QUEEN ELIZABETH II VISITS HEREFORD (1957)

A wonderful (if silent) film of Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Hereford in 1957, compiled by the Hereford Cine Society and well worth looking at - HERE. Especially poignant in present circumstances.

In memoriam Queen Elizabeth II

MITFORDS (PART ONE) - WHAT WOULD THEY HAVE DONE ?

It is difficult to delve too deeply into the history of 1930s Britain, whether real or alternative, without encountering one or more of the (mostly impossible, but by contemporaneous acclaim, very beautiful) Mitford sisters:

Just one of the latest books devoted to the lives of the Mitford sisters -
who seem to have spawned (whether individually or collectively) their own 
posthumous publishing industry.

The interesting question, as yet unconsidered by any of the tomes devoted to the Mitford sisters, is what each of them would have done upon the outbreak of the Very British Civil War in 1936/1937, when Edward VIII resolved to marry Wallis Simpson and make her Queen of England, leading both to the resignation of Baldwin as Prime Minister and the then Leader of the Opposition, Clement Attlee's famous "refusal to serve" his King as constitutional successor [1]:  

A composite of the Mitford sisters in the 1930s.
What would they have done on the outbreak of the VBCW ?

It is an important convention of the VBCW - for the avoidance of unhappiness and controversy, and with limited exceptions - that real people should not be "written in" to our alternative history. Exceptions are mostly made for those very much 'in the public eye' , and whose political position at the time was clear, or at least capable of being extrapolated without the dreaded controversy.

The six - drawn by William Acton, 1938
From top left - Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, Deborah.
Subsequently caricatured by Times journalist Ben McIntyre as
"Diana the Fascist, Jessica the Communist, Unity the Hitler-lover; Nancy the Novelist;
 Deborah the Duchess and Pamela the unobtrusive poultry connoisseur".

Thankfully, however, at least half of the Mitford sisters were very much 'in the public eye' during the 1930s, and at least half (the same half) then had very clearly defined (and extreme) public political positions - Diana and Unity were declared Fascists, while Jessica was an undoubted Communist. There can therefore be little objection to at least these three having a "28mm equivalent" and taking an appropriate side in the Hereford VBCW....

Notes

[1].  The question - "What would they have done?" in the event of the outbreak of a Very British Civil War - has previously been asked of Hereford's principal pre war aviator - Randolph Trafford - and of the contemporaneous Hereford City Council - with only tentative results. Bearing in mind the VBCW convention above, it is easier to be clear about certain individuals - Neville Chamberlain, for example, serves as "a Peace Envoy" in the Hereford VBCW, although in other VBCW timelines, he may be heavily engaged in the Civil War in Birmingham.

[2]. An interesting essay "The Pursuit of Love - Why are we still so obsessed with the Mitford Sisters ?" can be found HERE. "How to tell if you are a Mitford Sister" is HERE

[3]. A valuable "Timeline" documentary on the Mitfords, concentrating on the political extremes, is HERE

SPRING BIG GAME 2022 ("LAST TRAIN FROM LEOMINSTER ?")

Another Big Game from the Hereford1938 Group, this time a follow up to the Autumn Big Game 2021. Unfortunately for the Anglican cause, particularly given the "smashing victory" of the Bishop of Lichfield at the Autumn Big Game 2021 ("Advance to Leominster"), the forces of both the Bishop of Ludlow and the Bishop of Lichfield were "drawn off" towards Evesham, in defence of Anglican territory to the North, with only "light screening forces" left around Leominster. Still, at least Comrade Colonel Professor Winter's Communist faction failed to take Leominster (even though they captured a couple of senior Government commanders). For all the details, in a six part fully illustrated supplement, see HERE

AUTUMN BIG GAME 2021 ("ADVANCE TO LEOMINSTER")

After changes to the Government's Covid regulations and the release of lockdown restrictions, the Hereford1938 Group were finally able to have another "VBCW Big Game" at the Burley Gate Village Hall on Saturday, 30th October 2021. The Bishop of Ludlow sat this one out, being engaged at the time in good and charitable works within the "South Shropshire Ecclesiarchy", but in his absence (or possibly because of it) his fellow Bishop, of Lichfield, duly scored "a smashing victory". See all the details, spread over three large wargame tables, HERE

THE OLD HOUSE HEREFORD - THROUGH TIME

The Old House is, perhaps, Hereford's most significant landmark. Built in 1621 - and therefore easily 150 years older than the United States of America - it has watched over all the comings and goings in Hereford's High Town these last four hundred years:

The first (known) photograph of the Old House in 1873 - when Ulysses S. Grant was President of the USA - and the Old House contained an ironmongers and potteryware business, run by Mr and Mrs Oatfield, happily co-existing with Fletcher's fishmongers. Note Maddox's Furniture Showrooms in the background:

This looks as if it was taken about the same time (possibly the same day) but from a slightly different angle. A better view of the Victorian advertising hoarding that then covered one side of the building (including an advert for the "Midland Railway"):

Two later Victorian views (one coloured, both undated) put the Old House in context. To the left, at the top of Commercial Street, is the Capital & County Dining and Refreshment Rooms. To the right, in St. Peter's Street, Maddox's Furniture Showrooms continues to trade. Mr and Mrs Oatfield and Fletcher's Fishmongers have gone from the Old House, so these photos must post-date 1882, when the building was taken over by the Worcester City & County Banking Company (subsequently taken over by Lloyds Bank): 

Another Victorian view, but time has moved on. Maddox's Furniture Showrooms in St. Peters Street has become a hairdressers, the appropriately named W.H.Dyer. The Imperial Cafe in St. Peters Street (obscured by the Old House) seems to believe in very prominent advertising, no doubt to compete with the City & County Dining and Refreshment Rooms:

Two further shots, both undated but one coloured,  probably taken around the turn of the century or very early Edwardian times. Theodore Roosevelt is, or is about to become, President of the United States:

Now for some 'reverse views' of the Old House, with the camera situated in St. Peters Street, facing the gable end of the Old House that had housed Fletcher's Fishmongers, and High Town in the background:

High Edwardiana, probably just pre WW1. The first appearance of cars. The Imperial Cafe on the right.

The same view, but a little closer up. The early 1930s.
Background High Town is practically unchanged apart from the
new Lloyds Bank building to the left of the Buttermarket Clock.
Lloyds moved out of the Old House and presented it to the
City Corporation in 1928.

The early to mid 2010s. Cars have gone once again, High Town having been "pedestrianised".
Otherwise little has changed architecturally in nearly 100 years. The shops have moved on,
 though - the Imperial Cafe is no more, W.H.Dyer is forgotten, and the Capital & Counties
 Dining & Refreshment Rooms, to the right of the Old House, has become "Starbucks".
Barack Obama is President of the USA.

And a last look at the Old House in the context of Hereford, a view from 1815 (President of the USA - James Madison) and a triptych view of the City from 150 years later, the late 1960s (President of the USA - Lyndon Baines Johnson):

A watercolour of "Butcher's Row" from 1815. The three gabled building in
the centre is the present Old House, showing how buildings have been
demolished around it over time.

Clockwise from right top - the new road bridge (built in 1966), the glamorous modernity
of the newly pedestrianised "Eign Gate Shopping Precinct" and the Old House.
Quite what the Victorian Mrs Oatfield would have made of the orange mini-skirted
 Herefordette is anyone's guess....

Cigarette Card Public Schools

Following previous posts on the ubiquitous 1930s cigarette cards (two thirds of British men smoked in the 1930s/1940s, and every pack contained a card) and the Royal Navy, followed by the Royal Air Force, it's time for a look at another aspect of 1930s British life - the Public Schools.

W.D.&H.O. Wills produced an "Arms of the Public Schools" series in 1933/1934:

Eton College, the most famous of England's
public schools. A natural recruiting ground
for the Brigade of Guards, Military Intelligence
and (occasionally) His Majesty's Prisons.

Harrow School, Eton's principal competitor.
Old School of both, amongst many others,
 Winston Churchill and Stanley Baldwin.

While the Battle of Waterloo may arguably
have been won on the playing fields of Eton,
the game of rugby was certainly invented
on the playing fields of Rugby School.
Old school of Neville Chamberlain.

A more modern public school, but one
continuing the Waterloo theme, Wellington
is said to have supplied many of the more
technically minded subalterns of the VBCW,
principally for the mechanised and artillery arms.

One of the very latest public schools (1929)
Malvern College's relationship with
 that "notorious VBCW outfit"
within the Herefordshire VBCW,
 the Malvern Hills Conservators, is unknown.

One of the oldest, and obviously most
Anglican, of public schools - Christ's Hospital.
The Christ's Hospital Combined Cadet Force
must undoubtedly have formed one of the
famous Anglican "shock troop" units
during the VBCW.

King's School, Canterbury. Notwithstanding
its name, given that the school has been
situated for centuries within the boundaries
of Canterbury Cathedral, its Cadet Force
proved utterly loyal to "their Archbishop"
during the VBCW.

A notable omission from this series of W.D&H.O Wills cigarette cards was that ancient and central (to Herefordshire and the Herefordshire VBCW) public school - Hereford Cathedral School. Given the already noted presence of its upstart competitor, Malvern College, this must have been a minor irritation to the then headmaster of HCS, Dr. Crees. Thus, with a flourish and a little help from modern technology, we can rectify this unaccountable error:

Gaming Note : with a modest amount of Photoshopping, these "Arms of the Public Schools" cigarette cards can easily be transformed into presentable flags for a "Public School Army", or simply a CCF section of a larger force. Certain public schools cadet forces could arguably have served on any side within the VBCW (well, save probably for the Communists) and are therefore very versatile troops.

HEREFORD ON FILM (1930s)

Two British Pathe films of Hereford in the 1930s, all voiced in impeccable Received Pronunciation:

See HERE for a two minute "Pictorial" short from 1935 titled "The City on the Wye - Hereford". Good views of King Street, the exterior of the Cathedral, Church Street, the Old House and High Town, Widemarsh Street, the Coningsby Hospital, the Wye Bridge, the Victoria Bridge. Extras on Kilpeck Church and Holmer Church.

See HERE for an even shorter (but odder) film from two years earlier, 1933, titled "Hereford - A Little Bit of Old England", concentrating on 'the revival' of the ancient ceremony of 'beating the bounds'. Views of the Old House and High Town again, the Town Council and their banner, the Mayor, the Swordbearer and the "Liveried Men" of the Council, the frontage of the Butter Market with the City and County Stores (and Fred Burn the City Tailor's shop) adjacent, followed by "the bumping" (don't ask).

Notes:

(1). The Mayor of Hereford in 1933 was Mr EW Langford. This previous blogpost from the Bishops Broadcasting Service provides some history and still photographs of the City Council in the 1930s (and in the recent past) for comparison to the 1933 film.

(2). The scenes of High Town in both films can be compared to the stills of the VE Day celebrations in the same place some ten years (and much hardship) later, published in this previous blogpost.

Hereford High Town today (ish). The Butter Market is an ever present, as is Lloyds Bank to its right.
The former City & County Stores, to its left, is now an O2 Mobile Phone Shop, its fine brickwork
 now lost beneath cheap roughcast.