At around noon on Friday 31st January 1941, a lone German bomber was seen flying towards the town of Stowmarket in the heart of Suffolk. Enemy aircraft tended to fly low in the area to avoid the guns at nearby Wattisham Airfield, and this plane was flying so low under the clouds, that its swastikas could be seen from the ground.

The plane flew over Stowmarket from the direction of Combs Ford, firing its guns, before circling around to fly over again, and drop a stick of bombs in the general vicinity of the market place in town. Thankfully, the busy market place was missed, but a direct hit was made on Stowmarket Congregational Church, destroying the building. Houses behind the church grounds were also struck, killing one of the residents.

I learnt about this event through “The Bombing of Stowmarket Congregational Church” by Steve Williams (2004). The book is a compilation of many reports and eyewitness accounts of that day and I found it so fascinating that I devoured the contents in one sitting! The recollections are presented in such a way that you start to feel like you know the inhabitants and their various connections to each other.

Mrs Rhoda Farrow (nee Hearn), lived at ‘Marron’ (9 Kensington Road), behind the Congregational Church.  In the 1939 register, Mrs Farrow was recorded at the address with her son Ronald, daughter Marjorie and new son-in-law, Roland Wilden. Marjorie had actually married at the Congregational Church, only a month prior to the register being taken. (Her father, Rhoda’s husband Charles Farrow, had died only a few months before.)

After the bombs fell on 31 January 1941, Bernard Moye, then 16 years old, accompanied the town’s surveyor, Mr. John Black, into town to assess the damage…

When they learnt that another bomb had fallen on Kensington Road they went to the scene and found other members of the rescue party who had already managed to get two ladies out, one of whom was Mrs. Capp, who had the flower shop in the Market Place next to Woolworth’s. They had saved themselves by sheltering under the stairs of Mrs. Capp’s house, which was named ‘Floral-Dene’.

Bernard remembers seeing the roof seeming to be suspended in mid-air with nothing much supporting it. They were then told that there was no-one in next door at ‘Marron’ and that Mrs. Farrow was at the railway station seeing her son off from Forces’ leave. This tragically was not the case as Bernard remembers being in the party which, after clearing some rubble from the passageway of Mrs. Farrow’s house, they then lifted the door that lay amongst the debris and found her body laying there. Bernard commented ‘she unfortunately appeared to have arrived home at the wrong moment.'”

(excerpt from The Bombing of Stowmarket Congregational Church (2004), pp15-16)

Mrs Beatrice Smith, who lived at number 7, had been at the first aid centre on 24-hour call with the Red Cross. She would serve in the Red Cross for 51 years. In 1975, on the occasion of her retirement, The Bury Free Press (7 Nov 1975, p2) remarked that her devotion to duty had probably saved her life. The book holds quite a few of recounts of near-misses and it appears extremely fortunate that Mrs Farrow was the only person killed in the attack.

A new ultra-modern building was finally completed on the same site in 1955 and still exists (now known as the United Reformed Church). The new church’s contemporary look was very different from the previous church’s Victorian Gothic style and received mixed reactions. I can’t help but think that Stowmarket town centre would have a very different feel if the old building was still around today.

I also can’t help but think that it’s somewhat of an eerie coincidence that I was given this book and learnt of the bombing for the very first time, only a few days before the 83rd anniversary of the church’s destruction, and the death of Rhoda Farrow.

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Under the shade of trees in a rural Suffolk churchyard of Combs, there stands a gravestone with an intriguing epitaph.

In Loving Memory
Of
SAMUEL The dearly beloved husband of
ALICE SCARFF
Who while saving the lives of his
wife and children was knocked down
and killed by a runaway horse in
Lea-Bridge Road, Leyton.
JANUARY 19, 1896.
AGED 29 YEARS.
“Therefore be ye also ready.”

Also Of
LILIAN PHOEBE
Youngest daughter of the above
WHO DIED SUDDENLY AUGUST 16, 1896.
The shepherd hath himself removed,
The lamb to which His care was given,
For He on earth whom children loved,
Hath called His child from earth to heaven.

Samuel Scarff was born in Combs to woodcarter John Scarff and Elizabeth Grimwood. By 1891, he had moved to London and was working as a carman in Marylebone. His future bride, Alice Horne, was also from Combs and working as a general servant in nearby Blenheim Road at the time.

In 1894, Samuel and Alice married at Walthamstow, Essex and two daughters, Sissie and Lilian, quickly followed. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike this young family on a winter’s day in 1896.

SHOCKING FATAL ACCIDENT. -A MAN KILLED BY A RUNAWAY HORSE. -A shocking accident occurred on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 19. in Chesnut Walk, Walthamstow. Samuel Scarff, aged 28, in the employment of Spiers and Pond, and living in Boundary Road, Walthamstow, was walking towards the Forest on the broad footway, accompanied by his wife and by their two little children in a basinette. A horse attached to a hooded buggy, driven by Joseph Lyon, of Lower Clapton, who was accompanied by Samuel Pearce, of Forest Gate, and John McDougall, of Leytonstone, bolted at Whipps Cross and galloped down Chesnut Walk at a terrific rate, the young men being unable to control it. At an opening in the row of trees opposite the residence of Mr. Helme the horse turned on to the footpath, and continued its mad career. Scarff managed to get his wife and children clear, but he was himself knocked down with terrible violence, and was conveyed in an unconscious state to the Walthamstow Hospital. His injuries were very severe, and he died the same evening the presence of his wife, who was distracted with grief. The runaway horse eventually came to a standstill through crashing into a fence. The three occupants were thrown out, but were not injured.
Essex Standard, 25 January 1896, p7 c4

An inquest was held which ultimately returned a verdict of ‘Accidental Death’ and deep sympathy was expressed towards his young widow Alice.

Mr. C. C. Lewis held an inquest, at Walthamstow, on the body of Samuel Scarff, aged 28 years, a carman in the employ of Messrs. Spiers and Pond, lately residing at 220, Boundary-road, Walthamstow, who died in the local Hospital on Sunday. -Mrs. Scarff, the widow, said on Sunday afternoon, about a quarter-past three, she left home with the deceased and her two children, with the perambulator, to go for a walk in the forest. They were returning home, and on reaching Chestnut-walk, just off the Lea-bridge-road, a noise attracted her attention in the rear. Witness and her husband looked round, and saw a horse and trap galloping towards them, in fact, it was nearly upon them. It then ran on to the footpath, striking the perambulator, which Witness was wheeling, and knocking it sideways. The deceased, who was walking on her right, was knocked down. A crowd collected and the deceased was taken up and carried to a doctor, and then to the Hospital, where he expired the same night. -Mr. J. J. Baker, an insurance clerk, residing at 30, Fraser-road, Walthamstow, said he was in Chestnut-walk, when a friend drew his attention to the horse and trap. The horse was at full gallop, and appeared to have run away. It ran into the footpath between two trees, and Witness saw it knock the deceased down, the near-side wheel of the trap passing over both legs. The horse continued its career for some distance, and then dashed into the fence, and threw the occupants of the trap into the roadway. -Dr. Wise, house surgeon, said the deceased’s skull was fractured, and death occurred three hours later from that injury. -Mr. Joseph Lyons, of Downs-road, Clapton, master builder, said he left Pembury-road at ten o’clock on Sunday morning, with a horse and gig, which he had hired from Mr. Atkins, of Hackney. At the Eagle, Snaresbrook, he met two friends, and they drove to various places, and finally to the Castle at Woodford, and then started for home. Witness was driving. The horse had shied once or twice, and when at Whipps Cross it broke into a canter. He tried to ease it, but then found that it had got the mastery. On reaching Chestnut-walk the horse shied again, and then dashed into the pathway. Witness did not see anything of the deceased. Witness and his friends were thrown out, and Witness was rendered insensible. They were all sober having been drinking sloe gin and soda. -The Jury returned a verdict of Accidental Death, and expressed their deep sympathy with the widow. London Evening Standard, 23 January 1896, p7, c5

It was heartening to discover that shortly after the accident, a committee was formed to raise funds to assist Alice and her children. Samuel’s employers and colleagues at Spiers & Pond, had also contributed and in February, Alice received over £100 – at least £15 of which “two little children named Beresford” had, heartwarmingly, “got together… in small sums”.

Unfortunately, poor Alice would receive another blow in August the same year when little Lilian Phoebe, not yet a year old, died suddenly. The child’s death was registered in Stow district which suggests Alice had returned to her family in Combs after Samuel’s death.

Samuel and Alice’s surviving daughter Sissie, recorded with Alice’s parents in 1901 and Alice’s sister in 1911, would grow up to marry a man named James Alexander Donaldson and live a long life.

Alice never remarried and died in 1964 at the ripe old age of 94. 

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THIS STONE
WAS ERECTED
BY THE INHABITANTS
OF THE PARISH
TO THE MEMORY OF JOHN BRANFORD
WHO DIED MAY 16TH 1844
IN HIS 99TH YEAR.

John Branford’s gravestone is one of the first you see when entering St Catherine’s Churchyard, Ringshall. John’s final resting place is located under the shade of a tree, beneath a stone erected by the inhabitants of Ringshall parish in Suffolk “to the memory of John Branford who died May 16th 1844 in his 99th year”. He sounded like he had a tale or two to tell and I wanted to know more.

There was a brief mention of his passing in one of the local papers, but no other information was given:

On Saturday last, at the advanced age of 99, Mr. John Bramford, of Ringshall.
(The Suffolk Chronicle; or Weekly General Advertiser & County Express. 25 May 1844, p3, c2)

John, who was more commonly recorded with the surname Bramford, can be seen on the 1841 census at Ringshall in the household of Ann Ramsey. Frustratingly, the 1841 census gives no relationship information but since people living in the same house often had family connections, researching the Ramseys was my best bet.

The Ramseys were recorded as neighbours of the Squirrel family at ‘Red House’. Redhouse Farm was a 19th century farmstead located between Ringshall and Wattisham (and north of Great Bricett), across the road from Ten Wood. It has been totally demolished and is now a part of Wattisham Airfield (Redhouse Farm location on modern map). Few residences in the area were named in the 1841 census so it is unclear how close the Ramsey family were to Red House, but their household entry was immediately after.

The baptismal records indicated that the children on the census were Ann’s and their father’s name was Robert Ramsey. Interestingly, the births of her eldest children were recorded at the nearby Wattisham Baptist Chapel but from 1824 they were baptised into the Church of England at St Catherine’s, Ringshall  (The last recorded at Wattisham Baptist Chapel was Mark on 22 March 1820). Luckily, the eldest child Robert (born about 1815) was with his mother on the 1841 census and I was able to locate an 1815 marriage between Robert Ramsey and Ann BRAMFORD. Aha! First evidence of a family connection.

Ann’s baptism at Wattisham in 1793 seemed to indicate her parents were the John Bramford and Anne Green who married at Wattisham in 1790. Could this mean John was her father? He would have been nearly 50 at the time, which wouldn’t rule him out, but a younger father seemed more likely. Perhaps Ann’s father was the son of our John and she was his granddaughter?

I thought this must have been the case when I came across the death/burial record of another John Bramford, son of John Bramford, at Wattisham in 1812. However, an estimated birth year of 1783 was given in the record which made him far too young to be Ann’s father, and this guy’s mother was ‘Mary Figg Bramford’ not Anne Green. The 1775 marriage record for this couple at Wattisham showed her maiden name was actually Mary Pegg. Our John would have been about 20 in 1775 – a common age to marry.

John had three children with Mary and then the baptismal records stopped in 1785. I was unable to find a death/burial record for Mary but in 1790 “widower” John Bramford married Anne Green and went on to have six more children – one being the Ann Bramford who married Robert Ramsey.

So, the Ann Ramsey John was living with at the time of the 1841 census was his daughter after all. It turns out, less than a year after that census night, Ann died and was buried in the same churchyard.

John had outlived two wives, at least four of his children, and some grandchildren. He had lived through the reign of four monarchs, the publication of the first English dictionary, the American war of independence, the Napoleonic wars, the abolition of slavery, and the launch of the first public passenger train. 

And I would never have known anything about him, if the good inhabitants of Ringshall parish hadn’t erected that stone.

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