jamesmoodyandsons

Diary 1887 - December

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:03:49 GMT

30 Wednesday In eve had a game of cards at the “Rose & Crown” & won 2/6.

1 Thursday In aft. I went over to Colchester with Blyth for a football practice, had a very jolly game, got home about six. In eve I wrote home to Arthur & Aunt Jane.

2 Friday In evening Purkis & I had Mr Nunn, Bartlett, Burton & Blyth in to spend the evening. We played cards from 8 till 2 o’clock. I lost 6/- at Loo.

3 Saturday I wrote to Will Allen in morning. Purkis & I went over to Wivenhoe in aft. In eve I went out with very pretty girl. Very jolly.

4 Sunday Went for a long walk in morning.

5 Monday Had a jolly letter from Milne. Went & saw Miss Shave & arranged to go there for 12/- a week for 3 rooms & attendance. In aft. Mr Daniell senior asked me over to his house to dinner. He drove me over & we went to some waxworks at the Drill Hall with his sons & daughters. Drove back with Mr & Mrs Daniell & Blyth.

6 Tuesday Paid Mrs Tye £1 for week’s lodging. Mrs Daniells sent us an awfully jolly rabbit pie. Had a letter from Aunt Jane. Finished reading “Myths” by Ovid. Did not think much of it.

7 Wednesday In evening Purkis & I went up to the Heath to dinner & had a lolly game of cards afterwards. I won 2/6.

8 Thursday I drove to Clacton-on-Sea with Mr Robert Daniell. It rained a little but I very much enjoyed it. 15 miles from here. We had dinner at the Osbourne Hotel, at the governor’s expense & went for a stroll along the esplanade. Got back to Heath House at 7. Stopped there to dinner & played billiards with Blyth after.

9 Friday I got up to mash, but there was no water in the boiler & could not mash till 9 o’clock. In evening we went in to Bartlett’s to have a game of cards, played cards till one o’clock. I won 2/-.

10 Saturday Went into Colchester, went to the market to the governor’s stall. Went to an art exhibition with Pearl Allen & Miss Scott & stopped to Pearl’s to tea (sic) then went to the “Cups” & met Blyth & his brother & came home by the 7 o’clock & went for a walk “avec une petite”.

11 Sunday Went to church in morning. For walk in aft & eve.

12 Monday Not brewing today. Boiled some chestnuts. In the eve. went for stroll avec (then follows a tiny drawing of a woman’s head). Walked up to the Heath in aft., introduced to Mr Lufkin. Rev H E Lufkin was Rector of East Donyland 1863-1898 13 Tuesday Got up to mash with Purkis this week. In aft. I went in to Colchester to get our grocery (sic) etc. for Thursday. Bought about 16/- worth.

14 Wednesday Ordered ¼ ton coal 5/6 & 4 1/2 gals of beer to be sent to Miss Shave’s. Went up to Heath House & played billiards with Oc. Blyth & Mr Daniell. Ordered ½ sack (1 ½ bush) of potatoes from Havens, 3/-. Pa sent Mr Daniell £105 premium for my 1st year pupilship. £100 of which was paid by the legacy which Mr J Bristow left me.

15 Thursday Moved lodgings from Mrs Tye’s to Miss Shave. Paid Mrs Tye 30/- for the 1 ½ weeks & gave her 5/- extra. Miss Shave got our bread and anything we did not think of. Bought a ledger 6d to keep our accounts in & put down a £1 for the common purse each. 16 Friday Much more comfortable than Mrs Tye’s: the bedrooms are very good & the sitting room. Had a letter from Uncle William. Wrote to Fred Paice.

17 Saturday Had a letter from Arthur to say that Pa had signed the agreement & sent 100 guineas – premium for the 1st year, on Wednesday - & sent me a cheque for £2. Went into Colchester with Purkis & went to an awful lot of hotels & pubs, got back to tea at 7.15. Stayed in the rest of evening.

18 Sunday Went to the Brewery in morn. In aft went up to Mr Daniell’s to tea & spent evening.

19 Monday Helped Purkis analyse some malt. In aft. went over to Wyvenhoe (sic) with Purkis. I bought some scent 2s/9d “pour une petite”. In eve went in to Mr Bartlett’s & had a jolly game of whist with Nunn & Purkis. I & Purkis won 1s/6d each. Finished reading “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” by Byron; enjoyed it immensely.

20 Tuesday Got up to mash with Blyth at 7 o’clock. The governor told me yesterday not to pay for any beer I have at the Brewery. Hard frost last night; stayed in this evening.

22 Thursday Settled up our accounts for the 1st week. Paid Miss Shave 12/- for the three rooms. It came to £1.1. each altogether. Drove to Heath House with Blyth & had aft. tea there. Blyth came in to tea with us after we had finished brewing at six.

23 Friday Came home today. Started at 9 o’clock from Wivenhoe, got to Liverpool St at 10.30. Went to Waterloo & left my bag. Walked up to Uncle William’s, had dinner there & walked back to Waterloo. Got home at 4.30. Papa about the same, all the others very well. This entry confirms my suspicion that James Moody was an invalid and rarely went out. JBM’s uncles in Basingstoke and London seem to have acted as surrogate fathers to him. JBM’s records his father’s death (at the age of 62) in the following year’s diary.

24 Saturday Jamie & Grandma staying at home. Grandma gave me a beautiful dressing case, fitted with razors, brushes etc. 25 Sunday Went to Church in morn & eve. Had a jolly day. 26 Monday In the morning Arthur & I walked to Mr Clift’s in Sherbourne. Minnie drove in in the aft. & went with us to Loe’s in the evening, we had a jolly dance to the Mechanics’ band & got home at 12 o’clock. Minnie sent me a pair of silk socks & her photograph for a Christmas present.

27 Tuesday In the morning we went skating on the fishpond. I went in half way up my legs as usual, & sat in (sic), in the aft, while my things were drying. In eve. we went to Allen’s to tea & supper and had a jolly dance. Got home at 12.

28 Wednesday In morn went down to see Mr Val Adams at the brewery & had a chat with him. Bought his dress suit & had it altered at Mr Evans’s. Minnie went home in evening.

29 Thursday In aft Blanche & I went down to the Basin with Ada Allen skating. The ice was splendid & Ada Allen came back to tea with us. I went down to Uncle Richard’s to supper. Purkis settled up for our 2nd week & there was 10s/- each balance out of the £1 each.

30 Friday Arthur gave me £16.6s to take with me. Railway fare £1. Board & lodging for last week ending 29th £1. And £1.6 for 13 weeks p. money & £13 for 13 weeks or 1st quarter’s board & lodging. I am to pay my washing out of this if possible. I also received £1.3.4 Int due on £100 up to Dec 14th. Invested in this business.

31 Saturday Came back to Rowhedge. Started from B’stoke at 10 o’clock, went from Waterloo to Liverpool St by ‘bus. Bought an alarum clock at the Great Eastern Bazaar, Liverpool St. for 6/6. I bought a wooden box beside my bag with some mince pies etc. Got down here at 2.30. Went to the Brewery, had dinner & did not go out again, as I was rather tired. Went to bed at 11 o’clock At the end of the diary on Memoranda sheets JBM has written: Addresses G Dunn 1 Woods Villa, Swanley Junction Kent (above entry crossed out) M. Canon Angelsmith Queen’s Parade Brandon Hill Bristol G. Dunn c/o Mr Colgate 1, Kent Villa Swanley Junction Kent Rev R. A. Hamilton Holmesdale Villa Sunningdale Ascot. R. Povey 17 Montpelier St. Knightsbridge London Where I got my celluloid collar & cuffs W.J. Bull 12 New Inn Strand London S Gammon (corn merchant) 22 London St Reading H. Herbert Horton 14 Burlington St Bath W.C. Beaumont Milne Esq Grammar School Masham Yorks Rev. E, Nelson Williams Hunstanton Norfolk n

Diary 1887 - November

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 23:59:05 GMT

1 Tuesday A wet day. Went for a walk in the aft. Miss Pauline Sergel came to tea.

2 Wednesday Charles & I went for a long walk to Barnes in morning. In aft we went to the Hippodrome at Olympia. It was very good, better than last year. I came back to Bloomsbury St after supper.

3 Thursday Uncle William & I went down to Wyvenhoe (sic) at 10 o’clock from Liverpool St. & got there about ½ past eleven. It rained in the morning but cleared off (sic) afterwards, Mr Daniell showed us over the Brewery & then drove us to his house to lunch. Then we were driven to Colchester where we stayed about 2 hours & got back here at 9 o’clock. I arranged about my lodgings at £1 per week.

4 Friday In the morning I went up to the City with Aunt Polly to choose a dressing case at Southgate’s (Watling St.) for Arthur & me to give Blanche. In the aft. Aunt & I went through Trafalgar Sq. To the Temple to see a Chrysanthemum show. In the eve Uncle W. & I went to “The Old Guard” at the Avenue Theatre. It was very good, I enjoyed it immensely. Comic opera starring Miss Henrietta Polak, actress and singer.

5 Saturday In morn. I went down to Trafalgar Sq. & saw a great row with the “unemployed”. Bought a tobacco pouch in the shape of a skull, 1/6. In the aft I came home to Basingstoke. Uncle William walked to Waterloo with me. New pair of boots from Wyeth’s £1.1.6, clump soles.

7 Monday Ordered 3 Oxford shirts from Mr Hewett’s, 6/6 each. In the evening Arthur, Blanche, Minnie Rush & I went to a concert at the Drill Hall given by Major May. Mr Winterbottom’s military band performed, it was very good.

8 Tuesday Busy getting ready for next Monday. Received my £4.1.2 interest due Nov. 1st .

9 Wednesday Began clearing up my 3 cornered room. Mended my cigarette case.

10 Thursday Blanche’s 21st Birthday. She had a lot of presents, brooches, bracelets etc. Arthur & I gave her a dressing case, 36/6 cost price. Pa & Ma gave her a 2 guinea muff. In the evening we had the Allens, Loes & Powells in to tea. Champagne for supper & a small dance in the drawing room after.

11 Friday Bought a cap 2/-, 2 ties 2/6, & 1 pair of gloves 3/6 at Hewett’s yesterday. Went down & said good bye to Mr Longley & gave him some cigars. Grandma gave me 5/-. In the evening I went over to Powell’s to supper. 12 Saturday Met Morton Lear & went up to School to say goodbye to Chadwick. Went up to station to meet Uncle William who came down to spend Sunday with us. Arthur gave me £5.17 to come away with for 1 month. £1 per week for board & lodging, 1/- (not clear) for washing, 5/- (not clear) for jacket, 2/- (not clear) for P. money.

13 Sunday Said goodbye to the Allens, Loes, Cannons & Caldecotts. Went to Youngman’s to supper.

14 Monday Went down & said goodbye to Uncle & Aunt Jane. Started from Basingstoke by the 9.52. All the house was in tears. I felt rather uncomfortable. However it went off, as I went up to Waterloo with John Portsmouth. Had a cab from Waterloo to Liverpool St, 2/-. Arrived at Wivenhoe at 2.35. Purkis came up to the station to meet me. Had tea, went up to the brewery, unpacked my things & slept well.

15 Tuesday Started my pupilship at Mr Daniell’s Brewery, East Donyland, for a month on trial. Wrote home to Ma to say I had arrived all right. Went to the Brewery at ½ past 9 o’clock. It was snowing hard. Had boiled rabbit & pork for dinner. In the aft. walked over to the stores at Wivenhoe with Purkis, the brewer. Stayed in & read in the evening. 16 Wednesday Got up to mash at ½ past six. It was freezing hard. Had a good many glasses of beer during the day. In evening I stayed in & read. The steamer which takes beer up to Chelsea ran into the bank & could not get off. Mashing: combining a mix of milled grain with supplementary grains and water and heating.

17 Thursday Got up to mash at ½ past six. After breakfast went out for a walk with Purkis & Mr Bartlett shooting. The steamer got off the bank & was loaded with 120 barrels of beer for Chelsea. In evening went down to the “Crown” with Purkis, Mr Bartlett & Nunn. 18 Friday Got up at 7 o’clock, rather late. Added up some accounts for Mr Daniell. Brewed 50 barrels of P.A., beginning to see how the machine works. Blyth takes the brewing this week after 9 am. In eve wrote to Mr Angelsmith to tell him what I was doing. 19 Saturday Got up to mash at 6.45. In the aft. at 3 o’clock Blyth & I walked over to Colchester. Had a look over the town. I bought a bell for the table 1/- & a tin of Cocoatina (price unclear). We drove back to Heath House with Mr & Mrs Daniell & Miss F Blyth & I stopped there to dinner, had a jolly evening & got home about ten & went to bed. Purkis & some fellows played cards till 4 o’clock.

20 Sunday Went for a walk in morn & aft. In evening went to Wivenhoe church with Purkis & Bartlett. Wrote to Blanche.

21 Monday Not brewing today. Got down at the Brewery at ½ past 7 to weigh the gyles etc. Did chemistry all day with Blyth, analysed some malt & went through the maltings. In eve went up to Heath House with Blyth & had a little dinner as I had had sprats for tea. Got home at ½ past 9.

22 Tuesday Got up to mash at 6.45. Blyth is mashing this week. Paid Mrs Tye £1 for the week. After breakfast I distilled a lot of water for chemistry & did some more malt analysis. Began reading Loftus’ work on brewing. Went to see about some fresh lodgings. Wrote to Uncle William in the evening.

23 Wednesday I got up at ½ past six every morn. this week. I wrote to Mr Milne & Mrs Hamilton.

24 Thursday Mr Daniell asked me to take the part of “Mr Walk ‘em fast” in some waxworks in the schoolroom Rowhedge on Friday which I decided to do. We had a rehearsal of the waxworks at 5 o’clock. At 8 o’clock Purkis & I went to Mr Bartlett’s to a small card party. Burton & Nunn were there. We played Loo, 1/- a doz till 10.30. Very jolly eve.

25 Friday In aft. I helped get the room ready & in the eve there was a concert & waxworks. I took the part of “Mr Walking Fast”, Mr Daniell was “Artemus Ward” the showman, Miss F Blyth was “Mrs Pear’s Soap”, Oct. Blyth was “Knave of Hearts”, Miss Coar was “Jubilee” & many others. It went off splendidly. The room was crammed & we had to turn away a lot from the doors. Octavius Blyth

26 Saturday In the aft. I went over to Colchester with Blyth & took my football things; but did not play as they had the team made up. I went in to Allen’s & saw Pearl Allen, she walked down to St Botolph’s station with me. We had a concert again in the ever. I acted in the waxworks. The room was full again. Had a letter from Arthur.

27 Sunday Went to Rowhedge Church in morn, for walk in aft.

28 Monday Not brewing today, got down to the brewing at ½ past seven. We took £10.0.1. at the concerts on Friday & Saturday, which was very good for the small room. In aft. picked out a lot of barrels of beer to go up to London by the steamer. Paid Mrs Tye £1 for board & lodging for the week.

29 Tuesday I make cocoa now every morn when I get up to mash, which is 4 times a week now.

Diary 1887 - October

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 23:49:46 GMT

2 Tuesday Arthur sent me cheque for £15.12.6 for quarter. £13 Board & Lodge. £1.6.0 P. Money. £-.16.6 boots. 10/- for week he stayed with me.

3 Wednesday Went to Bartlett’s in eve. Brewing 5 times this week. I am Brewing. Nowell repaid me the 30/- I lent him. I paid Mrs Pitt 11/-.

4 Thursday Went in to Colchester to Football Practice. Saw Ada Allen.

7 Sunday Had an invitation from Miss Godden to Elmstead Harvest Thanksgiving & to tea. Blyth & I went. Very nice. Walked back with Blyth.

8 Monday Went in to Colchester Theatre to see the “Mikado”, D’Oyly Carte’s Company. Very Good. Drove back with Guv’nor.

13 Saturday I went in to Colchester & went on the market with Mr Robert. Bought several lots barley. I drove Guv’nor’s mare home & slept at Heath House as he was out. Bought football boots 12/6.

14 Sunday Went for long walk in morning. Did not go out (sic) Blyth had bad cold.

17 Wednesday Took the brewing & mashed all this week. Brewed 5 times. Blyth was away all the week with bad cold. So I had enough to do. 20 Saturday My Father died this morning in bed. I am glad to say without any suffering.

21 Sunday I went to Dan Green’s.

22 Monday Went home.

23 Tuesday Had new black suit.

26 Friday The Funeral. I went with Arthur & Frank By his will Pa left £200 to ...(name not clear, Janie?), £100 to Alice & his entire business & property to Mother, to be divided among us children at her death or marriage. Mr Bayley & Uncle William Trustees. Aged 62 years.

28 Sunday Went to St. Michael’s in morning. Went to the school in afternoon & had a talk with Mr Chadwick.

30 Tuesday Came back to Donyland & hard work. Brewed 5 times this week.

Diary 1887 - September

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 23:47:57 GMT

3 Saturday Took down one side of the pigeons’ house & cut down the almond tree & a lot of branches off the oak tree. Heard of Edith’s engagement to Dr Pearce of Salcombe. Arthur gave me the £2 interest on my £100 in the business & paid it into the Savings Bank for me. Cousin Edith Paice, a daughter of Uncle William, married Dr Arthur Pearce MRCSE.

4 Sunday Had a letter from Isleworth Brewery to say the premium was.....(not clear: £300?) 5 Monday The alterations were begun today to make a shed for the new furniture van & to make house for storing furniture.

6 Tuesday Tricycle was finished mending by Watson.

7 Wednesday Mr Adams had a letter Mr Daniel at Colchester Brewery to say his premium was £150, board & lodging extra. Finished the first 100 rows in my tennis net.

8 Thursday Went to Allen’s to supper.

9 Friday Sold 4 pairs of my pigeons. 1 pair Jacobins 2/- to a builder. 1 pair Fantails 2/- to a builder. 1 pair Jacobins 2/6 to Will. Cannon. 1 pair Jacobins 2/6 to Mr Pike. Picked 28 lbs of plums for jam, 14 lbs red plum, 14 lbs black. 10 Saturday Cut down the May tree. Took some plums & grapes down to Aunt Jane. We had a tremendous lot of grapes in the greenhouse this year.

12 Monday Sold 3 pairs of carrier pigeons to Doubleday for 3/6. Wrote to Mr Daniell at Colchester to meet him in London on Wednesday. 13 Tuesday Sold 3 pairs of Jacobins & old pair of Fantails to a builder for 5/-. This was the last of my pigeons. In aft & eve took down the wire aviary & tied it up & took it to the top of the garden. 14 Wednesday Went up to London with Aunt Mary. We went to Uncle William’s & I met Mr Daniell there at 12 0’clock & arranged to go there in November as a pupil for a month first to see how I liked it. Uncle George & Uncle William were there & were both satisfied with the arrangements, he is a nice gentleman. I went up to Camomile Street to order a block for printing of the new furniture van. Went to Hammersmith to sleep. Thomas Daniell & Sons, West Bergholt Brewery (founded about 1815) merged with Daniell Brothers & Co of Colchester in 1887 to form Daniell & Son’s Brewery Ltd. Acquired by Truman Hanbury and Buxton in 1958. Brewing ceased 1959.

15 Thursday In the morning walked to Putney with Charles. In aft. went to St James’s Palace with Edith, Julia & Winnie to see the Queen’s Jubilee presents. They were very handsome. Great talk about Edith’s engagement. 16 Friday Went for a long walk with Charles in the morning. In the evening Fred went up to Waterloo with me & came back home at about 9 o’clock. My bantam hen hatched 7 young ones out of 7 eggs.

17 Saturday In morning went up to the station to meet Uncle W & Aunt Polly. They were going for their holiday to Jersey. I gave bantams to Frank & he is to keep them now.

18 Sunday Went for a walk with the Allens.

19 Monday Sold the 3 young bantams to Charles the gardener for 1/-. Blanche went to Miss Hart’s school as morning governess. 20 Tuesday Sold the 3 old bantams & 7 young ones to Mr Jacob for 5/-. Took down the pigeons’ house & packed up the wire & put it at the top of the garden. 21 Wednesday Laid the foundation stone in the new building. JBM 1887. I cut it out before. I laid the brick & filled it in with white mortar & stood the bricklayers a gallon of beer. Arthur laid one & Frank too.

22 Thursday Went out for a ride on the tricycle to Herriard & got some nuts. Harry Powell let us put our tricycle in his shed until our alterations were finished.

23 Friday Drove Mr Longley to a sale at Hurst – 20 miles. Started at 8.30. He bought several things & I had a good dinner at the house free of charge. Got back at 7 o’clock. Blanche had a telegram from Uncle William to go to Southsea till Tuesday: she went.

24 Saturday I drove Ma & the children out nutting to Herriard, we did not get many nuts. I put a back on a plush frame of Mrs Allen’s & took it down.

25 Sunday Went to Uncle Richard’s to supper; he was bad.

26 Monday Helped make some tomato sauce from our own tomatoes & bottled it. Wrote to Loftus & Co for a list of works on Brewing. Cousin Ada went back home with Nora.

27 Tuesday Blanche came home from Southsea. In aft I went up to a football practice at the School. In the morning I went out to Sherfield & got some blackberries & a fine caterpillar.

28 Wednesday In the aft I went blackberrying out to Bramley & got 2 baskets full on the tricycle. Mr & Mrs Clift came in in the evening.

29 Tuesday I mended Grandma’s travelling box, for which she gave me a shilling. I went out & got some wild berries & ferns for Blanche to decorate the church. Went up to School to a football practice.

30 Friday I made a lot of blackberry jam. In the aft I drove out Blanche & Nellie Loe to get some berries etc for harvest Thanksgiving. Finished reading Voltaire’s “Candide” – did not much care for it, very overdrawn.

Diary 1887 - August

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 23:44:01 GMT

1 Monday In the morning I drove Pa & the others to the Duke of Wellington’s monument. In the afternoon we all went to Hackwood to see a cricket match & Fred Bird & Ada & Willie Paice. Came home to tea at 7 o’clock & played tennis after.

2 Tuesday Went up to Station with Uncle to see him off. Picked a lot of apples. Went to the baths. In aft. painted the posts on the lawn for wire netting. Played tennis in evening. Answered some advertisements.

3 Wednesday Went to the Baths. Wrote to Arthur at Bath. There was a fire at Sherborne in the evening, we drove out to see it & took Minnie & Miss Clift home. Saw George Dunn & had a talk. Advertised my pigeons in the Exchange & Mart.

4 Thursday Wrote to The Brewery at Herne Bay to decline it. Had a lot of prospectus (sic) from an adv. for engineering I had answered. Bottled some ginger beer. Drove Ma, Blanche, Aunts Polly & Jane to the Vyne House. There was a missionary meeting first. Mr Lloyd spoke & then Mr Chute showed us over the house.

5 Friday Cleaned up a picture frame for the photograph of school teams. Turned out the paper room. Ball came in to say good-bye to me as he is going tomorrow. Mort Lear told me he had passed his exam & was going away to work with Chadwick on Monday. At Westward Ho! 6 Saturday Turned out the place under the machine room. In aft went up to the station to meet Uncle William who came down for Sunday. Harry Loe brought me 5/- for helping at the Jubilee. We went out for a drive in eve. Arthur came home from Bath, the treadle of tricycle broke when he had got half way so he came by train. Mr Whiteley’s (department store) at Westbourne Grove (London) burnt down. ½ million pounds damage.

7 Sunday Played tennis with Uncle William. 8 Monday Uncle Richard had a letter from a gentleman to say the brewery at Herne Bay was very respectable etc. Went up to the station with Uncle Richard. Bought pair of pliers 2/3 at Wagstaff’s. Put some birdlime on sticks to catch flies. Went up to station see Aunt Polly off. Miss Fencott came in to tennis.

9 Tuesday Played tennis in evening.

10 Wednesday Made some ginger beer from a recipe of Grandpa’s. Minnie & Mrs Clift came to tea. 11 Thursday Bottled the ginger beer, 13 bottles. Drove Pa, Blanche & the children out for a drive to get wild flowers for the Show. Mr Lear was married to Miss Poulter at 8.30 in the morning.

12 Friday Hatched 4 young bantams. Finished reading “Monte Cristo” by Alex. Dumas. It is the best of Dumas that I have read, but very unrealistic at points.

13 Saturday Ma & Frank, Ethel & Mabel went to Bournemouth to stay & Aunt Mary with them. Grandma came to Aunt Jane’s to stay.

14 Sunday Went down to Will Allen’s to tea & sup.

15 Monday Jessie Palmer came to stay with us. Tricycled over to Sherbourne with some cherries from Aunt Mary to Mrs Clift. Drove out in the morning to get some wild flowers for Blanche for the Show.

16 Tuesday Flower Show at Eastlands. We got 1st prize for apples, 1st for pears & 2 nd for peas. Blanche showed some wild flowers, did not get a prize. I tricycle over to Mr Clift’s in the morn. with £5 I cashed for him at the Bank.

17 Wednesday Went down to the Baths & had a swim with the Caldicotts. Mended my sailing boat & took it up to the station for Mr Cannon to take to Bournemouth for Frank. Nellie Loe and Miss Fencott came in to tennis. Nellie stayed to supper. Mr Clift got in all his harvest today. We have not had rain for 9 weeks till today.

18 Thursday Answered some advertisements in the Brewer’s Journal. In eve. Will Allen & I castrated the black kitten which he gave me. Wrote to Ma.

19 Friday Went to the Baths. Painted the posts for wire netting on the lawn. Ordered ½ bushel of food for pigeons off Gammon, Reading. 20 Saturday Painted the posts on lawn. Pigeons’ food came from Reading – 2/6. In eve we played tennis. Miss Fencott came in & Dick Knight came from Isleworth. Grandma came up & Jessie Palmer sang after supper.

21 Sunday Went for a long walk with Dick Knight in morn. Went to Wote St to tea & supper.

22 Monday Painting posts on lawn. In aft. drove Pa, Grandma, Aunt Jane, Blanche & Jessie out for a long drive. In eve. went down to Miss Fencott’s & put up some flycatchers for her father. Miss Fencott taught me to net. I learnt in about ten minutes.

23 Tuesday Wrote to Mr Knight to ask him to go to the Isleworth Brewery & see if there was a vacancy. Made a mesh and began making a tennis net; did 37 stitches for the depth & did 6 rows today. Went down to Allen’s to tennis in evening with Arthur.

24 Wednesday Made two mahogany meshes for my netting an inch wide before breakfast. Painting on the lawn all morning. In aft, Jessie Palmer & I went out for a row in Allen’s boat with Ada & Alice Hine, very jolly. Played tennis in evening.

25 Thursday Had a letter from Mr Knight to say the premium at Isleworth Brewery was 150 guins. per annum. In the morning drove Grandma over to Sherbourne. In aft. Jessie Palmer, Jessie Knight, Blanche & I drove out to Silchester for a picnic, saw all over the old Roman camp, made our tea out there & called for Grandma coming back at 9 o’clock.

26 Friday Went down to see Mr Val. Adams about the Colchester Brewery. Went to the Baths. Made a bracket for trays, stained it & varnished it & put it up in Aunt Jane’s kitchen. Stopped there to supper. Valentine Adams worked at the Victoria Brewery, Basingstoke

27 Saturday Finished painting the posts on lawn. Ma & the children came home from Bournemouth in the evening, they enjoyed it very much. I went up to station to meet them.

28 Sunday Went to church in morning.

29 Monday Arthur & I went up to Uncle William’s by an excursion to Waterloo, 4/- there and back. Had dinner at Uncle’s, went to the American Exhibition in afternoon, back to tea at 6 & had a chat with Uncle about the Breweries. Started at 9 & got back at ½ past 10 o’clock in eve, not at all crowded

Diary 1887 - July

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 23:39:30 GMT

1 Saturday A coded sentence, followed by: Came home from Loe’s dance at 1 o’clock this morning. We heard the church bells ring. Went for a jolly skate up the canal with the Loes, met Lynch & had a talk with him, he was staying here for a few days.

2 Sunday. Went for a jolly skate up the canal.

3 Monday Went skating up the canal.

4 Tuesday Had a small dance in the evening, the Allens, Loes & their cousins & Minnie came. We took down the gas in the front room down stairs; left off about ½ past 12. Went off very well.

5 Wednesday Met Leslie Angelsmith down in the town, he had come with his wife & child & company to act at the Drill Hall next week. Had a long talk with him. 6 Thursday Went skating.

7 Friday Went skating in the morning. Went on putting up the wirework in the pigeons’ place which was broken down by the snow on Bank Holiday. There was 17 ins of snow on level ground up our garden.

8 Saturday Finished putting up the pigeons’ house and let them all out. Leslie Angelsmith came in to tea & stayed for an hour or two.

10 Monday Arthur & Papa went to Stanlake Park to take an inventory & stayed there till Friday. Arthur came home for Wednesday night. (A short coded entry follows).

11 Tuesday Charles Paice came down from Hammersmith in the afternoon. Went to the Down Grange in the morning with Will Allen. John P wrote in to say they were going to thresh but they did not.

12 Wednesday Went to the Basin at Hackwood skating in the morning. Took Venus with me. Out to Portsmouth’s in the afternoon, went out shooting. I shot several small birds. Mort Lear fell in the duck pond up to his neck Went to Leslie Norman Angelsmith’s performance ”The New Magdalene” at the Drill Hall. He sent us tickets for this night.

13 Thursday Minnie, Blanche, Charles & I went to the Drill Hall in the evening to “Naval Engagements”, Leslie’s wife acted. It was awfully good. 14 Friday Went to the Broadwater skating in the morning. As I was coming away Leslie Angelsmith came down. I lent him my skates, which he brought back in the afternoon. His daughter’s name is “Ivy”. Went to the canal skating again. Went to “Naval Engagements” again at the Drill Hall.

15 Saturday In the morning went to Portsmouth’s to see a rick threshed, took Venus & killed a heap of rats. I had dinner at Portsmouth’s & went home soon after & took Blanche & Minnie skating up the canal. We had a splendid skate. An awfully cold day.

16 Sunday Went for a fine skate up the canal in the afternoon.

17 Monday Went to Winchfield by train & walked to Dogmersfield Park. Had a splendid skate. The ice was like glass & over a foot thick. Walked on to Odiham, had tea at the “George”, walked to Hook station & back by train.

18 Tuesday It thawed dreadfully & the ice was not fit to skate on; we went to the canal to see & then went over Basing ruins.

19 Wednesday Charles & I drove over to Mr Clift’s at Sherborne for a dress for Minnie & stayed there to dinner & drove Mr Clift in. In the afternoon cleaned out pigeons’ house & found the fantails had laid & killed two young carriers. Took my watch to be cleaned for the 1st time to Mr Porter’s. Sherborne: JBM is inconsistent with his spelling. It is usually appears as Sherbourne

20 Thursday Went to Reading with Charles Paice. Saw the new statue of a lion in the Forbury Gardens, the museum & went over Huntley & Palmer’s biscuit factory; ordered a bushel of pigeons’ food at Gammon’s & paid for it 5/-. We went on up to Hammersmith. The Maiwand Lion war memorial erected in 1886.

21 Friday Went to Olympia, the new Agricultural Hall at S Kensington (the largest hall in England, opened the day after Christmas Day) & saw the “Hippodrome”. It was very good. Edith, Julia & Charles went with me. Edith and Julia: Charles’ sisters

22 Saturday Went to the “Forty Thieves” at Drury Lane in the afternoon, enjoyed it immensely. The 1st time I had been to Drury Lane.

23 Sunday Went to Chiswick Church in the morning.

24 Monday Charles & I walked across Barnes Common & through Richmond Park to Richmond & came back by train. Went to the Zoological Gardens in the afternoon & into Uncle William’s to tea & back by ‘bus. Finished reading the “The King’s Own” by Marryat. Very good tale.

25 Tuesday Went to Whiteleys in the morning & saw Jamie. In the afternoon went to Richmond Park to see “George’s v University College” rugby match for the cup. Univ Coll won by 2 goals to 0. Met Percy Johnson there.

25th birthday. This book: Pettitt’s Scribbling Octavo Diary for 1887. Interleaved Blotting

27 Thursday Went for a long walk out by the Willesden canal with Charles. In the evening went to a concert at the Vestry Hall at Turnham Green with Edith, Julia & Charlie & Mr Duggin.

28 Friday Came up to Uncle William’s at Bloomsbury in the afternoon to stay. Went with Uncle & Aunt to “Harbour Lights” at the Adelphi Theatre in the evening. Enjoyed it immensely.

29 Saturday Went to the British Museum & saw the Egyptian Mummies. In the aft. went to Barnes by train with Uncle & walked thro’ Richmond Park to Richmond; went to Mr Esse’s to tea & supper.

30 Sunday Went to Mr Bird’s at Wimbledon to spend the day.

31 Monday Went over the library in the British Museum with Charles Paice. Wonderful. Walked up to the city & went into St Paul’s Cathedral, heard part of the service in the afternoon. In the eve. went to “Faust” & saw Irving act. It was splendid. Was weighed at the Distillery: 10 stone. FEBRUARY

Diary 1888 - Feb

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:54:04 GMT

1 Wednesday Analysed some more beer to find original gravity.

2 Thursday Went skating in morning with Blyth, Purkis & Miss Daniell. In the aft walked over to Mr Cuddon’s with Purkis, went over his malting & took a sample of some.

3 Friday Analysed some malt. Went to Heath House to tea & played billiards all the evening.

4 Saturday In aft went in to Colchester. Had a game of billiards & tea at the Conservative Club. Ordered a new coat.

5 Sunday Went to Church in morning. 11 Saturday Went in to Colchester to get some gloves etc. Helped get the room ready for the dance. Had game of billiards, drove back at 10 o’clock.

12 Sunday Went in to Colchester to Mr Daniell’s to dinner with Blyth. In evening took Miss Annie Blyth & Ada Blyth to church & drove back at 10, went to Mr Blyth’s at East Hill to supper.

13 Monday In evening went to a dance at St Martin’s Club given by Mrs Daniell. A very jolly dance, all waltzes except 4. Had some very good partners & drove to Heath House & walked down here in the snow, home at 5 o’clock.

14 Tuesday Got in to the brewery by 9 o’clock & took the brewing this week. Not very tired.

17 Friday Went up to Heath House to tea & billiards.

18 Saturday Purkis away. I went in to Colchester with Blyth. Got a new small overcoat at Allen’s, £2.5. Brown. Had tea at Conservative Club & played billiards at the Fleece. Drove back at 11 o’clock

19 Sunday Blyth came down & spent the day with me. Went to Wivenhoe in evening.

21 Tuesday Mashed this week with Blyth. In aft. walked in to Colchester with Mr Bartlett & bought a banjo at Aggio’s for 15/-. Had tea at Conservative Club & I signed my name for a member, not because I am a Conservative but to play billiards there. Bartlett said it did not matter so long as I did not run them down.

25 Saturday Got some new pants, 2 prs at 8/- each & two vests at Brown’s, these were woollen as it is awfully cold. Drove home with Mr Daniell & had supper at Heath House. Had tea at Welton’s with Blyth.

27 Monday I took the brewing this week.

29 Wednesday Had letter from Caldecott who is going in for Matric, Dublin University little go (sic) & 1 or 2 more exams. A school friend from Basingstoke (see 1887 diary)

Diary 1888 - Mar

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:54:01 GMT

2 Friday Had rather a bad cold on my chest for a day or two; but I got a bottle of Elliman’s Embrocation which apparently cured it 5 Monday I mashed this week with Purkis & did some Chemistry.

6 Tuesday Had game of billiards at Heath House.

7 Wednesday Purkis scalded his eyes over the top sparge back, so I mashed quite alone the rest of the week.

8 Thursday In aft. went in to football practice. Had a good game, the last of this season. Called on Sydney Davies about some Banjo lessons. Paid for my new coat at Allen’s £2.5 & 1/- off for discount. 10 Saturday In the morning drove in to Colchester with Mr Robert D. to hear a case against Mrs Doyland. Mrs Doyland of the “Greyhound” was prosecuted by Supt. Akers for selling whiskey with 28 % of water, 25 % being the allowed quantity; but witnesses were called to show that there were notices in the bar that all spirits were sold diluted & the case was dismissed. (3s/3d for witnesses each, £1 guinea [not clear] for solicitor) with costs. In aft had my first banjo lesson at Mr Sydney Davies’s, he charges me 1 1/2 guineas for 13 lessons. Had dinner at the old guvnor’s, back by the (not clear). 11 Sunday Went to Church in morning. Went to Nunn’s to spend the afternoon.

12 Monday I mashed with Blyth this week & did some Chemistry Beer analysis. 13 Tuesday Had Dan Green in to tea, & Nunn, Bartlett & Havens in afterwards. Played cards till 3 o’clock. Did not loose or win. 17 Saturday Went in to Colchester. Did not have a banjo lesson as I forgot my book.

18 Sunday Purkiss & I went up to Heath House & had dinner with Welton & Blyth, came down here in evening. 19 Monday Welton & Blyth came in to tea with us. We had oysters, 2 dozen for 2/-. I went in to Colchester with Welton. Mr Daniell went to our house in Basingstoke & slept the night. 20 Tuesday He came back this morning & enjoyed his visit. I went up to Heath House in evening.

23 Friday Went up to Heath House in evening & had a game of bezique with Mrs Blyth. In aft. went to Brightlingsea with Mr Robert D. – had a game of billiards.

24 Saturday In aft drove in with Mrs Blyth, had my 2nd banjo lesson. Boat race Cambridge won by 7 lengths.

26 Monday Had a letter from Uncle Richard. I mashed this week. Richard Knight was married to Jane, JBM’s mother’s sister. They lived in Basingstoke.

27 Tuesday Had a letter from Blanche. Arthur sent a cheque for 2nd quarter for £15.6. £1 for vests & pants. £1.6 for P.money. £13 for board & lodging.

28 Wednesday Walked in to Colchester to see Welton. Had tea with him & brought back his banjo on approval for a few weeks. Came back by train.

29 Thursday Went in to Colchester in aft with Purkis. Had a game of billiards at the Club. Cashed my cheque. Ordered some grocery & walked back by 6.0. Purkis went home for Easter. Miss Shave bought my 1st banjo for 15/-, the same price I gave for it at Aggio’s. 30 Friday Went up to Heath House to tea & went to the Fête on the Heath.

31 Saturday In aft went in to Colchester & had my 3rd banjo lesson. Had tea at old Mr Daniell’s & went to the theatre after & Blyth & I walked home. Paid my bill at Brown’s for vests etc. A

Diary 1888 - Apr

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:58 GMT

1 Sunday Went up to Heath House to dinner & then drove over to Barn Hall with Blyth, stopped to tea & supper, got home at 12.30.

2 Monday Had a game of billiards at Heath House in aft & drove in to Colchester to Mr Daniell’s to tea & went to the Theatre with Basil & Blyth. 7 Saturday Went in to Colchester, had my banjo lesson. Went to Allen’s & met Willie. Had tea there. Came back by the 7 o’clock train. Went in to Dr Nowell’s for 2 or 3 hrs.

9 Monday Walked in to Colchester with Blyth. Had a game of billiards. Bought ½ doz ties, 1/2 at Brown’s & a trousers’ stretcher 3/6. Walked back to Heath House & had dinner there & played bezique.

10 Tuesday I brewed this week 5 days. 11 Wednesday Went over the “Phiona”, a splendid yacht.

14 Saturday Had a banjo lesson. Had tea at the Conservative Club & went to the theatre with Blyth & Dr Nowell. “My Sweetheart” was acted very well. Drove home at 11 o’clock.

15 Sunday Spent the day up at Heath House. Purkis went away till Monday.

16 Monday Mashed this week. Marked a lot of casks on the pasture. Had a letter from G. Powell. Gerald Powell: husband to be of JBM’s sister, Blanche. See jamesmoodyandsons.co.uk

17 Tuesday Blyth went to Graham’s to learn chemistry for 2 or 3 months. 21 Saturday I mashed at 6.30. Had a banjo lesson. Ordered pair of flannel trousers at Allen’s. 15/-.

23 Monday Analysed some malt. Brewed 3 days this week.

29 Sunday Went up to Heath House to tea. Took Flo. Spooner out. Oh Bliss! Oh Rapture unforeseen!

Diary 1888 - May

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:56 GMT

1 Tuesday Interest £4.2 on New Zealand Inscribed. Arthur paid me at the end of this month. For details of investments see 25 March 1887.

5 May Had banjo lesson. 12 Saturday Went out with Purkiss in Jones’s boat in aft.

19 Saturday Had banjo lesson. 26 Saturday Went up to Twickenham to stay for the wedding; called at Hammersmith & went for a row down past Richmond in aft with Blanche & Fred. Wedding of cousin Edith Sophia Paice to Dr Arthur Pearce. Fred Paice was one of Edith’s brothers. 27 Sunday Went for walk in the Terrace Gardens, Richmond.

28 May Went up to London to see Blyth at University College. Had dinner with him at the “Horseshoe”. Went to Uncle William’s & met Mr Alfred Pearce there.

29 Tuesday Went to Edith’s wedding at St Peter’s Church, Ham’smith. I was one of the groomsmen. Splendid breakfast. Dance in evening.

30 Wednesday Went to the Academy in the aft. with Arthur. Very good. Went back to Basingstoke in evening with Blanche & Ethel. Ayrshire won the Derby. Ethel, another sister, aged 14: my paternal grandmother.

31 Thursday In aft went to Mrs Clift’s, Sherborne, to tea & tennis.

Diary 1888 - Jun

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:54 GMT

5 Tuesday Went to Allen’s to tennis. 6 Wednesday Went to the Club lawn to tennis. I & Harry Tyrell played Loader & May & beat them 2 sets to one.

7 Thursday Had the Allens & Powells in to tea. I played my banjo & Blanche P. sang. The Powells were a very musical family. Blanche Powell was a talented singer (see jamesmoodyandsons.co.uk) 8 Friday Had the Loes & Minnie in to tennis. Minnie Rush 9 Saturday In eve went to Loe’s to tennis.

10 Sunday In aft, walked over to Sherborne with Blanche. Said goodbye to Mr Clift. 11 Monday Came back to Rowhedge. Came down in the train with Watson Caldecott.

12 Tuesday In evening I went to a dinner at Wivenhoe with Mr Rob. Daniell. I sang a song & made a speech. Got back at 12.30.

13 Wednesday Went eel fishing with Bartlett. 18 Monday Went to Heath House to tennis.

19 Tuesday Went to Dr Nowell’s at Wivenhoe & took my banjo.

20 Wednesday Went to tennis party at Heath House.

21 Thursday Tennis.

22 Friday In morning I rowed Mrs Daniell & Florrie Blyth down the river. We had lunch at Welm’s Hard. Got back at 4 – went up to Heath House to tennis all evening. Coming back met Flo Spooner & took her for a walk etc etc. Glorious Day.

23 Saturday Colchester, 24 Sunday Went to Heath House to tea.

25 Monday In aft helped Havens poison his dog “Lion”, a mastiff. I shot it twice through the head with my pistol. Poisoned it with stricnine (sic) in pieces of meat.

26 Tuesday Very heavy thunderstorm all last night. Mr Daniell Senior very ill.

27 Wednesday Started making out the draymen’s tickets before breakfast; for which Mr Robert is going to give me 10/- per week.

28 Thursday Went up to moat at Donyland Hall fishing.

29 Friday Caught a carp in the moat.

30 Saturday Received my first payment of money 6s 8d from Wednesday. Went in to Mr Daniell’s to dinner & went on the market in aft. Went to a rose show.

Diary 1888 - Jul

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:51 GMT

1 Sunday In aft went up to the moat & fished & read.

2 Monday Had Green in to tea & Bartlett to spend evening.

3 Tuesday Had letter from Arthur with cheque for £5 due 21st, £4 for lodge & board, £1 pocket money June.

4 Wednesday Went up to Green’s to tea & tennis.

5 Thursday Watson Caldecott came down in aft, had tea with me & walked back to Colchester with him. In evening went in to Haven’s, played cards & banjo. Lost 2/-.

14 Saturday Saw Mr & Mrs Allen in Colchester.

16 Monday Went for a jolly sail in Levett’s smack. Sent Rev (sic) Chadwick 5/- towards School Sports. Walter Levett, ferryman, in local 1874 directory.

23 Monday In aft went down to Britlingsea with Bartlett in a dingy. Had a jolly sail back.

24 Tuesday Went to an awfully jolly Tennis Party at Heath House. The Blyths, Mrs Francis etc were there. Nowell went with me.

25 Wednesday Nowell came in to tea with me. I lent him £1.

31 Tuesday Had a letter from Ma & a cheque for £9.6.

Diary 1888 - Aug

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:49 GMT

1 Wednesday Walked to Colchester with Nowell. Had tea at Club.

2 Thursday Had a game of cards on Hurst’s yacht till 12.30, lost 2/6

3 Friday Had a game of tennis at Green’s, took my songs. Blyth came to live at the “Shaveries”. A private joke?

4 Saturday In aft. went up to Hammersmith, having had an invitation from Julia. Fred was at Cherbourg.

5 Sunday Went for a long walk with Uncle George & Charles & to Chiswick Church in evening. 6 Monday Went for a very jolly picnic up the Thames. Had lunch at Bitton & went on 2 boats to Hampton Court. The Bulls went.

7 Tuesday Went to our bottled beer store at Chelsea, called at the Distillery & came back at 5 o’clock. Probably the Tanquery Gin Distillery, Vine Street, Bloomsbury, where his Uncle William worked.

9 Thursday Very busy all this week. 11 Saturday Went to Clacton with Blyth in aft, had some jolly sets of tennis. Lent Nowell 10/-.

12 Sunday Went to Clacton again. Had tea with Mrs Daniell there.

14 Tuesday Went for a paddle in Nowell’s canoe. Flo came back. 19 Sunday Stayed at the Brewery & paid the men their wages.

20 Monday Walked to Elmstead & called on Rev. W. Godden, whom Paul Bull had very kindly given me an introduction to – they are very nice people & the 2 Misses Godden walked partly home with me. Nothing but my humble birth to prevent a very enjoyable friendship arising. Rev William Worcester Godden MA, Vicar of Elmstead.

22 Wednesday I get to the Brewery now at 6.30 almost every morning & have felt rather tired of business this week, but a rest on the following Saturday & Sunday has put me right again.

25 Saturday We went up to Heath House to play tennis. Mr Frank Daniell was there. Had some fencing & billiards & spent the evening there. 26 Sunday Had Nowell & Bartlett in to dinner. Walked with Flo thro’ the woods.

30 Thursday Went to an awfully jolly tennis party at Mrs Francis’s with Mr & Mrs Daniell

Diary 1888 - Sep

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:46 GMT

1 Sunday In aft. went up to Mr Daniell’s. After tea, Blyth & I came down to Wyvenhoe (sic) church.

2 Monday Down at the Brewery all day. Wrote home. In eve. Blythe came in to tea with me & I went up to Heath House to dinner at 7.30. Had a jolly evening. JBM had lodgings at a Miss Shave’s in the village of Rowhedge. Heath House was the Daniells’ home. Mr Daniell’s father lived in Colchester.

3 Tuesday Got down to the Brewery at 9 o’clock to set taps & I did the brewing in the morning. Started a brewing book of my own. In eve went for walk.

8 Sunday Went out with Flo. Spooner. Nice girl. 10 Tuesday I took the brewing myself this week. Went up to Heath House in evening: Miss Annie Blyth was there. 11 Wednesday Awfully foggy this week.

12 Thursday Went in to Mr Daniell’s at Colchester to dine. 14 Saturday Went in to Colchester at 6. Bought some hat pegs & ordered grocery. Had “ma première” at Colchester. Drove back with Dan Green at 11 o’clock. Daniel A Green, farmer, Donyland Place, listed in 1874

16 Monday Went in to Colchester with Blyth to play for 2nd X1 against Mr Parson’s X1. Lost 3 to nil. Had Bartlett, Nunn & Havens in to spend evening till 5.30.

17 Tuesday I got up to mash this week & did not brew. 18 Wednesday In evening went in to Mr Haven’s to spend evening. Had a jolly evening till 12. Wm Havens junior, farmer, Donyland Heath, listed 1874

19 Thursday Mashed myself for the 1st time quite alone, this morning. Did it all right. Wrote to Arthur. Went in to Colchester to a football practice. Had a jolly game. Mashing: combining a mix of milled grain with supplementary grains and water and heating.

20 Friday In evening we had Blyth in to tea & Arthur Green & Mr Bartlett to spend the evening till 12 o’clock. I lost 7s/6d this week on cards. 22 Sunday Went up to Heath House to spend aft. To Wivenhoe church in evening & afterwards for a walk avec la petite Flo.

23 Monday Brewed today, Thursday & Friday. I took the brewing this week. In eve. went up to Heath House & had a jolly game of billiards with Blyth.

24 Tuesday Had a long letter from Blanche. Went for walk with Flo.

26 Thursday Went to Heath House & played Billiards.

28 Saturday Drove in with Mr Robert D. at 1 o’clock to Colchester, had dinner with the old gov’nor & went on the market all aft. Came back by the 7 o’clock. Went for long walk with Flo’ & saw the Eclipse. An eclipse of the moon.

29 Sunday Walk in aft with Purkis & Havens. JBM is inconsistent in his spelling of Purkiss.

30 Monday It snowed a lot last night. 31 Tuesday I mashed this week with Blyth. Analysed some beer with Blyth. Went in to the “Crowns” with Flo Spooner in the evening. FEBRUARNew Paragraph

Diary 1888 - Oct

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:44 GMT

2 Tuesday Arthur sent me cheque for £15.12.6 for quarter. £13 Board & Lodge. £1.6.0 P. Money. £-.16.6 boots. 10/- for week he stayed with me.

3 Wednesday Went to Bartlett’s in eve. Brewing 5 times this week. I am Brewing. Nowell repaid me the 30/- I lent him. I paid Mrs Pitt 11/-.

4 Thursday Went in to Colchester to Football Practice. Saw Ada Allen.

7 Sunday Had an invitation from Miss Godden to Elmstead Harvest Thanksgiving & to tea. Blyth & I went. Very nice. Walked back with Blyth.

8 Monday Went in to Colchester Theatre to see the “Mikado”, D’Oyly Carte’s Company. Very Good. Drove back with Guv’nor.

13 Saturday I went in to Colchester & went on the market with Mr Robert. Bought several lots barley. I drove Guv’nor’s mare home & slept at Heath House as he was out. Bought football boots 12/6.

14 Sunday Went for long walk in morning. Did not go out (sic) Blyth had bad cold.

21 Sunday I went to Dan Green’s. 22 Monday Went home. 23 Tuesday Had new black suit.

30 Tuesday Came back to Donyland & hard work. Brewed 5 times this week.

Diary 1888 - Nov

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:41 GMT

4 Sunday Went to Heath House to tea & St Marys in evening.

6 Tuesday Did some chemistry this week.

8 Thursday Played in football practice at Colchester. Paid 15/- for pr flannel trousers. Paid 12/6 for football boots. Paid 4/- for repairs. Called in at Mr Allen’s. Went up to Heath House in evening.

This is the last diary entry for 1888. On a page at the end of the diary is written:

W. Allen Walduck’s Hotel Warrick (sic)

Court Holborn W.C.

Diary 1888 - Dec

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:53:39 GMT

1 Sunday In aft. went up to Mr Daniell’s. After tea, Blyth & I came down to Wyvenhoe (sic) church.

3 Tuesday Got down to the Brewery at 9 o’clock to set taps & I did the brewing in the morning. Started a brewing book of my own. In eve went for walk.

8 Sunday Went out with Flo. Spooner. Nice girl. 10 Tuesday I took the brewing myself this week. Went up to Heath House in evening: Miss Annie Blyth was there. 11 Wednesday Awfully foggy this week.

16 Monday Went in to Colchester with Blyth to play for 2nd X1 against Mr Parson’s X1. Lost 3 to nil. Had Bartlett, Nunn & Havens in to spend evening till 5.30.

23 Monday Brewed today, Thursday & Friday. I took the brewing this week. In eve. went up to Heath House & had a jolly game of billiards with Blyth.

24 Tuesday Had a long letter from Blanche. Went for walk with Flo.

26 Thursday Went to Heath House & played Billiards.

29 Sunday Walk in aft with Purkis & Havens. JBM is inconsistent in his spelling of Purkiss.

30 Monday It snowed a lot last night. 31 Tuesday I mashed this week with Blyth. Analysed some beer with Blyth. Went in to the “Crowns” with Flo Spooner in the evening. FEBRUARNew Paragraph

Diary 1888 - Jan

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 08:49:29 GMT

1 Sunday In aft. went up to Mr Daniell’s. After tea, Blyth & I came down to Wyvenhoe (sic) church.

3 Tuesday Got down to the Brewery at 9 o’clock to set taps & I did the brewing in the morning. Started a brewing book of my own. In eve went for walk.

8 Sunday Went out with Flo. Spooner. Nice girl. 10 Tuesday I took the brewing myself this week. Went up to Heath House in evening: Miss Annie Blyth was there. 11 Wednesday Awfully foggy this week.

16 Monday Went in to Colchester with Blyth to play for 2nd X1 against Mr Parson’s X1. Lost 3 to nil. Had Bartlett, Nunn & Havens in to spend evening till 5.30.

23 Monday Brewed today, Thursday & Friday. I took the brewing this week. In eve. went up to Heath House & had a jolly game of billiards with Blyth.

24 Tuesday Had a long letter from Blanche. Went for walk with Flo.

26 Thursday Went to Heath House & played Billiards.

29 Sunday Walk in aft with Purkis & Havens. JBM is inconsistent in his spelling of Purkiss.

30 Monday It snowed a lot last night. 31 Tuesday I mashed this week with Blyth. Analysed some beer with Blyth. Went in to the “Crowns” with Flo Spooner in the evening. FEBRUARNew Paragraph

Escape from War 24th June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:53:20 GMT

Monday, 24 ^th June

Refreshed after a good night's rest we set off into town at 9am with the hope of changing some French money into English currency. We had been told that, as a concession for refugees, banks were exchanging small amounts of francs for immediate needs - for us it was to buy our rail tickets for Basingstoke - but alas, this facility had been withdrawn that very morning. We could have returned to the Weslyan Hall to ask for railway warrants but instead we returned to the Guest House where the proprietress was quite prepared to give us cash against a Lloyds Bank, Basingstoke, cheque. Mother had brought away her English cheque book. All we needed was £5.00. The amount seems small in the 1980's but represented then more than a week's stay for one person at the Guest House.

We then proceeded to the station and caught a train at about 11am to Truro, transferring there to the main London line, reaching Reading at about 6pm.

Our next train from there to Basingstoke was at 7.30pm and it was from the call box on Reading platform that we made our first phone call to the family at Basingstoke. Phone calls from Falmouth had not been possible. Having received our telegram from Falmouth sent the previous Wednesday, 6 days past, when our boat had reached the Bay and with no further communication, they had been wondering what had happened to us, half imagining we had gone on to the United States or Canada.

Here ends the tale of our escape, for I have no recollection whatsoever of the arrival at Basingstoke station, nor of getting a taxi, nor of the welcome by the family (Granny, Auntie Ethel, Geoffrey and Miss Rush) at Fairholme, Cliddesden Road. It would seem that having reached the haven on Basingstoke and the family home after a very stressful eleven days, nothing mattered any more.

Escape from War 22st June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:44:08 GMT

Saturday, 22 ^nd June

Quiet morning. About 12.30pm a lighter came alongside and advised us that we would be taken off in about an hour. Rushed to pack back into our suitcases the items taken out, collect washing - one of the group left her "smalls" drying on deck - we had been living on a collier for four days.

We said goodbye to the Skipper and crew with our ever grateful thanks. They were going on to Barry toreturn to base the coal they had first unloaded at Brest and then told to get it back on to the collier.

We drew alongside the jetty at Falmouth. A policeman immediately came on board asking that any dog on the boat be handed over to him - for even at a time like this safety precautions for rabies were still being observed.

The policeman then asked whether anyone was in need of medical help and Father was encouraged to go forward and was taken up by the policeman to the St. John Ambulance member on duty at the barrier on the jetty. An hour or so later, as we were still on the boat and were not sure where Father had gone to, the policeman on duty allowed me to go up to the barrier to see whether I could gain any information about Father's whereabouts. It so happened that the St.' John man who had dealt with my Father was back at the barrier. He told me that the refugees were being given shelter in the three cinemas of the town and that the one my Father had been taken to was fast filling up. He had a word with the policeman on duty and it was decided to let Mother and myself go out of turn rather than we should get sent to different cinemas, but we had to leave our suitcases on the jetty. Father alone had been allowed to take his suitcase containing medical equipment. It had been raining steadily since early afternoon and the thought of leaving our few possessions was not reassuring.

We found Father in the foyer of the cinema. He had already inquired of the medical staff on duty there of the possibility of a hospital or nursing home bed but had been told that hospital and nursing homes were already overflowing and beds were only available for emergencies as they came in. It was not possible for Father to sit in the cinema all night. The solution came from a local pork butcher on duty in the foyer who offered Father a bedroom in his home down the road. Father surrendered his passport to the powers that be in the foyer and the business man took over responsibility for him.

Mother and I spent the night in the company of many others, dozing off, having cups of tea and corned beef sandwiches, alternatively lying on the floor and sitting in the cinema armchairs.

Escape from War 21st June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:41:20 GMT

Friday, 21 ^st June

No move yet - getting short of antiseptic for my Father's medical treatment. I raided the boat's First Aid box. More bread and corned beef was delivered to us.

The weather since our departure from France had remained fine.

Every time we heared the sound of aircraft we imagined it might be enemy planes. With so many boats in the Bay (400 I was told later) we felt we were a sitting target.

Escape from War 20th June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:39:19 GMT

Thursday, 20 ^th June

This day came and went and we waited to be taken off but realised that many others were likewise waiting.

Trivial events became important - washing - cooking. The Skipper and his crew had given up most of their quarters to us and were too helpful. The older ones in our group made use of their bunks and for some of us it was just paillasses on the floor.

Escape from War 19th June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:38:37 GMT

Wednesday, 19 ^th June

In the early hours, on the radio, we heared General de Gualle's first broadcast to the Free French to keep the Tricolore flying.

After a most uneventful crossing we reached Falmouth Bay early in the afternoon. We found many boats in the Bay - two Dutch liners and a variety of small boats.

A customs launch came alongside in the afternoon and the officer on board said we would be taken off as soon as possible. He asked if we wished to communicate with our families as he could transmit telegrams for us. Needless to say we all availed ourselves of this offer, paid him our dues, and he went off carrying a request for bread which was brought out to us later that evening. By now the crew were sharing their stores with us.

Escape from War 18th June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:35:58 GMT

Tuesday, 18 ^th June

Up early after very little sleep. I had been told the previous evening that some of the British Army were pulling out through Brest - confirmed by the non-stop traffic during the early part of the night. There had been a certain amount of air activity as well, presumably enemy planes.

By nine o'clock we started off to Brest in a hired car (the one Father always hired when travelling around to buy Breton Post Horses), leaving our car with mattress, bicycle and sheets as well as the sheepskin rug with our friends. We reached the British Vice Consulate about 10am to find a few other British stragglers there and that advice given to those in front of us was to get down to Commercial Port and see if the skipper of a small British Collier would take us aboard and back to England. The last boat evacuating British troops had left in the early hours of the morning and the British Vice Consul had gone too. It had been left to the one French Employee of the Consulate to try and organise our "escape". In fact the doors of the consulate were closed as we left and the French Representative of the Consulate and "our" hire car helped transport the little group down to the port, where the French Representative discovered that the crew of the British collier had got drunk the night before and been taken away by the police. However the skipper of a Norwegian collier working under contract to the British Government (Norway had already been invaded by the Germans) agreed to take us aboard - he was scheduled to leave for England at 7pm. Our complement had now grown to 9 civilians, 7 army and 2 airmen who had reached Brest too late to get on the last troopship to leave.

The skipper suggested we went and got some lunch and purchased food to take aboard, returning early afternoon.

So we went up into the centre of Brest and had what was to be our last lunch in France for many a long day. Father and one of the others went straight back to the boat after the meal in "our hired car". Mother myself and the others stayed behind to shop. We had arranged for the car to return to pick us up but he failed to return and we decided to walk back to the Commercial Port as soon as possible. I think our driver felt he would be safer back at Landivisiaufor by this time pandemonium resigned in Brest. Just before going up into the town Brest had its first air-raid and with the battleship Richlieu in the roads of Brest, the response from the guns of the battleship was to say the least of it frightening. We were sheperded into a somewhat dubious air-raid shelter and the all-clear went about half an hour later.

By the time we returned after lunch to the Commercial Port it was to see many people hugging what was no doubt their most precious belongings and getting into a variety of small craft to get out to the small islands or more isolated parts of the coast. We also discovered that we would not be leaving alone but that we would be in convoy with a French Naval boat with French Marine Fusiliers aboard, and that in fact one of two small cargo boats like our collier would also be in convoy with us.

The crew of our collier had also found out that the Commercial Port (and presumably the Naval Port) was being dynamited during the late afternoon and this proved to be true, for when we were well out in the roads of Brest we heard the explosions and saw the sheets of flame.

What amazes one was that the departure of the small convoy, destination England, was so well organised.

The skipper received detailed instructions which, for security reasons, were not to be opened until we had left the quayside - as he knew no French it fell to me to translate the contents of the sealed envelope. The portent of these instructions were that, together with the French Naval ships, we were to be convoyed across the Channel by a British destroyer when we left the roads of Brest.

So this is how on a beautiful June evening we left our beloved France - wondering what her fate would be.

Escape from War 17th June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:32:30 GMT

Monday, 17 ^th June

They very kindly gave us breakfast and leant me their daughter's bicycle to go into Guer to a garage. At the first garage at which I called the boss said: "No repairs for at least three days, we have had such an accumulation of broken-down cars". The next said: "If you can get the car here, my principle is to look at the cars as they come in and if the trouble can be remedied quickly, I do this right away to enable refugees to get on their way again". Back I went to the farm. The farmer and his wife suggested that we could possibly get a tow from their neighbours who had gone up the road to one of their fields with their horse and cart and would be returning shortly they thought. These neighbours agreed to do this. Actually all we needed was a tow to the top of the hill - then in was "plain sailing" downhill to the village. The difficulty was to get the car back on the road, ready for the tow. Never have I pushed so hard to get the car into position. Within a very short while the garagist had got the car going again - the trouble was due to grit in magneto - and we were away again (10.30?). The traffic was light on the whole. From Guer we were again directed southwards, possibly due to the nearness of the Polish Headquarters to the north of Guer, but from Malestroit, about twenty kilometers from Guer, we found little difficulty in going north to Josselin.

Somewhere between Josselin and Pontivy we stopped at the roadside for a picnic lunch. Very soon a car drew up and the driver said: "No need to go any further, the war is over, the French have asked for Armistice, so you can go home now". I replied "We are British". I knew now how urgent it was for us to get out of France.

As we had stopped for the lunch break we had noticed a jeep with British Staff Officers aboard drive down a side lane, obviously for a lunch break. This was before we had received the information about the Armistice. But with this information in hand my Father suggested we asked them what port to go to, to get out of France. I was detailed to go and ask them. No sooner had I imparted the knowledge about the Armistice, than lunch was forgotten and they were away in a flash. I can't remember whether they ever gave any advice other than to "Try and get out of France as quickly as you can". I often wondered who they were. They certainly were top-ranking Staff Officers.

We pursued our way through Pontivy, Rostrenen, Carhaix. At Huelgoat we were able to get petrol with coupons - with the knowledge had been asked for, they said: "If it can help you get to England, so much the better. That much less for the Germans when they get here". Little did we know that two days later German motorised units would have already reached western Brittany.

At about 6 o'clock, we reached the Hotel Guilloux, Landivisiau, where we were welcomed by the proprietor and his wife. Monsieur Guilloux was a business colleague of my father with whom he traveled in the surrounding countryside to purchase Brittany Post Horses - for export to Brazil for Remount purposes.

After the evening meal Mother and Father just wanted to retire to a comfortable bed. Though I realised that each hour lessened our chances of getting away to England, in no way could I deny them a night's rest.

Escape from War 16th June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:29:22 GMT

Sunday, 16 ^th June

My friend Yvonne went to 7am Mass. On her return she said that if we didn't make a move soon we should never get away. News was filtering through of the Germans rapid advance.

At this stage it became necessary to siphon some petrol from the tanks in the back of the car to the car's tank. Can't say I liked the flavour of petrol. By 9am we were on our way, here we started our trek south. We had hoped to keep a fairly straight road west since our now ultimate aim was Landivisiau near Brest. Here again some friends had offered us shelter if we had to get away from Nogent. They had a hotel. It was obvious by this time that the civilian Police had been given orders to direct people on the roads south and so it was that we were directed south of Laval to Chateau Gontier then on to Craon, Pouance, Chateaubriant. Here at one of the many road barriers we encountered I made a plea for going north, saying we had a house near Brest and that it made sense that we should try to go there. Whether the "agent" at the barrier knew how serious the situation was I know not but his remark was:- "Well, if you want to cut off in Brittany why should I worry". So it was that from then onwards, repeating this plea at every road block, we gradually moved northwards through Bain-Bretagne, Maure. About twenty kilometers from Maure, near Guer, we broke down at about 7pm - just near a small holding and very near to the Polish Headquarters at Coetquiden. The farmer and his wife came out to speak to us and very soon flagged down the chauffeur of a Polish colonel (known to them and who happened to be passing at the time). Said by them to be a mechanic, he tried to find out what the trouble was - but to no avail.

By this time it was 9pm and the small holders suggested that with their help we pushed our car down the short drive and parked our car in front of their house. Their offer was accepted, for there was no other alternative at that hour. The mattress was taken from the car roof and placed in a very large bedroom which we shared with the farmer and his wife. They in their bed at one end of the room, Mother and myself on the mattress at the other end. Father remained in the car to protect the petrol and belongings etc.

Escape from War 15th June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:26:46 GMT

Saturday, 15 ^th June

Attempted, leaving after breakfast, to get to St. Malo via Mayenne, Fougeres. To start with the going was slow, roads blocked with traffic going both ways. There was some troop movement to which priority was naturally given.

There were many road blocks and by early afternoon, after many diversions and being finally told that no civilians were being allowed north, we were in fact back not very far from our starting point of Evron and Mother and Father were only too pleased to be able to stay the night there again.

All through the night the traffic on the main road was intense (I slept but little). This proved to be the British, making for Brest no doubt. We assumed later that at this stage they had received orders to try and get back to England.

Escape from War 14th June 1940

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:25:10 GMT

Friday, 14 ^th June 1940

The final decision to leave Nogent was taken. We had hoped to leave about 10am but then came an air-raid warning and it was no use attempting to leave - too much danger of dive bombing on the road. Though, on the other hand how futile it was to go to the top of the garden as we had been told to do by the Civil Defence for 1) it was only 113 meters from the Route Nationale No.10 and 2) we had a wine and spirit store adjacent to our garden. Our basement had been pronounced unsafe as a shelter.

The all clear went about 11.30am I would think. Now came the tricky job of backing the car out of the garage, for with the road jammed with traffic, no one would allow us to back out into the road and allow us to straighten up and close the garage doors. Finally someone gave way and we achieved this. I went back to lock the garage doors, then back into the house for one last look, then out to lock the "grille" and here we were (my father, my mother and myself) one more car and one more family getting into the "exodus queue". It took us about twenty minutes to negotiate the first 200 meters into the town, then we made for the secondary roads through le Theil, La Ferte Bernard, Bonne Valle, Ballon, Susanne to Evron. There was traffic on the road but we were able to drive at a fairly normal speed. We reached Evron about 6pm. Here my friend Yvonne had come from Nogent, with two young sons, to stay with her aunt and uncle and they kindly offered us shelter for the night as it was too late to attempt St. Malo that evening. At this stage St. Malo was our nearest port of escape to England.

Escape from War 23rd June 1940

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:48:17 GMT

Sunday, 23 ^rd June

Father returned. The exit doors were opened to get some fresh air. The weather had improved after yesterday's downpour which had lasted from early afternoon until nightfall. All the stores in the centre of Falmouth were open this Sunday morning in order to help the hundreds of refugees coming in daily. We were allowed to walk up and down the small car park (in small numbers) attached to the cinema. The entrance to this and the other exit doors were guarded by armed soldiers.

People from the other side of the barrier at the entrance of the car park kindly asked if they could shop for us. Fresh fruit seemed to be in greatest demand.

About 12.30pm an announcement was made to the effect that British passport holders would be taken by coach to a centre for the issuing of ration cards, identity cards and the collection of suitcases left on the quayside and which had been moved up to the centre. So this is how we made the acquaintance of Falmouth Drill Hall. We took our places in the queue, were given a number and told to be seated. In due course our turn came and, at a first desk, we were given a document to enable us to obtain a ration card when we reached our destination. At the next desk on the stage of our passports were scrutinised and we were supplied with the required Identity Card. Then out onto a grassed area (no doubt a bowling green) with a covered area at one end and there the search started for our three suitcases amongst some two thousand items (so I was told later) which had been brought up from the quayside. One presumed that an organised routine had been established to deal with the refugees' luggage as they landed off the boats. I was fortunate enough to find our cases fairly rapidly: but even now, over forty years later, I can remember the sodden cardboard boxes with refugees' precious possessions adrift and how sad I felt about it. Our fairly stout suitcases withstood the test of the downpour.

Once our luggage retrieved, the Customs Officer present asked for the cases to be opened - seeking for anything that might appear suspicious - had my camera had a film in it, it would have been confiscated. I still remember this very young Customs Officer being apologetic about having to search the cases in such circumstances as these and I telling him that I knew how necessary it was to check for "fifth column infiltration".

From here we were taken, still by coach, to another hall, the Weslyan Church Hall, where the disposal of the refugees was being organised.

There were three options:-

1) Billeting in Falmouth until contact could be made with relatives or other arrangements could be made.

2) A travel warrant to anywhere in England.

3) Paid accommodation in Falmouth. Possible in our case for all three of us had a few pounds in hand, and Mother and Father badly needed a rest. We were directed to a Guest House where we paid a very nominal fee for high tea, bed and breakfast. The greatest joy of that evening was a hot bath - we had spent five days on a collier!

Alas we lost sight of those who had been our companions for the crossing. We'd moved off the boat before the others because of Father, the cinema had filled up and they had obviously been directed to another cinema.

Escape from War 13th June 1940

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:22:36 GMT

Thursday, 13 ^th June

Odette's husband arrived from Paris - the railway line had been bombed and George had to walk some part of the way - no more trains from Paris.

Father at last has seen the red light and the decision was taken to leave the next morning. He had tyres and car generally checked and the petrol in tank loaded in footspace of back seat.

We had been more or less packed for days. A suitcase each, a mattress on roof of car (a protection against machine gunning), my bicycle fixed into the boot, some linen sheets (all French people were taking their valuable sheets), the sheepskin rug, and our last bottle of champaign from the cellar.

We were so stunned by the constant stream or rather queue of vehicles of all kinds coming past (we lived on Route Nationale No.10). It was like a magnet which drew us to the front windows. Harrowing stories were told by those coming through at snail's pace. Many had been subjected to machine gunning. In one case, we were told, a woman was holding her dead child in her arms. Many cars had broken down and their occupants were continuing their way on foot. Many were on their way to relatives further west or south.

On the main road the average speed was between 5 and 10 kms an hour.

Escape from War 11-12th June 1940

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:20:42 GMT

Tuesday, 11 ^th June, Wednesday, 12 ^th June

Things got rapidly worse - more and more people were leaving Nogent. Mrs Holman and her family had gone to Foulletourte (near le Nans) to her sister's and brother in law's. Yvonne Baghaud and her children to Evron to her aunt and uncle.

Odette (8 1/2 months pregnant) was in the family home at Nogent and her husband was still in Paris. She couldn't understand why Father wouldn't leave. She felt we would get caught.

Escape from War 9th June 1940

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:17:56 GMT

Sunday, 9 ^th June

A letter and a card from England: Post still normal. The card from my aunt stated that her son in law had got away from Dunkerque and was safe and well in England. The letter from our District Nurse friend near Chester was to tell us that her husband had passed away after a short illness.

Went as usual to Maillet's (the pastrycook's) for the traditional Sunday lunch tart and met the Herves. Fred Herve (one of our local doctors) inquired what the British radio was reporting. We had discovered that the British radio was giving more accurate and up to date information about the German breakthrough than the French. I cannot remember what Daventry reported that day. News bulletins came only in the evening if I remember correctly. Life still seemed very normal and no thought of leaving for England was yet in our minds though Fred Herve mentioned it might be a good idea not to delay our departure.

Escape from War 8th June 1940

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:16:34 GMT

Saturday, 8 ^th June 1940

Went over to Courville as usual to teach English at the Cours Complementaire. Returned on the usual afternoon train - trains running normally and on time.

Went down to river to have a swim at about 4pm. Air raid warning whilst there which we took little notice of even then. Little did we realise how serious the situation was by then: The German Army had broken through on the northeastern front and were heading for the Seine.

A 297 9 rue de Saint Marceaux, Paris, 27th April 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:32:45 GMT

from Odette (Chrétien)

My dear Nancy,

Your letter of the 15th arrived yesterday and it is always a great pleasure to hear from you and have you in my thoughts. I didn’t reply to your letter of 15th February, which didn’t arrive until 1st March. Winter has left us exhausted. But don’t worry, we didn’t suffer too much ourselves from the terrible, cold spell, thanks to the fact that we had electricity. By good fortune, we didn’t have any power cuts in our district. So we were able to manage with 10-12degrees, which was a luxury for us. Most people experienced 5 degrees or zero temperatures and I have friends who worked with minus two. That was very hard for the older men. It is feared that, next winter, fuel will be in very short supply and we are being left in no illusion about that. François has had ear-ache and then tracheitis. Fortunately he is in good hands. He will be operated on at the end of May. That will sort out that nasty throat. Apart from that he is getting on well, except for refusing most of the food he’s given. He eats masses of potatoes and noodles!! We waited the whole winter for a lemon which arrived rotten and a few phantom bananas which never materialized. The poor dears are not spoilt. Also, actually, American chocolate brings a smile to their faces, eaten slowly and a little at a time. You forget all that, when you hear of those who have suffered years of imprisonment or been deported. Everything you hear about is so awful. Mrs Holman is going to see her son released, the poor woman. Your grandmother’s death must have created a big gap. At least, your mother will have had the compensation of living near her in her last years. I hope that your father will get over his distressing health problems. Fortunately, he’s a fighter. Now you are rid of all those threats of German invasion. What a relief it is to see the end of this nightmare.We were very upset by Roosevelt who died just before the final victory. What amazing energy that man had. The celebrations of the Liberation in Paris were very thrilling. In the evening the Arc de Triomphe was beautifully illuminated and had all the flags flying at the foot of it. The reinstallation of the flags in the Place de la Concorde was also a magnificent sight. Did you see that in the cinema or did you hear it on the wireless? In March, I went to Nogent just for a few hours and I didn’t have time to see Mrs Daupeley or to go on up to your house. I am amazed that your house was damaged. In rue St Hilaire there were just a few roof tiles broken. The station and its surroundings suffered a lot, especially the part of the suburbs I didn’t see….and the rue St Lazare. Poor Nogent, it seems a big empty place to me now that I have no family there and we’re not there any more. I am ashamed that you haven’t been able to get your visa yet. Is it in three weeks or three months that you can apply again? You don’t say. I want it to be as soon as possible, so that we’re not away on holiday at the time. Keep us abreast and let us know as soon as you have any news. The end of the war will sort everything out again. We were following the overwhelming victory of the Allies with the greatest of excitement. May peace soon be with us. I am touched by your offer to send clothes, because that will put you to a lot of trouble. It’s really kind of you to want to fit us up, because we cannot cope with the black market prices. I am making you a list of what we are likely to be interested in. All insofar as you are able to help, because you will have many other friends to help, apart from us. It’s my husband who’s in the greatest need…A suit costs between 12,000 and 18,000 fr here. What a scourge this black market is for France …that some are growing too fat on it and ordinary budgets are very limited. Enclosed are a few photos that may amuse you a bit. I was in a hurry some of the three of them. We took some really excellent ones of them. I can send you some good reels of film. Give me the details of the size of your camera. 8.5-11. We think of you often.

My husband sends his best wishes.

All my love to your parents – all my love to you.

François sent big kisses to you all (three of them!)

Odette

No news of Simone. Jeanine has had some contact. Dr R…has come to Paris twice to find something, but without success. I have found out how we can settle our various debts to each other. You have to go through the foreign exchange office, which is fairly complicated. One of my husband’s clients, who is a correspondent in London, we can send funds to you through him. Not knowing what prices are like with you, but once we know roughly what is needed, we can send you an approximate sum as a first payment, so that you can have something on account. I’ve been told you can’t send money orders (only soldiers can do that) and no parcels either. So sorry about the rolls of film. Children’s clothes (for a five-year-old) One really rainproof cape, with a hood. Gey, beige or blue. Length 60cm One winter coat, woollen material. Blue or grey. Length 60 cm 30 cm across the shoulders. Children’s shoes 1 pair of leather sandals, size 25 or 17 cm long. 1 pair of shoes, size 26, if possible with hard-wearing soles for the winter, brown or black or, barring this, snow boots in good condition, size 26 or 18cm long. Men’s clothes. 1 winter coat, datk grey, 1m20 long, 44 cm across the shoulders. 1 dark blue, or gey, winter suit. Trousers 80 cm long, waist 78 cm, jacket 40 cm across the shoulders. 1 grey flannel suit for summer wear. Men’s shoes. 1 pair of black shoes, heavy leather or rubber soles, size 41 or 42. If possible… 1 pair of leather sandals Ladies’ shoes. 1 pair of shoes, mahogany or brown, size 37 – 24.5cm long – low heels, leather or rubber soles.

A 296 Nogent, 5th April 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:16:18 GMT

from Yvone (sic) Bagland

My dear Nancy,

I received your letter by today’s delivery and I am replying straight away, because I really need some shoes, for me and the children, because for a long time we haven’t been able to get anything any good at all. Everything wears out in a few months. If there’s any choice, could you make sure you get something strong and comfortable, but in anticipation, anything you send will be absolutely fine, because we’re really not very happy and I am often quite worried about things. Christian is growing a lot and most of the time we have no meat or butter and very often I get depressed, I can tell you, and I wonder what repercussions these five years of privation will have on our children. It seems ages since the time I had heard nothing of you. I often think of you all, and your Daddy who had no luck at all. Mummy is comfortable and well, but we haven’t had much luck either. In Nogent, people are saying that you will be coming back soon. I am excited at the very idea of it. And, by the way, you needn’t start looking for somewhere to stay, as you are most welcome to stay here. Five or six portions, it makes no difference at all. We have enough potatoes, and Maurice is using Mrs Pelletier’s garden in avenue de la République. We are pleased about that, as we shall be able to have vegetables without having to queue for hours. You know, there’s something there that does not quite add up – is it the work of some kind of fifth column !! I just don’t know. I believe I am expecting Germaine Petit soon, which I am very pleased about, as I haven’t seen her for 13 years. Stanley Holman has returned home – what a great joy that must be for his mother and his brothers !! The prisoners-of-war are returning gradually. I am going to the reception centre for a few days. Well, I’ll stop now, my dear Nancy, with hugs and kisses from me and very best wishes to your parents.

Yvone (sic)

Christian’s shoe size (measured with socks on) – 35-36 I am a good 37 Jean-Pierre’s size (measured with socks on) – 31

A 295 St André, 25th March 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:15:26 GMT

From Marie (Béhaegel)

Dear Miss Nancy

I was surprised and saddened to hear of Mrs Moody’s death (Elizabeth Moody, Nancy’s maternal grandmother) so soon after her celebrating her hundredth birthday, because, despite her age, as you say, you imagined that she would always be with you. I note that Mr and Mrs Powell’s health has not always been brilliant either during these terrible war-time years and everyone’s low moral has also influenced matters. You don’t mention Nogent – you have perhaps lost everything you had there, may I ask? You have also had your trials and tribulations, alas! We have also had some very, very serious news, my Paul has just been taken prisoner in La Rochelle. I had only just been so very happy to see him again, when he came home for a week’s leave at long last. He had been promoted sergeant on January 1st. He had been back for two or three days, when the Boches launched a big attack and managed to take 300 prisoners and my poor Paul was amongst them. He actually had a marvellous escape, because a lot of them were killed and the Germans lost even more, because they asked for a truce to pick up their dead. All that happened on 1st March. And I received a card from Paul sent on the 3rd and a letter sent on the 6thMarch, which he managed to get through to me. He is not complaining as they are being treated well, it seems, but they’re not getting much to eat and, unfortunately, I can’t send him anything, though I tried all ways of doing so. He had gone off with your address and was thinking of writing to you, but dear, oh dear, what a to-do. Fortunately, we live in hopes that the end of this accursed war is in view. I went to see Miss D…, who is in good health, but her legs don’t want to walk any more, as she says, and she gave me a whole lot of things for you all. I think the poor old lady thought that I was going to see you. She is ninety-one. My husband has still not gone back to work yet, but he is getting better. I am very much the same and they are now giving me a second lot of injections, but that doesn’t stop me carrying a lot of weight, as you will see from the photos I am sending you with this letter – the ones we took when Paul was home on leave. It is not a very clear picture, but even so it does look like me. All the best to Mr and Mrs Powell and to you, Miss Nancy,

my fondest wishes.

Marie

A 294 Nogent, 4th March 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:14:19 GMT

from M(arie). Pierre

My dear little Nancy,

I was so very pleased to hear from you at last after these five long, dreadful years. I had heard in 1940 that, at that awful, unforgettable, time of the mass exodus, you were able to get back to England, but no-one could say for certain. And very, very often, my family and I anxiously wondered what had become of you. We all left for the Lot-et-Garonne [south of Bordeaux] to stay at my brother’s and we stayed there from 16th June until the beginning of September. When I got back home, I was horrified and surprised to find the house full of Germans. The neighbours said that 30-35 of them had been there on a daily basis, installed in my property with their field kitchen, burning my furniture to create heat. Everything had been ransacked, broken and soiled in an indescribable way. For more than a month I had to stay with friends. Faced with so much damage, which cost me 60-80,000fr at present prices, I thought that I would never recover from the great psychological and physical shock I received. Since then, I have been ill all the time, constantly suffering from blood pressure. I have just gone through a very bad time, ending with, or rather continuing with, the flu’ and that’s why I have taken so long to reply to you. What’s more, this letter I started on 4th March was interrupted by the flu’. It’s now Sunday 18th March and I am feeling a little better today and am starting writing again in order to finish it. First of all, may I send you my most sincere condolences for your grand-mother’s death and please convey them on my behalf particularly to Mrs Powell, who has certainly had the great sorrow at the loss of her dear Mummy. You must, in any case, all have been proud to have in your midst a hundred-year-old lady who had been so well preserved. What a shame she left this life before the final victory of our dear allies!!! I hope that this accursed war will soon be at an end and that you will soon be entitled to come to France. If my house was dreadfully ransacked, yours must have been even worse!!! I wonder what state it is in! I very much fear that you will not find much left there. My sisters, who had hidden some fine linen and different things on my property, have unfortunately lost everything. They would have been better leaving everything in Paris, where not a thing has been touched. Miss Mar used to own a fairly large house in Bar-sur-Seine [Aube department, in NE France]. This house was completely destroyed in 1940 by German bombing. She is still living in le Perreux with my older sister. You would think that bad luck is following them around, because the villa where they live was burgled in the winter, when they came here to Nogent. All their linen was taken, plus dresses, shoes, paintings and precious objects, a large amount of cash and a whole lot of other things. The police have not been able to trace the thieves, and the two friends themselves are totally depressed to have lost so much, at a time when you can’t find anything in the shops and the little there is fetches incredible prices that you can do nothing about. They had come here for the wedding of our nephew, Jean P…, the ceremony took place on 14th October in St Hilaire’s Church. He married a very nice girl who lived on the bridge – in the house where D… used to live. They are a family of manufacturers from the Nord department and they came seeking shelter here, because the pretty property they lived in had been completely razed to the ground, when they were bombed out. The young couple live in Paris, to the delight of my sister and her husband. All my brothers and sisters came to the wedding – all of us are ageing well here. You will find us much changed, when you come to see us, my little Nancy. My sister (married name Baron) is extremely thin. Her beloved son, Michel, is a tall, good-looking, young man doing medicine. He volunteered as an army doctor which was a great sadness to his mother. Genevieve is still unmarried. Odette Médard had three children – she lost the youngest last summer, he died of convulsions. He was a good-looking two-year-old. Simone got married after the great exodus of 1940. She has a little girl aged two. Her first – a boy – died at fourteen days. My poor sister, Odette Médard has a big problem with one hip and she can hardly walk at all any more. She is in a lot of pain. That’s news of everyone, then. My family joins me in wishing for improved health for Mr and Mrs Powell. Much love and kisses from us to you.

M. Pierre

PS See you soon, I hope. It’ll be wonderful to see you again.

A 293 Courville, 9th February 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:13:12 GMT

from T. Fournier (postcard)

Delighted to hear from you (card arrived yesterday). Several times, very discreetly, we have tried to find out whether you reached England. The last we heard of you was that you were just past Le Mans on your way to a port on the coast. Bravo, all three of you escaped the dreadful concentration camp, where the least of our worries was being under house arrest. We sincerely hope that Mr and Mrs Powell have been able to overcome any serious misfortunes. But life in England was in every way preferable to what we experienced. Four years under the jackboot, that’s the problem. It’s all about living in freedom. I was a great sadness for us to hear that your house had been ransacked and that the Boches were occupying it and masters of all they surveyed, all the more because it was your house and, above all, after the defeats in August and September 1940. Let us possess our souls in patience for a few months more and the Boches will get their desserts. But we mustn’t repeat the mistakes made after the 1914-18 war. We have all survived the agony unscathed. In Nogent, the Thursday of the week after you left, bombs damaged my parents’ house. It’s very lucky for them that they were away. And on 24th July 1944, four days after Jean-Pierre was born, we ourselves were nearly killed by two bombs dropped during an aerial battle over our heads. We were living in a property just outside Courville in the Chartres direction. The Boches evicted us from the establishment on 21st October 1944 – we were given 36 hours to leave. Fortunately they didn’t insist on having our furniture. After being moved on four times during the year, we are now installed back home again. We shall be delighted to see you again and hear how you managed to escape. Your dear grand-mother died knowing that your armies were triumphant. And that was a real satisfaction for her. Ginette and Janine, who often come to the house, asked if we hadn’t had any news of you. They jumped for joy when they read your card. Hoping to see you again soon.

Very best wishes

T. Fournier

A 292 Nogent, 25th January 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:11:55 GMT

from Miss Schereck

Dear Nancy

Mrs Holman has given us news of you and passed on to us your best regards, which we were pleased to receive. We have thought of you many times during these long years, of you and of all our friends from England, whom we have also heard from. Nogent will be happy to welcome you back, when you are able to return. You will find that our poor country of France is bloody and bruised, but determined to take its place in the world again and bind up its wounds. It will take some time to do this, and demand courage and perseverance, but France’s re-discovered freedom will give it the strength to overcome. Our little town has had to endure quite a lot of bombing, although there was none in your particular area, which was some way from the main targets. We remained in our own home. I retired in 1941, but I am very busy in my role, looking after house and home, at these difficult times in our lives. My sister still works at the school, which has become a modern secondary school, preparing pupils for the baccalaureate. Both of us have very fond memories of your parents and we send you are fondest wishes.

M. Schereck

A 291 Nogent, 23 January 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:10:38 GMT

from Yvonne Bagland

[Letter was received 10th February (noted on the letter)]

My dear Nancy

I received your letter of 29th November on 18th January and I was so thrilled to feel a well stuffed envelope in my hands and to have five pages to read, giving me all the longawaited details of your life during these long years of separation. Many, many congratulations to your grandmother for being so robust and of sound mind at her great age. Old age is a wonderful time of life, when things are like that. We compliment you also, my dear Nancy, for being such a good nurse to your father, which was no easy thing. I know, more than most, how wearisome and tiring this can sometimes be. Your life is one of long devotion. It would have pleased me no end, if you had found a good husband. That is what I hoped for you in the past but, true enough, many men have disappeared – it’s exactly the same in France, with all the prisoners-ofwar and all the men working in Germany. The bomb dropped very close to your home!! For us, the nearest were in rue St Lazare and on the little bridge over the railway line to Courtalain…and the rest were aimed at the railway station. We were bombed about twenty times and we were frightened and went down to the cellar, where there was a vaulted ceiling. Once I even went down to Mrs Holman’s house, one Thursday with the children, when there was an air-raid alert. I knew you would do something for your country and I thought you had re-joined the Red Cross. All I do is go every Monday evening to the local Red Cross to make up parcels for sending to prisoners-of-war. I was happy to the best of my ability, to be able to do something by way of thanks for having the, sadly, rare happiness of having my husband close by us. He was in the East (of France) in 1940, but he managed to get to the south of France – what a sadness it was for us then to see our unfortunate country of France in such a state and to experience the coming of the Germans. It was then that I was more frightened than ever in my whole life. The first time was at the farm dairy in Evron, going for milk – I happened to be face to face with five Germans who wanted to come out. I felt frightened to death, but didn’t want to show it, so I waited outside the doorway for them to come out, when the farmer came and closed the door behind them. Imagine my absolute amazement when they walked towards me, saluted me smartly with a click of their heels and asked me for a little milk in the most correct French. I thought I would faint on the spot at such an unexpected greeting. I then went home and told them I was OK and that they had not gobbled me up. Because we were told that they cut off boys’ hands, I kept the boys in the house, but after a few days, when we noticed there was nothing out of the ordinary, we went on with our everyday lives, not without some nervousness in our beds at night, caused by the sound of their boots in lit doorways, or `at the sound of gunfire. Then, in July, I went back to Nogent, after six weeks without any news of Maurice, who came back home in September 1940. On several occasions, we have had Germans lodging on the top floors. An officer, whose aide-de camp had just washed his hands in the kitchen and who then clicked his heels, well we thought that we should not laugh outright in front of him. And a private, who cried when he saw the little boys in the garden (Ah! He was no member of the SS). That lot can’t have children and they must have no heart either. Finally we had six at one go with six bicycles – I persuaded them to carry their bicycles on their shoulders, when they came through the corridor. I was very pleased about that, I can tell you. Because from then on, we weren’t very scared at all and, since September 1940, I had never uttered a word to any of them. They did not pester women either, they understood our manner towards them, but unfortunately they had no shortage of women! Some of them have had their heads shaved – Marie-Louise Bourgery, Rolande Biet, Mrs Viac, whose husband was shot, and many others. They were in prison here for a long time and now they are in internment camps. And Liberation came and we can all breathe freely now, because the patrol marching in their hobnail boots used to depress us, and how many other countries were there that have had to endure their ferocity. I’ll admit that I was very fearful about the way that they might withdraw, but thanks be to God, everything happened in a good and orderly fashion, and, anyway, there were no SS here. You have heard what they did in Oradour-sur-Glane – they put the whole village in the church and burnt then all alive. I think that they’re in the process of being dealt some kind of just retribution. The Russian advance must be terrifying them, because they are being terrible to their Russian prisoners.* Here as well the short supplies of food and goods has been hard, but we have never been without potatoes, even though they were hard to come by in the end, but we haven’t been too deprived, nothing like the big towns and cities, and it’s still going on there. In our case, we have a little wood, we burn that as little as we can, but here agin we consider ourselves fortunate, compared with people in Paris who have no heating at all. Just a tiny supply of gas since June 1944. Dr F…is still the same as ever. He has been doing his rounds on foot for three weeks, the snow and ice means he can’t take his bicycle, because there’s little or no petrol, of course. It’s kept him young. Suzanne Coudray has been bombed out, I don’t think she lost any furniture, actually, but the house is in an indescribable state, good for nothing more than complete demolition and the distillery was also very damaged. I have no news of Estelle, I haven’t heard anything about the message for Jeannine (sic). Abbé Thibault came back in 1940 and since then he has been a teacher in the seminary, then the head of the Red Cross in the Nogent emergency team and an almoner at the prison. Also, he never stops working, either, and his life is one of total devotion and service. He is still a regular visitor at home and he’s a really good friend to me, and often a great support. We often talk about you. It seems that one day he passed you in the street in Le Mans without seeing you and he is very sorry about that. He asks me to send you his good wishes. I hope that your cold has gone. I have had one as well for weeks now and this cold spell doesn’t help at all. Fortunately I have my boots, because we don’t have shoes any more, I am devastated about that for my Christian. Did I tell you that Mummy had three bouts of pneumonia in 128 months? Now she is over them and she sends her best wishes. We had a wonderful, young American lodger from August to September. Unfortunately, he’s gone now, and it’s a pity, because, as he didn’t speak a word of French, I was forced to do my best in English and, if he had stayed, I would have made real progress. A very ‘nice’ boy, he was. Well, I’ll stop now, my dear Nancy, by sending you our most affectionate greetings and love to your parents.

Yvone (sic)

Haven’t you got a photo of you I could have. I am writing to Herbert Darty (an American ‘soldier’) in English. I would really need you to make corrections…he must laugh at my terrible mistakes…but who cares. [* just to the N-W of Limoges, on 10th June 1944 the 22nd SS-Panzer division murdered the whole population – 642 people, most of them as described in the letter. Therefore, an accurate piece of anti-Nazi propaganda and not a garbled one]

A 290 Paris, 17th January 1944 (sic)

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:08:26 GMT

My dear Nancy,

I said in the letter I sent two days ago that I was sending several photos of François. I had to take pretty well all of them out of the envelope because of the weight. So I am sending them along with this letter, so that you and yours will know my little man at different stages of his development. The very low temperatures are rising somewhat…hence the slight thaw, which does not improve life much in Paris – that remains very limited. Good health to all and all my love to you. Very best wishes to your parents. From Georges and my family, best wishes always to you and yours. Love and kisses from François. Odette PS I think that actually you have some of your furniture being looked after by different people. I have raised the matter with Miss B…to ask her if some things can be put aside. She tells me that this has already been done, because I went back more than three weeks after the Liberation and the house was occupied. The piano was much more difficult to spirit away and the “gentlemen” found that too tempting.

Odette

A photo of you would be really nice.

A 289 Paris, 15th January 1944 (sic)

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:07:06 GMT

from Odette Esnault

Almost certainly written in January 1945, given the mention of a four and a half year gap and the details in the letter of events right through 1944. Given also the contents of the next letters she sent

My dear Nancy,

Your very chatty letter took me back to the long conversations we used to have long ago ! Four and a half years of being separated by the war, that is such a large part of our lives, isn’t it! I was very worried about all you had to organize, when you went. So I was relieved to hear that you have been able to regroup close to family members. Your parents are still fit and healthy despite a number of serious problems you refer to. As for you, you’re still full of funny comments and in control: I can recognize you in all that! Georges is like you, he’s able to be ‘captain of the ship’. Things are less hectic now. I have had a hard time since then, because of François. Fortunately, the baby was only two weeks premature (we had made a mistake over the due date), and he weighed only 2.8 kilos. Even though he was normal (physiologically speaking), he had a difficult start in life. We left Nogent…in a car driven by the solicitor’s wife, Mrs R… …to where her father-inlaw was a doctor. We left with six in the car, which was piled high with suitcases as well. Almost straight away, my waters broke, but I said nothing to the family until we arrived in D… It was a long journey without incident. I was put to bed. We were wanting to reach Flers, where my husband had a factory and from there…we were off to Corrèze! [far away in the centre of France] Because nothing was happening, I was taken in a van to Flers the next morning. Part of the town was being evacuated. There were still two doctors there: I was told that I was going nowhere. All the roads were blocked with people and traffic. So I went into the maternity home situated near the station and stayed there for two days. François was born on the 18th in the morning. I had been very uncomfortable all night. They had three women in childbirth. You could hear sirens sounding. At any moment the town could have been bombed. Luckily it wasn’t. The armistice was our salvation. After convalescing for 11 days, I left the maternity home. We were offered a small house and we stayed three weeks there. François wasn’t making any progress despite changes of milk. We didn’t lack for anything. There was a big butter market at St P…- meat, bread, fruit, oranges. We bought the rest of the layette and a bed. Georges went back to Nogent to see what had been going on there. Everything was all right, but we had to go back there quickly, as the Germans were taking over all empty houses. I spent three months convalescing in Nogent. François was gaining weight at last. He has never really been able to tolerate milk and was sick until he was ten months old. He was difficult to feed until he was two, but he was healthy, all pink and fair-haired. We went back to Paris and life became harder. With a child, I have not been able to put myself first. I had to get up at 5 am to change the baby, give him a bottle or some soup. I’d go down…to queue for half or quarter of a litre of milk…I’d go back up to give him a bottle, then go back down again. Then I had to take the baby out for a walk. There was no proper heating. The sheets could be dried one by one in front of a tiny heater. The odd parcel arriving would break the daily boredom. I returned to Nogent in 1941. In January Aunt Alice fell ill. She went into hospital in April and was then moved to a Bonneval hospital in May. In June, François was baptized. In July Aunt Suzanne was ill. I was on my own with François, so I arranged for her to go into hospital in Nogent, then moved her to Bonneval in September. I am sick to death of holidays in Nogent. So I look for tenants, so that I can avoid having my house requisitioned. The year after, we have our holidays in A…, in the Loire valley. François gets measles and they make me leave the hotel. Back in Paris, the bombing gets worse and we get so tired. Finally, the following winter, we have more heating. But, at every airraid alarm, we go down to the cellar. In July 1943 I was told that the aunts could leave hospital. The electric shock treatment had made them better. I spent four months looking for a nursing home run by nuns…a relatively inexpensive one. I found one in H… (Seine-et-Oise), near Conflans. Both of them settled in well. 2nd April 1944 – Bernard died suddenly after two heart attacks, one after the other. We were absolutely devastated. We are keeping it from Mummy who is having treatment again and on the mend. Bernard’s body was brought back to Nogent. I kept Mummy with me for four days and then slowly and gradually told her about her sad loss. Contrary to what we had thought, she didn’t react much. She cocooned herself in a sort of unfeeling indifference. That was best for her, but my sister-in-law was deeply affected. This terrible, brutal blow has been so hard for her to get over. 20th April Noisy le Sec was bombed. 22nd April – it was La Chapelle. The whole district was in a panic, with great fears for the Batignoles district [warehousing district and goods area to east of Paris]. In the evening people leaving in droves. – spent the night in the Métro. We slept for two nights in a friend’s house and, then, on 11th June, we went to stay with Bernard’s wife. Air-raid warnings during the night. We went down to the cellar twice. We were exhausted. The bombings really affected me. I go with François to Senlis to stay with my cousins and enjoy their delightful hospitality for three months. Good food – Georges came to see me every two weeks… 1st June I find that Mummy is better, and with her sister in H… Go back to Senlis. 3rd July two light planes drop bombs 50 m from my cousins’ house and the surrounding areas were also hit by bombs. On 12th, Senlis is bombed, so we leave and are back in Paris by the 15th. – two days before the uprising, then, the whole week, guns going off all around and fighting nearby…from day to day. Then barricades, finally, the miracle of liberation. Then German bombs on the 27th – some of the 17th arrondissement was hit. Finally Paris is released from its prison, things are improving and we can breathe again. We`have no news from H…nor any from friends. After a month, normal life is resumed. Gradually you feel safer and more confident. Food supplies are improved…but winter is approaching…no heating…we must hang on. François has ear-ache and needs a lot of looking after. But 1944 ends on a bad note for us. Aunt Alice fell ill again. We put her in hospital near us. Five weeks of treatment will put her back on her feet, but…then Aunt Suzanne follows suit. She takes Aunt Alice’s place in hospital. She is already improving. We are hoping for the same successful outcome. This treatment suits them remarkably well. This is what has happened during the last four and a half years with all their various trials and tribulations. Simone has been particularly worried about her father. She doesn’t write much – I have had only three or four letters from her. It’s her cousin, Jeanine, who is the connection there. She paid a high price during this war, when she lost her husband in May 1940. Since then she has been living with her in-laws not far from here, which means that we can see one another regularly. She was often in danger. In December 1944 – she was under surveillance – she had to stay well away from the family home for six months, only seeing her children at other people’s houses. She was also fearful for her father – she had had a double misfortune in 1941, when she lost her beloved mother who was 58 years old. Her daughter is already a young lady of 14. The little one is now seven. She can’t go back home. I have not had any recent news of Mrs Daupeley. I rarely go to Nogent, not more than once a year and then, only there and back, on business. I have only heard of the conviction of Miss Louise Choisnard (Simone’s former neighbour) to ten years hard labour for collaborating. Mr B… is in prison as well. I suppose it’s more a matter of conduct. The teacher, Héritier, who wrote the book… left with the Germans. But he left behind him disciples and young persons who will pay the price. Like the Komaroff boy from the Town Hall, who has been condemned to death. It was very sensitive of you to not tell us some news, so as not to attract too much attention. I have found this lack of communication dreadful. I had your letter on the 10th. It had been opened, but not censored. I see that your work involves a lot of responsibility. All those figures must give you a headache. I know that British women are doing their civic duty and I think that things will end up the same here, since we are again at war and everyone must play their part. People are finding friends again, who had been scattered far and wide by the war. Everyone is marked by the years of hardship. Domfront and Flers, where we took refuge in 1940, no longer exist. My friend, Helena, from Belgium, came to France in 1941. She was with her husband in Cherbourg! Her four children were with a relative in Vernon! They came through successfully. She had a very tough week in Cherbourg, but was protected most of the time. The children were reunited with their parents. A fifth child arrived in December (making four sons and a daughter). The daughter of GJ got married in 1942. Three weeks later her husband was working in Germany and had only two periods of leave. She is awaiting his return…but when will it happen? It’s the prisonersof-war or those deported to labour camps who are really the ones who have had the worst time in the war. Enclosed are some photos of François. The little man gives his Aunt Nancy a big hug, even though he doesn’t know her. (He is asking me who I am writing to so furiously). My husband, Mummy and various aunts ask to be remembered to you. For you, from me, the fondest of love and friendship for ever, with the hope that I shall see you before long. I know that I must possess my soul in patience.

Love Odette

A 288 Nogent, 15th January 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:05:20 GMT

Yvonne Brizard

My dear Nancy,

Your letter of 24th November reached me on 12th January. I was really pleased to get such a lot of news from you. I am very surprised that you ask about Mrs Holman, because she has certainly written to you several times. We often speak of you and she told me that she had written to you on more than one occasion. I shall tell her about your letter to me. I am pleased that I may possibly see you in the near future. And I hope that it is the near future, although the war is dragging on so long…Will it be finished by the end of this year? Finally I was delighted last week to have a visit from Jean. He came from T…R…and came to finish up his 9 days leave with us. He is now in the Vosges and I am worried about him with the cold weather we are having. It hasn’t stopped snowing here for several days and many people have no heating. What hardship we’re having all round. Your house is occupied by people evacuated from the faubourg St Hilaire. There and in the rue St Lazare, several houses have been completely destroyed, and the inhabitants have been put up, either in empty houses or with other people. Among others in your house, there’s Miss Robin who works at … I fear that your former ‘home’ will be in a sorry state when you come back. There will be much to tell you and much that is not so pleasant…Miss Choisnard (the daughter of Mr Jules Choisnard) is in prison and condemned to 10 years hard labour. She had been a great admirer of the British, but she then came under the influence of Héritier at the school and became an out and out collaborator. It has cost her dear. Louise Bourgerie is in an internment camp for having scandalously consorted with the Boches and the list is not yet closed on all this. And the black market is not very pleasant either and it’s taking on frightening proportions. You can’t get anything. The Boches have stripped us bare, right down to the last little thing we had. We have not forgotten you, you can be sure. I hope that on the other side of the Channel life is better and easier. If you will be so kind, please drop me a line from time to time. I would be so pleased to see you and Mrs Powell again. Please give her my love. And what I would say is, let it be soon.

With all my love

Y. Brizard

A 287 Nogent, 10th January 1945

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:03:58 GMT

Mrs L. Holman

[replied 25th February]

Dear Friend,

Pardon me for not writing to you at Christmas, but for all that, you are not forgotten. I hope that you had a happy family Christmas, spent at home, and I send you my best wishes for the New Year, in the hope that this year will bring the end of all our misfortunes. I received your long letter and telegram – and thanks for not forgetting us – but I know that you are faithful in your friendships and please believe that it is the same with us. The first year of your enforced exile, I dreamt about you nearly every night, because I was speaking about you all the time to friends and you were always in my thoughts. I would be very happy to see you all again, when you are able to return to France, and a large number of people in Nogent will also be pleased to see you, because we all have fond memories of you. You ask me, dear Nancy, to take steps to have your furniture returned to you in England. I shall ask Mr Dumur when I see him. At the moment there is no way to get out and about, because of all the frost and snow which has been with us for several days now and we are afraid of accidents. I would ask Mrs Dormeau to come with me, as you indicated, so that she could recognize whatever belongs to you. I don’t think I told you that they have a lovely little boy of 17 months and they are delighted with him. When the weather improves, I shall go back to your house to see what there is in the cellars and what the state is of the other pieces on the ground floor. As for the garden, it has always been well looked after by the Germans who, as you may well imagine, kept themselves well supplied with fruit and vegetables. Your garage is almost completely intact, except for the doors, which have become a bit warped, but it’s not a big issue. What I would like is to see you installed again in your house – that would give me great pleasure. When you come, you must do a full inventory and make a note of all items missing from the house for the purpose of war damages, which I have spoken about with Mr Dumur. Thank you for sending me news of your whole family and friends. I am very please to hear that they are all alive and well, even though you also have some cousins who are prisoners-of-war and who must be suffering privations. I still have no news of my poor Stanley, and have heard nothing for six months and I don’t know what has become of him. He was working as an electrician in a factory in Dusseldorf. Is he still there, because he was re-designated a ‘free worker’, or has he been sent to a prison-camp, I just don’t know. They say that (free) workers and those on forced labour are going to be incorporated into the Boche army. You can see that, from this side, to be forced to fight for them is revolting, and it seems there were some who tried to protest about it and several hundreds were shot – it’s just frightful. I am so very worried about what has become of my poor, poor little boy and I just don’t know what to do to help him. I have sent messages via the Red Cross, so has my sister, and Teddy has done the same in Paris – and still no reply. Things are starting to happen at the Red Cross here in Nogent, where they have had five messages – let’s just hope that at least one of them is for me. The shortage of food is a real worry for unfortunate people like him. I have not sent any more food parcels for six months. Some who were imprisoned have said that they were given animal fodder, in other words, barley soup, swedes and turnips, other root vegetables and nothing else. Everywhere it’s the same. They are talking about the eighteen-year-olds for 1943, 1944 and 1945 being called up for military service. Roland is in the last of those three groups liable to be called up in April – just one more agony I shall soon have to endure. At the moment he’s working in Le Mans in the firm run by Maurice Dalmon, who used to work for us. My sister and my brother-in-law are keeping well. They came to us for Christmas. Noone was very cheerful, but, even so, we were happy to be together, despite the fact that there was a place kept empty for our dear, absent son – we thought about him anyway, especially as things are becoming a little clearer now. Teddy came for Christmas and on New Year’s Day, and he was happy to read your long letter and to have news of you all at last. I see that for Mrs Potter, events have gone her way, and I hope that she has met another husband who will make her happy. She has not forgotten France either, because she is talking of coming back to see us. That would be lovely, but will it be this year? I want our nightmare to end in the course of this year, and I think that we must still ration the days. From what can be seen, with the mobilization of five million Americans, and here in France the talk of calling up the six year groups between 1940 and 1945 (it takes a long time to organize all that), everything is ready to go. I was 59 at the end of last year and I wonder if I’ll make 60 before I see my poor Stanley again. He must have aged in the five long years I haven’t seen him. He is 27 now and he’ll be 28 on 26th July. I have just heard about the sentences passed on those who collaborated in Nogent. For informing, Soraud is condemned to death. Kamaroff, who worked in the Town Hall was condemned to hard labour, but has now been given the death penalty. Miss Choisnard from the faubourg St Hilaire condemned to 20 years hard labour. There are also the two Bonnard women from the Café parisien, Mme Viac, whose husband was shot by the Resistance as a traitor. There’s also the Biet girl who’s in prison – and she is innocent, apparently. Her father says that it’s all because she was a member of the RMP, an organization supported by the Boches. I must stop now as I can’t carry on writing. Michel Maillet has married a young woman from near Chartres and they have two young sons. Nelly and her brother René Ferré are both married and Nelly has two sons and René has one, and he’s married Dr Moullen’s daughter. The daughter of the surgeon, Mr Coudray, has married a pharmacist. That’s all the news. Oh, I forgot to tell you that Lebrun had been assassinated, because he was a collaborator. This time I shall stop, as I can’t go on any more. I hope that Mr Powell is getting better and he is no longer in pain. Mrs Powell must stay fit and healthy, so that she can come and see us. My best wishes to all From your very good friend

Much love L. H

A 286 Paris, 29th December 1944

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:02:48 GMT

Ted Holman

Dear friends,

I was in Nogent when I received your letter. Mother and I were delighted to hear from you and to see that you were all in relatively sound health. I am very pleased that the letter I sent you from Marseilles reached you safely. I also sent two letters via Switzerland, but you probably didn’t receive them. I believe you have had letters from Mummy, telling you how we are. I am in Paris, in the Lycée Louis le Grand, working as a supervisor (also maintaining discipline) and I am now preparing my law doctorate. Roland has been living with our aunt up to now and he starts work in Le Mans on 3rd January. Mummy is well but she is a little tired. She is especially upset at the news about our poor brother, Stanley, who didn’t have a chance. We did have air-raids in Nogent during the war, but there was limited damage. My aunt and uncle from T… were in Nogent for Christmas. Both are in good health and T…was spared during the war. We were glad to have news of Vera and her husband, but we have heard nothing of the Currys. I do hope they are all right, but London and its suburbs had a bad time of it. Just after the invasion and liberation, we saw some English soldiers who told us what old England had been like. I think that you must have had air-raids. I hope that Mr Powell will make a complete recovery, when he learns that the war has ended, which can’t be far off now. I think that you made the right decision to leave for England, because you probably would have ended up in a concentration camp. What a nightmare we have lived through! In Nogent I saw two English soldiers who also came to Paris one night on leave. They are very nice – what a difference from the Americans. I hope that you had a good Christmas. Let’s hope that next year we shall be able to celebrate it together in Nogent, just as we did in the past. Mummy will do what she can about your affairs in Nogent. I walked past your house a few times when I was on holidays – when it was occupied by the Jerries – and I felt like being sick. I hope to see you soon, because I don’t think that the war with Germany can last very much longer now, after this latest failed attack. It would be a great pleasure for all to see you in Nogent again. Mummy will give you more news of Nogent than I can. I wish you a New Year full of food, health and happiness. Best wishes to Geoff, who is still keeping well, I hope, and all the best to all the folk at Basingstoke. Hoping to see you soon, with very best wishes.

Ted

A 285 St André, 24th December 1944

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:01:42 GMT

Marie Béhaegel

Dear Mrs Powell,

On the occasion of the approaching New Year, my husband and I are taking the opportunity to send our very best wishes to you, to Mr Powell and Miss Nancy, and all joy and good health and all things good to you all. We also wish Mrs Moody good health and trust that you may keep her with you for a long time yet. A little late in the day, may we wish you a very Happy Christmas. I hope that you are in good health at this time. Here the question of health does leave something to be desired. My husband retired about a month ago…he has a tired heart, the doctor says, and he has to have complete rest. In other words, he has a heart complaint. As for me, I am having treatment for my throat and they can’t say what is wrong with me. The specialist thinks it’s an infection caused by the liver and, in fact, I am going to have a course of injections. However, they don’t think it is anything serious. The news is still good about Paul, but I have still not seen him, alas! which saddens me. On top of that, he is still on the front-line in La Rochelle in the Vendée. He doesn’t complain – far from it, you can tell he is young, because he sees things in a positive light: he’s very, very optimistic, has a good character and his morale is good as well. It comes through in all his letters. I desperately want this terrible scourge to end, so that we can live together as a family again, as we used to. Alas, there will be so much lost that you wonder whether if that will ever be possible again. Are you thinking of staying in Britain after the war? We hope to hear from you soon, my dear Mrs Powell. My very best wishes to you, as well as to Mr and Miss Powell and the same to Mrs Moody. Marie Béhaegel

A 284 Nogent, 12th December 1944

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:00:36 GMT

Mrs P.Villette, 54, rue St Hilaire

Dear Miss Nancy,

I had the good news about your family from Madeleine Daupeley and your neighbour Mrs Bruard. We are happy about that and all three of us are safe and well. And, like you, we are very anxious to see the end of this terrible adventure, in which our poor country of France was very nearly destroyed altogether. How inspired you were to go back over the water and rejoin your family. You would have suffered a terrible fate. We have all…and spent four terrible years. What trials and what brutes we had to endure – we were outraged by all that. And despite our material losses and the almost total destruction of our beautiful factory and houses which we owned, we are now breathing again. But we are suffering only from the impossibility of being to start up again, because our poor country has been bled dry and is short of everything – a transport system, equipment and labour. Times are still very, very bad. Come back to see us. Maybe you haven’t got the confidence to do that. Your country extended a welcome to you and if you have found family, relations and friends again, your parents will take pride in staying in their victorious country, and I understand that. …in case you want to sell your house, we should like first refusal. A…would like to acquire it with the surrounding land and I can move part of our house in that direction, as it will be sooner or later… in this excessively narrow street. I would be very happy to hear from you. Please give our best wishes to your parents and our fond memories of them. Best wishes

Mrs Villette

A 283 Nogent, 26th November 1944

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:59:14 GMT

Georges (Chatet), garage owner

Dear Friends, We were very pleased to have news of you through Mrs Holman. In the past four years, we have spoken about you a lot and, at first, we didn’t know what to think and what fate may have befallen you. Now, at last, all is well and we are all still here. But there have been a lot of deaths and incredible damage in our two countries and still the war is not over. Even though operations are going very well at the moment, the Boches are tough opponents and they will not capitulate. Our little town of Nogent has also had its share of the war, with air-raids on targets such as railway lines and bridges causing a lot of damage, especially in the vicinity of the station and the rue St Lazare, where there were 13 dead or wounded. The town that has suffered most, La Loupe, was almost completely destroyed. But what has been very bad for me personally, was on the 10th August last, when the American troops were approaching Nogent and the Boches blew up the bridge with mines, the one over the Rhone, just 200 m down from my garage and everything anywhere near was destroyed – no more roofs or windows, walls full of cracks, floors collapsed. It needs to be completely rebuilt and none of it makes any sense, because the bridge was rebuilt in twenty-four hours. The following day on the 11th the FFI [Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur = Resistance] fought a pitched battle with the 190-200 Germans still in the town. It was quite a to-do and, in the end, at ten in the evening, the Boches turned tail and Nogent was rid at last of that vermin. The first Americans arrived on the 13th and, after that, the long stream of vehicles. We repaired the roof of our house as best we could but, as for the garage, it’s in a sorry state. Your house wasn’t touched. But the Boches, who lived in it for a long time, must have taken a lot of things with them. Our daughter, Denise, has married a man who works at the Caisse d’Epargne (Savings Bank) in Nogent. She is now a Mrs Lhéritier. Genevieve is waiting for a young mechanic to come for her. Mrs Chatet is well, as am I. At the moment, we have cars everywhere. Everyone would like to drive, but there isn’t much about to repair the engines with, because all the spares have been taken by the Boches. Many cars are driven by charcoal-fuelled generators – is it the same in Britain? I read in a trade journal that the generators that have been adopted in your country were licensed by the diesel company Jobin Poulenc, which is the type I fit for my customers. We hope that Mr Powell has completely recovered from his operation. We wish you all the best of health and we hope that, next year, we’ll have the pleasure to see you in Nogent-le-Rotrou. Until then, please accept our very good wishes.

Georges

A 282 Nogent, 30th October 1944

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:57:58 GMT

Yvone (sic) Bagland

Dorothy has returned to Paris, she spent two years in a prison camp, then six months in an American hospital. She is recovered now.

My dear Nancy, We can now send letters, so I’ll take the opportunity to give you some details about us and our lives. As you will know, we have lived under a lot of restrictions and we have often been in fear of our lives. But using our ingenuity a little, we slowly managed to make do and without resorting to the black market. Also, our fears came to nothing. When the Germans arrived, we were staying with my aunt in Evron and, I assure you, it wasn’t great. On the first day I was standing right next to three Boches in the farm dairy, and I was expecting the worst, whether I was going to be friendly to him, and I felt terrible…well, how surprised was I to see the Boches salute me and speak politely to me…in correct French! They must have been told to do so, and when you think of what they’ve done and what was done in the camps and prisons…when they left as well…and when the SS committed those terrible atrocities in so many French towns and villages…poor, poor France !!!! During the occupation, we ignored them completely…though we had to have some lodging with us upstairs, but at the beginning they were very correct in their behaviour. We were also frightened when there were air raids and bombing, a lot of it on the station, some of it on the Courtalain line and the rue St Lazare – all of that was terrible. I can’t wait to see you again, you know, and to find out what happened to you after you set out (in June 1940) so suddenly for Evron. We are often visited by a young American and I get on with him really well. Just talking, you understand…it’s really fun. Abbé Thibault is still a great friend and he has come several times to raise our spirits and he has often seen to it that the children had what they needed. Well, my dear, best friend, I shall end by sending you all my love and kisses. Yvone (sic)

A 281 Nogent, 30th October 1944

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:56:04 GMT

Y(vonne) Brizard

My dear Nancy, I was very pleased to hear from you and I send you all my congratulations for the hundredth birthday celebrations. It really is magnificent to get a century under your belt. I am happy that Mr and Mrs Powell are still fit and healthy. I often speak about you to Mrs Holman and Mrs Landrier. We are very well and have got through the last four years without too many mishaps. My cousin Fanny Chaudé P… who lived in Versailles died a painful death from cancer last year. Her young daughter has married a young man of British origin called Harry Hopkins. They have just had a baby called Martine. At the same time as your card came I had a note from Jean, which I replied to straight away. During September I was visited by Colonel Freddy Wintle, who passed on news of my nephew. This visit gave me great joy. Also at the same time as your card, I had a card from F. Rossieu – it’s nearly six months since I heard anything from that quarter. To explain, there have been no trains running since the 4th June. And we haven’t been able to get down Station Road for three months and also you have to spend the night at Chartres, if you want to go to Paris. And the Maintenon viaduct is very badly damaged. We now have electricity – we were without until 12th September – but we still don’t have any gas or coal. Life is certainly difficult and we have lost all the things that make it pleasant. We have had to bid farewell to the central heating and to all exotic produce – coffee, ‘tea’, chocolate, oranges, bananas have all completely disappeared. We don’t have leather any more, and no rubber, wool or cotton either. We live all the time in our old ‘togs’, I am very dowdy and so we’re not afraid to look terribly old but, compared with so many other people, we are fortunate. There have been so many countries ruined, people shot, driven out of their minds or deported that it would really be in bad taste for us to complain. Our houses are still standing and they are not damaged. Yours is still standing too, and there’s no damage done to it. Unfortunately, it’s now empty and the “gentlemen” who lived there were great furniture removers, to the extent that they took nearly everything, because they occupied the house almost all the time. If your parents are not thinking of living here again, you would do well to sell it as soon as you can. At the moment, houses are fetching really good prices and I am certain that yours would fetch between 300 and 400,000 francs. If you can get across here, you should get in touch with a solicitor – Barraullon Remois Beauvais – and take him on to do the necessary. Because there is a lot of talk about changing the currency, so prices will fall automatically. It would be much better if you could come, but you will leave your journey over until the hostilities have ceased. Think on it and discuss the matter with your parents. Perhaps Robert could make enquiries on your behalf, if you would like him to. Here, we don’t have any English people at all, only Americans who certainly lack history and traditions. They do not get billeted with the local population, unlike the Boches. I have no complaints, however. I had some only once or twice and took in ten on each occasion. I am going on a bit in this letter. I’ve only got room left to tell you that your friends in Nogent have not forgotten you. And to say that I am sending very affectionate greetings to Mr and Mrs Powell and my best love to you, my dear Nancy, with the hope that I shall see you soon. Y. Brizard

St André (Nord), 29th October 1944

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:54:56 GMT

Marie Béhaegel

I cannot tell you what joy it brought me to have good news of you and to know that you were all safe and well. I have often spoken of you here at home and I did not know who to approach for news of you, because I knew that you weren’t in Nogent, because in 1940 I wrote several times and never had a reply. Of course I wondered what had become of you and of course I feared the worst. I am also very pleased to hear that Mrs Moody (Elizabeth Moody, Nancy’s maternal grandmother) is still with us. I would really love to see this dear lady who has reached such a grand age (100 years) and whom I remember with such affection. And I sincerely hope that you may have her with you for a long time to come. I hope that you did not suffer much from the war and didn’t get bombed at all where you are over there. We are in good health and we didn’t get bombed, apart from some indirect damage caused by a bomb that came down about 100 m from the house and which just gave us a big fright. For four years, you could say that we have been separated from Paul, who was first of all evacuated in 1940, then came back home from time to times after that, only to leave again in 1941…on his own initiative. He had no work and had to go off to the hills to find some. Then, finding none, he enlisted at 17 years 4 months in Périgueux (Dordogne), and in December 1942 he came back home again, because the army was disbanded as part of the armistice. In August 1943 Paul then received papers to go to Germany to work, so he disappeared again to the Deux-Sevres to a farm to hide out from the authorities and since June (1944) I have had no news of him at all. And then, just when I had your card, I got one from Paul and he has joined up again in Deux-Sevres (Niort) and heaven knows when I shall see him again. He says he’s very happy and hopes to be promoted to sergeant in a month’s time. That’s plenty enough of me going on like this, Miss Nancy, and I think I shall close by asking you to be so kind as to remember me to Mr and Mrs Powell and tell them from me that I wish them all the best and to you I still have the fondest memories of when you were a baby, Yours, Marie

A 279 Nogent, 25th October 1944

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:52:39 GMT

A whole set of letters and cards had clearly been sent by Nancy Powell to old friends from the pre-war Nogent days. And this gave rise to a number of responses.

A postcard from Yvone (sic) Bagland What joy it gave me, dearest Nancy, to receive your letter and my heart missed a beat when I recognized your handwriting (because I recognized it, all right). I have had news of you on three occasions, via the radio and when I was at Mrs Holman’s. We used to speak about a lot and we were very happy to hear that you were well. Number 29 is still standing firm (thanks be to God, we were spared that kind of thing). Maurice came back from the war in September 1940. We were bombed a lot, but our house didn’t suffer much damage. Your house is in one piece, but has people living in it, Germans and then homeless people, you had details of that from Mrs Holman. My two little ones are fine and very sweet. But Mummy is in a little less pain now…but three bouts of pneumonia in 18 months have aged her. However, like your mother, she has made a good recovery. Please remember her to your grandmother and give your parents our very best wishes. I have talked about you a lot with Duclos. Happy birthday for next month. I’ll write often, now that I have your address. Very best wishes to you and yours from the bottom of my heart (and from Maurice, who sends his love too). Yvone (sic)

A 277 (Archive reference) 1942

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:49:38 GMT

This seems to be the first contact of all since the escape from France by the Powell family in June 1940 Marseilles, 6th June 1942

Ted Holman

Dear Nancy, I am back from my leave in Nogent, where I found Mummy and Roland in good health. Stanley is a prisoner-of-war in Germany, as you probably know. I hadn’t been back to Nogent for more than two years. The reason is I am still in the army in Marseilles. Because I had your address in Nogent, I can now send you my news. We got your short message all right and were pleased to receive it. Your house is in good order, but it has been commandeered by the Germans. Mummy and Mrs L… have taken out assorted belongings, as well as dishes, silverware – anything that could easily be taken away. Your furniture is still there all right, except for some pieces that have been removed, but Mummy knows where they have been put. The garden is still tended – your housekeeper has also helped Mummy to tidy it up. Now things are in order. Nogent has not changed much at all with not many houses occupied by the Germans and people have really not suffered at all. You can still eat very well, and the supply of certain goods – clothes etc – is generally quite good. Normal service has been resumed. P… at the farm is now a father. Miss C… is getting married. Suzanne D… has got married in C…. Roche G… has been released from prison. Raymonde with the garden has married D…. Many weddings – too many to remember them all – but life is going on. Mr and Mrs Mailliet are still there. Michel is getting married. Mrs R… has shut herself away. Your friend, the doctor’s wife is well, her daughter has grown up a lot. I hope that Mr Powell is keeping well, and Mrs Powell as well. Best wishes from all at home. Ted A whole set of letters and cards had clearly been sent by Nancy Powell to old friends from the pre-war Nogent days. And this gave rise to a number of responses.

Diary 1887 - June

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 18:32:55 GMT

1 Wednesday

Tricycled back to Basingstoke. It was a very hot day. I started at 11 o’clock & got to Mr Hamilton’s at one & had dinner. He tricycled 6 miles along the road with me & was very pleased to see me. It was a splendid ride, the scenery beautiful & the roads good. Got home at 7 o’clock, had a cold bath, a pint of beer & some meat & went down to Allen’s & had a game of tennis.

2 Thursday

Katie Knight went home. In the morning wrote to Edith to thank her for my visit & to ask Paul Bull about a gentleman he knew in Florida who wanted a companion. In aft. went down to Hackwood Park to see a cricket match, rode back with Mr Gabell & Warren. In the eve sent some pansies & stocks etc up to Aunt Mary

3 Friday

Arthur gave me a monogram stamp for a birthday present. Mended some baskets. Went in to see Dunn who was having a week’s holiday.

Against this entry JBM has inked and used this stamp: an elaborate intertwined JBM.

4 Saturday

Killed a carrier pigeon & took it down to Marion Allen. Uncle & Aunt Jane went to Deal. Went down to our baths, the first time this year. The water was good. Umpired on Folly for the School against St. Michael’s. School lost. Arthur’s birthday

5 Sunday Went over Mr Lodwidge’s garden.

6 Monday Watering in the garden all day. In eve. up to Station to get Exchange & Mart. Minnie & Mrs Clift came in to tea & asked me to go over to tennis when I liked.

7 Tuesday Watered the garden with liquid manure. Went on Tricycle.

8 Wednesday

Sent an advertisement to the Exchange & Mart to sell a pair of Jacobins 5/- & pair of fantails 5/-. Painted the stable door inside. Had a letter from Herbie Horton, Bath.

9 Thursday

Wrote to Gammon’s for bushel of pigeons’ food 5/-. Wrote to Paul Bull to send me particulars of Mr Godden. Wrote to Blanche.

10 Friday

Painted Coach-house door outside first coat. In evening went over to Sherbourne & had a game of tennis with Minnie. Had a letter from Gammon to say he could let me have a sack 4 bush. For 19/- but I did not. Uncle William’s birthday.

11 Saturday

Wrote to Aunt Jane for Mamma. Mended corn bin. Had a letter from Paul Bull giving me particulars about Mr Godden, Pinellas Pt., Hillsbourough County, Florida. His estate is just what I should like, by the sea. Ma objects.

12 Sunday

Aunt Jane’s birthday. Wrote to Paul Bull, Mr Angelsmith & Herbert Horton to tell them I was going to Florida.

13 Monday

Got up early & began cutting down the pear tree in the middle of the lawn, so that we could play tennis. Dug up the roots myself. Getting my hand in for Florida. Went down to Allen’s to tennis. Drove Ma & Misses Hasker out for drive.

14 Tuesday

Cut up the pear tree & took it down to the cellar. Had a letter from Paul Bull giving me more particulars & telling me the way to go. Wrote to Mr Williams to ask him to sell me his portable bed which was being stored at our shop.

15 Wednesday

Bottled a dozen of ginger beer that we made. Mr Parsons came for my fantail pigeons in answer to my advertisment in Exchange & Mart. He gave me three bantams & 2/- for a young pair of fantails. Went down to Allen’s to tennis. Had a letter from Mr Williams saying he could not let me have the bed.

16 Thursday

Went down & cleaned out Allen’s boat in the afternoon. Had a letter from Herbert Horton advising me not to go to Florida. Bantams came this evening. Went down to Loe’s to tennis. Wrote to Mr Williams to say I had sent off his box.

17 Friday

Drove Miss Pike’s school over to Sherbourne at 12 o’clock for the Jubilee there. Had dinner at Mrs Clift’s. I stopped there till 10 o’clock; very jolly

18 Saturday

Made some flags to decorate our house & covered some pots with red, white & blue for the table. My bantams began laying.

20 Monday

Got up at 6 o’clock & went to the Corn Exchange to see the meat came in all right & send it out to different people to cook, 200 joints. In the aft there was a children’s procession & 3000 had tea up the streets & afterwards a fête on the common. Had a game of tennis with Morton Lear.

Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee was celebrated over 20 and 21 June.

21 Tuesday

Jubilee Jubilee Jubilee!!! come at last. Got up at 6 o’clock to see the meat came in all right & to put it on the tables all right & cut up bread & meat for the poor. After the procession 2400 people had dinner in the streets. I carved a joint at Mr Cannon’s table. Afterwards a fête & bonfire etc on the common. All the town was illiuminated at night. It was a splendid day. Went off beautifully. Anybody had dinner who lived in the town.

Queen Victoria travelled in an open landau in a procession in London. Spectators were accommodated on terraced benches along 10 mile of scaffolding erected for the purpose.

22 Wednesday

Went to the Corn Exchange today to see things cleared away all right. Blanche saw the procession in London beautifully with Uncle & Aunt, they paid £5 for the 3 seats. Marked out our lawn & put up the tennis net.

23 Thursday

Put up some wire netting in front of the greenhouse & in the evening played the first game of tennis that has ever been played on our lawn. Mrs Adams, Blanche & Harry Powell & Will. Allen came in & played. I went down to Aunt Jane’s house to sleep as they were at Deal.

24 Friday

Went down & marked out Adams’ lawn in the afternoon & had a jolly game of tennis in the evening. Slept at Aunt Jane’s.

25 Saturday

Made some lead weights for the tennis net. Had a letter from Fred Paice to know if he could come up here on Tuesday from Salcombe. Wrote to Uncle William to tell him I wanted to go to Florida. Drove Ma & the children out for drive. Sunday

26 Sunday

Grandma’s birthday. Had a jubilee sermon – 2 hours. Willie Allen came in & we played tennis all afternoon & evening.

27 Monday

In the morning I tricycled over to Sherbourne with a note from Nellie Loe to ask Minnie to come in in the aft. Arthur & I went to Loe’s to a tennis party. The Caldecotts & Allens were there. Went to Aunt Jane’s to sleep. Soon after I was in bed Uncle & Aunt came home. I did not get to bed again till 1 o’clock.

28 Tuesday

Blanche came home & Julia with her. I painted the coach house door inside.

29 Wednesday

In the evening went to a tennis party at Adam’s, had some very good games.

30 Thursday

In the evening Ma, Julia & I went up to Mr Soper’s to see Mr Stephens who gave me a lecture on Florida & said it was the biggest fraud on earth & told me I should never make a farthing out there & should have to work dreadfully hard. This has settled my going to Florida

Diary 1887 - May

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 18:23:09 GMT

1 Sunday

£4 interest on the £206 in New Zealand Inscribed.

2 Monday

Went out for walk yesterday and tore a new pair of breeches awfully. Mended & painted small frame for seeds. In the afternoon I went up to School to fetch my books; had a talk with Chadwick & gave him my keys. (Coded entry follows).

3 Tuesday

Made some paint & painted the coach-house window white. In the afternoon went to a military funeral in the cemetery – Sergeant Hitchcock’s. Then I tricycled over to Sherbourne – had tea there & a jolly game of tennis with Minnie after. Ethel was staying there.

4 Wednesday

I was puttying & painting the stable windows all day. Had my hair cut. In the evening went down to Uncle Richard’s, he helped me indite a letter to the directors of the Bank. Stayed there to supper with Arthur. Katie Knight was staying at Aunt Jane’s.

5 Thursday

Painted small frame in the morning. In the aft. drove Uncle & Aunt Jane & Ma for a long drive. In the eve. tricycled to Odiham with Will & Bert Allen & Arthur. I went on a “tandem” with Will, stopped at the “George”.

6 Friday

Very wet. Added up & corrected mistakes in the Dustpan Accounts for Arthur. In the aft. drove Mabel up to Mrs Stephen’s to tea. Finished reading “The Spy” by Fennimore Cooper. Very good novel, but nothing in it beyond the simple story.

The Little Dustpan was a small shop run by the family at 11 Church Street, Basingstoke

7 Saturday

In the morning painting. In aft. drove Ethel, Frank & Mabel out primrosing. (Coded entry follows).

8 Sunday

In the eve. went for a walk with Katie Knight after church.

9 Monday

In the morning finished taking notes from “A strange story” & took it up to the School library & had game of cricket. In the aft. painting. In the eve. Katie Knight, Aunt Jane & Blanche & H. Powell came to spend the eve. Had some singing etc.

10 Tuesday

Took the tricycle to Watson to have a new tire on the little wheel. Cleared the furniture out of the Drawing room to be cleaned. Took the guitar to Powell’s to have some new strings. Tricycled over to Sherbourne, took Minnie some sunflower seeds, stayed there to tea & had a jolly game of tennis after. Wrote to G. Dunn.

11 Wednesday

My birthday. 17 yrs old. Went to see Mr Bayley to see if he would support my application for the Bank. Yes. Ordered a luggage carrier for the tricycle from Watson. In the aft. umpired for the dayboys v. the boarders on the Folly. Drawn. Bought a tennis shirt at Hewell’s – 8/9d. Went into Dunn’s & stayed there to supper.

12 Thursday

In the morning painted window. Went down to the wharf to get a post for carpet pole & swing. In the eve. made my application to the chairman of directors of L & C Bank referring him to Mr Bayley, Chadwick, Millard & Dale. Wrote to Blanche.

13 Friday In the morn. painted window. In the aft. went for a long tricycle ride, rode up Farleigh Hill & though Preston Candover. In the eve went down to Allen’s to ask for Marian. Fantail, Jacobin, Carrier hatched this week, rather bad.

14 Saturday

Wrote to Knightsbridge for india rubber collar. Met the Vicar, who said he would be pleased to give one reference. Took the tricycle to Watson to have new rubbers on pedals & luggage carrier. Drove Ma & the children to Sherbourne.

India rubber: celluloid

15 Sunday Had a letter from Bank Directors to say I must wait till my writing was better before I applied. Went down to Uncle Richard’s to spend day. Katie Knight was there.

16 Monday

Killed 2 carrier & 1 Jacobin pigeons. Pa paid me 2/- for the 3. Went to Mr Dale, he said there were so many applying tthat they were very particular. Painted window. Went down to Allen’s to tennis in the evening. Wrote to Aunt Mary at Twickenham.

17 Tuesday

Started writing copies to alter my hand. In the aft. tricycled out to Sherbourne to a tennis party to meet Mr Anderson, Miss A. Clift & Miss Monkston who is going to NewZealand next month. Had a splendid game & stayed to tea. Ada Allen & Katie Knight came here to tea & Willie & Bert to supper. Jolly evening. Had letter from Twickenham.

18 Wednesday

Wrote another letter to the Bank Directors to say I thought I could improve. Finished painting windows & made paint for doors. Uncle George came down about some affair of Jamie who has left Whiteleys. He went back in evening. Aunt Jane came in to supper.

Jamie: possibly Frederick James, son of Uncle George.

19 Thursday

Had a letter from Blanche in which Aunt Mary says I could tricycle up to Twickenham tomorrow. Painted stable door. Bought a Daily Telegraph & answered 3 advertisements for situations. Only had an answer to one, which was no good. My india rubber collar came. I wore all the time at London.

About this time there is a definite change in handwriting, clearly a conscious effort to improve things after the bank “episode”

20 Friday

Tricycled up to Twickenham & took my clothes with me. Started at 10.10 A.M. & arrived at Mr Hamilton’s, Suningdale (sic), at a quarter to one, had lunch with him & went for a walk in Virginia Water. I started again at 4. Hamilton rode with me as far as Egham. Arrived at Twickenham at 6 o’clock, not at all tired. Mr Hamilton: Rev R A Hamilton? See addresses at end of diary

21 Saturday

Took the tricycle to a shed near the station. In aft. went to Richmond with Uncle William, Aunt P. & Mrs Esse, to see the new recreation ground opened by the Duchess of Teck, & afterwards to a garden party given by Sir. W. Ellis. It was awfully grand, plenty of champagne, claret cup, ices etc. Uncle & I were taken in photograph close to Duchess of Teck & her daughter, who is very pretty. Awfully jolly.

The Duchess of Teck’s 19 year old daughter, Mary, would become Queen Mary, when her husband, Prince George, whom she married in 1893, succeeded to the throne as George V in 1910.

22 Sunday Walked through Bushey Park in morn. & to the Knight’s at Isleworth in the evening with Uncle W.

23 Monday

Wrote some copies. Went up to Hammersmith at eleven, had dinner there, went out for a row up past Richmond, with Edith, Julia, Blanche & Charles. They have a jolly new boat & keep it at Kew. Took Blanche back to Twickenham in the evening. Walked up to Knightsbridge with Fred to pay for my collar 1/- & bought pair of cuffs 2/

24 Tuesday

Wrote some copies. Walked to Richmond with Blanche & I went on to Hammersmith to dinner. In aft. went with Charles to the American Exhibition. Saw Buffalo Bill’s “Wild West” & had a ride on the toboggan & Switchback Railway. Met a lot of B’stoke people there. Enjoyed it immensely. I went back to Bloomsbury to sleep.

25 Wednesday

“Merrie Hampton” won the Derby. In morn I went up to Oxford St & bought 4 ties 2 ½ each at Hope Brothers. Charles came up to dinner & we went to the Academy in the aft. It was the first time I had been & I enjoyed it immensely. Ernest Johnson had a picture there. I met the Misses Temple there & spoke to them. In the eve. Charles & I went for a long walk to see the people come back from the Derby.

The artist Ernest Borough Johnson (1866 – 1949) lived part of his life in Basingstoke. In 1887 he exhibited a painting “Her Daily Bread” at the Royal Academy.

26 Thursday

In the morning I went to Bow Street Police Court to hear the cases. Sir James Ingham was the judge. In the aft. I went with Aunt Polly up to Rotten Row to see the grandees. In the eve. I went again with Uncle William to see the American Exhibition.

27 Friday

In the morning Charles came up & I walked up to Gower St. with him & arranged to meet him at King’s Cross St. after he had been to his doctor. We went down to H’smith to dinner & out for a walk in the aft. I went back to Twickenham to sleep. Grandma gave me 10s/6d while up there.

28 Saturday

Went out for short ride on the tricycle & then went up to Richmond with Blanche. I went on to H’smith in aft Uncle George, Charles, Fred & I rowed the boat down to Twickenham. Had tea at Aunt Mary’s & brought Blanche back to H’smith. We both slept there. Bought “Monte Cristo” 1/- at Richmond.

29 Sunday Went for long walk in morning.

30 Monday

We all went for a splendid picnic with the Bulls up to Walton on Thames. I rowed or towed nearly all the way. Had dinner & tea out on the river. Started from Twickenham at 11 o’clock a.m. & got back to H’smith at ½ past eleven p.m. Had a most splendid day. There were three boats full of us.

31 Tuesday

In the morning Fred & I went up to Paddington Swimming Baths. Had a jolly swim & came back by ‘bus. In aft Fred photographed us in a group twice. Then we all went up to Rotten Row by ‘bus, walked through Hyde Park & back by ‘bus. I went down to Twickenham to sleep, having very much enjoyed my stay in H’smith.

Diary 1887 - April

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 18:11:13 GMT

1 Friday Grandma sent me 7/- by Arthur for pocket money. In the evening went to the Farningham Boys Concert at the Drill Hall. It was very good. Sat with the Bayleys.

Grandma: probably JBM’s maternal grandmother, Nancy Paice

2 Saturday In the afternoon drove Blanche & the children to Ashmoor & got a few primroses. Went to the Drill Hall from 4 till 6.30 for a rehearsal.

3 Sunday Went for walk and caught grass snake.

4 Monday Feel stronger through dumb bell exercises. Had photograph of the football X1 & Chadwick taken up at Sch. by Gidney. Had a half in the afternoon for our last football practice, had a good game.

Bernard H Gidney, photographer with a studio in London Street

5 Tuesday Had a rehearsal in the afternoon. 2 Jacobin & 2 Fantail pigeons hatched this week.

6 Wednesday Had a rehearsal

7 Thursday Uncle William & Aunt Polly came for Easter in the evening. Went out for a tricycle ride with Willie Allen in the evening.

8 Friday Went for a long walk with Uncle through the Park in the morning. Dug up the skeleton of a hedgehog in the afternoon. Tricycled with Willie Allen over to Sherbourne to meet the others who had driven there to tea.

9 Saturday Had a rehearsal of farce in the morning & the play in the afternoon. Went very well. Jamie came in evening. Finished reading “A Strange Story” by Lytton; a delightful book.

10 April Went to Basing church in evening

11 Monday Went up into the cemetery in the morning. Had a rehearsal at the Drill Hall with Goldman in the afternoon. 2 carrier pigeons hatched.

12 Tuesday Had a rehearsal in the afternoon. Papa gave me a plain gold (18 carat) ring, which Mr Butler left him. I wore it in the play with another one he gave me a year or so ago.

The Mr Butler who left JBM a legacy (25 March)?

13 Wednesday Played the part of Lavender in the farce Who’s who” & Rocket in the drama “Take that girl away” at the Drill Hall.- 8 o’clock to 10.30. Went off very well indeed, all the front seats were crammed. Took £15.15.6 & cleared about £4 for the football & cricket club.

14 Thursday Went to the Drill Hall in the morning to pack up my things. In the afternoon had another photo of the football X1 & the group of actors in their costumes taken. Had a heap of congratulations on my success.

15 Friday School broke up for 3 weeks, this is my last term. Had a jolly game of cricket with Lear & Caldecott in afternoon. In the evening went with 3 Bayleys, Caldecott & Goldman in afternoon to “A Night Off” at the Drill Hall. It was very good.

16 Saturday In the morning had a game of fives up at School with the Bayleys. In the afternoon had a pick up game of football between the town & church cottage – the last game this season.

18 Monday Went for a splendid tricycle ride with Will. Bayley to Reading. Ordered a bushel of pigeons’ food at Gammon’s, had dinner at the Abbey Cafe, went over the Museum & into the Forbury Gardens. Started back at 4.30, had a cold bath when I got home. Splendid.

19 Tuesday In the morning cleared away a heap of rubbish at the back of the vans. In the afternoon went up to School & had a jolly game of cricket with Caldecotts, Lear & Portsmouth.

20 Wednesday Got up at ½ past six & went for a row up the canal with Bert Allen, a splendid morning. Took the tricycle to pieces & gave it a thorough cleaning all day. Edith & Winnie Paice & M. Rush came here to stay & Edith Knight & Miss Ogden went to Aunt Jane’s. Had a tricycle ride up London Rd in the evening. Frank went to stay at Mr Clift’s at Sherbourne

21 Thursday Blanche & Edith made several jellies for the ball supper. Went to my 2nd ball, at the Drill Hall (the return one to Major May) the tickets were 12/6 each. Enjoyed it immensely, danced all the dances but 2. It was a splendid supper, I took Miss L. Ogde

22 Friday Came home at 5 this morning & went to bed a little after 6. Willie Paice slept in my bedroom. We got up about ½ past ten, had breakfast & went for a walk. In the afternoon I drove the girls for a long drive through Sherfield & Basing. In the evening went to an entertainment at the Drill Hall. Singing very bad.

23 Saturday Frank’s birthday. He was staying at Sherbourne. In the afternoon I drove Minnie back home in our wagonette with Ma & Blanche & Edith. Met Mr E N Williams on Wednesday & he came in on Thursday & had a talk.

24 Sunday Church, Church, Church. Went for a walk in the afternoon with Blanche & Edith.

25 Monday Started putting newspaper cuttings into a book from the Standard. A very wet morning. In the afternoon it was fine & we all went over to Mr Clift’s at Sherbourne & had a very jolly game of Tennis, had tea there & got back about ½ past seven. The others went to a concert in Church Cottage.

26 Tuesday In the morning I tricycled over to Sherbourne to get some cream for Edith & came back & made a roller for sticking in newspaper cuttings. Went on the tricycle to Oakley Hall which was said to be on fire; when we got there it was only a chimney on fire. The fire brigade & a heap of people went.

27 Wednesday Made a shelf for a tray up in the workshop. In the aft. went out tricycling, but a heavy shower came on when by Basing. I got under a railway arch for nearly an hour & then started in the rain & got very wet but I had my mackintosh. In the evening I went down to Uncle Richard’s to supper & played drafts with him all the eve

28 Thursday In the aft. drove Ma & the children out primrosing along Thornton’s lane & dug up a lot of roots. In the eve. went up to the station to see Bayley & Warren. Blanche sang in the chorus of H. Powell’s concert, the others went. I stayed at home with Pa. It was a great success.

29 Friday In the morning took the little wheel off the tricycle all to pieces & cleaned the bearings. In the aft. went for a tricycle ride up the London Rd. & drove Blanche & Winnie up to the station, B. Went to Hammersmith to stay. In the eve. went on a double tricycle to Hook with Will Allen.

30 Saturday Photographs came from Gidney of Football team & Plays. Went in to see Mr. Dale, he said I was to wait till I was 17 & then write to the Directors of the Bank. Went for along ride up the London Rd. (Coded entry follows). Planted some maize & sunflower seeds in a bed. A squad of Huzzars came into town.

Diary 1887 - March

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 18:10:29 GMT

1 Tuesday

Had a football practice, the X1 for Thursday v. all others. We do not play masters on Thursday. ½ year’s interest on £100 due : £2.

2 Wednesday Arthur paid me £2 int. Paid 5/- of it for Gymnasium Subscription & kept 5 shillings for pocket money. Put the rest in Bank on Saturday.

3 Thursday Went to Whitchurch by brake to play Newbury Gram. Sch. We beat them 13 goals to nil. 18 of us went. I, Bayley & Lear had an awful spree after we had changed. Got back about ½ past seven. Made an awful noise coming back, singing & blowing horns

Brake: horse-drawn carriage

4 Friday Went out for a bicycle ride with Smith & Cosens. Had a jolly ride through Basing. I hired mine at Watson’s. My first ride this year.

5 Saturday Played full back for the town against Basing. A very good game. We beat them 2 to nil. Arthur played and we drove there in the wagonette & took Gray, Hindle & Chadwick. Put £3 into Savings Bank, £1.00 of Papa’s interest. The rest from the New Zealand.

Wagonette: light four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle with two lengthwise seats for passengers.

6 Sunday Went to Uncle Richard’s to supper. 2 burglars broke into a house here & also into Hook Church. They were both caught & committed for trail. There were 2 others caught and committed for trial last week, the people are getting rather frightened.

Richard Knight was a magistrate. Perhaps he was the source of this news.

8 Tuesday Had a practice, the X1 for Thursday against all others.

9 Wednesday Bought a jolly silver mounted pipe at Webb’s, 2/3.

10 Thursday Went to Alton by brake to play Ackender Sch. We beat them 8 goals to 2. One goal kicked by my corner. Both X1’s had a splendid tea at some Cafe. Went for a ramble across country with some of the Alton fellows. Got back at ½ past 8, very noisy.

11 Friday Went up to School after tea on the bicycle, the first time I had used it this year. It went very well.

12 Saturday Played Caversham Sch. on the Common. We beat them 5 goals to nil; one of which was disputed. I kicked the first goal, a long shot. I was playing full back. It snowed part of the time. Chadwick didn’t give them tea

Hopefully there was no connection between no tea for the opposing team and the disputed goal!

15 Tuesday Heavy snow all day. We were unable to play football all week on account of the snow. Had rehearsals up at School every day

16 Wednesday Bought a 6d eyeglass at Willis’s to wear in the farce “Who’s who.”

17 Thursday Eleven fellows out of 17 passed the Cambridge Local. Caldecott ma(jor) passed the senior. Lear passed the junior. No one got honours. Chadwick was awfully waxy about it. I did not go in this time. I have passed the Junior 3 times, once with 3rd class honours.

19 Saturday Had a rehearsal of “Take that girl away” at the Drill Hall. Goldman coached us. From 4 till 6 p.m.

22 March Played Whitchurch Town on the Common. Beat them 7 to nil

24 Thursday

Had a football practice at School. Arthur came up.

25 March

I now have £41.18.5 in the Savings Bank which has been accumulating since 1872 at Compound Interest. Also £100 - legacy from Mr J Bristow - invested in my father’s business paying 4 % per annum.

Due ½ yearly on March 1st & September 1st. This was paid away for premium on Dec 14th .

This last sentence was clearly added later and refers to an entry on 14 December when he records his father paid a 100 guineas “premium” in respect of his pupilship at Mr Daniell’s brewery

Also £206 - legacy from Mr J Butler - invested in the New Zealand Inscribed paying 4% per annum due half yearly on May 1st & November 1st. Less property tax 8p per £1. This was altered to 7p after May 1st. NB It was £200 Mr Butler left me, but I receive Int on £206, as I suppose they were bought at 103. This day’s entry is written on a Memoranda sheet at the end of the diary

26 Saturday

Arthur went up to London to see the boat race. Cambridge won by 3 lengths. Oxford broke an oar. I won a shilling on a bet with R Bayley. Had a rehearsal at Drill Hall with Goldman.

28 Monday

Had a rehearsal of both plays in the Drill Hall from 2 till 6. Had a letter from S Dunn. Began doing dumb bell exercise before breakfast.

29 Tuesday

Went to Whitchurch by train to play the town. They had a much better team than before. Turle & Nunn played for them, had a talk with them about the School. We beat them 1 to nil, a very good game. Had a fine spree after we had changed.

30 Wednesday

Had a delightful letter from Reg. Angelsmith.

31 Thursday Played Newbury Gram. Sch. on the Common. We let them play masters but we did not. We beat them 6 goals to one. This is the last match arranged. Arthur came home from London

Diary 1887 - February

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 17:43:18 GMT

1 Tuesday Went to the National Picture Gallery in the morning. In the afternoon went to Madame Tussaud’s for the 1st time, enjoyed it very much. Finished reading “A House of Tears”: very curious tale.

2 Wednesday Came home from London this morning. Went to School in the afternoon. I ought to have gone back on the 20th January. Came down in the train with a gentleman & a soldier who had been in Egypt & China for the last 6 years, he told us several tales he had done.

3 Thursday Had a football practice after 4 o’clock. This term we are doing: 2 nd Bk Virgil’s Aenid xxiii Bk of Livy Batailles de Dames - French La Canne de Jonc - French Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sha. 1 st & 2nd Bks of Kings & Acts Chemistry Lessing’s fables – German Hall & Knight’s Algebra

4 Friday Went to Allen’s to supper & brought Blanche home.

5 Saturday Played for the town in a football match against Amersham Hall: we beat them by 4 to 1. A very jolly game.

6 Sunday Went out with Willie & Bert Allen

7 Monday Mr Hindle lent me his gown & hood & Mr Harding his cap to try on for the ball, which I wore. Went to Uncle Richard’s to supper. Paid my football subscrip 2/6 & my library subscrip 1/-

8 Tuesday Uncle Richard got me an invitation to the ball. Had a football practice after school. Made a lot of beetle wings into sprays for Ma’s dress. Kate Allen came to tea & supper. Had a committee meeting of football club.

9 Wednesday The work-shop chimney caught fire in the morning & I climbed up on to the roof & let wet sacks down & salt. Got late and did not go to school in the morning. Edith Paice came for the ball. Went up to the station to meet Edith Knight & take her to Aunt Jane’s.

10 Thursday Went to a Fancy Dress Ball at the Town Hall (my first public ball) given by Major May. I went as a B.A. of Cambridge. Enjoyed it immensely. Went at 9 & got back at 10 mins to 5 o’clock. Blanche went as May Queen, Arthur as a French Guard, Ma as Firefly. Edith Paice went as Spring, Minnie Rush as La France, Mrs Clift with us as “Granny”

11 Friday I danced every dance & 2 extras. Miss R Deane looked very nice. I danced 3 with her, also Miss Temple, took Miss Lovibond to supper. Went to school in afternoon. Ethel, Frank & Mabel went to a juvenile ball in the evening at the Town Hall & enjoyed it very much; an immense Xmas tree.

12 Saturday Played for the School against Basing. Had a very good game & had a drawn game 2 all. We did not play any old boys. I was captain of the School team this term.

13 Sunday Willie Allen came to tea & supper.

14 Monday Ordered football shirts (light & dark blue) for the eleven at Hewett’s. Ma, Blanche, Arthur & Edith drove Minnie home & I walked over from school & had tea there & drove home with them at quarter past seven.

15 Tuesday Had valentine on Sunday from Julia Paice – a rattle, woollen ball & a monkey, in a big box. Had a football practice in the afternoon at 4. We all went down to Aunt Jane’s to tea. I & Arthur went at 7. Had a jolly game of cards; I lost a shilling.

16 Wednesday Ordered some goal posts at Paget’s painted light & dark blue & iron shod. Mr Hudson gave a concert at the Drill Hall; it was most awfully bad. I did not go.

17 Thursday Had a good football practice in the afternoon; the eleven for Saturday against the masters, Bayley & Warren & the school. We all went to an entertainment at Basing in the evening. Kate Allen came to tea & went with us (at least with Harry Powell). It was very good. Goldman recited very well.

18 Friday There was a row at school in the morning for soaping Millard’s bed & putting a lot of things in it. Chadwick stopped our changing in the dormitory. Bayley & Warren did it last night. Got the party ticket for tomorrow. 1/8 each. Had a jolly game of cards in the evening.

19 Saturday Edith Paice went home. Went to Caversham in the afternoon at 1.20. We did not take any masters except Romaine to umpire & found they were playing 4 masters through a mistake in .... ( word unclear). We beat them 1 to nil, it was really 2 but one was not given. Had a jolly tea there (Caversham House School) & came home at 6.30.

20 Sunday Wrote a long letter to Rex

21 Monday Decided to have a play at the Drill Hall at the end of this term. A farce “Who’s Who” & “Take That Girl Away” a very good play. We have drilling last hour every Monday afternoon. Blanche & Edith Knight played a duet at a poetry reading in the Church Cottage.

22 Tuesday Shaved for the first time. Had the first rehearsal of “Take That Girl Away” by L S Buckingham. I decided to take “Rocket” the artist. Had a football practice at 4 o’clock. Went in to Allen’s new shop to sit with Willie & Bert from 8.30 – 10.30pm.

23 Wednesday Great earthquake in the north of Italy & S France, about 2000 lives lost.

24 Thursday Our new goalposts arrived, painted light and dark blue. We played Ackender School, Alton on Johnson’s meadow; all the X1 had on new light & dark blue shirts, they looked very nice. We beat Ackender Sch. 4 goals to nil. Mrs V Adams, Blanche Powell, Edith & Aggie Knight came to tea & supper. Had a jolly evening.

25 Friday The foll. are the X1 for this season who had their colours. M Lear & H Barton – right wing. E Dunn & W Saul – left wing. W J Lear – centre Mr Hindle, W Caldecott, H Barton – 1/2 backs. J B Moody (captain), L Bayley – backs A E Bolly – goal

26 Saturday We played Basing on Johnson’s meadow. They were playing their strongest X1. One goal was got by a corner I kicked, another I kicked from a free kick for hands. We beat them 5 goals to one. Our fellows played awfully well.

Diary 1887 - January

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 17:42:13 GMT

2 Sunday. Went for a jolly skate up the canal.

3 Monday Went skating up the canal.

4 Tuesday Had a small dance in the evening, the Allens, Loes & their cousins & Minnie came. We took down the gas in the front room down stairs; left off about ½ past 12. Went off very well.

5 Wednesday Met Leslie Angelsmith down in the town, he had come with his wife & child & company to act at the Drill Hall next week. Had a long talk with him.

6 Thursday Went skating.

8 Saturday Finished putting up the pigeons’ house and let them all out. Leslie Angelsmith came in to tea & stayed for an hour or two.

10 Monday Arthur & Papa went to Stanlake Park to take an inventory & stayed there till Friday. Arthur came home for Wednesday night. (A short coded entry follows).

11 Tuesday Charles Paice came down from Hammersmith in the afternoon. Went to the Down Grange in the morning with Will Allen. John P wrote in to say they were going to thresh but they did not.

13 Thursday Minnie, Blanche, Charles & I went to the Drill Hall in the evening to “Naval Engagements”, Leslie’s wife acted. It was awfully good.

14 Friday Went to the Broadwater skating in the morning. As I was coming away Leslie Angelsmith came down. I lent him my skates, which he brought back in the afternoon. His daughter’s name is “Ivy”. Went to the canal skating again. Went to “Naval Engagements” again at the Drill Hall.

16 Sunday Went for a fine skate up the canal in the afternoon.

18 Tuesday It thawed dreadfully & the ice was not fit to skate on; we went to the canal to see & then went over Basing ruins.

22 Saturday Went to the “Forty Thieves” at Drury Lane in the afternoon, enjoyed it immensely. The 1st time I had been to Drury Lane.

23 Sunday Went to Chiswick Church in the morning.

26 Wednesday Bought this book for 10d. Went to the Japanese village in the afternoon & saw the performance there. It was very good. Went from there to Bloomsbury to tea & back from Charing +. Edith Paice’s 25th birthday. This book: Pettitt’s Scribbling Octavo Diary for 1887. Interleaved Blotting

27 Thursday Went for a long walk out by the Willesden canal with Charles. In the evening went to a concert at the Vestry Hall at Turnham Green with Edith, Julia & Charlie & Mr Duggin.

28 Friday Came up to Uncle William’s at Bloomsbury in the afternoon to stay. Went with Uncle & Aunt to “Harbour Lights” at the Adelphi Theatre in the evening. Enjoyed it immensely.

29 Saturday Went to the British Museum & saw the Egyptian Mummies. In the aft. went to Barnes by train with Uncle & walked thro’ Richmond Park to Richmond; went to Mr Esse’s to tea & supper.

30 Sunday Went to Mr Bird’s at Wimbledon to spend the day.

James Butler Moody Diary 1887

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 17:32:54 GMT

INTRODUCTION

As the year 1887 opens the sixteen year old James Butler Moody (JBM) is living above the family business (furniture and removals) at 17a London Street, Basingstoke, with his parents, James Moody (60) and Elizabeth Moody (42) and his four siblings, Blanche (20), Arthur (18), Ethel (13), Frank (11) and Mabel (8).

His sister, Ethel, kept a diary although unfortunately it seems that only two have survived, for 1895 and 1900. The 1895 diary has been put onto the James Moody and Sons website (jamesmoodyandsons.co.uk).

IMPORTANT YEAR

1887 was an important year for JBM. He left Queen Mary’s School this year and on 13 November he left Basingstoke (a tearful farewell) to start a month’s trial pupilship at Mr Daniell’s Brewery in East Donyland, Essex. Earlier in the year he recorded his first shave!

BASINGSTOKE NAMES

The diary has many references to family and friends. Some of the surnames which appear: Adams, Angelsmith, Allen, Bayley, Bristow, Caldecott, Cannon, Chadwick, Chute, Clift, Cooksey, Dunn, Fencott, Gammon, Goldman, Knight, Lear, Lodwidge, Loe, Marsh, May, Palmer, Paice (his mother’s family), Portsmouth and Powell.

RELATIVES

His mother’s sister, Jane, and her husband, Richard Knight are frequently mentioned, as is his Uncle William (his mother’s brother, William Hamblin Paice) then living and working at the Tanqueray Gin Distillery in Vine Street, Bloomsbury. Uncle William played a part in JBM’s entry into the world of brewing. Another of his mother’s brothers lived in Hammersmith, the widowed Uncle George. JBM was particularly friendly with Uncle George’s son, Charles. There are also references to an Aunt Mary, in Hammersmith. I think this was another of his mother’s sisters, Mary Annie, who married Rev Ebenezer Corbishley.

PIGEONS AND CHICKENS

There are many references to JBM’s interest in breeding and selling pigeons and bantams, although this had to be wound up before he moved to Essex

HANDYMAN AND SPORTSMAN

He was often working with his hands at the family home and business and he learned how to make a tennis net for the tennis court which he created in the back garden at 17a London Street. He was clearly enjoyed tennis (so much tennis!), cricket and football (with associated teenage high jinks). He actually played football for the town on 5th February. Glued inside the front cover of the diary is a newspaper cutting of a report on the Queen’s School 1886-87 football season, in which he is mentioned.

RECREATION AND HOBBIES

He enjoyed tennis (so much tennis!), walking, dancing (first public ball on 10 February), cycling, skating (the winter of 1886-87 was notoriously harsh), swimming and rowing. He could also turn his hand to jam making. To keep fit he exercised with dumbbells. He was involved in amateur dramatics as well as going to the theatre: on 31 January he saw Henry Irving on stage. During the year he found time to read a number of books and always recorded what he thought of them

CODED ENTRIES

A few diary entries are in a code which I have not yet been able to decipher.

ACKNOWLDGEMENTS

I am most grateful to Angela Masterton-Smith, a granddaughter of James Butler Moody, for the loan of this diary. Also to Barbara Applin (Basingstoke Archaeological & Historical Society) for the history of St Thomas’s Home.

Brian Butler

Grandson of Ethel Moody and great nephew of James Butler Moody 1 January 2014

Barbara & Bob Applin retrace Nancy's escape

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:51:43 GMT

In 2001, inspired by Nancy’s story of her escape from France in June 1940, Bob and Barbara Applin from the Basingstoke Archaeological and Historical Society retraced the route which Gerald, Blanche and Nancy took. They have kindly provided us with their record of that trip, which you can read below.

DAY 1 We started from Nogent about 1.45 pm, intending to follow the secondary roads to Le Theil, but the signs to Le Theil directed us to the main road and the complex of hew housing estates and new roads meant we weren’t able to pick up the one we wanted. So we took the D 955 (Berd’Huis), then the D 11 to St Hilaire sur Erre, then the D 286 as we intended, to Le Theil. Read More

DAY 2 This did mean, though, that we were later starting again from Evron the next day (11 am), from the Ring Road, making for Chateau Gontier. We wondered how well they knew the route between Evron and, say, Bain de Bretagne. Their car, being heavily laden, would probably have been quite a bit slower than ours up hills and round corners; was there a lot of traffic? I wondered if Mr Powell drove all the way (we think Nancy couldn’t drive. In fact, their friends thought Mr Powell couldn’t drive either, but we have found no evidence of anyone else being with them so perhaps he normally had a chauffeur and only drove in exceptional circumstances like these. If so, the strain must have been even worse). Read More

Diary Day 1

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:51:43 GMT

We started from Nogent about 1.45 pm, intending to follow the secondary roads to Le Theil, but the signs to Le Theil directed us to the main road and the complex of hew housing estates and new roads meant we weren’t able to pick up the one we wanted. So we took the D 955 (Berd’Huis), then the D 11 to St Hilaire sur Erre, then the D 286 as we intended, to Le Theil. Now on a country road, we could begin to imagine the feelings of the Powell family. In one car containing all they could pack in, with a mattress on top to protect them from machine guns.

Trusting to Mr Powell’s knowledge of minor roads to avoid the main ones with road blocks and heavy traffic. How well did Nancy herself know these roads? She’d travelled about with her father. Did they have a map? We thought the countryside would have been less open then, smaller fields with hedges (bocage) but later I was told there were many large fields at that time. In any case the minor roads often travelled on a ridge with long views, and they must often have felt exposed – or in wooded areas did they feel trapped? It was a sad irony that this very day so many Afghans, with all their possessions, were fleeing Khabul, fearful of American reprisals for the terrible attack of 11th September. We need to check if Bonne Vallée was really a mis-typing for Bonnétable, which is right on the route. We thought they would have skirted La Ferté Bernard, so went through Avezé and Sauvigny, then on the D 6 to Ballon and the D 388 to Conlie. When we first worked out the route on the map we thought at first that Suzanne was a mistake as we couldn’t find it on the direct road to Evron, but in fact St Suzanne is south of Evron, so that led us to this southerly route. We reached Evron about 6 pm (80 miles). We decided to go back to the gîte for the night (1 ½ hours to Mamers by main roads, stopped at Mamers for a meal). It seemed fitting that we too should turn back at this point, as Nancy and her family spent the night at Evron then tried to go on to Mayenne but they were turned back and had to spend a second night with their friends.

Read Day 2 of the Diary

Diary - Day 2

anthony@everydaychristianmarketing.co.uk (Anthony Evans) — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:51:43 GMT

This did mean, though, that we were later starting again from Evron the next day (11 am), from the Ring Road, making for Chateau Gontier. We wondered how well they knew the route between Evron and, say, Bain de Bretagne. Their car, being heavily laden, would probably have been quite a bit slower than ours up hills and round corners; was there a lot of traffic? I wondered if Mr Powell drove all the way (we think Nancy couldn’t drive. In fact, their friends thought Mr Powell couldn’t drive either, but we have found no evidence of anyone else being with them so perhaps he normally had a chauffeur and only drove in exceptional circumstances like these. If so, the strain must have been even worse). I noticed a sign to a house called L’Espérance and wondered if that was there then, if they noticed it and felt it a good omen.

I wanted to take photos of old farms and cottage by the road, or views of the road through woods etc but the right views were all in places where traffic or road bends didn’t allow us to stop. We noticed the differences in agriculture as we moved on – many open range hens here, and a lot of maize and sunflowers all the way, even in Brittany – doubt if this would have been the case then. Towns are now much bigger, with new housing and industrial estates around, new roads, roundabouts, ring roads etc. More new country little houses too. We avoided centre of Chateaubriant, as we had La Ferté Bernard, thinking they probably didn’t always go into the centre of each big town, though there wouldn’t have been bypasses or ring roads, but it was probably possible to cut through country lanes around the towns, especially when they got into Brittany, where Mr Powell probably knew his way more. Then we came across a road closure and had to take a deviation for Bain de Bretagne.

We tried to identify where the smallholding at Guer might have been, where they broke down and spent the night, but Guer is more than 20 km from Maure so Nancy probably over-estimated the distance. Nor could we find any sign on the road from Josselin to Pontivy of any likely place for their lunch stop. I had imagined a track in woodland, but nothing seemed suitable. The modern roads were now bigger and faster, sometimes you could see the old road alongside ours. But we still had a feeling of the length and slowness of the route – and the gradual change in landscape, the rising hope when at last they were really headed north west, the sudden change to a rocky landscape a sign they were almost there. We had to deviate to Guémené for petrol. Reached Landivisiau about 7.45. I had hoped it might be possible to find that Hotel Guillou still existed there, but it was getting dark, no signs for it and there wasn’t even a room at the one hotel we found; they rang round to Lampaul-Guimilliau and Morlaix and advised us to go to Roscoff or Brest! In fact we went back to Huelgoat and found a hotel there. 220 miles from Evron, so 300 in all!

Return to Day 1 of the Diary