About me
John Robinson Chapman
This web site is a work in progress. It will never be finished! As I can I will add further pages and revise and update others. The bulk of this site was originaly auto-created by Personal Ancestral File - the free software available from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Despite it's age it still makes a better job of making websites than it's paid for competition. As a web developer, I can't stop there and used Dreamweaver to improve it a little.
Personal details:
Name John Robinson Chapman DOB 1st Feb 1949 Place Newcastle Upon Tyne, England Birth Certificate DE 682788
Registration District - Newcastle Upon Tyne
1949 Birth in the Sub-District of Wingrove in the County Borough of Newcastle Upon Tyne
No. 383 (image)Addresses Birth until age 1957 - 20 Julian Avenue, Walker Gate, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England 1957-1968 Thrush Hall Farm, Carrshield, Hexham, Northumberland, England 1968 - 1974 Catton Post Office, Hexham, Northumberland, England Also - 1972-1973 Ivy Dean, Egglescliffe, Co. Durham, England Also 1973-1974 16 High Street, Yarm, North Yorkshire 1974 - 1979 16 Belmont Avenue, Billingham, Cleveland, England 1979-1980 Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England 1980-1984 16 Belmont Avenue, Billingham, Cleveland, England 1984- 1997 1 Heworth Drive, Norton, Stockton on Tees, TS22 5HF, England 1997-1998 18 Bainton Close, Billingham, Stockton on Tees, England April 1998 - June 1998 Conroe, Texas, USA June 1998 - 1999 Merlin, Ontario, Canada 1999-2001 Chatham, Ontario, Canada Aug 2001 - Aug 2003 37 Wallington Rd. Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, England Aug-Oct 2003 24 Chattris Avenue, Harold Hill, Romford, Essex Oct 2003-Aug 2005 20 Masefield Cres., Romford, Essex Aug 2005 - 30 North Road, South Ockendon, Essex, RM15 6QJ Apr 2008 - Railway Cottage, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 2PJ Photogallery At age 8 my family moved from 18 Julian Avenue, Walkergate, Newcastle-on-Tyne to a farm, Thrush Hall Farm, Carrshield, Hexham, Northumberland. I, John, or Robin as I was known as, attended the local school in Carrshield, a village about 2 miles away. At age 11 I passed the 11+ examination for entry into grammar school. The nearest was at Hexham, a 20 mile bus journey away. I was a poor traveller and chose instead to attend a private school, Brookfield School, Wigton, Cumberland. I remained there until age 19 when I attended Newcastle College of Further Education. Whilst there I stayed with Aunt Dora (Dorothy Ann Nettleton - nee Marr).
After obtaining A levels in Chemistry, I chose to take up a career in teaching and obtained a Teaching Certificate at Newcastle College of Education. During this time, I lived in a flat on Hamilton Street Newcastle on Tyne and later at North Shields.
On qualifying as a teacher, I obtained a post as a Chemistry teacher at Nunthorpe Secondary School. During this time I lived first at Egglescliffe village, then Yarm and finally in Billingham.13 years later I got married (cert) and moved for a short time to Leeds and worked as an insurance salesman there. After a year I returned to live in the flat I still owned in Billingham and returned to teaching chemistry at Blakeston School, Norton Rd., Stockton on Tees. Whilst there I expressed an interest in computers which lead to me becoming involved in IT teaching from 1981
I moved to a three bedroom newly built house just ½ mile from my school. Over the next 15 years I extended the house to 5 bedrooms, doing much of the work myself. At this time I separated from my wife and moved again to Billingham. After realising there was no future in this marriage, I found myself alone and on holiday but without the means to travel during the summer of 1997. I spent a good deal of time on Internet and in August he met in Yahoo Chat Shelia Tate.
Shelia, from Louisiana, and two of her children came over to the UK to visit in December 1997. I gave up my job in April 1998 and moved to the USA. After 3 months Shelia and I moved to Ontario, Canada when my visa to stay in the USA expired. The plan was to stay a few days then return to the United States. At the border, however, I was refused entry to the USA and had to return to Canada. There we stayed for three and a half years.
Shelia and I married on 19th May 1999. (cert)
We remained in Canada, staying first with a friend, in a motel room, with two other friends and then finally in an appartment until the means was found to return as a family to the UK.
On return to the UK I got a job as head of ICT at JayDax School in Romford, Essex and remined there until July 2007 when I took early retirement. It wasn't quite as simple as that but the school ended up paying me a lot of money.
In March 2008 Shelia and I decided to make the move back north and finally found a house three miles outside Hexham in Northumberland. Railway Cottage. We moved there on 3rd April 2008.
I don't miss teaching. I fill my time finally getting to grips with my family history, producing web pages, blogging, writing books with Shelia (our first was called 'A Vested Interest'), walking, helping Shelia with her music; get it at Amazon.com and generally enjoying the fact that on Monday mornings I don't have to get up for work.