The Chambers Cup ....
 

First and foremost, I must explain the origins of what is known in the family as the "Chambers Cup". When the family first arrived in Australia in 1922, they brought with them the Chambers Cup which sat on the mantlepiece of the family home in Broadmeadows in Victoria for many years, until Joseph Henry's death in 1940. Joseph was the grandson of Giles Chambers and Mary Griffin. Upon Joseph's death, the Cup was passed to one of his sons, Cecil Arthur, and then upon his death to his only son, Peter. It appears that since its inception, the Cup had been passed down through successive generations from son to son.

 

The Chambers Cup appears to be an anniversary mug or similar type of artefact of the time. Made, I think, of ceramic, it has handles on both sides and the names of Giles Chambers on one side and Mary Chambers on the other, along with the date 1861. The mug has an image of a couple trying to get through a turnstile, complaining of their aching backs.

 

Sadly, the mug was badly damaged in 1983 at the time of the tragic Ash Wednesday fires which decimated the beautiful Mt Macedon region where Peter, an artist, and his wife, Sara, were living at the time. They had very little time to evacuate and took only three things with them, their dog, Peter's artworks and the Chambers Cup. For safe keeping, he placed the artworks and the cup at a friend's place where it was believed the fires would not reach. As fate would have it, Peter's home did not burn, but the friend's home did. Peter was devastated when rummaging through the remains he found the mug exploded into a number of pieces. He painstakingly restored it as best he could and did a wonderful job of doing so, even with the loss of a few pieces.

 

Until I made the discovery of this mug, I had only managed to get back to my father-in-law's grandfather, Joseph James Chambers. It was obvious that the names Giles and Mary meant something and that they were more than likely the parents of Joseph James. Armed now with names, I started searching for a Giles and Mary in the Bristol district but had no luck with the International Genealogical Index or other resources that I checked. I then moved on to the 1881 British Census and, much to my excitement, everything fell into place. It still amazes me that a family heirloom like this provided me with the link to further my research of this family. Since that discovery, I have been able to trace the family back a further two generations, to the mid 1700's.

 

Peter and Sara have no children and the Chambers Cup has now been passed on to my son, Benjamin, who will in turn pass it on at the appropriate time.