(Copyright Coxhoe Local History Group)
Memories of Christine Duberry
Christine Dubery, is related to the Bell family, who formerly lived in Cornforth Lane and around Coxhoe. Christine contacted the History group as part of her family history research. She has kindly agreed to share her memories of her visits to Coxhoe to see her grandparents at the end of WW2.
Hello, I read with interest your information on Coxhoe, as I was looking for information on family.
My grandmother was Katherine Bell who lived in Cornforth Lane, and was married to Christopher, I believe a coke drawer at one point. They had 11 children who survived into adulthood. My father is the H. Bell, Herbert, mentioned as gardener at Coxhoe Hall. He went there from school, so would have been about 1924 as he was born in 1910. I was very interested to read he lived in East Lodge whilst working there.
He left in 1930 I believe to work for Bermondsey Council. He served in 460 Squadron in the 2nd world war with Australians. He was shot down September 3rd 1943 and was interned in Sweden, but returned at end of the month to rejoin RAF.
I have been anxious to obtain pictures relating to his past as have been mounting up stuff in his memory. I have small cutting from Coxhoe paper reporting his mother had been informed he was missing after the raid on Berlin.
Now all my father’s brothers and sisters are deceased. His brother Sidney was manager of the Co-op at end of war. I remember visiting grandma as war ended late 1945 and was taken to Co-op to choose Xmas present. I would have been three and a half.
Before my grandma married she ran a small shop for her Uncle Sorrel, also in the area. It would be interesting to hear any information you have re family ties in past. Hope you can help with some copies of photos. I live in Somerset so no chance of visit. The last of family to die was Robert Sorrell Bell who lived at 9 Vicarage Terrace, Blackgate all his married life.
Yes I remember several things about my childhood visit. I was born 31/07/1942 in Berkhampstead, where we lived with my paternal grandfather during the war years. We came up to visit grandma Bell late in 1945, before dad was demobbed finally. Sidney was at the Co-op by then. He was in the Middle East in the war, but I have picture of him as air raid warden in Coxhoe, so don’t think he was away that long.
Their brother Robert Sorrell was in Italy in the war, and I believe was interpreter. I know grandma had three sons away in the war in 1943 when dad was shot down. As I say, I knew dad went to Coxhoe Hall straight from school, so guess that was 1924 when he was 14 and left in 1930 to lodge with a family in Bermondsey where he worked. He was in the RAFVR and joined up for service in 1941 and was demobbed finally in 1946 January.
We travelled up by train to Durham, in second class carriage, not third, as there were three classes then. We stayed with Grandma and Sid in Cornforth Lane. At that time grandma suffered with bad skin complaint all up her arms, I think psoriasis, and so kept curtains drawn to keep sun off her. I remember the privy clearly! I think small children are always fascinated by toilets. We had an outdoor flush toilet in Berkhampstead, so had never encountered the type grandma had. I was worried about falling down the hole, and then about practicalities, it getting filled up with soil deposit. Then when they told me about the farmer coming with his cart to empty it from small door down in the lower road, I was worried he might open the door when I was in residence and hopped on and off very quickly. They said he came very early in the morning.
In the back room at grandmas there was a beautiful wooden rocking horse with dappled grey coat, and real horse hair mane and tail. It was not on rockers, but the sort of cantilevered contraption. It had been bought for dad as a child apparently, and he regretted we couldn’t get it home with us.
We visited others of the family, and Uncle Robert played the organ in his parlour in Vicarage Terrace, Blackgate. He had two Staffordshire dogs on the mantelpiece that I was fascinated by, as didn’t quite know if they were spaniels as they had such flat features. They were black and white and gold. I was puzzled by the fact that my uncle could play the organ keys and pull out stops, and use his feet on multiple pedals, at the same time.
I met one of my cousins, she was bigger than me, quite a bit older and she had bright red hair and lots of ginger freckles. But to crown it all, she had big ginger circles on her legs, which were virtually at my eye level. I was transfixed by the fact that everything matched. I was told that she had caught ringworm from some horses and they had to paint the fungus circles with iodine to kill off the complaint. I had no idea about ringworm at the time, just couldn’t stop admiring the coordination!!
We went to the Co-op, and I believe I was told Uncle Sid was manager. I had never been in such a big shop, as it was pretty rural at home. What I was in awe of, was the fact that the cashier sat in a small glass office, and counter assistants wrote bills and took money, and then put both into metal canisters. The canisters were screwed up onto an overhead wire, and then when a handle was pulled they flew through the air over our heads to the little office. The lady in the glass box dealt with the bill, and put any change back in the canister with receipt stamped paid, and they then flew back to the right place. Why didn’t they go to the wrong counter? Uncle Sidney said I could choose a present for myself for Christmas in the toy department, and he would pay for it as my Xmas gift. There were lots of things to choose from, but I fell in love with the magic Christmas stockings. I am sure you all remember them, they were made of stiff white mesh, and cut into stocking shape. At home everything was home made. These came from fairyland. The whole stocking shape was seamed round with red or green crepe paper edging. I wanted a shop stocking. My mother tried all ways to dissuade me from my obsession, but in the end uncle said it was my choice. My mother said they were dreadful value for money, as full of rubbish. She was right of course, and when I tore it open Christmas morning it had little plastic things like you get in crackers. There was a ball on elastic, but the ball was screwed up paper wrapped in fabric. The best thing inside was a kazoo. I thought the Co-op was like an Aladdin’s cave, as it sold such a variety of things. Uncle Sid was a firm believer in the Co-operative. Sang its praises all the time, as I guess he had seen it grow from early days.
Looking back now I think grandma was probably fortunate to have a house with its own privy, as things were still very primitive all around. I remember being aware of the pit heads, and machinery, and big slag heaps. They were very grey and foreboding to a child from rural Hertfordshire. I had no idea that Coxhoe Hall had been demolished as it was on hill above the town. I did know that they had prisoners of war there during the war as my father said. It seems so sad that such a beautiful house fell into decay.
Coxhoe Local History Group 