Pauline Gibbons' Memories Told to Claire Dimond Mills December 2024
All photographs courtesy of Pauline Gibbons
All photographs courtesy of Pauline Gibbons
Albert and Ellen Gibbons in Dorset
Pauline Gibbons has lived in Box her entire life, and Cath Knight suggested that I speak to her and capture her memories of life in Box village over the last eighty years or so. This is Pauline's story.
Gibbons Family
Pauline was born on April Fools’ Day 1936 to parents Tugela and Elizabeth Gibbons. Tugela is a very unusual name, he was named after the Battle of Tugela Heights in which his father, Albert Gibbons fought, during the Boer War in 1900.
Pauline's grandfather, Albert Gibbons, was born in Colerne in 1867 to Alfred, a quarryman, and Elizabeth Gibbons. Albert enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment in February 1888 and served in India and Burma from 1888 to 1896 when he was discharged. In 1896 he married Ellen Elizabeth Field from Bath. On the marriage certificate it says he was a well sinker, probably working for the Mullins family, a well-known Ashley and Colerne family of water diviners and engineers. On 20 October 1899 he was called up and sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War, returning on 7 July 1900 with two medals and a pack of chocolate which the family still have!
Pauline was born on April Fools’ Day 1936 to parents Tugela and Elizabeth Gibbons. Tugela is a very unusual name, he was named after the Battle of Tugela Heights in which his father, Albert Gibbons fought, during the Boer War in 1900.
Pauline's grandfather, Albert Gibbons, was born in Colerne in 1867 to Alfred, a quarryman, and Elizabeth Gibbons. Albert enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment in February 1888 and served in India and Burma from 1888 to 1896 when he was discharged. In 1896 he married Ellen Elizabeth Field from Bath. On the marriage certificate it says he was a well sinker, probably working for the Mullins family, a well-known Ashley and Colerne family of water diviners and engineers. On 20 October 1899 he was called up and sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War, returning on 7 July 1900 with two medals and a pack of chocolate which the family still have!
Albert's medals and the chocolate bar from the Boer War
Albert returned to Colerne, where he worked as a quarryman but by 1911 the family had moved to Middlehill where Albert worked as a gardener for Mr Vezey at Sunnyside. Albert and Elizabeth had six children, Lillian, Colenso (also named after a Boer War battle), Tugela, Ellen, Daisy, and Lizzie. By 1921 they had moved to central Box living above Ponting’s shop on the corner of the High Street and Chapel Lane. Tugela worked for Mr Morley at Alcombe Manor farm and younger sister Daisy was an errand girl for Miss Fudge at the Post Office.
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Above Left: Tugela and Pauline in the garden at Alcombe Manor; Middle and Right: Alfred and Tugela working at Alcombe Manor
A popular spot for single, young men and women to meet in the 1930s was under the railway bridge in Shockerwick! It was here Tugela met Elizabeth Annie Bletso from Purton who was working in service in Ashley. They married in 1931, and their first home was the Lodge at Alcombe Manor where both Albert and Tugela worked for the Morleys. During their time here, they looked after the beautiful gardens and built a swimming pool, no longer there. Pauline was born here in 1936.
By 1939, Albert, Ellen and their daughter Ellen had swapped their home above Ponting’s shop in Queens Square with another Ponting’s property - 4 The Parade. Their other three daughters, Lilian, Daisy and Colenso had all married and left home. Albert died on 27 March 1947 and Pauline remembers him being laid out in the front room of 4 The Parade. Due to Albert’s service in the Boer War, he was given military honours at his funeral.[1] Ellen remained living at 4 The Parade until her death on 1 February 1959, their daughter Ellen had died there a few years previously in 1953 from cancer. Pauline remembers Mr Dyer, the funeral director who lived at Townsend, undertaking the arrangements.
The Wharf seen in about the 1960s
When Pauline was six, in 1942, they moved to 4 The Market Place. There was no running water in the house at that time but there was a tap nearby and their neighbour let them use theirs. They then moved to 1 The Wharf. This house was owned by the Bath and Portland Stone company who Tugela now worked for. This house also didn’t have water but one of his sister’s husbands was a plumber and they installed it themselves! Tugela worked as a gardener; the company had a garden opposite Moon House in which he grew vegetables and kept pigs as part of the pig club. They shared a pig with several other families. Elizabeth’s job was to clean the chitterlings (intestine of the pig) by putting them on sticks before they were boiled to eat, as well as making baked faggots. They kept the bacon from the pig in cold storage on Walcot Street until they needed it.
Pauline attended Box School as her father had many years earlier. Friday afternoons were her favourite time because they went to Pound Pill School, Corsham, where the girls learnt cooking and the boys did woodwork. As a child, she worked for Clem Dyke at the Old Dairy (now Toast). Her job was to fill up the bottles with 1/3 pint of milk for the school during the week. At weekends, she filled the bottles, washed the bottles and milk churns and delivered milk to houses along The Ley. The milk was from Goulstone's Farm at Shockerwick. At that time, Chequers was run by Mrs Barnett and the Beazants, butchers in Corsham, had a shop in the front room of the pub.
Pauline attended Box School as her father had many years earlier. Friday afternoons were her favourite time because they went to Pound Pill School, Corsham, where the girls learnt cooking and the boys did woodwork. As a child, she worked for Clem Dyke at the Old Dairy (now Toast). Her job was to fill up the bottles with 1/3 pint of milk for the school during the week. At weekends, she filled the bottles, washed the bottles and milk churns and delivered milk to houses along The Ley. The milk was from Goulstone's Farm at Shockerwick. At that time, Chequers was run by Mrs Barnett and the Beazants, butchers in Corsham, had a shop in the front room of the pub.
Pauline centre working at Frys factory
She left at 15 and got a job at Fry’s chocolate factory in Keynsham. There was a bus from Corsham Town Hall but when that was stopped, she moved to Moon Aircraft on Box Hill. She worked there for 22 years, working on the airplane screens – rubbing out scratches with silvo and cotton wool. They also made London streetlamps and trays for Baxter butchers. While working on Box Hill, Pauline would visit Poshy Maynard’s shop for groceries and sweets. While there, she saw an advert for jobs at Copenacre and moved to the Ministry of Defence. Here she worked in a storeroom underground in Monks Park quarry issuing items for ships. She worked here for nineteen years.
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Left: Meeting Princess Margaret. Pauline made the star she is showing to the Princess. Right: St John’s Ambulance members
Memories of the Village Past
Pauline has fond memories of her life in Box, the well known shops and the famous characters we have documented already on this site. These include Ossie Butts and his bike shop at 4 The Parade, which then became Les Bawtree’s hairdressers; Mrs Swift ran her pharmacy from the house opposite the school, now called Colerne View, then it became a greengrocer and then a café.
Pauline has fond memories of her life in Box, the well known shops and the famous characters we have documented already on this site. These include Ossie Butts and his bike shop at 4 The Parade, which then became Les Bawtree’s hairdressers; Mrs Swift ran her pharmacy from the house opposite the school, now called Colerne View, then it became a greengrocer and then a café.
Bennie Drew delivering bread in the Market Place
There was another café run by Fanny Lewis next to the Post Office. There were two doctors in Box before the NHS, Dr Thomas whose surgery was next to the Pharmacy (now Malt House) with Bennie Drew the baker on the other side. Dr Thomas made their own medicines at that time too. Dr Stroud lived at 1 Kingston Villas and ran his surgery from a separate outhouse. Dr Thomas was replaced by Dr Devine and then Dr Muir who worked out of what was Hillyer’s shoe shop on the Market Place (now Dalebrook). The land where Vernal Orchard and the surgery is now, used to be fields and was used by the Post office as grazing and stabling for the horses that pulled the delivery cart.
Pauline remembers when Wilfred Pickles came to the Bingham Hall to record his show, ‘Have a Go’ and Dr Martin teaching the children to swim in the Bybrook. Her father, Tugela having on one occasion, to save one of the children from drowning! The travelling community were frequent visitors to Box, and they would pay ½ crown for a rabbit skin which they would turn into gloves.
Pauline remembers when Wilfred Pickles came to the Bingham Hall to record his show, ‘Have a Go’ and Dr Martin teaching the children to swim in the Bybrook. Her father, Tugela having on one occasion, to save one of the children from drowning! The travelling community were frequent visitors to Box, and they would pay ½ crown for a rabbit skin which they would turn into gloves.
The Wharf in the 1990s
Tugela died on 22 June 1978 from prostate cancer and her mother in 1993, but Pauline remained at The Wharf until 2008 as a sitting tenant. Bath and Portland Stone Company had sold the houses by then. After her mum died, Pauline joined the Box Ladies Club, going to talks and outings, including one to Southampton, as well as Moonrakers, run by Mrs Porter, which was an over 60s club which brought men and women together to socialise, play games and of course the annual Christmas party. When Mrs Porter died, the flat at Vine Court came up for rent and Pauline moved there.
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Left: Tugela and Above: Elizabeth Gibbons |
Reference
[1] Wiltshire Times, 12 April 1947
[1] Wiltshire Times, 12 April 1947