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Did anyone know Mr Nurnable?

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Some of the information that comes up when you Google his name is quite remarkable.

Oddly it seems to say that he never married and lived like a recluse for 20 years. It could be that his wife died in the early 80s but married he certainly was and his daughter was a neighbour of mine.

I always assumed that he was a bachelor, but of course never asked. This report says (erroneously, as does the Telegraph obituary???) "He never married and lived alone at Norton. He was almost a recluse for 20 years"

http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishinfantry/gordonsnornable.htm

 

A recipient of the esteemed Croix de Guerre and he was given the Military Cross by the King! Wow. :cool: Modest chap.

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Gordon Nornable attended the same school as Dreb48 and me (King Ted's, 1926-1932). Old school magazines testify as to his sporting prowess. Clearly a man of many parts. As Dreb48 wrote a Nornable family lived on Bromwich Road - directories from the 1940s and 1950s show Harry Nornable at No 13. This was Gordon's uncle - the 1911 census shows Gordon's grandfather Walter Nornable as householder. Robert Nornable is shown as the householder at 13 Bromwich Road in later directories. Gordon's father Charles E. Nornable is shown at 13 Little Norton Lane in directories from the 1930s to the 1970s.

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Thanks hillsboro. I think that maybe solves the confusion.

The Robert was RHG Nornable or Gordon as he was known and he definitely lived at 13 Bromwich Rd in the 60s.

My assumption being that he then moved to his fathers house on Little Norton Lane when he died in the 70s ?

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...The Robert was RHG Nornable or Gordon as he was known...
I don't think so, that is, the R.H.G. Nornable may have been known as Gordon but he and "our" Gordon Nornable were different people (perhaps cousins). The war hero was Gordon Nornable, born 9 January 1915, who died in November 2002. No other forenames are given in the births and deaths indexes. Gordon's parents were Charles E. Nornable and Lavina Nornable, nee Biggin, who had married in 1911. There is also a Robert H.G. Nornable who married Edith Ward in 1936, and the deaths index has a Robert Henry Nornable, born 1 December 1904, who died February 1987. Gordon Nornable may not always have lived at his parents' house (he was only 14 when his mother died) but it is clear that Robert Henry G. Nornable was a different person.

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Thanks again Hillsboro. I think I'm guilty of misleading everyone on this one. Memory playing serious tricks on me.

The Nornable that I knew on Bromwich Rd patently wasn't Gordon but a relative. When people were describing him previously in didn't quite fit and having seen his picture online I recognise him as the quietly spoken,upright gentleman who also used to come into my shop who I'd completely forgotten was also a Nornable.

Think I've been guilty of putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with something ridiculous.

Sorry to those who've contributed to this thread

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Think I've been guilty of putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with something ridiculous.

Sorry to those who've contributed to this thread

 

Ther is no reason to apologise Dreb48. It has been fascinating reading the stories and to realise that the quiet, apparently shy, kind gentleman that I knew 50 years ago was actually a brave war hero. I had heard rumours but had never had it confirmed until this thread.

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Ther is no reason to apologise Dreb48. It has been fascinating reading the stories and to realise that the quiet, apparently shy, kind gentleman that I knew 50 years ago was actually a brave war hero...
Yes indeed - I never encountered the Nornable family but it has been fascinating to read this thread. The surname Nornable is, needless to say, very rare and seems to have originated in the northern part of the Isle of Axholme. Gordon Nornable's great-grandfather Walter Nornable (1829-1897) came from Hatfield and moved to Maugerhay, Norton, in c. 1850.

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I remember a Miss Nornable who was a Nursing Officer/Matron at the NGH in the late 70's/early 80's -.

It's such an unusual name I guess she must be related.

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I remember a Miss Nornable who was a Nursing Officer/Matron at the NGH in the late 70's/early 80's -.

It's such an unusual name I guess she must be related.

 

Well I'm pretty sure on this one. Miss Nornable the Nursing Officer is the Jane I mentioned earlier in this thread. A really lovely, gentle person who died either last year or the year before. She was the daughter of the Nornable that lived on Bromwich Rd.

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Well I'm pretty sure on this one. Miss Nornable the Nursing Officer is the Jane I mentioned earlier in this thread. A really lovely, gentle person who died either last year or the year before. She was the daughter of the Nornable that lived on Bromwich Rd.

 

She was lovely and I'm sorry to hear that she has passed away. I remember her being strict but very fair.

I didn't know her first name - back in the 70's Nursing officers and Matrons didn't have first names !

I do recall nursing her father many years ago too.

Edited by Daven

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When you read about Gordon's heroic exploits online you realise how many people of his generation suffered incredibly or did amazing deeds then afterwards just got on with their lives without making any fuss.

It was mentioned that he was an Abbey Hotel regular and it reminded me of a thread that was on here about another regular Alex Keenan who's exploits as a POW had been immortalised somewhere.

My own drinking partner from there the late Maynard Crookes ' Yorky' had been a young sailor who was torpedoed on Christmas Eve and was one of a handful of survivors who were fished out of the sea with nearly all the crew lost. It wasn't something he made a thing about but can you imagine the horror as a young lad to go throught that and then just carry on

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It was mentioned that he was an Abbey Hotel regular

Yes, a friend and I (several mates were regulars at that time in the tap room, usually for the quiz at night) saw him there several times in the daytime one summer (1991-2?) and assumed he visited the Tap room during the day often. He might not have been, maybe he was just slaking his heatwave thirst?

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