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 TAYLOR MYSTERY OF THE FINDON NAMES
Copyright Valerie Martin 2010
In November 2010 I heard from Amanda and Stephen Brookman. They resided in Nepcote Lane until three years ago....
Dear
Valerie...Findon Watercolour and a Mystery.....Its been some 3 years since we moved to the west country for 'a bit of an
adventure' and I have to say the hardest part has been not seeing the many
friends we made in Findon and surrounding villages . We still miss them all,
please say hello to them if you see them.
click to enlarge image
I attach 2 images, one is of a watercolour of Findon Church by Charles W Taylor,
I see you have some of his already on the site. This one is an attractive view
looking south towards Findon and the sea in the distance. I obtained it from
ebay last year and it appears to predate the A24 by-pass.
The second is the image of the rear of the painting: - a list of names, some
seem familiar to me. Some have titles against them like Chairman, Treasurer and
even Standard Bearer.
Was this a gift to someone known in Findon and what was the organisation to
which these titles refer? I hope the photo is good enough to read for you.
Perhaps you might e able to shed some light on this.
Anyway thanks for continuing with such a great web site I often 'pop in' to
catch up".
Can anyone in Findon throw any light on Charles Taylor's watercolour.... an absolutely lovely one looking south and depicting St. John the Baptist Church in Findon with Worthing in the distance and the sea beyond. Church Hill rises on the right
Charles came to live in Findon just before the Second World War..... so this gives us a clue as to the date of the "mystery"...... pre 1939.
I recognised many of the names of villagers of the past in the list on the reverse of the watercolour. The "Standard Bearer" was a bit of a puzzle.
John Greves, ex-Findonian, now in Walton on Thames said "Standard Bearer" = British Legion.
Bob Blackwell in Findon emailed........"Dear
Valerie.....What an interesting mystery you have.
I believe the Standard Bearer refers to Mrs Foster and the British Legion. I can
remember her carrying out this particular duty when I was a boy.
The Wm Blackwell must have been my Grandad as he stayed with my parents at about
that time because his wife (my Grandmother) had died. I also can recall most of
the other names on the list. Bob"
Roger
Blackwell now in Polegate near Lewes wrote to say....."Several
names on the back of the watercolour are also familiar to me. I
remember Mrs. Foster as standard bearer and I have a vague idea she went to the
Remembrance Service at the Albert Hall at one time.
The name of "Hollands" which appears at the top of the list would have been the
well-known garage proprietor in Worthing. Hope this may be some help . . .the
mystery continues!Regards from Roger"
All we have to do now is deduce WHY all of the local names were featured on the back of the painting.
Was it presented to someone? If so, who?
What was the occasion pre-war?
As the "standard bearer" was of the fairer sex (and some of the other names belong to ladies) it seems that this was a pastime with which females were connected as well as the guys.
Does anyone know or think of a possibility for the occasion of a presentation of a painting? Meanwhile, the mystery of Taylor's watercolour continues to this day. The further we get from the original date, the harder this is going to be.
Continue if you would like to read about another great artist who executed works on Findon.... Stanley Roy Badmin RWS