Family news

Two items of family news -

.  Robert Hichens is now back at home, having made a remarkable recovery from a stroke on July 21. I had a long chat to him on the telephone a day or two ago. He walks with a stick, is not allowed to drive, and has a degree of memory loss, but is generally in fine fettle.  He thanks everyone who sent him a card.  

.  My late sister Audrey’s granddaughter Bella James married Edward Garrett on August 22.

 

Please will other family members let me know of events of general interest to the family.

 

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Downes family tree

Robert Houseman writes:

I would be delighted to receive updates to the Downes Family Tree and would be more than happy to email anybody a PDF of their particular branch of the Family Tree or the whole Tree, as required. Please do ask people to email me at robert.houseman@houseman.com and I will update and email back soonest.

 

This is a splendid offer, and I intend to request a PDF of my branch from Robert soon.

 

I think Ian Aldous maintains a similar record, of the complete Todd Family Tree, which includes the Downes one. He, too, would like to receive updates.

 

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Audrey Theodosia Bryant, RIP

Audrey Bryant died peacefully on April 10^th 2015, aged 88. Her grandmother was Theodosia Badcock, neé Downes. The name has been passed from daughter to daughter through five generations so far.  Her funeral in Walgrave and her interment in Cornwall were attended by her brothers Arthur and Michael, by her children Shane, Ginnie (who flew over from California), Terl and Suzanna, by her grandchildren and many other relatives and friends.

I have revised her entry in my book Carden of Barnane to read as follows in the next edition.

AUDREY THEODOSIA CARDEN was born 10 December 1927, daughter of Eustace Carden and Lucy née Badcock. Educated Byculla School, Winchester School of Art, New York School of Interior Design.

Married Terl Malcolm Bryant (“Terry”) 19 January 1952, issue Shane 1956, Virginia (“Ginnie”) 1958, Terl 1961, Suzanna 1963.

Audrey and Terry travelled widely in USA for four years (where she worked for Georg Jensen, Fifth Avenue and British Publications), before settling at the Dial House (her Badcock grandmother's home) in Northamptonshire. She worked for Scott Bader in 1977-80 for the Lotus-Crystic Systems subsidiary and then was appointed to create the Kettering Volunteer Bureau which she managed for 12 years. During that time she set up 'Furniture Turnaround' and 'Pleasure Gardens', both Manpower Services schemes to help people in need, and initiated LEAP (Local Emergency Accommodation Project) which won Housing Association funding for two hostels for the homeless, and which expanded to seven hostels over eight years. She was regional representative and a Council member of the National Association of Volunteer Bureaux for several years. 

Audrey was an artist, poet, active Christian (member of Synod and Bishop's Council), ecology movement activist (taking part in the Molesworth and Greenham Common anti-nuclear demonstrations in 1978-83), co-founder and National Co-ordinator of Christian Ecology Link, member of the Green Party, stood in the Euro Elections in 1984, 1989 and 1994, in 1989 gaining almost 21% of the vote, one of the best Green Party results in any constituency.

She and Terry sold the Dial House and separated in 1979; they divorced in 1991 but remained good friends.  After living in Kettering for a while, Audrey moved back to Polruan in Cornwall (her childhood home) in December 1998, having been offered a council house with views of the ocean and harbour. In 2000 a stroke removed her powers of speech, which she later recovered, showing great determination to do so. She continued to live happily in her little house at the top of Polruan, packed to the brim with books, paintings and memorabilia. She painted in oils again, chiefly portraits, and was much involved with local and church affairs, representing council tenants on the District Tenants Forum. She visited Virginia and David in California in 2002. In 2006 she produced a 60-page booklet of her poems, The Long View, and another Mountains of the Mind, in 2009.

However, after suffering additional strokes (one of which involved a helicopter flight from Polruan to Truro, which she much enjoyed), her children arranged for her to be transferred to a care home in Buckinghamshire in 2013 and later to another in Corby where she died peacefully on 10 April 2015.

At her wish her funeral was held in Walgrave, on 17 April, and she was interred the next day at her beloved Lanteglos Church near Polruan.

The photograph above shows family members after the funeral, by the graves of Audrey’s mother Lucy, grandfather Thomas and the latter's brother John.

 

News from Dawn Robinson

Dawn writes, together with other news, “Charles and Sarah (Robinson) have now produced a second son, Freddie Henry Alexander, born on October 17th 2014.”

 

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Downes Journals at Portsmouth

Tim Le Grice has now agreed that the journals of Commander Andrew Downes, RN may remain at the Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth on long-term loan.

Dr Duncan Redford, of the museum, writes:  “the Jutland journal is being displayed in our new permanent gallery … Diaries of this quality and length are few and far between. His diaries are of vital importance to our ability to put a human face to the Royal Navy’s story in the Edwardian and First World War period and in the most sympathetic manner to tell the Royal Navy’s story to the widest possible audience. … Scholars working on the field have been advised of their existence.”

The Journals can all be viewed in the library Monday to Friday 1000-1600 (by appointment only as it is within the secure area of the Naval Base). If anyone wishes to make an appointment they should email: library@nmrn.org.uk or ring 02392 725795.

The museum has given Tim two complete scanned copies on suitable portable hard drives to ensure that he and the wider family can continue to refer to the journals. Tim has now kindly passed one of these to me and has given me permission to loan it to any interested family members. Please don’t hesitate to ask me for it or ask Tim for the other copy. I have downloaded a copy to my own computer, so that I can read it at leisure.

Perhaps one day this will enable me to add the missing early 1914 and late 1918 volumes to the summaries of seven wartime journals which appear in my book The First World War Journals of Commander Andrew Downes RN. The scans, which are of excellent quality, would also enable me to improve the rest of the book with more illustrations and further extracts from the journals.