The John Summers-Gill Room above the Rector’s and Choir Vestries was constructed in the 1990s and named after a long-serving Sacristan.  I have recently received email correspondence from Wendy Benoit (nee Summers-Gill) a Canadian relative of John’s.  She writes,

“John A. H. Summers-Gill  was my great-uncle.  John's father, my great-grandfather, was also a John.  However, his name was John Herbert Summers-Gill but went by Herbert.  Also I knew my great-grandfather was very involved with the church as he became a Deacon by the Bishop of Saskatchewan in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada and he later returned to live in England.  I have the document issued by the Bishop, sent to us by John's wife Elsie.  My great-grandfather was also an accountant and a baritone vocalist.  We have been told it was he who changed our surname by adding a hyphen. (Summersgill to Summers-Gill).  I am not sure why he did this but we surmise it was to make it stand out  and may have been similar to a "stage name".  He supposedly sang at the London Hall.  My grandfather H.R.H. Summers-Gill (also Herbert) came to Canada as a young man.  He joined the Canadian Forestry Corp. and spent the war years in Northumberland where he met my grandmother.  They married there and then came to Canada to live.  I am not positive but it seems that my grandfather and his father were the only ones to come to Canada and then my great grandfather returned to England.  I am not sure how long he lived in Canada. 

My mother and father visited in England years ago when John's wife, Elsie and his sister Marjorie were still alive. One of them gave a church bulletin to my mother and father along with a photo album of mainly unidentified relatives.  The church bulletin on green coloured paper has been cut down to about 3 inches to just include the information about the dedication of the John Summers-Gill room.  I have been researching the family history and have been trying to identify the photos and learn what I can about my father's family.  The only other British descendants from my great-grandfather are from John's other sister Marion (went by Maisie) who married William Cotton and had one son, Desmond Cotton.  Desmond married Emmy ? and had 3 sons, Malcolm, Michael and David.  We have not been successful in tracing their whereabouts.  I would love to find a living relative from my grandfather's British side of our family.”

If you have any information that will help Wendy, please send it to me and I will forward it to her, or send it direct by email to Wendy at wendy.benoit@gmail.com
 

Richard Taylor