CD1

(72 mins)
 

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BORN HINAM, DULVERTON [NEE HEYWOOD] 1920 /  FAMILY BACKGROUND /  TOP SCHOOL / HINAM FARM /  PAYING GUESTS /  MOTHER AND OLDER SISTER

Marian Diana, known as Jean, was born at Hinam Farm, three miles out of Dulverton, 12^th May 1920. Parents were Sidney and Mary Heywood. She had younger brother. They were second family, so she had three elder, two sisters and brother, who were much older. Her family went a number of years then had two more children. Older three went to Hawkridge school, rode horse. She and brother went to Dulverton school up on hill, the top school.

Her father farmed at Hinam, general farm with cows, sheep, harvesting. It was tenant farm, belonged to mother's brother Earnest Bawden. He was huntsman to Devon and Somerset staghounds, lived at Exford. It was about hundred acres, enough to survive on. They used to take paying guests when she was very small, one way of making more income.

She remembers it well, often looks down on it, when that way. For living accommodation, they had converted barn when they took in guests, where they stayed when there were lot of guests. They did it through summer because people came for hunting, stag hunting, fox hunting. They would bring their horses and were able to stable them there. There was hunting, also fishing in River Barle. This was seventy years ago.

Her mother died when she was twelve years old. Her elder sister was running farm then, other sister had got married and moved away to Bristol when JC was of school age. Unfortunately, just as she was about to leave school, elder sister died from an illness, so she was left to look after father and two brothers. There was younger brother John, two years younger than her, her older brother was almost twenty years older than her. He was same family as sister who died.

She doesn't know why there was such a gap between families. It troubles her because mother died. They were another family.  They never discussed it a lot. Her mother died when she was fifty, she wonders whether it was anything to do with having children later in life.

Mother took in visitors. Converting a barn wasn't too unusual at that time because there were builders around. There were builders in Dulverton. It was quite a nice barn to convert.  There was loft, originally for storing hay. It was sturdy strong building. They had to go up steps to get to bedrooms. [Back to top]
 

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VISITORS AND LADY MULLINS / ACCOMODATION / VISITORS /  PLOUGHING

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The people who came could obviously afford to come, and bring horses from all parts of country, down for hunting season. They kept in touch with quite a lot of them.

After her sister had died, when JC was running farm, they had Sir Alfred and Lady Munnings [knighted later] lodge their horses with them. JC knew them quite well, unfortunately he never painted her! They had house at Withypool. They would drive to farm. JC would get horses ready for them. Lady M had two Pekinese dogs that she treasured immensely. She left them with JC. When they came back Lady M wouldn't get off until JC put them on her saddle, then she gave them cuddle. It was hard work for young girl, but she took it in her stride. Sir Alfred did lot of painting from Withypool, moorland, hunting scenes. They never stayed with her family. She doesn't know how they came to use their farm, it was only when they came down from London.

Different families came to stay, coming back every other year or perhaps every year. They could only take one family at a time. It wasn't big enough to have two or three families there at a time.  They had bedrooms, lounges and dining rooms. They cooked for them generally, they were happy living on farm fare, rabbits, pig, sheep. Then you could do your own slaughtering, there wasn't such a thing as being registered. There was occasional piece of venison. Brother and father did slaughtering.

When visitors came to stay they came with their own cars, they had cars by that time. There was train at Dulverton Station, but JC's family didn't get car until late in life. It was all done on horseback. Eldest brother had motorbike at one stage, while they were at school. Visitors all brought their own cars, some even brought their chauffeur, who stayed and took them about. Chauffeur ate separately with J's family, just around kitchen table.

When her sister died, when JC was sixteen, when she'd just left school, they didn't do anything like that any more, because mother and sister had done it, JC hadn't been involved that much. She just remembers people around.

Some of visitors were very interested in the farm. If it was haymaking time, they would go into fields and help, lead horses or do something, the corn harvesting.

They would bring old clothes to wear. Back in those days they had lovely summers, they wore old straw hats. Men and women helped. They took tea and cake out into fields for them to have. They had sandwiches and home made cake in big baskets. Her father,when he went ploughing took bottle of tea in sock. By time he sat under hedge to drink it, it had got cold. It was big quart flagon filled with tea. He took bread and cheese, that would be his snack until he came for lunch. [Back to top]
 

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HINAM /  GETTING TO SCHOOL / DULVERTON SCHOOLS / FELLOW PUPILS /  PLAYING

Inside the house there was dairy, another small building with cooking stove in. There was big kitchen with big open fire. There was dining room, two other rooms, parlours, downstairs loo, no other downstairs bathroom. Then they had four bedrooms, bathroom upstairs, very big hall. Then front lawn with farm yard in front of that. Then they had annexe, converted from barn where three or four people could sleep, but they only used that for sleeping purposes, they never lived in there. Loo was internal.

Mother cooked on black Larbert range where they burnt logs, never had coal all cooking was done with logs.

JC's first memory of mother was her getting her off to school. And they [parents/sisters] would wait until they saw her coming home on her pony from school. She remembered them waiting in farmyard and waving to her. At six and half it was quite a feat. She started school at six and half, because they lived three miles out of Dulverton, it was earliest age she was able to go to school. There was stipulation by Local Education Authorities. She rode Exmoor pony to school. Her sister went part way with her. She stabled it at blacksmith's shop.

At that time for about two years she went to private school run by lady on her own, by church. She was called Mrs Baggs. It was always called Mrs Baggs' university! JC went there for two years. Mrs Baggs had about ten or twelve pupils.

She would get her pony from blacksmith's when she came out of school, go on out by Marsh Bridge. Sister would be waiting for her by Marsh Bridge. They used to go up Barle Valley home on their two horses. She did that for two years, then brother who was two tears older, started school. By that time they [LEA] had arranged transport, picked them up at Marsh Bridge, they had to walk just over two miles to get car which would pick children up from various houses, around Highercombe, Draydon. By then they were going to school behind church [in Dulverton] the top school which was only school. That was in existence until year and half ago when they built new school.

She thinks parents thought she would get better education [at Mrs Baggs]. She didn't know about the finances at the time, perhaps they couldn't afford to send two there. She could have stayed there, but as brother was younger, they would have been more company together [at top school]. They picked up other children on way to Marsh Bridge. There was about six or seven of them, they ended up at the very bottom. Father used to put sack bag on cart horse, with brother at front and JC at back, and take them part way, because they were quite young, it was long way to walk. They didn't come to meet them when they came home. She thought it was good fun. They weren't worried about having to walk that distance, they got wet, they got cold.

They had big turtle stoves, they threw anthracite in, they sat around with their lessons on their laps until they dried out. All children were much of a muchness. Some of them came from other farms, some of them their fathers were farm labourers. The first two they met, their father worked for building firm in Dulverton.

They were the children they got together with in school holidays. They all got together, went into woods, played at tree houses. They made their own entertainment. They swam in river Barle. They built tree house near Castle Bridge, spent lot of time there. It's between Dulverton and Hawkridge, by river Barle. They played about down there. Mothers came and picnicked. There wasn't lot of entertainment for children. At Christmas time British Legion would give Christmas tree and tea in town hall for children. Mrs Herbert who lived at Pixton Estate would do same. Bampton Fair or Dulverton Carnival was highlight when they got older. [Back to top]
 

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FELLOW PUPILS /  SWIMMING IN BARLE / HELPING AT HOME / HOLIDAYS / MOVING SCHOOLS / BULLYING / FRIENDS / MRS BAGGS

Some of her fellow pupils are still around, one of them, who lived at Northmoor, which was big estate, his father was gardener, he was Tom Troake. His birthday was same date and he was same age. He's still alive. This was after Mrs Baggs. There was another one they met. He must be about seventy-eight. She hasn't seen him for such a long time. She thinks he lives in South Molton. He was builders son. He had sister but unfortunately she died.

When they swam in the Barle, sometimes mothers came. It was lovely summer weather so there wasn't a lot of water, so they just trusted them to go down there and have fun. There wasn't any likelihood of them ever drowning [thinks], they made fun.

Of course, you were always expected to help. You had to feed chickens, get cows, and when they were old enough, feed pigs or calves. It was jolly hard work, but they didn't mind doing it. It was expected of them. School days they had to be off, to be in Dulverton by nine o'clock. They only rode to Marsh Bridge then they had two mile walk on way home, by time they were home, by time they had meal it was nearly time to go to bed. There wasn't such a thing as home work then.

In holidays they played in fields and helped on farm. She doesn't remember a lot about early childhood, only when she had left school, and left in charge to look after father and two brothers. She didn't mind moving from Mrs Baggs to other school. She changed friends but in those days families in Dulverton inter-mixed bit more than they do now. You got to know families and you soon made friends.

There was one boy who used to bully her at school because she wore boots. In those days you wore lace-up boots. He said 'You come from an old farm and wear boots'. There was bullying even when she went to school. She doesn't know how many people were bullied. She just accepted it. She gave him as good as he gave her [laughs]. It didn't make her terribly unhappy because she had a lot of good friends and they used to set upon this boy, and say 'leave her alone', and things like that [laughs].

At her first school Mrs Baggs was an educated person. She had just about dozen children. There are still couple of people in Dulverton who finished their education with her. So she went through curriculum, from Maths right the way through and must have taught them everything they know. She did it all herself. [Back to top]
 

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DAIRY CLASSES / SPORT / CRICKET PITCH / MILKING / SCHOOL COCOA / HEAD GIRL / CHURCH

She had quite varied classes at school. They used to go to farm near Marsh Bridge to milk cows, for dairy classes. Only certain section went. She supposes it was people from farms. They made cheese and butter in Parish Rooms with milk. They wore white coats and white hats. They also had cookery lessons in Parish Rooms once each week.

She was quite good at sport which she enjoyed. They had school gardens, boys did vegetables and girls did flowers. House that she lives in now was Dulverton cricket pitch, off Amory road.

Just a bit further out along Jury Road where Bath Meadow is, is where they had school gardens. They did that once a week, and planted flowers. It was very enjoyable making cream and butter. They learnt a lot. We made butter on farm but they didn't make cheese. They had special teacher who was qualified to do these things. Milk came from farm at Marsh Bridge. They had to walk three of course for lesson and walk back again. It was mile three and mile back. [laughs] It was taking up school time. They had white smocks and white scarf things tied over their heads, around their hair. They learned how to wash cow's udders and get all stuff sterilised. Being taught how to milk cow didn't go on much after she was at school. She doesn't remember children talking about it. It was only in her early years.

They used to take packed lunches to school. Headmaster's wife made cocoa for penny a cup to have with sandwiches, it was quite good.  Headmaster was Mr Weaver. He and wife lived in school house that was attached to school. In latter years they turned whole building into school. Headmaster came from away. All teachers were very good but all very strict. They had needlework teacher. Headmaster took games. [thinks] They didn't have playing field. It was all done in playground. They did rounders, boys would play bit of football, it was very limited.

JC wasn't very good at Maths but she did like English and Geography things like that. She didn't mind sewing. When she was coming near the end of schooling, she was made head girl. She didn't know why [laughs]. Which made her stick her chest out and think she was responsible person! That was about the only high honoured thing she achieved at school. She was called upon by headmaster to do different things, probably try and keep class in order, make sure everybody did what they should do, report anybody that didn't, that they thought needed reporting. She thought it was quite an honour.

They had prize-givings for needlework and different subjects. She got head girl's prize. That was nice book. She thinks she has still got it somewhere in attic. They didn't have open days or parents day, they didn't even have parents committee.

They went to church quite often because it was Church of England school, when it was St. George's Day, Ascension Day, any special day, all school went to church. They didn't go to church at home [laughs]. Hawkridge was their church really. They went to Hawkridge but not regularly. That's where all family have been buried in Hawkridge. So Hawkridge was really their family church. [Back to top]
 

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HOME SOCIAL LIFE / FATHER'S VIOLIN / HOUSEKEEPING AT FIFTEEN / NAVY / LEAVING HINAM

JC's mother didn't do a lot for social life, but they had shearing parties, her father played lot of card games. It happened occasionally after harvest they would go to one another's farms, riding carthorse.

Father played violin, he was quite musical. They would have family get together, she didn't know what sort of dance you would call it, hop around [laughs]. He must have learnt violin in childhood, probably at Winsford or wherever he went to school, when he was living at Nurcott, before he got married. He was born at Nurcott, Winsford. He would have gone to Winsford school. He played for them at home. Two of her sisters learnt piano. She never got the chance to learn the piano probably because mother died when she was twelve. Her sister was housekeeper then until she was sixteen, so she never got the opportunity to learn music. She couldn't remember piano in house, there must have been one there, she just couldn't remember it. It was gone before she was old enough to remember about pianos. It was just father who played. This was when she was very small, he didn't do it when she was old enough to remember these things. She could remember him playing when she was seven or eight. She could remember seeing it hanging up. It got sold or broken up, which was rather a shame [laughs].

JC's mother died when she was twelve, she was still at Dulverton school. Her sister was looking after family, then she got ill. JC left school at fifteen and half, she died when JC was about sixteen. She was left to look after two brothers, then elder brother got married and moved away. By that time younger brother left school and worked in office at Dulverton for building firm.

Then war came along. she had to join up. Her father appealed against it, saying he was breadwinner on farm and needed her. They said that he could get someone much older to be house keeper, sorry she has to go and do her bit for war.

That was when they finished with farm. Father gave up tenancy. He went to live with eldest brother that got married. Younger brother went off to navy. JC went off to navy. That was end of farm. She doesn't know what would have happened if there hadn't been war. Father was getting older. Brother had got married, gone away, he couldn't cope on his own. Uncle who owned farm, retired and had bungalow built adjoining farm and came there. She doesn't think father would have been able to cope having him around. So everything was dissolved [laughs]. [Back to top]
 

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FAMILY ILLNESSES / WOMEN'S FOOTBALL TEAM / OTHER INTERESTS /  RED CROSS / NAVY

She can remember her mother lying very poorly in bedroom, that's all she can remember of her dying. She and brother went to school when the funeral happened. They were thought too young. She was twelve, brother ten. They took flowers to Hawkridge. They still do now. Her husband died three years ago, his ashes are in Hawkridge. They visit quite regularly.

She was quite close to sister who took over, but there was an age difference, about ten years. She was six or seven, JC was sixteen. She wasn't married at all. JC nursed her sister when she died. She died at home. JC had aunts who came and helped them out.

She remembers looking after her for while [pause]. Sister had TB. She went away to sanatorium, treatment wasn't successful, it was probably too advanced. She was sent back. She went near Bath to sanatorium. She died at Hinam. Aunts were very good, they came and did everything that was necessary. JC had only been left school for not quite twelve months [pause]. She went to funeral at Hawkridge. There was a firm in Dulverton who did funerals. They probably did it.

She felt Dulverton was her town, because that was where they went to do all their business and shopping. JC worked at home for the year when she left school. She helped out but they weren't taking holiday people then. She had no plans. She thought she was going to stay on farm. If war hadn't come she would have stayed there until father retired.

She had outside interests, she played football, for Dulverton Ladies, captain of their team [laughs]. It wasn't usual to have a football team, but they had very good football team. They played different teams. They went to Barnstaple, South Molton, different places, playing other ladies teams. They had white shorts and red tops, like Manchester United [laughs]. They were just friendly things, it wasn't a league or anything like that. It was just a ladies team and they all got together and had a friendly. Other members of team made her captain [laughs]. She played centre forward, she supposed she was big bonny lass [laughs] That went only for few years.

She joined Red Cross when she was eighteen, in Dulverton. She and friend trained cadets, young girls to go into Red Cross. Then she joined senior Red Cross. They went to functions, gymkhanas and things, and set up First Aid posts. It was through Red Cross she went into Navy. She went as VAD into naval hospital., Voluntary Aid Detachment. They wore Red Cross uniform with Red Cross badge. She had joined the Red Cross because friend was in it. Before that she had been in Girl guides.

She was in everything that was going on in town. She and friend ran Cub unit, the little ones from Boy Scouts unit. Then they went on to Red Cross. She was always very interested in nursing. She enjoyed it and enjoyed her time in Navy. They did Red Cross in Parish Rooms in Dulverton. That's where they had their meetings Local doctors helped out. They learnt all basics of first aid, bleeding and everything to go with first aid. She found it very useful in life knowing these things. She has been living in her house for fifty odd years. If any of children or neighbours did anything, they would say can you come quickly, someone has done something other. She could say yes you should get doctor, and then help them and send them off.

Cub Scouts was once each week. They did that in Parish Rooms. JC did all their projects, went to parades. When she became more involved with Red Cross that was her preference. Someone else took over that. She went and spent more time doing Red Cross work. Then she did women's football. That was about her lot [laughs]. She was in football, ran Cubs, joined Girl Guides, did Red Cross, took up quite a lot of her time. She got to all of these things on her bicycle. She rode her bike into Dulverton, down and up the hills. [Back to top]
 

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LOOKING AFTER FAMILY / DOMESTIC LIFE / RED CROSS VERSUS FARMING     

After sister died JC was looking after father and helping out on farm. She had to do all cooking for family. They had bread delivered once a week in horse and trap, from Dulverton. They had about four bakers in Dulverton then. Theirs was called Broomfield. They had bakehouse down near laundry. They had big covered in truck, with horse, to deliver bread in. They had groceries delivered eventually when there was transport. They would send an order in and they would deliver once a week that's all.

They had own butter and milk and cream on the farm, plenty of meat and things. JC did all butter and cream. They had proper machine that separated milk from cream. She didn't have churn or anything, it was all done by hand, you just beat it up until it turned into butter. It was in proper wooden tubs with the wooden things for making rolls of butter, the old fashioned wooden tub. They had very big dairy where everything was kept cool. They had special machine that you put milk through, you had to turn handle, a complicated apparatus, but it separated milk from cream. Milk went one way and the cream came out the other [laughs]. This was for home consumption. Anybody that was around that wanted any butter, they asked if they had any butter to spare and they sold it. They probably made butter twice a week. It kept quite a long time. They had slate slabs which were very cool in the larder.  It wasn't in house, it was a separate place outside.

They made jam from plums and blackberries from hedgerows. They had an orchard. They always had masses of apples, plums, and that made puddings. They did cookery at school, she had the basics, but she learnt lot from family at home. She learnt to skin rabbits [laughs], she was quite young about twelve or thirteen, plucking a chicken. She enjoyed it, she was brought into it. It was her way of life, she didn't know anything else. It just came naturally to do it.

When she started doing Girl Guides and Scouts she preferred doing that. It was something completely different from farming. She enjoyed Red Cross because she was particularly interested in nursing. She did these things in the evenings it wasn't daytime. After the war and she got married that was when most of Red Cross work came. She did nursing in war in hospitals but the Red Cross was after she got married and came to Dulverton to live. She fitted it in with family life. [Back to top]
  

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EARLY WAR YEARS / SEARCHLIGHT BATTERY /  EVACUEES

She looked after the farm and her father from aged sixteen to twenty one, when she went to navy, so in 1942 they left the farm. When war came, her married sister was living in Dulverton then, in 1939 so JC went to live with her. They hadn't left farm then.

In early part of 1939 they had searchlight battery for army. They came on to farm and set up searchlight battery that they had for detecting aircraft. They were involved with them quite a bit because they came to farm for milk. They came into house to have baths so for e few years they had army on farm until 1942 It was all right but it disorganised routine having soldiers around. place. There were about ten or fifteen on battery. They had baths once a week [laughs]. She supposes you were just approached by military and you couldn't say no. They came and put searchlight. They had them on farms all around Dulverton. She thinks they must have been paid. They used to pay for the baths. They had an upstairs bathroom, fully plumbed. They had their own water supply pumped to house from pump in woods [laughs].

As nineteen/twenty one year old it was great having soldiers there, but she didn't get involved with anyone. They would stop have chat, talk to you. She thinks she was a bit naive. They were a few fields away, they weren't very near farm. You could see lights at night. She supposed they got messages through when lights were needed. It wasn't disturbing. It didn't worry animals.

They had quite a lot of the army in Dulverton, a lot of Americans on Winsford Hill with tanks. General Eisenhower came to Dulverton, while she was in the navy. When war was declared it was on Sunday morning, they had radio on, when they heard. She thinks she was probably cooking Sunday lunch. It didn't effect them really.

They had evacuees from London staying with them. They had two different lots. They had one boy then they had two girls after that. They didn't fit in very well. Coming from London it was a bit difficult being thrust on to farm. They were on their own, JC didn't have any parents come.  They were not together, she thinks parents came and fetched the boy, then they the two girls. Perhaps he was moved on to another farm if he wasn't happy. They brought them out to farm. They had special schools for them in Dulverton. They brought their own teachers with them. They took over Town Hall or Parish Rooms. When she left farm and went to Dulverton she was in Red Cross then. She helped out in sick bays where they had evacuees. That was her job, when she finished with farm. She was waiting to be called. She knew she had to go so she was just filling in until she went into navy proper. The two moved on to another farm when they knew they were going to go. JC had to feed them and get them ready for school. So it was quite hard work really [laughs]. They didn't fit in at all. They weren't small children, they were about twelve or thirteen. They didn't like it on farm. That was probably why they were moved into town in Dulverton. It was completely different life for them. There was nothing for them to do. [Back to top]
 

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LEAVING HINAM / NURSING EVACUEES / SOCIAL LIFE /  PARISH ROOMS /  NAVY /  PLYMOUTH  

Hinam belonged to her uncle and tenancy ran out. They sold up everything. Father went to live with her brother who had got married, at Cloutsham Farm, out near Dunkery, where he was farming. Younger brother joined navy from choice. JC wanted to go to navy, but was told that she had to go to ATS. She said she wasn't going to ATS, she wanted to go into navy. She wanted to go there because brother had gone to navy. She wanted to be naval nurse. They said she would have to wait until she was called.

In meantime she did nursing in sickbay of evacuee children. This was where Catholic church is now was sick bay for children. They were quite small children. There was room for about dozen to come for various things. They had lot of scabies, things like that, not serious illnesses, things that could be treated. Doctor would say you ought to go into sickbay for while and be looked after. There was three of them nursing with sister in charge.

She lived with her sister then in Dulverton, where Paddy Kennedy lives now over bridge, that's where her sister lived, in those two cottages, Bridge Cottages. She lived in some of time when she was on night duty, in sick bay. She preferred nursing to working on farm. If war hadn't come she would probably stayed on farm, met someone and been farmer's wife [laughs]. Instead she married sailor [laughs].

In Dulverton before she joined navy there were dances and different things they went to. They'd always got different things going on, in spite of it being war time. There were dances in Town Hall. It is much bigger than Parish Rooms, more facilities. A lot of things went on in Parish Rooms because rent wise, it was much cheaper, like it is now, if you just wanted a little room. If you wanted a function for bigger things you had to have Town Hall.

She joined navy in 1942 until end of war. She had been away from area before because sister lived in Bristol, so she went to stay with her. Apart from that she hadn't been away an awful lot. It was wonderful going away to navy. It was a wonderful experience that broadened her outlook on life, much more than if she had been just stuck on farm, and hadn't gone away. It did a lot for her, meeting so many other people. She loved her work.

Plymouth was her base but they were sent out to WRNS's quarters, bases and convalescent homes round that area. It was in Plymouth where they were bombing. Luckily hospital never got hit but they had to go on ward with gas masks and tin hats, when they were on duty. She didn't mind being away from home at all. When they got leave she went back to Dulverton. She met couple of people from Dulverton who had joined up. They had gone into navy and were coming through Plymouth. She met them in barracks. They went into dockyard and to do first aid stations.

She still keeps in touch with one of girls she was nursing with. She lives in Maryland in States. They still write at Christmas after all these years. JC was working in convalescent home in Tavistock, and another convalescent home near Bristol. It was mostly at Plymouth in dockyard. [Back to top]