Tragic Story of Jesse Smith (1943-1950) Claire Dimond-Mills November 2024
Sydney Dyer leading the carriages in the funeral cortege in 1950 (courtesy Heather Meays, nee Dyer)
Jesse Smith was a seven-year-old child who died on 5 May 1950. He was not a local boy, but a member of a travelling family, who had set up camp at Wadswick Common for a short time. The family loved him enough to pay for a burial in Box Cemetery and a headstone recording the names of Jesse’s aunt Louie (Annie Louisa Smith, née Long) and uncle Jess (Smith). As is the custom for traveller funerals, Jesse’s funeral cortège was a grand affair with a procession of people and vehicles slowly coming down from Wadswick and children walking slowly, dressed all in white. The family planted a small porcelain pony, Jesse’s favourite toy, at his grave to comfort him. Jesse Smith is buried at plot NB10.
I was so taken with the tragic story of Jesse, that I ordered his death certificate which said that he had died from severe injuries to his abdomen and chest and that his father was Lenard Smith. This gave me enough information to find the Smith family and a descendant led me to the book, Rabbit Stew and a Penny or Two written by Maggie Smith-Bendell, Jesse’s older sister.[1] In the book she wrote about their childhood travelling around Wiltshire and Somerset and the tragic events of Jesse’s death.
Smith Family
Jesse’s parents were Lenard and Defiance, known as Vie or Fiance, Smith. He had eight siblings, Alfie the eldest born 1939, Maggie, who wrote the book, born 1941, Robert born 1945, Emily, born 1957, and Holly, Maralyn and Richard all born after 1950. He was also surrounded by a very large extended family group. Defiance was from Devon, but the Smith grandparents lived at Prince Lane, near the Prince of Wales pub between Peasedown and Dunkerton, on land that they owned.
The Smiths moved around a lot, picking daffodils to sell from Stourhead woods, pea picking near Bridgwater, hop picking in Ledbury, Gloucestershire. They made pegs to sell as well as buying unwanted items from house dwellers (ragging) including old clothes, scrap metal, rabbit skins, and bones to sell or up-cycle. They were often moved on by the police but there were many farmers who were receptive to the traveller community as they provided much need labour.
Jesse was not the first of his family to die in Box. In 1948, his Aunt Emily, his dad’s sister, fell pregnant and she had a premonition that she would not live to see the child she was carrying. The traveller custom when dealing with death is to visit all the places that were important to the person so the Smith family went on a pilgrimage around Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Bristol with Emily stopping at as many places as they could and providing Emily the opportunity to say farewell to the other traveller families. In October 1948, Emily’s due date was close and so they decided to camp at Chapel Plaister. It was here that Emily went into labour. A midwife was called and then a doctor who took Emily to a big army hospital nearby. Here she gave birth to a daughter, but Emily never woke up. The baby was named Emily in memory of her mother. Her father, Blacksmith Joe, could not cope with a baby on his own and Emily was given to her uncle Jesse and auntie Louie, who had grown up children to assist them.
Traveller communities have a very specific rite associated with death called sitting up time in which everyone stays protecting the body. In Emily’s case, this involved laying in the wagon until the funeral. On the day of the funeral the coffin was put on trestles with the lid removed, so everyone could say goodbye. Emily’s body was taken back to the family cemetery at Paulton where Blacksmith Joe burnt their wagon. Anything that didn’t burn, such as a metal pot, was buried, according to traveller tradition.
Staying at Wadswick
By Spring 1950, the Smith family were back at Wadswick Common. In her memoir, Maggie wrote how much they liked camping here. There was a big conker tree at the gateway to Hazelbury Manor that they loved to play on, a gorgie mush (non-Romani man) called Mr Smith had a big shed opposite the common and he sold fruit and veg round the villages on a horse and cart. He had become a good friend to the travellers. There was also a woman in Box village who ran a tea shop and sneaked treats to the children when they called (possibly Mabel Boulton at 3 The Parade).
Their usual occupation at Box was ragging and, on the day of Jesse’s death, his father Lenard had promised to take Jesse out on the cart with him and Uncle Pepper. They had reached the top of Box Hill going towards Chippenham when the horse shied and reared up so sudden that Lenard fell off the cart. The horse raced down the hill with Uncle Pepper and Jesse still on it. A car pulled up and Lenard got in, chasing the horse. Suddenly, Jesse toppled off the cart and fell under the back wheel. Jesse managed to shakily get to his hands and knees and the driver of the car took him to hospital. Jesse died there several hours later, the wheel having cause severe injuries to his abdomen and chest.
Jesse’s Funeral
I was so taken with the tragic story of Jesse, that I ordered his death certificate which said that he had died from severe injuries to his abdomen and chest and that his father was Lenard Smith. This gave me enough information to find the Smith family and a descendant led me to the book, Rabbit Stew and a Penny or Two written by Maggie Smith-Bendell, Jesse’s older sister.[1] In the book she wrote about their childhood travelling around Wiltshire and Somerset and the tragic events of Jesse’s death.
Smith Family
Jesse’s parents were Lenard and Defiance, known as Vie or Fiance, Smith. He had eight siblings, Alfie the eldest born 1939, Maggie, who wrote the book, born 1941, Robert born 1945, Emily, born 1957, and Holly, Maralyn and Richard all born after 1950. He was also surrounded by a very large extended family group. Defiance was from Devon, but the Smith grandparents lived at Prince Lane, near the Prince of Wales pub between Peasedown and Dunkerton, on land that they owned.
The Smiths moved around a lot, picking daffodils to sell from Stourhead woods, pea picking near Bridgwater, hop picking in Ledbury, Gloucestershire. They made pegs to sell as well as buying unwanted items from house dwellers (ragging) including old clothes, scrap metal, rabbit skins, and bones to sell or up-cycle. They were often moved on by the police but there were many farmers who were receptive to the traveller community as they provided much need labour.
Jesse was not the first of his family to die in Box. In 1948, his Aunt Emily, his dad’s sister, fell pregnant and she had a premonition that she would not live to see the child she was carrying. The traveller custom when dealing with death is to visit all the places that were important to the person so the Smith family went on a pilgrimage around Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Bristol with Emily stopping at as many places as they could and providing Emily the opportunity to say farewell to the other traveller families. In October 1948, Emily’s due date was close and so they decided to camp at Chapel Plaister. It was here that Emily went into labour. A midwife was called and then a doctor who took Emily to a big army hospital nearby. Here she gave birth to a daughter, but Emily never woke up. The baby was named Emily in memory of her mother. Her father, Blacksmith Joe, could not cope with a baby on his own and Emily was given to her uncle Jesse and auntie Louie, who had grown up children to assist them.
Traveller communities have a very specific rite associated with death called sitting up time in which everyone stays protecting the body. In Emily’s case, this involved laying in the wagon until the funeral. On the day of the funeral the coffin was put on trestles with the lid removed, so everyone could say goodbye. Emily’s body was taken back to the family cemetery at Paulton where Blacksmith Joe burnt their wagon. Anything that didn’t burn, such as a metal pot, was buried, according to traveller tradition.
Staying at Wadswick
By Spring 1950, the Smith family were back at Wadswick Common. In her memoir, Maggie wrote how much they liked camping here. There was a big conker tree at the gateway to Hazelbury Manor that they loved to play on, a gorgie mush (non-Romani man) called Mr Smith had a big shed opposite the common and he sold fruit and veg round the villages on a horse and cart. He had become a good friend to the travellers. There was also a woman in Box village who ran a tea shop and sneaked treats to the children when they called (possibly Mabel Boulton at 3 The Parade).
Their usual occupation at Box was ragging and, on the day of Jesse’s death, his father Lenard had promised to take Jesse out on the cart with him and Uncle Pepper. They had reached the top of Box Hill going towards Chippenham when the horse shied and reared up so sudden that Lenard fell off the cart. The horse raced down the hill with Uncle Pepper and Jesse still on it. A car pulled up and Lenard got in, chasing the horse. Suddenly, Jesse toppled off the cart and fell under the back wheel. Jesse managed to shakily get to his hands and knees and the driver of the car took him to hospital. Jesse died there several hours later, the wheel having cause severe injuries to his abdomen and chest.
Jesse’s Funeral
The headstone of 7-year-old Jesse Smith and the remains of a pony to comfort him (courtesy Carol Payne)
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Maggie wrote that she heard the news of her brother’s death when her father returned to the camp. His grief-stricken mother was inconsolable as were the extended traveller family. Seven-year-old Jesse was still a mummy’s boy, always one for a cuddle. His mother was never able to speak of Jesse again until the day she died. Jesse’s parents did not have enough money to pay for the funeral, so Uncle Jesse, Lenard’s brother, lent them £50. On the day of the funeral, hundreds of people gathered at Wadswick Common, travellers and non-travellers, who walked or rode the two miles to Box Cemetery. Box villagers lined the way.[2]
After the funeral, most of the travellers left, but Vie was reluctant to leave her son. As no one was making any money, finances were becoming desperate for the family. They eventually decided to travel down to Devon to Vie’s family. They never returned to Box. A few years later they earnt enough money to buy some land at Peasedown which they used as a semi-permanent home, leaving only for the pea and hop picking. Maggie married a house-dweller, Terry Bendell, but refused to live in a house so they set up home in a trailer camp. They were moved on several times. As time went on, all the camps they used to stay at were being closed, including Wadswick, |
Maggie got involved in helping traveller families buy land to live on and get the necessary planning permission, not an easy task due to the stigma attached to the traveller community. She still fights for traveller rights to this day.
In Box, we remember the story of her brother. if you want to read more about the Smith family and their travelling life read Maggie's book and this link to purchase it: Rabbit Stew and a Penny or Two: Amazon.co.uk: Smith-Bendell, Maggie: 9780349123615: Books
In Box, we remember the story of her brother. if you want to read more about the Smith family and their travelling life read Maggie's book and this link to purchase it: Rabbit Stew and a Penny or Two: Amazon.co.uk: Smith-Bendell, Maggie: 9780349123615: Books
References
[1] Maggie Smith-Bendell, Rabbit Stew and a Penny or Two, Little, Brown Books, published 2010
[2] More information about the village’s reaction is available at:
http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/robert-john-dyer.html
[1] Maggie Smith-Bendell, Rabbit Stew and a Penny or Two, Little, Brown Books, published 2010
[2] More information about the village’s reaction is available at:
http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/robert-john-dyer.html