Herry's Archives

Herry and Prue Watson married on 18th December 1971 at St Peter's, Watson's Bay, Sydney, with the reception held at Somerset , Prue's home in Vaucluse. Prue was given away by her father, Mel. Nick Duke was my best man, and Peter Crittle (Prue's brother in law) gave the toast to the bridesmaids - a virtuoso speech which had the company in fits of laughter. Herry's parents came out from England for the wedding, taking the 'Galileo' from Genoa to Melbourne and then flying up. Others from England included Charlie and Lucie Skipwith , who were then running a restaurant in Melbourne, and Frances Duke (then married to Arthur Johnson) . The honeymoon was spent at Mel's house on the beach at Surfers' Paradise (long ago sold for development) and later at Castaway Island, Fiji and Hawaii (where Herry left his new Guccis outside their room to be cleaned (as was common in Europe) and they naturally disappeared.... Click the heading for more photos from t...

Wadwick was part of the Dunley Estate which Sir Alfred Herbert , my step-grandfather, owned near Whitchurch. Although I had no knowledge of it, being only one, the family lived there for a few months in 1946 between Litchfield Manor and Danegate . Some photos from that time can be seen here After Sir Alfred died in 1957 ‘ Granny’ (Lady Herbert , nee Nina Arundel, later Pugh) moved Dunley Manor to Wadwick House, which had become the 'dower house". The rest of the Dunley Estate was sold to Sir Brian Mountain of Eagle Star. She took with her as her housekeeper, the strict Scotswoman from Dunley, Mackenzie, and some other servants, but I best remember the two cheerful Sicilian nurses, Maria and Concita, who looked after her for many years when she was bedridden by a stroke. She was a Christian Scientist and declined to see doctors. My mother Annette used to drive to see her from Stocks every week, and I used to go along too and play in the garden or around the ho...

Sadly I don't have many photos of us from the early days , but this one has some interesting features, particularly the girls - Penny Hitchcock, Frances Duke and Sally Farmiloe . The boys are 'the three musketeers' - Herry, Charlie Skipwith and Nick Duke . We were going to a party at an hotel in Southampton on 6th August 1966. Here we were actually dressed as musteteers at Sally Farmiloe's 18th - Herry, can't recall and Nick Duke Nick Duke's Stag party at Cobbetts 11th April 1974 Nick Duke, Charlie Skipwith, Andrew Ward, Ian Hay, Mike Lawford and Will Martin. Herry took the photo in Botley Square sometime after midnight This photo was taken at Naomi Skipwith's wedding in June 1999 when the three musketeers and at least one of the original girls - Frances - were together again. Frances was the 'original cause' of my meeting Prue, leading to our wedding and subsequent Australian history. Return to Early Social Life Return to Archive Inde...

My parents, brothers and friends having tea in the bottom of the swimming pool at Stocks in October 1967 Left to right: Tim Hancock, Belinda Martin, Cilla Clempson, Tim's sister Deidre, Annette (with Justin in her arms), Mike Lawford (probably - back to the camera), Annie Skipwith, Patrick, Belinda Luxmoore (kneeling), Jess (in chair), Nick Duke, Ricky Skipwith, Fuff (or is it Piers?) Charlie Skipwith was in Bordeaux at that time, otherwise he would certainly have been there... I guess I was the photographer even then Click on the link below to hear what we were listening to in those far-off days

                 Chilworth Manor. The upper bay window is of the room he shared with Julian Avery Following Winchester , Herry went to Southampton University to read law. The professor of the relatively new law school was Prof Phillips whom his father Patrick had got to know when sitting on the Southampton Bench. It seemed a good idea; no exams to take to get in and only about 30 minutes from Stocks and Herry's childhood friends . The transition was made the more smooth when Herry was allocated to the universtity's newest hall, Chilworth Manor, which had been acquired from the Willis-Flemings and which was a splendid old house surrounded by enormous grounds. Herry spent his first two years at university there. In his second year he shared a room with Julian Avery - the upper room with the bay window in the photo..... Blue Hayes, outside Romsey In his final year, Herry took a cottage on the edge of the New Forest outside ...

Herry's christening at Litchfield on 26th Sept 1945. Annette, Patrick, Jane (Patrick's mother), Carey Druce, Granny (Lady Herbert) and Arthur Luxmoore's brother