| Description | Second World War letters from Flight Sergeant Joseph Glossop to his wife, Grace in Belper
Approximately 250 letters to Miss Grace Reaney, later Mrs Glossop from her 'life partner' and 'loving hubby Joe', dated 1941-1946, mostly sent from within the UK, including Northern Ireland and Shetlands, whilst on active service with the RAF, plus some sent via Airmail from Gibraltar. With a small number of items from other correspondents, and what appears to be a list of wedding gifts (ranging from 6d to 2s 4d) from 'workmates in "A" shop" and studio portrait that is perhaps Grace.
Also including a selection of Edwardian and First World War postcards, and German map of mid-western Germany marked with dates [of arrival] in November and December 1918, perhaps taken from a diary the pages of which are attached. The postcards are mostly blank and do not relate to Derbyshire, particularly relating to Salisbury, Dunford Bridge and Horsforth, as well as Western Europe, probably collected during First World War; they include a photograph of John Alfred Riley (born 1886, an Insurance Clerk from Nottingham) in Summer 1909, and a postcard addressed to A.V. Riley at Park House, Horsforth, Leeds in August 1914. Also includes a photograph of Lieutenant William Hodgson Braithwaite, 7th Battalion West Yorks regiment in full dress uniform. WH Braithwaite was born in Hosforth in 1891. |
| Administrative History | Joseph Glossop (1921-2001) and Grace M. Reaney (1923-1999) were married in 1942, they had three children: Maureen (b. 1944), Geoffrey (b. 1948) and Patricia (b. 1951). After their wedding, Joseph and Grace moved to 199 Nottingham Road, though some letters in 1943 and 1944 are addressed to 193; they moved to 1 Church Street in 1945.
1939 Register
- Joseph Glossop, b. 10 Jul 1921, a Hosiery Manufacturer, living at Belper Road, Heage, with his mother, Emma (nee Draper, b. Aug 1892, m. 1914 to William Kirk Glossop, 1892-1938, re-married 1944), and five siblings.
- Grace Reaney, b. 22 Sep 1923, a Half Hosiery factory worker, living at 193 Nottingham Road, Belper, with George and Mercy Roome, Cyril, Mabel and Peggy Reaney, and others.
Joseph Glossop was a Flight Sergeant with the RAF, a senior non-commissioned officer. |
| Custodial History | These records were purchased at auction in October 2020 from Bamfords Auctioneers, Derby. No further information about their provenance is known, though the inclusion of some First World War items from the Riley and Braithwaite (and possibly other) families may indicate that the papers had previously been brought together by a collector of military ephemera, as there were also other military artefacts in the two-day 'Gentleman's Library' sale. Acc 6313 also purchased from the same auction. |