A FAMILY with roots which stem deep into the district has reached the milestone of five generations - again.

Frederick Hill, of Abbott Road, Dovercourt, was delighted to welcome his first great-great grandchild, named Lily, into the world last month.

Her birth was extremely special for the Hill’s as it marked the second time in the family’s history they have had five generations living at the same time.

At 94 years old, Frederick is the eldest member of the family and it is the second time he has been part of a five-generation.

The family first celebrated reaching the milestone in 1945 when Frederick’s eldest son John was the youngest in the bloodline.

He said: “There are not many people that live long enough to be part of five generations twice.”

Frederick said he has five children of his own, about 23 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren, who all live locally.

His children live in Dedham, Bradfield, Ardleigh and Mistley.

He said: “They call in to see me at least once a week and I have a good relationship with all the boys and their wives.”

But he said Christmas time can be quite overwhelming with as many great grandchildren and grandchildren as he has.

“I stay out of the way at that time of year, but they all get some money from me as a present,” he said.

Frederick was born in Felixstowe and moved to Lawford with his parents when he was a young boy.

He left school at the age of 14 to work on a farm in Lawford with his father, also named Frederick, before joining the navy in 1941 where he served until 1946.

Frederick married his first wife in 1944, who is the mother of all of his children, but they separated and she passed away in 1988. He remarried, but his second wife died in 2006 and he has been living alone since.

He said: “1945 was the first time I have ever heard of five generations and if you did not live before the war, you will have a job to understand there was a different way of life for us.

“Most people would retire at 65 and we did not get many people living too much longer. You would get the odd person in their 80s and 90s, but not many.”

Frederick said the key to a large and long-living family is “stamina”.

He said:“I am joking - I don’t actually know. It is just one of those things and I have never heard of two lots of five generations in the same family.”