We think this is Bernard's maternal grandfather, Jonathan Webb.
For part two, he is in Redditch and Hinchley.
REDDITCH 1906-1909
This marked the heyday of my educational career which centred in the Secondary School, headmaster Mr William Rigby, head mistress Miss Robinson where I was an unruly pupil. This however did not prevent me from being one of the first to win a Worcestershire Intermediate Scholarship. Another winner from the school was Stanley Guise, the son of a local jeweller. From that we worked on together and got London Matriculation, the first ones in the school's short history. By the way, it was in the scholarship exam I really showed up. There was a physics paper in it and we did not do physics as yet at the school. Mr Rigby gave me an elementary text book on it, said "Read that and you'll do". I read it and "did", heading the whole county in physics! And the director[?] of Education made a point of seeing me.
I became friends with Kingsley Simmons the son of a Society Steward and furniture dealer, at the instigation of his step-mother I think. We were not particularly suited to one another but maintained the companionship throughout my stay in Redditch. He had a boy and girl "sweetheart" affair with Elsie Wheeler and subsequently married her. Elsie had an elder sister Laura with whom I was paired off! Not surprisingly nothing came of our pairing off.
Redditch presented a complete contrast to South Bank. No long straight, dead level granny[?] streets were here. Instead the town rose steeply from the level of the railway station to a wide open triangular space from the centre of which the parish church, St Stephen's, raised its lofty spire, a landmark for miles around.
Turning right at the first corner of the triangle, you went into Evesham Street, the principal shopping street and then climbed Front Hill and Mount Pleasant, the way to the Ridgeway, which was about two or so miles long and gave magnificent views across Worcestershire to the bold line of the Malvern Hills. Our hosts when we first arrived were Mr and Mrs Geo. Leach who lived in a stately mansion in the highest part of town and kept a carriage and pair like quite a number of the mill and factory hierarchy! Mr Leach was general manager of S. Allcock and Co., world renowned for making fishing tackle. So there was no lack of variety of life here. King Simmons had an elderly uncle, one Martin James who owned a small fishing tackle factory beside the Congregational Church in Evesham St and who gave me an open invitation to visit the works which I very much appreciated and availed myself of quite a lot.. There, I was always thrilled at the skill of Mr Hill, the rod maker who could take a broom handle - "handle" sound better than "stick" - put one end of it in his hollow spindle lathe, cut it in exact halves with a thrust of his chisel, tape off the ends and make a shallow groove in the middle for the mounting for the reel, which mountings he would then make from a length of brass tube and they would fit perfectly on the handle all without ever using a rule or measure.
The world-renowned fishing tackle factory, Standard Works, was on Clive St, north of the station; more information here. He does not say where they lived, but Edna, his future wife, lived on Mount Pleasant, which he does mention. Fishing tackle seems to be the financial basis of the town's ecomony.
At Redditch Father promoted a great debt-clearing programme for the whole circuit culminating in a 3 day banquet in the Public Hall. It was completely successful. Enid took a teaching post in Crabbs Cross, two miles away and all hills! In the evenings she studied for her School Teachers certificate which she obtained with a distinction in "Princples of Education". Harold took a teaching job in Reigate and Ronald entered the Civil Service as a Second Division Clerk and posted to Dublin.
Father had an invitation to Hinckley in Leics and thither we in due course repaired!
His "farewell" service at Bates Hill sticks in my memory. The church - it seated 900 - was full and the service ended with the traditional Wesyelan practice of all joining in "God be with you till we meet again" and didn't they sing it. That was the last time I heard it sung.
Hinchley is between Coventry and Leicester...
HINCKLEY (1909-1912)
Hinckley proved a great contrast. Like Redditch it was a factory town but it seemed to have none of the refinements that made Redditch so pleasant.
Father of course was Super. of the circuit with Rev Stanley N. Hoare M.A. as No 2. He was a very remarkable man: his degree was Cambridge with Honours; he was Connexional[?] Examiner in Hebrew. He knowledge of music far exceeded his accomplishment on the piano, though this was by no means ordinary.
For myself, I studied (!) at home, first to follow in Ron's footsteps as a Civil Servant and when my attempt got me nowhere to try for Inter. B,Sc., this on the advice of old Rigby with whom I kept in contact. It was my final misfortune that this too failed. Mr Hoare had offered me his help which I reluctantly declined maths being my forte and chemistry my undoing.
I am not sure quite what he means here. "Inter. B,Sc." could mean an intercalate degree; one with a extra year to do one subject more in depth, but seems to apply to medical degrees. Could otherwise in international or interim? The connection between refusing help and good at maths is also unclear.
It was at Hinckley that I thought I had met my partner for life in the person of the Organist's daughter, but mother wisely insisted that I must have a career first and I had to give up the idea.
Curious he does not name the object of his desire, after he had named they girl he got paired up with in Redditch.
Father's predecessor was named Wollerton and he was the minister in S. Africa who married father and mother! He returned to Hinckley one weekend to take the Sunday School Anniversary service and father went to Kings Lynn to supply for him. Result - an invitation to father to go there when his ministry in Hinchley ended.
As churches went, the one at Stockwell (Hinchley) was reasonably up to date but across the side street was a much older building were John Wesley himself had preached.
Beside the Old Church was the backyard of Fred Burton's grocers' shop, the shop itself being in Castle Street, Hinchley's main thoroughfare. Fred Burton and L Joone(?), boot and shoe maker of Earl Shilton were the circuit stewards who welcomed us to Hinchley and installed us in our home, Goulbourn[?] House in Burbage Rd. Fred was good local preacher and leader of a young men's Society Class which I joined. It was regarded as a nursery school for local preachers but actually it was father's colleague Stanley Hoare who put me up for preaching. I fear I made a poor start but I got through the examination and was duly qualified (June 1912) before we left for kings Lynn.
Flying was in its infancy at the time and I can remember getting up at 4 am and cycling to Melton Mowbray (24 miles) and then a further 5 miles to Saxby to see the competitors in the "Round Britain" air race. They had straggled so much I saw only one. However this was the time of the London - Manchester air race sponsored by the Daily Mail and I saw Claude Graham White fly over Nuneaton so low that he had to rise to clear ground obstructions. He finally came down at Lichfield. Meanwhile Paulham flying high, passed him and won the £10,000 prize.
About this time, Harold in Reigate caught diphtheria and on his recovery was invalided home where a family council, myself excluded as too young, decided he ought to study art and he began training at Leicester Art School for his A.R.C.A. We had several visits from Ronald, each time on a different and bigger motor cycle. Enid had stayed behind at Redditch where she was not very happy but having met George Wright, a small maker of fishing flies, she became engaged to him.
Enid staying in Redditch seems to have established roots for the family. They would return there when Joseph retired, and of course Bernard would meet Edna there. So a good job she met George, who, like everyone else in the town, made fishing tackle.
There is a large blank space at this point, then the next sentence seems to be missing any context; was he intending to add something in the gap?
Father was finding it hard to make ends meet, so to save some train fare Harold and I cycled to Bourne and joined the family there.
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