"The old man in a tub"

[Sara]

[quoted]
Robert D. Stonham wrote:
[quoted]
Robert D. Stonham wrote:
_ _ _Hello everyone_ _ _.if you will go into the Summer issue 2006 of This England,page 24, you will find a fascinating and moving article on Alfred Mills Stonham_ _ _"the man in the tub"_ _ _..he was much more than that, larger than life_ _ _.he was one year older than my grandfather James Mahlon Stonham,1880, who happens to remind me so much of Biddy_ _ _also there is a picture of Biddy that could pass for my grandpa James_ _ _.I cannot prove for certain that they were related, but I'd find a bit difficult for them not to be related_ _ _.
Anyway, this is for your information, and I hope it helps someone to fill in some of the blanks about "the man in the tub"_ _ __ _ _sincerely, Robert Stonham, Boca Raton, Florida and Costa Rica_ _ _..
[/quoted]

This is very exciting - 3 possible connections after a long time of looking. My grandmother is Florence Stonham and was related to Biddy. Do you know of her? My father remembers visiting Biddy on his boat when he was a child
[/quoted]

[james_bacon]

Dear Sir,

My grandmother Eileen was Biddy's grandaughter and she was a Stonham before getting married. Her dad was one of Biddy's sons Larry, but we are not sure where we may be related to you and the other people writing in. My nan says she even remembers going into his house when Biddy had died and he was under a sheet of some sort, which must have been disturbing. It would be interesting to find out how many brothers and relatives Biddy actually has as the list seems endless. I am really interested in the History of the town and of Biddy and it would be really helpful if anyone knows where he medals may be as we don't seem to know where they went and would be nice to know they are safe. Many thanks.

Best Wishes,

James Bacon

[antony_may]

Hi All,

My name is Tony May and I write articles for 'Hastings Town' magazine. I am looking to write an article on Biddy for publication soon and would be interested in contacting anyone with stories and/or photos of him. I don't want to simply cobble something together from old press reports etc as that has all been done before. I think characters like Alfred deserve to be remembered and so I would like to write a fitting and personal tribute to him.
In case you know Hastings Town magazine, I was the one who wrote the article on Ron Everett, 'Popeye'.

If anyone would like to get in touch, leave a message here.

Hope to hear from you soon,

All the best,

Tony.

[robert_crewdson]

[quot
Andrew Hay wrote:
The old man in the tub was named Alfred Mills Stonham, nick-named Biddy. He was born in1879. He was my Gran's uncle. There's a little booklet that you can buy from the fishermen's museum in Hastings.
Biddy The Tubman by Geoff Hutchinson ISBN 0 95 19 93 67 4
I am very sorry that I never knew this wonderful old man as he sadly died in 1964. He received a bravery medal from the RNLI and was given it at Buckingham palace by King Edward VII. He fought in the first world war as a sailor and in the second, helped evacuate the soldiers fron Dunkirk during the second.
I will try and find some old photos that are floating around the family, if it's possible.
I would also be grateful if you would pass any info on to me as I'm trying to trace all our family.
With regards
ANDREW HAY

[/quoted]

I was told several years ago by an elderly man that worked at the Fisherman's Museum that a daughter of Alfred Stonham married P.W.Wood, a son of John Wood by his first marriage. John Wood was my great grandfather. There was a story recently on Central News south about a man who had his own cinema and had rescued some old home movies that had been thrown out; among the films was the only known footage of Biddy the Tub Man.