From Thomas Cook to Cilla Battersby
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On 19 April we were pleased to welcome actress Wendi Peters, better known as Cilla Battersby from Coronation Street. Wendi came to research the employment history of her great great grandfather, Thomas Cook, who had been employed by the Post Office. She was accompanied by a film crew from GMTV who have been helping her to discover her family history.
We began by looking for a pension record for her ancestor. This is where we usually begin family history searches as pension records - where they survive - can give the most complete record of an individual’s employment history. Wendi was delighted with all the information she was able to discover about her ancestor and here is what we discovered.
The pension records showed that Thomas Cook had retired in 1909, aged 54 years. This was earlier than the usual retirement age of 60 years and the cause of retirement was given as ill health. We can also see from the absence recorded on his pension record that the decline in health was very sudden, with no absence due to illness in 1908, but suddenly 78 days in 1909.
Cook had worked as a rural messenger in the Blackburn area for 36 years and 4 months when he retired.
Wendi also got the chance to look at some artefacts from our museum collection. The pension record indicated that Thomas Cook had been recommended for the award of the Imperial Service Medal. This was an award made to civil servants who had completed more than 25 years service and had an unblemished conduct record.
We showed Wendi an example of the medal from a slightly later period. We also showed Wendi some examples of old uniforms, similar to those her great great grandfather might have worn.
Although museum objects are not always available to view in our Search Room, if you would like to see a specific object, please contact us to make an appointment.
Our family history records are available for anyone to look at and, as Wendi’s research showed, they can reveal a great amount of information. The website Visiting section includes a comprehensive guide to postal family history sources.