Feniton History Group 48th Meeting
The WW1 project:
Geoff kindly passed around copies of the WW1 booklet, which
we all agreed was an ideal way to document the men.
We talked about how the men were called up at various times,
Kitchener's Volunteers in 1915, the Territorial's signed on for 3 years
service. It was also noted that the railwaymen were enlisted in their
peacetime roles as platelayers to lay tracks in France. Some 7,000 steam
locomotives and crews were shipped to France. In the Thames estuary the trains
were placed ready to be shipped out.
This was followed by a lively and varied discussion on
various topics.
I have been researching the Marks family, who lived in the
village for many years and ran the Post Office. Edward Marks was postmaster and
parish clerk for some 42 years. This led to us debating the whereabouts of the
Post Office, at onetime it was opposite the current shop in Parr Cottages. This
block of 3 cottages also once contained the village Cider House or Inn and the
reading rooms. Sid Marks lived in Knapp Cottage at the top of the village where
Green Lane goes off to the left and the hill up to the "new" estate.
Here he had a small grocer's shop and he was the village barber.
Sadly his wife Hilda died in childbirth in 1938, so his late
wife's sister went to care for Sid, this was frowned up by many as they could
not wed, due to the law made in 1560, saying you cannot marry your dead wife's
sister!
This law was repealed in part in the 1907 Marriage Act which
removed from the forbidden list the Wife's sister and Husband's brother,
provided the first spouse in each case was deceased. Further changes followed
in 1921, 1931 and 1949. So the disgust of the villagers was well founded as
they could have wed it seems!
I hope to make a list of all the postmasters and mistress
for the village.
Alan told us a sorry tale of one of the village' returning
soldier's, Sid Salter, he was a platelayer, living in the little bungalow known
as "Chequers", by the Spar Shop. Sid was married, but his wife was
rather taken by the American GIs of WW2 and she left Sid, sadly he was a broken
man and could stand it no more, he took his own life in 1952 under an Oak Tree
along the Talaton Road.
Alan recalled that during the last war, pig food was in short supply, so "Porky" Pyle sent the boys of the village out with sacks to collect acorns, for which he paid them 3d per sack, after a while the acorns were hard to find, so a stone was dropped into one of the sacks, but, as it was weighed on the scales, the stone made a clunking sound and the ruse was found out.
Alan recalled that during the last war, pig food was in short supply, so "Porky" Pyle sent the boys of the village out with sacks to collect acorns, for which he paid them 3d per sack, after a while the acorns were hard to find, so a stone was dropped into one of the sacks, but, as it was weighed on the scales, the stone made a clunking sound and the ruse was found out.
"Porky" Pyle retired to Jubilee House, his nephew Ted taking on at Long Park. The
other houses behind the farmhouse at Long Park must have been workers cottages.
Some say that Jubilee House was built by Queen Victoria's Housekeeper? The name
must come from her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The other Victorian houses around Sidmouth
Junc. were built because of the railway, Sherwood Villa being one.
Thank you everyone for such an interesting evening. Also
thank you to Brenda and Geoff for the help with the WW1 research.
Nest Meeting Thurs 5th June in the Nog at 8pm.
Feniton History Group 47th Meeting
David asked us to help in some way with a fund raising event
in aid of Melanesia, this was agreed, the format for this to be decided in due
course.
We had a good natter about WW1.
Geoff kindly offered to look at a more useful format taken
from the spreadsheet template of notes I have made so then we can printout a
booklet for the church or to sell. Brenda took on the task of checking the 1911
census for men who may have been called up for service.
Geoff suggested we need to check the wartime copies of the
Pulman's newspaper, held in the Somerset Heritage collection for more on the
volunteers and snippets of news from our area at that time. Another thing we
need to check is the absent voters list, compiled for the 1916 election.
The Deanery Magazine of the time would have carried some useful paragraphs, but sadly the copies in Honiton Museum are later.
Alan mentioned his father Walter Powell served during the
war, and I have been able to find his war service on the internet.
It was sad and thoughtful evening, talking about the loss
and suffering, also the animals used, went through the same trauma.
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