On September 9, 1901, John Walden Poulson – The Wastrel – attended the wedding of his younger brother (and fellow cricket player) Thomas. There were apparently large crowds – for a small town – outside the Weslyan Methodist Church in Knottingley to wish the young couple well and watch local sort-of celebrities!

Two of my great aunts – Emily and Nellie – were bridesmaids and Mary Ellen, the three Poulson boys older sister, made the trip from Portsmouth. This was possibly the last family event where Edwin and all of his children were there. Both weddings took place at the local Wesleyan Chapel – the picture is at the head of the post.

Upstanding Edwin’s youngest son, Charles, was married in 1909, and although Mary Ellen made it to that wedding too, neither John Walden or his wife Emily attended. My grandfather was a page and his sister, Auntie Googie (Doris) was a bridesmaid, Emily and Nellie were guests this time. It appears Edwin LLewellyn and his wife Emily were not there, possibly because Emily was ill – she died in 1912 and her obituary mentioned she’d been ill for the previous three or so years.

Knottingley and Ferrybridge were small towns, but the Pontefract Advertiser wrote an article about both weddings with many interesting details – such as the local MP (Nussey) attending Thomas’ 1901 wedding, but not Charles’ in 1909. Thomas is at his brother’s wedding, but his wife Lily is not – she’s had one child by then and the following year has her second. Possibly she’s off the wedding circuit temporarily.

The hateful practice of boasting about presents is at full throttle for the 1901 wedding, but for whatever reason largely missing in 1909 – except for the pottery employees’ gift which rates a mention.

For both weddings the stories note cabs were supplied by Mr. C W Saul – the same man that Edwin Llewellyn sued for slander in 1893 over the election irregularities. They must somehow have settled their differences in the interim – or perhaps there was no other source of cabs? In a small town, you only have so many people you can shun!

I don’t know if my grandfather and his sister Goggie were living with Aunt Mary in 1909 – they could have all traveled to Knottingley from Portsmouth – but it is possible. The two children are in Portsmouth for the 1911 census; John Walden sold the first of his properties (presumably to fund Canada) in 1908, so it’s possible he had parceled out the kids earlier and  Gamps and Goggie were already living in Portsmouth – which would have allowed them to see their sisters again at Charles’ wedding. Their younger sisters Millicent and Ethel were 7 and 4 in 1909 and might have been too young.

Without more backstory, here are the two newspaper articles. Thomas:

…and Charles