In early 2019, I was contacted by the wife of a distant relative in England who had chanced across my website in her own family history research. That person was Mandy Ball and her husband, Bob. Bob is a decendant of William's sister, Mary Ann Hundy, making him a distant cousin. After much email correspondence, we made a spur of the moment decision to travel to England to fulfil a longheld dream of visiting the land of my forebears, but also to meet these people with whom we shared a history and who had become friends. Our visit to England saw us spend much time with the Balls touring the sites of Worcestershire and its neighbouring counties and for their generosity we are extremely grateful.
Whilst in the MIdlands of England we stayed in a shepherd's hut on a farm in a small village called Abberton just 7 miles from William's home town of Crowle. We had the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of William, his parents, grandparents and great grandparents as we visited locations familiar to me in my family history research including Pershore, Evesham, Defford, Crowle, Middle Littleton and Worcester. We wandered the villages and countryside through winding hedged laneways marvelling at the ancient architecture of the churches and villages in which generations of Hundys had lived, worked and died. We stood in the churches, many of which remain largely unchanged, where baptisms, marriages and funerals are recorded for the family, and visited various other sites familiar to Hundy family history researchers.
Our daily trips took in other sites and countryside in the MIdlands and, coupled with the wonderful company and local insight of Bob and Mandy, we enjoyed the trip of a lifetime that will never be forgotten but will hopefully be repeated soon. I have included some photos below to give you the opportunity to experience something of those places that were so familiar to William and his family.
Whilst in the MIdlands of England we stayed in a shepherd's hut on a farm in a small village called Abberton just 7 miles from William's home town of Crowle. We had the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of William, his parents, grandparents and great grandparents as we visited locations familiar to me in my family history research including Pershore, Evesham, Defford, Crowle, Middle Littleton and Worcester. We wandered the villages and countryside through winding hedged laneways marvelling at the ancient architecture of the churches and villages in which generations of Hundys had lived, worked and died. We stood in the churches, many of which remain largely unchanged, where baptisms, marriages and funerals are recorded for the family, and visited various other sites familiar to Hundy family history researchers.
Our daily trips took in other sites and countryside in the MIdlands and, coupled with the wonderful company and local insight of Bob and Mandy, we enjoyed the trip of a lifetime that will never be forgotten but will hopefully be repeated soon. I have included some photos below to give you the opportunity to experience something of those places that were so familiar to William and his family.
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Scenes Through A Window
The Shepherds Hut awaits for travellers with tired feet In an age-old orchard blooming in promise of the sweet. rapped in the warmth of timbers harvested from the Ash We’re shielded from the world safely lost to its mad dash. An echo of the past is heard carrying across the years When a family was torn apart amid a mother’s futile tears. New words have bridged the generations long thought lost With Bob and Mandy’s message sailing on seas tossed. Sitting quietly on timbers pale with pen poised I write To sing a song of the sights of the Midland’s pale light. England’s bountiful glory pours across a checkered land Where bird and beast are firmly held in man’s hard hand. Through a misty curtained window I see glimpses of a past One in which my forebears battled and the die was cast. Verdant fields of liquid light herald song ringing in the dawn With the shadows giving way to mighty oaks naked and forlorn. Carpets blue, yellow and white seek a sun shielded from view As the sentinel tower of God stands tall with stately yew. Blossoms blaze in the orchard as the orb’s spearing light prevails Bringing warmth to plumped up pigeons paired along the rails. Busy robins and wrens hunt among the hedges bursting into leaf Where life is stored in orderly lines and the wild is but a thief. To a world of silvered dark its members stake an ancient claim And retreat before the coming day their prints all that remain. Strolling along the village lane winding our way hand in hand Is to be, for a moment, lord and lady of the manor grand. Or courting beaus bewitched in an age of lace and collar When women and children were but machinery for the dollar. Perhaps hard-pressed poachers stealing through the night in the shadows of the woods checking traps for their bite. The sights shared press in on minds opened to an old world Where the troubles of the past saw banners of war unfurled. All too short has been our sojourn to the land of my blood Where minted memories and friendships have burst into bud. With hands held hard we bid farewell and not goodbye And carry part of ‘home’ lodged in our hearts there to lie. Fred Hundy 2019 |
Scenes of Crowle |
