Posts

Tributes to dad

-
Image
Edward’s Memorial Speech Thank you all for coming here to celebrate and honour the memory of my father, Hereward Lawford. Herry to most but to my brother, sisters and I: Dad.  Seeing so many people here to say goodbye to Dad, shows just how loved he was and how much he will be missed. Dad played many roles. A businessman and colleague, a friend, a brother, a husband, a father. Today, in honour of him, my brother Charlie and I wanted to share some of our perspective of who Dad was to us. From our early years, I grew up physically apart from him, after moving to Sydney with my Mum, brother and sister when I was about six years old. My childhood memories of Dad are mostly of his visits to Sydney or occasionally us travelling back to the UK to stay with him, family and friends over our summer holidays. When Dad came to visit, it was always a fun time. Oftentimes we took trips together up to Noosa and the Gold Coast, or spent Summer’y Christmases at home in Sydney.  Dad absolutely ...
Read more

An evening out with my godfather Herry

-
Image
Even whilst very young I was aware that Herry was somehow different, unique.  He expanded my cultural horizons from early on, giving me books about interesting, impressive women, and other presents were often exotic and unusual.  Once, he even adopted a duck for me at a wildfowl centre.  Best of all, he gifted me a goddaughter when I was just thirteen years-old.  And around the same time, he treated me to a night out in London that I’ll never forget, and which exemplifies all that was so exceptional about him. I don’t remember the restaurant, but it was fancier than anywhere this young country bumpkin had ever been, and the food was superb.  After dinner we got in Herry’s car - again, I forget, but it was very smart and there was definitely leather.  He drove us down Regent Street to look at the Christmas lights as the stereo played Joan Armatrading’s ‘Love & Affection’.  I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever heard and, to this day, it’s stil...
Read more

Eulogy for Herry Lawford

-
Image
Whilst Herry documented his life in great detail through his online journal, he still remained an enigma to most who knew him.  So, I appealed to his family and friends, and am hugely grateful for their memories of him.  Much of what I am about to say comes from them. They have helped lighten my load today and have added to what I now realise was my own limited perspective of Herry.   Shining through these memories are Herry’s best qualities: humour and sense of fun, friendship, love of family, integrity, generosity, concern for others, and spirituality. He had the gift of discernment and judgement and could see, and prize, what is precious and valuable in people. We all remember his sense of style and he seemed to take any opportunity to live well, not as a rehearsal for later, but as precious time to be used. He was also remarkably erudite, curious and observant. Herry was born near here at Litchfield, to Patrick and Annette Lawford.  In 1950, the family moved...
Location: Stockbridge, Hampshire, UK
Read more

Herry Lawford's Archive Index

-
Parents Patrick Lawford 1914-2002 Annette Lawford 1911-1998 Family History The Family Trees of the Lawford's and the Pugh's  Lawford Family History The Drapers' Livery Company Pugh Evans Family History Pugh Evans Family History - the Lovesgrove Line Sir Griffith Humphrey Pugh Evans 1840 - 1902 The Powell Edwards Line Lawford Ancestors Edward Lawford 1787 - 1864 Edward Acland Lawford and his Descendants HF Lawford 1851 - 1925 General Sir Sydney Lawford 1865 - 1953 Peter Lawford 1923 - 1984 Maternal Grandparents Sir Arundel Arundel 1843 - 1922 Col AJ Pugh 1871 - 1923 Marian 'Nina' Lady Herbert 1874 - 1967 Paternal Grandparents John Lawford 1811 - 1875 Capt VA Lawford 1871 - 1959 Pugh Cousins Brig-General Lewis Pugh Evans 1887 - 1962 Maj-General Lewis Pugh 1907 - 1981  The Last Action of the Calcutta Light Horse 1943 Ruth Stevens Howard 1910-2010 Capt Humphrey Drummond of Megginch 1922 - 2009 Dr Griffith Pugh 1909 - 1994 Dr Griffith P...
2 comments
Read more

Family Reunion in Stockbridge and Holiday in the South of France July 2022

-
Image
 In July 2022 the family gathered from Sydney, New York and Hamburg in Hampshire and in France arriving on 1st and leaving on 25th July. It was a marvellous time, punctuated only by some illness (Marika and Astra), and repeated cancellations of our flights with Thomas, who kindly took on group booking duties, making over 280 phone calls to BA alone. Indeed, a claim of EUR was made to BA for all our extra travel costs including car hire. The main events, the Reunion in Stockbridge and the holiday in Cap Benat passed off beautifully. 50 people attended the Reunion at the Greyhound and it was a joy to see so many old friends and their children (and in some cases, grandchildren) meeting up again, 13 years after the last such gathering in 2008 . Many photos were taken as well as the group photo below,  The full list of those attending is here . Herry addressing the crowd The 14th July Gathering We arrived at Villa Portofino, Cap Benat, on 16th July from various directions and hav...
Read more

Obituary - John Spreadbury 1931 - 2022

-
Image
  John Spreadbury  John Spreadbury was born in Droxford on 13th July 1931.  His mother was called Annie and his stepfather was William Spreadbury, a local farmer who happens to be buried in Meonstoke. His mother died when he was young and is buried in Bolney churchyard. John was schooled at Stoneham in Eastleigh. He had no siblings.  John’s early experience of work was riding cart horses to the farriers for shoeing, but when he left school at 15, as was usual in those days, he got his first job with Austen Moulden at Preshaw. He then moved to Western Farms at Petersfield and it was from there that he won his first ploughing match, at Rogate, aged 17. And it was there he saw my father’s advertisement for a tractor driver at Stocks just as we moved in in 1950. Rita says that when he mentioned the wage he expected, my father replied, ‘That’s a man’s wage and you’re a boy’, but he was persuaded to move not by the wage, but by the fact that my father offered him a new...
Read more

John Spreadbury 1931 - 2022

-
Image
  Patrick Lawford and John Spreadbury in the early 90's John Spreadbury, came to Stocks aged 19 when we first arrived there, and became headman on the retirement of Reg Whitear in the 1960s and remained on the farm while it expanded with the purchase of Harvestgate Farm from the Biles's in the 60's and Little Stocks Farm from the Henderson's in the 70's, until Patrick Lawford retired from the day to day running of the farm when he reached 80, and John also retired, though he continued to do jobs on the farm, such a spraying for Stephen Horn who was contracted to look after the farm from his own at Bushey Down. John had been gifted Little Stocks Farm in Meonstoke in the 80's, so that he could build houses for himself and his family - his wife Peggy, and children Andrew, Rita and Shaun. John lives there still, but very sadly his son Andrew, who also worked on the farm from an early age, died in May 2021, and is buried in Meonstoke Churchyard. This photo, in a silv...
Read more