O Pig, Pig, how many crimes are committed in thy name!

Cecil Lovett

When I first started looking for Cecil Lovett, I made the assumption that I was looking for a male. Nothing seemed to fit, but a female candidate - Cecil Esther Lovett - seemed to fit all the criteria. The lesson to this? Assume nothing!!!

Cecil Esther Lovett was born in 1894 to Hubert Richard and Lina Mary Lovett nee Maitland. Hubert Lovett joined the Kings Royal Rifle Corps (1st Battalion) seeing active service from 1873 in the East Indies, Afghanistan, Mari Country, South Africa, Egypt and India and rose through the ranks to become a Major. He seems to have retired in 1892 shortly after his marriage and taken up residence at Henlle Hall, Oswestry where he served as a J.P.

Lina Mary Maitland was born in 1857 in Edinburgh. She married Hans Hamilton Howard-Brooke in 1880, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. He died in 1890, and the 1891 census shows Lina living at 66 Eaton Terrace, London.

Hubert and Lina married on 14th July 1892 at St Pauls Knightsbridge. On the 1901 census they are living at Henlle Hall with their children Thomas Maitland Lovett and Cecil Esther Lovett, aged 7 and 6 respectively.

Hubert died on 28th October 1908 leaving Lina a widow for the second time. The drawing of the pig was made by Cecil barely a month after the death of her father. The 1911 census shows Lina at Henlle Hall with Thomas and Cecil visitors at Llanforda, the residence of Thomas Longueville.

In March 1913, Cecil commenced her volunteering with the Red Cross. Based out of Brynkinalt Auxiliary Hospital, Chirk Cecil completed 1500 hours of nursing duties over the next 4 years. In 1917, Cecil married Daniel J Ross (born 9 December 1869, Ireland). They had two children - a son born in 1918 and a daughter in 1921.

Daniel died in Ireland in 1951 and Cecil died at St Catherine's House, Glenfield Road, Leicester in 1963.