© R McConville
of Altrincham
War Memorial
Ardern
The name has a very ancient history, being of either Celtic or Anglo-Saxon origin. It is a regional surname from either the Forest of Arden in Warwickshire, or from the place called Arden in Cheshire, both of which share the same meaning and derivation, thought to be linguistically identical with the forest of the Ardennes in France and Belgium, from a Celtic word "ard" meaning "high", and used here in the sense of tall trees on hills.
Dranouter Churchyard was used for Commonwealth burials from October 1914 to July 1915 when the military cemetery was begun. It contains 79 Commonwealth burials of the First World War.
The Ardern family was well known and established in the Altrincham and the surrounding area long before joining with the McConville family when widow Gertrude McConville (née Percival) married Fred Ardern in 1914. Fred’s grandparents were James and Hannah Ardern who were born right at the beginning of the 19th century. They had six children including Joseph born in 1826 and James born in 1835. Joseph married Elizabeth and they had seven children including Frank who was born in 1864. Joseph’s brother James married Martha Worth who was born in Macclesfield in 1851. They were married on 11th September 1875 in Manchester Cathedral and they had six children including Fred and Frank who were both born in 1879, possibly twins, but Frank died in 1880. In the meantime, Joseph’s son Frank (1864) married Susannah Leigh in 1885 and they had four children including Frank born in 1895. Fred (1879) married Gertrude McConville in 1914 just before joining the 2nd Battalion Cheshire Regiment and fighting in France and Belgium during the First World War. He was killed on 24th March 1915 and is buried in Dranouter Churchyard.
Gertrude, with seven children, continued to live in a small cottage in Victoria Street and then in 1916, she married Frank Ardern, son of Frank Ardern and Susannah Leigh, and the cousin of Fred. They were married at St George’s church, Altrincham, on 22nd April in the presence of Frederick and Emma Pimlott. Frank was a labourer when he married but soon afterwards he became a stoker at Altrincham Gas Works in Moss Lane. As a Gas Works employee, he was able to rent one of the Gas Company houses on Moss Lane and the family moved into number 74.
James Ardern (1801) m. Hannah
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Joseph (1826) (m. Elizabeth) James (1835) (m. Martha Worth)
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Frank (1864) (m. Susannah Leigh) Fred (1879) Frank (1879 d.1880)
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Frank (1895)
Fred Ardern married Gertrude McConville in 1914
Frank Ardern married Gertrude Ardern in 1916