PEOPLE
We record here the lives of people who have made a difference to the history of Hallow.
Walter Amphlett was born in Hallow in 1920. He was the eldest child of Thomas and Emily Maud Amphlett who, at the time of his birth lived at Archbell Cottages, Main Road, Hallow.
He served with the Army Medical Services, Norton Barracks (WWII) & 42nd Marine Commando. He was mentioned in dispatches for Distinguished Service and became the recipient of five medals: The 1939 – 1945 Star; The Africa Star with Bar; The Italy Star; The 1939 – 10945 Defence Medal and the 1939 – 1945 Campaign Medal with Oak Leaf (awarded May 23rd 1946). To read more about Walter's life, click here
Bill was very active in many
aspects of village life. He was a keen
gardener, joining the Horticultural Society in 1986 and, in turn, becoming Secretary
for 19 years, Chairman, and finally in
2012, Vice President.
BARRATT, Kate (Died 16/17 January 2021) Wife of Bill Barratt and an active member of Hallow, she joined the W.I. Choir for many years, and also the Horticultural Society where she became Treasurer for 4 years. She was a Home economics teacher, later becoming
Home Economics Adviser for the County Education Dept, and using her skills volunteered to help out at Hallow School. To read more about Kate, click here
BULLOCK, Philip Harold (1923-2017)
Having been involved with
education and teaching during his life, he helped at the school, gave lectures
and talks to local organisations that were always interesting and entertaining. He also became a member of the History Group. Each month, Bill contributed an amusing article
to the Parish Magazine named ‘This and That’.
To read more about Bill, click here, and also to read an eulogy to Bill, read at his funeral by David Caldicott, a fellow Vice Chairman of the Horticultural Society click here
Churchwarden at Grimley, Campanologist at Grimley and Hallow, Parish
Councillor, Civil Defence Volunteer and former Secretary of Hallow British
Legion who died on May 26th 2017 aged 94.
Phil was born on April 14th 1923 to parents Lillian and Albert and spent
his early childhood in St. John’s coming to our Benefice in the late 1930s to
Pound Farm and then to The Cottage in Sinton Green where his parents would live
for the rest of their lives. The family origins were in Sinton Green where his
Great Grandfather and his Grandfather had been Blacksmiths. Their Blacksmith
business can be traced back to the 1700s.
In WW2, he became part of the Allied Special Forces (the equivalent of today’s SAS and known then as the Chindits) – a unit that operated behind enemy lines in North Burma which they reached by glider and pack mule.
To read more about Philip, click here
CROWE, Peter Alan (1935-2015)
Known as Pete, he was a popular member of Hallow's community, and beloved husband of Janet. Pete was born at Yew Tree Villas, and lived in Hallow all his life. Read more about him here
FOSTER, Peter (1951-2020)
FOSTER, Peter (1951-2020)
The funeral of Pete, who died 18 April, took place in Hallow on May 5 May 2020.
He was a choir member for 50 years, and was a much loved and valued family man, and member of the community - who helped out wherever he was able. You can read more about him by clicking here.
GRAVES, Lionel (4 May 1926 to 5 November 2017)
Lionel was appointed headmaster of Hallow Primary
School in 1968, a position he held for 18 years until his retirement in 1986 at
the age of 60. He was born in Glasgow to his Scottish mother Chrissie
with whom he soon travelled to Africa to join his father, who worked as
Postmaster in Kenya. To read more about his life, click here.
GREEN, John (1931 to 27 January 2021)
John was born in 1931 when his father and mother
lived in (what is now called No.2) Lea Cottages on The Green. This was a two up
two down cottage with the toilet up the garden. (This was usual at this time.)
His father Tom, who was born in 1903, was a market gardener as was his
grandfather, George Green. Tom Green bought the house at Auction in 1951
and later moved to Jessamine known at the time as “Longways”. The
name was changed back to Jessamine. To read more, click here
GRIFFITHS, Frederick and Mary (nee Stockall)
Frederick was born during the early
1840’s in the London area, moving especially to Hallow for the building of the
new Church; during the course of which he struck a friendship with a local
young lady Mary Anne Stockall. They were numbered among the last few couples to
be married in Hallow’s old church which was demolished in 1869 and formally
nestled among the Yew trees in the ancient village grave yard situated beside
the north drive to Hallow Park. To read more, click here.
A BRIEF HISTORY
OF A FAMILY NAMED HUNT:
Soldier, Private
Reginald Hunt died of his wounds in a Birmingham Hospital on 6th
November 1918, just five days before the end of the War. His remains are buried in the north east area
of Hallow churchyard. Reginald was the eldest of three brothers who served in
World War I.
To read the full article, click here.
To read the full article, click here.
Note from researcher – when I began writing this
article I was unaware that the Hunt family were ancestors of the editor of our Parish Magazine, Anne Stark, and
that Harold was her grandfather. She has
kindly provided more recent history of her family, together with postcards sent by Reginald by his mother, Olive in WWI - click here to view.
KAY, William Kilbourne (11 Sept. 1856 to 2 May 1929)
In the grounds of St. Philip and St. James Church, Hallow are the
remains of William Kilbourne Kay whose casket of ashes were interred alongside
the grave of his beloved grandson.
William was the founder of Kay & Co. Ltd., a company formed in
Worcester that began trading 10th May 1889.
To read more about William, click here.
George was born at Thorngrove, Grimley on 24 June
1920. His parents were Frederick, who was head gardener at Thorngrove,
and Esther (nee Morgans) who was originally from Pembrokeshire.
When
you move house you know you are getting new surroundings, a different space, a
new view. When we moved to Hallow over 20 years ago we knew nothing of the
warmth, friendship and support that our neighbours, Bill and Viv Moore, would
bring to our new location. His short illness and death in the autumn of last
year has shocked and saddened us all.
Bill
was a local boy, brought up in Worcester and starting his working life as an
apprentice engineer at Metal Castings. He co-founded the Worcester Branch of
the British Sub-Aqua Club in the late 60's. This led him to be a commercial
diver working in many locations: the North Sea, Jersey, the Middle East - Oman,
Qatar, finally based in the United Arab Emirates for many years. To read more of this item, click here
PENNEY, Thomas George (1896-1917)
WWI soldier. Read more about him here and his postcards home, view here
WWI soldier. Read more about him here and his postcards home, view here
PEPYS, Rev. Herbert G. (Vicar of Hallow 1854-1900)
One
of Hallow’s most interesting vicars has to be Herbert George Pepys. Born 31st
October 1830 at Westmill, Hertfordshire, he was the son of Henry Pepys, a
descendent of Samuel Pepys the diarist who became Bishop of Worcester in 1841.
To read about Rev. Pepys, click here.
PEPYS, Reginald Whitmore (1883-1914)
WWI, Captain. Reginald was born in the Hallow Vicarage, the youngest son of Rev. Herbert Pepys. Read about him here
WWI, Captain. Reginald was born in the Hallow Vicarage, the youngest son of Rev. Herbert Pepys. Read about him here
PRATT, Emily Violet (1887-1987)
Known as Violet, and daughter of Henry and Edith of the Royal Oak Inn. Violet was a nurse. Read about her here
An article was written and published in the Parish Magazine of July 1980 about Fred's retirement as Church Warden. Fred was training to be a pharmacist when his training was interrupted by WWII, when he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and served in the Middle East, France, Belgium and Germany. After the war he completed his training, but then took up a career in teaching, initially in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He came to Hallow after his marriage in the late 1940's and taught at Hallow School for over 14 years. As well as being a Church Warden, Fred was a Parish Councillor, and was on the Playing Field Committee. To read the full article, click here.
RICHARDSON, Frederick Charles (Born in East Comer, Worcester 1895) WWI soldier, Frederick lived in Park Lane (1911). Read more about him here
SPALDING, Dr. Frederick (1885 - 1933)
STALLARD, Alice May (1893-1918)
Alice was a WWI V.A.D. nurse, having previously taught at Hallow School. Read more here
Alice was a WWI V.A.D. nurse, having previously taught at Hallow School. Read more here
STEVENSON, Mrs. Henry (1808-1893)
Mary began
keeping her diary in 1850 after 22 years of marriage, and continued until 1892,
by which time her entries had become brief and few.
To read the complete article, click here
The WHEELEY LEAS and PARKFIELD
Charles Wheeley
Lea, born in 1827, was the son of John Wheeley Lea who along with William
Perrins founded Lea and Perrins, Worcestershire sauce. Charles had four brothers and a sister,
three brothers emigrated and one died in infancy and he was the only son to
join the business.
In 1866 he purchased the two fields named Parkfield bordering
the main road from Worcester to Hallow and began building his mansion.
In January 1867, at the age of 40,
Charles married Amy Mary Jacomb. She was
33 and a daughter of a Yorkshire solicitor.
The
property, his only substantial country house, was designed by W. J. Hopkins. It had huge bay windows, a massive entrance
tower and banded roofs. Of Hopkins’s
work there survives the long brick wall to the road, the south lodge with
timbered gables, pierced bargeboards, fish-scale roofs and typically chunky
gate-piers.
The mansion house took almost two
years to build. The interior was
extremely opulent and ornate, on a magnificent scale typical of the
Victorians.
Most of the wood carving, marble
and stone work was carried out by William Forsythe, a Scotsman who with his brother
James worked on many ecclesiastical projects all over England. Locally they crafted the font in Hallow
church, the beautiful granite pulpit in Worcester Cathedral, many memorials in
churches across the county, including John Wheeley Lea’s tomb at Powick, and in
1860 James’ most prestigious work, the Perseus and Andromeda fountains at
Witley Court.
To read more of this research, click here
WHEATLEY, Albert (1889-1914)
MRS. ALICE
WILDE (1880 - 1980)
Alice
celebrated her 100th birthday on 1st January 1980, with
the bells of Hallow Church ringing in her honour. To read about her life, click here.
THE WILDE FAMILY
In December 2016, Neville Wilde contacted us initially to provide more information about his grandfather's service in WWI, which can be read on our WWI page (Service Personnel from the Hallow area). He was also able to provide additional details about his family which are of great interest, and can be read here.
WINDERS, (Christopher) Horace (1900-1990)
Horace was a well-known character who until his retirement in 1975, ran a successful timber yard, Moseley Sawmills.
Read more here
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RECOLLECTIONS
CLEARY (nee Pugh), Ethel (1915 to 2002)
Ethel was born at 1, Greenhill Cottages and
moved with her young family in the 1950s to Heath Close which had just been
built by the local authority. She remained in the same house for the rest of
her days. Ethel’s recollections have been given to us by her daughter in law
Doreen who also began her married life at 1, Greenhill Cottages and now lives
in Sinton Green. Her husband David (Ethel’s only son) died in August 2017. To read Ethel’s recollections, click here.
Memories of Zillah Dimmock, nee Short.
I believe it was May 1980. I attended Hallow Church and my
name was pulled out along with another girl (I think her name was Penny) to be
May Queen Attendants. (Zillah is the smallest attendant) It was a great
honour and very exciting as we had our dresses handmade (white with small blue
flowers). On the day we were given a gift, a gold cross necklace. I
still have mine although the chain was broken a long time ago. We sat on
a decorated float and watched the Morris dancers and Maypole dancing on the
green (where the seesaw is) which I found very entertaining. We also had
a parade where we followed the May Queen and I helped to hold the May Queen's
train. We ate sandwiches and party food at the Parish Hall. I sat
with the other Attendant girls on the stage to eat my food. It was a
lovely day and I really enjoyed being a May Queen Attendant.
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| May Queen and attendants May 1980 (Zillah is 4th from left) |
