Susan Benedicta MURRAY-ALSTON [4624]

   Cause of her death was cancer.

  General Notes:

SUSAN BENEDICTA MURRAY-ALSTON. Susan was born on 13th July 1932 [ref no. 105 - births - Gosforth] the second child and only daughter of Basil and Barbara (nee Harvey) MURRAY-ALSTON, at 30 Graham Park Road, Gosforth, Northumberland, England.
She started school at Miss Bicknell's School, Gosforth and at the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-1945) she attended a private school at Featherstone Castle, near Alston, Cumberland, the family having moved to Loaning Foot House, Alston. In 1943 she went to a junior boarding school, Queen Mary's School, Duncombe Park, Helmsley, Yorkshire. Her senior years were spent at St.Margaret's, Yeaton Peverey, Shropshire from 1945 to 1948.
While still living in Gosforth she was taught to ride. This early tuition and interest in horses was to continue for the rest of her life and during her school holidays, at Alston and later at Thackwood, Raughton Head, near Carlisle, she would spend all her time on the local farm and with horses, eventually growing to competiton in the Show Ring.
She was fortunate to be able to own horses good enough to compete at all the local Shows and the North of England for a number of years and one of her memorys was the thrill of being good enough to be part of the first post war International Horse Show, held at Edinburgh in 1946. Later she was to compete at the famous Royal Dublin Horse Show, which was even more of a thrill. Her other activity with horses was Foxhunting - starting with the Cumberland Farmers Club under the guidance of the Master, David Brock.
In the autumn of 1949 the family moved to Ireland, Co. Galway, where her parents had bought a small farm of 75 acres at Athenry. Here she was able to continue with her equine interests and hunted with the famous Galway Blazers, and at the same time working around the farm with her parents. She did not confine her hunting to Co. Galway, but ranged down to Limerick, Tipparary and across to Kilkenny. During this time her "tutors" were Masters, Bob Peel, Philip Profumo, Lord "Toby" Daresbury, "Thady" Ryan and Dermot MacCalmont. She and her horse Brock turned up at "meets" far and wide and were always there at the end of the day - somtimes miles from home. There is a record of some famous "runs" she was fortunate to be on, recorded in a book called "The Galway Blazers Memoirs" by Edmund Mahony - 1979.
In 1954 she got the urge to spread her wings and the spirit of adventure took her across the world to Australia. She left Tilbury Docks about 31st May 1954 aboard the P&O liner Himalaya and sailing via Port Said, Suez, Aden, Bombay Columbo, Perth, Melbourne she arrived in Sydney about the 2nd July 1954. She continued her journey to Gympie in Queensland, 120 miles north of Brisbane by train. She spent a few months in Gympie working on a dairy farm and then moved to Tenterfield in the New England area of New South Wales to a sheep property.
Over the next few months she moved around the district in various jobs and eventually in March l955 she settled in Brisbane where she had a variety of positions and addresses. As she had no qualifications at any particular scholastic level, only menial jobs were available and Adult Education was a thing in the distant future. Eventually she got a position in a Drug Company as an order clerk where she stayed for 5 years, during which time the company put her through typing school!! On April 8th 1961 she married Thomas James Oswald Warner at St. Mary's Church, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, Queensland and on May 8th 1962 their daughter Sandra Benedicta was born at the Royal Woman's Hospital in Brisbane.
On the breakup of her marriage in November 1964 she and Sandra sailed back to England aboard the "Fairstar", and onto Kilkenny in Ireland, where they stayed with her mother and stepfather, for 12 months. In September 1965 they sailed back to Melbourne, where they stayed with her brother and his family for a few months - returning to Brisbane in early 1966 where she continued to work for her old Drug Company. She was divorced on 22nd August 1966 [ref: no 335-1966].
In March 1967 she and Sandra returned to Ireland, this time by air aboard a QANTAS 707 to London and onto Kilkenny. In August/September 1967 they moved to Dublin where Sandra started school at "Glengara",Dunlaoghaire and Susan worked for a veterinary surgeon. October 1968 saw them back in Australia, to Elizabeth in South Australia and during 1969 they moved into Adelaide where she had a position at the Queen
Victoria Hospital in the office. 1970 they were back in Brisbane where she had various clerical positions with Drug Companies and in 1976 she obtained a position with the Chermside Veterinary Clinic as a receptionist/bookkeeper and was there for 4 years.
In February 1980 she moved down to Melbourne where she got a position at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Hospital as a medical clerk.
Over the last l5 years she has been fortunate to be able to travel overseas for holidays going to the following places:- FIJI 20-7-1975 to 27-7-1975 IRELAND 12-9-1978 to 2-11-1978 IRELAND 21-9-1981 to 15-10-1981 (to collect her mother) NEW ZEALAND 5-10-1985 to 25-10-1985 AMERICA (west coast) 26-3-1987 to 13-4-1987 HONG KONG 3-9-1988 TO 7-9-1988 BANGKOK 7-9-1988 to 10-9-1988 PHUKET 10-9-1988 to 13-9-1988 SINGAPORE 13-9-1988 to 17-9-1988 EGYPT 30-11-1988 to 28-12-1988
Susan retired from the Peter MacCallum Hospital in September 1993 and in March 1994 she moved back to Queensland to Caboolture, 40km north of Brisbane. On 20th october 1995 she married Thomas Eric PERRETT at the Chapel in the Peter MacCallum
Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria. Tom and Susan moved back to Victoria in 2002
FA7: Date: 23 SEP 1993 Place: Retired

  Research Notes:

Susan made contact with Edward in August 2000 after seeing his name in Suffolk Roots the SFHS magazine.

Susan & Tom were visited in Oct 2001 by Edward & Jeanette Fenn, there was much talk about Alston Family History. Edward Fenn also visited them in Victoria Oct 2004

In 2010 Edward and his new wife Audrey and Susan & Tom went on a Legacy Family Tree Cruise out of Sydney and around NZ

Susan for many years researched Alston family history particularly in relation to the American descendants and her aristocratic descent via the Oxenden family.

  Other Records

1. Susan Benedicta Murry Alston: Images.

Susan married Elwyn Thomas CROZIER [15318] [MRIN: 5445]. (Elwyn Thomas CROZIER [15318] was born on 20 Nov 1922 in Beaudesert QLD.)

Susan next married Thomas Oswald "Jim" WARNER [4625] [MRIN: 1587] in Nov 1966 in Brisbane Queensland Aust. The marriage ended in divorce. (Thomas Oswald "Jim" WARNER [4625] was born on 4 Mar 1927 in Sydney NSW Australia.)

  Marriage Notes:

Marriage fact:

Susan next married Thomas Eric PERRETT [429] [MRIN: 1593] on 20 Oct 1995 in East Melbourne Vic. (Thomas Eric PERRETT [429] was born on 25 Jan 1933 in MT Gambier, S.A. and died on 22 Jun 2016 in Melbourne Aust.)