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Characters in Box in the 1940s
Geoff Bence Remembers September 2014 There seemed to be a lot more characters in the village during my days living and working in Box. I remember several of them as clearly as if they were still with us. It would be wonderful if there were some photos of these people who were regularly seen in the village in the last century. Left: Unknown Box person from Lambert family photo album. Do you recognise him as an ancestor of your family? |
Percy Chandler
Percy Chandler and his wife lived in the Manor House in the 1930s and 1940s, just the two of them in the huge manor house. They sold petrol, did a few repairs and ran the garage from the yard and Charlie Helps was the taxi driver for them. He lived at 6 Market Place with his wife Betty and Daughter Christine, and later he worked as chauffeur / handyman for Miss Chappell at Hatt House. She had a Bewick car. Charlie was driving along one day when he saw a wheel overtake him. He looked down to find he was a wheel short on his car.
Miss Chappell
Miss Chappell was a chain smoker and used to have 200 Gold Leaf a week from our shop, which I thought was rather a lot. Then I found out she had another 200 from Richard Fudge up at the paper shop. She was always coughing and spluttering and her skin was rather ginger from the nicotine. She was a large lady with a very loud voice; you could hear her all round the village when she was around.
She had an elderly maid / cook who looked after the domestic side. One day the gardener had dried some daffodil bulbs from the garden for planting next year and the elderly maid/cook cooked them as onions. It made Miss Chappell quite ill. After her death, James Boyle, her nephew, and his wife, Julia, lived there.
Ben Drew
Ben was a real old fashioned character. He would be baking the bread all night in his bakery by the War Memorial in Box which he would deliver during the day on his pony and trap. He used to deliver to all the hamlets around, passing several pubs on the way. I have seen him many times on his way home down Box Hill fast asleep being taken home by his horse who knew the way.
He never had an extensive vocabulary; his main word was bloody; bloody this and bloody that. He never laughed but it was all done in good humour. This was in the early 1940s. His horse, Joey, was kept in the field round the Ley. After he died, Mr Hulbert, the postman, looked after it.
Maisie Gay
There was a great excitement in the village when the famous Broadway and West End actress, Maisie Gay, and her partner and agent, OD Harris, first came here. We all felt privileged to have the chance to see her.
Miss Gingell
Miss Gingell was a character. Down Box Hill there is a narrow lane off to the left, quaintly named Hedgesparrow Lane. At the top of the lane there was a corrugated iron shed which was used as a laundry, run by Miss Gingell. Mum used to have some laundry done there.
Miss Oatley
Miss Oatley lived in a house with a flat roof at Bulls Lane. She always went around with braid around her head. She lived with her uncle Charles Oatley. I am not sure what profession Mr Oatley followed. He seemed to have a finger in a number of pies: he had an antique shop in Corsham and a shop in Box which was a corrugated iron structure next to the Legion Club (now demolished and the Legion Club is a private house). The antique shop was run by Miss Tye who later married Jack King, a stone mason.
Mr Oatley was always immaculately turned out in a smart suit, and he always had a flower in the buttonhole. His residence was at the top of Quarry Hill and he had another showroom there facing the road. In later years he had a house built in Bull's Lane which caused some controversy because it was ultra modern, with a flat roof and quite out of keeping with the rest of the village. Thankfully, in later years new owners had a pitched roof constructed.
The Hon Mrs Shaw-Mellor
My mother, Nigel and I always sat behind the Shaw-Mellors at church. She was a large lady with a very large, floral hat. At Christmas time we used to make a swift exit so my mother could get back to supervise my father who was cooking lunch.
Dr Strode
The doctor lived and worked opposite us at Lorne House. I remember him shouting at his wife when he had consumed too much whisky.
Mr Walford
He was the telegram postman who had a gammy leg, which might have been First World War damage. He lived in Vine Cottage (now Vine Court). When there was a telegram to be delivered, Miss Fudge would step outside the Post Office and blow a whistle. Mr Walford would come across with his gammy leg and deliver the telegram on his bicycle.
Percy Chandler and his wife lived in the Manor House in the 1930s and 1940s, just the two of them in the huge manor house. They sold petrol, did a few repairs and ran the garage from the yard and Charlie Helps was the taxi driver for them. He lived at 6 Market Place with his wife Betty and Daughter Christine, and later he worked as chauffeur / handyman for Miss Chappell at Hatt House. She had a Bewick car. Charlie was driving along one day when he saw a wheel overtake him. He looked down to find he was a wheel short on his car.
Miss Chappell
Miss Chappell was a chain smoker and used to have 200 Gold Leaf a week from our shop, which I thought was rather a lot. Then I found out she had another 200 from Richard Fudge up at the paper shop. She was always coughing and spluttering and her skin was rather ginger from the nicotine. She was a large lady with a very loud voice; you could hear her all round the village when she was around.
She had an elderly maid / cook who looked after the domestic side. One day the gardener had dried some daffodil bulbs from the garden for planting next year and the elderly maid/cook cooked them as onions. It made Miss Chappell quite ill. After her death, James Boyle, her nephew, and his wife, Julia, lived there.
Ben Drew
Ben was a real old fashioned character. He would be baking the bread all night in his bakery by the War Memorial in Box which he would deliver during the day on his pony and trap. He used to deliver to all the hamlets around, passing several pubs on the way. I have seen him many times on his way home down Box Hill fast asleep being taken home by his horse who knew the way.
He never had an extensive vocabulary; his main word was bloody; bloody this and bloody that. He never laughed but it was all done in good humour. This was in the early 1940s. His horse, Joey, was kept in the field round the Ley. After he died, Mr Hulbert, the postman, looked after it.
Maisie Gay
There was a great excitement in the village when the famous Broadway and West End actress, Maisie Gay, and her partner and agent, OD Harris, first came here. We all felt privileged to have the chance to see her.
Miss Gingell
Miss Gingell was a character. Down Box Hill there is a narrow lane off to the left, quaintly named Hedgesparrow Lane. At the top of the lane there was a corrugated iron shed which was used as a laundry, run by Miss Gingell. Mum used to have some laundry done there.
Miss Oatley
Miss Oatley lived in a house with a flat roof at Bulls Lane. She always went around with braid around her head. She lived with her uncle Charles Oatley. I am not sure what profession Mr Oatley followed. He seemed to have a finger in a number of pies: he had an antique shop in Corsham and a shop in Box which was a corrugated iron structure next to the Legion Club (now demolished and the Legion Club is a private house). The antique shop was run by Miss Tye who later married Jack King, a stone mason.
Mr Oatley was always immaculately turned out in a smart suit, and he always had a flower in the buttonhole. His residence was at the top of Quarry Hill and he had another showroom there facing the road. In later years he had a house built in Bull's Lane which caused some controversy because it was ultra modern, with a flat roof and quite out of keeping with the rest of the village. Thankfully, in later years new owners had a pitched roof constructed.
The Hon Mrs Shaw-Mellor
My mother, Nigel and I always sat behind the Shaw-Mellors at church. She was a large lady with a very large, floral hat. At Christmas time we used to make a swift exit so my mother could get back to supervise my father who was cooking lunch.
Dr Strode
The doctor lived and worked opposite us at Lorne House. I remember him shouting at his wife when he had consumed too much whisky.
Mr Walford
He was the telegram postman who had a gammy leg, which might have been First World War damage. He lived in Vine Cottage (now Vine Court). When there was a telegram to be delivered, Miss Fudge would step outside the Post Office and blow a whistle. Mr Walford would come across with his gammy leg and deliver the telegram on his bicycle.
Can you help us with
more stories about these wonderful old characters from Box's past. Are there
any that you would like to add to the list? Do you have any photos in your
archives? Whatever your interest, we would love to hear from you.