Photograph of Widdington Folk who were all over 70 on Jubilee Day 21/06/1887

1891 Census Widdington RH12/1431 People over 70

Sarah Bird age 77
Charlotte Thurgood age 81
John Thurgood age 80
William Reed age 82
Elizabeth Reed age 78
James Wright age 73
Mary Ann Wright age 83
Elizabeth Fitch age 76
William Coe age 77
John Banks age 71
William Thurgood age 72

photograph of an old age pensioners outing to the seaside from I think the late 1960,s.

The gentleman second from the right, one from back row is Thomas Rust. He worked in the late 1950's for Jeremy Dillon- Robinsons for a while. He was a cousin of Leonard's from Debden and lived at Rectory cottage until the mid 1970s.

The May Singers 1940s

I would like to thank Robin Denison, for The May Singers photograph. It was taken around 1940s Can anyone put names to the faces.

The May Singers
Daphne Bridgeman (nee Stalley) March 1989
I was born in Widdington in 1931 and lived there until I married in 1955 but came back regularly to visit my mother until she died in 1979. I still come to the Churchyard to see the graves of my father and mother – James Alfred Stalley and Queenie May Stalley.

…. I was one of the May Singers during the war, and shall never forget the excitement of getting up early to start the singing before we went to school, then again in the dinner break and we finished our visits to every house in the village when we came out of school. Of course there were not so many houses then. I don’t know what the doll in the hoop represented. My Aunt Doris, most years, did the hoops and we made our own crossed. These were two pieces of wood nailed together, back of which was covered with greenery. We picked bluebells, paigles (oxlips), cowslips and cuckoos (purple orchids) and made these into small bunches which were tired to the front of the cross. Later my brother and sister went May Singing… The song was sang went like this:

I’ve been a rambling all this night
And sometimes of this day
And now returning back again
I’ve brought you a branch of May.
A branch of May, my dear I say,
Before your door I stand
Tis but a sprout, but its well budded out
By the works of our Lords hand
The hedges and the fields so green
As green as any leaf
Our heavenly Father watered them
With his heavenly dew so sweet.
And now my song is almost done
I can no longer stay
God bless you all both great and small
I wish you a joyful May.

This is a bit different to that printed in the magazine but it’s imprinted on my mind lie the ABC and my sister remembers my version.
We also remember the tune! I used to live in the house next to Florus House by the Green and I think Mrs Brookman lives there now.

Daphne Bridgeman (nee Stalley) March 1989