Sunday 27th August, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Just a line to let you know that we arrived home safely after our several very enjoyable stays at Clevedon. We have left Susan’s effort until tomorrow when the excitement of Auntie Eileen’s visit will have subsided, and when she will be able to concentrate?? on writing to you. June has already penned a few words and these are enclosed herewith. 

So far as the trip back is concerned, there was no difficulty. We were off the end of the platform at Bristol so had to walk through the train, but John Allen caught us up, and walked with us. He said he had spotted you on Yatton station but had not seen me. Susan apparently very sleepy but said she did not want to sleep. She had several very long rests on my lap but did not drop off. At Chippenham where the train was very full, a couple got in and paid the excess up to first class fare. The woman gave Susan a chocolate which sounded good. We arrived at Paddington about 5 or 6 minutes late, and I walked her down to Lancaster Gate where we picked up a direct train for South Ruislip. Carting all the luggage et cetera, was a bit of a bind especially the umbrella which did not seem to match in with the other stuff. Finished up by giving it to Susan to carry, and she bore it like a lance all the way home. After a hectic running greeting from Carol, Carol let her get on with it and minded her own business for a bit. It did not take long for the squawks to start after which everything was normal again. Susan handed out the present to Carol making quite sure that Carol knew which was Susan’s but had to be prompted into remembering she had something for Mum. There is no doubt that she thoroughly enjoyed her stay with you, and from time to time we hear about it. The donkey, and walking in the wind both seem to have made a hit. We do hope she was not too much of a nuisance to you, but for her part she has said she would like to repeat the dose.

Felt very tired myself on Saturday afternoon, although could not offer a very good reason why. Anyway I managed to have forty winks in the armchair thanks to others doing the washing up. We got the car out and did some shopping in the afternoon and by evening I managed to summon enough energy to mow two lawns. The one in the front garden I did this morning. The grass looks beautiful, much greener than usual for this time of year.

Today the weather’s been really grand. A spot of tidying up in the garden and garage this morning was followed by a car trip out to Burnham Beeches this afternoon. Of course all of the world and his brother decided to go out today. most of them along the Western Avenue, and crowds actually at Burnham. We managed to find a reasonably quiet spot and had tea then wandered in the trees eating blackberries, picking heather etc. We brought back two rooted cuttings of heather, and two rooted beech trees (small size)*. At the moment I can see June and Eileen planting them at the end of the lawn.

My dahlias are flowering well now. Should have counted the blooms, about fifty out there now even after picking yesterday.

Broached my last bottle of plum wine 1959 yesterday. It is really very good. I still have one of yours. Had a bit of a clear out of bottles today, and put out for disposal a number of stoppered bottles of the fizzy lemonade type. I know that Bravery says they are the best, but they do not look very posh, and in any case my bottles are not in the habit of exploding (touch wood etc etc). Another time we go to Burnham we must take some receptacle and collect some blackberries for wine. I should like to try it.

The bud on the rose you gave us (the surviving one,) is in full bloom now, a lovely red colour. Of course the plant is only 6 inches high as yet but should do well next year. I believe that June has planted the snowdrops in the rockery although I did not actually see it done. The love-in-the-mist seeds are being held pending the planting date.

As I believe we told you once before, there is a deal of leaf mould in Burnham Woods, enough to stock even your patch to overflowing. Today the girls collected a lot of kindling of which there is an abundance and we brought it back in the boot. This is supposed to be kept for Xmas fire (Yule log).

Well I must bring this letter to a close, and thank you once again for having Susan. We look forward to your visit, and will be glad to know in due course the actual day on which you will arrive. I know this is dependent on other things, and will therefore leave it in your hands. All send their love, and I am sure there will be some xxxxxs from Susan.

P.s. football a washout, what happened to the draws? 

*In hindsight, I am appalled by this behaviour. The notion that they would randomly drive out and help themselves to heather and beech trees, not to mention leaf mould, is horrendous when you learn that Burnham Beeches is now an SSSI – but, even if it wasn’t, it was always someone else’s property, and they were no more entitled to steal the vegetation than they would have been to, say, take away picnic benches or dump old mattresses there. Alec and June were always terrified that someone would put something over on them or take away something they were entitled to, but it never seemed to occur to them *not* to take away or damage someone else’s property; an interesting double standard.

“I thought men like that shot themselves.”

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

TRIGGER WARNING FOR DISCUSSIONS OF SUICIDE, BOTH MEANS AND MOTIVES

The suicide of Anthony D**** features in Leonard’s letter of 9 August, 1961, and Alec’s reply of 13 August. Both were distantly acquainted with Anthony’s father, but neither had met Anthony himself; nonetheless they expressed sympathy over his tragic death.

Anthony shot himself near Priddy in Somerset after a couple of close encounters with the police. The mere fact that his ‘crime’ is not mentioned in the letters is an indication that it is considered indelicate in some way, which at that time would most likely refer to a sexual offence. I should add here that Alec and Leonard would have been equally mealy-mouthed if it was a case of indecent exposure, paedophilia, rape, etc., although there would have been much less sympathy expressed. Also, Anthony chose – specifically – to shoot himself, when there were no doubt plenty of other methods of self-execution available to him. This presumably indicates that he had the means at hand – scarcely fifteen years after the end of WW2 there were no doubt plenty of guns available, especially in a rural area – and also that he believed shooting was an appropriate solution to his troubles.

There was, during at least the first half of the twentieth century, the feeling that a certain category of men ‘always shot themselves’ – i.e. gay men who had been caught out or entrapped and exposed to public scandal. This may well have originated after the removal of the death penalty for homosexual acts in 1861, but was given pithy expression by King George V when he was told of the accusations levelled against William Lygon, Lord Beauchamp, in 1930.

Lygon, born in 1872, became Earl Beauchamp on the death of his father in 1891, married in 1902, and fathered seven children. However in later life he was well-known to be gay – or at least bisexual – and notorious for surrounding himself with good-looking footmen and valets. His activities came to public notice in 1930 when he was in Australia – where the Press was less inhibited than its British equivalent – and his brother-in-law, who did not like him, subsequently denounced him. This prompted the king’s much-publicised remark – which, barely thirty years before Anthony D****’s suicide, certainly reflected the opinions of his father’s generation if not his own. There was very little sympathy for homosexual men as a class at this time, although there may have been for individual men depending on their circumstances. It is also possible that Beauchamp was seen as exploiting the working class who could not defend themselves, although clearly it was not one of his valets or footmen who eventually blew the whistle on him but his wealthy and privileged brother-in-law – who, apparently, had more than one reason for despising him.

Beauchamp eventually died of cancer in exile in France, his last years made miserable by public scandal, but surrounded by sympathetic friends and – indeed – supported by his children. Even so, he had seriously contemplated suicide at one point and had to be talked out of it by his son. Lacking that same family support, Anthony D**** may have felt that the simplest solution to his problems lay in a quick and relatively painless ending to his life.

If you have been paying attention you may have realised that as well as being a keen family historian I am also a former LGBTQ+ publisher. There’s not a lot of intersectionality between the two interests – although there is at least one individual on the Atkins family tree who could plausibly be interpreted as gay from circumstantial evidence. Otherwise we’re left with statistical probability; the most recently available figures for the UK as a whole suggest that maybe 3.5% of the population presently identifies as LGBTQ or ‘other’ (aro, ace, etc.) Even setting aside the 3% who declined to answer, if the same could be said of previous eras this would suggest that of the 1375 names in my current databases as many as 40 could potentially have had same-sex leanings, whether these ever reached the point of physical expression or not.

You may think that a career in LGBTQ+ publishing gives me a tendency to see things that are not there, and/or to interpret information in ways that a person without that background might not. This is reasonable, and in rebuttal I can only say that the experience of gay men and women has traditionally relied upon hints and suggestions and things not clearly expressed in words; this makes the interpretation of such fragmentary evidence vitally important to our understanding of the lives these people have lived and in some cases are living to this day. Such investigation is not intended to be prurient, so much as sympathetic towards them all.

The irony here, of course, is that 1961 was a crucial point in the progress of decriminalising homosexuality in the UK. The Wolfenden Report of 1957 had recommended that “homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence” and that the law as a whole should be reformed. “It is not, in our view, the function of the law to intervene in the private life of citizens, or to seek to enforce any particular pattern of behaviour.” In 1959, ITV had shown the UK’s earliest known gay TV drama, ‘South’, adapted from a stage play by Julien Green and starring Peter Wyngarde. Barely a month after Anthony D****’s suicide the film Victim, starring Dirk Bogarde, was released, and is credited with being the first in the English language to use the word ‘homosexual’. Whatever the merits of the film itself, it did at least bring the subject of homosexuality into a wider public arena and was a vital part of the process leading to decriminalisation only a few years later in 1967.

There is something unbearably poignant about the notion of a man so unhappy with his circumstances that he takes himself off to a quiet moorland spot and does away with himself by shooting, and subsequently his story remains locked away in a few official documents and the distant memories of his family until sixty years later. Then, the idle words of two men who did not know him personally – but had known his father – bring it to light again. Even if the conclusions I have drawn about his motives are erroneous, it is and was still a tragedy for him and all those who cared about him. This is one of the reasons I have chosen not to name him fully; in a sense his name is irrelevant, because one man hounded to death for his sexuality may as well stand for them all. I would like to think that we are more enlightened these days, and the indications of that are at least reasonably promising.

Rest in Peace, Anthony D****; there is a better world now, thank goodness, and I sincerely wish that you had lived to be a part of it.

Sunday 13th August, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Thanks again for your letter, received as booked. Sorry you did not think much of Susan’s drawing, at least Mum thought it good. I must say she shows talent if not exactly artistic. 

We have had some mixed weather again this week. I took the old umbrella three days when it looks threatening, but did not have to use it, but left it home on one morning that promised fine. Of course it rained. I have not had to water the garden here for some long time now, as rain has fallen at frequent intervals making it unnecessary. The effect of course is that the plants are making quite a lot of growth, but very sparse in the matter of flowers. That dahlias continue to do well, and although the flowers do not seem to last long in the vase, there are plenty of others coming along to keep a decent show indoors. Find we have managed to keep one of the yellow ones. From the appearance of the leaves and stalk I had thought this particular plant to be one of the large pink cactus type flowers, but was pleased to find I was wrong. 

Have not ordered the passes yet for our journey, but will have to do so early on Monday morning as Mr. Lay and myself go to Reading on the 9-30 a.m. The Yard Staff have now asked for Work Study Bonus Scheme so we shall have an informal talk with the L.D.C. reps and tell them the tale. Had a meeting with the Old Oak Common Signalman’s L.D.C. on Thursday, they are a bit militant, as their chairman is the Secretary or Chairman of the Signalman’s Union (U.B.S.)I believe it is called. We start on Monday of this week by taking studies of Ladbroke Junction signal box. 

Susan’s pals have now had their marching orders for good. Details when we arrive. 

Put car in for repairs last Tuesday, and asked for it back for Saturday (yesterday) but although I had it back he has not finished it, and will take it again tomorrow morning and says he will return it on Thursday. I shall have to get him to return it on Wednesday or leave him the key of the garage as we shall be on our way to Clevedon on Thursday evening. At the moment, the front bumper is off, and the headlamp out, but the wing has been reshaped (good workmanship) but the paste wants sanding down, the whole of the alterations sprayed (several coats), and the piping etc. around the edges requires to be renewed. Jackson will also utilise any paint over to spray over one of the rear wings which for some reason is a slightly different colour from the rest of the car, and he will rehang the bonnet so that it fits properly. You may recall that there was a slight overlap or overhang when you passed car over to us. 

I see from the Sunday papers that Beeching is not to be allowed to have his expensive assistants from outside industry, so that may give some of us a chance. Any advantage here is bound to filter down through the ranks as there are still comparatively few trained and experienced “productivity hounds”. Not an impossible position for Norman to fill. Strange things happen these days. It has been found that what were once thought to be specialist jobs, jealously guarded by staff in the appropriate sections, can be done by reasonably bright people after quite short periods of training. There is after all nothing very difficult about marshalling that he should not be able to grasp after a few weeks. 

I saw the bit in the newspapers about Tossa, some do.

Note you have picked a large quantity of runner beans and tomatoes, suppose you will exceed the hundredweight in tomatoes this year. Good spare time indoor job this winemaking, enables some interesting activity when the weather is too bad for outdoor work. We shall not be able to transport any wine this time as we shall be without the car, but I hope we shall have the chance of tasting some when with you. Have nearly finished your cherry now and ready to broach the next variety. Thanks for the tip about elderberries, we have no bushes near us so cannot tell the progress of the ripening. If you are interested, you may be able to gather some blackberries over the next couple of months and try a new flavoured wine with them. 

I do not think I knew or knew of Anthony D**** but it is always a tragic business. I think I heard somewhere that the old chap had died. So if so it is just as well in the circumstances.

It sounds as though you had a very severe gale your end. We had it bad but no real damage to report – nothing to damage much. There was a tree blown down in The Fairway but I did not see it. 

We had our office car rally yesterday. June and I went over to meet the rest of them at Burnham station (8 cars all told) and we all all went to Burnham Beeches for a picnic tea, (take your own picnic), from that point we set off one at a time to conform to the printed instructions handed to us. A sort of mystery tour, with an adult form of Treasure Hunt included. Some of the places we passed through were Beaconsfield, Forty Green, Penn, Saunderton, and Henley-on-Thames*. We finished up at the latter, and after one drink in the hotel opposite the station June and I left for home. The rest remained for a buffet supper and convivial evening. McDonald and his wife attended and took part in the rally. He was highly delighted and wants the next one as soon as possible. 

Well we will look out for you at Yatton station off the 5-5 p.m. Paddington on Thursday. In the meantime will say love from us all.

*Google Earth suggests this is roughly a 40 mile loop with an additional 40+ miles of travelling to and from South Ruilsip at either end, therefore roughly 85 miles of driving plus a picnic tea and a drink in the pub afterwards. It’s difficult to see this all taking much less than four hours and possibly a lot more, depending on the speeds possible on the roads that day.

Wednesday 9th August, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for another long letter received this morning together with Susan’s effort of a drawing of Grandfy. (I hope I do not look like that Susan – nearly all glasses.) Still thank you very much for enclosing it with daddy’s and mummy’s letter.

We did not really expect letter on Tuesday this week – the P.O. collect so early on a Bank Holiday but it must have been a change for you to type it on the Monday. It was not a bad holiday here for weather. We saw on TV you had had a good drop of rain. The worst day was Tuesday when of course bulk of Bank Holiday traffic was over. I actually watered garden on Monday evening but rain came on later and continued most of night. Noted you will all be on the 5.5 p.m. Paddington on Thursday the 17th and I will be at Yatton to meet you. Mum will have something ready for the girls by the time we reach home. It’s nice to look forward to your coming down even if only for a few days. Had a card from Joe and Lydia yesterday posted at Blackpool. Their coach on the return journey tomorrow (Thursday) is now running via Yatton to set down another party so they will alight there and we shall meet them with car about 5:30 p.m. Expect they will return to Tiverton on Sunday evening. Will remember you to them and mention the snapshots. According to weather forecast we are going to have showery weather over the weekend but hope there is no more gale force wind. It was terrific here for about 24 hours and garden looked a mess after it.

So you put the bar up on Susan’s pals over the Bank Holiday. Where do they live and is it far from your house? What did the driver of the Anglia want? Some compensation for shock? Some nerve! Has your car gone in for the necessary repairs yet or have you arranged it for the weekend you are here? Position re: Seymour and McDonald etc. noted. Expect you are waiting to see if there might be anything in your line in subsequent moves.

Norman Allen called round last weekend for information in connection with a vacancy in freight train section DTMO. Marshalling Instructions are the chief items of the job and I do not think he stands any chance for it, never having had anything to do with the formation etc of freight services.

You say Carol will not mind parting from Susan for a day or two but will Susan mind stopping with us?

The fair is in full swing at the moment. Mum and I had a look round last Saturday but we both thought it was a poor show compared with those of the past – not so many stalls. The inevitable Bingo was there and doing the best business but what people see in it beats me. It’s a mere gamble*.

Last week I dug up two or three roots of ivy and potted them into 3-inch pots. I hope they will grow but will keep them for a while to see if any progress. Seems to me that when one tries to cultivate weeds it is not easy. (Food for thought there surely.) Have managed to propagate some more ice plants from leaf cuttings.

You were on right lines in solving Rebecca’s problem and Geoff also says it cannot be solved by algebra. Some good ones on TV now in a program called “Pit your Wits”, too good for me.

No we do not know to what part of Spain Geoff and family are going. Tossa da Mar was in the news this morning owing to five English people including one girl getting mixed up in a scrap in a drinking house.  Did you read about it?

Your lawns must be looking much better now after the rain on the new seed. At least you appear to have saved the seed from the birds. A good crop of dahlias then to give a splash of color. Assume you can still keep the girls off your small plot at bottom of garden. To date have picked 117lb runner beans and 30lbs tomatoes and in each case there are plenty more to come. Yesterday I picked 16lbs runner beans from both sides of one of the rows and these went down to Elford about 9:30 a.m. Apart from bulk lots to him I have a few private customers locally including Bill Aston, Roy Hewett and the Clarkes and Hailes (at bottom of garden). Could not do anything outdoors yesterday first and ground too wet later so racked off all the wine into bottles, the parsnip and the blackcurrant and rhubarb which has been in storage jars and the cherry which had been under fermentation lock. It all tasted a bit sharp but it is all new stuff and may improve by keeping. Still have a half bottle of your carrot wine on hand but the other two kinds you brought down have long since disappeared. No elderberries available yet – next month the time to gather.  Must make some more of this – as good as burgundy. Have about two and a half bottles left of last year’s brew.

Plenty of literature arriving from Football Pools already must have another try for a fortune – could still do with it.*

Fancy Lay looking for a house or bungalow in the £5,000 region, the rates would be pretty heavy too on such a place. Prices seem exceptionally heavy for property on the coast in the counties of Hampshire, Sussex and Kent, a case of supply and demand. It’s a bit easier further West until you get into the Torquay area.

I don’t expect you remember Anthony Dxxxx the son of Edward Dxxxx auctioneer and estate agent – the former was found shot on the Mendips near Priddy last Friday – verdict yesterday – suicide whilst balance of the mind disturbed. He had been in trouble with the police on two occasions the second being as recently as last week.**

A couple of weddings at Parish Church last Saturday for which the bell-ringers were required. Understand another on the 19th inst. when you are here but I do not know the time yet. Well, I think this is the lot once more – all our love to you both and more kisses for the girls. Looking forward to seeing you all soon. Mum and Dad. 

Eva to the family on the remaining three quarters of a sheet of Leonard’s writing paper:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for letter & Susan’s drawing exactly like Grandfy. We shall be on the lookout for you next Thursday.

Hope the weather improves, it has been raining all afternoon and we expect Lydia and Joe soon. We have to meet them at Yatton.

The bean and tomato stakes are still on but slowing down a bit. Mr Aston has just looked in for some of each.

The fair is a washout this time nothing interesting to see except the bingo game. We bought some gingerbread, gone up threepence since the last time.

The gale blew down our lovely gladioli and they were tied to stakes, also ripped off felt off of next door’s shed. Looks as if a horse had been through the flowers.

We had plenty of people here over the holiday up to and including Wednesday.

Well this is the lot for now. See you soon lots of love from Mum and Dad.

*So Bingo is ‘a mere gamble’ but the Football Pools is … what? A technical exercise involving skills and knowledge? Double standard here, methinks…

**This may be special pleading, but I suspect the poor man had actually been ‘in trouble with the police’ after being caught with another man. There seems no other good reason for not naming his ‘trouble’, nor for him to have committed suicide rather than be prosecuted. [Crime may be considered disgraceful, but very few people accused of – say – burglary feel the need to make away with themselves rather than suffer the consequences.] He clearly felt his life was not going to improve, and he would be better off out of it. The above is the reason I have redacted his surname; it would be awful if a relative Googled him and found me speculating about whether or not he was gay.

Monday 6th August, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad 

Your reply typed on Monday this week so possibly a day late arriving your end, depending what postal arrangements (GPO and personal) operate today. 

In view of the short turn round, and the return to work on the Monday morning, we felt that it was better to arrange to travel by train this time. Will also do so the following weekend to pick up Susan. We shall catch the 5.5 p.m. Paddington on Thursday 17th August. This train arrives Yatton at 8:20 p.m., so the girls will have to swallow a glass of milk or something and go straight to bed on arrival at Devonia. We shall be glad of the offer of a lift from Yatton station as you suggest. 

We have put the bar up on Susan’s two friends coming here over August Bank Holiday. It is very nice for her of course, but you can imagine the bustle and confusion with four in circulation. The swing and scooter and tricycle have been well in evidence over the weekend, but the weather yesterday put an early end to that sort of activity. Today is a lot better and in fact I doubt if there is a cloud in the sky as I write.

I think my insurance company have taken the line of least resistance over our mishap. I suppose technically they would have had a case, but no doubt it would have been opposed so that for the sum involved they might well have been running the risk of encouraging considerably higher losses than £29 if they had taken the other people to court. I have since received a letter from the medical insurance people on behalf of the driver of the Anglia, but have passed that over to Doug at his request, and shall hear no more of it.

Note the cider is sinking in more ways than one, can it be there is a leak as well? Talking about leaks, you have not mentioned the pond. How are matters there, has it still got water in it, have all the inmates survived? Back to the cider, I have not made any more wine, but on the expiry of my last bottle, have pulled out another of your cherry brew – vintage ‘59. I must say it tastes very good and is not likely to last long. I often have one when I get home from the office, and usually two or so Saturday and Sunday dinner times. Carol will knock back half to three-quarters of a glass and Susan somewhat less.

Have since heard that Seymour has got a job on the Southern, a bit different from the first news, but still creates a vacancy at top level. Lay would never go for McDonald’s job, at 56 he thinks only of retirement. Already he has had days off to go to the coast to look for a suitable bungalow. I believe he is not badly off, and is looking for something in the £5,000 mark. Of course the alternative to lay as successor to McD is Davis (ex Plymouth) who is Head of the New Works section. This would not suit McD, and therefore would also be unsuitable to GAVP who it seems takes McD’s advice on Development matters.

Yes Peyman is a windbag. Quite strong, but pigheaded. Guaranteed to talk down anyone on any subject, whether right or wrong.

Phone will be disconnected as from August 31st. It will be a shame to let it go but quite frankly we do not get the use from it to justify retaining it.

Give our kind regards to Uncle Joe and Aunt Lydia when they come up. We have not seen our holiday transparencies on a projector yet, but you can tell them they seem to be nearly all good ones, so we shall have a good record of our visits to Shelley Road and Tiverton.

I am sure Carol will not mind leaving Susan behind when we return, as she is now used to leaving her at school and at parties etc. Susan almost ready to see a fair I suppose, but the Clevedon one will have gone before we get down. Plenty of chances in the future no doubt.

Where are Jeff and Stella going to visit in Spain? Are they going near to Tossa de Mar where we went? 

Took an opportunity as I thought to do Rebecca’s problem yesterday, and all but finished it when the interruptions got too much. I do not think it is a problem to be solved algebraically, although I may be wrong. It seems to be an exercise in logical deduction wherein all the factors hinge on one another. I would say that the best way of tackling it would be to tabulate all the information given such as boys names, titles of subjects covered, and the conditions, such as 1 R.K, 2 Latin, 3 French, 4 Art etc. A chart can then be drawn showing columns under each of the boys names and each column divided horizontally into three sections. In the top section put all the subjects the boys are known to take, in the second section put all those subjects the boy does not take, and in the last section put the balance of the 11 subjects not mentioned in the first two sections. I suppose the best way to proceed then is to locate the two boys who take identical subjects, and Tom and Charles, or Wilf and James, seemed the most likely. I think subsequent examination will indicate that Tom and Charles are the pair. As I said, I had not finally finished the problem, but had completed all the boys’ subjects only to find that I had given them all Geography as well as Maths and English which is not permissible. Perhaps another day I will have another go and finish it. I return herewith your copy.

Re: your garden, note the vast quantity of beans picked and disposed of. Watering this end not such a problem now as we seem to get a good downpour at least twice a week. The grass seed sown in the front and back gardens has all taken very well and shows very thickly now. Our dahlias are producing flowers in quantity now, I can go round each evening and pick about 20 blooms. I am afraid the variety is poor as most of the tubers that survived the winter are of a limited number of types. I seem to have lost the yellow one altogether.

Had a look at my rhubarb wine yesterday and it is gradually turning a darker colour. It did not seem like rhubarb when it was so light. Have made 5 gallons in all this year at the rate of one per month January to May. Have you picked any elderberries yet? If you can get your runner beans long enough you may be able to dispense with beanpoles I suppose. 

So Arthur travels today; as you say I hope they do not forcibly divert him to Cuba. A grand life being able to travel about as he does, nice to have the cash. 

Not the first time you have had a horse roaming about the avenue I think. Should sue him for trespass. Well will close for now, look forward to your next. 

Love from us all

Wednesday 1st August, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec, June, Susan and Carol

Thank you very much for another budget of news received correct post on Tuesday also thank you Susan and Carol for your nice drawings. Perhaps I had better start by saying we shall be delighted to see you all on Thursday the 17th inst. and we are really glad at this time of year you will travel by train. No pleasure going long distances by road with so many vehicles on the road. Presumably you will get a through train to Yatton so that I can meet you there but on this you will no doubt advise us further.

Yes we knew Susan would already be on holiday from school and it’s nice to know she is quite good so far. A big change for her to be somewhat at a loose end after her first term at school. Fancy her friend and little sister turning up so early in the morning – must be early risers in their house. Fortunately the weather continues fine and warm and I expect the girls spend a lot of time on the lawns – a different proposition if rain set in. 

Note the third estimate for repairs to car and in the circumstances agree your best bet is with Jackson especially as he is somewhat of a friend and you will be glad to deal with him for ordinary matters. From what you now tell us I think it is a shame your insurance company should have to cover the cost of repairs. Should have thought the other person would have been liable seeing he pulled out of his lane without giving a signal but there it is. I’m afraid I’m not conversant with the motoring law to that extent. 

Yes Don and Joan enjoyed themselves alright – Don slept for an hour or more after lunch in the armchair in front room. The cider is fast sinking in more ways than one and the continued hot weather is responsible. A glass at dinner time and a couple for supper soon empties a flagon. 

Noted Fred Nance was a TT. I wonder what caused his illness? 

So you did not have much to say to Price. I believe quite a lot of time is spent in the Shakespear by the staff of Transom House – could almost have it laid on. I don’t know either Aldred or Jefferies but was rather interested to know how the minutes were prepared. so McDonald may be on the move – don’t suppose Ley by any chance would be in running for his job? By the time you get all your staff together you will want someone to keep them in order. 

Very interested in your duel with Peyman – I never even met him but Geoff told me a long time ago he was not a lot of good. How did McDonald react to it when he knew the full story?

Have done nothing about phone yet it is in November the actual increase of rental commences. In Geoff’s case I expect all costs are covered by British Railways they used to pay mine when I was at Temple Meads.

Note June leaving driving lessons for a file. Much better to learn in the winter when not so many cars about – get the worst driving conditions too which is all to the good for a new driver. 

Had a line from Uncle Joe this morning to confirm coming to Clevedon on the 10th for a weekend after their motor coach holiday to the N. E. coast. Have you told Susan yet she is going to have a few days with us on her own? We are looking forward to having her and fully understand she will take all our attention but she is getting older every day and I’m sure she will be very happy with us. Wonder how Carol will take it? Let’s hope weather is good. 

The fair arrived in Salthouse Fields last weekend and for the August Bank Holiday period but I’m afraid they will be gone by the 17th inst*. The donkeys and pony cart are still with us and we often hear the former braying on the Hill. 

There are a lot of visitors here and this coming weekend will see the peak of the holiday traffic. 

No more news of Arthur (America) but it is known he will be stopping at Taunton first so may be coming this way later in the month. We have not heard from Geoff for at least a fortnight but understand Don had a line from him on the 27th ulto. They will soon be getting ready for their holiday in Spain. 

Have you had a go at Rebecca’s problem yet? That will be the time when Susan and later Carol bring these problems home for daddy or mummy to solve so you had better keep up your mathematics. 

Yes we continue to be busy in garden and watering has to be done nightly to keep things growing. So far have picked 70 lbs runner beans and quite a lot more are forming daily. Although Elford has had two lots of 10lbs each on Tuesday and Friday last week he sent a boy round at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday for another dozen pounds. In fact we picked another 8 lbs for him which cleared us right out. Yesterday (Tuesday) however there must have been another 10 lbs available – they are turning in as quickly as that. Tomatoes and lettuce also turning in daily. It won’t all be gone by the time you arrive. 

I’m now trying to dig the small plot beyond greenhouse but it is very dry and lumpy. The gladioli are a picture but sweet peas now over and going to seed.

This week I’ve put the 1961 parsnip and 1959 plum wines into bottles – this leaves the blackcurrant and rhubarb in a storage jar and the cherry still under fermentation lock. No more contemplated at the moment. 

Cornish (neighbour) has some of the longest runner beans I’ve ever seen and he is going to hand over some seed in the Autumn – worth experimenting with. I call him Jack and the Beanstalk but he takes it in good part. 

Well the Ashes go back to Australia then I think our fellows threw the match away at Old Trafford**. Used to look in from 12:45 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. and again 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

No more now – hope you continue to keep fit. All our love to you both and lots of kisses for Susan and Carol. 

Mum and Dad. 

Eva to the family on the remaining half-sheet of Leonard’s writing paper:

Dear Alec June Susan and Carol

Many thanks for letter also Susan and Carol’s efforts. We have been very busy this week with one thing and another  and it is actually raining tonight, don’t expect the holiday makers will like it.

I’m glad you are not using the car for your next trip, I think it is a nightmare on the road August month there seem to be hundreds about even in Clevedon. We have had a horse roaming around from the hill this week the only gate open was Pearsons and in it went. Haven’t heard the result of his wonderings. 

The fair is here again but I dare say it will be gone by the time you come. 

Hope Arthur’s jet plane doesn’t get held up like the one in tonight’s news***. He arrives on Monday night at Taunton. 

This is all news now will close with love from

Mum and Dad.

*These two things could not simultaneously be true, i.e. if the fair was gone before the 17th August it would not still be there for the August Bank Holiday which was on the 28th. No idea what the source of the confusion may have been, although perhaps the fair was moving to Weston for the Bank Holiday.

**Looking at the scorecard on Cricinfo, it would appear that Benaud bowling Peter May for a duck may have been the start of a classic England batting collapse. In more recent years this would have rated as ‘a gallant endeavour’ rather than a complete disaster – subsequent generations became used to far more humiliating defeats!

***Fascinatingly, this would have been one of the first attempted hijackings (or ‘skyjackings’ as they were later called) on U.S. soil. The pilot was shot in the head and blinded – although he survived – but apparently nobody else was seriously injured and the hijacker was subdued by the co-pilot and various passengers, while an airport ticket agent called the Sheriff. From the report it sounds very much as if the attacker may have been mentally disturbed and acting on impulse, which is no excuse but may offer a partial explanation for his actions.

Sunday 30th July, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad

Well another week has gone, and once more to bash out a reply to yours received correct post on Saturday. All here now in good health thank goodness, and hope it is the same with you. You may be aware that Susan is [on] holiday from school having spent one complete term there already. How the time flies. They broke up last Friday week and we have had one full week of her at home. Surprisingly she has been very good. No doubt this has been due in part to the fact that one of her school friends calls every morning and afternoon with her younger sister. They arrive just after 8 of all times, but they seem to play very well together.

We have now had the third estimate for repairs to the car and it amounts to £24 plus approx £3 – 5s – 0d for the headlamp.* In view of the small difference between this one and that supplied by Jackson’s, I am giving him the job. I do know that the workmanship will be good. the other estimate was ridiculous and I had grave suspicions regarding the quality of the workmanship and the lasting qualities of the job. The Insurance people have complained that the charge is very steep for so old a car but will pay it. I agree with them, but I do not intend to take the risk of having a shoddy job done just to save them a few pounds, neither do I intend to hawk the work round to any more people for estimates. I have lost over 2 weeks on this game already. In addition there is still a certain amount of rubbing of the tyre still. I shall have to get a new one for that we’ll as a result of where since the mishap. Incidentally any repair of the wing could only have been a bodged job with hole made good with fibre glass. This would hardly be a good substitute for the original wing. Jackson will not be able to start this job until after August Bank Holiday now.

The Ford Anglia as far as I can recollect, was ahead of me in the outside lane. When it reached a car in the same lane that was stationary and about to turn right, the Ford’s driver braked hard and turned into my lane. I had no hand signal from him, and no light signal, and as far as I knew he was in the right-hand lane for the purpose of turning right. His change of lane was completely unexpected, and I only had time to brake and partially turn the front of the car. Had it been another type of car other than an Anglia (new), we should both have got away with a collision of bumpers. As it is the design of the Anglia permits the superstructure almost to overhang the rear bumper. 

So the visit last Sunday went off well. I gather that full supplies are now available. I agree, cider does make a good drink in the hot weather. I used to be quite partial to it before the war, but have no liking for any quantity of it now. A little goes a long way with me now. Probably lack of acquaintance with it now. 

Re: the flash of lightning, did I mention that the lawn here was covered with hailstones so that it looks like a carpet of snow? Nothing beaten down fortunately but it was quite heavy while it lasted. A small stream of water was pouring through the back gate, turned left at the coal bunker, and through the rockery. It cut a small groove in the earth as it went.

Thought perhaps you did not know Fred Mance. He was T.T. oddly enough, or almost.

I spoke to Price at Bristol, but had to leave him as Jerry Burt wanted to talk to me. Good job too as I could not stand too much of him at one sitting. Frank Aldred was in the chair. I knew him 10 or more years ago when he was on the E.R.. The meeting was in two parts, the first in London the previous week or so, taken by Jefferies (Work Study Assistant to the General Manager), and the second at Bristol taken by Frank. We did not get onto much contentious ground at Paddington, and in any case Jefferies skillfully refrained from taking sides. The whole of the minutes were prepared as one document and Jeffries altered a lot of Frank Aldred stuff although he himself had not been at Bristol. All very good fun, and pleased McDonald no end. If Beeching gets his way, and I see no reason to doubt that he will, there will be many shortcuts taken in Work Study that a lot of people will not like. I should not be surprised to learn that he considers consultation to mean advising the staff side what they are going to have to do. I know for a fact that McDonald has asked for a total of 99 men in our section (52 at present). I understand that Seymour (Bob Hills opposite number on the Goods side) has got a new job, and that the favourite for the vacant post is McDonald. The whole thing seethes with possibilities, and there is no doubt where the accent now lies. 

Had a bit of trouble with Peyman (S.M. Paddington) on Thursday. We fixed up for some studying to be done on the station and his assistant S.M. rang him up on the day in question asking if it was O.K. He straight away got onto McDonald and complained that he had not been advised etc. etc. and that the position was delicate etc. etc. I was out, and as it happened walked in to see Peyman in the height of the crisis. Stopped a barrage, but pointed out that his chief clerk had been advised the previous day. Apologies from Peyman who rang up McD to explain the situation to him. He then complained to me that we had contacted the Chairman (Staff Side) of his L.D.C. whereas we should have had dealings with the secretary. Was able to explain to him that secretary was on annual leave so more apologies. The first round to us I think.

We shall not be coming down by car when we have our long weekend. If no objection we could make it Thursday night (August 17th) until the Monday morning. If convenient etc. etc. we would leave Susan until the following week and and when I would travel down on the Friday night to pick her up. 

I am not surprised you will be getting rid of the phone. We shall do the same. I really do not know what things are coming to. I rarely use the phone, and the normal business is transacted between here and West Drayton so we can find a better use for the £.s.d. 

Note your garden doing well. Of course we have nothing in the veg line but dahlias a little better. Nothing much else at all. June has not done anything more towards the driving lessons yet. I had a word with Jackson, but we agreed to defer it for a bit. 

We have not much local news either. Went to Pinner Park this morning but Carol had the grizzles so it was not an outstanding success although the weather was fine. It has been very nice all day in fact and just now there is a slight breeze stirring the clothesline.

Well there it is for another week, look forward to your next. Love from us all .

[*In 2021 currency these sums would be roughly £566 and £77, leading to a total of £643.]

Wednesday 26th July, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec, June, Susan & Carol,

Many thanks for another long and newsy letter received by correct post on Tuesday – I don’t think last week’s delay was anything to do with arrangements at Post Office your end. More likely some delay between Bristol and Clevedon.

So glad to hear Carol much better and hope you are all feeling well in spite of continuous hot weather. I’m surprised to hear though you have had previous experience of taking a dose of homemade wine for catarrh and that it proved satisfactory.

Nice to know Susan is taking to school life – sounds as if she tells Carol quite a lot about it when they are on their own – will make her eager to to start going herself.

What a big difference in the two estimates for car repairs. I think you are quite right to get a third estimate as both of those you have appear to to touch the ridiculous for high and low charges but judging from your description the damage does not seem too extensive. Did the car with which you collided come out of a side turning immediately in front of you? If so I agree with Jackson but this does not appear to be the case as viewed by insurance company. Anyhow I hope you will soon have things settled and back to normal.

According to papers there have been two or three very nasty motor accidents recently, one in Berkshire last weekend. Don said on Sunday the traffic on the road from Bridgwater to Congresbury was very heavy – they always come up main road and return via Wedmore – Don driving up and Joan back. It was very very hot for their visit but I think they enjoyed themselves. They arrived 11:15 a.m. and departed 4.10 p.m. He brought up a couple of gallons of cider, had reduced the supply we brought back early June, and two bottles – hot weather makes one thirsty!

That flash of lightning was too close to be comfortable – you must have had a very violent storm. I can visualise the position of the house in the road opposite the station.

No I did not know Fred Mance and had never heard of him. His complaint suggest he was a heavy drinker of Spirits.

Note you saw Price in the Shakespear – did he have much to say? Understand he is ‘very heavy’ nowadays. Re your meeting at Bristol – who was in the chair and who drew up the minutes? Any spare copies about? If Beeching gets his way in connection with work study there should be a few more good jobs going in the near future and presumably this is what you mean by things seem to be on the boil in your own world when mentioning the post for which you have applied.

Yes I suppose the public will be particularly interested in any alterations at Paddington and the powers that be will see it gets suitable publicity. Cannot imagine Notley giving lectures though but must remember I’ve not seen him for many years now. Nice to know the L.D.C. appreciate what is happening – if you can get them on your side it is more than half the battle.

So you have never heard of young Hallam – I’ve no idea what did department he may be attached to.

Still no news of Arthur’s visit but no doubt we shall get a line in due course. Cannot comment on possible weekend date yet but should think you would not want to be on the road during busiest time of August in any case. Of course we would be delighted to have Susan but I must leave Mum to comment on suggestion as she would be more concerned with the arrangements although you can rest assured ‘Granfy’ would be well in evidence. Pity she is getting hold of the school slang but I suppose it is inevitable in in in a school of that size and where of course all the pupils are Londoners. Sorry you are not likely to get the drawings from school, I am sure you would like to have had them.

Well I see according to papers your petrol will cost another 3d a gallon [equal to roughly 6p per litre in 2021] and telephone rental up £2 per annum [equivalent to £46.50 in 2021] I’m afraid this is the last straw so far as we are concerned with telephone and after 23 years we Shall have to do without it – just one of those things but everything is going up except pensions. Did I tell you the NHS Insurance stamp has gone up from July 3rd to 11s 5d, this after being 6s 6d when I retired? [2021 equivalents being £13.25/£7.55, although I’m not sure if this was weekly or monthly.] Looks as if people with housing loans (not those with B.R.) are also going to be hurt again – no wonder the whole country is in a mess there seems to be no stabilisation anywhere for any length of time.

Garden looking very well at the moment and I’ve already picked over 20 lbs runner beans and 5 or 6 lbs of tomatoes – latter turning in very rapidly from now on. The raspberries are over and that finishes the season for soft fruit.

Has June thought anymore about lessons for driving? Or is she waiting until roads get a bit quieter in the autumn?*

As mum mentioned last letter we visited the Newmans on Wednesday but it was a very hot day and their house (terrace pattern) is in a dip and sun literally scorched down. It was a beautiful evening for the run home at 9 p.m. but a lot of road diversions have been made near Ashton Bridge and they were very awkward to find.

No local news again this week. I did not see Bill Aston last Sunday as hurried home after ringing to be here when Don and Joan arrived.

How are you getting on with the Paddington job? Shall be very interested in your movements in that area. What part does McDonald take in this and does Lay participate or keep to the commercial aspect? Don has decided to carry on to 65 but in his case he will work less at Durston Station than if he was home so perhaps in the long run he is doing right.

No more now – all our love to you both and lots of kisses for Susan and Carol

Mum and Dad

Eva to the family on the remaining half-sheet of Leonard’s paper:

Dear Alec June Susan and Carol

Many thanks for letter. We will look after Susan for a week if you think she will stay on her own. We haven’t heard any further and anyhow perhaps after all Arthur will only come for the day so you had better fix it for anytime after week ending 12th August when Uncle Joe and Lydia will be here. I had a letter from Auntie Lillie and she will not be up for awhile as the affairs have not been settled yet and in any case I did not invite her until September.

We are selling beans and tomatoes as fast as we can. Took some down to Elford on Tuesday 10 lbs and Ella was up again Wednesday morning for more (10lbs) yet you never see any in the shops. We have been busy also so taking up coltsfoot roots out of the lawn, there are dozens of them. I think vegetables will be dear while this dry weather lasts. Of course we shouldn’t grumble.

I think a number of people will have their phone taken out the £2 extra a year is the limit. Well no more now lots of love from Mum and Dad

[*June was still half-heartedly taking driving lessons twenty years later. She eventually gave up after hitting a parked coach in Budleigh Salterton, driving a Renault Alec had bought her.]

Sunday 23rd July, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Alec to his parents:

Dear Mum and Dad,

Well here we are again with thanks for the weekly letter, and this week’s contribution from this end. Do not understand why the letter arrived second post – shall have to take matter up with my postwoman.

Carol is sleeping a lot better at nights now, in fact the last session reported to you was probably the last lot we had. I have always had it in mind to use wine to break up catarrh ever since I noticed it had that effect once when I had it badly. Susan being older did not seem to have been affected by it so much but she still has a cold or something about her. Otherwise we are in fairly good order as well as are age and the times permit?

There is no doubt that Susan likes school. She does not say an awful lot about it, but from time to time things come out. Carol seems to know all the people and all the songs etc that are sung, so Susan must be telling her something.

I really do not know what to think about the mishap. Doug told me to make a claim, and that his firm would take the matter up with the other chap. I am now told that they will not do so as being the back car I would be held responsible and suggest I should write and ask him for the cost of repair. Jackson the garage chap said if someone pulls out of a lane in front of you and causes a collision, it is their fault. Be that as it may, he has given me an estimate of £29-18-0 for repair which seems to include the kitchen sink. The Insurance co do not like the sound of that one, contending that it is far too much so I got a second estimate from the big garage in Victoria Road. They say they can do the job for £9-0-0. I know that for a brand new wing it would only cost £6, and for new headlamp £3 -10 -0. The valance would have to be beaten back into shape, but the deviation is not noticeable anyway. There are some graze marks on the bumper, but it does not justify a new one. I suppose that respraying could be set at £5 and other labour charges another £5 making a total of about £19-10-0.*

I have since heard where the house in Ruislip was struck by lightning. It was in South Ruislip near the station. There is a road directly opposite the station and the house was second turning on the right from there almost out to the West End Road this side of the Western Avenue roundabout. We heard the fire engine bells when we were that way last Saturday. I hear the firemen were there with the hoses before the occupants knew they were on fire.

Note what the wind did to your garden, we were more fortunate – less garden – less damage. The weight of the rain bent over the few remaining chrysants (border) and I shall have to tie them back or someone will be swinging on them. Nothing damaged in the dahlia bed. They do not seem to be flowering in profusion as last year but there are signs that they will speed up shortly. I can cut about 20 per week now and the rate should be at least 10 per day when all plants are flowering.

I had not heard that Percy Lidbury had died. A former colleague and fellow cricketer of the DSO died last week I doubt if you knew him – Fred Mance. He could not have been 40, cirrhosis of the liver. Hope the spelling is correct. had not seen Lidbury since 1955 when he was supposed to represent Bristol on the Bryer committee. We did his work for him as Leslie Edwards refused to let him leave Bristol at the same time as Price. Incidentally I saw Price in the Shakespear that day we went to Bristol.

By the way you should see the minutes of that meeting. I think my name is mentioned about twenty times directly and a couple of times by inference. Welchman gets one mention, and the others nil each. Of course it is all due to the London Divn being the only ones in step. I understand that Beeching wants all BR to be work studied and incentive schemes applied by the end of 1962 at the latest. This must be done and divisions are to state their staff requirements to enable this to be done. of course McD referred the G.M.s to his letter of some months previously asking for his staff to be increased to 99. This was passed over at the time, but they will have a job to skid over it this time. We have got to be ostentatious about Paddington. The travelling public will not be allowed to miss this one, so I should not be surprised if this gets a TV or press comment.

We gave the L.D.C. an appreciation course last week – Notley gave some of the lectures – took them round to the pub and told them what a good lot of chaps they were, and they can not do too much for us now. I think they will be a great help.

Never met Rodney Hallam. The name does not ring a bell either, so guess he must be attached to Engineers or Signal and Telegraph.

The job I applied for is in the Traffic Headquarters (new name for Assistant General Manager Traffic). I do not think I shall hear anything more about it and in any case things seem to be on the boil in my own world. The effects of our work are so drastic that it will always be difficult for the staff to believe that our proposals are possible even when they have been conditioned over a long period. For example I think we can run Paddington Yard with one twenty-four hour pilot and seven men as against two twenty-four hour engines and twenty-four men. All this apart from supervisory inspectors who are more plentiful than wasps around the jam pot. There are approx 800 men on Paddington station to be catered for, and my guess is that there are about 500 too many.

Bill Aston not so bad as at first thought then. I expect he was pleased with the news. Hope your day with Don went well today. We had good weather and a certain amount of sun. altogether not a bad day at all.

Sorry you have not definite news of Arthur’s movements. No doubt you will let us know in due course. As an additional complication, or burden, depending on which way you look at it, we thought it might not be completely ruled out of court if we suggested we left Susan with you for a week. We could all come down on the weekend when arranged, leave Susan with you and I could pick her up the following weekend. If you feel you could cope with her and would like to have her with you, we will arrange accordingly, but please do not hesitate to say no if you do not feel up to it. I need not tell you she needs some watching.

Glad your runner beans are now ready. Have seen none this end. I do not think we shall get the drawings (paintings) that Susan did, more likely they will be thrown away. Not much sign of any education yet, in fact the reverse is the case as they are beginning to talk through the nose, and clipping their words just like the Londoner.

Note the moves regarding the relief clerks etc. Fancy George Burge senior relief?

Re Mum’s tailpiece, we have not been hampered by the mishap to the car, and although it does not look so posh we have done the weekly shopping in it. Sounds as if it was very hot in Bristol on Wednesday when you went to Newman’s.

Well will close again with love from us all (nearly left it too late this time).

[*To put this in context, Alec is originally quoted the equivalent of £700 for the repair. The second quote he receives is closer to £210. His own calculations produce a sum in the region of £450.]

Wednesday 19th July, 1961

On By Sue JenkinsIn 1961 lettersLeave a comment

Leonard to the family:

Dear Alec June Susan & Carol

Many thanks for another long letter – the postman brought it second post yesterday although envelope bore the usual 6:45 p.m. Ruislip stamp. Sorry to hear Carol not yet shaking off that cough at night – hope she soon will – but fancy giving her wine to drink for it it. One is almost tempted to ask did it make her too drunk to cough? Susan presumably all right and no doubt very proud to show you around the school or part of it at the concert and also at the Exhibition. Well done Susan to have three paintings exhibited. Sounds as if she is settling down now to school routine. I expect they all looked a bit innocent when on the platform to do their share towards concert – still it is bringing them on in the right way and will give them confidence.

Very sorry to hear about your mishap with car. Your insurance people will also I suppose have to cover cost of repair to car you ran into. Anyhow I hope it won’t affect your no claims bonus too much and that cost of repairs not too heavy. Shall be interested to know how things work out.

No we had not heard a house in Ruislip had been struck by lightning – hope not seriously. you must have had torrential rain for a while to flood so badly as you mention. We had thunder and lightning with rain on Thursday, and Friday it rained all day. I actually posted your letter when taking lettuces to Elfords in the ‘pecker’ basket – it was too wet to get car out. Then over the weekend we had very strong winds which blew the garden stuff all about so that we had to get out and stake or re-stake.

Note you have not looked at Rebecca’s problem yet – you will find it very interesting when you can get down to it.

We have told the snake story to one or two of our friends and they too have enjoyed it.

The pond started to fill again of course during Friday’s deluge but I notice the water is disappearing again now.

Referring to your letter again and car mishap yes it was a good thing none of you were shaken up or the girls scared. It just shows how these things can happen. Is car now in garage for the necessary attention?

Did I mention last week that I heard Percy Lidbury had died about three weeks ago. He was in Passenger Train Office and collapsed at work – diagnosed as Parkinson’s Disease which was followed by a stroke. He was 57 and lived at Portishead. Was a Somerton Somerset boy and went to school with Don at Langport Grammar. Percy had had several long spells of sickness these past few years. 

Note your staff position pretty acute. Have you somewhere in your travels come across a Rodney Hallam? Heard from Roy Hewitt that this young man – son of Hallam in Westbury control – was somewhere at Paddington and thought to be Work Study or Research sections.

Any further news of your latest application? Sounds quite interesting, who does it come under? I mean what department? Noted McDonald was good enough to recommend you. Yes I should think the Paddington Station job would be the ‘plum’ of the WR and you can rest assured the whole region will be interested in the venture. Good luck to you – it will take a bit of handling with the staff on edge – as it were – as to how it is going to affect each individual for that is all that matters to them nowadays.

So one of your Anglia colleagues had trouble on journey to and from Cornwall. We have not heard from the Richings how they got on with theirs – he has just finished up a fortnight leave but we suspect they were having day trips from Weston.

Apparently bill Aston has a partly enlarged and consequently inflamed bowel and rough foods like nuts – brown bread – carrots – cabbage and a host of others caused the discomfiture of which he has been complaining. He now has a list of “Don’ts” for his food and has to take a dose of liquid paraffin once per day and everything should be alright – of course the proof of the pudding etc. so we must wait and see how he gets on.

As mentioned earlier we asked Don and Joan up on the 23rd or 30th to celebrate Don’s 60th birthday which is on the 27th so they have decided to come next Sunday the 23rd inst. Mum has had a reply from Aunt Lily at Dawlish to say Uncle Tom Chilton died on April 30th – bronchitis and weak heart. She is staying on at Dawlish but having the place painted up etc. – nothing having been done for years as Uncle Tom could not stand the smell of paint.

No further news of Arthur’s itinerary when he reaches this country but quite definitely now he will include Dawlish in his list of course which – owing to Uncle Tom’s illness – he could not do before on his earlier visit.

Enjoying our runner beans now and sold first pound tomatoes yesterday – others coming on nicely. Have some more lettuce for Elford at weekend and he will also have any runner beans I cannot otherwise dispose of. 

I take it you will eventually have those paintings of Susan to keep. Has the school started teaching them the alphabet yet? Or are the children still getting the feel of school life?

Have not yet put cherry wine under lock yet [sic] – the fortnight was up on Monday – have been too busy in garden. The blackcurrant and rhubarb is practically ready for siphoning off and storage.

Nasty accident in the North again last Sunday* – that one will want a bit of wriggling out by those at fault.

George Burge has got the senior relief position in Bristol division since Weston retired. Palmer the relief clerk has got Trowbridge since Morgan retired.

Has Beeching started wielding the axe yet? It’s really time he came out with something. Wonder how he will get on with the unions when he meets them next month on latest pay increase claim?

Yes we are sorry we cannot suggest a definite weekend for you to come to Clevedon at the moment but will do so as soon as possible. So far as we are concerned I think Sept. must be out as we shall still be dealing in beans and tomatoes but there again perhaps it will be better to review the position nearer to the possible dates. We both want to see you all again as soon as it can be fixed up.

No more just now – all our love to you both and lots of kisses for Susan and Carol.

Mum and Dad

PS: forgot to mention drawing from Susan included with letter. It was a nice one Susan – thank you very much. 

[*This would be the Singleton Bank rail crash: The 8:50 diesel multiple unit train from Colne to Fleetwood collided with the rear of a ballast train at about 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) near Weeton, Lancashire, England. Seven were killed (the driver and six passengers) and 116 were injured.  See Wikipedia entry here.]

Eva to the family  –  in pencil on the remaining two – thirds sheet of Leonard’s writing paper:

Dear Alec June Susan and Carol

Thank you for your letter and nice drawing. Susan is a clever girl to get her pictures hung so young. I should like to have been there. On her drawing this week as well as a boat and girl bathing it looks to be a Loch Ness Monster.

What a pity about the car will it mean you won’t be able to ride in it for a while.

We are still picking a few raspberries but they will soon be over. Now on to the beans and tomatoes shall be glad when this last is finished.

We went to Newman’s on Wednesday – talk about being nearly choked it was terrible there and the water is short and altogether there seemed a peculiar smell about the place. I was glad when it was time to depart.

Well I hope all the colds are better – not a bad idea to have cherry wine when you have one. All the cough mixtures have a basis of cherry bark; I don’t know if it is the same thing.

Love from Mum and Dad