Acts of kindness reported from the pages of The Citizen
The Kinks played Cheltenham Town Hall on the band’s final tour.
WE’VE all heard the scurrilous accusation from media bashers that newspapers only report bad news. But take a trawl through back copies of The Citizen and you’ll find this is far from true.
Down the years stories of random kindness pepper the Citizen’s columns, perhaps reflecting the good nature of the founder of newspapers in Gloucestershire, Robert Raikes, who lived in Southgate Street.
Raikes was a social reformer and proprietor of the Gloucester Journal, for many years a sister paper to the Citizen. When he died in 1811 scores of city children attended his funeral who had benefited from the education they’d received at Sunday schools Raikes was instrumental in establishing.
In accordance with Raikes’ wishes, each of the young mourners received one shilling and a plum pudding.
Gloucestershire cricketer Tom Goddard was another benefactor with the well being of youngsters at heart. He lived in Stroud Road, Gloucester and in 1921 began a local tradition that lasted for over 20 years. It began simply that year when Tom invited a few underprivileged local children for a day out.
They drove in his car to Kempley to see the daffodil fields.
The next year the good hearted Goddard was asked if he would organise a repeat visit and so the tradition grew. By the late 1930s Goddard’s annual trip to the daffodil fields, complete with picnic and organised games, was a Gloucester institution.
Coaches were hired and upwards of 100 youngsters enjoyed a day in the country funded by Gloucester businesses, one of which was the Co-op.
As well as paying back part of the profits to its members in the form of a divi, the Co-op in Gloucester staged an annual tea party at its premises in India Road for youngsters who saved a coin of two from their pocket money each week in the Co-op’s Penny Bank.
Some years ago a letter appeared in the Citizen from a Mrs Venn of Longlevens, who as a child went to children’s fancy dress parties put on by the Co-op at Shire Hall and once won first prize dressed as a jelly. She later became a pupil at Denmark Road High School for girls thanks to a scholarship from the Co-op.
Even some wartime tragedies had a heartwarming ending thanks to the generosity of local people.
On 2 January 2, 1941 Gloucester suffered its first casualties of the war when a Luftwaffe plane dropped two bombs. The first fell on Napier Street, the second on Montpellier.
One of the houses destroyed in the Napier Street raid was number 23, home of the Withers family. The head of the household was struggling into his clothes when the explosion took place. He was blown right out of the house to land some distance away, but was not badly injured.
His daughter Vera, who worked at Compton’s cuff and collar works, was a bride to be. Her fiance was in the Royal Navy on Russian convoy duty and the local vicar had agreed to marry the couple as soon as the young sailor was allowed home on leave.
Vera’s family pooled their clothing coupons for her wedding dress, which was hanging in the wardrobe when the bomb fell. It looked like Miss Withers’ hopes of a white wedding had been dashed to smithereens, until the manager of the Bon Marche, then Gloucester’s premier department store, read of her plight in The Citizen and supplied a new dress free of charge.
Nuptial news of an equally happy kind was reported in May 1930, when Margaret Darell, daughter of Sir Lionel and Lady Daisy Darell who lived at Fretherne Court, near Arlingham became engaged to Helmut Schroder, eldest son of the financier.
For her engagement present Margaret asked Helmut to buy every blind person in Gloucestershire a wireless. The dutiful fiance did, an act of benevolence that set him back £10,000, but gave 150 visually impaired people hereabouts a pleasant surprise.
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Helmut told The Citizen “We hope the radio will bring Spring into the lives of those who can’t see its blossoms”.
Cats have benefitted from Gloucestershire generosity too. When Dr Beeching axed a fair chunk of Britain’s rail network in the 1960s, Pinky was threatened with homelessness.
Pinky lived in Barnwood locomotive sheds and was an official feline employee of British Rail. Her duties included keeping mice, rats and assorted furry rodents at bay, which she did with great aplomb. But when the engine sheds were no longer needed, Pinky’s name appeared on the redundancy list.
Similarly when 430 members of the post office telephone administration staff moved into the newly built, seven story high Telephone House in 1970, there was just one job loss.
Tabby had been gainfully employed for the previous ten years as official rodent control manager in Bearland House, formerly home to the telephone admin staff.
Thanks to appeals in The Citizen, Pinky and Tabby found new homes. Pinky took up residence with a reader in Elmbridge Road, Gloucester, while Tabby retired to Lydney.
In October 1963 the licensee of the Red Lion pub at Wainlodes bought three donkeys, Pip, Squeak and Wilfred to give children free rides while Mum and Dad enjoyed a drink by the river.
And to conclude this whistle stop tour of local largesse as seen through the pages of the Citizen, at the annual Guildhall Flitch Trials to discover Gloucester’s happiest married couple in January 1950, the winners were Mr & Mrs John A’bear, who received a side of bacon and in second place were Mr & Mrs Bennet who were rewarded with a yard of sausages.