Alfred Lambourne KING (1871-1924)

Alfred Lambourne King (1871-1924) was a fellow freemason in Evesham with Julius Sladden.  He wrote to Julius in September 1915 concerning the bravery of his son, Cyril.

Alfred King was born at Brighton in 1871, the eldest of five children of Alfred King, a Professor of Music, and his wife, Eliza Helen (née Virtue).  At the time of the 1881 census, the family lived at 30 Buckingham Place, Brighton, but Alfred was away at school in Thoverton, Devon.  In 1891 he was  staying with Robert Goodrich, fruit farmer, and family at Northwold, near Thetford:  a horticultural stuent who had gone there to learn the ways of fruit farming.  By 1901, Alfred had moved to Evesham for market gardening and was living on Sanatorium Road, Evesham.  In 1911 he was living at 2 Philipscote.

Alfred was a member of Abbot Lichfield Lodge of Freemasons in Evesham and was Master in 1912, succeeding Julius Sladden.  In September 1915 Alfred wrote to Julius Sladden after he had heard from his cleaning lady about the brave exploits of Julius’ youngest son, Cyril, who had rescued a member of his Battalion from the battlefield.

On 8th December 1922 at the age of 51, Alfred King married Fanny Mabel Mary Collett at Wickhamford.  They had less than two years of married life together as Alfred died on 11th August 1924 at Wolverhampton, aged 53, and was buried at Wickhamford three days later.  His widow never remarried.  In 1939 she was a teacher of Domestic Science in Brierley Hill, Staffordshire.  She died at Lyme Regis, Dorset, in 1955, aged 71.