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In May 1935 Timsbury joined with the rest of the country in celebrating the Silver Jubilee of King George V. A united service of thanksgiving was held at St Mary’s Church and was conducted by Rev. Rose and representatives of other village churches.
Jubilee mugs were presented to the children who were also treated to a tea at the Senior School. The senior citizens enjoyed a meal at the Church Room while the unemployed married men in Timsbury received a hundredweight of coal and the unemployed bachelors were given one shilling and sixpence. Sports were held on the Miner’s Welfare Field and a bonfire lit while dancing took place with music supplied by a radiogram from the Timsbury Occupational Centre (now the Timsbury Hub). An oak tree was planted on the Miner’s Welfare Field.
At a meeting of the Women’s section of the Timsbury Social Service Centre a resolution was passed that children of the unemployed should receive free milk and midday meals at school. It pointed out that malnutrition was a crime against the child life of the country and said that millions of pounds were being spent on weapons of war.
Meanwhile the Church of England Junior School at Mill Lane which was built in 1830 underwent a thorough reconstruction and was now considered to be one of the most charming schools in North Somerset. The work was carried out by Messrs. Emery and Son of South Road and a service of dedication was conducted by Rev. Rose. The school was opened by the Archdeacon of Bath, the cross was carried by Mr H Newth and the choirboys attended in their robes.
Timsbury Senior School had opened the previous year but there was still no provision for a playing field or space for school gardening activities. In 1935, however, plots of land adjacent to the school became available and the Somerset County Education Committee recommended that the 5.25 acres of land be acquired for playing fields and 0.75 acres for gardening and practical instruction.
One of the organisations for children in the village in 1935 was the Sunshine Club which listed as its aims a desire to bring sunshine into their play by being outdoors as much as possible and to be as kind as possible to each other. At the beginning of the year some 120 youngsters sat down to tea in the Social Service Centre to be followed by the pantomime Puss In Boots and a Mickey Mouse film. On the first Saturday of each month every member of the Sunshine Club brought a gift for Paulton Hospital.
A number of meetings were held by the North Somerset branch of the British Anti-war movement at the home of Captain Scobell at Kingwell. It discussed the political situation of the day and the possibilities of almost immediate war. They said that they should not put trust in the League of Nations which was an organisation of politicians but rather in the Anti-war movement which was an organisation of workers.
Timsbury WEA Players staged its first three-act play after being formed in 1933. Roland Pickford took the lead role in “If Four Walls Told” which was held at the Church Room and the producer was local teacher Idwal Roberts. Still on the drama theme W.S. Dyer of North Road won second prize for original plays for his entry “The Spinneys” in a competition run by Clifton Arts Club. 78 plays were submitted by authors from as far afield as South Africa and U.S.A. and the judge said that “The Spinneys” was a remarkably good play which gripped the audience from the rise of the curtain until the end.
A Timsbury Smallgrowers’ Association was set up in 1935 and run by the village Women’s Institute. The driving force behind the initiative was Major Addington of Parish’s House and every Thursday members would bring their produce to his home. It would then be transported to the W.I. stall in Bath where it was sold on Friday and Saturday mornings.
Finally on the sporting scene it was a good season for Timsbury Athletic Reserves who finished as runners-up in the Bath and District League Division2. They also reached the final of the Paulton Knock-out Cup having beaten Camerton 3-0 in the semi-final only for the losers to successfully protest that Timsbury had played an ineligible player. The match was ordered to be replayed and Timsbury lost the second game 1-0.
Timsbury Cricket Club enjoyed one of the best seasons in its history. My grandfather stood down as captain after 8 years in the post expressing his desire to give way to younger blood. He was replaced by Louis Watts with Len Pickford, one of the club’s best ever batsmen acting as vice-captain. Fred Sims led the second team with Doug Cox his assistant.