Herry's Archives

Brig-General Lewis Pugh Evans I am delighted to talk to you about my grandfather who we are here today to honour, exactly 100 years to the day of his Victoria Cross action. Firstly and most importantly we should remember all those who gave their lives or became severely disabled as a result of the First World War conflict, my grandfather could be considered one of the lucky ones. The Passchendaele conflict was truly horrendous, the sufferings inexpressible and the efforts superhuman. Secondly, I would like to thank Ceredigion county council and in particular  Sonia Davies for enabling today.  These memorials will ensure we and future generations will never forget what was possibly the most bloody conflict of all time and the individual efforts to achieve victory. You should all have a leaflet setting out his life and career so rather than repeating what you can read I thought I would tell you few stories to add to the picture. My memories of m...

Baltic Exchange Chambers, 14-20 St Mary Axe in the 1970s When I joined Thomas Miller in 1967, I began living in Shouldham St, W1 , a maisonette in a fine Georgian street behind Marble Arch with a roof terrace that my parents bought from Jane and Anthony Whinney. Jane's father, James Wright, was a senior partner of Millers.  I commuted to Millers by tube, taking the train at Edgware Road and getting off at Liverpool St. It was a very easy commute and in those days inexpensive. I once has a letter published in the Evening Standard commenting on the rare experience of travelling in a train the windows of which had been polished. After Liverpool St I walked up Bevis Marks and down an alleyway which joined Bury St which gave access to the back entrance of our building (pictured above). Once I was walking down the open part of the alleyway, a man jumped from the top of the building under which I had to pass. Its was a great shock, but I covered him with my coat and others called the...

Return to  Archive Index  

The West Screen at Coventry Cathedral by John Hutton When Coventry Cathedral was built, Sir Basil Spence, the architect, chose John Hutton to create the vast screen on the building's western end where it forms an open link between the ruins of the old Cathedral and the nave of the new one.  The screen is engraved with a translucent pattern of saints and flying angels which partly, but never entirely, obscures the view in either direction. Sir Alfred Herbert was, of course, a generous benefactor to the new Cathedral ( despite having argued for the old cathedral church of St Michael to be rebuilt ) and although he died before it was completed, his widow, my grandmother, continued to take a great interest in the building and attended the Consecration in 1962. Alfred Herbert's daughter also donated the Elizabeth Frink Lectern to the Cathedral. As a consequence, in due time the family received one of a limited edition (of 25) miniature windows engraved by John Hutton wi...

Sir Griffith Pugh Evans of Lovesgrove A Cardiganshire Squire in India Sirv Griffith Humphrey Pugh Evans KC As the procession wended slowly down the gravelled walk the snow was falling softly, renewing the white garb of hedgerows and the fields, where patches of green and brown were showing after the thaw at midday. Little groups of people were waiting in the snow here and there on the road, and the cortege grew in numbers as it proceeded. When the main road was reached, a considerable number of persons on foot followed the long line of carriages. This touching description appeared in the Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard of Friday 14 February 1902 describing the scene the previous Monday afternoon for the funeral of Sir Griffith Humphrey Pugh Evans of Lovesgrove, who had died at his home on 6 February at the age of 62 after a long illness.  Griffith was born in Aberystwyth on 13 January 1840, third son of John Evans, a wealthy Merionethshire born A...

Peter Lawford and John Kennedy Peter Lawford was the son of General Sir Sydney Lawford and May Sommerville Bunny. Sydney's father was the son of Thomas Acland Lawford whose brother John was my great-grandfather. There is a comprehensive article about Peter, his life and his acting career in Wikiwand here Click here for a YouTube film of his wedding to Patricia Kennedy in 1954 Return to  Archive Index  

Lucy in her garden in Plymouth Sept 2019 Lucy Luxmoore, my sister in law, who died on 21st September 2019, met my brother Fuff in 2007 and quickly became a much-loved member of the family. Lucy and Fuff in Luxmoore's Garden, August 2007 I first met Lucy on a visit to Luxmoore's Garden at Eton where an ancestor of Fuff's  HE Luxmoore had been a noted housemaster and had created a garden on an island in the river opposite chapel. I was immediately struck by her cheerful and charming personality. They were married in London in July 2008  with a reception that included a string quartet and some Scottish reels and where we met her mother, Mary Barker and her sisters, Judy and Sue and brother Will as well as her children Hugh, Ralph and Camilla. Fuff and Lucy's wedding July 2008 Lucy was then teaching music at St Anthony's, Fitzjohn's Avenue but soon moved to be with Fuff in Plymouth where she began teaching music and conducting choirs with great su...