Sisters reminisce about childhood holidays in Bishop’s Waltham

Some 60 years ago, Barbara Sadler and Brenda Pettitt, nee Daniels, were sent to stay with the Madgewick family. They are now eager to trace any surviving members of the family.

The visit was organised by charitable organisation, the Blackfriars Settlement, as an escape from their London poverty.

Victor, the head of the Madgewick family, was probably a lay preacher, had a partial false leg and drove a Robin Reliant three-wheeler.

He and his wife, Gwen, had three children, Ruth, Christine and baby Elizabeth. They lived in a large house with an outside loo, next to a small chapel where Victor took services and Gwen ran bible-reading sessions.

Brenda and Barbara (Image: Sue Ward)

Barbara and Brenda were about seven and five when they first set step in Bishop’s Waltham. Their mother was very poorly after a difficult home birth with their younger sister, Jenny.

For the children, it was a magical experience.

‘’We were two little boisterous city girls from poor parts of London SE1 – slums really,’’ recalls Barbara.

‘’Five of us lived in two rooms on the fifth floor of a block of flats. There was no lift and the stone stairs had no lights on the landings. They were running alive with mice and rats.

‘’We were then sent to the beautiful market town of Bishop’s Waltham with lots of trees and open spaces, to a very welcoming, loving family who ran their lives in a totally different way to us.’’

Barbara, who now lives in Southampton, hadn’t thought about her time in Bishop’s Waltham for years until, by chance, on an excursion she spotted the name on a signpost.  This triggered a quest to revisit her past and led to her contacting the Bishop’s Waltham Society to help trace the Madgewick home and chapel.

After consulting with Penny Copeland, curator of Bishop’s Waltham Museum, it is thought they were located in Basingswell Street where the Christian Fellowship building is now housed. That area changed hugely in the late 1960s when the car park was built.

Brenda – who now lives in Norfolk – and Barbara visited the Madgewicks another couple of times, by which time they had moved home, possibly to Oak Road.

The sisters recall: ‘’We were great friends with Ruth and Christine while we were there.

‘’We think they were around our ages and showed us great kindness and were very sharing with their possessions, including sharing their hats with us for Sunday School.

‘’We were never encouraged to have them as pen pals or write thank you letters when at home.’’

They also remember a summer school run by Gwen and Victor in a large field with tents and many games and competitions.

And Brenda’s overriding memory of Victor is his telling her that roses ate banana skins – she ventured out to the garden every day to see if some had been nibbled.

Barbara believes the summer breaks had a profound impact on her. She has three daughters and modelled her parenting on the style of the Madgewicks.

The sisters recently made a nostalgic visit to Bishop’s Waltham to try and track down their past. A very fond memory was of Madeline’s sweet shop in the High Street but everything was a little hazy due to the many years that had passed.

They would be delighted to find out if any residents remember them, and would love to meet up with any of the three Madgewick children.

If you can help, please contact info@bishopswalthamsociety.org.uk.

The Bishop’s Waltham Society is looking for new trustees. If you are interested, please contact the above email.