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The four paintings which formerly hung in High Street Methodist Church are now on permanent loan to St Albans School. I wonder if these are the 4 referred in your final sentence? see https://www.harpenden-history.org.uk/harpenden-history/people-2/artists/frank-o-salisbury/frank-o-salisburys-prophets. Ed: Yes these are the four paintings, two of which are illustrated in the link within this Comment.
Dor Wilson has contacted the website with extra information and says ‘I have just rediscovered this page – how wonderful. My dear Uncle Jack Brett was this man. He lived in Myrtle Cottage with his second wife Phyllis. The cottage was compulsory purchased and although he never wanted to move he bought the house in Pipers Lane. I remember going with him to view it. Each year I spent school holidays (always August) with him in Myrtle Cottage, going up to bed through a wooden door into a tiny staircase leading to the bedrooms. The first thing we did when I arrived was walk the dogs on the common in the dark with the lights all around us, the Convent lit up, and it felt like freedom. Wonderful times and wonderful man and sadly missed.’
We have a copy of this photograph in our family. We understand that the boy in the picture is my grandfather Cecil Field (1909-1999), who was born in Southdown. His mother was Lilian Weston (1876-1962) who I think must have been a relative of Bertie, but I’m not sure exactly how they were related. Maybe somebody can help?
Hi Mick, this is his grandson. If you or anyone else would like to reach out to me with questions, I’d be happy to ask in the family – you can find me on social media – search my name: Joshua Kassanis
My mum was at the home in the 50s/60s: her name was Pamela Ann Wheeler. Does anyone remember her or have any photos from her time there please?
I was at Harpenden from 1945 till 1951and reading the letter from Brenda Poynton, brought back some fond memories, unfortunately not of her but certainly the Baxter twins Heather and Hillary and their brother Roy, I think the two girls married American G I’s, but don’t know what happened to Roy. I do remember that he caught Diphtheria, I think it was 1948. Sister Grace died from it, but he recovered though greatly weakened. I started out in Wakefield house and was later moved to Clifton where I stayed for most of my time. I now live in Brisbane, Australia
“My name was Rita Wykes. I had been in a number of foster homes before the last one put me in this National Childrens Home, where I arrived aged 7 – the day after Terry Steggle arrived. We were both in the film ‘Such is the kingdom’. I was in Sister Ena’s flat till the age of 15, when the home gave me a suitcase with a few clothes in it, told me to go to this factory where they had got me a job, found lodgings for me. I am sorry to say that Terry died in a motor cycle crash at the age of 18. Sister Ena told me this many years later. She herself died of a stroke I believe after she had retired.
I had a friend called Suzanne Solomito, and we decided to run away, we would have both been about 11 or 12 at the time. Well as we were walking along a road in the village, a car stopped and a man got out and said to Suzanne you are coming with us, and said to me Rita Wykes you go on back to the home, and to this day I never saw my friend again, I am now nearly 80 and still remember and wonder what happened to her.I often wonder what has happened to the other children that were in the house I was in – there was a Beryl Lee, Richard Todd, Terry Steggle of course and others that I can’t recall. Just a final note – I was taken away from my mother at birth due to the fact she was unmarried.
I am now Rita Stephens as I married a wonderful man called Ken Stephens to whom I have been married for 60 years this October 2023. If it wasn’t for him I would not be here today.”
I was a child at Highfield Oval from 1955 till 1965. At the time I hated being there although in fact, we kids have a lot of great memories, which will still share, into our seventies! It still looks very much the same, though the beautiful Elm trees in the middle of the oval succumbed to Dutch Elm disease and were replaced much more recently. The journey across the Oval as a child seemed huge.
In the early to mid 60s I walked on an almost daily basis to the swimming pool from Redbourn cutting through Rothamsted Park. The old threepence I saved on the bus fare was spent on buying a Waggon Wheel from the tuck shop. The first manager at the pool was a Scotsman who ruled it with an iron rod with us youngsters. Against that he was kind and supportive. Indeed he taught me to swim. He left as I can recall in sad circumstances but often wondered what happened to him. Does anyone know? Many years later I would take my daughter then aged 8 for an occasional visit to the pool around 1995. Wonderful old place and so many happy memories from my childhood
I remember the ‘pond’ in the 1970’s (possibly up until the early 1980’s). I don’t believe it was grassed over in the 1960’s; the lovely smooth stone perimeter and central lighthouse was still there (I didn’t realise that it was a lighthouse. It was filled with sand as a sandpit for many years – although I rarely recall seeing anyone playing in it, except for the occasional toddler on sunny summer days.
My Nan (Doris Clarke, born 1934) was evacuated to Harpenden NCH during the war. She always talked fondly of being there and now she has Alzheimer’s that seems to be the only thing that triggers memories for her. Any small snippets of information about the place or names/photos of anyone that was also evacuated there would really be appreciated. Ed. If anyone has memories for Justine please add as a comment or send to ‘contact us’ and we will forward them to Justine.
Thank you for sharing the Salisbury family story. I am also a descendant of Henry Salisbury and Sarah Stanley. They are my 4 x great-grandparents and my connection is through their daughter Ann Salisbury who married James Brandon in 1812. My maternal 2 x great grandmother Elizabeth Oram (Faulkner) was Ann Salisbury’s granddaughter. Elizabeth Oram (Faulkner) emigrated to Australia in 1864 with her husband Joseph Charles Oram. Once again thank you for your story.
My sister was born at our grandparents house at 12 Roundwood Park (Reg and Gladys Baker). We believe they inherited the house name of Kokanag (might not be the correct spelling) from the previous owners who resided in India. Does anyone have a photo of the sign – Kokanag – which was hung at the front of the house? A long shot, I know. We are trying to compile a memory book for our Mum who lived at number 12 during her childhood.
I remember this gentleman when he came to Napsbbury Hospital in London Colney, near St. Albans to start his psychiatric nurse training. I couldn’t understand why a man with such credentials would come into the profession of psychiatric nursing.
I was proved wrong, he stayed and finished the course, a shining example to future students and teachers at the school of nursing. Well done, Ian. Rest in peace.
The First and Last pub was turned into 2 cottages one of which was, in the late fifties and early sixties, the home of my grandparents Fred & Phyllis Mangham . The address was 10 First and Last. In the other cottage was a Mr Pinney.
A comment, possibly from Colin Gaskin, found in the archives, referring to the 1930s: “Just a few words about Anscombes. Although primarily a clothing, haberdashery and furniture business at each Christmas time toys were sold and exhibited, with a working model railway, in the end of the shop nearest the Regent cinema. Anscombes sponsored the arrival of Santa Claus at the LMS railway station when he would proceed to Leyton Road and free gifts were handed out to children. I believe this tradition may have continued after WW2 with Santa arriving on one occasion by helicopter.”
I was at St Dominic’s from 1963 to 1971. I have very happy memories of the school (apart from Mr Kilmartin). I helped look after the 2 donkeys Sally and Ringo and loved the pets corner and lessons under the huge cedar trees in the grounds. I loved Sister Mary Francesca she was very kind. I feel it was a high standard of education that they provided compared to now. Very happy memories.
I was a day boy at Hardenwick from 1958 to 1961. I remember playing Rugby and Cricket every Wednesday afternoon (which was supposed to be optional, but never was). Then we had to come in on Saturday morning for lessons. Got a Saturday afternoon detention for missing a Rugby match in September along with 6 friends. I remember the deputy head (son of the Headmaster) had an open top MG Sports Car. Also remember that every Monday lunch was Shepherd’s Pie (very salty) with cubes of swede which were like bullets. Friday was the best day Sausages, Chips and Baked Beans!
I was at Highfield in no.3 – Sister Ella was in charge. I was there from July 1959 until July 1964 when I left for work as a mother’s help. My friends were Heather Dangar , Rosemary Littlechild. It would be nice to hear from people who knew me. Ed: If you would like to contact Betty leave your contact details on ‘Contact Us’ and we will forward them to her.
Going back a bit I came across a Memorial Inscription or possibly a burial in Westfield Cemetery. The gravestone says: In Loving Memory of Agnes Holtby April 19 1890 – June 21 1932 Sister in Charge NCH Sanatorium
also on the gravestone is Ashleigh Rodney Holtby Accidentally Killed October 25 1932 Aged 23 Years
Asheleigh was the son of Dr John Robert Dunn Holtby; Perhaps Agnes & Ashleigh were related. Unable to find any info on Agnes
Ed: from Ancestry it was found that they were aunt and nephew, Agnes being the sister of Asheleigh’s father. Asheleigh was also a medical doctor and was working at Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary when he died in a car accident in Ponteland.
The Lawrence Bakery was owned by my Great Grandad, Stanley Claude Lawrence. My granddad Cyril Stanley Lawrence and his brothers worked there and I believe my Dad used to make deliveries for them on his bike. I love reading the comments and memories about the bakery. Ed: If you have any memories/comments/stories about the Lawrences and the bakery we would be pleased to have them as comments on this post.
The hut was the second Harpenden run by Bob Beckwith. I was a scout there. When it was demolished we had a new hut built in Tallents Crescent which is still there
In 1939 No 25 was lived in by Revd George Granville Barnes, with his wife, Ella Maud and five daughters, Enid, Barbara, Ruth, Monica and Judith.
Your article has been a great help to me. I was born in 1934, the only legitimate child of Cedric Thomas Elmes, who was the youngest son of John (AKA Jack) Elmes, who died in 1938. I remember meeting my grandfather when I was three years old. Captain John Elmes lived in Yorkshire on the Strays in Harrogate, but he also had property in the Whitby region of Yorkshire. He had seven children (4 boys and 3 girls, one of whom died in the 1918 Flu epidemic). His oldest brother was Ralph Elmes who lived in Yorkshire. Ralph worked as a History lecturer at Newcastle University. One of his brothers was Basil, a doctor whose only son was, I think, the man who donated the Coleswood history to Harpenden Local History Society.
My father, Cedric, was born with a twin sister in 1906. He married my mother, Irene Helen Ellis of South Shields, Tyneside, in Prague where he was teaching English in a university there. A second marriage ceremony took place later in a church near Harrogate. By 1934, when I was born they were back in England, and living in Kent, where he was teaching English in a boys’ borstal school. In 1936 he asked my mother if she would like to take me to visit her parents in South Shields and she agreed to go there for a few days. We travelled by train and she had only me in a push chair and a small bag of clothes. While we were there the Elmes family told her that Cedric had sold all the contents of our home (my pram, cot, toys and clothes and all my mother’s things) and disappeared. We never saw him again.
My mother did not know where he was until I was 14 years old. She had at the time of his disappearance nothing but me, a pushchair and a few clothes. I grew up in South Shields in my grand parents’ home. I met my Grandfather Captain John just before he died in 1938. There was very little contact with the Elmes family although I did meet Uncle Ralph and some cousins, children of Bernard, who lived in a village near Darlington. I never met my father’s twin sister.
My mother never sought a divorce from Cedric so it was quite a surprise to learn that Cedric had died in Australia in 1955. Mother got a death certificate from Australia which named his next of kin as a Christina Vera Elmes and two daughters Beverley Joan and Sarah Ann Elmes. There had been a bigamous marriage in Sydney. We never followed this up, except to verify that it had taken place. I had little contact with any of them. They did little to help my mother or me. It was not until 1987, when my own daughter Andrea went to live in Australia, that I thought much about my two half sisters. Amazingly Andrea went to Melbourne and rented a property in the street next to the one where Cedric died! This made me start to wonder if my sisters were living near and I took the evidence I had to the big library in Melbourne where an archivist helped me to try to trace my sisters. It only took a few minutes to find a reference to a Christina Vera Elmes, living near Melbourne. I knew she was about 90 years old but I sent her a letter giving no details of who I was, and asked her to pass on two notes to her daughters. Within two days I had a phone call. It was Christina Vera and she said “You must be June”! I never was able to question her about what she knew about my mother and me because she was much too old, but she even had a photo of me as a baby. I met both my half sisters and one became a very special friend. We had very similar interests, mostly to do with wild life, and we often spent happy days looking for koalas and birds. I had about 10 years before she died a few years ago.
My father remains a little known entity. He did little for any of us, but he was not evil. He was a con man who was good at using his excellent English to convince people he was more than he was. He also became addicted to alcohol and gambling. I was a child in the second World War and many children did not have their dads around. No one ever asked where he was. However my childhood was not something I remember with much pleasure. I was mostly with my gran who was almost 70 when I was born and it was a home with very little laughter and no men or boys after my grandfather died. The Elmes family were almost unknown to me but I have spent a great deal of time tracing my ancestry and your museum material was a great help when I was researching my great grandfather and all his children. Thank you for putting it on line with all the photographs. It seems my dad was the black sheep of an interesting family and in the end I have had an interesting and very pleasant life.
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