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Widdington Village
10th May 2025,
Thank go to Linda and Steve for organising this wonderful event.
Recollections of V.E. Day in Widdington: 8th May 1945
Recollections of V.E. Day in Widdington: 8th May 1945
I was on short leave from the 5th Maritime Regiment R.A. on that wonderful day of the 8th May, 1945,and my wife and I went down to the village where everyone was gathered to celebrate the end of the Second World War. .. Outside the Fleur de Lys was the Publican, Bert Chesham, and a barrel of beer. We all danced in the street "Knees Up Mother Brown!" and beer was handed out. My wife and I also rang the church bells (very discordantly). The feeling of relief was immense, for the killing had come to an end.
D.G.P ., June 1995.
From The Widdingtone Chronicles:
1941 Dodge WC-21 Weapons Carrier
WWII in Widdington exhibition display boards were set up in the Village Hall.
Thanks go to.
Liz Wood, Mags Bevan, Pip Hudson. Ken Kemp, and Anthony Gold.
For the fascinating display boards.
Widdington, The final front line 1941
Widdington, The final front line 1941
In June 1940 General Sir Edmund Ironside, Commander-in- Chief Home Forces, commenced planning Britain's ground defence. The idea was to delay an invasion with strong coastal fortifications and as the enemy force pushed inland slow its impetus with a series of stop lines consisting of strong points with obstacles. These lines would follow, as much as possible, natural features such as rivers or canals and railway embankments.
After the coastal defences, the GHQ Line was the longest and most important, designed to protect London and the industrial heart of Britain, and was considered to be the last chance of defence. In the section of the line in Essex, between Great Chesterford and Canvey Island, The defences were made up of around 400 concrete pillboxes guarding man made anti-tank ditches and natural obstacles such as the river Cam and the Chelmer.
In Widdington a two mile long deep anti-tank ditch was dug from Debden Water to the river Chelmer at Cherry Green.
Many of the Pill boxes that fortified this line can still be seen from various footpaths.
Air Raid Precation
Dig for Victory
Miss Anne Medley
The Red House. Widdington Essex. 20/06/1939
Land Army Girls of 4 Years Service Receive Armbands
By FREDERICK TAPP
TWENTY Essex land girls who on Saturday were pre- sented with arm bands to denote the completion of four years' continuous service in the W.L.A., are all eager to continue farm work in Essex after the war.
Land Army Girls of 4 years sevice recive Armbands
WWll In Widdington
WWII in Widdington
WIDDINGTON
Mrs, D. DENNISON AND FAMILY with to thank all kind friends who have sent letters and messages of sympathy in their recent bereavement-Advt:]
A FANCY DRESS DANCE was held in the Village Hall on Leap Year night, in aid of the Widdington Forces Homecoming Fund. Mrs Martin and Mrs. Bass were the organisers. The sum of £21 was raised. For the most original costume. Miss Audrey Bone won 1st prize, dressed as a Squander Bug, the details in her costume being perfect. For the main parade, Miss Betty Campbell won 1st prize, dressed as Queen Elizabeth, and charming she looked in her velvet robes. The second prize went to James Hoy, jun., as Robin Hood; 3rd Miss Pearman, as Bo-Peep; 4th Mrs. Hanson, as Span- ish Lady; and 5th to John Hoy, as a Dutch Flower Girl: his impersonation was very amusing and it is hoped that he will repeat it at some future date. Mr. Maxwell Scott acted as M.C. for the evening, and with Mrs. Trench gave away the prizes. Other prizes were won by Mrs. W. Dellow, Mrs. Side and Mr. Ruxton.
Herts and Essex Observer, Saturday, September 6, 1941
WIDDINGTON
WOMEN'S INSTITUTE-A meeting was held in the Hut last Wednesday, Mrs. Pelly presiding. Mrs. Dillon Robinson, gave a report on the wool fund, which showed that 2,000 garments were knitted by Widdington members, and of these 220 issued to Widdington men. Miss Buxton gave a talk, illustrated by sketches drawn by herself, on Egypt. Thanks to her were proposed by Mrs. Medley. For the social half-hour an intelligence test Miss Binckes's group scoring highest marks.
The stall did a good trade.
Herts and Essex Observer, Saturday, November 1, 1941
WIDDINGTON
WOMEN'S INSTITUTE-At a meeting last Wednesday. Miss Petty gave a war-time cookery demonstration. A Spitfire stall was held, organised by Mrs. Briner, and £13 raised. All the goods were hand-made from odd wool and other material.
Herts and Essex Observer, Saturday, March 13, 1943
WIDDINGTON
WEDDING.-St. Mary's Church, Widdington, was crowded on Saturday afternoon for the wedding of Elsie Mary Elizabeth Bass, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Bass, of Bridgecroft, Widdington, and Leslie Frank Colin Martin, R.A.F., only son of Mr. and Mrs. F. Martin, of Canonbury, London, N. The Rev. J. W. Court (vicar) officiated. During the service the hymn "Lead us, Heavenly Father," was sung, Miss Binckes being at the organ. The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a gown of white satin with embroidered veil and head-dress of orange blossom, and carried a bouquet of Canadian pink carnations. The bridesmaid, Miss Julie Palmer, was dressed in cherry-red velvet with head-dress to match, and carried a bouquet of cherry-red car nations and fern. She also wore a gold cross and chain, the gift of the bridegroom. Mr. Leslie Lieber, cousin of the bridegroom, was best man. A reception at The Hut was attended by 70 guests. Mr. and Mrs. Martin were the recipients of many useful presents. For the last seven years Miss Bass had been secretary to Messrs. Tinney & Hitchcock, of Rickling.
Dig for Victory Now
WALDEN COUNTY
BENCH
Tuesday - Before Mr. W. P. Robert- son (in the chair), Vice-Admiral Sir Gilbert Stephenson, Dr. Allen, Ald. Rooke and Mrs. Sugden.
Edgar James Hoy, baker, Widdington, pleaded guilty to having in his possession for sale a number of loaves of bread deficient in weight.
Mr. Turtle, food officer, spoke to visiting defendant's bakehouse, where he saw a large number of loaves still warmHe weighed 69 loaves and found 63 short weight, six correct and one 1/2oz. excess weight. The average short weight on the 2lb. loaves 1 1/2ozs, and 2os, on the 1lb. loaves, and the two best baked loaves he found deficient in weight.
Defendant, who stated he had been Baker all his life, said he allowed Loss, on 2lb. loaves and Loss, on 1lb. loaves. It was an old-fashioned oven and the bread was liable to deterior- ate, and the flour might have been dry. He had no intention to defraud, and he suggested that the bread should be weighed before it was put in the
Oven-
Defendant was fined £1, the Chair- man telling him that the Bench did not think he had been trying to cheat, but he must be more careful. He sug‐- gested that he should weigh the bread more often after it had been taken out of the oven.
Widdington Men in the Armed forces
B.F.Dawson Royal Air Force.pdf
B J Dason Widdington
Please click the box 0n the left to open Bertie James Dawson Royal Air Force Service and Release Book
Widdington at War.docxPlease click on the box to open PDF
Major - Mark William Hollis
Major - Mark William Hollis
Birth
unknown
Death
29 Jan 1941
Burial
Keren, Anseba, Eritrea
Plot
1. D. 2.
Memorial ID
23479770 ·
Herts and Essex Observer, Saturday January 11, 1947
Forces Homecoming Dinner at Widdington
Estained from
Fifty guest mostly from overseas, sat down to a happy and ### board, recently Widdington Hut. The chair was Commander Dillon-Robtion roposed the health of the King thanked the Commities and inhabitants by whom the evening made possible and arranged.
Reply on behalf of the Committee was made by Miss Muriel Gordon. At the conclusion of dinner each guest was joined by a friend to share
Fretesining entertainments provided by & London dance band and enter tainer. Dancing continued until mid- night and thoroughly successful time was enjoyed. The Committee's one regret was that the proceedings could now be thrown open to the whole village at the conclusion of the dinner, this being impossible owing to the size of the Hut.
An event of much satisfaction during dinner was the arrival of the Rev. J. W. Court who, notwithstanding temporary disposition which should have con med him to bed, made a brief and very welcome appearance to wish the assembly a happy evening and to regret his neapmaity to attend for longer peri Δ' στο was subscribed by the peo eople of Widdington to the fund, hus enabling the Committee not only to provide the entertainments of the evening, but also to make a donation of &T to each serving member of the village as a small token of pride and gratitude.
Evacuee's of Widdington 1940
Evacuee's in Widdington
Nanny Florence Mills,
Nanny to the Dillon-Robinsons.
Mrs Kelvin and Olga in the garden at Spring Hill.
Cdr John Dillon-Robinson and family lived at Spring Hill during the war years. Though they moved temporarily to Dolphin Square in 1941 while he worked at the Admiralty. After three days the children were evacuated to Wilshire due to the blitz. Later the family moved back to Spring Hill.
Ruth Stalley - In service in the 1930s and went with to London with the Dillon Robinsons.
An Evacuee's View of Widdington in 1940 - John Mitchell, June 1998
My cousins, Peter and Ann Webster, and I were fortunate in that we came to Widdington. My cousins' mother, Mrs. Ruby Webster, apparently had a longstanding friend - a Miss Paterson who lived at The Haven cottage in Spring Hill and, through her, placements for the evacuation of the three of us were made. We subsequently arrived in Widdington to find how fortunate we were.
Ann Webster went to stay with the Stalley family and then later moved to Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, who lived in a bungalow in the middle of a field at the back of the church. Peter Webster went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Pettit who owned the blacksmith's forge at the top of the main street on the left, and I can remember the farm horses waiting to be shod by Mr. Pettit.
I went to live with Mrs. Askey at Belmont Cottage in Spring Hill and she had a young girl staying with her (I believe they were related)... Brenda Butcher. Belmont in those days was a simple cottage with a coal-fired range which had to be cleaned and polished once a week and raked out every day in order to get a good fire. There was no water supply and we had to go a short distance up the road to a standpipe to fill up jugs and bring water back to the cottage. Lighting was by oil lamps which had to be trimmed and cleaned every day. During the time I stayed with Mrs. Askey electricity was brought into the cottage and a water supply to a sink and tap in the porch outside the back door.
None of this, however, modernised the toilet arrangements which I, as an 8-year old, found fascinating! They consisted of a very deep hole in the ground in a flint and brick building at the back of the house. There was a wooden seat with a very uncomfortable rough hole in the middle, but I believe the hole in the ground was quite big enough to cater for one adult and two children for many years. There was also in the outbuilding a washroom which consisted of a copper boiler where Mrs. Askey toiled on Mondays with the real washerwoman image involving her dolly and washing-tub.
An Evacuee's View of Widdington in 1940 - John
Mitchell, June 1998-cont'd
We all went to the village school which consisted of two large schoolrooms with a very large wood-fired stove midway between the two rooms for heating during the winter months. There was a large playground on the edge of which was a set of lavatories and, to say the least, they were a little rustic and to be avoided at all costs! The classes were divided into two. I, being 8 years old, was eligible for the senior class, whereas the other lady taught the junior children. At the back of the school was a field sloping up to a hedge and mid way along this hedge were two trees which grew out in the shape of a 'V'. If one stood in the middle of this V'and shouted very loudly there was the most lovely echo and we spent hours doing this.
The church figured very strongly in our week - and we were given one (old) penny for the collection plate - as it was insisted that the evacuees should attend church on Sunday mornings and Sunday School in the afternoon in the "Hut". The services were rather boring and we spent most of our time counting the ticks of the lovely old church tower clock.
In the harvest season a large steam traction engine used to arrive at the farm towing a wooden threshing machine and this was the signal for everyone to get to work and help with the harvest. I was allowed the privilege of driving the horse and cart taking the sacks of wheat from the machine back to the big barn. The other great sport for us children was trying to catch the field mice which were in the stacks. The fields were then ploughed using a horse-drawn plough. I was allowed to try with the horses but never could master the skill required and anyway I could not see over the top of the plough! When harvesting was completed it was the turn of the beet and we children would help by sitting with a billhook topping and tailing. Again, I don't think we did very many and chasing field mice was of more interest.
The following is a copy of a letter received by the Council.
from the Essex war agricultural Executive Committee,
re, Ploughing up and diversion of footpaths
To. J. J. Carmichael Esque.
Widdington Hall, Saffron Walden. Essex
The Essex war agricultural Executive Committee being a body
authorised to exercise, on behalf of the minister of agriculture
and Fisheries, within the administrative County of Essex,
the powers in that behalf conferred by Regulation 62 of
the Defence (General) Regulations, 1939, hereby authorize you
to stop up and plough the foot path crossing the field
O.S. No. 71. (map 13/16 1921 Edition. In the Parish of
Widdington and Country of Essex, subject to the
following conditions :-
(A) That you , as occupies of the said land , shall make a
diversion of the way for the convenience of persons
wishing to pass from one side of the field to the other
during such time as the way is under cultivation and
(B) That you display notices at each side of the field
indicating the diversion which has been made .
(c) That the occupies shall undertake to restore all
rights in respect of the way so soon as paragraph 5 (A)
of Regulation 62 shall cease to be in force.
DATED this 15th day of February, 1943
Extracted from the Widdington Parish Council Minute book covering the period
March 1939 to March 1946
W PC minutes 1939-1946.pdfParish Council meeting held in School Room on the September 26th 1939
The following members of the Council.
were present:
Present. Rev. J. B. Court Chairman
Mr. J. Holgate
Mrs. J. I. Hoy.
Mr. J. Dillon - Robinson
Minutes.
The minutes of the last meeting were read and Signed:
Air Raid Precaution
An Emergency meeting was called by was appointed
Mr. Dillon-Robinson who was appointed the billage by the Councel at the last meeting - The object of this emgency meeting was to arrange for Volunteers for the distribution of Gas masks and other necessary work concerning the ARP- Mr Dillon-Robensen, plans were approved by all the members present
a Chique for £3.11.0 was signed for payment for bills and Clark's Salary.
Signed..James to Court
March 24th 1939
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