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.]

Croquet Gazette: Who is George Mills?

From April/May 2011 (Issue 331) of the Croquet Gazette...



Click the images to enlarge each page in a new window!

Many thanks to the Croquet Association for allowing me space to be a guest author in that issue. For an interactive copy of the entire issue which can be increased to an even greater size, go to: http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1s2ne/CroquetGazette/resources/17.htm

Capt. & Mrs. H. F. Chittenden of Newlands School, Seaford

We're staying yet another day in Seaford, East Sussex—just as I'm certain that George Mills would have wanted to do himself during summer—to take a look at another Sussex-based connection to Mills.

A connection with Sussex, especially Seaford, is by no means specific to George Mills in and of itself. But stir in a preparatory school and croquet, and the coincidences we always seem to find revolving around Mills start adding up! Let's start our examination at Newlands School in Seaford [pictured above, left, the entrance to the old school building, presumably a gate-keepers or caretakers lodge] and its proprietors, Mr. & Mrs. H. F. Chittenden.

From the Newlands website, here's a brief history of the institution:

The school first started as a tutorial in 1814 at Hatfield House, home of The Marquis of Salisbury.

The Marquis' chaplain was a man called The Reverend Faithful [sic]. He taught the local children... He retired in 1854 and handed the pupils over to Mr. Chittenden, who started it as a school in Hoddeston [sic] in Hertfordshire.

He called this school The Grange, hence the 'Grange' dormitory at Newlands today. He had strong views about education and felt that no lesson should be longer than 20 minutes, as no child could concentrate one hundred per cent for longer - and he demanded one hundred per cent!

The Reverend Faithful was Head until 1893 and was then joined by his nephew, Mr. Wheeler, who eventually brought the school to Seaford in 1903.

At first he rented two houses in Seaford and hired the back playing field from a local farmer. Then he built the school and later bought the front field. His foresight in purchasing land gave the school the opportunity to expand later on when it was needed.


So, we find the roots of the school extending back as far as 1814, but its history in Seaford dates to 1903.

Where exactly the transition in ownership occurs, moving from the tenure of Reverend Faithfull and Mr. Wheeler to someone actually named Chittenden, is difficult to determine, but in the 1930 Sussex Post Office Directory of private residents, the following entry is found: "Chittenden, Capt. Hugh Faithfull, The Mill dene, Sutton Road, Seaford."


Then, in the 1931 telephone directory for Seaford, the following listing for the same Chittenden is included:

Chittenden, H. F. & Cooper, E. A, Newlands . . Seaford 34


Does this entry imply that the school is under the co-ownership of partners, one of which is H. F. Chittenden? Or is this a principal and a Head Master? That 1930 directory mentioned above lists an "Cooper E." living in Eastbourne, but no "E. A."

What we do know is a bit about Hugh Faithfull Chittenden.

He was born on 9 November 1892 in Epsom, Surrey, to Charles Grant Thomas Faithfull Chittenden (1860 – 1905) and Eliza Cummins Wheeler (1859 – 1952). Their son, Hugh, does not appear in the UK census in either the 1901 or 1911.

The year of the senior Chittenden's death—1905—drew my notice. Having married a Wheeler, presumably the daughter of Reverend Faithful's partner, Mr. Wheeler, and with Hugh and his father having been named after the Reverend, these families seem to be inextricably tied to the school and each other.

That seems to have been made more apparent when one reads the probate of Charles Chittenden:

CHITTENDEN Charles Thomas Grant Faithfull of 33 Hatfield-road St. Albans Hertfordshire died 17 May 1905 at Little Grange Broxbourne Hertfordshire Probate London 18 July to William Albert Wheeler, school-proprietor Effects £5226 3s. 6d. Resworn £5526 3s. 6d.

Having left behind at the very least a 44-year-old widow and a 12-year-old son, Hugh, Charles Chittenden opted to bequeath his legacy to the proprietor of the school!

Charles died at the location of the original school, Little Grange in Boxbourne, Herts, where two of his sisters still lived, although the school itself had gone by 1905. (By the way, earlier census records show that this 'Little Grange' was, indeed, the location of the Grange Preparatory School.)

It's strange, though, that during the 1901 UK census, the Chittendens—Charles and Eliza—lived in a boarding house owned by Sarah and Susie Searle in Sidmouth, Devon, along with Arthur G. F. Chittenden, 38 and "living on means," and Evelyn R. Wheeler, 35, with no occupation listed, presumably a relative.

The occupation of Charles on that 1901 census form is recorded as "banker's clerk," not schoolmaster, not even remotely related to the field of education, and they are clearly not living near Herts or Seaford. So much for the notion that this family was very close, and that their lives revolved entirely around the school, making the peculiar probate above far more difficult to understand than it started out! The fact that H. F. Chittenden would become Head of Newlands was apparently not always carved in stone.

None of the couple's children is listed as boarding there with them in 1901, and by 1911, Eliza is living in the Greenwich district of London, according to the census from that year.

In fact, the first record we find of their son, H. F. Chittenden, is in an issue of the London Gazette dated 19 November 1915, in which "Hugh F. Chittenden" is listed as an entry in a section headed by the term "The Royal Sussex Regiment." It reads: "The undermentioned Second Lieutenants to be temporary Lieutenants. Dated 27th September, 1915."

We can see from his WWI medal index card [pictured, left, front and back] that he transferred to the Royal Engineers, and that his service under the Colours was meritorious. Still, it is difficult to find much mention at all of our H. F. Chittenden, let alone information about his boyhood or education.

And here's a mention in the text Fifty-five years at Oxford: An Unconventional Autobiography (Methuen, 1946) written by George Beardoe Grundy, Hugh's father-in-law:

"Of my two children my son Major Grundy, East African Engineers, has lived in Africa since the close of the last war, and my daughter Barbara married Hugh Chittenden of Seaford, Sussex. In the case of both of them a light-hearted youth has been succeeded by a middle age of hard and successful work. ——G. B. Grundy"


Hugh F. Chittenden's hardworking wife, Barbara May Grundy, was born 2 April 1896 in Epsom, Surrey. They were married in Oxford in the spring of 1917, and the success to which Grundy refers must involve Newlands.

They had a son, Sgt. H. J. R. Chittenden, who was born in Oxfordshire in the summer of 1918, and died on active service with the Military Police of the East Africa Corps in October, 1942.

Their son's 1943 probate reads: "Hugh John Robert Chittenden, of Newlands School, Seaford, Sussex, died 30th October 1942, on War Service. Administration Lewes, 25th October, to Hugh Faithful Chittenden, School Proprietor. Effects Five Hundred and Sixty Four Pounds, Eighteen Shillings and Eightpence."


In early 1932, the couple may have had a daughter, Anne Chittenden, in Marylebone, London.

At first I found no indication that they may have had a child bearing the Christian first name of David, except that in the Newlands website's "History of the School" we find:

Many years ago an exclusive interview was conducted with the late Mr David Chittenden, ex headmaster and direct descendant of the man who started Newlands, some insight was gained into what life was like at Newlands before and after the war:

'Things were very strict then. The swing door by Matron's surgery led into my Parents' private area where no one was allowed, not even me during term time! I had to call my Father, "Sir", and my Mother, "Mrs. Chittenden." However, I liked the life. It was different and a lot tougher than today. Every morning we had cold showers, Winter and Summer and until 1950 boxing was compulsory for all pupils whether they liked it or not!'


Checking the 1946 phone records, the following record appears:

Chittenden, H. F, Newlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seaford 2334


Despite the lack of a record of a David Chittenden having been born to a mother with a surname of Grundy, the above anecdote indicates that H. F. and Barbara Chittenden were, indeed, David's parents.

H. F. Chittenden is listed at the Newlands phone until well into the 1960s, after which the listing becomes:

Chittenden, H. F, Rostrevor, Claremont Rd . . . . . . . . . Seaford 4130


Just above that 1969 listing, however, is this one:

Chittenden G. W. D, Newlands School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seaford 2334


Assuming the "D" stands for David, we've found our man: George W. D. Chittenden, born in Eastbourne in March of 1926!

And, unfortunately, we learn even more about David Chittenden [left] in this obituary from the Eastbourne Herald of Friday, 25 May 2001:

Newlands mourns death of Founder

It was with profound sadness and loss staff and pupils heard of the untimely death of David Chittenden on Easter Saturday. There was nobody who cared more passionately about Newlands - past, present and future, than David and his life was intrinsically interwoven with the school. Five generations of the Chittenden family were proprietary headmasters of what was then Newlands Preparatory School, for boys only. David attended the school as a pupil when his beloved father was headmaster. With no secondary schooling available at Newlands then, David went to Eastbourne College before returning to Newlands as a teacher and then as headmaster in succession to his father. This role he carried out in his own inimitable manner... A tribute to David Chittenden from headmaster Oliver Price appears in tomorrow’s Seaford Gazette. A memorial service will be held in St Leonard’s Church on June 25 at 11.30 am.


Education was the career of, as it says, five generations of Chittendens, and that be true (although I can't entirely discern its veracity). However, a hobby comprises this last bit of Chittenden-related trivia: It appears that H. F., an inveterate bird watcher, was ornithologically notable for having made and documented a certain discovery in his garden.

In the 1929 journal British Birds, Volume 22, we find the following: "Mr. HF Chittenden informs us that at Seaford, Sussex, on December 18th, 1927, Lapwings in large flocks were observed heading straight out to sea southwards. The weather was very cold with a strong east wind."


In the 1931's Proceedings of the International Ornithological Congress (Vol. 8), there is an article on page 85 by E. B. Poulton and H. F. Chittenden dated Oct. 15, 1930 entitled, 'The Hedge-sparrow feeding a young Cuckoo on Pieris rapae, L.'

Chittenden's contribution to the above article is described in the Journal of entomology: General entomology, Volumes 5-6, published by the Royal Entomological Society of London, 1930. It reads:

"Poulton exhibited two photographs kindly sent to him by Mr. HF Chittenden, who had taken them, on 29 June, 1930, in his garden at Newlands, Seaford, Sussex. The first showed the fosterer approaching with the white butterfly very clearly seen in its beak, while in the second the food was being transferred. Both photographs showed the Cuckoo sitting on the flat top of a tree-stump. that the Pierine was undoubtedly P. rapae and not brassicae. He did not see the insect caught, but observed that the whole butterfly, wings and all, was swallowed by the young Cuckoo. In answer to the objection that the Hedge-sparrow might be offering to the Cuckoo food which it would have itself rejected, he referred to the known examples of maternal instinct in which the parent bird devoured the faeces of its young."


His observations would soon be sought and held in high regard. In A History of Sussex Birds: American Blue-winged Teal to Red-legged Partridge (H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 1938) by John Walpole-Bond and Philip Rickman, for example, the authors note:

"Haematopus has been found more than a few hundred yards from the Channel, and all such relate to single specimens frequenting the banks of estuary and inlet — with one exception, which bears on two birds seen by Major HV Christie in a field adjoining the western Rother at Stopham, quite eleven miles from the coast, on May 5th 1936, though during mid-August, 1937, Captain H. F. Chittenden met with a couple at Littlington about a league from the coast in the vale of Cuckmere. In other words, with us the "Olive " is practically a confirmed shore-lover, where it affects not only the mud-flats and shingle, but also the rocks beneath the cliffs at low tides; and the western half of the coast (especially the southwest corner) is vastly preferred to the eastern. It seldom fraternizes with other species, though on several occasions I have seen it with common curlews."

So, why is an amateur ornithologist, one-time captain in the Royal Engineers, and headmaster of a preparatory school in Seaford, Sussex germane to our ongoing discussion of George Mills?

Besides the usual, multiple, very coincidental relationships—lived in Sussex (Seaford), ran a preparatory school, was an officer in the Royal Engineers (the corps in which George's Uncle Dudley A. Mills was a well-known officer)—it's H. F.'s wife, Barbara, providing the best link!

Barbara Chittenden was a croquet partner and rival of George and his sisters, Agnes and Violet Mills, during the post-War era. Barbara played from 1952 through 1978. She went 10-10 against Agnes Mills in 20 head-to-head matches over the years according to the database at the Croquet Association, and they played both with and against each other countless times in doubles.

Strangely, Chittenden only played Violet Mills once, on 20 June 1962 at Eastbourne, in the first round of the Open Singles (Draw). She also played with and against George, but the database has no records of those matches.

Barbara Chittenden's career croquet record and other sortable data can be perused by clicking HERE.


Incidentally, croquet also leads us to the discovery of another child of the Chittendens, based on this excerpt from a 2008 story, "From the bibliographer's casebook: A ripping yarn with a happy ending " by David Drazin, found at Croquet World Online. Regarding books of rare croquet drawings done by artist Horace Francis Crowther-Smith [one of which is seen, right, a 1912 image of famous former champion Lily Gower], the author writes [my emphasis]:

These were the books of 1911 and 1912 that were donated to the Association by Margaret Payton on behalf of Barbara and Joan Chittenden, mother and daughter, past members of Compton Croquet Club, Eastbourne.

The article continues:

Roger Wood of Compton told me the circumstances in which Margaret Payton first brought the Chittenden gift to the notice of the club. In the early years of the last century Barbara Chittenden was very close to Nora, widow of the Rev George Frederick Handel Elvey, a past Croquet Association chairman. She may well have received Crowther's work from the Elveys. But how they got into the Rev Elvey's hands in the first place remains a mystery.


Of Chittenden's relationship with other players, the 1957 Devonshire Park photograph with which we've been so obsessed here tells the tale.

In the center of the front row, her face raised to the camera, we see Barbara in a white dress. Seated to her left is her dear friend Nora Elvey, mentioned above. To her right, wearing a dark suit, we see Agnes Mills, sister of George.

And for those of you who've been following the last few entries here, next to Mrs. Elvey, to her left, we see Aimee Reckitt, wife of Maurice. And to Agnes's right (our left), we see Lily Gower from above, or Mrs. R. C. J. Beaton as she was known in 1957!

Am I wrong in assuming these smiling women were all, as it seems, very close? Or is the fact that these nodding acquaintances all just by chance happened to end up next to each other in the front row of a group photograph simply another in a string of astonishing coincidences that revolve around the Mills family?

Anyway, we can chalk up yet another possible coincidence to the list above: Croquet.

We don't find H. F. Chittenden himself among the players populating the lawns from Budleigh to Compton. While Barbara played, he presumably was out birding, at least until he passed away in the spring of 1975.

It would not surprise me in the least to find that George Mills at some point had been employed by Hugh as a schoolmaster at Newlands School. But we cannot know for sure, even though Newlands [below, right] is still operating today.

From Lisa Sewell of Newlands, I received this message regarding the possibility of George's past employment:

Unfortunately Newlands went briefly in to administration in 2006, [and] at this time all records were lost or destroyed so I have very little information on anything prior to this date.

Barbara May Chittenden left us on 11 December 1987 in Lewes, Sussex, at the age of 91, many years after the passing of the Mills siblings.

Did George Mills teach at Newlands? We may never know...

Discussing Maurice Benington Reckitt

It seems a natural segue to point out here that, at the bottom of The Jellicoe Blog, there is the following statement and link: "We are grateful for financial support for our work from MB Reckitt Trust."

Imagine my surprise when I spotted the name of one of the croquet cronies of George, Agnes, and Violet Mills at the bottom of a blog about the work of Fr. Basil Jellicoe, the subject of our last two entries!

Do coincidences ever cease around here?

Maurice Benington Reckitt (19 May 1888 – 11 January 1980) is described in Wikipedia as "a leading British Anglo-Catholic and Christian Socialist writer. He edited Christendom, A Journal of Christian Sociology from 1931 to 1950. Earlier he was a supporter of guild socialism and a founder of the National Guilds League."

In addition, it includes this information: "Reckitt was a leading player and croquet administrator winning the Men's Championship twice (1935 and 1946). Reckitt was President of the Croquet Association between 1967 and 1975."


We know that Reckitt [pictured, right, by artist John Prince, versus Charles Colman, whose mustard company had merged with Reckitt's family firm] took to the lawns with the Mills siblings on several occasions, and in tournament play, the database of the Croquet Association shows that Agnes went 0-3 against Reckitt, although she went 2-1 against Maurice's wife, Aimee. Violet Mills was 0-1 against Maurice.

The database shows no records for George Mills, but the erratic London Times search engine does give the results of a single match, played on 10 July 1965 in the second round of Handicap Doubles at Budleigh Salterton, in which George paired with Maurice in a loss to Mrs. R. B. N. Smartt and Miss J. Cooper, (-4). Mills and Reckitt presumably had played together and won in the first round.

I admit to being clueless as to how doubles partners were arranged in croquet at that level, and so have no idea if this indicates if the men were close, or if chance happened to make them partners.

Reckitt was born into the fortune of the family business, Reckitt & Sons, now Reckitt Benckiser. It only took a few moments for me to locate several of their products beneath our kitchen sink, in the laundry, or within the refrigerator here in Ocala: Brasso, Cling Free, Frank's Red Hot, Resolve, Old English, Lime-A-Way, Spray 'n Wash, Easy Off, and French's Mustard.

Maurice was not really involved much in the family business, however.

It is not my purpose to write a biography of Reckitt—that's been done. In 1941, at the age of approximately 53 Reckitt wrote an autobiography entitled As It Happened: An Autobiography. He was also the subject of the 1988 biography Maurice B. Reckitt by John S. Peart-Binns.

Ample material regarding his life and the founding of "The MB Reckitt Trust" (originally "The Christendom Trust" before 2005) can also be found at http://www.mbreckitttrust.org/history.html.

Nor is it merely my purpose to point out the next (now almost expected) coincidence regarding the fact that George Mills seems to have been a bystander (and perhaps and acquaintance, or even friend) while two British men of great social and spiritual import—Reckitt and Jellicoe—fought on behalf of Christian social causes. Long after the death of both men, their names are linked by the association of Reckitt's trust with the Jellicoe Community.

The following is an excerpt from information on the history of the trust at the website mentioned above:

Reckitt was brought up as an Anglo-Catholic, and as a young man became involved with guild socialism and various Christian social movements. During the First World War, he joined the Labour Research Department, and in 1923 became Chairman of the League of the Kingdom of God. His most enduring achievement was Christendom, a quarterly journal of ‘Christian sociology’ which he edited (and largely subsidized) from 1931 to 1950. His vocation, in the words of his biographer, John Peart-Binns, ‘was to be available’. He spent most of his life ‘co-ordinating and leavening the thinking of small groups together with such people as T. S. Eliot, Dorothy L. Sayers, T. M. Heron, Philip Mairet and many priests’. He authored and edited numerous books on Christian social issues, of which the most readable and best-known is his account of the social movement in the Church of England, From Maurice to Temple (1947).


Author Martin Jarrett-Kerr continues elsewhere in that website:

Maurice Reckitt [right] was a comparatively wealthy layman, married but with no children. The Reckitt family derived its wealth from ‘Reckitt’s Blue’ in North East Yorkshire. Maurice was educated privately until university, when he went to St John’s College, Oxford, where he got a good degree in history.

He was brought up as a traditional ‘Anglo-Catholic’, but as a youth he soon became worried by the gap, even contradiction, between his faith and the human and social life around him. As a schoolboy he came under the influence of the fine historian Fr John Neville Figgis, C.R., who was not a typical ‘Christian socialist’ so much as a scholar who saw, and taught others to see, the significance of ordinary ‘worldly’ life in the light of the Christian gospel. After university Reckitt became involved in lively and intelligent groups concerned with social ordering…

When Reckitt went up to Oxford ‘I became’, he said, ‘a Socialist in 1908, and I shall always think that, for my generation, a Socialist was a very good thing to have been.’ But he was disillusioned with the ‘Fabian atmosphere’ of Oxford socialism, and found the Church Socialist League more congenial. His practical work in 1916 was as an assistant in London of the ‘Labour Research Department’: his task was to read, mark and index the trade union press. (This is interesting, as disproving the picture of Reckitt as a rich dilettante talking about egalitarianism in comfortable surroundings.)

Later, in 1923, the Church Socialist League ‘was reborn, not without travail, as the League of the Kingdom of God’. One of its members, Sir Henry Slessor, explained that ‘we came to see that our objective was not the promotion of Socialism, but the advent of the Will of God as expressed in His Kingdom on Earth. A society pledged to forward this purpose, sacramental in doctrine, composed solely of communicants, seemed far nearer to our desires than one pledged to Socialism, in part supported by modernists and persons only sub-Christian in belief.’


Interestingly, the change from "Christendom" to "MB Reckitt" in the actual name of the trust in 2005 was based strictly on practical matters, according to the fund's website: "The change of name was decided upon because the Trustees considered that the term ‘Christendom’ nowadays carries connotations that have nothing to do with either the origins or the focus of the Trust, and which could mislead the public. By using the name of the benefactor who endowed the Trust, continuity with the honourable past of the Trust is maintained."


How the term Christendom (which was also the name of a quarterly journal subsidized and published by Reckitt from 1931 to 1950) came to be used for the trust is exemplified here in this passage written by theologian Duncan B. Forrester:

It has become conventional to assert that we now live in a post-Christendom situation, and to look back patronizingly to the attempts to revive a rather romanticized version of medieval society on the part of Maurice Reckitt, V. A. Demant and the Christendom Group, or even T. S. Eliot in his The Idea of a Christian Society, with its ringing pronouncement that ‘The Christian can be satisfied with nothing less than a Christian organization of society – which is not the same thing as a society consisting exclusively of devout Christians. It would be a society in which the natural end of man – virtue and well-being in community – is acknowledged for all, and the supernatural – beatitude – for those who have the eyes to see it . . .’ But if that kind of political theology has had its day with the recognition that Christendom has passed away beyond recall, there remains an urgent need for a post-Christendom beyond theology.

Reckitt's vision, however, probaby is summed up better in what is essentially a mission statement for The MB Reckitt Trust: "Being and building communities that are diverse and cohesive, in order to bring about a stronger society."

The Mills family, notably George's father, the Revd Barton R. V. Mills, struggled with at least some aspects of religion. The elder Mills converted to Roman Catholicism during his time at Christ Church, Oxford, but spent virtually the rest of his life as an Anglican vicar, chaplain, and cleric, even having been an assistant chaplain at the Chapel Royal of the Savoy, in which one of his first services was during the funeral of Queen Victoria.

Barton Mills was an erudite man, a lover of history, chess, and debate, and a scholar whose translations and interpretations of the work of Bernard of Clairvaux are still cited today. He also gave of himself, serving as an Acting Chaplain to the Forces during the First World War, in which sons Arthur and George served, and as an officer of the Associated Societies for the Protection of Women and Children, and as founder of the Association for Improving the Status of the Unbeneficed Clergy.

Mills seemed to share the belief of Fr. Jellicoe, as explained by the current Archbishop of Canterbury, that: "[H]e had no problem at all in coming to preach in a church part of which was reserved for the service of Christ in the form of his poor."

For the Reverend Mills, this was all about career choices, subjugating personal belief and allowing himself opportunities to do the work to which he felt called, while also being able to support his wife and children. Roman Catholicism was a matter of personal devotion; the Anglican Church provided his public pulpit, as well as his bread and butter.

It would be stunning to me to find out that these theological and deeply personal matters of faith had not been discussed with George, especially just before Barton's death in 1932. This is corroborated by the fact that George's funeral service was held in the Catholic Church of St Peter, Prince of the Apostles [left], at Budleigh Salterton in 1972.

No, the Catholicism of Barton Mills was not a secret taken to his grave.

Reckitt had an Anglo-Catholic upbringing, but his lifetime of work as a Christian socialist seems to have transcended denominational barriers as well.

A 1958 manifest from a ship called the Rangtiki documents it sailing into England from New Zealand with Maurice and his wife, Evelyn Aimee, aboard. Their address is given as "157 St. James Court, Buckingham Gate, London SW1."

While this address is a bit closer to The Guards Museum than the London stomping grounds of the Mills family just to the west of Buckingham Palace Gardens, it would have been within extremely familiar territory to George Mills.

The men also shared a common Oxford background (although Mills did not earn his degree) and likely many similar lifelong beliefs on social and religious subjects. One does not doubt they had their differences regarding how exactly those beliefs should be acted upon, perhaps even assertively expressed over cocktails at the bar in the clubhouse at Budleigh, but their similar backgrounds of privilege, with some devotion to helping those in need, no doubt gave them a wide berth of common ground upon which to stand.

Reckitt's wife, Aimee, was as we know a competitive tennis player in the second decade of the 20th century [Wimbledon 1923, 1925, 1927; pictured, above, in 1927 with Lili Alvarez, Aimee at left], but was apparently not a particularly healthy woman overall. She passed away in 1968.

We also know this from the trust's website:

Miss [Dorothy] Howell-Thomas compiled a ‘Bibliography of Maurice B. Reckitt’s published work, for his ninetieth birthday’ (1978); and this was revised and enlarged in 1980. She also helped the archivist of the University of Sussex to sort out the Reckitt archives deposited there, along with other related material, especially that associated with Reckitt’s friend and colleague, Philip Mairet, sometime editor of The New English Weekly to which Reckitt frequently contributed.


Reckitt lived to the age of 91, and was still active in matters regarding his trust until his death in 1980. His bibliography is vast, and the amount of archival material related to Reckitt's life and work held at the University of Sussex is, to me, astonishing.

In addition to his work on Guilds and Christian social issues and philosophies, Reckitt also penned the text Croquet Today, and as we know, was an avid player of championship caliber, as well as a successful administrator for the Croquet Association, giving him yet another interest in common with George and the spinster Mills sisters.

But Reckitt's legacy is his trust, and its requirement that the projects which it endows should not simply be charities, but institutions and organizations that… well, let Mr. Jarrett-Kerr explain:

From time to time, before his death in 1980, Reckitt protested that the Trust was still behaving in too theoretical a manner. He submitted a ‘Statement’ to be read and discussed at the Trust meeting of 6 May 1973, which emphasized the clauses in the Trust Deed that the Trust is ‘charged with promotion of research into the application of Christian social Thinking’ and with obtaining expert advice ‘upon the form and feasability [sic] of research projects and the areas where they could best be affected’. He feared that the Trust had neglected its duty in this respect – the duty ‘to initiate, seek out and further enquiry into what we may judge to be the vital aspects of modern economic and industrial disorder’. Instead it was ‘tending to confine itself to doing exactly what it began by repudiating – distributing its resources (on) purely charitable gifts.’


Reckitt's trust apparently has stayed true to his vision of not simply bandaging the ills of society, but endowing those who would work to prevent society's wounds from manifesting themselves at all.

Of Prize Lists, Submarines, Olivier, Mills, and Dracula

Once again, the amazing work of Chris Williams in the archives of The Croquet Association is on my mind.

As well as the George Mills obituary that he sent along last time, he also spent time tallying up events in which either Agnes or Violet Mills finished in the Prize List for a tournament. Knowing it took me months to squeeze the meager amount of information I could squeeze out of the archives of The Times and compile, I am amazed at the amount of information he could disaggregate so quickly.

It turns out that I was far from correct, and I've never been more delighted to stand corrected! While The Times search engines has the Mills family beginning play with Agnes in 1950, adding in Violet in 1956, and George in 1957. Not even close!

From Chris: "Agnes first played in 1947 and her last recorded game is in 1970, whilst Violet appears between 1951 and 1971."

Agnes began play almost as soon as she arrived at Grey Friars in Budleigh Salterton, finishing on the Prize List of several tournaments (below) while sporting a newly-minted handicap of 4½. While there is evidence that Agnes played at least one tournament before the war (Ealing, in May of 1934), there may have been even more.

I also have evidence that Agnes was slated to play at least one game in 1971, having been scheduled to play a Level Singles match against Maurice Reckitt in Budleigh on 6 July. However, Agnes is listed as having "retired," with Reckitt advancing.

Violet, as we will see, began play in 1947, not the 1956 that was all I could coax out of The Times, whose search engine inadvertantly and repeatedly overlooked a mere nine years of tournament play by the youngest of the Mills. She and her 10 handicap started with a bang: 1st in Class C Handicap Singles at Budleigh. Not a bad way to begin!

Agnes spent a quarter century on the lawns of Southern England, and especially Budleigh, playing croquet if you count her scheduled match in 1971. Violet notched a full 24 years, leaving them just shy of half a century of post-WWII croquet experience!

In spite of the numerous competitions and the Prize Lists, I often return to thinking of the characters with whom the Mills played. Some were listed in brief last week, along with some smattering of their accomplishments. Soon, we'll take a closer look at more individuals from the interesting cast of characters who populated the clubs and tournaments in what must have been, in some ways, a golden age of croquet.

Chris, however, adds a noteworthy competitor I had overlooked: "Another famous Budleigh croquet player of that era was Henry Gordon (Dacre) Stoker… a cousin of Bram Stoker of Dracula fame. He was famous for commanding a submarine at Gallipoli in the First World War." You can read more about that at: http://www.divernet.com/Wrecks/159188/the_sub_that_shaped_gallipoli.html

Anyway, the CA records show that Captain H. G. "Dacre" Stoker [pictured above, right] faced Agnes Mills 3 times, losing only once. Beyond the records, however, one can well imagine Stoker's tales of commanding the steadfast crew [pictured below, left] of his submarine, the HMAS AE2 [pictured far below, right] at Gallipoli, playing polo and tennis at Wimbledon, as well as revealing what the macabre Bram Stoker probably was like in his everyday persona, must certainly have added abundant color to clubhouses already rife with a plethora of ex-athletes, politicos, clergymen, world travelers, entrepreneurs, and veterans of a World War or two!

Born in 1885, the Captain was also an actor who, according to the International Movie Database, was featured in over 25 films (including The Man Who Knew Too Much and Brighton Rock) and 4 television series episodes between 1933 and 1959. The talented Stoker appeared on the stage alongside Laurence Olivier and John Mills, and authored the autobiography Straws in the Wind in 1925 and the 1937 film Below the Surface.

Stoker's Wikipedia biography describes him as "an officer of the First and Second World War Royal Navy and stage and screen actor. He was also a sportsman, active in polo, croquet, hurling, and tennis, competing at Wimbledon and becoming the croquet champion of Ireland in 1962, aged 77." Stoker passed away in 1966.

Well, with any further ado, here are the Prize List appearances of Agnes and Violet, 1947 to 1955, with—I hope—many more to come! Thank you once again, Chris!



End of season Prize List as listed in the Croquet Gazette:

Key:

OS = Open Singles
HS = Handicap Singles
HSC = Handicap Singles C Class
OSB = Open Singles B Class
HD = Handicap Doubles
L = Ladies

The number after the event means position, so 1 = winner, 2 = runner up,
3 = semi finalist. Number in [ ] is handicap.

1947
Agnes [4.5] Budleigh Salterton, OS (Longman Cup, 2, Exmouth OSB, 2,
Cheltenham (Sep) OSB, 2

1948
Agnes [4.5] Parkstone (Sept) HS, 1
Violet [10*] Budleigh Salterton, HSC, 1 (This means she won the C class
handicap singles)

1949
Agnes [3.5] Peel Memorials, 2; Parkstone (Sept) HD 3, Eastbourne, HSB, 1
[3]
Violet [8] Budleigh Salterton HS, 2, HD, 3

1950
Agnes [3] Peels (Draw) 3; Sidmouth, HD 3; Parkstone (Sept) OSB 1, MSD 1
Violet [6.5] Budleigh Salterton, HD, 1; Sidmouth, HD, 3

1951
Agnes [3] Budleigh Salterton OSB, 3; Parkstone (June), HSZ, 3;
Hurlingham LHD, 3; All England Handicap, 3; Challenge Cups, HSEx, 3;
Parkstone (Sept), HD, 2; Eastbourne, OSB, 3, HD, 2
Violet [6] Sidmouth, HSC, 3, HS, 2 [5] Exmouth HSX, 3

1952
Agnes [3], Sidmouth, HS, 3; Woking, HSZ, 1 divided; Parkstone (June),
HD, 2; Hurlingham, LHD, 2; Challenge Cups, HSXEx, 1; Parkstone (Sept),
HS, 2, HD, 2
Violet [5] Sidmouth, HSC, 1; Budleigh Salterton, OSB, 3, HD, 1; Exmouth,
OSB, 1, HSY, 1

1953
Agnes [3] Budleigh Salterton, OSB, 2, HD, 3; Parkstone (June), HSX 3,
HD, 1; Hurlingham HSEx 3; Challenge Cups, Luard Cup, 1
Violet [3.5] Budleigh Salterton, HD, 1; Exmouth, HSY, 3, HD, 3


1954
Agnes [3] Buxton, HSX, 3; Challenge Cups, Council Cup, 3, Gilbey Cup
"B", 3, HD, 2; Hurlingham, OS, Younger Cup, 2, HS, 2, LHD, 1;
Eastbourne, HS, 1
Violet [3.5] Sidmouth, HD, 3; Budleigh Salterton, HSY, 2; Buxton, OSB,
3, HD, 3; Exmouth, OSB, 3, HD, 3

1955
Agnes [1.5] Leamington, HS, 1; Exmouth, HD, 2; Budleigh Salterton
(July), HS, 3; Challenge Cups, Council Cup,, 3, HD, 3, HSEx, 3;
Hurlingham, HS, 3, LHD, 2; Parkstone (Aug), OSB, 1; Eastbourne, OSB, 2
Violet [2] Sidmouth, HD, 2; Parkstone (June) HS, Evans Trophy, 3;
Exmouth, HSX, 2; Budleigh Salterton (July), OSB, 2, HS, 1, HD, 1

"Ya Can't Tell the Players Without a Scorecard!"

Despite the title above hearkening back to early 20th century American baseball (a sport that's on my mind now that Spring Training has started here in Florida for northern teams), here's a breakdown of the important characters in our ongoing story of the Mills siblings of Budleigh Salterton--George, Agnes, and Violet--on the equally verdant croquet lawns of England, 1950-1971. If possible, they all have been listed with their associated club, and I've done my best to record their accomplishments on the lawns and any positions held.

If you can add any information about a player or their affiliations, offer a photograph (or a better image), or could suggest adding another interesting or important player to this list, please don't hesitate to let me know--and thank you! I will update information and images as frequently as I can [Last update: 15 July 2011].

Now, please scroll down to see the players...

	Agnes Edith "Aggie" Mills Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Won the 1953 Luard Cup at Roehampton; for Agnes's prize lists, please click HERE
Violet Eleanor "Vi" Mills Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Accomplished amateur in golf, lawn tennis, and croquet; participant in tournaments in all three sports throughout England; for Violet's prize lists, please click HERE
	George Ramsay Acland Mills Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Schoolmaster, author, and veteran of both World Wars; for George's prize lists, please click HERE
Barbara May Chittenden The Compton Club at Eastbourne The wife of Mr. Hugh F. Chittenden, former Head Master of Newlands School in Seaford, Sussex
	Veronica Claire "Vera" Gasson Hurlingham Club Secretary of the Croquet Association, 1960-1970
Lt.-Col. Gerald E. Cave Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Croquet and Tournament Secretary, 1965-?; 1974 Manager of Great Britain's MacRobertson Shield Series Team
	Mrs. Geraldine Cave Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Gerald Cave's mother, with whom he lived
J. G. "Guy" Warwick Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club South of England Championship, 1962; Referee, MacRobertson Shield Series, 1974; Brother of Joan Warwick
	Edith Joan "Joan" Warwick Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Played on MacRobertson Shield winning team in 1963; CA Women's Champion, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1968; Captain, British Wanderers Women's Hockey Team; Author, Umpiring for Women's Hockey, 1971
E. A. "Tony" Roper The Compton Club at Eastbourne Former Head Master of Ladycross School, Seaford, East Sussex
	Maurice B. Reckitt President of the Croquet Association, 1967-1975; CA Men's Champion, 1935, 1946; Surrey Championship 1934; South of England Champion, 1950; Author, Croquet Today, 1954; Played on 1956 MacRobertson Shield winner
Evelyn Aimee "Aimee" Reckitt Ranked Women's Tennis Player: 1922 (58th); 1923 (28th); 1924 (60th); 1925 (72nd); 1926 (78th); 1927 (62nd); Epsom Tennis Finals, 1923, 1925, 1926 Wimbledon, 1923, 1925, 1927
	Lady Ursula Abbey The Compton Club at Eastbourne? Well-known Breeder of show dogs at Cruft's; a noted outdoorswoman and shooter
Maj. John Roland "Jack" Abbey The Compton Club at Eastbourne? Renowned antiquarian book and manuscript collector, entrepreneur, and veteran of both World Wars; Tournament croquet player as far back as Brighton, 1913
	Rev. Canon Ralph Creed Meredith East Dorset Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club New Zealand Badminton Champion, Singles, Doubles, Mixed, 1927; Doubles co-champion, 1928; Player on losing MacRobertson Shield team (New Zealand), 1930; Past President of both the New Zealand Badminton & Croquet Associations
Sir Leonard Daldry Cheltenham Croquet Club? Referee, MacRobertson Shield Series, 1974 Banker and Senator of Federal Legislature, Nigeria
	Mrs. Alex Fotiadi Bowdon Croquet Club Member of Bowdon C.C. from 1939 until her death in 1990; Club President, 1972-1981; Donor of Bowdon's Novices Silver Challenge Bowl, 1957
Dr. Harold John Penny Winner of the Faulkner Cup, North of England Championship in 1939, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951
	Isobel Marion Roe Cheltenham Croquet Club CA Women's Championship, 1961; British Women's Ski Champion, 1938-1949; 1937 (Downhill) & 1939 (Slalom & Alpine) Skiing World Championships; 1948 GB Winter Olympic Team, St. Moritz, (Slalom, Downhill, Combined); 1948 Ladies Lowlander Champion; President, The Ladies' Ski Club (England), 1957-1960; Guiness Book of WorldRecords, 1986, Most British Women's Ski Titles Held
Bennett Gregory "Bill" Perry Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Played on Great Britain's MacRobertson Shield winning team in 1974; winner of 12 tournaments from 1966-1981
	Dr. H. R. "Herbie" McAleenan The Compton Club at Eastbourne Beat E. A. "Tony" Roper in the X Handicap Finals at the age of 83 at the Saffrons in 1964
Dr. William P. Ormerod East Dorset Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Played on MacRobertson Shield Series winning teams, 1956 (age 19), 1963, 1969, 1974; Won CA President's Cup, 1966; and Men's Championship, 1970; 7 time winner of Open Doubles Chamionship; 9 time winner of Parkstone Dorset Salver Open (54 years between his 1956 and 2010 victories); Current UK/Ireland Ranking: 97th (2011); Donated Wm. Ormerod Trophy to Austrian Croquet Federation, 2006; now coaching golf croquet at Swanage Croquet Club; won Delves-Broughton Open Golf Croquet Doubles Championship in 1954 at the age of 17 with A.E. Stokes-Roberts

[Update (8 July 2011): Many thanks to Budleigh's Judy Perry for the colour photographs used here!]