Published Saffron Walden Historical Journal No 42 (2021)

Richard Jemmett, always known as ‘Dick’, was born in Ilfracombe, North Devon, 17 months after his elder brother John.   His parents had a greengrocers’ shop in the High Street, and an extensive nursery outside the town.   His mother, Elsie, was a trained florist, often ordering flowers from Covent Garden for wreaths that she continued to prepare for many years after they retired from the shop.  His nurseryman father, Arthur, tended the produce in the greenhouses.  

Dick was educated at Ilfracombe Grammar School between 1933 and 1939, and on leaving school, he was articled to A.J. Westway, Engineer, Surveyor and Water Engineer to Ilfracombe Urban District Council.  Completing his articles in 1942, he married his teenage sweetheart, Avice Phillpots (born 1923) who he had met at Grammar School, and they moved to Calne.  There he qualified as a municipal engineer while Avice completed her training in Bristol as a primary school teacher.

By 1948 they had moved to Watford where daughter Claire was born, and from there the family moved around the country as Dick obtained increasingly senior positions with local councils. At various times, they lived at Grimsby, Wroughton (near Swindon) and Dorchester where initially the family lived in a flat in a grand old house, with bedroom windows that rattled when the trains on the nearby railway line passed by.  In Dorchester, Dick designed a house which was built for the family situated immediately next to Max Gate where Thomas Hardy had lived. This was where Claire often enjoyed hearing Dick play a favourite piano piece while waiting for Avice to get ready to go out.

Another treat for Claire at this time was when she was allowed into Dick’s darkroom while he was developing and printing photographs.   “The eeriness of the faint red light added to the mystery as each image was slowly and magically revealed by the gentle rocking of the developing solution”, she recalls.

Early in the 1960s the family moved again, to Wells in Somerset and then to Wellington, Telford. In 1969 Dick successfully applied for the position of Borough Engineer in Saffron Walden. In his application he listed his skills and experience under seven headings:  Organisation and Administration; Planning and Development Control; Highways, Car Parks, etc.; Open Spaces and Recreation Grounds; Housing and Industrial Development; Sewerage and Sewage Disposal; Refuse Collection and Disposal, providing a detailed summary of his past responsibilities in each area.  No wonder they gave him the job in Saffron Walden!

Dick started work in January 1970, and one of his first and most controversial tasks was to supervise the demolition of the fire-damaged facade of the Rose and Crown Hotel, which had been declared unsafe. His employment with the Corporation, however, only lasted four years, as the Corporation was abolished with Local Government re-organisation in 1974, and many of its powers and responsibilities were transferred to the newly create Uttlesford District Council, and Dick was offered and accepted early retirement., although he retained his interest in the infrastructure of the town, especially anything involving waterworks.

In Saffron Walden the family lived at 9 High Street, a narrow-fronted building with a brick facade that concealed its 14^th century timber-framed structure – part of which had been incorporated into the building next door, originally a brewery, but then part of Raynham’s garage with its massive art deco showroom.  Dick delighted in recounting how, when the garage was demolished, the workmen had great difficulty in cutting through the iron-hard timbers.  Number 9 runs back from the road, and is a comfortable jumble of corridors, staircases, half-landings, alcoves and attics, which provided plenty of space for his beloved magazines and growing collection of photographs and slides.

Retirement enabled him to pursue his many interests. Avice had retired from teaching by this time but helped look after the retired clergymen at St Mark’s college near Audley End and joined local women’s groups.  

Dick meanwhile belonged to the Camera Club, the Historical Society, the Museum Society, the Library Society, the Friends of Bridge End Gardens, and the local area Residents’ Association.

Dick played an active role in the Historical Society, as Treasurer from 1985 until 2013 and when he retired afte 28 years he was made an Honorary Vice-President of the Society. As treasurer, he kept most of the Society’s financial records in a tiny notebook, which he would refer to during committee meetings, and in the early days, he made notices for meetings by hand and wrote subscription receipts, often using his skill in calligraphy. He then delivered them by hand to members.

In 1984 the Historical Society played a major part in promoting a special Essex History Day held in Saffron Walden. Dick was one of a small sub- committee that took responsibility for arranging a ‘history fair’ in the Town Hall as the main attraction of the day.  Over 3,000 people attended the History Day, most of them going to the History Fair, which was packed throughout the day. Dick also made a photographic record of the Fair.

Dick also helped with the production of the first series of Saffron Walden History, preparing precise drawings for use as cover designs, while in more recent years his photographs have been used in the ‘Saffron Walden Historical Journal’. He also frequently contributed photographs to ‘Essex Countryside’ magazine in its heyday, and some of his photos were selected for two books of photographs published by the magazine. He was interested in the minutiae of everyday life – researching odd objects that had been left behind by history, such as parish and telegraph boundary markers, but the only article he wrote (as opposed to illustrated) for Saffron Walden History Journal was in 1981 – entitled “A Wall-Builder’s Joke”, about a flat iron inserted into an old brick wall.

Photography was his main hobby, and he saw his retirement as an opportunity to take hundreds of photographs while he and Avice explored different areas of the country on holiday, usually sporting a jacket with large pockets to accommodate various cameras and lenses.  Sadly Avice died in 2004.

Dick was a member of the local Camera Club from the time it was restarted in the early 80s. In the days of film he used quite basic camera equipment to good effect, keeping up a steady stream of entries to club competitions. He gave several fascinating talks to both History Society and Camera Club members over the years, based on his enormous collection of prints and slides of the town, and the History Society relied on his rather elderly projector which he would trundle up the High Street to the Quaker Meeting House in his shopping trolley, both for his own talks and for visiting lecturers. 

He joined Royal Photographic Society in 1982 and gained his Licentiate the same year, becoming a member of the Historical, Archaeological and Heritage, and Visual Art special interest groups of the Society.

 Although he didn’t have a computer, Dick embraced digital photography, and was the only camera club member who printed directly from his camera without use of processing software. Fellow-member Dominic Davey remembers that:

At studio portrait sessions he would wait for quiet moments to take his pictures without benefit of flash, unphased by the wealth of camera technology used by other members.   Dick’s last Camera Club competition entries were in 2014 and he won the Saffron Plate for the ‘Members Choice’.

A quiet, reserved and learned man, Dick’s archive of several thousand photographs and slides reflects his interests in photography, engineering, buildings and local history, recording many now lost buildings such as the Ashdon Road Convent, and changes in the local townscape, such as the felling of the horse chestnut trees in the churchyard. It was his dear wish that the local part of his archive should be conserved for others to enjoy after his death, so with the agreement and support of his daughter Claire, his collection is being sorted and transferred to the Gibson Library, where it will be a fitting tribute to his memory as someone who made Saffron Walden his home, and played a quiet but active part in its civic life.

Martyn Everett

Published Saffron Walden Historical Journal No 40 Autumn 2020

John Read, born in Winchmore Hill in 1933, was the oldest surviving child of Dr Frank Read and Margaret Woodhouse, who had spent seven years in India with the Church Missionary Society where, tragically they lost three previous babies. Soon after their return to England John was born, and the family then settled in Brighton, where at the age of five, John a bright lad, commenced his private education.

With WW2 came the inevitable disruption with his school having to close in 1940, so he was moved to another establishment in the town namely the Xaverian College. At the end of the war John’s father gained a position as a GP in Nottinghamshire, so it was decided to send John to Epsom College in 1946. He did well at GCE O Level, showing skill in sciences and mathematics, but opted for A Level languages as he had a particular interest in these subjects. He was accepted to study law at St Edmund’s Hall, Oxford at the age of 17.

National Service, however, stood in his way so in 1951 John found himself in Aldershot, but after only 6-8 weeks was on his way to Bodmin in Devon to join the Joint Services School of Linguists. This was at the height of the Cold War and the Army was looking for suitable candidates to learn Russian. John passed the assessment with ease and so was sent to Cambridge on the Interpreters’ Course. He emerged from there speaking the language fluently; indeed he added to his credits by taking and passing his fourth A Level in Russian. After another period at Bodmin to learn Military Russian, he spent the rest of his sojourn at the Intelligence Corps Headquarters at Maresfield, Sussex.

Oxford University beckoned and John went up to St Edmund’s Hall where, after a change of heart, he decided to read English – two of his tutors were J.R.R. Tolkien & C.S. Lewis. Upon graduation he was snapped up by what is now the Standard Chartered Bank, which was looking for young men with a strong mathematical aptitude to work abroad in credit control. After a relatively short training stint in London John was posted abroad in 1957. He spent many years overseas in such places as India, Malaysia, Borneo, Bangladesh and particularly Saigon during the Vietnam War. His comment about that time was: ‘It was a wonderful life, it took me to parts of the world I’d never been before’. John’s final overseas stint between 1969 and 1972 was spent in Indonesia where he met his future wife, Farida who was working at the Jakarta branch.

After their marriage in 1972 they returned to the UK and settled upon Saffron Walden, as John could commute to the bank’s London office from Audley End. Additionally, although John at that time was a reluctant churchgoer, his interest was aroused by bellringing, not just because of the strange jargon used, but also the mathematical formulae of change ringing. Coupled with this, St Mary’s Church unusually has 12 bells, thus making it fairly exceptional in campanology terms.  

John then threw himself into a variety of organisations and pursuits, especially in the role of Treasurer. He was the longest-serving Council member of the Anglo-Indonesian Society at 41 years. The Saffron Walden branches of the United Nations Society and the Essex Society for Family History, of which he was a member since its inception in 1974, greatly benefited from his experience and guidance. He also spent many years as an active member of the Saffron Walden Archive Society, and until last year fulfilled the role of Auditor for the Saffron Walden Historical Society.  

One of John’s hobbies was recording old documents. He single-handedly transcribed the St. Mary’s burial records from 1558 to 2000, using the original entries in the National Burial Index; and for the last ten years had been actively involved in the St Mary’s Baptism Register project just completed by the Family History Society local branch. In 2017 John completely revised and updated Dr Kenneth Dixon’s A History & Guide of St. Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden, by using additional material from his own research on certain features of the church, notably the war memorials and ledger stones.

Mike Furlong

Published Saffron Walden Historical Journal No 36 (2018)

On Wednesday 18 July 2018 family and friends, including a strong representation from Essex Society for Family History, attended the funeral of “Stan” Sutherland at Radwinter Church, a place that he knew well with over 40 years residency in the village. Possibly many of those present would be unaware that Stan had single-handedly undertaken the transcribing of baptisms, marriages & burials from Radwinter Church Registers between 1813 and 2004.

Stan Sutherland was the founding Chairman of the Saffron Walden (North West) Branch of the ESFH in 1986 and for many years he and his wife Joan regularly attended the Chelmsford meetings. He also served on the Executive in his role of Branch Chairman. He was a genealogy encyclopaedia, inspiring so many people to take up the hobby with his introductory courses. He gave talks on numerous aspects of family history, both locally as well as in Scotland and instigated several initiatives for Saffron Walden Branch, including the transcription process for Saffron Walden Cemetery.

He was a friendly, active and enthusiastic member with a wicked sense of humour and always there to welcome people to the meetings and rope them into a job if he could. He undertook the role of quiz master for his well-established brain teasing quizzes at the Christmas meetings. For over 30 years Stan remained as a Branch committee member, even after handing over the reins of the Branch library and moving to Great Easton. He continued to attend meetings right up to March 2018 before ill health set in. Stan will be greatly missed by all who knew him. 

Mike Furlong

Neville Price: 1909-2002

Published Saffron Walden Historical Journal No 3 (2002)

For the last 30 years, Neville Price and his wife Jean have played a prominent part in the affairs of the Historical Society. For many years Neville edited and produced its Journal, served as the Society treasurer and subsequently a vice-president, attending committee meetings until about two years ago. He died peacefully at home early on Christmas Eve at the age of 92.

Neville grew up in Jamaica where his father was President of the Baptist Theological College at Kingston. Coming to Cambridge, he first read archaeology and anthropology at St. John’s but later switched to Spanish and French. He went back to the West Indies to teach at his old school and for the rest of his career specialised in mathematics and religious knowledge. He came back to Britain just before the last war to take a teaching diploma and then was at Chatham House, Ramsgate, until 1952 apart from the war years. Neville volunteered for the RAF and became a Codes and Ciphers officer, learning to type (to the eventual benefit of the Historical Society). He met Jean at his father’s church in Birmingham and they married during the war. The last part of Neville’s teaching career was spent at Wanstead County High School. He retired at 60 in 1969 and Jean designed a bungalow at Saffron Walden for their new home.

Joining the then Saffron Walden Antiquarian Society, Neville and Jean helped with the project to record the gravestones in St Mary’s churchyard, and then undertook to read all the remaining gravestones in the town at the United Reformed Church, the Friends’ Meeting House, the Baptist Church, the former Strict Baptist Church in London Road and the Hill Street Unitarian Church (now Goddards Interiors). They made a record of all the memorials and gravestones inside St Mary’s and listed dates and other inscriptions on buildings in the town. This last project had been started by Ken Lovatt and the final list was published in the last edition of the Journal. After hearing a talk on industrial archaeology, Neville made records of station furniture at Audley End, the tunnel towards Cambridge, the Mill by Audley End Station (where he was working as secretary) and large metal grave-markers noticed at Arkesden. He and Jean also recorded other survivals like the First World War arrows in West Road and George Street, intended to direct people from the coast who might need to be evacuated in the event of an enemy invasion.

Neville and Jean were keen on visiting foreign countries and on several occasions, following their travels, Neville gave the Society illustrated talks on the archaeology of Greece, Crete, Turkey and Tunisia.

In the spring of 1972, the Society started publishing Saffron Walden History with John O’Leary as editor and production by Miss Musto of the Teachers’ Training College, who was then the Society’s secretary and treasurer. When the College closed and Miss Musto left the town, Neville was elected in 1974 (until 1985) as treasurer and took over typing the articles and producing copies of the Journal on the Baptist Church duplicator. In 1981 he added the editorship to his list of responsibilities, and also commissioned the front covers and continued compiling the index. In later years Neville was helped by Richard Jemmett with the production of the Journal. Cliff Stacey was the main source of articles until his health began to decline and it was this that decided Neville to make the autumn issue of 1991 his last, having produced 20 issues.

Ten years on and the Saffron Walden Historical Journal has been revived to Neville’s great joy and a tribute to his many years of publication which had been much missed. Michael Swindlehurst

James Griffin 1938 -2011

Reprinted from Saffron Walden Historical Journal No 22  Autumn 2011

James Griffin was born at Radlett in Hertfordshire on 7 June 1938. He worked for Charles Griffin & Co, the long-established family publishing firm which started in Glasgow in 1820. By the time James joined, it had moved to 42 Drury Lane, London. When the firm was taken over, James started to work freelance for the publisher Arnolds. Later, with two former colleagues he established Genesis Editorial, a business that did a wide variety of editing for various companies including The Stationery Office. In 1986 he gained the Open University’s B.A. Degree in Arts. He retired in 2001. His interest in history started early, when he researched both his own family history and the history of the family’s firm Griffin & Co.

James and his wife Fiona came to Saffron Walden in 1995 and soon both of them became intimately involved with the life of the town. Fiona was an active member of the Methodist Church in Castle Street and through her James became interested in the history of Castle Street Methodists.

Shortly after he arrived in Saffron Walden, James edited a Teach-Yourself Book with James Lomas, Exploring Local History (1997), which included a chapter on uncovering the history of the old Pest House or Isolation Hospital as it was known in Saffron Walden as a working example of how to ‘do’ local history.

When in 2005 the Methodist Chapel in Castle Street was preparing to celebrate its 140th anniversary, the Minister Rev Harry Wood gave to the church 16 painted glass windows. James, together with Rosina Down the church archivist, researched and wrote a booklet about the earlier history of the Castle Street Methodists: Windows on Wesleyan Methodism – Saffron Walden 1819-2005. The booklet also provides information about the spiritual and artistic inspiration behind the images on each of the 16 painted glass panels.

It was during this time that James became a frequent visitor to the ERO Archive Access Point in Saffron Walden Library. During his visits he not only came to look for information but, like all local historians, he generously shared information and talked about new discoveries of historical material. He had eclectic interests, and often looked for the hidden, obscure and often forgotten historical details. For example, he was researching the purpose and location of white arrows that occasionally can be seen on barns and houses in the Uttlesford area. One of the arrows can be seen on Orford House in Quendon where an adjacent panel explains: ‘These and many similar arrows were painted to direct non- combatants inland across the country, avoiding main roads to facilitate the movements of troops in the event of a successful landing by the Germans on the East coast 1914-1918’. James was also in the process of discovering where the old shooting ranges were located. They were areas on which local militia and army had shooting practices during the Napoleonic times and after.

In previous years, I organised day tours of all the local Nonconformist chapels and churches. These tours were of particular interest to local and family historians as many of their ancestors belonged to the numerous Nonconformist congregations in Saffron Walden. After a whole day spent walking through the town, the group would look forward to calling at our last destination, the Methodist Chapel in Castle Street. We would be warmly greeted and given most welcome refreshments. There was always an excellent exhibition on the history of Methodism and an informative talk, usually presented by James. After each tour I would receive many complimentary letters from the participants, and all would mention how welcomed their felt in our town and amongst the congregations they visited. They often mentioned particularly the warm visit to the little chapel in Castle Street.

I also remember James’ tall figure circling the Market Place during the late-night shopping in Walden, before Christmas. He was selling his devilishly difficult quiz, based on local history, to raise money for the Talking Newspapers, another local organisation which he supported. The next morning the staff at the Library, learning from the previous year’s experience, would brace themselves for the onslaught from keen quiz fans who were trying in vain to deal with some more obscure clues provided by James.

James died on 25 June 2011. Local historians are deeply saddened by the loss of James Griffin from their community.

Zofia Everett

 

Lawrence D. Barker 1939-2011 Continue reading →

Irene Cranwell 1910-2010 Continue reading →

Charles Waite 1919 -2009 Continue reading →

Dick Lloyd 1917-2007 Continue reading →