| Later Life |
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| Captain Hayes was also a family man. He was married twice and had 3 sons and 4 daughters. His first wife died after more than 30 years together, and James later married again in 1940. In retirement, he and his second wife Marjorie lived in Prestbury in Cheshire, where he was actively involved in the local church, St. Peter's, serving on the Parochial Church Council and also tending an allotment. Later on they moved to Nantwich with their 2 children, where James spent the last 20 years of his life quietly enjoying his garden, which he looked after right into his mid-nineties. |
| On his hundredth birthday in 1979, not only did he receive his telegram from the Queen, but also a telegram from Evan Thomas Radcliffe, the shipping company where he had served his apprenticeship. This came about following an interview on Radio 4 which was listened to by a current employee who must have told her boss that a former apprentice was 100 years old. I think my father was even more impressed by this telegram than the one from Her Majesty. |
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| A seat in Barony Park in Nantwich commemorates his centenary. It was presented by the family, seen here on my fathers birthday.The six-sided seat was officially received by the Mayor of Crewe and Nantwich. It is a fitting tribute to a long and remarkable life, which began in the age of the horse-drawn carriage and the sailing ship, to the age of space travel and micro-chip technology. The seat is still there 23 years later and the lime tree has grown reminding us that life goes on. |
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| James on his 80th birthday, with his wife Marjorie. |
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| Throughout his later years there was always a family reunion in June. His 7 children and most of his 8 grandchildren and increasing numbers of great-grandchildren would be there from all over the country. |
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| In his mid-nineties, he had a visit from his younger brother Norman from Zimbabwe, whom he had not seen for 77 years. Norman was aged 8 when his older brother James went to sea in 1897. The two brothers had followed very different careers, but they had no difficulty recognising each other when they met all those years later. |
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| Captain James C. Hayes 100 years young on June 17th 1979 |
| Site completed on March 27th 2002 by John Hayes |
| James and Norman in 1974 |