THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — these Findon Chronicles are created by Valerie Martin and contain scenes from her home village of Findon,
West Sussex, U.K.    Everyday stories about real people.

THE MYSTERY OF BEN BLAKER

Copyright Valerie Martin 2008

 Did you ever go picking blackberries as a child...... and do you remember scrambling about in the bushes trying to reach the best ones?  

I often think that I must have come to the end of recording historical facts on Findon and its occupants.    I came across one recently that I hadn't heard of before.   

Has anyone come across the name of Benjamin Blaker connected with Findon?    

He walked the streets and byways of the village and was the postman.  The only other thing I know about him is that his previous occupation was that of a shoemaker in nearby Worthing.

This is the story of the demise of Benjamin Blaker.   In 1891, a lady was blackberrying at the Lancing Clump when much to her horror the poor soul came across some grisly bones suspended from the branch of a tree.  One can only imagine the haste with which she flew down the hillside scattering her blackberries.  The skeleton was later identified to be that of Benjamin Blaker the postman of Findon.

We can now deduce that the postman was about 65 years of age at the time of the story.

So, the mystery of Ben Blaker has been solved.

Continue if you would like to read about Toboganning on Church Hill in 1901.

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.