Archibald Cecil Margrett
Ancestral line as currently established: Archibald 1896, Maurice 1858, William, 1829, William 1801, Stephen 1765, Stephen 1719, Thomas 1682, Thomas 1658, ?..................Family Tree number 1
Born: 02SEP1896 with his birth registered at Chertsey, Surrey England
Fourth child of four of -
Father: Maurice Hill Margrett
Mother: Sarah Jenner
Archibald Married: 01SEP1930 at Hove, Sussex, England
Spouse: Mary Jarrett
Children: Monica 1934,
Bruce 1943
Died: 06JAN1981 aged 84, at Shoreham by sea, Sussex, England
His father's occupation when his birth was registered was recorded as a "tailors cutter" which might imply that he was an employee. But six years previously, in 1890, the Kellys Directory of Wallington, London records "Maurice Margrett, tailor, Manor Road" and exactly the same entry appears in 1895, both of which suggest he ran his own business. But there is a family story of bankruptcy (yet unresearched) due to loss of trade, possibly as a result of customers being intimidated by his wife, Sarah.
The Census return of 1901, shows Archibald, at the age of 4, in the Star and Garter Alehouse, Claygate Cross, Wrotham, Kent with his father as publican. Gossip has the landlord too willing to drink with his customers, and what was probably an employed occupation did not last long. Archibald's father surrendered his licence 9 March 1903 after three years and two months. Again, family fable says that they were destitute after the Alehouse.
By 1905 the whole family had moved into Leywood House School, near Meopham, Kent where Archibald's mother was appointed Headmistress. The Church of England School was run under the same managers as the Luddesdown parish school, and a 1908 School Inspection report details that Sarah is paid some £78 per annum, with another teacher at £40 per annum and Sarah's daughter, Madeline, paid 3/6d per week. During his time here, Archibald attended Maidstone Grammar School and by 1913 had passed exams under Cambridge University.
In February 1915, aged 19, he successfully ranked 77th in order of merit in Army Entrance Examinations and entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst for which his mother reportedly paid the £50 registration fee. By 8th April 1915 he was appointed to a Commission as 2nd Lieutenant with the 3rd Bu. East Lancashire Regiment. After a period of training including 'bombing' (hand grenades) at Clapham Common, machine gun and range finding at Hayling Island, and revolver training at Tregantle, Cornwall, he was then attached to 47 Squadron Beverley, Royal Flying Club. But because of a motorcycle incident, and having had difficulties with his commanding officer, he was returned to his regiment and by December 1916 was in France with the 8th Battalion of the East Lancashire regiment. As a 20-year-old Second Lieutenant, he is helping lead a squad of 30 men.
The winter of 1916/17 in the trenches was one of the most bitter. Within weeks of arriving in France, because of battle losses, he was promoted in January 1917 to Lieutenant, in charge of a 60-man platoon. In March, still aged 20, he was blown up in an accident at the 37th Divisional Bombing (hand grenade) School in France, suffering flesh wounds to both legs and left arm. He was quickly returned to active service and took part in the 3rd battle of Arras on 7th April. On 10th June he was returned to England on a 10-day leave ticket with 'shell-shock'. An additional 21 days leave was given in December 1917 because of debility and trench fever and, on return to France was caught up in the reshuffling of the regiments early in 1918 as he was attached to the 11 Battalion of the East Lancs. at Ypres.
It was on 24th June 1918 that he was before an "in field" Courts Marshal, still at Ypres, on charges of disobedience, leaving post, and miscellaneous matters but acquitted because he was judged as "insane at the time of commission of offence" and probably returned to the front line. Soon after dawn on the 21st August he was admitted to a front-line clearing hospital and by midnight was in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, Southampton with 'shell shock'.
The 19th June 1921 Census records him at home, "an army Lieutenant on half-pay", with his parents, Maurice aged 63 having no occupation, his Mother, Sarah aged 59 the Headmistress of Winchet Hill School, Goudhurst which, as well as classrooms, gave the family their home accommodation. Also living at the school is his sister, Alice aged 30, recorded as a teacher at her Kent Education Authorities school. Elsewhere employed are his sisters, Madeline aged 28 and Dorothy aged 27.
Although he wrote to the War Office to ask if his rank could be made up because "during my two years service at the front, I was on several occasions in command of my company, but I was unfortunate enough to be supplemented by senior officers from home" his request was declined, and he was retired by the army on ill health in 1924 with a life disability pension.
Probably in 1925, aged 27/28 he was employed by Barclays Bank in Ipswich, then transferred to Sheffield. At some stage his mother wrote to the bank complaining that he was in bad company, and the bank, in it's wisdom, transferred him once again, this time to Brighton, near the family residence in Kent but not too near.
Archibald became known as Archie and even Jimmie. He remained keen on motor bikes, and he joined the company of Jack Pratt and his wife-to-be, Georgette, and others in a motor bike 'gang' on picnics and days out. Jack Pratt certainly worked in Barclays and possibly there were some others of the group. By this means he met Mary Jarrett who ran a staffing agency in Castle Square, Brighton. He proposed to her on Devil's Dyke, Brighton which involved a revolver and threat of suicide. That did get her agreement to marry, not out of cowardice but from love, and before she could do so she had to meet the doctors in Netley Hospital, Southampton whose patient Archie remained even now in 1930, six years after discharge from the army.
It is 1930, on a fine wedding afternoon and everything has been arranged; the caravan hired in Haywards Heath, some 15 miles away, parked nearby to the reception, ready for the “off” on honeymoon. And the photos go well outside the church with the brides brother, 'Billums', as Best Man. But it's a Monday. Who gets married on a Monday? And where are the groom's parents? It's all mysterious.
It's a Monday because the best man runs a butchers shop, and you can't close a butchers shop on a Saturday. It's a Monday because it perhaps allowed the groom to visit his mother and father on his motorbike over the weekend, but not to tell them he was getting married. Why didn't he invite them? His mother is a forceful character, feigning 'heart attacks' when not getting her way.
So, here we are, on this unusual Monday, with the small gathering, who had craftily written in lipstick on the beck of the hired caravan, “JUST MARRIED”. The happy couple drove as far as daylight allowed, stopping in a quarry near Portsmouth, and waking, found themselves surrounded by amused workmen.
On went the honeymooners, pitching the caravan in a field near Torquay, in pleasant summer weather. They relaxed after all the arrangements had paid off. They were married. At some stage the groom goes into the central post office to collect letters sent on by their landlady. Such “post restante” letters awaited collection. Back at the caravan with perfect Hollywood black skies and lightning, the groom blurts out that his mother has followed them and demands he attends her hotel. Did he go? How was the confrontation? Perhaps, after the honeymoon, all those concerned settled down to more peaceful interchange and that would have been helped with the birth in 1934 of their daughter, and a grandchild for his parents, especially Sarah Margrett, his mother.
But, after times of increasing tension, the nation faces the declaration of war with Germany at the beginning of September 1939. How can Archie manage with another war after all that time in the trenches? Just six months earlier, Barclays Bank has promoted him from the office in Hove, now to lead staff as the "Chief Clerk" (office manager) in Dyke Road, Brighton. When the manager is on holiday, he is 'number one' in the branch bank, and now war is here again. Within weeks the government set in motion an alternative form of Census (the last one being in 1931) so that it can know exactly who is living in each property, their full names, their actual date of birth and therefore their age, their marital status, and their occupation. Consequently ration books, call-up papers and many other wartime things will be enabled. Archie is aged 43, Mary 34 and they have an evacuee, a boy aged 15 staying with them just four weeks after the declaration of war.
During the Second World War he dug a trench in the garden of their home and stood guard overnight whilst the family were themselves evacuees near Horsham. He was entrusted with the secret instructions of how to commander a 'charabanc' near the bank in the event of an invasion, and load all the ledgers and cash and drive to Wales. Where in Wales? Just anywhere.
Archie carried his bank career to the age of 60 when he retired from his appointment as Chief Clerk of the Dyke Road branch in Brighton after 17 years there. He was, like many, busy in retirement, never speaking of what happened in France even when travelling through it in a car with his daughter and her husband. Then, just 4 months before he died Archibald and Mary celebrated their Golden Wedding. Very soon he is diagnosed as having gangrene in his legs caused by years of smoking and the effect of the damage to his blood stream. He refused amputation and bravely faced death, as he had done so many years ago.
Some aspects of Archibald's life have been in Margrett Magazines No:8 in 1993, No:12 in 1998, No:13 in 1999, No:19 in 2006 published and deposited with the British Library in those years under I.S.S.N 0269-0284.