Vol 12.9 Captain Wendon Bush

Non-Hampton & Richmond Borough related posts.
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Les1949
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Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2021 3:59 pm

HAMPTON, AROUND AND ABOUT

Things you may not know, or didn’t know you knew!

No 9 CAPTAIN WENDEN BUSH
Original Committee Member

Another dip into the early days of Hampton FC, Captain Wenden Bush, 1921/22 Committee Member.

So, what do we know about Captain Wenden Ray Bush, he was born in Ealing in 1893. In 1909 he is recorded as playing for Hampton St Maty’s FC (as R W Bush), in 1911 he was living in Broad Lane and was described as an Insurance Clerk. Wenden was the son of a Station Sergeant in the Metropolitan Police.

During WW1, Wenden served with the Middlesex Regiment Duke of Cambridge’s Own. It would seem that Wenden spent most of his time serving in India in the Bay of Bengal as part of the Indian Reserve. At some stage he was promoted to the officer ranks.


He had three brothers Alfred, Bernard and Harry, unfortunately Harry was killed whilst serving in France with the Gordon Highlanders and is buried in Vis-en-Artois. Losing one son out of four in a family was possibly seen by most people of the time as a ‘good result’ given the carnage of WW1.

It is not possible to say how long Wenden remained on the Committee as records after the first season are scarce. We do know that Wenden married Rose Tadman early in 1925 – she then became Rose Bush!.

Wenden pops up again in the 1939 census and is now living on Courtlands Avenue and is described as ‘Secretary to Horticulturist (Flowers & Vegetables)’. As Hampton had a fair number of Market Gardens and Nurseries it would seem quite probable that he was working for one of the local businesses. The market gardens covered the area that we now know as the Nurserylands Housing Estate.


In 1964 Wenden and Rose were still living in Courtlands Avenue, but now a surviving brother, Bernard, and his wife were also living with them. Wenden passed away on 27th April 1968.

NB; Wenden is a very unusual name, it may relate to a district near Brunswick in Germany, also Wenden is a surname, common in Essex, so there may have been a family connection.


The Old Historian
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