!

Lily Caswell recalls that ‘Jim’ did not trust banks, and kept a large amount
of cash in a suitcase underneath his bed. His daughter, Marion, persuaded
her father to take some of the cash to a bank, as his hoard of money
included a lot of white five pound notes that were taken out of circulation
by the Bank of England, and were no longer legal tender beyond March
1961!

In 1979, ‘Jim’ died in Dulwich Hospital. The cause of his death was
certified as ‘Carcinoma of the Bronchus’ and ‘Carcinometosis’. Prior to the
time of ‘Jim’s’ admission to hospital, ‘Jim’ and ‘Eva’ were living at 67
Auckland Hill, West Norwood. When ‘Jim’ died, ‘Eva’ did not want other
family members to know of his death or the funeral arrangements, and
this created friction within the family. The reason for ‘Eva’s’ attitude is not
clear – now lost in the mists of time!

‘Eva’ survived her husband by only 8 months. In 1980, ‘Eva’ died at her
home. The cause of her death was certified as ‘Myocardial Fibrosis;
Coronary Atheroma and Carcinoma of Cervix Uteri’. ‘Eva’ was buried in
West Norwood cemetery – where her son, Lewis, worked.