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!

It's Always Sunny on Beachy Head Road

Lately, as steamy Ocala dries out from our daily subtropical cloudbursts, I've been sifting through some older information, trying to get all my ducks in a row (Is that a British idiom as well?) and have found some items about Warren Hill School in Meads, Eastbourne, that may be of interest.

It's been over a year now since I received information researched by Michael Ockenden of the Eastbourne Local History Society, the man who located Warren Hill School for us and has provided a wealth of information over time.

However, when the location of Warren Hill was still unknown, that had been my obsession, I'm afraid to say. In my zeal to locate the site of the campus, Michael O. had provided some nuggets of information that flew past me unnoticed, well beyond what was then my narrow field of vision.

Here's the first:

One of our senior members has just e-mailed to say:-

I remember Warren Hill School as a regular opponent on our fixture lists during the 1930s. Their football field was at the top end of Carlisle Road. But I seem to recall that it was dropped from our fixtures well before 1939, so maybe it had closed by then.


I paid homage to this bit of information, along with many others, at the time (24 March 2010), but this particular recollection really failed to sink into my notoriously thick skull. (Is that a British idiom as well?) It corroborates something we eventually "discovered" later on: Warren Hill School held land at the top end of Carlisle Road.

A few days later, Michael verified it:

[In August 1931] the Times reports the registration of land (the school and its grounds) at Warren Hill, Beachy Head Road, and land (the playing field) in Carlisle Road, Eastbourne.


Sometimes one can't see the forest for the trees (Is that a British idiom as well?) in that we'd actually had that information for quite a while, and was eventually corroborated here [right]. Looking for the actual location of the building, though, seemed to be my only passion a year ago or more, and I promise that the next university degree I earn will be in History so I can manage all of this properly!


Another bit of information from last year, however, was something that has stayed on my mind constantly since then. Michael had also written during that time:

The school (which no longer stands ... apart from the former hall or gym) was situated on the left-hand side of Beachy Head Road, between Coltstocks Road and Darley Road.

Later, he added:

The low structure to the left is probably the house which still stands on the site (50 45 22 95 N and 0 15 52 90 E) - the last vestige of Warren Hill School.


The low structure to which Michael refers might have been, I had always thought as we went along, the addition we have seen numerous times at the southwest corner of Warren Hill in the black-and-white image, circa 1930 [left].

I've wondered frequently about that "last vestige" of Warren Hill, the "former hall or gym."

For some reason, though, I recently decided to drive 'virtually' down Beachy Head Road once more and do some snooping via Street View at Google Maps.

Here's an image captured along Beachy Head at a gate in the wall that presumably divides the property that was once the campus of Warren Hill School from the property upon which now sits Stanton Prior (on the corner of Beach Head and Darley Roads. That is the closest I can prowl, from Ocala, Florida, to what would have been the southwest corner of the main building of Warren Hill.


Clicking once to enlarge, I find this:


There is clearly something visible from the street [click the image to enlarge it]. You'll notice that, in the bottom right hand corner of that image, the small golden avatar that represents where I am looking is locked on a building that is in a similar spot to that low-lying addition.

Let's check the 1930 map, but at the same time see where I was looking today. I've also marked three places where structures on both seem to coincide [click to enlarge slightly]:


Only one seems to have the look of something that could have been a "former hall or gym": Number 3.

However, there are some similarities between what is visible today and what would have been there in 1930, albeit very difficult to see.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of our snooping peek through the hedge via Street View set next to an image of former headmaster F. R. Ebden standing to the west of the main building and facing the southeast in relation to the structure behind him. The street view image was captured from the opposite direction, looking in from the northwest [click to enlarge].


It seems that there are definite areas of similarity, pointed out in the comparison above, and the fact that those north-side characteristics reveal a mirror-image of the southern view would be something a symmetry-minded person might have been expecting. While this low-lying structure doesn't necessarily have the appearance of a "former hall or gym," its physical characteristics seem oddly similar to the structure that may have been there, circa 1930.

This structure would be immediately behind the hedge today, and would correspond to the narrow, east-west building we see in the map far above at location Number 1.


Sometimes I feel a bit like a veritable prowler, but is broad daylight—always broad daylight—in Street View. Perhaps then, I'm more of a stalker, but my stalking target is merely history. I suppose I can't feel too guilty about skulking about outside the gate on Beachy Head Road and peeking through. After all, I'm 4,000 miles away!

In the end, it's really all I can do, sitting here on the sun porch, watching dark the clouds roiling together above in advance of our expected afternoon thunderstorm.

So is the narrow building at Number 1 the last vestige of Warren Hill School, or is it the beefier structure found at location Number 3?

Perhaps neither. Perhaps both!

I can't tell from here, but as the thunder drives our cat out of this room and under the bed, it's nice to know that, courtesy of Google, it's always sunny on Beachy Head Road!

A Few Headmasters and Ronald Searle

It's a sunny day here in the rolling hills of horse country of Ocala, Florida, during what constitutes our rainy season. The forecast is remarkably similar every day, as you can see, especially in the afternoons and early evenings. The only thing that can prevent rain from falling during this time is if one absolutely counts on it. Failure to water outside plants, for example, can somehow steer clouds right around the entire area, which is how I'm sure the Sahara was created—soon-to-be Bedouins continually procrastinating about watering their foxgloves!

While we wait to see what our skies will become, I've been looking over the last couple of entries here and considering headmasters. Here's an amusing snippet on the subject [click to enlarge] sent recently by the indefatigable Barry McAleenan:



As always, thanks very much, Barry!

One wonders which of these stereotypes might resemble the headmasters we've met along the way here: Charles Scott Malden and Mr. H. D. L. Patterson of Windlesham House School; A. Max Wilkinson, F. R. Ebden, Joshua Goodland, and Bertram de Glanville of Warren Hill, William Snow of The Craig; Capt. William E. Mocatta of the English Preparatory School in Glion; E. A. F. "Tony" Roper of Ladycross School in Seaford; A. H. B. Bishop of Magdalen College School and Warwick; H. F. and David Chittenden of Newlands School in Seaford; and the fictional Dr. Howell "Peter" Stone of Leadham House School, the creation of author George Mills.

By the way, I love the work of Ronald Searle, and know I'll see it at least once a year, during the credits of the film version of the musical, Scrooge.

Searle's vision [below] of the classic tale, the characters and the setting, is what makes the art direction and cinematography so stunning. It's a must-see in my home every Christmas, even if I am usually the only one who actually must see it!

Who Was Mr. H. E. Howell?

Here in the States, we just love numbers that end in fives, but we love zeroes even more. And a number just isn't anything unless it ends in double or triple zeroes. A baseball player with 99 career home runs is just a guy, as they say. A fellow with 100 home runs in his career—now he's something special!

There was a news bit the other evening that the St. Louis baseball manager, Tony LaRussa, was the first since the legendary Cornelius McGillicuddy in 1950 to reach 5,000 managerial wins for his career. Of course, LaRussa was also the first one since then to reach 4,998 and 4,999, but they just weren't quite the same accomplishments, now, were they?

I say this because the temperature here in north central Florida is predicted to reach 99°F today, and despite the discomfort it will cause, there are those who will be disappointed if it doesn't touch the century mark!

This all has nothing to do, however, with the topic of today's back burner item, although the word "burner" is clearly apropos.

It now has been over a year since I received a copy of the first book written by George Mills, 1933's Meredith and Co. At the time, I posted the contents of the book's preface. In part, it reads [emphasis mine]:

I wish to acknowledge, with much gratitude, the help and encouragement received from many friends; particularly from Mr. A. Bishop, the Head Master of Magdalen College School, Brackley, and from my old friend, Mr. H. E. Howell, who have read the book in manuscript form. I am also very much indebted to that splendid specimen of boyhood, the British Schoolboy, who has given me such wonderful material.

First of all, wouldn't it be something were that original manuscript copy to turn up?

Secondly, while I've closed the gap on the identity of Mr. A Bishop (and hope to write about that soon), Mr. H. E. Howell remains a mystery.

The first matter of business in chasing down any such name is to try to tease a Christian name out of those initials. In this case, I'm afraid there is not even a very solid guess that I'd go to war with.

Mills, I've felt, must have been writing Meredith in London, although that may not be accurate. Labouring, however, under that assumption, I scoped the London telephone directories of the era for a Howell with the first initial "H."

One name did jump out immediately: Hinds Howell, a physician who lived and/or practiced at 145 Harley Street, W.1. He certainly would have been well-schooled enough not to simply offer Mills a pat on the back about his book and to diagnose certain inadequacies.

Also, that name "Hinds Howell" traces back into the late 19th century when a "Canon Hinds Howell, MA," resided at the Drayton Rectory—where Watkin Williams, friend and colleague of George's father, the Revd Barton R. V. Mills—once was located.

However, the physician, Hinds Howell, turns out to be Conrad Meredith Hinds Howell (1877 – 1960), and clearly not an H. E. Howell.

Now, I'm sure, the term "old friend" doesn't necessarily imply Howell's chronological age, but the fact that he and Mills had enjoyed a friendship that lasted many years. Where might they have met? Parkfield School? Harrow? In the neighbourhood at Kensington? Under the Colours? At Oxford?

There was also a Hamilton Howell, who resided at 14 Norfolk Terrace in Brighton. Mills might have met him while teaching at Windlesham House and living in Portslade in 1925–26. Would that time frame characterize an "old friend" by 1933?

In 1937, there are also a "Harry E." and a "Herbert E." among the Howells of London, along with our discredited "Hinds."

But who are they? Our answer here clearly doesn't lie in the telephone book.

One might assume Howell was a learned man, a man whom Mills would have trusted for advice of a literary nature. I'm sure Georges wife and perhaps his sisters also read his manuscript, followed by a hearty, "That's simply wonderful, George!" The men mentioned in the preface above, though, are likely men of letters who would have provided more of a practical critique.

Let's look elsewhere.

We find an H. E. Howell mentioned in the 1913 edition of The Devonian Year Book of the London Devonian Association. On page 25, there is a description of a re-enactment of the game of bowls being played when the "Armada" was sighted, and a speech was given in the Great Empress hall by Mr. Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty (who, in his remarks, announced he "sprang from a good old Devonian family" ), to the London Devonian Club, the Exeter Club, the Three Towns Association, the Barumites of London, the Ottregians, the Tivertonians, representatives of the Devonian Clubs of Southend, Southampton, Swansea, Newport, Portsmouth, etc., as well as "the men and women of Devon."

Among the specifically named members of the company, on page 26, we find a "Mr. H. E. Howell."

Besides honeymooning in and retiring to Devon later in life, George Ramsay Acland Mills had family in Devonshire that once owned vast amounts of the land: The Aclands. In 1913, those holdings had not been converted to the National Trust or sold, and Mills most likely was able still to avail himself of Acland hospitality during holidays away from both Cornwall as a youngster, and London as an older boy and young man.

Devon is as likely a place for the "old" Howell – Mills connection as any. Perhaps they met there as children.

[An aside perhaps of interest only to Keith's mum: It was during a London Devonian Association dinner in honor of his neighbour, Clive Morison-Bell, held on 17 March 1914, that Ernest Shackleford sketched on the back of his menu card his planned route for the Imperial Trans-Arctic Expedition, including calculations that could be used to "fix" the South Pole. The expedition, however, ended up with his ship, the Endurance, crushed in pack ice in the Weddell Sea and the crew temporarily marooned on Elephant Island. Incidentally, the menu that evening was "turbot dieppoise, tomato with tapioca, Kirsch sorbet and glace plombiere."]

Another reference teased out of the blizzard of information provided by the internet is this nugget [right], gleaned from The Liberal Magazine, volume 19, in 1911. It contains an item attributed to a "Mr. H. E. Howell" of "Brierley" on "April 19th, 1911" that reads: "Though Lord Beaconsfield had not the privilege of English blood himself, he was the greatest of English statesmen since the days of Pitt. In these days there was a curious renaissance of the Celt in politics. . . . There was a boiling-up of Celtic fervour, something like that last great effort in the early colonising days before King Alfred, which broke itself in useless fury against Saxon steadfastness on the despairing field of Brunnan- burgh."

That "snippet" is all I can read on-line, but these words indicate the sort of learned man that George Mills might have relied on for advice, as well as friendship. It also isn't clear if the Brierley cited is in Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, or Herefordshire. Is there one in each?

However, the dates here are instructive. Mills was born in 1896, and would have been 15 years old when the item above was written, and 17 when Churchill made his speech.

If this is our "Mr. H. E. Howell," he is then quite probably at least a few years older than George Mills. And a location in Brierley—situated some 182 miles north of London—makes sharing a manuscript difficult in the days of no faxes, PDFs, or e-mail attachments. Perhaps the geography had changed a great deal by 1933.

A 1911 U.K. census summary [above, left] shows no H. E. Howell in London or in Brierley—but one living in a cottage on Bath Road in the civil parish of Wells in Somerset with a female and another male. There is no other "H. E. Howell" in the census.

Two men—Harry Howell and Herbert Howell—show up in "Brierley" (or at least in "Hemsworth/Yorkshire West Riding" in the 1911 census.

Harry was born in 1883, some 13 years before Mills, in Plymouth, England. That would make him a Devonian!

There is also evidence of soldiers named H. E. Howell having served. One was killed in action.

Records from World War I show [right] there was, however, a "Harry E. Howell" in the Army Service Corps—a A.S.C. private, just like George Mills—during the First World War. There is no other indication that this Howell is our man, however.

Another—very clearly listed as "H. E. Howell," with "Herbert E." added later—had been a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery corps from February 1915 until July 1917. He earned a couple of medals in France, but there are no remarks about wounds, death, or a forwarding address; simply: "Dis. 20. 7. 17." "Dis." would presumably mean "discharged"?

Having been assigned to France, it is unlikely he's our man, Mills having served, but stayed in England.

Let's get back to the Herbert Howell from the 1911 census. He was born in 1891, but I can't find a place of birth.

There's only one other Herbert E. Howell among the WWI records [left], and he served as a private, at first in the 2nd London Regiment, but then transferred to—you guessed it!—the Army Service Corps.

Again, though, short of his initials and assignment, there's no real evidence that this is our man. After all, I suspect that the whole of the A.S.C. was comprised of more than, say, a couple of dozen chaps who all knew each other very well.


So, where are we in all of this?

According to the internet, the temperature here has reached a steamy 99, but the heat radiating from our sun-drenched back patio is causing the thermometer out there to read a even more sultry 106° F.

I know the heat isn't really on to discover the identity of this Mr. H. E. Howell, a man so obviously important to George Mills, personally and as an author, professionally. But I do want to.

Right now, there's one more link to Mr. H. E. Howell that we haven't touched on, and it involves All Saints Margaret Street Church, Father Basil Jellicoe, Magdalen College, and the identity of the Mr. A. Bishop mentioned in the preface.

We'll take a look at that last link next time. Stay tuned…

Charles Watson Warrell, Westfield Road, and I-Spy

The lazy, hazy (if not yet terribly crazy) days of north central Florida's summer are tightening their collective sultry grip around the population here, and the constant hum of air conditioners has been added to the songs of the local birds, the buzz of the cicadas, and the croaking of randy frogs in Ocala's numerous retention ponds after a shower.

In no time at all, it seems, I've caught up on more pressing matters related to our research, so it's probably a good time to take a look at some things that have been simmering on the metaphorical back burner.

Back in January we had word from an unnamed friend of Budleigh Salterton's Michael Downes about the discovery of Grey Friars, the home of George Mills and his sisters. Information regarding the abode, 15 Westfield Road, included this:

Interestingly there was another children’s author who lived in Westfield Road – he was the author of a series of the “I Spy” books, but at present the name escapes me!

Now, colour me interested! Two mid-20th century children's book authors just happened to end up as neighbours in Budleigh Salterton in Westfield Road. First of all, let's determine when each of the gentlemen arrived there.

We know the Misses Mills, Agnes and Violet, left their home at Cadogan Gardens in London where they had lived with their mother until her passing in 1945, in 1947. The telephone there was in the name of the "Misses Mills," although we know at some point—either then or in the future—brother George would also reside there.

This information is from a website called Great War Forum:

Charles Watson Warrell was born at Farnborough, Somerset on 23 April 1889. At the time of the First World War he was married (probably to Elizabeth Gill?) and the Head Teacher at Higher Wych School, Whitewell, Flintshire.

At some later date he was Head at Pleasey Hill School, Notts. He came up with the very popular "I-Spy" series of children's books, publishing them from 1948 onwards and assuming the guise of "Big Chief I-Spy". He retired in 1956 and handed over the mantle of Big Chief and the books (which after going through various hands and metamorphoses are apparently still in print).

He went to live at Budleigh Salterton, Devon, and died aged 106 at Matlock, Derbyshire on 28 November 1995.


That gives us the name of George's author/neighbour, and a possible year that Warrell, a veteran of the Great War, probably took up residence at Budleigh, although he it may have taken some time to locate and purchase a dwelling. Perhaps, then, he arrived to stay as late as 1957.

In 1956, as we know, George Mills spent the summer term teaching at Ladycross Preparatory School in Seaford. We also know that he began playing competitive croquet for the first time in 1957, actually taking a prize at the tournament in Budleigh Salterton that July.

George would play croquet alongside his spinster sisters through 1971 when he became too ill to take to the lawns. Before that, George Mills is not listed on any prize lists.

In addition, in his 1973 Croquet Gazette obituary, authored by Budleigh's Gerald Cave, it is noted that George "was a late starter to croquet." Mills would have been 60 years of age when he took that 1957 prize. Can we assume that George may not have been retired before then, had not yet made Grey Friars his permanent home, and was not able to pass his days on the lawns at the club until then?

Warrell and Mills probably arrived at Budleigh intending to make it their permanent residence sometime in 1956 – 1957.

It may be because of my generally skeptical nature, but I'm prone to think that most 'coincidences' generally aren't.

We also know that Mills was enjoying a bit of a renaissance as an author at that time. Andrew Dakers, Ltd. and Spring Books in London reissued his three schoolboy titles (Meredith and Co., King Willow, and Minor and Major) for a new generation's reading pleasure. The post-war baby boom, with most of the boys of an age to enjoy George's titles above by 1957, would seem to have coincided nicely with Mills reaching retirement age.

George necessarily would have spent time in London in 1956-57, signing papers for the reprinting of his texts, and possibly even doing book signings at local booksellers.

Did Mills and Warrell meet as children's book authors, perhaps in London? Let us not forget that they were both schoolmasters, and, as we see above, they were both veterans of the First World War.

If George's plans were to retire with his sisters at seaside Budleigh Salterton, might he have shared that idea with Warrell at a time when Warrell was thinking about how to spend his own golden years?

Perhaps. It would be interesting to know if the two men were friends because we have no evidence at all to suppose that anyone in Budleigh Salterton—not a single person that I know of—knew that George Mills was or once had been a published author of books for children.

Let's finish with an excerpt from Warrell's obituary by Nicholas Tucker of The Independent from 30 November 1995:

After failing with eight publishers, Warrell produced his little books by himself. He then chose his local branch of Woolworth's as a main outlet, drawing on a friendship with that firm's principal book-buyer based originally around a common interest in breeding pigs. Swift sales led to many more books, plus serialisation for two years in the Daily Mail and then, for a longer spell, in the News Chronicle. The whole series was to last till 1986, since when it has re-appeared under a succession of different publishing houses.

Warrell's I-Spy books combined simplicity of design with a great deal of accurate, often ingenious, research. Costing only sixpence, or a shilling in colour, each miniature paperback concentrated on a particular topic ranging from The Seaside to People in Uniform.

Parents… increasingly bought those books best designed to keep children occupied first on train journeys and later in the family car. At its height, the whole I-Spy operation involved over 1 1/2 million young Red-skins, with two women assistants employed solely to answer members' numerous telephone and written questions.

Always happy to appear in his giant head-dress on special I-Spy pow-wows held at different parts of Britain, during which various tasks would be set followed by a grand session of prizegiving, Warrell eventually opted for a quieter life at his home in Budleigh Salterton, where he walked and gardened almost to the end. His birthdays in later years became something of a rallying point for Red-skins both young and old, happy to honour their still surviving Big Chief in his serene and well-earned retirement.

The article concludes:

Charles Warrell, teacher, writer, publisher: born Farmborough, Somerset 23 April 1889; married Elizabeth Gill (deceased; two daughters), secondly Marian Tucker; died Matlock, Derbyshire 26 November 1995.


There is nothing here to suggest clearly that Warrell and Mills had anything but a passing acquaintance, if that, perhaps simply a polite nod of acknowledgement in passing during strolls along Westfield Road [below, left]. Budleigh clearly knew who Warrell was, while George Mills, though an affable croquet player, was apparently locally unknown as a British author.

This fits into our findings that, while people remember the presence of George in Budleigh Salterton, or are sure that they must have met him, I have found no one with any clear recollection of the man.

This rests at odds with this line from Cave's croquet obituary of Mills, mentioned above: "[H]is exuberant and loveable personality made him a welcome member of the game."

George Mills is certainly a mystery: A sociable, witty, exuberant, and lovable man who almost no one seems to be able to remember.

Perhaps this connection with Warrell will prompt someone to write who may have known both men at Westfield Road, and then we may be able to bring George Mills into far greater focus!

Please contact me with any memories of, or information about, Charles Warrell or George Mills of Westfield Road, Budleigh Salterton, and thanks!

Of Local Libraries and Model Railways

A couple of items have shown up in the old "mail bag" of comments here at Who Is George Mills?

First, from 18 October 2010, posted by the redoubtable Barry McAleenan, regarding the book Notable Sussex Women, which contains information on the life of Lady Dorothy Mills (née Walpole):

The local library only has 2 copies of the book: One is a reference copy, which couldn't be found till much later after a staff shift change; it was being used downstairs in a promotion for the upstairs Reference Library. The lending copy has been stolen so scanning not poss. [My camera was not up to spec. in the library lighting.] Anyway no photos (glossy or otherwise) of Lady Dot. Most entries like hers merit about a quarter of a page. OK? Barry Mc.


It's more than okay, Barry! Thank you so much for taking the time to check it out—something not-so-easily done from Ocala, Florida. Apparently that text featured nothing ground-breaking regarding our Lady Dorothy.

Also, from October 11 2010, came an anonymous message regarding the now-defunct Parkfield Preparatory School, of which George Mills and this writer were proud alumni:

Downlands was indeed the Wick and Parkfield School. I remember climbing over the fence to watch the model railway which is next door and clearly visible on google earth.

It's nice to have another independent confirmation that Downlands Park is, indeed, the old Parkfield Prep, especially since Lorraine Lane of Downlands Park never has actually confirmed it as she said she would.

I checked out Downlands Park on Google Earth as our anonymous commentator suggested, and believe that his "model railway" must be seen just below the tennis courts at the right of the satellite image [right]. It should be noted, however, that without the above-mentioned "Barry Mc," the location of Parkfield would still be a mystery!

Once again, thanks very much, Barry, and thank you to all who have helped guide my quest for information about the life, family, and times of George Mills. I appreciate it more than I can adequately say!

Back to School

My word! I blinked, and the summer was gone! It was a cocktail of house problems, health problems, a bit of travel, and trying to get some rest in advance of another grueling school year—I turned 52 on Wednesday, and I'm feeling every year of it!

While preparing to return to school, I went out to lunch with my grade level partners on Wednesday to a crowded little breakfast/lunch place called Scrambles here in Ocala [left]. The waitress, who was insanely scurrying around keeping track of orders and requests, serving food, filling water and drink glasses, and calculating the bills of fares for each table seemingly all at once, told us she'd used to be a teacher—but it was too stressful!

It's funny, children come into my class knowing less each year, I teach less to kids these days than ever, and with paperwork and requirements and new law after new law, I'm working much harder than ever to try to produce a single-digit score on a high-stakes achievement test that is alleged to sum up a child: Here in Florida, a 5 is a smart child, and a 1 is woeful.

There's a prescient episode of the classic sci-fi series, The Twilight Zone, which summarizes humans in exactly that way by their appearance [right]. This isn't too far off, only completely summarizing the learning of a child.

Well, c'est la vie! I still have to break down some information about the last of the Walpole v. Wiedemann trials and tackle to later lives of George, Agnes, and Violet Mills as they lived out their Golden Years in Budleigh Salterton. I also received a copy of Stanley Elkins's book, George Mills, for my birthday from a dear friend [and former student!], and while only marginally related to our subject here as previously discussed, it still may make an interesting subject for a blog entry or two.

We're really coming to a close in our study of George Mills and family, unless more information comes to light. Without assistance from his taciturn closer relatives and several outside sources that have simply haven't responded to requests for information, there'll eventually be little left or nothing to examine or reflect upon.

Until then, however, I'll do my best to both prepare for my first lessons on Monday and gather more information to post on-line for you this week!

Coniscliffe and Canucks by the Sea

It's been an in-and-out sort of day here in sunny Ocala, Florida. While we were away to the north in much cooler Michigan [left], there must have been a great deal of rain here: The grass in some places is nearly knee deep after just 10 days or so. The heat has me ducking in and out of doors as I do battle with my lawn.

While I'm in right now, let me follow up on some other information related to George Mills that's come in.

Michael Ockenden of the Eastbourne Local History Society has been a friend of the site and provided information that was used in the entry called "22 Meads Street." Our speculation that the "enumerator" of the 1911 census at Coniscliffe had misspelled the name of a Warren Hill School colleague of George Mills, Eric Streatfeild, was apparently incorrect.

Here's word I've received recently setting the record straight:

From: Jane O'Connell
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 2:07 AM
Subject: Eric Streatfield

Hello

I was looking at your site as I am researching a young woman who was also living at 'Coniscliffe'. I just wanted to reassure you that in the 1911 census, it was the occupier who completed the form. The person who misspelled his surname was the person who transcribed the entry into digital form...

Best wishes,

Jane

PS If you would like a copy of the census return, just let me know.

I've asked for a copy, just for my records. Thanks very much, Jane! And, just for the record, the correct spelling is: Eric Streatfeild.

One other item regarding this subject and my holiday up north: While away, I read Ockenden's terrific book, Canucks by the Sea: The Canadian Army in Eastbourne during the Second World War.

In this informative text, he personally relates the story told in "22 Meads Street" on this website in much greater detail, and with background information that makes the events of that day, as well, as the war years in Sussex, fit into a broader and very human context.

Meads was the location of Warren Hill School, an employer of George Mills before it closed in 1936, and anyone interested in learning about the area in the first half of the 20th century is certainly advised to read Canucks by the Sea!

For more information on Eric Streatfeild himself, his wife, novelist, Kitty Barne, their cousin, author and performer Noel Streatfield, and even a link to Arthur Conan Doyle, all somehow fitted into the context of the life and career of George Mills, read the entry from Saturday, 10 April 2010, entitled "Visualizing Warren Hill School and Some Possible Muses."

Finally, once again, I'd like to thank Michael and the Eastbourne Local History Society as a whole for all of their valuable assistance in my research!

The Road and the End, not by Carl Sandburg

It's a rather gloomy Sunday morning here in the otherwise Sunshine State, and I'm also in a rather gloomy mood. The school year is wrapping up and soon I'll have plenty of time to work on researching George Mills and family, but the trail is growing cold.

* This arrived yesterday from the Oxford University Press, publishers of several editions of Mills's books:

Elkins, Charlotte [charlotte.elkins [at] oup.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 3:41 AM

Dear Sam Williams

Thank you for your email.

I'm sorry to say that we don't have files going back that far, and have no information at all about this author or his books.

I found this entry on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mills_(writer) -but there is nothing more I can tell you, I'm afraid.

Sorry we can't be more help.

With best wishes

Charlotte Elkins Administrator
Children's Books
Oxford University Press

I appreciate Charlotte taking the time to research Mills. I had to chuckle, though, that I'd actually written that page she found on-line!

* This arrived last week from the Poughill Parish Church, seeking records about former vicar, Rev. Barton R. V. Mills:

Poughill Parish Church [poughillparishchurch [at] live.co.uk]
Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2010 6:55 AM

I'm afraid the church would not have any records that would be of help to you, but you may like to try the Truro records office. The Telephone number in UK is 01872 323127.

Regards

Paul Whybrow (Vicar)

I've already tried the archdiocese, and they did a marvelous job of coming up with information regarding the stained glass window dedicated to Barton Mills in Bude.

* This is in from the Fairlynch Museum in Devon:

From: M Brett [mbrett [at] aultbe.co.uk]

Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 3:42 AM

Hi Sam,

Thank you for your email requesting information on George Mills which has been passed to our Local History section.
As a small volunteer run Museum we make a charge of £10. to cover our researchers initial time. Upon receipt of payment we will be pleased to start investigations. Should, however, we find that this research involves a great deal of time we would contact you again before proceeding further.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Margaret (Brett)

Fairlynch Museum

My request had been for local information about George Mills in Budleigh Salterton, particularly "Greyfriars," and anything that might have been known about Agnes and/or Violet Mills through their collective time in Devon.

My problem here is that I really don't want to spend £10 to possibly have someone send me back a link to my own Wikipedia page!

* Another dead end has been Switzerland, where I tried the local Anglican Church in Glion, which might have had some ties to the boys who attended the English Preparatory School there, at which George Mills taught:


Geoffrey Jones [gj [at] vpfch.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 4:35 AM

No one in the church can recall anything about the school in Glion. However we did forward your request to the Hill House school which does use Glion for some of its activities in Switzerland.
I do hope you are able to trace the history of the preparatory school.
Kind regards,
Geoffrey Jones

Unfortunately, here's been no word from Hill House School. From my location, far distanced from the Alps, it seems that the English Prep School—except for having hosted Wells, the son of American author Sinclair Lewis, beginning in November, 1924. Lewis mentions the school in his collected letters.

* Another mysterious school has been Eaton Gate Preparatory School in London where Mills likely worked in the mid- to late-1930s. There is a school there now, and I had written wondering if the present "pre prep" institution had any connection with Eaton Gate Prep:

admin [at] eatonhouseschools.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 4:47 AM

Dear Mr Williams
Thank you for your email and enquiry into Eaton Gate Prep as you call it.
The school is actually called Eaton House Belgravia now and is a independent boys pre prep school for boys aged 4 - 8 years old.
Sadly we have few records going back to the period you are interested in but we have forwarded your request to our Headteacher at Eaton House Belgravia, Miss Lucy Watts, to see whether she has come across anything of relevance to you.
We wish you the best with your project.
Kind regards

Eaton House Group of Schools

Who knows what might become of this? I'd love confirmation that the school did, indeed, actually exist. That's something I haven't been able to find anywhere else!

* There has been some movement in another area, but I don't know what will come of it. Here's word from the Middlesborough Diocese about Barton Mills's conversion to Catholicism:

archives [at] dioceseofmiddlesbrough.co.uk
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 7:53 AM

Dear Mr Williams,
Caroline has passed on to me your enquiry about Barton Mills.
If you know where he was living at the time of his possible conversion, then the RC baptismal register from that place can be checked to see if there is an entry there in his name for a “conditional baptism”. Of course, even if there is no such entry it will not prove he was not baptised into the Catholic church somewhere else - it is always very difficult to prove a negative.
Yours sincerely,
David Smallwood (Middlesbrough Diocesan Archivist)

I've replied with the requested location, and all I can do now is wait.

I do appreciate the kindness of all who have taken the time to help me in my research. I fear, though, I am beginning to see the end of the road in this venture, and that I may be nearing the end of either the end of the information available about George Mills, et al, and/or the end of information that its caretakers are willing or able to share.

Still, I'll be poking around for at least a while longer!

Gone, and Now Only Somewhat Forgotten

It's a hot, humid day here in central Florida and I'm tired of pulling weeds this afternoon. Not everything I've been working on has been here on Who Is George Mills? I've also been trying to build Wikipedia and Shelfari pages for George Mills and his seemingly forgotten clan.

Here are some links:

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mills_(writer)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_F._H._Mills

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Mills_(MP)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Dorothy_Mills

Shelfari

George Mills
http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002544068/George-Mills/summary

Arthur F. H. Mills
http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002557081/Arthur-(F-H-)-Mills/summary

Arthur Mills
http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002553494/Arthur-Mills/summary

Lady Dorothy Mills [left]
http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002539814/Lady-Dorothy-Mills/summary

Two months ago there wasn't anything at any of those locations. It may not all be perfect, but it's better than the alternative, which was absolutely nothing.

So here's to the Mills family: Gone, and now only somewhat forgotten!

And may someone always be there to remember the rest of us when we're all gone…