Story Search Results

The War years and beyond

...in those days never left the cities and towns where they lived and often didn’t know what a cow looked like in real life!  To see all the lawns and woods at the Hall must have been incredible for them although I’m not sure if they were allowed to wander around the grounds. Two of these youngsters returned to the Hall in the mid-1980s and spoke to my mum about the kindness they received from the family.  They also told her about the ‘secret airfield’ hidden away in a copse behind the ha-ha wall.  Apparently aircraft were kept here in readiness for action, it being a Satellite Landing Ground (SLG) site serving Fradley aerodrome, near Lichfield.  The...

The tax man cometh! #29

...THE TAX MAN COMETH:   My parents’ court case was finally over and my dad had six months to leave the house.  In the meantime my mum had to find the funds to buy him out and he had to find another house to live in.  He also had an awful lot of stuff to move too!  He eventually found a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent but as it was obviously a lot smaller he had to get rid of a lot of his possessions and one of the first things to go was his Lotus Elite.  He advertised it in the local paper but instead of getting a phone call from a likely buyer, the first call was from the local tax office.  Back in those days they used to check advertisements in the news...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #35

...21st birthday – a lot of money in those days! On her return to the Hall she found that a new temporary cook had started.  For the next four months her days were dominated by nagging and persecution, aided and abetted by the butler who joined in the game of baiting her.  Cooks like this were typical of her kind – ‘trained with the whip’ – and Jenny found the working conditions difficult.  However, leaving wasn’t easy as she lived at the Hall, all her belongings were there, her mother and sisters were all living and working a long way off and she also sent money home to her grandparents.  She was also determined not to be beaten by the cook. Duri...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #34

...21st birthday – a lot of money in those days! On her return to the Hall she found that a new temporary cook had started. For the next four months her days were dominated by nagging and persecution, aided and abetted by the butler who joined in the game of baiting her. Cooks like this were typical of her kind – ‘trained with the whip’ – and Jenny found the working conditions difficult. However, leaving wasn’t easy as she lived at the Hall, all her belongings were there, her mother and sisters were all living and working a long way off and she also sent money home to her grandparents. She was also determined not to be beaten by the cook. During ‘th...

The Tax Man Cometh! #26

...THE TAX MAN COMETH:      My parents’ court case was finally over and my dad had six months to leave the family home of Hoar Cross Hall. In the meantime my mum had to find the funds to buy him out and he had to find another house to live in. He also had an awful lot of stuff to move too! He eventually found a house in nearby Burton-on-Trent but as it was obviously a lot smaller he had to get rid of quite a few of his possessions and one of the first things to go was his Lotus Elite. He advertised it in the local paper but instead of getting a phone call from a likely buyer, the first call was from the local tax office! Back in those days they used to check a...

The Kitchen Maid's Story #37

...21st birthday – a lot of money in those days! The duck shoot at Laughton - 1930s   On her return to the Hall she found that a new temporary cook had started. For the next four months her days were dominated by nagging and persecution, aided and abetted by the butler who joined in the game of baiting her. Cooks like this were typical of her kind – ‘trained with the whip’ – and Jenny found the working conditions difficult. However, leaving wasn’t easy as she lived at the Hall, all her belongings were there, her mother and sisters were all living and working a long way off and she also sent money home to her grandparents. She was also determined...