From the Mailbox: A Budleigh Croquet Photograph

As we wrap things up here at Who Is George Mills?, one thing that does keep us going is our metaphorical mailbox. A message has arrived this week with a clarification and an interesting observation.

Here's a not from Chris Williams of the Croquet Association regarding a previous entry and the colour photograph you see below [click to enlarge]:


I spoke to Martin Granger-Brown over the weekend and he was a member at Budleigh in the late 60s/early 70s and remembers the Millses. I showed him the photo that you published on Saturday 9th July and he was able to name a few more of the people in the photo.

You have

Front Row: Unknown could be Robin Godby who lived in London, Joan Warwick, John Solomon (who was the subject of the poem I sent you by Gerald Cave), Bill Perry + Sally his dog, unknown, Sir Leonard Daldry.

Back Row: John Cooper (I think), unknown, unknown, unknown, Guy Warwick, unknown, Gerald Cave.


He reckons that the back row is

John Cooper, unknown, Ralph Bucknall, Jim Townsend, Guy Warwick, unknown, Gerald Cave.

He also thinks that the lady on the right in the front row is Lady Daldry.

He also said that Aggie was very haughty and posh and used to look down on people.

Regards,
Chris


Thank you so very much, Chris! We are now able to put some names alongside a few more faces in the above photograph.

For our purposes here, though, what is even more interesting is the brief observation in the last sentence.

We know from the Devonshire Park photograph (circa 1957) that Aggie Mills, sister of George Mills, had no qualms about placing herself front and center in the image among women who were presumably her friends. Players and croquet personalities of greater notoriety than Aggie placed themselves off to the side: The legendary Hope Rotherham springs immediately to mind.


Her brother George and sister, Violet Mills, both found themselves positions towards the rear and away from the center in the image. You can see them all marked on the image above.

One wonders why so few people today recall George Mills, and really have dim recollections of his sisters much beyond a first impression—good or bad—of any of the Mills siblings.

Perhaps it was a bit of haughtiness, apparently on the part of sister Aggie, that tended to keep others somewhat at arm's length from the Mills. Agnes and Violet were already ensconced at Budleigh Salterton in 1947, and George apparently came to live with them somewhat later—likely around the occasion of that 1957 photograph.

While the family—apparently even including George—were quite social themselves, one can't help but wonder how reserved their friends and acquaintances may have been. It's interesting to note that despite the involvement of the three Mills sibs in croquet at Budleigh, none of them seem to appear in group photographs of cheerful players at the club.

Agnes, as they say, apparently was known to enjoy pulling the cork, as they say. Might it be that this social family—led by elder sister Agnes—may not have been enormously well-liked, at least not as much as they were well-known socially?

The reality that Budleigh Salterton was unaware that George Mills had once been a successful children's book author—and, in fact, his books then were being reprinted in the late 1950s for enjoyment by a new generation of readers—is completely mystifying to me.

Perhaps haughtiness and a condescending attitude played some role in it.

It is, at least, worth considering.

Rooms to Let: 21, Cadogan Gardens, S.W.3

It's a sunny morning with gentle breezes wafting through the horse country of north central Florida off the tail of Hurricane Irene. The heat index is supposed to creep up to a stifling 108°F today, but it's no longer summer here as it is in most of the United States: The children here have already been back in school for a week!

My plan had been to wrap up our study of George Mills by the time I returned to my classroom, but I fell just short of that. Today, we'll look at one aspect of the Mills family that may be of interest, although it's uncertain exactly how much it deals with George Mills directly.

As you may recall, George was married in 1925 and purchased a home in Portslade. His father, the Rev. Barton R. V. Mills, passed away in January 1932 while his family was residing at 24 Hans-road in London. The name on the family's telephone listing changed to "Mrs. Barton Mills" that same year.

Labouring under an assumption that George may still have been residing in his Portslade home when he was not away teaching at Windermere and Glion, Switzerland, the residents of 24 Hans-road would have been Edith Mills, Barton's widow and George's mother, and Agnes and Violet Mills, the spinster sisters of George.

Then, in 1933, the address for family's telephone listing in the London directory changed from Hans-road to 21 Cadogan Gardens, S.W. 3, although the telephone number—SLoane 3278—remained the same.

The family obviously had moved to new quarters after the patriarch's death. Let's go to the London Times, however, for more information.

A classified advertisement in the 11 April 1933 edition of The Times reads:


COOK-GENERAL, required for flat; 3 in family. Apply after 3 or write, Barnard, 21 Cadogan Gardens, S.W. 3.


We don't know exactly when the remaining members of the Mills family moved to Cadogan Gardens—just that the address appeared in the November 1933 telephone directory. The relocation came early enough, however, to make the printing deadline for a November directory.

There are two ways to look at the above entry at first glance. One way is to assume that the previous residents were simply in need of a cook, a domestic who later moved away with them when that family left in favour of the Mills.

"Barnard" may, I suppose, have been a dependable servant in charge of interviewing the new cook, but for which set of residents we do not know. It may have been the surname of the new owners just as easily. Still, if George and his wife, Vera, were still living in Portslade in 1933, the members of the Mills family moving into 21 Cadogan Gardens would have, indeed, numbered three: Edith, Agnes, and Violet.


Let's see what else we may find in The Times…

In the 9 December 1933 edition, almost two years after the death of Rev. Barton Mills, we find this advertisement in the classified category FLATS & CHAMBERS:

ADJACENT HARROD'S, KNIGHTSBRIDGE. — LARGE ROOM on entrance floor, adjoining bath room to be LET, Unfurnished ; constant hot water, electric light and power ; excellent service and catering ; 42s. per week. — 24 Hans Road S.W. Sloane 4025.


I'm not exactly sure what this tells us, save what a large room near Harrod's went for per week. It is possible the family had held onto the property, and that the Mills were subletting rooms at 24 Hans Road [right] as a source income—as far as we know, none of the Mills women were working. While the number Sloane 4025 was not their own phone number, it may have been the number of an agent who handled rentals for them or an additional line at 21 Cadogan Gardens.

Or it may have had nothing to do with them at all: I can search London directories by name, but not by telephone number.

Once again assuming the property to have something to do with the Mills family, we can see the worldwide economic depression has tightened on London. Here is virtually the same advert, this time from 30 October 1934:


KNIGHTSBRIDGE (adjoining Harrod's):. — BED-SITTING ROOMS. Furnished and unfurnished; h. and c. basins, constant hot water; house telephones. Furnished from 27s. 6d. ; unfurnished from 25 s.-45s., to include service and light; all meals at moderate prices. — 18 and 24, Hans Road, S.W.3 Kens. 7541.


Less than a year later, 24 Hans-road had multiple furnished and unfurnished rooms to let, and "excellent catering" had become "meals at moderate prices." Couple that with the addition of 18 Cadogan Gardens and change in phone number and we might assume that, even had the Mills retained 24 Hans through 1933, it likely was no longer among their assets. Someone else had acquired the property.


Why might the Mills family have held 24 Hans Road in order to let rooms, even for a short while? It seems to be what they were doing during that time, evan at Cadogan Gardens [left]. Let's take a look at a few more classified advertisements from The Times.

This is from death notices in the 20 December 1937 issue of The Times:

HIBBERT. — On Dec. 17, 1937, at 21 Cadogan Gardens, S.W., HELENA MIDDLETON (LENA), widow of CAPTAIN EDWARD ROWLEY HIBBERT, and last surviving child of Christian Allhusen, of Stoke Court, Stoke Poges, in her 80th year.


While it's possible Mrs. Middleton had simply been visiting, why then was no actual address provided? She clearly would have been boarding at 21 Cadogan Gardens with Edith and the girls.


From the 25 May 1938 issue of The Times, in the column entitled FORTHCOMING MARRIAGES:

MR. P. N. LOXLEY AND MISS E. L. DAWNEY

A marriage has been arranged, and will shortly take place, between Peter Noel Loxley, H.M. Diplomatic Service, only son of the late Captain Noel Loxley, Royal Navy, and of Mrs. Loxley, temporarily of 24, Cadogan Gardens, S.W.3, and Elizabeth Lavender Dawney, daughter of Major-General and Mrs. Guy Dawney, of Longparish House, Longparish, Hampshire.


Here we find another widow of a British officer living with the Mills, albeit seemingly temporarily in this case.

One wonders how many boarders of this era quite honestly took a room 'temporarily' yet subsequently never relinquished it.


In addition, we find this item in the 29 September 1939 edition of The Times:

MR. R. H. AMES AND MISS C. ZIMMERMAN

The engagement is announced between Robert Hugh Ames, only son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Y. Ames, 21, Cadogan Gardens, and Miss Carlotta Zimmerman, niece of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Meyer, 440, Park Avenue, New York City.


Here we find a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Ames, taking up residence with Edith and the girls. London telephone directories show that the Ames had their own phone in the house, and a Robert Y. Ames was at the time a barrister of the Temple Bar.


In a section entitled LADY CLERKS & TYPISTS, in the 13 April 1942 issue of The Times, we find:

LADY Francis Ryder requires a Secretary and a Card Index Hand, both for Services hospitality organization ; trained, experienced ; good references ; 40 or over ; Write 21, Cadogan Gardens, S.W.3.


Records show that Lady Ryder was involved in hospitality for servicemen during the Second World War. From the website Australian War Memorial, we find a paper written by Hank Nelson for the "2003 History Conference – Air War Europe" entitled A Different War: Australians in Bomber Command.

Of the bomber crews, Nelson writes:

Even when they were operating frequently, aircrew could eat, sleep, read, and play a game of billiards in conditions far removed from those inside a bomber fuselage. When crews were stood down, had a “48” (a 48-hour leave pass), or took their regular six days leave in every six weeks, they could travel to the local towns – Lincoln, Grimsby, Skegness, and York – and go to a dance, have a meal at a pub, see a movie, or attend a service at Lincoln Cathedral or the Thomas Cooper Memorial Baptist Church in St Benedict Square, Lincoln. They could go to the home of an English crew member, or that of a family nominated by the Lady Frances Ryder and Miss MacDonald of the Isles Dominion Hospitality Scheme, sleep in, read the newspapers, and wander across the fields. Or they could catch a train to London, stay at the Strand Palace Hotel close to the Boomerang Club and Codger’s bar, see the sights, and take in the show at the Windmill Theatre, John Gielgud as Hamlet at the Theatre Royal, Noel Coward’s Blithe spirit at the Duchess Theatre, or a concert at Albert Hall. Less than 24 hours later, aircrew could be taking a Halifax on a test flight preparing it for an operation over the Ruhr.

The National Portrait Gallery listing for Lady Ryder states: "Lady Frances Ryder (1888-1965), Organiser of Dominion Services and Students Hospitality Scheme; daughter of 5th Earl of Harrowby." A pair of 1925 portraits of her taken by photographer Alexander Bassano is seen above, right, and at left.

Apparently much of Lady Ryder's organising was done from the home of Edith, Agnes, and Violet Mills!


Among the death notices in the 19 May 1944 issue of The Times, we discover:

KITTERINGHAM. — On May 18, 1944, at 21, Cadogan gardens, S.W.3, MATILDA JEMIMA KITTERINGHAM, passed peacefully away. Requiem, St. Mary's, Cadogan Street, S.W.3, to-morrow (Saturday), at 10:00 a.m., and afterwards at Kensal Green.

A spinster, Kitteringham had been a nurse at "T.F.N.S. No. 5 City of London General Hospital" according to the 15 April 1919 edition of the Edinburgh Gazette, page 1479.


In the 22 September 1944 edition of The Times, we find this interesting advertisement:

REQUIRED shortly, COUNTRY ACCOMODATION for mother, two small boys, and nurse, for one or two months. — Gilmour, 21, Cadogan Gardens, S.W.3.


Without speculating on the reason for requiring these "country accommodations," one must envision 21 Cadogan Gardens as having been a rather interesting place during the war: Married couples, elderly spinsters (one of them a Peer), aging military men, and single mothers with young boys, all living with the genteel Mills ladies in London at a time when wartime rationing and German rockets must have made each day quite trying, to say the very least.

It sounds like quite an interesting place to live, and we do know that, in 1944, George Mills was using the Naval and Military Club in London [left]—which itself had suffered damage from Nazi bombs—as his address, having relinquished his commission in the Royal Army Pay Corps in 1943.

We find, then, that it is possible that housing in London may have been so difficult to find that Mills couldn't get a room in his family's own home. It's also possible, though, that he simply didn't want one there, preferring the club to 21 Cadogan Gardens.


On 12 December 1945, Edith Elizabeth Ramsay Mills, mother of George, Agnes, and Violet, would pass away. From the 14 December issue of The Times:

MILLS. — On Dec. 12, 1945, after a few days' illness at 21, Cadogan Gardens, S.W.3, ELIZABETH EDITH, widow of REV. BARTON R. V. MILLS, and daughter of the late Sir George Dalhousie Ramsay, C.B. Funeral at Holy Trinity Church, Brompton, on Monday Dec. 17, at 2 p.m. Please, no flowers.


The family did not immediately vacate 21 Cadogan Gardens, and death would soon visit once again. From the 21 June 1946 issue of The Times:

DRUMMOND. — On June 18, 1946, CAPTAIN FREDERICK HARVEY JOHN DRUMMOND, M.C., of 21, Cadogan Gardens, S.W.3, beloved husband of Elizabeth, and son of the Lady Katherine Drummond and the late Allan H. Drummond. Funeral at Sherbourne, near Warwick, Monday, June 24, at 2 o'clock. Memorial service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, June 24, at 2:30 p.m. Flowers to Messrs Ashton and Co., 235, Fulham Road, South Kensington.


Funeral arrangements and services for boarders like drummond [his geleaology is seen, excerpted from the 1908 text Coke of Norfolk and His Friends by Anna Maria Wilhelmina Stirling, at left] may have been becoming a bit too much for the Mills sisters—assuming George was not living with them at Cadogan Gardens.

As noted before here, by 1947, Agnes would have been 52 years old, and Violet, 45. Now with no mother [who'd been born, married, lived, and died right there in Kensington] to keep them in London, it would be no surprise to find that the girls might leave town to live out their Golden Years.

1947 also found these additions to the British Library's Manuscripts Catalogue: "Ramsay (George Dalhousie) of the War Office; knt. 1900. Correspondence and papers 1835-1898," and "Papers of G. D. Ramsay rel. to the Royal Army Clothing Dept. 1855-1898," Add. 46446 – 46450.

The donors of those manuscripts? "Mills (Agnes Edith). Miss. grand-daughter of Sir G. D. Ramsay. Presented, jointly with Miss V. E. Mills 1947," and "Mills (Violet Eleanor). Miss. grand-daughter of Sir G. D. Ramsay. Presented, jointly with Miss A. E. Mills 1947."


It seems that the girls had been busy cleaning out 21 Cadogan Gardens following their mother's passing, and finally arranging a place for the papers of Sir George Dalhousie Ramsay, their maternal grandfather, to reside in perpetuity [right].


Since the presentation of Sir George Dalhousie Ramsay's papers to the British Library was in the name of Misses Agnes and Violet Mills, may we assume that George was not in residence with them at the time of the discovery and bequeathing of their grandfather's manuscripts?

The listing for Mrs. Barton Mills [SLOane 3278; 21 Cadogan gdns, S.W.3] stays in place in the London directories until its last appearance in the 1947 book.


The Misses Mills then appear in the 1948 telephone directory at Budleigh Salterton, residing at Grey Friars. Given the actual listing—"The Misses Mills"—George was not residing with them in Budleigh at the time.


To summarize the life of the Mills family between 1932 and 1947, after the death of Rev. Barton Mills, his wife and daughters relocated from Hans Road to nearby Cadogan Gardens and began running what was basically a boarding house (although I am certain that, given their elite neighbourhood and clientele, there must have been an upscale euphemism they would have preferred) through the Great Depression and the Second World War.

Their rooms must have had a quality of exclusivity about them as we do not find any advertisements to let them. "Word of mouth" about the Mills home must have been enough to keep them full of tenants.

[We should, however, keep in mind the capricious and obstinate nature of the on-line search engine of The Times database. When we used it to collect croquet results for the Mills siblings, it provided access only a small fraction of the information available. It is distinctly possible that the Mills did advertise for tenants in The Times on many occasions and the exceptionally poor search engine there cannot locate those entries.]

Following the death of their mother Edith in 1945, the spinster sisters of George Mills cleaned out 21 Cadogan Gardens in 1947 and took their lives—Agnes was 53 that year, and Violet 45—to Devon, where they took up residence at Grey Friars, at 15 Westfield Road [left], in Budleigh, literally just a hundred or so feet from the croquet club.

Eventually George finally would—probably in the late 1950s—come to live with them, all of them playing bridge and croquet until the 1970s, when George passed away in December 1972 and the girls both in July 1975.

The Passing of Lady Lydia Elizabeth Acland (née Hoare)

Over the next few entries, we'll be working to get a final few items on-line regarding the life, times, and family of George Mills.

Today, it'll be just a quickie: The obituary of George's great grandmother, Lady Lydia Elizabeth Acland, wife of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland of Killerton, Devon. Lady Acland passed away at the age of 69 on 23 June 1856 at 34 Hyde Park Gardens, London, residence of George's paternal grandfather, Arthur Mills, M.P., husband of her daughter Lady Agnes Lucy Acland Mills.

Lady Acland (née Hoare) is see in the portrait above, left, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, with her children Arthur Henry Dyke Acland and Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 11th Bt., George's great grandfather

Here is the article from page 257 of the August 1856 issue (Vol. 201) of The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review:

June 23, suddenly, at Hyde-park Gardens, London, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Mills, aged 69, Lydia Elizabeth, wife of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., M.P., of Killerton, Devonshire. The funeral of the late lamented Lady Acland took place on Saturday evening last, in the yard of the old family chapel of Columbjohn, and was attended in large numbers by the tenantry and their wives, by the poor, and by almost the whole neighbourhood. The scene was one of the most simple but affecting description, and the demeanour of all present evinced not only their reverence for the sacred rite then performing, but also their deep feeling for the departed, and her surviving relatives. The funeral was attended by Sir Thomas Acland and his four sons, by several grandchildren, by Lady Acland's nephews (sons of her brothers, Mr. George and Archdeacon Hoare) by Lord Carnarvon, Lord and Mr. Charles Courtenay, Right Hon. John Fortescue, Mr. Hoare of Luscombe, Mr. Blencowe, Mr. Jenkinson, Dr. Miller, and several other private friends. In the evening the procession started from the house, soon after six o'clock, and consisted of a hearse and four horses; mourning coaches with four horses each; three private carriages; and by some 300 or 400 of the tenantry on the estate. The Rev. J. Hellings, and the Rev. Appom officiated on the occasion. As a proof of the reverential feeling exhibited by the attendants, it may be stated that on the Lord's Prayer, in the funeral service, being commenced, everyone in the chapel-yard, amounting to several hundreds, immediately knelt, and continued in that posture till the whole was concluded.


Lady Acland, pictured, right, in a posthumous mezzotint executed by Samuel Cousins after an 1848 portrait by painter Joseph Severn, was buried in the graveyard of the Columbjohn Chapel at Broad Clyst, Devon, England.

While George Mills never met Lady Acland—he was born exactly 40 years after her death—this obituary does indicate the connections his family would have had among the powerful Aclands. While his grandfather, Arthur Mills, was an in-law, George's father was blood, as were George, his half-brother, and his sisters.

And, as we don't know where George's body was interred (if, in fact, he was not cremated), we must consider the fcat that George's final resting place may be in there Columbjohn, not far from George last residence in Budleigh Salterton.

I have been unable to find and access records regarding those laid to rest within that burial ground.

Croquet, Memories, and Dr. William Ormerod

Yesterday afternoon I had the distinct pleasure of an interview with croquet icon Dr. William P. Ormerod. To hint that I conducted the interview would be misleading: Dr. Ormerod has a wealth of information, anecdotes, and memories, and he was kind enough to take me on a quick tour of a by-gone era in the game's past.

In fact, Ormerod [seen, far left, in the 1969 photograph at left], born in 1937 in Bristol, continued his family's position as the longest line of physicians in Britain's history, starting in 1789, the year of the French Revolution, and continuing for, I believe, seven generations.

Of his roots in the sport of croquet, the charming Dr. Ormerod recalls, "My first tournament was in 1952 when aged 15 years, and my first opponent was at Parkstone [against] a lady, Miss Hedges. She was in fact Lady Barbarolli's aunt, and when she knew that I was also musical and played the 'cello, she said 'William, don't let's play this silly game; we should go inside and talk about music!'"

His initial involvement with the sport came at the suggestion of Kathleen Ault, a player of that era who was associated with croquet legend, author, and philanthropist Maurice Reckitt.

Ormerod recalls that Reckitt [right], as we know, was associated with the company Reckitt Colman, but the "directors paid him to stay away from the board meetings." He was a fine croquet player who first won a championship in 1935, and later wrote the text Croquet Today.

Reckitt was a noted Christian socialist, but also was known as a "champagne socialist," because of his belief that whether one won or lost at croquet, it was always best to follow play with champagne.

He and his wife, Aimee, loved dancing, an activity for which they were well known for some 40 years. Aimee was also an accomplished tennis player who had competed at Wimbledon in the 1920s, but Ormerod recalls that she played the 'cello as well. His recollection, however, is that she at last gave a recital during which something went awry, and she sadly never played in public again.


Dr. Ormerod also tells wonderful stories of some other noted personalities of the era.

He felt a kinship with Major Freddy Stone, a player who had begun playing at a young age as well, at 12 or 13 years old in 1912, and who "hit the ball like a bullet." Stone had a distinguished military career, but his most noteworthy service might have been in the British army's assistance during Turkey's Hakkari earthquake in 1930.

The Turks had been foes during the First World War, but afterwards the English provided such substantial help that Stone was told, "We will never fight against the British again!"


Of another player, legendary Daisy Lintern, who was also a noted manager of croquet tournaments, Ormerod recalls that, "as opposed to white, ladies at the time wore colorful silk dresses and hats to play."

Lintern apparently once had occasion to attend a funeral on the day of a match while wearing a hat festooned with flowers. Deciding her floral hat to be too much for the service, she quietly set it aside, out of sight. Much to her surprise, the casket was later brought out with the hat sitting on top, having been mistaken for a wreath!


Ormerod also has fond memories of Guy and Joan Warwick, with whom he stayed while in Budleigh Salterton, almost next door to the Mills siblings, George, Agnes, and Violet. His association with the Warwicks began even before Guy and Joan moved to Budleigh.

Brother and sister, the Warwicks [left] had lived, as we know, in a Victorian house in Peterborough, and while Dr. Ormerod was attending Cambridge in 1956, he would ride "from Cambridge to Peterborough by bus and play croquet all day long." During his time spent there, Guy, an architect, would drive Ormerod to Hunstanton, and "on the journey there, he would point out buildings he had designed, especially in the Georgian style."

Soon after that, the Warwicks had retired to Budleigh, which Dr. Ormerod recalls as being a "special" place: "When I was a boy Majors retired to Exmouth, Colonels to Sidmouth, and Brigadiers, Generals and Top Brass to Budleigh--all towns within 10 miles of each other !"

Joan Warwick was a noteworthy player of croquet, and Ormerod recollects her as powerful, and that while most women relied on some finesse, Joan was "not a very elegant player like some of the ladies, but she had a good eye for the ball," and consistently hit the ball quite hard!


Finally, of George, Agnes, and Violet Mills, Ormerod has a few memories.

He recalls the siblings were "well educated and had apparently come from a family that was well-connected," as well as having had enough money to live by their own means. He remembers visiting their home just once, when he was 19 years of age (it would have been 1956-1957), but has no real memories of the occasion.

Of Agnes [seated, right], Dr. Ormerod recalls that Aggie "was a great character," whose gait was unusual, waddling along with out-turned feet. (We've already been told that children in Budleigh were fascinated by Agnes's unusual appearance). He describes her as "very nice, highly educated... and very involved in croquet."

One other thing: Agnes apparently played with unusual equipment that apparently came from Burma!

Contrasted with her much larger sister, Violet Mills was "slim and ladylike, not as good a player as Agnes," but again, "a very nice person."

Of George Mills, Dr. Ormerod seems almost apologetic about his lack of remembrance. Aware today of Mills's status as a children's book author, he did not know then that Mills wrote, nor has he been able to find anyone else who knew that Mills had been a writer. "Even my mother did not, which surprises me," he explained, "as she was quite a literary person."

He recalls Mills [left] only as a player, but does remember that George had been "a smart, dapper chap, a great contrast to Aggie," the latter often having been rather careless about her appearance. It did not surprise Dr. Ormerod at all that George Mills had spent time at Harrow and Oxford, and he distinctly recalled that Mills had "an unclear voice, [and] a lisp."

Interestingly, when told that Lt.-Col. Gerald Cave of Budleigh had described George Mills as "exuberant," "loveable," and "enthusiastic," he replied, "Those are words I would use to describe Gerald Cave himself."


This past weekend Dr. Ormerod played croquet in the "Dorset Golf Croquet Champs. at Parkstone, where I played my first croquet tournament in 1952 aged 15 years."

He continues: "Talking about croquet players in the 1950's and playing croquet at present brings a wry smile to my face; all the financial markets continue to plummet and major problems in middle east and horn of Africa. But Sir Francis Drake still played Bowls as the Spanish Armada approached Plymouth in 1588 !"


Ironically, as we spoke that evening, four cities in England, including London, had concluded a day of frightening rioting and looting, reminding me that times have certainly changed since the Mills siblings took to the lawns.


The croquet resume of Dr. William P. Ormerod is stellar, and it includes the fact that he played on the MacRobertson series winning team in 1956 when at Cambridge University, aged 19 years, as well as in 1963, 1969, and 1974. In addition, he won the Delves-Broughton Open Golf Croquet Doubles Championship in 1954 when aged 17 years, partnering Brigadier A.E. Stokes-Roberts at Roehampton. Ormerod was winner of the Open Doubles Championship seven times (in 1960 partnering H.O.Hicks, and in 1971/2 1975/6 and 1977/8, partnering G.N.Aspinall). He was also winner of the Parkstone Dorset Salver Open Croquet event on nine occasions between 1956 and 2010—a remarkable 54 years between winning it for the first and the latest time!

Now Dr. Ormerod spends a great deal of time "coaching golf croquet at Swanage Croquet Club where I also belong."


Dr. Ormerod has played around the world. A more complete sketch of his career accomplishments in the sport of croquet can be found HERE. For his record in the database of the Croquet Association, between 1954 and 1984, click HERE.

It was great honor to have the opportunity to discuss the sport with the legendary Dr. Ormerod, and I am grateful for his kindness, his time, and his generosity.


[Update: Here's an update I received from Dr. Ormerod on Tuesday, August 23, 2011: "For the sake of accuracy here are just two further comments. It was Aggie Mills who had a marked lisp, not George(although he may have had one). Also I see you have mentioned Hakkari on the Turkey/Iran border as the site of the serious earthquake in 1930--certainly that was the site mentioned for 1930 quake in literature; however his comments re Turkey not fighting the British I well remember. This comment was also made by a patient of mine, Mr. Shillabeer, who served as a private under Major Freddie Stone and also helped at the earthquake. Mr Shillabeer died in the 1970's and was from Ermington, Devon, before moving to Parkstone in approx. 1968. (I was a GP in Parkstone 1965--1995 before retiring last year after 15 years as a government Tribunal Doctor working with the Judiciary)." Thank you once again, Dr. Ormerod, for your patience and your time. I remain extremely grateful for your kindness.]

More Croquet Photographs

It appears as if it will be another scorcher here in Ocala, Florida, and to make it all the more fun, there is a tropical storm, Emily, "meandering" around Haiti, and we're watching its movements—or lack thereof.

I am happy to say that I've received a bit more ephemera from good friend of this site Joanna Healing in Budleigh Salterton. Above, Joanna sends a long a photograph [above] we'd once seen scanned from a book, but this time in its original form with typewritten information affixed. We can see that it is the 1958 "London Match" at the Budleigh Salterton Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Joanna also adds these personal memories of Budleigh's Guy and Joan Warwick:

Joan Warwick died in the early 1970s. She and Guy (brother and sister) were extremely good at encouraging new croquet players. They were both excellent hosts to people who came to play in the tournaments. Guy was a “joker”.


Below, there is a photograph that Joanna describes only as "ancient," presumably of croquet players at the Budleigh Salterton club.



Thank you again, Joanna, and to everyone who has helped out here along the way. As always, your support and assistance are greatly appreciated!

Gallery 7: Artwork by an Anonymous Illustrator

Looking very much like a Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew mystery from my childhood here in the United States, the late 1950s/early 1960s edition of the third book in the schoolboy trilogy of George Mills is likely the most colouristically most eye-catching and appealing of all his books, as far as children might be concerned. Perhaps even to grown-ups as well, being the ones who presumably allowed or disallowed the purchase.

Here we have a text, printed in Czechoslovakia by Spring Books, London, in which, as we know by now, there is no copyright date. There is also no illustrator named, and for the first time among the books of Mills, there is not even a signature or set of initials woven into any of the works of art.

Following a format similar to all of his post-WWII books, the book has a full colour dust jacket and frontispiece, as well as four black and white plates inside.

The execution of the painting is energetic and makes use of a rainbow of saturated hues to create the cover illustration. It's attractive, and quite appealing in a nostalgic way that I'm not sure it would have evoked at the time it was created.


The frontispiece is a knock-off (or should I more politely say, an "appropriation") of John Harris's frontispiece from the 1939 first edition. Harris's was actually too delicate, unwisely using colours that were too high-key and pastel-y, to give a real feel of that doggedly gritty race at a boys' school. It was not the particular artwork in that edition he should have focused on stealing.

This anonymous paean to that less than noteworthy painting certainly saturates the colours more, and our anonymous artist handles the paint more expressively. However, one can almost see within the image the small, desktop wooden mannequin used by artists to pose human figures at the drawing table in lieu of an actual model. Those clunky wooden figures can be arranged in some awkward poses that the human form won't comfortably do, and we see two of those in this awkward painting.

You can see a comparison of the 1939 watercolour with an indistinctg and ineffective vignette edge and the 1950s-ish gouache duplicate with crisply masked edges. [Click any image to enlarge it in a new window.]


The pen and ink drawings on the inside plates [below] are nothing to write home about to say the least. They are 'children's-book-illustration-mediocre,' which is a step or two down from 'grown-up-book-illustration-mediocre'—clearly the weakest works of art in any of Mills's texts, first editions or reprints.



"'All right, it's only me'" [Page 55]



"'What on earth are you doing, Fleming?'" [Page 99]



"His diary was not there!" [Page 165]



"Fleming Minor rushed in" [Page 215]


That last plate contains an image of a soaking wet boy, Fleming Minor, who is running—and a mirror image theft (uh... "appropriation") of the embellishment John Harris added to the Table of Contents page in the first edition of Minor and Major. The figure is completed by the 1930s-style uniform he is wearing, exactly like the one in the 1939 version. (To see Harris's original figure, click HERE.)

One can almost see, by the relentless downgrading of the quality of the illustrations, the esteem in which the writing of Mills was held. From beginning with the legendary cross-genre illustrator C. E. Brock [his cover for Mills's 1933 novel, Meredith and Co., is seen below, left], Mills ended up with illustrators that were just average—in the field of children's literature—and below average overall.

Of course, fine children's book illustration was changing at that time, and I can't see the work of Ronald Searle, for instance, working well in one of Mills's books, despite Searle's brilliance. It simply wouldn't be a good "fit."

And with that we close the final gallery of art relating to the literary works of George Mills—that is, unless a copy of 1939's Saint Thomas of Canterbury goes on sale somewhere in the world, or I can get access to some scans or photocopies of the 57 page text from one of the few libraries still carrying it on their shelves.

That would complete our artistic journey! But until then, this is the last of it.


Mills would have realized, after receiving advance copies of this reprinted edition of Minor and Major, that what he held in his hand then would, indeed have been "the last of it" for him.

One wonders what seeing that dust jacket above, and flipping through these final illustrations, meant to him. From this point in his life, until his death in 1972, Mills lived in Budleigh Salterton with his spinster sisters, Agnes and Violet Mills. He would never publish another book.

Beyond the fact that he was sociable, no one there seems to have known much about him. Not a single person seems to have known that he was a children's book author. No one really remembers George at all.

One wonders why.

A Quiet Croquet Bench in Budleigh

Several weeks ago I posted a scrapbook of sorts, featuring many images and texts involving the era of croquet in which the Mills siblings—George, Agnes, and Violet—played after the Second World War.

Recently received from our friend Joanna Healing in Budleigh Salterton is a photograph [above] of the bench on one of the lawns at the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club dedicated to the Guy and Joan Warwick, neighbours of the Mills on Westfield Road and integral members of the club.

We can see the bench reads:

Given in fond memory of
JOAN and GUY WARWICK
by their cousins
MYRTLE WALKER and JOSEPHINE EMORY
October 1983

That time frame would have been just after Guy's death.

Thank you so much, Joanna, and, as always, if anyone has anything similar, please don't hesitate to send it along.

And thanks once again to Budleigh's Judy Perry for the image of Joan and Guy…

More for the "Scrapbook"...

This just in from thoughtful Joanna Healing of Budleigh Salterton, a bit to late to make Saturday's first "scrapbook" (of sorts) of memorabilia:

You may already have this information, but I thought I had better send it to you in case.

First up is the impressive photograph at the left, taken at Budleigh in 1974. We've seen this MacRobertson Shield image before, but only a smaller, black-and-white, low-resolution version that appears on the website of the World Croquet Federation. (Click this wonderful, colour photograph to enlarge it in a new window.)

One player above is unidentified—the gentleman in the back row to the fr left—but it is clearly Sir Leonard Daldry. The WCF site records him as having been a referee in 1974. J. G. "Guy" Warwick was also a refree that year, and is pictured opposite Daldry in the back row, far right.

Complete details of that year's competition can also be found at the Croquet Records Site.


In addition, Joanna enclosed this croquet résumé of Guy's sister, the great Joan Warwick, including a scan of her 1973 obituary from the Croquet Gazette. Many thanks to Joanna for her generosity and kindness to an ignorant stranger with a growing love of the sport!

A Scrapbook of Croquet Memories

Today, we'll take a look at a scrapbook full of photographs and writing that have been shared with me. They match faces with many of the names we've mentioned here at Who Is George Mills? and should be of interest, particularly to croquet enthusiasts or denizens of Budleigh Salterton—or both! (You can click any image to enlarge it in a new window.)

Our first one, seen above, is scan I received from Michael Downes of Budleigh, and he provides the source volume below, as well as a list of local players at the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club in 1958, along with a visiting team from London. Michael wrote:

Details are:

Back row (l-r); C.V. West (Groundsman), J.W. Solomon (London), Major G.F. Stone (Budleigh Salterton), R.F. Rothwell (L), A.J. Cooper (BS), J.G. Warwick (BS), W.P. Omerod [misspelt: should be Ormerod] (BS).

Middle row: J.A. Holliweg (L), Ian Baillieu (L), Miss E.J. Warwick (BS), Lt-Col G.E. Cave (BS), M.B. Reckitt (L).

Front row: Mrs W. Longman (L), W. Longman (L), Mrs E. Rotherham, capt. (BS), E.P.C. Cotter, capt. (L), Col D.W. Beamish (BS)

Source: Les Berry & Gerald Gosling, Budleigh Salterton and Raleigh Country, 1998. p.78



Next up is a scanned newspaper article along with a photograph sent by the omnipresent Barry McAleenan. It describes a tournament at the Saffrons in which Barry's grandfather, Dr. H. R. McAleenan, competed as an octogenarian and won the X Handicap. Pictured is Mrs. Barbara Chittenden, then captain of the Compton Club.


Taking a look at the article, it mentions some familiar names: Mrs. E. (Hope) Rotherham and Mr. E. A. (Tony) Roper, Dr. McAleenan's victim in the X Handicap finals.

Barry adds: "Dr HR 'Herbie' McAleenan was my grandfather. In 1957 he would have been 76 years old, but played on for another decade. Eventually, he gave up on the grounds that the youngsters 'ought to be allowed to win more often.' I attach a cutting from the local paper for 1964. He was born in 1881 and married in 1914. I presume he was a member of the Compton Club."


Next up, we'll see a series of images sent by the extremely generous Judy Perry, daughter of Bill Perry of the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club.

In the first, below, we see what Judy describes as "Geraldine Cave (2nd left) and Bill Perry(Best Man) (right) at Gerald Cave's wedding to Marjorie in London."


Judy: "Sorry I can't remember date, nor do I know who the other two people are." If you happen to recognize either, please let me know!


Judy continues: "The 2nd photo is a line-up for, I think, the President's Cup, not sure which year (if you can't work it out I probably will be able to). Location looks to me to be the Hurlingham Club, London. They are Back row. Bill Perry, Douglas Strachan, Gerald Cave, Nigel Aspinall, and Roger Bray. Front Row is Bernard Neal, John Solomon, William Ormerod and John Simon"


Anyone having an idea about the year, again, please let me know! [Update: From Chris Williams of the Croquet Association: "The President's Cup photo would be 1968 at Hurlingham."]


As well as the above photographs, Judy shared something very special:

I have discovered a poem by Gerald Cave as follows:-



THE BIG FOUR – AN AFTERTHOUGHT
By G.E.Cave.

Nigel & Keith, Roger and John –
Their names are fresh to ponder upon.

Champion of Champions: the title is new;
John keeps his grip on it, what can we do?
Nigel, the toast of Australia, snoops
Round the court, leaving balls tucked in hoops.
Keith is the artist, displaying his zeal
With quadruple, Quintuple, Sextuple peel.
While Roger strides smilingly round on his way,
With a Triple – taken – ‘Three times a Day’.

Solomon, Aspinall, Wylie & Bray:
Which is the one for your money today?

While you’re deciding, remember the skill
Of William & Patrick & Bernard & Bill:
Also David O’Connor, John Simon and Strachan
Who well may come back in unbeatable form.
The future is bright with a host of young stars,
But we do need a Venus to stand up to Mars.

So again I’ll endeavour to sum the thing up –
WHO will part John from his Championship Cup?"


I think it is dated 1970.


Many of these are the players Judy identified in the image above. The great John Solomon owned the CA Championship from 1963 to 1968, and won it a total of 10 times between 1953 and 1968.


In addition, Judy sent the following colour images. I've included her descriptions with each.


Bill Perry + Guy and Joan (Warwick)


This is a photo taken on the bottom lawn at Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club. Date unknown, (late 60s early 70s?) but several people who weren't locals are in it so it must have been a tournament of some sort.


Line up is:

Front Row: Unknown could be Robin Godby who lived in London, Joan Warwick, John Solomon (who was the subject of the poem I sent you by Gerald Cave), Bill Perry + Sally his dog, unknown, Sir Leonard Daldry.

Back Row: John Cooper (I think), unknown, unknown, unknown, Guy Warwick, unknown, Gerald Cave.


What wonderful image of several of the characters we've been following here. Should you be able to identify any of the "unknowns," please let me know and I'll update this at once!


In closing, Judy also included this:

There is another croquet poem which you may have come across already, written in much the same era by Giles Borrett who you may have come across in your research.


A CROQUET PLAYER'S PRAYER

I thank thee Lord that in my life
Croquet has played a lovely part;
Has found me friends and kept me fit
And warmed the cockles of my heart.

So when I play my final match
May I not have the smallest doubt
That when I've run the Rover hoop
Thou wilt be there to peg me out.

Giles Borrett


I know that all the croquet players of that generation loved it.


What a wonderful way to close things here this afternoon.

It is difficult for me to express adequately my gratitude for the generosity and kindness of Michael, Barry, and Judy. In fact, my thanks go out to everyone who has helped me along the way!

Next time, we'll return to Warren Hill in Meads and get help from a different source in finding something that's been elusive. Stay tuned…