In March 1911, Teresa married James Fletcher at the Evangelist Church in North Fitzroy. After their marriage, they lived in Fitzroy where their 3 sons, James Harding, Richard Archibald, and William Robert were born.

 

It was while they were living in Fitzroy that the family developed their interest in and support of the Fitzroy Football Club, and that tradition has carried on through the generations, even though they have moved out of the area. Of course, the Fitzroy Football Club folded in 1996 and merged to become the Brisbane Lions, operating out of Brisbane, in Queensland. One wonders what those first family members who supported the club would have thought of that development.

 

At some point the family moved to Black Rock where the 3 boys attended the Black Rock State School, with William (Bill) moving on to Hampton High School. At Black Rock, Richard (Dick) developed an interest in and played the bugle … this was to be the foundation of a keen interest in music for the 3 brothers.

 

When Maud’s husband, James, died in 1930, she opened a milk bar at Half Moon Bay on Beach Road above the Red Bluff cliff. Family lore has it that the Red Bluff was often the reason for Bill getting into trouble for wearing out the seat of his pants by sliding down the cliff!

 

Maud’s sons were all keen sportsmen and played cricket for Black Rock. They joined the 46th Battalion Band in the 1930s, with Jim playing the trombone, Dick the cornet, and Bill the drums. The boys were very close and known to be ‘full of fun’. Jim bought a three-quarter size billiard table which had to be placed in the bedroom he and Bill shared. To play billiards the boys often had to play shots half standing on their beds, probably a fair indication that the room was small! They were also notoriously sound sleepers, one night forcing Maud to use an axe to force open a window so she could get in upon her return from a game of Euchre with her friends.

 

In 1939-40, the family moved to Glenferrie when Maud’s oldest son, Jim, got a job there as a hardware salesman. It was there that the 3 brothers joined the Hawthorn City Brass Band and were eventually all made life members. During their time with the band, they played at many South Street Competitions in Ballarat, winning the competition in 1948 when Bill was the drum major, Dick was on baritone, and Jim was on his beloved trombone. In March 1859, they played at the Inaugural Massed Bands at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne.