Mary Lillian Holtom Rowena Lockey and Ian Hill August 2021
Aubrey and Mary’s wedding reception at Middlehill House in 1958. Names left to right: Alfred Hill, Elsie Louisa Maud Hill, Maureen Snell, Douglas Anthony Hill, Aubrey James Hill, Canon HR Mayo, Mary Lillian Hill, Kathleen Harper, Jack Snell, Dorothy Harper, Mrs Croom (Dorothy Snell’s mother),
Mary Hill (our aunty), Dorothy Snell. The two bridesmaids were Beverly Hill and Shirley Snell. (All photos courtesy Rowena and Ian Hill)
Mary Hill (our aunty), Dorothy Snell. The two bridesmaids were Beverly Hill and Shirley Snell. (All photos courtesy Rowena and Ian Hill)
We have all asked ourselves why we didn’t ask parents more before they died or were too old to remember. The problem is worse when they were orphaned as a child, taken into an orphanage and never wanted to talk about their early lives. This is the story of Rowena's and Ian's reconstruction of their family history.
The information we know about our family is very limited. Our mother Mary Lillian Holtom was born on 30 August 1931 in Solihull and she was orphaned when she was six along with her two younger siblings. The headline photo shows our mother who married Aubrey James Hill (usually called Jim) in 1958 at Ditteridge Church. They had their wedding reception at Middlehill House, courtesy of Kathleen and Dorothy Harper. Also in the wedding photo was Canon HR Mayo from Yatton Keynell and his housekeeper and cleaner, Dorothy Snell, who we knew as Auntie Doll. With just that information and a few family photos, we have tried to trace how and why our family was associated with Box.
Mary Holtom
We have only sketchy facts about our mother’s life. She was born at The Infant Welfare Centre, Warwick Road, Solihull on 30 August 1931. Her mother was Ethel Hooper (1901-1936) and her father was Charles H Holtom, a coal carter, who lived at 5 Waterloo Road, South Yardley. The family stayed in South Birmingham for the first six years of Mary’s life when two more girls were born, Beryl (30 November 1933-) and Sylvia J (1935-). Our grandmother Ethel died probably from septacaemia and Charles was unable to look after the girls whilst he also worked. He married again a year later to Edith Clifton but the family was hit with complications and we are unsure of the circumstances why Edith was unable to or couldn’t look after the children.
The orphanage to which Mary went was in Broadstairs, Kent. We don’t know the reason for this – it could be that the authorities wanted to separate her from her family (quite common at the time on the basis of making a fresh start) or it could be because of her age. There were three Church of England Waifs and Strays Homes in Birmingham at this time: one at Moseley was a boy’s home and one at Olton was for girls under the age of 5 years. It is possible that the only room found for six-year-old Mary was at St David’s Home, Broadstairs.
We have no information about how long our mother stayed there but we know she lived in the vicarage at Yatton Keynell, Wiltshire in 1946. We know this because of her Confirmation certificate. It is likely, that this is where she met Canon HR Mayo, a pillar of respectability, and Mrs Dorothy Snell who lived at nearby Giddeahall. And around this time is when we believe the connection with the Harpers originated.
Yatton Keynell Connection
We knew well our mother’s friend Dorothy Ellen Snell (nee Croom). She was born on 27 July 1915 in Hill View Bungalow, Giddeahall, the same house that she died in 1982. Auntie Doll married Jack Snell, whose father was Emmanuel Snell, a bricklayer. It was a hasty marriage as they wed early in 1939 and they had a daughter, Maureen, a few months later. Their family life was then disrupted by the war but other children followed later, including Norman in 1948 and Shirley in 1952. This probably gave Doll a great sympathy for disadvantaged children, which she had narrowly avoided herself. Auntie Doll was a housewife for most of her life (doing unpaid domestic duties) and she later turned her attention to supporting the local vicar, Rev HR Mayo as housekeeper and cleaner.
Canon Hellier Randall Mayo (1882-1970) was also a local person, son of JR Mayo of Weston-super-Mare. HR Mayo started as the vicar of Upper Arley, Kidderminster from 1912 until 1923 after his ordination at Wells in 1907.[1] He served as vicar of Bishopsworth, Bristol for four years before moving to the Crusader Church dedicated St Margaret of Antioch at Yatton Keynell, where he preached for nearly 40 years. He was very well respected, appointed rural dean of Chippenham and honorary canon of Bristol Cathedral. He was the go-to man whenever there was a clerical need, including fundraising, prize-giving, supporter of the village school and chairman of Yatton Keynell parish council. His son Rev JHR Mayo was vicar of Colerne in the years after the Second World War.
Canon Mayo had strong connections with Box itself and when the Box vicar, Rev Lendon Bell, left Box parish for Sussex in 1954, it was Canon Mayo who was asked to supervise the parish.[2] It is likely that Alfred Shaw Mellor was the instigator of this in his role as churchwarden. The two knew each other well as they had both served on the Chippenham (later Calne & Chippenham) Rural District Council from at least 1939, when they administered the creation of Colerne Aerodrome.[3] Even before then, they had both been involved in organising the safe storage of church plate and parish registers in the event of war breaking out.[4] The association with St Thomas a Becket, Box, existed over a long period and Canon Mayo assisted at the funeral ceremony for Lilian Frances Kidston, wife of GJ Kidston of Hazelbury Manor, in 1954, and assisted or officiated at several weddings, including the celebrated double wedding of Elizabeth and Peggy Collier of Grove Farm, who were married to their spouses in a joint ceremony in 1954.[5]
Canon Mayo and his wife were keenly involved in the Church of England’s Waifs and Strays movement.[6] In 1941 they helped to establish a new home at Seagry, Chippenham to rehouse children from the Victoria Gibbs Home, Bristol, which was evacuated in the middle of the war.[7] They took into their home four evacuated orphan children in the war to help the Society manage numbers. These four children were never identified but it is possible that our mother was one of them. There is no evidence of this at all but, of course, living in the Canon’s house could explain why our mother knew Dorothy Snell so well.
Mary Holtom
We have only sketchy facts about our mother’s life. She was born at The Infant Welfare Centre, Warwick Road, Solihull on 30 August 1931. Her mother was Ethel Hooper (1901-1936) and her father was Charles H Holtom, a coal carter, who lived at 5 Waterloo Road, South Yardley. The family stayed in South Birmingham for the first six years of Mary’s life when two more girls were born, Beryl (30 November 1933-) and Sylvia J (1935-). Our grandmother Ethel died probably from septacaemia and Charles was unable to look after the girls whilst he also worked. He married again a year later to Edith Clifton but the family was hit with complications and we are unsure of the circumstances why Edith was unable to or couldn’t look after the children.
The orphanage to which Mary went was in Broadstairs, Kent. We don’t know the reason for this – it could be that the authorities wanted to separate her from her family (quite common at the time on the basis of making a fresh start) or it could be because of her age. There were three Church of England Waifs and Strays Homes in Birmingham at this time: one at Moseley was a boy’s home and one at Olton was for girls under the age of 5 years. It is possible that the only room found for six-year-old Mary was at St David’s Home, Broadstairs.
We have no information about how long our mother stayed there but we know she lived in the vicarage at Yatton Keynell, Wiltshire in 1946. We know this because of her Confirmation certificate. It is likely, that this is where she met Canon HR Mayo, a pillar of respectability, and Mrs Dorothy Snell who lived at nearby Giddeahall. And around this time is when we believe the connection with the Harpers originated.
Yatton Keynell Connection
We knew well our mother’s friend Dorothy Ellen Snell (nee Croom). She was born on 27 July 1915 in Hill View Bungalow, Giddeahall, the same house that she died in 1982. Auntie Doll married Jack Snell, whose father was Emmanuel Snell, a bricklayer. It was a hasty marriage as they wed early in 1939 and they had a daughter, Maureen, a few months later. Their family life was then disrupted by the war but other children followed later, including Norman in 1948 and Shirley in 1952. This probably gave Doll a great sympathy for disadvantaged children, which she had narrowly avoided herself. Auntie Doll was a housewife for most of her life (doing unpaid domestic duties) and she later turned her attention to supporting the local vicar, Rev HR Mayo as housekeeper and cleaner.
Canon Hellier Randall Mayo (1882-1970) was also a local person, son of JR Mayo of Weston-super-Mare. HR Mayo started as the vicar of Upper Arley, Kidderminster from 1912 until 1923 after his ordination at Wells in 1907.[1] He served as vicar of Bishopsworth, Bristol for four years before moving to the Crusader Church dedicated St Margaret of Antioch at Yatton Keynell, where he preached for nearly 40 years. He was very well respected, appointed rural dean of Chippenham and honorary canon of Bristol Cathedral. He was the go-to man whenever there was a clerical need, including fundraising, prize-giving, supporter of the village school and chairman of Yatton Keynell parish council. His son Rev JHR Mayo was vicar of Colerne in the years after the Second World War.
Canon Mayo had strong connections with Box itself and when the Box vicar, Rev Lendon Bell, left Box parish for Sussex in 1954, it was Canon Mayo who was asked to supervise the parish.[2] It is likely that Alfred Shaw Mellor was the instigator of this in his role as churchwarden. The two knew each other well as they had both served on the Chippenham (later Calne & Chippenham) Rural District Council from at least 1939, when they administered the creation of Colerne Aerodrome.[3] Even before then, they had both been involved in organising the safe storage of church plate and parish registers in the event of war breaking out.[4] The association with St Thomas a Becket, Box, existed over a long period and Canon Mayo assisted at the funeral ceremony for Lilian Frances Kidston, wife of GJ Kidston of Hazelbury Manor, in 1954, and assisted or officiated at several weddings, including the celebrated double wedding of Elizabeth and Peggy Collier of Grove Farm, who were married to their spouses in a joint ceremony in 1954.[5]
Canon Mayo and his wife were keenly involved in the Church of England’s Waifs and Strays movement.[6] In 1941 they helped to establish a new home at Seagry, Chippenham to rehouse children from the Victoria Gibbs Home, Bristol, which was evacuated in the middle of the war.[7] They took into their home four evacuated orphan children in the war to help the Society manage numbers. These four children were never identified but it is possible that our mother was one of them. There is no evidence of this at all but, of course, living in the Canon’s house could explain why our mother knew Dorothy Snell so well.
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Above left: Middlehill House in 1958 and right: the garden pond at the house
Misses Harper at Middlehill House
Other contacts followed from the Yatton Keynell connection. It was during the establishment of the local orphanage that Canon Mayo worked closely with Kathleen and Dorothy Harper of Middlehill House, Box, who were the leading supporters of the local Waifs and Strays Society. The sisters were related to Box people, granddaughters of William Adair Bruce, director of the GWR and solicitor for the Northey family, lords of Box manor, who had lived at Ashley House, The Harper sisters moved back to Box in 1949 when they bought Middlehill House.
Kathleen became the first lady mayoress of Bath but their main achievement was their advocacy of the Waifs and Strays orphanage at Sunnyside (now ByBrook Nursing Home). The house had been extensively restored by DG Bingham in the early years of the twentieth century and the Misses Harper organised that the orphanage bought it in 1930 and originally titled The Holy Innocents Home.
Our Mother’s Life
We can’t be certain how or why our mother was connected with these people but it seems probable that it was through the Waifs and Strays orphanage. The likelihood is that Auntie Doll took a shine to her and Mary became known to Canon Mayo. In turn he introduced her to the Misses Harper, who championed her cause. Kathleen and Dorothy Harper appear to have taken a shine to her and treated her as a daughter. This is only our deduction because evidence for this period of her life is limited to her baptism at Handsworth Parish Church on 13 November 1938 and her confirmation at Yatton Keynell Church on 6 October 1946. It is possible that she worked in the Holy Innocents’ Home at Middlehill in some capacity after the Second World War, although we have no information about that.
Meanwhile, our father James Aubrey Hill (1931-2019) was living at Biddestone in one of the two cottages called Skimpot in Cuttle Lane. Family anecdotes say that, despite the Snell and Hill families knowing each other in North Wiltshire, our mother and father met in Portsmouth. Our father used to recall how Auntie Doll and Mary were on holiday in Helena Road, Portsmouth when an assignation was made for mum to receive a radio which dad had bought abroad whilst in the Royal Navy. They met for the first time over the front gate of the now called One Helena Road Hotel in Helena Road, Portsmouth when mum collected the wireless. They fell in love and on the wedding certificate Mary was described as living at Middlehill House, possibly as a cook as she was keen on cooking all her life.
Other contacts followed from the Yatton Keynell connection. It was during the establishment of the local orphanage that Canon Mayo worked closely with Kathleen and Dorothy Harper of Middlehill House, Box, who were the leading supporters of the local Waifs and Strays Society. The sisters were related to Box people, granddaughters of William Adair Bruce, director of the GWR and solicitor for the Northey family, lords of Box manor, who had lived at Ashley House, The Harper sisters moved back to Box in 1949 when they bought Middlehill House.
Kathleen became the first lady mayoress of Bath but their main achievement was their advocacy of the Waifs and Strays orphanage at Sunnyside (now ByBrook Nursing Home). The house had been extensively restored by DG Bingham in the early years of the twentieth century and the Misses Harper organised that the orphanage bought it in 1930 and originally titled The Holy Innocents Home.
Our Mother’s Life
We can’t be certain how or why our mother was connected with these people but it seems probable that it was through the Waifs and Strays orphanage. The likelihood is that Auntie Doll took a shine to her and Mary became known to Canon Mayo. In turn he introduced her to the Misses Harper, who championed her cause. Kathleen and Dorothy Harper appear to have taken a shine to her and treated her as a daughter. This is only our deduction because evidence for this period of her life is limited to her baptism at Handsworth Parish Church on 13 November 1938 and her confirmation at Yatton Keynell Church on 6 October 1946. It is possible that she worked in the Holy Innocents’ Home at Middlehill in some capacity after the Second World War, although we have no information about that.
Meanwhile, our father James Aubrey Hill (1931-2019) was living at Biddestone in one of the two cottages called Skimpot in Cuttle Lane. Family anecdotes say that, despite the Snell and Hill families knowing each other in North Wiltshire, our mother and father met in Portsmouth. Our father used to recall how Auntie Doll and Mary were on holiday in Helena Road, Portsmouth when an assignation was made for mum to receive a radio which dad had bought abroad whilst in the Royal Navy. They met for the first time over the front gate of the now called One Helena Road Hotel in Helena Road, Portsmouth when mum collected the wireless. They fell in love and on the wedding certificate Mary was described as living at Middlehill House, possibly as a cook as she was keen on cooking all her life.
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Above left: Aubrey on the right and his brother Doug on the left on the path to Ditteridge Church for the marriage to our mother Mary Holtom, right
Mary and Aubrey married at Ditteridge Church on 5 April 1958. Aubrey was working on HMS Vanguard as a Leading Mechanical Engineer. Thereafter, they relocated to Portsmouth to be closer to Aubrey when he was not at sea. The wedding photos show how isolated Mary’s childhood had been with Jack Snell witnessing the wedding certificate and acting in the role of father figure. Kathleen and Dorothy Harper, Canon Mayo and Dorothy and Jack Snell all appear in the wedding photograph as they were regarded as Mary’s family.
Our mother died in 2008 and we never got to know her life story fully. She never spoke about her childhood background and even our father only knew extracts. He died in 2019 after 22 years in the Royal Navy as a stoker and then another 22 years working for British American Tobacco. Now, of course, there is no one left to tell us and all we have is the wedding photos to remember them.
Our mother died in 2008 and we never got to know her life story fully. She never spoke about her childhood background and even our father only knew extracts. He died in 2019 after 22 years in the Royal Navy as a stoker and then another 22 years working for British American Tobacco. Now, of course, there is no one left to tell us and all we have is the wedding photos to remember them.
At Ditteridge Church doorway. Left to Right: Douglas Anthony Hill, Maureen Snell, Aubrey, Mary Holtom, Jack Snell, Mary Hill. Front: Beverly Hill and Shirley Snell.
Rowena and Ian would be delighted if you are able to fill in any of the blanks in their knowledge of their family story.
References
[1] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 31 March 1934 and Bristol Evening Post, 9 June 1939
[2] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 11 September 1954
[3] North Wilts Herald, 25 August 1939
[4] North Wilts Herald, 28 July 1939
[5] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 16 May 1953 and 28 August 1954
[6] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 1 May 1943
[7] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 20 September 1941
[1] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 31 March 1934 and Bristol Evening Post, 9 June 1939
[2] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 11 September 1954
[3] North Wilts Herald, 25 August 1939
[4] North Wilts Herald, 28 July 1939
[5] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 16 May 1953 and 28 August 1954
[6] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 1 May 1943
[7] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 20 September 1941