Aubrey Sydney Alderson was born on the 25^th October 1904. His parents were Tom and Edith Alderson and he appears in the 1911 Census as a six year-old boy living in Shincliffe Station. His father was a cartman at a local colliery.

Tom Alderson had been born and brought up in Sedgefield. He was the oldest child of Israel and Betsy Alderson. His father and grandfather would have been central to the life of the (what is now a) small town for different reasons.  Israel Alderson, Tom’s father, was a blacksmith. His grandfather, John, was a baker and grocer. Their knowledge of the people and the businesses in Sedgefield would have been immense. In Israel’s case, this would have been further strengthened as a result of his membership of the parish council. He rescued a young woman called Sarah McKenzie from the pond next to his blacksmith’s when she attempted suicide in July 1886. She was a general servant in the village and had been accused of stealing from her employer, William Snowden, a sanitary inspector. She was cautioned and returned to her family in Middlesbrough.

Israel’s son, and Aubrey’s uncle, John Frederick, inherited his father’s business and also set up a garage in Sedgefield. Another uncle, George, was also a blacksmith and set up his own business in between Coxhoe and Bowburn, next to the old Pit Laddie pub (demolished to make way for junction 61 of the A1) but died in 1912. The youngest son, James Sydney, also became a blacksmith in Stockton.

Aubrey’s mother, Edith, had been born and brought up in Stockton where her father was a merchant’s clerk. She is working in Winterton Hospital, Durham’s “lunatic asylum” as it was described at the time of the 1901 Census. It has long been demolished. Edith and Tom  married in 1903.

Tom Alderson died in 1933. His wife and son could be found at 9 Avenue Street in 1939 as war was declared. Aubrey was listed as a grocery salesman and so would have been following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather.

Aubrey volunteered for the RAF. However, on 7^th November, 1944, he was to lose his life along with several others.  He was on board HM Landing Ship Tank No 420 and bound for Ostend. Aubrey was serving with No 1 Base Signals and Radar Unit. The ship struck a mine with the loss of 14 officers and 224 other ranks. The large loss of life was exacerbated by the heavy seas at the time. Aubrey’s body was never recovered but he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Edith died in 1961.