crich area community news
CACN letters archive
Dear Editor
Having read with interest, the account from Mr Holgate about his evacuation to Crich (CACN
Autumn ’07) I wondered if any readers were aware
of a book detailing the daily life of Gloria Gossieux
– a young evacuee from Southend-on-Sea. Gloria
lived in Crich during the war with my grandparents
Jack and Gertie Ludlam and their daughter Joyce on
Chapel Lane. She tells of school days, local people,
village events and much more.
Anyone interested should read Goodbye Gloria (A Child’s Wartime Story) by Gloria Weston ISBN 10: 059517903 costing £9.49 (Publisher iUniverse.com 2001) I’ve enclosed a photo of their reunion, a surprise visit from Gloria in 1998.
Kind regards
Sue Worboys (nee Hodgson)
Available from all good book shops
Beresford family of Crich
Dear Editor,
I have just been looking at your website 'Crich Area Community News' and the short history of Crich Parish.
Every ten years the Beresford Family Society holds an International Gathering of Beresfords and in May 2007 we visited St Marys to see the tomb of Godfrey Beresford. We made a note of the inscription on Godfrey's tomb. This, together with my (probably imperfect) t r ans l at ion i s at t a ched for your information.
Godfrey's father was Aden Beresford, the first son of Thomas Beresford of Fenny Bentley. The tomb of Thomas and Agnes lies in Fenny Bentley Church, which also has Beresford stained glass windows and family memorial plaques. Thomas (who had 24 children, 19 boys and 5 girls) was at Agincourt. A number of family members at that time and later were involved with military expeditions in France.
It is interesting that Godfrey is shown in some sort of armour protection. The tomb is quite small even allowing for people being shorter in those day, so it may be that he was in his teens when he died. Boys of this age frequently accompanied the troops of archers on these expeditions, for example keeping them supplied with arrows, which were being discharged in battle at the rate of ten a minute. It may be that when the Earl was obliged to serve the king by providing a certain number of men-at-arms and archers for the king's expeditions, Godfrey went with him too. How we died we do not know.
We do not even know what age Godfrey was when he died and why he should have been buried in St Mary's, particularly in an important position close to the altar. The inscription refers to Godfrey belonging or being close to the household of the Earl of Salop, (who later became the Earl of Shrewsbury). This would have been Francis Talbot, the 5th Earl of Shrewsbury. Perhaps Godfrey was some sort of servant or aide close to the Earl and accompanied him during his military exploits. When he died, it may have been the Earl who wanted to erect a permanent tomb for Godfrey and to record his connection with the Earl's household.
The website later refers to the Earl (probably George Talbot, the 9th Earl) selling off parcels of the land to yeoman farmers after 1660, so the Earls of Shrewsbury presumably owned this part of Derbyshire.
If you ever come across any information about Godfrey, I should be most interested to hear about it.
Kind regards
John Beresford
Secretary Beresford Family Society
- Vlaanderen
- 1 New Road
- Crich
Dear Editor,
Friendship Link with Northern Ireland
I write in response to the article 'Linked in Friendship with Dunadry Community' in Issue 43 of CACN page 45, and your editorial note in Issue 44, page 1.
For newcomers to our area, shortly after the formation of CACN in 1996 and in an effort to raise much needed funds for the future liability of our community magazine, I made a sponsored visit from Crich market to Belfast on a budget of £5 and a target of 24 hours to get to Northern Ireland, deliver various messages from organisations and individuals in our area to similar organisations in the Province. The 'mission' was a success both in encouraging a friendship link between the troubled area and our own peaceful villages, and also in raising a substantial amount for our new project - CACN. This took place, of course, when the security situation in Northern Ireland was at a high, and the people I met were really touched that our village was reaching out to them, and by the messages delivered from us to them.
Links were made and friendships forged by individuals and organisations from both sides of the Irish Sea. I again visited a couple of years later and signed an official friendship document along with Ronnie Barnes, the then chairman of the Dunadry Community Association. Since that date our magazine has proudly displayed this link as a banner head directly under the title of each subsequent issue.
Support was received from politicians both here and at Stormont, from church leaders, entertainers Boyzone, The Corrs etc. and I was able to meet and interview peace campaigner Sir Bob Geldof who backed the initiative and was pleased to receive a copy of the documents.
Another year elapsed and Kate and I were privileged to organise and accompany a party of eighteen local residents over to Dunadry for a friendship link visit. This party were representative of many organisations in our area and met up with their counterparts in similar organisations over there. The weekend concluded with a Friendship Dinner at the Dunadry Hotel & Country Club where a framed painting of Crich Stand suitably inscribed was presented and still hangs proudly in the Reception of the hotel. I am grateful to the artist Herbert Key for specially painting this and donating it for this purpose.
An article was regularly received from the Dunadry community and published each issue, and I was in regular contact with them on special occasions when messages were interchanged. Each issue of CACN has been sent to Dunadry.
I would dearly love to see the link 'brought to life' and would appeal for anyone interested in this re-generation to contact me and I will gladly pass on the details which I have. I would also appeal to the Dunadry Community who receive two copies of our magazine for renewal of contact and resumption of their quarterly article.
Whilst fully appreciating that the situation is thankfully much better and generally safer now and friendship and support perhaps not quite so important, I feel it would be sad to lose our hitherto great relationships with our friends across the water.
Sincerely,
Derek Killingsley-Smith.
- 19 Evanston Gardens
- Balby
- Doncaster
Dear Editor
I wonder if any of your readers are able to tell me the date St Mary’s Church Crich was damaged by fire as a result of a lightening strike. I once saw a newspaper report of this fire and there was mention of a “blackout curtain” so I would the think the fire was during WW2.
It appears that two of my relatives and another person used stirrup pumps to fight the fire until the fire service arrived. Any help your readers can offer will be appreciated.
I am enclosing a poem of my husband’s for possible inclusion in the CACN magazine. It is one of maybe a dozen with a Crich theme which he has not had published previously. I hope you like it.
Sincerely
Doreen Martin
The poem is in the poetry corner. Ed
John Exton from Belper was able to throw light on the happening with this newspaper cutting from the Derby Evening Telegraph dated 9th February 1945.
Hello,
I found this photo amongst some of my mother's belongings (she came from Crich) & I wonder if anyone can identify where it was taken etc. I believe it must have some relevance to Crich.
Hope you can help.
Prunella Bradshaw (by email through the Website)
Any ideas? Let us know – ED
In response to the WW2 memories article - by email from ‘Smithy’
Railway Orphans -
During the early years of the second World War, some boys were moved to Park Lodge Fritchley, not Crich. Park Lodge is situated on land between Alan Lane, and Bowmer Lane, the main entrance is on Bullbridge Hill about 100 yards below Alan Lane. There is another entrance on Alan Lane next to the House which used to be called Earldon. Some of them went to Fritchley School in Church Street. Two brothers, Maurice and Leonard Bradley, who were in the same classroom as myself lived in South Shields before they became orphans, and were moved to Park Lodge
Trevor Elliot-Smith
- Cupola Park
- Whatstandwell
Dear Editor
Continuing the theme of the washing line, global warming etc. I recently received my grandfather’s diary for 1905 (he was 30 years old at the time). Below is one of the sketches he drew, showing that he had a sense of humour!
Hope it may be of interest.
Yours faithfully
R A Harvey
- 80 Genesta Road
- Plumstead
- London SE18 3EU
Dear Editor
I have recently started researching the history of my Grandfather who came from Derbyshire.
In 1918 my Grandfather married my Grandmother Edith Covell, in France during the war and at this time his address was Mice Cottage, Whatstandwell. Does Mice Cottage still exist or what stands there now?
I would be so grateful of any information at all to continue my search.
Kind regards
Christine Taylor
Can anybody help? Ed
- Market Place
- Crich
Dear Editor,
When I was doing a bit of reminiscing the other day , and going through “A few of my favourite things” I came across this poem of Fritchley which I thought I would like to share with the readers of the Community News.
It came to me through one of two elderly sisters who lived in Bexhill-on-Sea but came every year for a holiday to The Briars, which was then a vegetarian guest house. They made a friend of my family and me, and I wrote to them through the years. They were the Misses A & L Taylor who had a friend in Daisy who sent them the poem.
Somebody may remember Daisy from those days working for Mr. and Mrs. Heymans. Miss Annette Taylor passed the poem on to me when she felt she was coming to the end of her life span and now I would like to share it through the Community News.
I think it is lovely.
Yours sincerely,
Evelyn Gration
The postcard was sent in 1971 from ‘Bennahie’, Fritchley. The poem was written by E. M. Lynam of Fritchley.
I asked for some information about her from Valerie Jones who is an authority of the Lynam name in Derbyshire. Ed.
The author: Edith May LYNAM She was born in 1905 the daughter of Frederick Joseph Lynam and Elizabeth Ellen Smith. Her mother ran the Red Lion in Fritchley whilst her father ran the village butchers shop. Edith’s sister Dorothy died of flu in the epidemic of 1930 the year after she married.