Local Talk Back June 2014

JUNE 2014 LOCAL TALKBACK ISSUE 441
EDITORIAL
Thank you to Matthew Butler for his interesting editorial last month. It was a great help to us to have a
break, and it is good if more people get involved in the make up of the Talkback. So please come forward if
you have any ideas or think you have something to share. As it is the 100 th anniversary of the start of WW1
we would like stories from any part of that war. Maybe you have the story of an ancestor. It doesn’t
necessarily have to be of only local people. Thankyou to Ray Bird and Jo Niblett for providing stories for us
this month.
We must give congratulations on behalf of all readers to Richard and Belinda Elford who have recently
collected a joint community award for their tireless work for charity and for the community including their
support for The Lions and for The Link. They have written about the award ceremony in LTB.
The cuckoo is quite elusive but it has been heard by several people recently and in various places from Acton
Turville to Little Badminton. There is sadness for another bird. There has been families of Little Owls in
Little Badminton for many years, and always two or three babies, but for weeks now a lone owl is calling for
its lost mate day and night. It is heartbreaking!
Motorists will be happy now that the Luckington Road railway bridge has at last opened to traffic. Some
businesses will be glad to get back to normal after such a long upheaval. And hopefully the Luckington
Lane out of Badminton will be re-instated to something a lot safer now that it is not being used by so many
heavy vehicles. It can be quite dangerous with so many massive potholes.
As we write the A & E at Frenchay Hospital is closing down and will be followed by the closure of the
whole hospital. It is quite sad for a lot of people and a great shame for our area being that the ‘new’
Southmead site is not so easy to get to as Frenchay and there is far more traffic to get through. It seems that
the brand new Southmead Hospital is going to have massive parking problems for a while.
History of Frenchay Hospital: The Frenchay Park site was bought by the Bristol Corporation and started
its medical life as a children’s TB sanatorium in 1921 called Frenchay Park. The main treatment for TB was
fresh air and good food and the children spent many months and even years in this sanatorium. Those
facilities were upgraded in 1931. In 1938 with a war looming the Corporation began to build a new hospital
next to the sanatorium starting with a row of 15 single-storey brick built wards and other associated facilities.
Most of this phase was finished in1942 just as US forces entered the war and were in need of hospital
services, so the site was handed over to the American army while it was still under construction. Initially it
was used as a training hospital by the US army. The Children’s TB hospital stayed separate.
In November 1942 a more permanent unit, the US army 298 th General Hospital, arrived to run the hospital.
A second row of wards and other units were built to accommodate a growing number of injured military
personnel. After D-Day it was put to great use as more casualties arrived. At the end of the war it was
handed back to the Bristol Corporation. Different clinical departments used the hospital and then the
National Health Service acquired it in 1948. In the years since, Frenchay has altered and grown with new
departments opening up such as a nurses home, Nuerosurgery and Plastic surgery, Stroke and Burns units,
casualty, out patients and some new wards. The old single storey buildings are still there but not all had been
used as wards in recent years. And now it has all gone, emptied of patients and staff – 72 years since the
main hospital wards were erected and 93 years since the children’s sanatorium first opened in the original big
house.
The Three Country Girls
Send articles to Liz, c/o The Estate Office, Badminton, South Glos, GL9 1DD, or ring Liz (mornings only) on 01454 218379
e-mail lizbarnesbpc@googlemail.com DATE FOR ARTICLES FOR JULY ISSUE WILL BE 20 TH JUNE
DONATIONS
Many thanks for the donations received recently. We have had donations from the Badminton
Village Club collection box, and we would like to thank all those who contribute towards the
production of the magazine. Also to all those people who help behind the scenes.

MY ROYAL CONNECTIONS
By Phyllis Salmon (nee Brown) autobiography written 1989
This is about her childhood in Badminton from 1926
PART 10 - FROM DODINGTON TO LONDON
While working at Dodington House there was one exciting event and that
was the ball. There were guests everywhere in their sparkling jewellery, and
lovely gowns. We watched from the landing. There was an orchestra playing and the music was
lovely. They had caterers to do the banquet, so we servants had nothing to do, but there was plenty to
clear up the next day.
Another good day out we had was to the races. They took place at Alderton point-to-point.
We had to get the food ready the day before, and were up early on the day to pack the hamper for the
gentry, and sandwiches for the servants. Then we all packed in and on top of the coach drawn by
four horses, and off we went. It was about eight miles journey along lovely country lanes. It was a
grand day out for us. I didn’t bet on any horses but enjoyed watching everything and there was the
exciting ride back home after the races.
I always looked forward to my half days off to go home. My eldest brother was planning to
go into the army, he had been influenced by the soldiers that were staying in the village. They were
billeted at the stables belonging to the big house. The Captain who was in charge of them was living
at the lodge where mother did the cooking for him and his wife. My brother joined up and he went
into the Berkshire regiment as a regular. The other brother older than me, also left his job as pantry
boy at Badminton and went as a stable lad at a place in Ledbury, Hereford, the same year. So that
was three of us away from home and the start of us drifting apart.
Shortly after this I left my job. I gave a month’s notice as this was the arrangement if you
were paid monthly. I went back home to live. I was home for the Jubilee celebrating the 25 th
anniversary of King George and Queen Mary. A few days before the celebrations our brother
Frederick was taken ill with scarlet fever and taken to the isolation hospital near Bristol. This meant
we couldn’t go to the celebrations at Badminton House, where all the villagers joined together; that
was Badminton, Acton Turville and Little Badminton. One consolation was that they brought us all
the fare they had there, and also the mugs that were given to all school age children and under. The
health inspector came to see what caused the outbreak of the fever, and they said the only thing they
could find was the bucket toilets, so they went to the people who owned our house and subsequently
we had flush toilets built, one for next door and one for us. They were back to back, but that wasn’t
the end of the problem.
The next year mother had four more go down with the fever, and two of them were very ill,
our youngest brother and youngest sister but one – George and Doreen. They all fully recovered
except Doreen, she developed mastoids in both ears, and had two or three small operations. She was
very ill in hospital for a long time. When she did recover she was very deaf, and in the end had to go
to the deaf school in Exeter. This time when the health inspectors came they found the drains to the
toilets didn’t have enough downward flow, although mother had complained about them overflowing
at times, they had only put drain rods down. The drains had to be re-laid. After that all was well.
I had been home from my job at Dodington for about a week when mother came in
from her job at the lodge looking very pleased. She said she had got me a job in London. The lady
she worked for had a friend in Kensington who needed a nursery maid. Mother took me to London
for an interview. We dressed in our Sunday best and caught the 8 a.m. express train from Badminton
station to Paddington.

We had a taxi to Victoria Road, Kensington. It was a nice four-storey house with steep steps
up to the front door. We were shown into the sitting room and the lady was waiting for us. She was
nice and asked the usual questions. She said my duties would be to clean the nursery quarters at the
top of the house, and help nanny to take the children to Kensington gardens in the afternoons. I was
to get my work done in the morning and do some washing from the children; Bobby was two and a
baby girl of six months, Belinda. I had to wash and polish the pram each morning in time for nanny
to take the children out, it was kept in a pram shed under the front steps. All meals would be
prepared in the kitchen and I was to fetch them from there. That was taking them up three flights of
stairs. There was a big day nursery, a night nursery where nanny slept with the children, my room, a
bathroom and a small pantry where I had to do the washing and washing up. The lady wanted a
reference so I gave her the name of the lady I last worked for, but in any case she would take me on
and I would start in a week’s time. All was arranged, and mother was pleased. We had tea with the
lady and then she called a taxi. We caught the express train home, arriving at 8 p.m. When I wrote
about Badminton Station in Part 1, I said I should find the express trains useful one day.
LONDON
The day was dawning for me to leave home for good, and I would not see my family until the
following year when I would have two weeks holiday in the summer. I packed my things into the
same Victorian holdall. It was no different from packing for Dodington except for some writing
paper and envelopes. I would now have to write home. Mother said I must write every month and
send £1 out of my wages. This I thought unfair for now I would have to buy my own clothes, and
would be completely cut off from any part of home life, with no more half days home.
I was up early in the morning and dressed in a navy blue costume with a fine grey stripe. It
was quite nice but a little on the big side – another one of the things mother said I would grow in to.
My hat was one that mother had given to her, a navy blue oval shape turned up at the back and down
at the front. It had a spray of artificial flowers on the side near the front. Mother said it was the right
thing to always wear a hat in town. Mother made me a coat out of one given to her by a 14 stone
friend. She cut it down to make it fit me. It was a thick winter coat with a fur collar, the colours
were green, brown and orange mixture and I hated it. I wore a pair of black flat-heeled shoes, and to
finish things off a long-handled navy blue umbrella.
It was the first week in June that I left home, and mother came to the station with my young
brothers and sisters to see me off. There were lots of tears shed, for I didn’t want to go so far from
home. It was 1935 Jubilee year and I was 16 ½ , and not grown up as teenagers are today. The train
came in, Mother said ‘now, you just behave yourself, and write when you are settled in’. I kissed my
sisters and gave Mother a kiss on her cheek, got in the train, and put my things on the rack. When the
train started I looked out of the door window, waving to them until they were out of sight.
One thing I haven’t mentioned was my handbag. It was mother’s with a little purse in it and
she had put 30 shillings (£1.50) in it. The lady told me when I arrived at Paddington station to ask a
policeman to see me into a taxi and give him half a crown (12 ½ pence). Then when I got to my
destination to pay the taxi driver and give him also half a crown. She said she would pay me the
money back and I was to send it back to mother when the lady gave it to me. I settled down for the
long journey to London, having been there with Mother the week before was a great help. I had a
packet of sandwiches, and some Eiffel Tower lemonade in a medicine bottle to have on the journey.
The other people in the carriage didn’t have much to say so I just looked at the scenery. The express
stopped at Swindon, Didcot, Reading and Paddington. I arrived and got out of the train feeling rather
frightened and all alone.
To be continued.....

VERA BRIGHT
£1,700 was collected for Dorothy House Hospice in memory of Vera. Many thanks to everyone who
kindly contributed.
BADMINTON PARISH COUNCIL
The Annual Parish Meeting followed by the Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 21 st May
2014. All Councillors were present, and apologies were sent from Councillor Tim Nicholls. The
Chairman, Simon Dring was re-elected, and the matters discussed were:-
a) Badminton Cricket Pavilion – C Mulholland had recently attended a meeting, and he reported that
a grant had been awarded by South Glos Council for the external work to be done on the pavilion
b) A Defibrillator has been donated to Badminton, and some fundraising would have to be carried out
to pay for the installation and possible purchase of a cabinet. Updating at next meeting
c) Luckington Lane – The Chairman updated details on the progress. It was proposed that the weight
restriction be re-instated, and consideration to the permanent reinstatement of the road surface
d) Community Award – Richard & Belinda of Acton Turville were congratulated on their recent
award, having been promoted by Badminton Parish Council, and their letter of thanks was read out
to Councillors
e) The financial accounts for the year 2013/2014 were approved by Councillors, and signed, and all
necessary reviews and re-adoptions were confirmed
f) Planning Matters – None
g) Streetcare – S Michael reported on local issues, road maintenance and surfaces
h) Correspondence – Various
i) Items to Report – None
The Chairman thanked all those for attending, and the meeting was closed at 7.00 pm. The next Parish
Council meeting will be held on a Wednesday evening in July.
SOUTH GLOS CHAIR’S COMMUNITY AWARDS
We were greeted on arrival with a glass of bubbly or orange or a mixture to be drunk while the
participants assembled. There were 35 recipients and we were the only couple. As you know, it was a
lovely evening and we assembled outside for a group photograph. This took a while as we had to
prevent the shy from trying to hide at the back!
Pictures were followed by a very nice buffet, produced by the students of the college who are part
sponsors of the awards. A couple from Hawkesbury Upton joined us and we had the pleasure of Coun.
Sue Hope's company. It was good to chat to her as we had not spoken since I left Acton Turville PC.
Hurriedly swallowing the last of the wine, we repaired to the college theatre for the ceremony. This
was a mix of entertainment and award giving as it is a college specialising in theatre work. Songs
from Grease were very energetically performed followed by a dozen awards. Further song and dance
preceded further awards until we were all certificated and photographed and a few words from the
Lord Lieutenant and the Chair of SGC concluded a very pleasant evening. Our daughter said she was
very proud of us, so we must count it as a successful evening!
______________________________________________________________Richard & Belinda Elford
THE LUNCHEON CLUB
On May 14th we welcomed Joan Boulton who runs a small and friendly Yoga class in Hawkesbury
Upton. With not much room to move around, Joan had us all joining in giving us lots of tips on how to
exercise, stretch and breathe then relax. All this and we were still sitting in our chairs.
We meet again on June 4th when we will be entertained by Jade Marie.
Sally Smith

HARRY MEADE ( A fairy-tale ending)
This is a short story of courage, determination and
love for a sport at the highest level. For those of
you that don't know, last Autumn Luckington
based Event rider Harry Meade had an horrific
fall when competing at a Horse Trials where he
was catapulted spear-like into the ground
resulting in both elbows and upper arms being
shattered. It was thought he may never even ride
again, yet alone compete in the sport at the
highest level again, Harry however had other
ideas, horse riding after all was in his blood.
From a very early age he had been taken out on
his pony with the Beaufort Hunt by his Eventing
double Olympic Gold medalist father Richard, and
his mother Angela, an avid follower of the Beaufort Hunt.
A young Harry on his pony with the Beaufort Hunt
Following a lengthy stay in hospital, once
home Harry's real fight back soon began,
to not only compete again but to ride at
Badminton this year. Most thought even
for his guts and determination to be able to
ride at Badminton would be no more than
wishful thinking, not only did he prove
them wrong in getting there, and then
completing this year’s tough Cross-
Country course without even a refusal and
with one of the fastest time of the day, but
then followed that up by having just one
fence down in the show jumping phase to
propel him up the leader-board to finish in
a fairy-tale third position. Surely even for
him that was something he could not have imagined when laying in that hospital bed with both arms
in plaster just 6 months before. For many years he was considered one of the very best Cross-
Country riders in the world, and widely predicted to one day represent Great Britain, surely now
that prediction is one step closer, and if fulfilled nobody will have deserved it more !!
Harry being interviewed by
Claire Balding for the BBC.
Photos & story by Ray Bird, Acton Turville

It’s easy – living where we do – to be a
bit complacent about all the history
surrounding us, particularly the influence
of the Romans. Sometimes it’s good to
go further afield and see what else can be
found with the Roman "stamp" on it.
HADRIAN’S WALL
Northumberland is one of those areas. As
a county it’s huge – and relatively
uninhabited by the standards of our tiny,
overcrowded island. The Kielder
Observatory and Forest lie in the middle
of the Northumberland National Park and
by appointment you can see the clearest
images in their telescopes of the night
sky – quite rightly it’s designated as an
official "dark sky" area – with no-one to disturb you but the midges. It seems that those pesky
insects have no qualms about coming south of the border but they’re only really a problem during
the summer months.
Running for nearly 80 miles from one side
of the country to the other is of course
Hadrian’s Wall – or what’s left of it. Built
between 122 and 128 AD at the command
of Emperor Hadrian to keep out the Celts
(if not the midges) it took 3 Roman
legions (each legion being approximately
5,500-6,000 men) around 14 years to
construct. Parts of the wall remain visible,
particularly in the middle section, whereas
a lot is now hidden under turf. However
you can still clearly see the line of the wall
and the "vallum" (the ditches created by
digging out the foundations for it) for
miles.
This is a mecca for walkers and it’s a deceptive trail – some of it is extremely strenuous and not the
stroll that it might appear. There are iconic stretches of the wall which have been re-created by
countless artists, photographers and filmmakers over the years. One particular icon is at Sycamore
Gap where the tree was used for the Kevin Costner film of Robin Hood. Despite the impression
given by the film the tree is not within a day’s walk of Dover! During busy periods on the Hadrian’
Wall Trail (especially at weekends) there is a Centurion available to have his photograph taken at
the tree. Don’t you just love tourism.
The highest part of the remaining wall is at Birdoswald Roman camp, at the western end of the wall.
It’s quite something to be able to look at the structure as close as it was to the original size. The
manpower involved in building it was just phenomenal – no doubt why there are so many forts and
storage facilities along the length of the wall to provide for the builders.
One particularly interesting site is at Vindolanda. There are live excavations continuing and every
year they uncover a little more of this vast camp which covers several acres. If you’re lucky enough
to visit in good weather the excavations are well worth lingering over, but the museum on the site
(accessed down a steep but safe hill) is a must. It’s laid out extremely well in lovely gardens and has
some unique Roman antiquities and some of the best preserved leatherwork (including sandals and
horse armour) of anywhere in Europe. There are also the Vindolanda tablets which show the first
examples of Roman writing ever to be found on an archaeological site.

One particular plus point is the fact that the museum has not felt the need to "dumb down" to just
appeal to children (with touch screens and flip up pictures and cartoons etc. everywhere) which
seems to be common now in museums.
It’s a long drive from Gloucestershire but well worth a
visit, particularly if you are visiting the Lake District
and fancy a small diversion east away from the
crowds. I’m sure the area is busy during the school
holidays, but there are good parking areas along the
wall for walkers, some of which are National Trust
and some not and some beautiful bed and breakfasts
and places to stay and explore. You can reward
yourself with great pub food and beer at the Twice
Brewed Inn which is right near the wall and La Toot
tearooms in Haltwhistle is highly recommended, as is
the village shop and tea room in Bardon Mill. Nearby
is a lovely walk following the river at Allen Banks –
probably overlooked by many people walking the
wall. We were lucky enough to also watch a local
farmer working his two Clydesdale heavy horses
ploughing a very sticky field – fantastic to see
someone still using this labour intensive and difficult
method of farming, presumably just for his own
satisfaction.
Jo Niblett