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The War Years and Beyond #39
Posted by Viv Wilson on 14th February 2022 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,Second World War,barometric,First World War,London,Red Cross,downton abbey,hotel and Spa,fradley aerodrome,keeping up with the aristocrats
During the Second World War, life in country houses changed dramatically. It was no different at Hoar Cross Hall. The flower borders on the main lawns were turfed over to reduce maintenance and vegetables were grown in areas formerly restricted to flowers. Evacuees from Birmingham came to stay for the duration of the war and they lived in the basement, as it was considered to be the safest place. I imagine that they must have been in the care of the servants as they were living amongst them but it must also have been quite exciting for them to move from a bombed out city to the relative safety of the countryside, although they must have missed their parents of c...The War Years and Beyond #36
Posted by Viv Wilson on 6th January 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,Red Cross,christian community,hotel and Spa,hollybush park,burton general hospital,consultant,Doctor,Birmingham,evacuees,second world war,Hospital,fradley aerodrome,Lichfield,War Office
During the Second World War, life in country houses changed dramatically. It was no different at Hoar Cross Hall. The flower borders on the main lawns were turfed over to reduce maintenance and vegetables were grown in areas formerly restricted to flowers. Evacuees from Birmingham came to stay for the duration of the war and they lived in the basement, as it was considered to be the safest place. I imagine that they must have been in the care of the servants as they were living amongst them but it must also have been quite exciting for them to move from a bombed out city to the relative safety of the countryside, although they must have missed their parents of c...
The Kitchen Maid's Tale #41
Posted by Viv Wilson on 8th February 2023 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Meynell,laughton estate,rolls royce,ducks,glasgow university,second world war,London,Spa hotel,Butler,debutante,the season
If you were young, free and single – oh, and very well-to-do – the 1920s were the decade to be a part of. The upper classes had lots of time on their hands and enjoyed post-First World War delights such as the theatre and jazz clubs.Not so for the lower classes, in particular a young girl who was to become the kitchen maid at Hoar Cross Hall in the 1920s. The ‘depression’ after the First World War brought stark poverty to her home and many like her. Her name was Jean Rennie, and she was extremely intelligent having won a scholarship to Glasgow University to study French and music. However, the £5 bursary she got (equivalent to around £250 in today's mo...
Like Father Like Sons #20
Posted by Viv Wilson on 3rd June 1976 in Early Days | hoar cross hall,motor racing,go karts,formula 1,cadwell park,donington park,ff2000,isport international
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS As mentioned before my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s and ran his own team in the 1960s, travelling all over Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van with his two mechanics and driver. He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him and most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed in. From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country. There was quite a collection and I still have them; I used to put them on display in the Library when our...
Like Father, Like Sons #21
Posted by Viv Wilson on 10th March 2019 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | hoar cross hall,Formula 1,donington park,Graham Hill,damon Hill,isport international,RAC Rally,Chasewater
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS: As previously mentioned in earlier blogs my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s and ran his own team in the 1960s, travelling all over Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van with his two mechanics and driver. He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him and most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed in. From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country. There was quite a collection and I still have them; I used to put them on d...
Like father, like sons #20
Posted by Viv Wilson on 16th January 2020 in Growing Up In a Stately Home | motor racing,shardlow motor racing,Europe,Lombard RAC rally,Chasewater
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS: As previously mentioned in earlier blogs my dad used to be a racing driver during the 1950s and ran his own team, Shardlow Motor Racing, in the 1960s, travelling all over Europe in his trusty Volkswagon van (see picture above) with his two mechanics and racing driver. He didn’t have big sponsorship money behind him and most of it was done on a shoestring but he came back with lots of funny stories of their van breaking down or some rural ‘hotel’ that they had stayed in. From each country that he visited he always brought me back a doll dressed in the traditional costume of that country. There was quite a collectio...