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Early in 1946 it was announced that Lady Mount Temple had sold Parish’s House and was moving to The Manor House, Little Missenden in Buckinghamshire. The reason given for the move was that the damp climatic conditions of the area did not suit her. Lady Mount Temple was the second wife of Lord Mount Temple who had died in 1939. On his death the title had become extinct but there were two daughters by his previous marriage – Lady Louis Mountbatten and Baroness Delamere.
Lady Mount Temple had taken an active role in village life and was particularly interested in the activities of the W.E.A. Dramatic Players. In March the group presented the play, “Ladies in Retirement” at the Church Room (the Royal British Legion Club) in front of packed audiences. The play was somewhat different from the Players’ usual production but was very well received. The setting was the living room of an old house on the marshes of the Thames estuary, some ten miles to the east of Gravesend. The play was produced by Mrs. Baird and the cast included Olive Greenland, May Cox, Gladys Smith, Harold Baird, Margaret Pickford, Joyce Parfitt and my mother Ivy Tucker.
Timsbury Tabor Church lost its Pastor in January 1946 with the sudden death of Ernest Lockyear who had held the position since 1931. Mr Lockyear of Radstock had opposed the union of the Methodist churches and after Tabor withdrew from the circuit he agreed to become the honarary Pastor. Mr. Lockyear was replaced by Gordon Jarrett of Keynsham who was welcomed at a recognition service on February 6 and who was to serve the church in that position for 40 years.
Timsbury Young Farmers’ Club arranged a hedging demonstration and competition at Mr. George White’s farm. Mr. White and Mr. Lew Russell gave a demonstration of how hedging should be done while Mr. Candy of Tunley Farm judged the competition. In section 1 the winner was John Ricketts followed by Roland Gould and Ben Thayer and in Section 2 for beginners Henry Wareham won the competition with Fred Lamb second.
Timsbury Secondary Modern School was packed for a concert given by the combined Midsomer Norton and Timsbury Male Voice Choirs. According to the local press the choirs under their respective conductors, Raymond Gould (Midsomer Norton) and Oliver Janes (Timsbury) were in excellent voice. The choirs were supported by Madame Doris Mogridge (soprano), Tom Thouger (tenor) and the celebrated Normill Quartet. Local J.P. Mr. E.T. Carter of Paulton was the chairman.
At a special Parish meeting it was unanimously resolved to adopt the Lighting and Watching Act of 1833 for the whole of the parish of Timsbury for the purpose of street lighting. A scheme prepared by the Parish Council for 28 lamps was adopted with a recommendation that the Parish Council enter into the necessary agreement with the electricity company for a 5 year period. The meeting also resolved that a rate amounting to 6d. per head be raised for the present year to meet the necessary expenditure.
The annual show of the Timsbury and District Horticultural Society was held on the Miner’s Welfare Field in August. The show was opened by Mrs. Plews of Greenhill House who had recently moved to the village from Honolulu. The exhibits were said to be of a high standard and were housed in a large marquee. The valuable solid silver cup for the competitor gaining the highest number of points was won by Mr. Percy Edgell. The Society also staged its second autumn show in October with Mrs. Plews once more opening the event.
The 1946-47 football season was ultimately to prove one of the most successful in the history of Timsbury Athletic but it did not begin very auspiciously in October. The secretary, Mr. Alan Lewis of Lansdown Crescent announced that the club was badly in need of new shirts and an appeal went out for supporters to donate some of their clothing coupons so that more kit could be bought. On the playing field the club reached the final of the Chronicle Charity Cup after beating Weston All Saints 3-0 but there was controversy in the second round of the Somerset Junior Cup. Timsbury beat Paulton Rovers Reserves 5-1 in a replay but there was a dispute over Timsbury’s second goal scored by Bill Moon. Some Paulton players walked off the field in disgust but eventually returned after arguing amongst themselves!
And finally what did local cinema goers have on offer? At the Midsomer Norton Palladium you could see “Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code” with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and “Captain Blood” starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland while The Palace Cinema at Radstock was screening “Song of Freedom” with Paul Robeson and Elizabeth Welsh and The Beau Nash Bath featured Elizabeth Taylor in “The Courage of Lassie”.