John Bradbury, Strephon's father, had been a foreman/manager for Messrs. Hall and Goodwin of Derby but eventually went into business on his own account in the 1870s, running premises on Osmaston road until his retirement. The 1881 census shows him as a master tailor, employing 4 men & 1 apprentice. His first wife, Strephon's mother, had died after her son was born and he married Harriet Cholerton in 1857. He died on 2 December 1915 ("Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal", 11 Dec 1915).