Jim Shannon (24 June 1910 - 1974): An Institution at Box Cricket Club
June Smith (nee Shannon) November 2017 All photos June Smith (except where stated)
June Smith (nee Shannon) November 2017 All photos June Smith (except where stated)
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June's daughter, Sonia Asgaran, wrote to us first to say how much her mum had enjoyed the article by Clive Banks about growing up in the Village in the 1950s. June had lived in Brunel Way, the daughter of Betty and Jim Shannon, scorer to Box Cricket Club, who Box cricket enthusiast Clive Banks knew.
Clive Banks recalled: I remember Jim Shannon very well. "He was a lovely man and very popular with everyone. He had breathing problems so cricket scoring was an ideal thing for him to do. Sadly I recall his health problems got worse and he died too soon. He was a scoring institution at the club - one of those people who are never really replaceable." This is June's story of her life in Box and of her family in the village.
Clive Banks recalled: I remember Jim Shannon very well. "He was a lovely man and very popular with everyone. He had breathing problems so cricket scoring was an ideal thing for him to do. Sadly I recall his health problems got worse and he died too soon. He was a scoring institution at the club - one of those people who are never really replaceable." This is June's story of her life in Box and of her family in the village.
Box will always be special to me and I am so pleased to say that I grew up there. I was born in Bradford-on-Avon and later my home was in the prefabs on the Rudloe Estate. I lived there until I was seven and moved into Box village in coronation year 1953. Two years earlier my dad, Jim Shannon, was diagnosed with TB (tuberculosis) and given only weeks to live. He was in the Manor Hospital, Bath, on the road to Weston, for two years and had been treated with a new drug which cured the TB but left him with only one lung, the other one having collapsed.
My Parents
My mum, Betty, came from Broadway, Worcestershire, and was called up in the war to work in Bristol. She told me how she worked at a big place in Filton, winding dynamos. She was then transferred to Lypiatt, Corsham and helped in the kitchens, serving servicemen and workers. My mum is on the top row of the kitchen girls, last on the right. I knew some of the women later because they also lived at Rudloe.
My dad had a very different childhood. He was born in Ireland and his family travelled to the Elephant and Castle area of East London when he was a baby. His mother died when he was young and his father left, so he was put in a children’s home.
He never spoke about it and was probably parted from his siblings. When he was old enough he lived on the streets and fended for himself. He became a barrow boy, sold newspapers and somehow survived. He joined the Essex Regiment and left in 1937, just before the war, with physical health reasons.
He lived during the war and blitz in the East End and witnessed many awful sights. He slept in the underground railway stations and helped to rescue people whose houses had been bombed. He was transferred to Lypiatt, Corsham in the war and worked as a chaser (cutting grooves in buildings to insert wiring) for electricians. This is where he met mum. They married in 1945 and at first lived in Rudloe.
Illness
My dad was a very talented man and also intelligent, despite his childhood difficulties. He learnt many new skills in hospital, as rehabilitation, and he also went to Odstock Hospital, Salisbury, for this purpose. He was taught to knit and he would make cardigans for mum, myself and my brother, Mike. The photo below is my dad knitting at Manor Hospital, Bath.
My mum, Betty, came from Broadway, Worcestershire, and was called up in the war to work in Bristol. She told me how she worked at a big place in Filton, winding dynamos. She was then transferred to Lypiatt, Corsham and helped in the kitchens, serving servicemen and workers. My mum is on the top row of the kitchen girls, last on the right. I knew some of the women later because they also lived at Rudloe.
My dad had a very different childhood. He was born in Ireland and his family travelled to the Elephant and Castle area of East London when he was a baby. His mother died when he was young and his father left, so he was put in a children’s home.
He never spoke about it and was probably parted from his siblings. When he was old enough he lived on the streets and fended for himself. He became a barrow boy, sold newspapers and somehow survived. He joined the Essex Regiment and left in 1937, just before the war, with physical health reasons.
He lived during the war and blitz in the East End and witnessed many awful sights. He slept in the underground railway stations and helped to rescue people whose houses had been bombed. He was transferred to Lypiatt, Corsham in the war and worked as a chaser (cutting grooves in buildings to insert wiring) for electricians. This is where he met mum. They married in 1945 and at first lived in Rudloe.
Illness
My dad was a very talented man and also intelligent, despite his childhood difficulties. He learnt many new skills in hospital, as rehabilitation, and he also went to Odstock Hospital, Salisbury, for this purpose. He was taught to knit and he would make cardigans for mum, myself and my brother, Mike. The photo below is my dad knitting at Manor Hospital, Bath.
He painted pictures and I have two in my home now. When he lived in Brunel Way, he painted rose bushes in two corners of the front room because we couldn’t afford wallpaper. I loved them.
Dad making the fish flies at Odstock Hospital, Salisbury
He learnt to tie flies for fishing and they were sold in a shop in Bath. I have a small box with about ten flies inside to remember. He made a brooch once for a neighbour using her budgie's feathers when it died. He also made crib boards, basket-weaving and I still have a purse he made me and a tray with woven edges. He was so talented and made some wonderful things.
Brunel Way
We were allocated a new council house at 24 Brunel Way as our prefab in Rudloe was too damp. Without the new house dad couldn't be released from hospital. I remember my brother, Mike, and I running up and down the stairs for ages. We had never lived with stairs before and it was such a novelty. My mum, Betty, was amazing as my dad could not work again. We only had assistance from the government and help from the Red Cross - and also some very good neighbours. Although we didn't have a lot, I always remember having enough and plenty of love and care. I would say I was well blessed with my childhood and I still treasure it to this day.
As we didn’t have a camera, we were lucky enough to have photos taken by our kind neighbours, The photo below left is a family photo of Mike and me as children with our pet dog Pixie.
Brunel Way
We were allocated a new council house at 24 Brunel Way as our prefab in Rudloe was too damp. Without the new house dad couldn't be released from hospital. I remember my brother, Mike, and I running up and down the stairs for ages. We had never lived with stairs before and it was such a novelty. My mum, Betty, was amazing as my dad could not work again. We only had assistance from the government and help from the Red Cross - and also some very good neighbours. Although we didn't have a lot, I always remember having enough and plenty of love and care. I would say I was well blessed with my childhood and I still treasure it to this day.
As we didn’t have a camera, we were lucky enough to have photos taken by our kind neighbours, The photo below left is a family photo of Mike and me as children with our pet dog Pixie.
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The picture (above right) is of 24 Brunel Way and was cut out of a Council leaflet which my mum saved as our house seemed to be the main one.
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Life at Bargates In 1968 my parents moved to 5 Bargates as my dad couldn't climb the slip between Bargates and Brunel Way. He had developed asthma and bronchitis and his breathing was very poor. Dad was always a practical man, entering the first Flower Show put on by the Box Allotments and Gardens Association in 1956, and winning two prizes in the Handicraft for men category.[1] This photo, taken at the Box Bingham Hall, is from the Bath newspaper with dad showing the rug he had made. Besides rug-making for the Red Cross (they provided the canvas and wool), he also taught me how to do it. He was a committee member of the new allotment association. Left: The prize rug and proud creator. |
Cricket Scorer
My dad thoroughly enjoyed his time as the official scorer of Box Cricket Club. It was a job he could do because he could sit all the time and, of course, he had many friends at the club. John Harris was a good friend of Jim. One day John Harris was playing cricket on the Rec and hit a six, just at the moment when I was up high doing the scores. The ball hit me straight in the stomach and winded me. I was taken inside the hut where they made the tea and sandwiches and Mrs Olive Currant looked after me.
My dad thoroughly enjoyed his time as the official scorer of Box Cricket Club. It was a job he could do because he could sit all the time and, of course, he had many friends at the club. John Harris was a good friend of Jim. One day John Harris was playing cricket on the Rec and hit a six, just at the moment when I was up high doing the scores. The ball hit me straight in the stomach and winded me. I was taken inside the hut where they made the tea and sandwiches and Mrs Olive Currant looked after me.
Jim Shannon seen seated right in Married versus Singles cricket match 1964 (courtesy Margaret Wakefield)
My Life in Box
We were one of the families that did work at home for Price's Rubber Factory on Quarry Hill. I remember trimming rubbers of all shapes and sizes and also making tennis balls after school. My dad had to go away to Winsley Hospital once a year and we just had to carry on the same.
We were one of the families that did work at home for Price's Rubber Factory on Quarry Hill. I remember trimming rubbers of all shapes and sizes and also making tennis balls after school. My dad had to go away to Winsley Hospital once a year and we just had to carry on the same.
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Left to Right: Dad and mum; Mum, dad, Michael and me when we were very young; and taken at the Manor Hospital Bath in 1953.
As a child I used to sit on the bridge over the Tunnel with friends spotting the names and numbers on trains. I would spend all day there and only go home for dinner and when it was dark. I used to take a deep breath when the trains came out of the tunnel and inhale all the smoke from the steam trains. We thought it was great fun then !!
Box School possibly in the year 1955
Back row, left to right: unknown, Susan Waite, Anthony Smith, Elizabeth Ford, Jeremy Wring, Christine Smith, unknown,
Susan Kiff, Keith Fields, Christine Bean and Peter Browning. Middle Row: Steven Gould, Jane Smith, Pat Kiff, Blank, Joyce Clarke,
June Shannon, Mrs Adams, Ingrid Bush, Marion Thompson, Helen Cogswell, unknown and Joyce Kay. Bottom Row: Barry Case,
David Smith, Michael Warren, Hugh Sawyer, Paul Davis, Marcus Adams, unknown, unknown, Christopher Alford,
Graham Cogswell, David Boulton and Peter Warren.
Mrs Adams was the wife of the Headmaster and Marcus was their son, we looked a happy bunch, didn’t we? Happy days !!
Luckily I had free school dinners and also free travel to St John's School, South Parade, Bath, for secondary school. I also had a free train pass for college at Chippenham and would travel there from Box Mill Lane Station. From the station I could see my mum at the window of 24 Brunel Way and we would wave to each other. I trained as a shorthand typist from 1961 to 1963.
I started work for the Admiralty at the Empire Hotel, Bath on the 6 August 1963, overlooking the river and the Grand Parade.
My brother has lived in Bath for many years where his wife runs a shop called Shannon in Walcot Road. He belongs to a small group of Box school friends called the forty-niners because they were all born in 1949. They meet now and then and catch up on news although sadly some have passed on.
My mum and dad continued living at 5 Bargates. The photo below left was taken in 1972 before dad passed away in 1974.
Mum stayed there until her death in 1992. The photo below right in the 1980s shows the garden she created and loved deeply.
Susan Kiff, Keith Fields, Christine Bean and Peter Browning. Middle Row: Steven Gould, Jane Smith, Pat Kiff, Blank, Joyce Clarke,
June Shannon, Mrs Adams, Ingrid Bush, Marion Thompson, Helen Cogswell, unknown and Joyce Kay. Bottom Row: Barry Case,
David Smith, Michael Warren, Hugh Sawyer, Paul Davis, Marcus Adams, unknown, unknown, Christopher Alford,
Graham Cogswell, David Boulton and Peter Warren.
Mrs Adams was the wife of the Headmaster and Marcus was their son, we looked a happy bunch, didn’t we? Happy days !!
Luckily I had free school dinners and also free travel to St John's School, South Parade, Bath, for secondary school. I also had a free train pass for college at Chippenham and would travel there from Box Mill Lane Station. From the station I could see my mum at the window of 24 Brunel Way and we would wave to each other. I trained as a shorthand typist from 1961 to 1963.
I started work for the Admiralty at the Empire Hotel, Bath on the 6 August 1963, overlooking the river and the Grand Parade.
My brother has lived in Bath for many years where his wife runs a shop called Shannon in Walcot Road. He belongs to a small group of Box school friends called the forty-niners because they were all born in 1949. They meet now and then and catch up on news although sadly some have passed on.
My mum and dad continued living at 5 Bargates. The photo below left was taken in 1972 before dad passed away in 1974.
Mum stayed there until her death in 1992. The photo below right in the 1980s shows the garden she created and loved deeply.
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After her death my brother Michael and I visited Box in 2010, where this photo was taken at Box Tunnel and where happy times of our childhood were recalled !
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June and Sonia used to visit Betty Shannon in 5 Bargates. Sonia recalled that coming to Box was home from home and we loved everything about it, especially spending time with our grandmother, who we called nanny. We loved the van that used to come around and sell faggots, the ice cream van, playing down the Rec, walking up Box Hill in the snow and watching the trains. June concluded, I think of my mum and dad every day along with my own dear husband who died three years ago. We moved to Cork in the 1990s and have seven children, including four daughters who live with their families very close to us. I last visited Box in 2010 because I couldn't leave my husband who wasn't well. But I still have my Box accent and plenty of Box ways. |
Reference
[1] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 8 September 1956
[1] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 8 September 1956