Mexborough and Swinton Times November 18, 1938

Neighbours of 40 years find they are Cousins

Here is a strange story of the suburbs. Strange indeed, it is but perhaps not to be wondered at in an age of shifting populations when people are shy in making new friends. These two Wombwell residents had lived within a stone’s throw of each other for more than forty years but had never enjoyed anything but a nodding acquaintance.

Perhaps there were occasions when they would have liked to talk to each other in a more intimate way but it had always passed off with “Good morning,” “Drop of nice rain we are having,” “Chilly isn’t it?” or such ordinary passing commonplaces.

Then something happened; one of the parties suffered a bereavement and the other, meeting her in the street, thought it called for a little expression of sympathy. This neighbourly expression of fellow-feeling produced the reaction you might expect. The formal reserve of 40 odd years was dropped and the two fell to talking. It was then that they discovered that they were cousins! They were natives of a little village of less than a hundred houses something like a hundred miles from Wombwell, their fathers were brothers! One of the parties to this strange coincidental happening is Mrs. Emily Wilkinson of 12 Hall’s Avenue, Jump; the other is Mrs. Mary Jane Bourne who lives in the same street only a few doors away.

Before they moved to the veterans’ bungalows at Jump both lived in Station Road, Wombwell, for the greater part of their married lives. In all those years they had known each by sight.

A year ago Mrs. Wilkinson, whose husband worked at Houghton Main Colliery for a number of years, celebrated her Golden wedding.

It was Mrs. Bourne who had suffered the bereavement and, meeting her at the bottom of the street the other day Mrs. Wilkinson with true neighbourly feeling, said how sorry she was. Mrs Wilkinson has a slight Staffordshire Accent, the fact arouse Mrs Bourne’s curiosity.

Talking of Talke

The conversation ran as follows:

Mrs Bourne: What part of the country did you come from?

Mrs Wilkinson: Staffordshire.

Mrs Bourne: Curious so did I. What part?

Mrs Wilkinson: Near Burslem

Mrs Bourne: So did I. Do you happen to know a village called Talke?

Mrs Wilkinson: Know it? I should think I ought to; that’s my birthplace.

Mrs Bourne: Well, well. I was born there too.

After that the cross examination became more exciting with each new discovery of affinity. Each asked the other whether she knew so and so. They did but it was such a long ago they had almost forgotten them. 60 years is a long time:

Did Mrs Wilkinson know a family at Talke named Holland.

“Know them? she replied. “Why, bless your life that was my maiden name.” It was Mrs. Bourne’s maiden name also.

Now it began to dawn upon them that they might be related. They asked each other their christian names and the christian names of their fathers. Mrs. Wilkinson remarked that her father was killed in a colliery explosion at Bunkers Hill Colliery, near Burslem in 1875. Mrs. Bourne said that she lost two uncles in it. Thomas and George Holland.

“I knew it then,” Mrs. Wilkinson told a “Times” reporter. “In fact we both realised it together.” “Our fathers were brothers. We were first cousins. We had lived near each other all our lives and didn’t know it.”

There was, of course, much talk after that but Mrs. Bourne’s bus came and broke it up.

Later in the evening Mrs. Wilkinson went down to Mrs. Bourne’s house to talk over old times and to relate their childhood experiences. The street soon knew about it and the “Romance of the two cousins has been the talk of the week. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.