Fron Norma Hill

Jill welcomed us all to the meeting but then had to give the worrying news that our treasurer, Josie Hutton, was very poorly in hospital. Josie works tirelessly for the group and our thoughts are with her and her family.

Our speaker for February was Pam Smith and her talk was entitled ‘Bits and Pieces’. Pam has lived all her life in Naphill and started researching her family history many years ago. She has unearthed so much information about past relatives that the many books and photo albums she brought along covered two trestle tables. So many familiar local surnames names appeared in Pam’s talk, perhaps one of the most famous was her great grandfather Walter William Newall, a well known marathon runner in the late 1800s. There is also a family connection with Eric Gill, well known for his sculptures, engravings and type fonts, who lived at Pigotts, Piggott’s Hill near Speen.

As well as being fascinated by Pam’s family history, we also learned much about Naphill, Walter’s Ash and the surrounding area. Naphill Village Hall was built in 1928 on land donated by Coningsby Disraeli. In 1841 300 people lived in Naphill. Naphill had two forges, a poorhouse and all the houses had wells until mains water was connected in the early 1930s. There was a large poorhouse in Saunderton, where The Clare Foundation is now sited.

The three main industries in Naphill and Walter’s Ash were brick making, stone cutting and chalk mining. There were many chalk pits in the area between Forge Road (formerly known as Short Road) and the Bradenham Road. Once the men finished extracting the chalk a tree trunk was lowered into the hole, unfortunately, over time these have rotted away allowing voids to occur. In the past week one such chalk pit in Main Road, Walters Ash opened up and swallowed a car, luckily no one was hurt.

Our next meeting is on 7th March when our speaker will be Philip Littlejohn whose talk is entitled ‘Titanic – A Survivor’s Story’. This is an open meeting so all are most welcome.

From Joan Steel
Jill welcomed us all to the meeting and gave a particularly warm welcome to former members Margery Jenkins and Anne Nesbit. “Wartime Christmas” was the title of Edna’s talk, illustrated with slides and artefacts from the era. In her introduction, Edna spoke of her passion for social history. She met her husband when playing the part of an ARP warden in a war re-enactment play and now has three children who play with old fashioned toys as the whole family have become involved in historical things. They also have a 1930s house with all pre-war furniture and fittings, including an Anderson shelter.

Their home has been used for film sets and the kitchen was used by Margaret Pattern for doing a wartime cookery programme. The Cabinet War rooms were furnished partly from Edna’s collection of utility furniture. They have also sourced artefacts for Hughenden Manor’s wartime exhibition. The couple have varied careers connected with history and now also hold workshops for schoolchildren.

During her talk Edna outlined how lives changed in 1939. The traditional family Christmas was not possible as most children were evacuated. Evacuee parties took place and were especially enjoyed if held at an American air base where there was no rationing, lots of sweets, presents and food! Food rationing became more and more severe as the war progressed and was all controlled by the Ministry of Food. People were encouraged to rear chickens and pigs that were fed on scraps and some farmers were allowed to rear geese. Fashions changed, women altered to wearing trousers as they worked in factories or on farms in the “Land Army”. Everyone was encouraged to grow food in the Dig for Victory campaign. Recipes were adapted to make Christmas cakes, puddings etc with unusual ingredients to replace those on ration. Advice was given on preservation of food by bottling, pickling and drying. Bell-ringing was banned as it was used as a warning of an invasion There was none of the usual glow about Christmas because of the Blackout, no light was to be shown from windows or outbuildings, no Chrstmas tree lights, fireworks , bonfires, torches etc, and car headlamps had to be hooded. Christmas trees were only allowed in public places eg hospitals, shelters, underground stations and were decorated to boost morale, which was as important at home as in the forces. Petrol was rationed so people took holidays at home, mostly working eg on harvesting. Clothes were rationed on coupons, possibly enough to provide one outfit per year. “Make Do and Mend” was the slogan. Most clothes were altered or the cloth reused, knitted jumpers were undone and reknitted into socks gloves hats etc. People gave practical gifts eg things for comfort in the air raid shelters, eg sleeping bags, torches, books, siren suits, games, gas mask bags or tins, home-made gifts were treasured and particularly food, also soap’ bath salts and tooth paste were really appreciated. War bonds and war savings were good gifts that could be cashed after the war. Paper was in short supply, recycled and poor quality, thus affecting the sale of Christmas cards. Edna showed us a wide range of interesting literature of the time, plus slides, photographs, games and toys which, for some, brought back memories of harsh, although happy days when everything was fun (except the long bitterly cold winters when the novelty of sledging had worn off!).

Edna was warmly thanked for a most interesting evening. Please join us for our next meeting on10th January in the Small Hall. Wishing You All a Happy New Year