Paul Rusling's Family
The Ruslings have lived in the Hull area for over a hundred years. Paul's father was David Rusling, although his family always called him by his middle name Joe. David (or Joe!) was the youngest of eleven children, and was born in 1920 in Kings Bench Street, just off the Boulevard. That was the hub of Hull's Hessle Road, and just a hundred yards from the Airlie Birds (Hull RLFC) rugby stadium. David's own Dad, George William Rusling, was a well-known fish merchant for many years but the family sold the business in the 1930s.
When David was very young, his mother had died so he was brought up by his many sisters, but mainly Winnie and Hilda. Winnie married Bill Hatton, and Hilda married Edgar Harber, a well-known Hull trawler skipper. David served in the Merchant Navy from being 14 years old and came home one weekend when he was about 15 to be told he was getting married the next day. It was to a girl named Edna, who he couldn't remember even going out with, but the wedding was all arranged by his sisters Hilda and Winnie. David and Edna Rusling produced four children: three boys and a girl. Paul's elder half-sister Vicky also became an accomplished author. Sadly the marriage didn't last and they were divorced.
When David met Barbara
David was often to be found at the weekly dance at the Hull City Hall, where he met Barbara, around Christmas 1952.
Barbara Alice Simpson was young administrator at the Redifusion offices on Beverley Road, she was quite a catch, with a bob of lovely blonde hair and a cheeky smile. Her main hobby (Amateur Dramatics) probably gave her quite some confidence and she had quite a posh voice, so a lad from Hessle Road with strong fishing links, will have regarded her as quite a challenge!
Davide undoubtedly won her over with his constant smile, incessant flow of silly jokes, tales of 'derring-do' from around the globe during his years afloat and obvious good looks. (I have inherited quite a few of his traits, or so I'm told!). The only problem was, Barbara lived four miles out of town in a tiny village called Dunswell - so walking her home will have been quite a test of his intentions!
Towards the end of 1953 their romance bore fruit and that's when I put in an appearance, not in the local maternity home, but 30 miles away in Bridlington. David was working on a contract to paint the Spa Theatre in Bridlington and Barbara had joined him for a week or two. It was quite warm in Bridlington that week and she was down on the beach for a walk when her first-born decided now was the time to leave the womb and to make his grand entrance into their lives.
Barbara was taken to the nearest hotel to await the ambulance to take her to hospital, but I didn't wait, and so was born in the nearby Alexandra Hotel in Bridlington.
The tale of
Winston Churchill's
False Teeth?
Paul's Dad spent the war years in various ships, and even managing to survive three sinkings. He saw the Battle of the River Plate off Montevideo and seems to have spent some of his time ashore in New York selling spare pairs of false teeth to Americans. They seem to have got the idea that these were Winston Churchill's spare pair of teeth.
Quite why the then Prime Minister of the UK would have trusted his spare teeth to Paul's Dad simply beggar's belief! And why on earth his aquaintances in the dockside bars of New York would have fallen for such a tale is, . . . well !
Provenance wasn't something one worried about in the war, especially if it was a souvenir linked to the chap who was probably the most famous Englishman, in the USA at least! (But Paul's Dad did KNOW a 'Winnie' of course; she was his sister, so maybe they were Aunt Winnie's teeth?).
I've been back to take a look and there isn't a blue plaque. In fact there is not even an Alexandra Hotel any longer as it was torn down in the 1970s to be replaced by Leisureworld, the council's huge swimming pool. A suitable memorial though, and at least I have one memento of being born in the Alexandra Hotel; my parents gave me a middle name - ALEXANDER.
A couple of years later my sister Lynne was born, in slightly more conventional surroundings, and she was given a middle name too after the place of her birth - BEVERLEY. She was born in the Westwood Hospital, which finally closed in 2014.
Mum and Dad seem to have dropped their idea of giving middle names after wherever we were born for subsequent siblings. Interesting to note that David and Victoria Beckham took the idea up in 1999 when they named their son Brooklyn, after where he was conceived. The Rusling family home in Fitzroy Street was called Brooklyn too!
As for my Grandparents
Robert & Elsie Simpson
Paul's maternal grandparents were very instrumental in Paul's family's lives. He lived at his Grandparents home when about 1 or 2 and again throughout a lot of his school years and for a while attended the local village school in Dunswell.
Bob and Elsie Simpson were east Hull folk, who lived on Buckingham Street and Severn Street, off Holderness Road. At the outbreak of World War II, they bought an unfinished bungalow "out in the country". Dunswell, just north of Hull. It was still being built, with no plaster on the walls and no windows but they made it home - it was called SYMFIELD, after their family names.
Grandad Bob continued to work in Hull where he was in a reserved occupation working as a riveter and shipwright by day and at night he worked the huge lime arc lights at the Hull New Theatre. After the show finished he did several nights a week on the rooftops doing firewatching, so not much spare time during the war!
Saved from a watery grave
Grandma looked after the home at Dunswell. Paul's mother Barbara was only 9 years old when the war began. Her memories of WWII included watching the RAF and Luftwaffe pilots in dog fights over the fields from Dunswell school playground and at night watching the city of Hull burning in the distance.
At one stage, Rusling family relatives in Canada invited them to send Barbara and her brother George to Canada. At the last minute however, Grandma had a bad feeling about the voyage, so they never sailed on the Almeda Star. She was lost with all hands near Rockall on her way to Canada by a U-96. They fired torpedos thgen strafed the survivors in the lifeboats. All 360 souls were lost.
Paul is really proud of his family, two great kids who are very balanced, hard-working and super-intelligent. It's really gratifying to see them growing up so well, so happy and a credit to the Rusling family!
Dawn got a great degree from St Andrews and then did her bar exams at the College of Law in York.
After graduating solicitors must do a 'training' apprenticehip and she was accepted by Rollits, a well known firm in the East Riding with offices in Hull and in York. She later moved to another local firm, Graham & Rosen in Parliament Street in Hull.
After getting married, Dawn moved to Edinburgh and an international firm called Pincent Mason, and after a year or so was headhunted once again by a leading Scottish firm, MacRoberts.
Dawn has since passed more exams to be 'called to the bar' in both English and Scottish courts, which is an unusual achievement. It makes her even more in demand. She is now a Legal Director at one of Scotland's largest law companies.
Ben also got a superb degree from Newcastle University and then did a Masters degree at Hull in International Logistics and Business Administration. Even before he completed his Masters, he joined a national wine distribution company in Manchester.
Ben then moved to do the same job at an internationally known soft drink manufacturer in Manchester too - it helped him keep his part time work hosting corporate match days at Old Trafford (he and Dawn have been ardent Manchester United supporters since Dawn was about ten!). Ben moved his logistics skills to Europe's largest milk distributor, Mullers. He is now 'National Sales Manager' for a well-known food company.
They are both two great kids to be justly proud of!
The Rusling Dynasty
Proud father Paul with his family at Ziggy's in St Andrews
(picture taken at 10:24 pm! (by Vinny MacPherson)
Dad Paul with his daughter Dawn
after her graduation
at St Andrew's
Dawn and Ben (aged 19 and 11)
on their way to a Man U. game at Old Trafford.
Ben, Dawn and Anne at Dawn's graduation in St Andrews
(with Ken Barlow, who was there for his grand-daughter Verity's graduation)
Dawn and Paul having a happy time
at the Triton Inn, Brantingham
Anne & Paul with their first granddaughter,
Verity, on the day she was born.
Paul Rusling's father
David Joseph Rusling
Dawn and Ben (aged 19 and 11)
set off for a Man U. game at Old Trafford in Manchester
A Rusling Wedding!
Dawn married Vince McPherson at All Saints Church in Brantingham in 2012. More details on a separate page about what was the proudest day of Paul's life.
In Summer 2015 Dawn and Vince presented Paul and Anne with their first Grandchild. She is Verity Mary Anne, a lovely 8lb14oz little girl who arrived on the day of Paul & Anne's Wedding Anniversary. Perfect timing Dawn, Vince and Verity!
Three years later Dawn presented the proud grandparents with another lovely 8pb girl, Zara Alexandra. Just as gorgeous as her big sister.
After the war Dad eventually came ashore as he soon had four young children by Edna. Sadly the marriage didn't last and they were divorced.
When David met Barbara
David was often to be found at the weekly dance at the Hull City Hall, where he met Barbara around Christmas 1952.
Barbara Alice Simpson was young administrator at the Redifusion offices on Beverley Road, she was quite a catch, with a bob of lovely blonde hair and a cheeky smile. Her main hobby (Amateur Dramatics) probably gave her quite some confidence and I'm told she had quite a posh voice, so a lad from Hessle Road with strong fishing links, will have had quite a challenge on to hook her.
My Dad will have won her over with his constant smile, incessant flow of silly jokes, tales of 'derring do' from around the globe during his years afloat and obvious good looks. (I have inherited quite a few of his traits, or so I'm told!). The only problem was, Barbara lived four miles out of town in a tiny village called Dunswell - so walking her home will have been quite a test of his intentions!
Well, it was towards the end of 1953 that their romance bore fruit and that's when Paul Rusling put in an appearance, not in the local maternity home, but 30 miles away in Bridlington. David was working away on a contract to paint the Spa Theatre in Bridlington and Barbara had joined him for a week or two. It was quite warm in Bridlington that week and she was down on the beach for a walk when the embrionic Paul Rusling decided now was the time for his grand entrance into their lives.
Barbara was taken to the nearest hotel to await the ambulance to take her to hospital, but I didn't wait, and so was born in the Alexandra Hotel in Bridlington.
I've been back to take a look and there isn't a blue plaque. In fact there is not even an Alexandra Hotel any longer as it was torn down in the 1970s to be replaced by Leisureworld, the council's huge swimming pool. A suitable memorial though, and at least I have one memento of being born in the Alexandra Hotel; my parents gave me a middle name - ALEXANDER.
A couple of years later my sister Lynne was born, in slightly more conventional surroundings, and she was given a middle name too after the place of her birth - BEVERLEY. She was born in the Westwood Hospital, which finally closed in 2014.
Mum and Dad seem to have dropped their idea of giving middle names after wherever we were born for subsequent siblings. Interesting to note that David and Victoria Beckham took the idea up in 1999 when they named their son Brooklyn, after where he was conceived. The Rusling family home in Fitzroy Street was called Brooklyn too!
When David met Barbara
David was often to be found at the weekly dance at the Hull City Hall, where he met Barbara around Christmas 1952.
Barbara Alice Simpson was young administrator at the Redifusion offices on Beverley Road, she was quite a catch, with a bob of lovely blonde hair and a cheeky smile. Her main hobby (Amateur Dramatics) probably gave her quite some confidence and I'm told she had quite a posh voice, so a lad from Hessle Road with strong fishing links, will have had quite a challenge on to hook her.
My Dad will have won her over with his constant smile, incessant flow of silly jokes, tales of 'derring do' from around the globe during his years afloat and obvious good looks. (I have inherited quite a few of his traits, or so I'm told!). The only problem was, Barbara lived four miles out of town in a tiny village called Dunswell - so walking her home will have been quite a test of his intentions!
Well, it was towards the end of 1953 that their romance bore fruit and that's when Paul Rusling put in an appearance, not in the local maternity home, but 30 miles away in Bridlington. David was working away on a contract to paint the Spa Theatre in Bridlington and Barbara had joined him for a week or two. It was quite warm in Bridlington that week and she was down on the beach for a walk when the embrionic Paul Rusling decided now was the time for his grand entrance into their lives.
Barbara was taken to the nearest hotel to await the ambulance to take her to hospital, but I didn't wait, and so was born in the Alexandra Hotel in Bridlington.
Bridlington
Bridlington hasn't really changed much over the years at all; the site of the Alexandra Hotel became Leisureworld in the 1980s and has now been completely rebuilt, as seen on the right, but the beautiful golden sands of the North Bay beach still remains, swept by the tide twice a day. Bridlington harbour is still a useful port of refuge and the home of Bridlington's fishing fleet which now is the largest landing port for lobster in the UK, with much of its catch exported to Europe and beyond.
After the war David eventually came ashore as he soon had four young children by Edna. Sadly the marriage didn't last and they were divorced.
When David met Barbara
David was often to be found at the weekly dance at the Hull City Hall, where he met Barbara, around Christmas 1952.
Barbara Alice Simpson was a young pretty administrator at the Redifusion offices on Beverley Road, and was quite a catch, with a bob of lovely blonde hair and a cheeky smile. Her main hobby (Amateur Dramatics) probably gave her quite some confidence and she had quite a posh voice, so to a lad from Hessle Road with strong fishing links, will have had quite a challenge on to hook her.
Daviud undoubtedly won her over with his constant smile, incessant flow of silly jokes, tales of 'derring do' from around the globe during his years afloat and obvious good looks. (Paul inherited quite a few of his traits, or so he claims!). The only problem was, Barbara lived four miles out of town in a tiny village called Dunswell - so walking her home will have been quite a test of his intentions!
Well, it was towards the end of 1953 that their romance bore fruit and that's when Paul Rusling put in an appearance, not in the local maternity home, but 30 miles away in Bridlington. David was working away on a contract to paint the Spa Theatre in Bridlington and Barbara had joined him for a week or two. It was quite warm in Bridlington that week and she was down on the beach for a walk when the embrionic Paul decided now was the time for his grand entrance into their lives.
Barbara was taken to the nearest hotel to await the ambulance to take her to hospital, but baby Paul wouldn't wait, and he was born in the Alexandra Hotel in Bridlington, while they waited for the ambulance.
Alexandra Hotel, Bridlington
I've been back to take a look and there isn't a blue plaque. In fact there is not even an Alexandra Hotel any longer as it was torn down in the 1970s to be replaced by Leisureworld, the council's huge swimming pool. A suitable memorial though, and at least I have one memento of being born in the Alexandra Hotel; my parents gave me a middle name - ALEXANDER.
A couple of years later my sister Lynne was born, in slightly more conventional surroundings, and she was given a middle name too after the place of her birth - BEVERLEY. She was born in the Westwood Hospital, which finally closed in 2014.
Mum and Dad seem to have dropped their idea of giving middle names after wherever we were born for subsequent siblings. Interesting to note that David and Victoria Beckham took the idea up in 1999 when they named their son Brooklyn, after where he was conceived. The Rusling family home in Fitzroy Street was called Brooklyn too!
The Rusling Dynasty
And as for my grandparents . .
Robert & Elsie Simpson
Paul's maternal grandparents were very instrumental in Paul's family's lives. He lived at his Grandparents home when about 1 or 2 and again throughout a lot of his school years and for a while attended the local village school in Dunswell.
Bob and Elsie Simpson were east Hull folk, who lived on Buckingham Street and Severn Street, off Holderness Road. At the outbreak of World War II, they bought an unfinished bungalow "out in the country". Dunswell, just north of Hull. It had no plaster on the walls and no windows but they made it home - it was called SYMFIELD, after their family names.
While Grandad Bob continued to work in Hull. He was in a reserved occupation working as a riveter and shipwright by day, and at night he did two nights a week working the huge lime arc lights at the theatre in Hull. After the show finished he did several nights a week on the rooftops doing firewatching, so not much spare time during the war!
Saved from a watery grave
Grandma looked after the home at Dunswell. Paul's mother Barbara was only 9 years old when the war began. Her memories of WWII included watching the RAF and Luftwaffe pilots in dog fights over the fields from Dunswell school playground, and at night watching the city of Hull burning in the distance. At one stage our relatioves in canada invited them to send Barbara and her brother George to canada, but Grandma had a bad feeling about the voyage, so they never sailed on the Almeda Star. She was lost with all hands near Rockall on her way to Canada!)
George Rusling
My Dad's father was George and he came to live with the family for a while. He was very old then, in the early 60s, but still insisted on going to every Hull FC game at The Bolulevard. He caught pneumonia after falling down on the Threepenny Stand and died. His wife had died when Paul's Dad was only about 2 in the early 1920s.
Robert & Elsie Simpson
Paul's maternal grandparents were very instrumental in Paul's family's lives. He lived at his Grandparents home when about 1 or 2 and again throughout a lot of his school years and for a while attended the local village school in Dunswell.
Bob and Elsie Simpson were east Hull folk, who lived off Holderness Road. At the outbreak of WWII, they bought an unfinished bungalow "out in the country". Dunswell, just north of Hull. It had no plaster on the walls and no windows but they made it home - it was called SYMFIELD, after their family names.
Saved from a watery grave
Grandma looked after the home at Dunswell. Paul's mother Barbara was only 9 years old when the war began. Her memories of WWII included watching the RAF and Luftwaffe pilots in dog fights over the fields from Dunswell school playground, and at night watching the city of Hull burning in the distance. At one stage our relatioves in canada invited them to send Barbara and her brother George to Canada, but Grandma had a bad feeling about the voyage, so they never sailed on the Almeda Star. She was lost with all hands near Rockall on her way to Canada!)
George Rusling
My Dad's father was George and he came to live with the family for a while. He was very old then, in the early 60s, but still insisted on going to every Hull FC game at The Bolulevard. He caught pneumonia after falling down on the Threepenny Stand and died. His wife had died when Paul's Dad was only about 2, in the early 1920s.
Proud father Paul with his family at Ziggy's in St Andrews (picture taken at 10:24 pm,
(by Vinny MacPherson)
Dad Paul with his daughter Dawn
after her graduation
at St Andrew's
Paul Rusling
and the family Dynasty!
Paul Rusling
- and the Family Dynasty!
Paul's sister Pam hits the floor
at her 50th in the Triton, Brantingham
The Rusling family in 1987 - BACK: Lynne, Alison, Paul. MIDDLE: Dad, Mam, Peter. FRONT Pam, Andrew and Robert with Spangles at the front.
3 months old Zara and her big sister Verity
Zara tries her first bit of Tree Hugging!
