From the Chair
Welcome back to our twice-yearly newsletter! Welcome back to a slice of normality. Our meetings started again in October, and with one blip in January, have continued and prospered. Audiences were tentative at first at about half the pre-Covid level but are picking up again now, with, I have noticed, several visitors and new members.
This edition contains reports of the five talks we have had so far, plus news of summer trips and a couple of special articles. I hope they will encourage those who have been understandably reluctant to come to the Village Hall, to reappear.
Incidentally, I would like to thank Village Hall committee member, Sandra Howell, for her help in setting up and putting away – struggling with heavy chairs and tables was the one down side to History nights – and thanks also to Viv Adams for turning up to serve just a few glasses of wine. Much appreciated, as are the tea and coffee makers. Anyone who feels able to take a turn with the teapot at future meetings would be most welcome.
Next winter, we will be scheduling talks to start at 7.45pm instead of 8pm, to avoid the awful silences as I watch the hands ticking around and smile nervously at the audience.
Sadly, we have lost some members in the last two years. Most notably, our former chairman, Roger Manning, a calm exponent of the mot juste, centurion Jim Johnstone and Peter Barratt. All will be missed.
Let us wish for a more peaceful summer
Phil White
Richard Chambers: On a Wing and a Prayer
4 October 2021
After an enforced absence from ‘face to face’ meetings because of Covid, our first meeting in October was delivered by an enthusiastic, young, 7th generation pigeon fancier, Richard Chambers. Not knowing quite what to expect, his audience was soon intrigued by the succession of little-known facts about the role of the much-maligned pigeon throughout history.
The first known use of pigeons as postal messengers was in ancient Egypt. In 2900 B.C., incoming ships released pigeons as an announcement of important visitors. They were also sent the length of the river Nile to report on the state of the annual floods. In ancient Greece the pigeons carried the names of Olympic victors back to their cities. The Romans used pigeon messengers to aid their military campaigns across their empire. Carrier pigeons are also mentioned in the Old Testament (think about Noah’s dove, a close relative of the humble pigeon). During the Crusades Richard the Lionheart’s men captured a pigeon that carried a message reporting that a Muslim army would arrive in three days to break the Christian siege of Ptolemais. A forged message was substituted, saying that no help would be coming so the besieged town surrendered. The Muslim relief army arrived to find the Christians solidly entrenched. Genghis Khan established pigeon relay posts across Asia and much of eastern Europe. It was a pigeon that flew to England with the news, within five hours, of the victory at the Battle of Waterloo. In the Boer War of 1899-1902, during the sieges of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking, avian communication was established from the isolated British troops to the outside world.
It is perhaps for the role they played during the First and Second World Wars that they are best remembered. The maintenance of reliable communication was of paramount importance, being an essential element of success, but with radio communication not being totally dependable in the First World War, it was decided to make greater use of the carrier pigeons. In total over 200,000 birds were ‘signed up’. They were trained in Cornwall to fly at night; that way they were less likely to be brought down by birds of prey or being spotted and shot down by German snipers whilst on their missions. Temporary pigeon lofts, such as converted buses, were taken over to France. The birds would carry their coded messages in small zinc capsules attached to their legs or on their backs. They were also used for aerial reconnaissance over German lines, having small cameras attached to their chests.
Technology having progressed after the first war, initially it was thought that the outdated pigeon service would not be used, but this quickly changed and in fact more than 250,000 birds were drafted into service. Apart from carrying vital messages as to where and what the German army was doing, they saved many lives, particularly of aircrew. Many homing pigeons were seconded into service from private racers and fanciers. On every mission, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft carried two pigeons in special watertight canisters, enabling a message to be sent if the aircraft had to ditch into the sea for reasons including running out of fuel, engine failure or being shot down. The pigeons often faced long flights to get home – usually under difficult conditions, and success was never certain. For great acts of bravery these birds could be awarded the Dicken Medal, the equivalent of the Victoria Cross. Richard told us of one such bird, Winkie, who received her medal after she completed an arduous 120-mile flight home from the North Sea, where the crew of a Bristol Beaufort had been brought down by enemy fire in February 1942. Carrying the co-ordinates of their position, it was realised that the initial search was being carried out in the wrong area. Her efforts lead to the crew’s successful rescue. In all 32 Dicken medals have been awarded.
These pigeons also played a heroic part in the success of the D Day landings in 1944. The success of the operation depended on total radio silence, so these birds, in their own parachutes, were dropped behind enemy lines and then used by the French Resistance to help facilitate the landings. As the chances of the demise of birds was high, as many as 20 would carry the same duplicate message in the hope that at least one would be safely received. Of the 5,000 birds used only around 250 survived. Richard related an interesting anecdote involving a Second World War messenger pigeon that did not survive. In 1998 a couple who lived in the south of England were renovating their house. In the process they dismantled an old chimney breast and in the rubble they spotted a gruesome find. A small red canister attached to the leg of a bird. The container was taken to Bletchley Park in the hope that the message could be decoded. Unfortunately, this was not possible but who knows – maybe one day! Helen Sharp
Gill Sykes, ‘The Catholics of Staffordshire from the Reformation to the 1850s’ 1 November 2021
Gill Sykes, the chair of Colton History Society, and a well-known speaker to the members of Ridware History Society, gave a fascinating talk on the history of Catholicism in Staffordshire. She began with an overview of the English Reformation, starting with the marriage of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn and proceeding through the topsy-turvy reigns of Edward VI (Protestant), Mary Tudor (Catholic) and Elizabeth I (Protestant). The disestablishment of the monasteries, largely done to fill Henry’s coffers, caused distress to the poor, as they had been the major local source of charity. During Edward’s reign churches were stripped of plate and vestments, religious statues and wall paintings; then Mary came to the throne and reversed it all, with the brutal persecution and execution of Protestants. Elizabeth brought a more moderate approach to her Protestant reform initially, but became increasingly intolerant of practising Catholics as her reign progressed. To give a sense of the spiritual and political upheaval of this period, Gill recommended Eamon Duffy’s The Voices of Morebath.
I can also recommend his monumental book about the period, The Stripping of the Altars.
One reason for Elizabeth’s increasing persecution of Catholic recusants was the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Catholic plots to free her and place her on the throne – her claim to which was stronger than Elizabeth’s from a Catholic perspective (under Catholic law, Henry could not divorce his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, and therefore was never married to Anne Boleyn). Mary, Queen of Scots, spent most of her imprisoned years in Staffordshire: first, at Tutbury, which she hated, and then at Chartley Castle, and finally, briefly at Tixall. Her removal from Tutbury was caused by the first of the plots – the Throckmorton Plot – and this was succeeded at Chartley by the Babbington Plot in which messages were smuggled to her in a Burton beer barrel. Mary made the mistake of responding, and this led directly to her execution at Fotheringay. It is an interesting question why Elizabeth chose to imprison Mary in Staffordshire, which has been described as ‘a hotbed of Catholicism’.
Many of the major landowners in Staffordshire, including the Fitzherberts of Hamstall Ridware, remained defiantly Catholic, and this meant that everyone on their estates remained Catholics. Fines were issued for not attending church. Priests were trained in France and travelled from manor to manor to celebrate Mass, at great risk to themselves. Robert Sutton of Burton, who celebrated Mass at Stafford, Hoar Cross and possibly Hamstall Ridware, was only one of many who were hanged, drawn and quartered. Landowners also risked imprisonment or death; Sir Thomas Fitzherbert, of Norbury and Hamstall, was imprisoned for nearly 30 years before his death in the Tower.
The final act in this struggle between the Protestant or Catholic future of England was the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. With the failure of the Plot and the execution of its perpetrators, under James I the persecution of Catholics became less stringent. Gill talked about the Boughey family of Boughey Hall Farm, Colton. The family remained Catholic and most likely worshipped with Lord Aston of Tixall, who maintained a Catholic chapel. Catholic landowners like Thomas Whitgreave of Moseley Old Hall were instrumental in sheltering and enabling the escape the future Charles II following the Battle of Worcester. Thomas Whitgreave later married Constance Boughey of Colton, and the family retained the farm until the 1920s. The Popish Plot was the final convulsion of this era: a complete fabrication about a plot to kill Charles II and return the country to Catholicism. Among those implicated and executed was Lord Stafford.
Persecution of Catholics eased with time. The Catholic church at Yoxall was built in 1795 and although life for English Catholics was much easier by then, it was built to resemble a private house. Discrimination ended with the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829.
Staffordshire often seems marginal in studies of national politics and history, so it was of great interest to hear Gill’s talk, focusing on the role that this area played during the English Reformation.
Marty Smith
Celebrating Christmas
A Talk by Helen Johnson from Stafford Heritage Service December 2021
After a brief explanation of the SAHS, Helen began by saying that many of our Christmas traditions are not as old as we might think. However, since pre-Christian times, the celebration of the Winter Solstice, the days getting longer, and the death and rebirth of nature, have been part of the calendar.
The Romans celebrated Saturnalia on the 17th of December, which, as well as the occasional sacrifice, involved partying and gift-giving, a set of customs which continued in Christian times, becoming official in 364, when Pope Julius fixed the festival’s date. Though now a celebration of the birth of Jesus, older customs (e.g. bringing evergreen boughs into the house) were linked in with the Christian elements.
Another non-Christian tradition that was important in Medieval times was the Yule log, which was carried in by a large number of people on Christmas Eve and placed on the hearth, most frequently in large houses with large hearths. It was laid on the previous year’s ashes, again symbolizing rebirth and renewal.
Twelfth Night was an important date in the Christmas festivities, incorporating celebration of the three kings and their gifts, but also providing an excuse for another big cake and a big ‘knees-up’, presided over by the Lord of Misrule, a jester-type figure. Another fun activity was wassailing, a West-country practice, involving singing to apple trees and consuming large amounts of alcohol.
The first reference in English to Christ’s Mass occurs in 1038. Carols were with us from early on: there are mentions of ‘Good King Wenceslas’ and ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ from the Thirteenth and Fourteenth centuries.
Skipping quickly over a few centuries, the Victorians brought back Christmas Day itself as the focus of the festival and Christmas cards were launched by one Henry Cole in the 1840s, taking off in popularity once the penny post was established and printing became cheaper. At first, the illustrations were of simple country scenes and not particularly Christmassy or wintry, perhaps another throwback to the idea of looking forward to Spring: there were no robins or elves, nor was there mistletoe or merry-making. Gift-giving also shifted back to Christmas Day.
During the reign of Victoria, and because of her popularity and influence, the idea of the large family was promoted and, it is said, childhood was invented. Toys became important and large stores like Harrods, Whiteleys and Selfridges produced catalogues for the expanding middle classes. Jigsaws, toy soldiers and dolls had their heyday. Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ was another seminal work helping to create the unique atmosphere of Christmas.
Prince Albert is generally credited with the arrival of the traditional German Christmas tree and around the same time, a gentleman named Tom Smith, inspired by seeing a log crackling, and with a brother who worked with explosives, brought us the Christmas cracker.
Helen then showed some slides from the Archive’s collection, which illustrated the above information and added some new, including the rise of turkey as the traditional mainstay for Christmas dinner, the ups and downs of plum duff or Christmas pudding (banned by Cromwell), the mystery of why the large rectangular Christmas pie turned into small round mince pies and, finally, the later -1870-90 – arrival of Father Christmas, originally a composite of Old Winter and St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children and originally clothed in green.
Quite a tour, packing in loads of fascinating snippets and covering all the traditions we tend to take for granted!
Phil White
Brindley Village: A Legacy of the Great War
A talk by Linda Barrett and Phil Grainger given on 5 February 2022
The origins of Brindley Village lie in the First World War. Rugeley Camp opened in January 1915 to train soldiers for the trenches, and in early 1916, a hospital was opened in the camp to deal with the wounded, with general sickness and, later, the Spanish flu. There were 12 long huts which served as wards, with a connecting corridor running down the back, as well as nurses’ quarters, an isolation ward and barracks. The huts were built either side of a large courtyard which contained the flagpole, the base of which is still visible and much-visited today.
After the war the hospital continued to operate, treating victims of shell-shock and gas poisoning. But in 1923 West Cannock Colliery Co., which operated Colliery No. 5 on nearby Brindley Heath Road, took possession of the site and converted it into a village for their miners and management. There was a church, school, working-men’s club and shop. The houses, converted from the wards, had hot running water and toilets, which were a considerable attraction; however, they were not insulated and could be bitterly cold. 58 families moved in.
In the 1920s the school and working-men’s club opened. In the difficult days of the Depression, the colliery provided welfare to the miners and their families suffering hardship. The residents of Brindley Village formed a tight-knit community, hardworking, but with a great sense of fun. The church was one centre of social life, but so was the club, with many teams, including a successful football team. Although there were outbreaks of flu, diphtheria and polio, the children who grew up there have incredibly happy memories of roaming free over the Chase. They particularly enjoyed the American soldiers (and their gifts) who were stationed in Sherbrook Valley during the Second World War.
The hospital huts were only meant to be temporary, and by the end of the war it was clear that they were deteriorating. Originally, the intention was to replace them in situ, but planning permission was refused and instead, replacement houses were built in Hednesford. It was not an attractive situation for those villagers who had enjoyed life on the Chase, and the community spirit was really lost once they had moved. By 1955, the village was empty, though the school continued until 1959. We were really privileged to hear the story of Brindley Village from Linda Barrett, who had spent her childhood there. In 2017 she and others formed the Brindley Village Legacy Group, collecting oral accounts of people’s memories, photographs and other objects. This resulted in an exhibition at the Museum of Cannock Chase and an excellent book. The latest projects are to have interpretive signboards placed at sites in the old village and to deposit their records with the Staffordshire Archive Service.
We hope to follow up this talk with a visit to Brindley Village this summer, led by Linda. As someone who walks there regularly, I look forward to it eagerly. It is intriguingly difficult to relate the photographs from the book to the site as it is now, overgrown with rhododendrons and mature trees, and the road reduced to a narrow path. It is always a surprise when one spots a discarded Belfast sink in the woods, and moving to see the many memorials to former villagers.
Marty Smith
The Dyotts of Freeford Hall, Lichfield
A talk by Richard Dyott on 7 March 2022
Richard began this entertaining and very informative talk by explaining there were many variants of spelling of the Freeford name over many centuries. And many more Richard Dyotts too! The ‘ford of the heath’ is one of many interpretations of the derivation of Freeford. Its name and variants began from the Domesday Book as ‘fraiford, (from a ford): Frys: fford (thought to be a natural crossing)’. The ford was ‘free’ in the sense that it was open or accessible,
According to the Domesday Book, Freeford consisted of 848 acres of land. Six people were assessed for tax in 1327 and 13 in 1332–3. Two householders were assessed Freeford Hall for hearth tax in 1666.
Most surprisingly, by the mid-13th century, there was a leper’s hospital at Freeford, on the site of the present day Freeford Hall. In 1917, 80 skeletons were discovered during a road-widening scheme. They showed the devastating damage to the bones caused by this disease. The skeletons were buried around 3ft deep, all without coffins and on the whole, in a Christian orientation. A chalice and paten (cup and small plate used for Communion) were found in the hands of one of the skeletons. They are thought to be from around the 12th or 13th centuries and made from base metal. More bones were discovered in 1969, during the construction of another road.
The Civil War
John Dyott was born unable to speak or hear and his family called him ‘Dummy’ as a nickname. The males of the Dyott family had served in many wars, and were natural experts at warfare and the use of weapons. John Dyott was an excellent shot despite his disabilities. From the top of the centre spire of the cathedral, he aimed at Richard Greville, Lord Brooke (Parliamentarian) and shot a single bullet through Lord Brooke’s eye, who then fell to his death on the ground. How this shot from the top of the centre spire was achieved has been in discussion for centuries!
Betty Hyde
Can anyone help?
I have become fascinated by the sweet chestnut tree which stands precariously on a small island outside Hanch Hall. It is clearly very ancient. I have been told that it is as old as the origins of the hall (Tudor), that it was used as a gallows and that it is haunted by a coach and horses (alternatively a large dog) that circle round it. Curiouser and curiouser. If anyone has any information about this tree and especially if anyone has a copy of the Hanch Hall guide and would allow me to see it, please contact me.
My second query concerns the canal bridge at Shaw Lane. This is normally called the Magazine Bridge by older locals, but no one seems to know why. Obviously it is not a magazine like Hello!, but I imagine it may have been a powder magazine, and the fairly remote spot would be suitable for that. But why? Was it used in building the canal, or the West Coast Main Line which is not far away? There is a truly beautiful bridleway running down the opposite side of the canal from the towpath, eventually turning away from the canal and crossing fields to Tuppenhurst Lane. It is clearly old, and was used in living memory as a farm track. Did it have something to do with the magazine? Again, if anyone has information about this area, please let me know.
I also recommend the bridleway as part of a circular walk from either the Crown bridge or Tuppenhurst Farm bridge. But beware: HS2 are due to close it temporarily as part of a gasline diversion project.
I also worry about an HS2 truck colliding with and destroying the Hanch Hall chestnut.
Marty Smith (email: martyross73@gmail.com; phone: (01543) 307456
Celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee
There is to be a Family Fun Day in and around the grounds of Mavesyn Ridware Village Hall in Hill Ridware on Saturday 4 June 2022 from 11am to 5pm. Along with fun activities for the whole family the RHS committee will be putting on a small display chronicling some local events over her 70-year reign.
Please bring your own picnic.
Hamstall Ridware will also be holding their own celebrations.