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Joan Kirby – Great Glen
More memories of Col Jamie from John Parrington
I did enjoy the article in the Winter edition of Glen Sence by Joan Kirby about Colonel Jamie. When I moved to Great Glen in 1960 I got involved in three things, the Cricket Club, the British Legion and Bell Ringing. Col. Jamie was President of the Great Glen British Legion from 1961 to 1973. On Remembrance Sunday we would meet outside the Church and always two officers would be on parade, both Colonel Jamie and Mr Leonard Smith, both wearing bowler hats. We would approach and come to attention with a “Good Morning Sir”. When we fell out at the Green we went straight over to The Greyhound and the first round of drinks was always paid for by Colonel Jamie – a true Gentleman with blue blood.
On Christmas Eve we always rang the hand bells at his home. The room was the snooker room with a small stage. The Col. and Mrs Jamie, with a few invited guests, would sit on the stage whilst we performed traditional carols. Our Tower Master, Mr Len Allen, would sit on the stage with them with a glass of whisky. We drank Ind Coope beer with he supplied. As Joan recalled in her article, Mrs Jamie made her own mince pies which we enjoyed.
When the Great Glen Gymkhana was held annually in the field in Station Lane Colonel Jamie always sent down cases of Ind Coope beer for the workers. It was said he was a shareholder of the brewery!
My wife, Lily, and I got married in November 1960. When we came to Great Glen in the July of that year it was to make arrangements up at the church for the wedding. That month the Great Glen Village Fete was taking place and Lily was involved as he was for many years. I was roped into a job in the main marquee - washing up cups and saucers and beer glasses. An old chap came up and asked me if I could get some water for his dog, which I did. I made a bit of a fuss of his dog and at the end the old chap put his hand in his pocket and said “how much do I owe you?” This make me smile and I through what a nice gesture the old boy made.
When I related the story later I was told that the old chap was Col. E C Packe D.S.O.rfgfl / O.B.E. He was the first Branch President of the Great Glen British Legion from 1932 to 1961 before Col. Jamie took over.
John Parrington
The story of Colonel Jamie and the lift
When I moved to Great Glen in the early 1960s, Glenn House at the top of Church Road was owned by Col. And Mrs J.P.W. Jamie. I came into contact with Mrs Jamie through St. Cuthbert’s Church and the Mothers’ Union.
Although, I was, in those days, a stay at home mother, I did a few hours of secretarial work for the Vicar, The Rev. Cecil Taylor. Word got around and Mrs Jamie rang me to ask if I would do a few hours a week dealing with Col. Jamie’s correspondence, as he was now housebound and his sight was failing.
Although he was known to most people in the village as Colonel Jamie, he was also a retired physician who had worked for many years at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. He was a kind man with a wonderful sense of humour. In spite of his deteriorating health he was determined not to have a bed downstairs and decided to have a lift installed. My husband, Doug, had a small building firm and he was asked to arrange this with the help of Mr D. Cave from Evan’s lifts.
The work was completed just before Christmas and the Colonel decided to have a “Grand Opening”. Rev. Taylor had retired by then and the new Vicar, the Rev. David Harvey Rowe, Mrs Rowe, Mr Cave, my husband and I were invited. A chair was placed in the lift; Colonel Jamie sat down with his cat on his knee and the Rev. Harvey Rowe said “I name this lift Emma “after the cat”, may God Bless her and all who use her”. The door closed and up it went.
On its return we had champagne and mince pies, made by Mrs Jamie, with exchanges of Merry Christmas wishes. Mr Cave of Evans Lifts had never known anything like it and dined out on the story for many years.
As I have mentioned before, Colonel Jamie was a lovely man with a terrific sense of humour who did a great deal for the British Legion and the village as a whole. He passed away in 1972 and was greatly missed.
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