Herry's Archives

Lu Wanklyn (Handcock) 1946 - 2019. Photo taken at Nick Duke's wedding in 1975 Lu and I were exact contemporaries, and I saw a lot of her in our teenage years at the many dances and parties that took place. We must have partnered each other in Scottish reels almost more times that anyone and she was unfailingly fun and a joy to be with. In our day - at least in our part of Hampshire - there was no 'pairing off' and we all went around as friends (or as Annie Ommanney put it, 'rushed around in a heap', often in the back of one of our farm vans filled with bales of straw. Indeed one of my abiding memories was being stuck in a snowdrift in one such van with Lu, coming back from a dance, and having to wait until daylight to be rescued! No mobile phones and no Scott-like heroics from me either. Later, Lu disappeared to Sardinia to cook for Princess Alexandra and I saw her less regularly, but in 1967 I do well remember her being driven out to Florence in Tim Boycott...

Norman and Lynette Norman, originally from the East End of London, went into the City straight from school and became an insurance man. I knew him slightly from his time at Wigham Richardson but got to know him very well while handling a huge collision case, 'ATLANTIC EMPRESS' and 'AEGEAN CAPTAIN' that occurred in July 1979. He was working for the owners of the 'EMPRESS' and I was handling the 'EMPRESS' for the Club. I dealt with Norman on his more routine cases as well, and he was subsequently elected to the board of the UK Club and served as a director with distinction, being the only man on that board with insurance expertise. In that capacity, I saw him at each meeting and at the events around them. But such was the impact of the 'EMPRESS' that we - and Richard Shaw, the solicitor who handled the case - held an annual lunch right up until 2010 to commemorate it, and maintained the kind of friendship that such powerful shared experie...

Belin and her father Pug Wallis entering Twyford Church 1969 Will and Belin were married in August 1969, the earliest of our friends, and held their Golden Wedding Party at their house on 28th July 2019. A fine lunch was served in a tent under the trees in their garden to 62 guests who were all local friends - no family. Will and Belin both spoke, Belin telling tbe story of how Herry had to help her do up the 50 buttons on her wedding dress, as the result of which the seating instructions didn't reach the church in time to prevent her aging relatives from being seated in the wrong pews.... Herry spoke briefly for them and his speech appears below. Belin, Katherine Sellon, Will  I thought to just say just a few words on this marvellous occasion of their golden wedding, the first of our generation and, sad to say, almost the only one, although the sainted Beloe’s got there first. I have been around since the beginning of the story because I’ve known Will from...

The party in full swing I have given a garden party at Old Swan House to raise money for the NGS since 2016, and this year 82 people came from Stockbridge and the surrounding villages as well as Winchester and the Meon Valley.  But this year was special in that Edward was here from New Jersey (on business) and Prue and Thomas came from Hamburg to join Ayako, Kei and JY. A very happy party ensued on a warm but mainly cloudy day, so that people could comfotrtably stand on the lawn without seeking shade. The Greyhound on the Test handled the catering, setting up a travelling kitchen in the garage to prepare the canapes and serving Pimms and wine. £500 was raised for the NGS from the £5 donations taken at the gate. Val Pile, Prue, Ayako and Thomas Edward, Prue, Belin and Ayako For more photos from the visit click here For more photos of the garden, click here