Eight Families This book brings history to life by telling the story of eight families spread over four generations. It begins by chronicling the lives of three brothers - John, Fred and Bernard Crix - born between the two World Wars. They were born into a world of economic depression, a world still reeling from World War I. They each experienced World War II in different ways and lived to see the recovery afterwards. Each was partly the product his forebears but each responded to the changing social scene and made something different of his life. Then the book steps back to look at their parents, Jack Crix and Millie Deavin, to find out what shaped their lives and beliefs. Jack, born on a remote island just off the coast of Essex, was a baker turned lay preacher. He never sought wealth and he never found it.  Millie came from Rotherhithe in London, an area and time immortalised by Charles Dickens in Oliver. Further back into the early 19th century we discover the world of Thames sailing barges, life on Foulness Island and South Woodham Ferrers long before it was a new town. This is a world without television, without cars or telephones and where the main modes of transport were walking, pony and trap or boat. It is a world of smugglers and bare-knuckle boxers. Eight Families shows how each person is partly the product of his ancestors but also of his own resolve to make what he will of his life. For those interested in Foulness, I have added some photographs of the interior of Foulness Church, To see what each chapter is about, click here For the complete index of people and places mentioned, click here  Site Map