Robert Drake Minter

1887 - 1957  (70 years)

• Name	Robert Drake Minter
  Birth	2 Dec 1887	Rotherhithe, London   [1]
  Christening	18 Dec 1887	St Mary, Rotherhithe, London   [2]
  Gender	Male
  _UID	9A07F2EDD7A54FFF8F5D68A190C4B6135C29
  Death	4 Dec 1957	Romford RD   [1]
  Burial	10 Dec 1957	Chadwell Heath Cemetery, Essex   [3]
  Notes	Mentioned in the London Gazette of 5 May 1914: Without Competition, Post Office: postmen or porters, London. Listed in the British Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737-1969 at Ancestry.co.uk in 1914 as Robert D Minter, postman, EDO and in 1915 as a postman Div 1 with the London Postal Service Southeast and in 1925 as a postman in Romford, Chadwell Heath. Robert served 3 spells in the Royal Navy: 7 August 1907 - 10 August 1912 2 August 1914 - 5 March 1919 8 April 1921 - 6 June 1921. His shore base was HMS Pembroke 1 at Chatham and he went to sea as an AB on a variety of vessels. Robert was an Able Seaman in the Royal Fleet Reserve from 7 March 1919 to 2 December 1927. In the gap between August 1912 and August 1914 Robert joined the merchant marine. He joined the New Zealand Transport Ship TSS Opawa at London on 31 January 1913 and was discharged at New Zealand on 28 June 1913, having served as quartermaster AB for the whole voyage. It's not clear how Robert got back to England. As a result of his wartime service Robert was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal ('Pip, Squeak and Alfred') and the Royal Naval Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. After 1921 Robert evidently took up as a postman again. In 1924 Robert was awarded a prize for photography (portraiture) for his photo of a rose. Robert later became a professional photographer. His grandson Terry Cooper has provided a copy of a card headed 'Photography at its Best' .... R Minter, Photographer 14 Morley Road, Chadwell Heath. During WW2 Robert was awarded the Imperial Service Medal for his service with the Post Office, which inclded volunteering for driving at night during air raids. Terry Cooper writes of his grandfather: "He never drank, not even at Christmas, which was a bit of a family joke because he was born in a pub. [His mother] Mary Ann Ayton [(Drake) Minter] was the landlord of the 'Queen Charlotte' in Rotherhithe. All I know about her is that she was a great hypochondriac. After the pub she lived in one of the typical houses in Southwark Park Road with a bay window. My grandmother (sic) said that whenever she went to visit her, there was a table in the alcove of the window piled up with various medicines and on each visit she would proudly show off her latest acquisitions."
  Person ID	I845	Thanet, Kent
  Last Modified	25 Jul 2019

  
  

  Father	Thomas Henry Minter,   b. 5 Apr 1851, 105 Dorset Court, St Brides, London d. Bef 16 Feb 1918, Whitechapel RD (Age 66 years)
  Mother	Mary Ann Ayton DRAKE,   b. Abt 1856, Whitefriars, London d. 1 Feb 1926, Bermondsey, London (Age ~ 70 years)
  Marriage	24 Mar 1878	Deptford, London   [1]
  Family ID	F30	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Eleanor Daisy MARSH,   b. 24 Sep 1886, 90 Wick Road, Hackney, London d. 28 Mar 1972, St George's Hospital, Hornchurch, Essex (Age 85 years)
  Marriage	5 Jul 1913	St Mary the Virgin, Walthamstow, London   [1, 4]
  Children	1. Elsie Violet Minter,   b. 27 Sep 1913, Hackney, London d. Jun 1989, Brentwood RD (Age 75 years)   2. Gladys Patricia Minter,   b. 26 Feb 1920, 113 Storks Road, Bermondsey, London d. 24 Dec 1989, Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, Essex (Age 69 years)   3. Robert F Minter,   b. Dec 1921, St Olave Bermondsey RD d. Mar 1925, Romford RD (Age ~ 3 years)   4. Alan H Minter,   b. 23 Aug 1927, Romford RD d. Dec 1983, Havering RD (Age 56 years)
  Family ID	F12	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	25 Jul 2019

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 2 Dec 1887 - Rotherhithe, London  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  Robert Drake Minter This photograph was taken by Robert Drake Minter in 1924 and was awarded a medal by the GPO.

  
  

• Sources

  [S4] BMD index. [S17] London Metropolitan Archive at Ancestry.co.uk, October 2009 and later. [S22] Terry Cooper, March 2012. [S35] Essex Marriages And Banns 1537-1935 at findmypast.co.uk.