Ailsa Crawford CONGDON

1916 - 2003  (86 years)

• Name	Ailsa Crawford CONGDON  [1]
  Born	24 Dec 1916	Kilkenny SA   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Biography Notes	c1990's	no source-likely FM ie a verbal family memory
  	Remembering life at the Mile End railyards: Every night, without fail, Ailsa Pocock's father used to watch Australia's longest train, the Melbourne Express, shuffle past his front gate. One of Adelaide's longest serving station masters, James Congdon, had a fascination for trains even an eight-hour, exhausting shift would not diminish. "Dad would get home about 6pm, and he would always, whatever happened, walk out to watch the Melbourne go by", Mrs Pocock said. "He had seen the Melbourne in station, inspect its brakes and come home for tea ... But at 7pm, he always went to the front gate." Mr Congdon, who died in 1960, lived in one of the railway cottages, which were demolished in 1995, for some 20 years. He served as station master at the Mile End railyards for 19 years, and a road in the Mile End redevelopment is named after him. Mrs Pocock, who lives at Marion, also lived in the cottage with her family for three years as a teenager before she was married. Although is was only a short stay, from 1934-1937, she fondly remembers the lively rail-yards - the continual stream of noisy trains, trolleys and the unloading and stacking of goods. The family home was wedged between railway tracks, with a rail line only 'yards' from her back door. Mrs Pocock recalled catching the passenger train into town to go to school. "We used to see the train signal go off (from the house) and of course we were running late, and we used to shoot out the front to cross the railway tracks be the time the train came," she said. (source: Which newspaper, what date?)
  Died	1 Nov 2003	Pasadena SA   [2]
  	Brighton (St Judes ) Cemetery Adelaide SA
  Person ID	I-8918	Christina and Donald McLean
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2021

  
  

  Relationship	-522
  Mother	Margaret Elizabeth CAMPBELL,   b. 1896, Wales UK ,   d. 12 Jan 1955, Adelaide SA  (Age 59 years)
  Relationship	-522
  Married	c1912	Adelaide SA
  Family ID	F-522	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Father	James Thomas Percival CONGDON,   b. 19 Nov 1888, Thebarton SA ,   d. 31 Oct 1955, Brighton SA  (Age 66 years)
  Mother	Eva May MCLEAN,   b. 23 Feb 1886, Strathalbyn SA ,   d. 28 Jun 1988, Unley SA  (Age 102 years)
  Married	25 Jun 1932	Adelaide SA   [3]
  Family ID	F-3016	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Charles Miell POCOCK,   b. 6 Nov 1909, Rosewater SA ,   d. 15 Nov 1989, Pasadena SA  (Age 80 years)
  Married	14 Apr 1937	Adelaide SA   [4]
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2021 02:09:18
  Family ID	F-2964	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Documents

  WW - Ailsa Congdon - born 24th Dec 1916 in Kilkenny, Hindmarsh Father: James Thomas Percival Congdon Mother: Mary Craufurd Thom Birth place/residence: Kilkenny

  
  

• Sources

  [S-245] Warren McLean - ID 1506 - family tree on MyHeritage, my heritage (with a log in), 23 Feb 2021 Researcher Lorna McLean. Ailsa Crawford Pocock (born Congdon) Birth Dec 24 1916 Kilkenny SA Marriage to: Charles Miell Pocock on Apr 14 1937 at Adelaide SA Ailsa Crawford Congdon's Death Nov 1 2003 SA Burial Pasadena Mitcham City SA [S-115] CEMETERY Billion Graves American based information, billion graves, 23 May 2021 Lorna McLean Researcher. Margaret Elizabeth Congdon Died: 12 Jan 1955 Grave site information of Margaret Elizabeth Congdon (Died: 12 Jan 1955) at Brighton (Saint Jude) Cemetery in Adelaide, [S-245] Warren McLean - ID 1506 - family tree on MyHeritage, my heritage (with a log in), 23 May 2021 Lorna McLean Researcher. James Thomas Percival Congdon Birth Nov 19 1888 Thebarton SA FIRST Marriage 1912 Mary Crawford Thom Aug 21 1912 Hindmarsh SA SECOND Marriage 1932 Eva May McLean June 25 1932 Adelaide SA [S-75] BDM SA, https://www.genealogysa.org.au requires log in , 12 Mar 2021 Researcher Lorna Mclean. Ailsa Crawford Pocock (born Congdon)Birth Dec 24 1916 Kilkenny South Australia Marriage to: Charles Miell Pocock Apr 14 1937 Adelaide, South Australia