New Milton Advertiser 16th Oct 2020

14 · Friday 16th October 2020

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Village history brought to life in new audio project News

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East Boldre visitors can hear residents’ stories at listening stations

“I hope that it gives people who come to the area a better understanding. It is an incredi- bly rich and diverse project and has really opened a lot of peo- ple’s eyes.” Among those who gave their accounts of living in East Bol- dre was Freda, who first saw a car when she was 13. The vehicle was driven by Lord Montagu and had King George VI as its passenger. Another account came from Sylvia, who grew up in the Gyp- sy compound in the woods in East Boldre and shared stories about how her family would make ends meet. Listening stations can be found at the Turfcutters Arms during normal opening hours and at East Boldre Village Hall and School Fields Trust Hall, by appointment. The decommissioned phone box at Hatchet Pond, which is used as a community informa- tion point, also has QR codes which link to the online record- ings. The project, which cost around £10,000, was fund- ed by the parish council, the ational park authority, Hamp- shire County Council, Beau- fort Trust, East Boldre Village Hall Trust, East Boldre School Fields Trust, the New Forest Heritage Centre and New For- est District Council. To listen online visit sound cloud.com/user-510714237 joined the Labour party and was a member of Chippenham Probus Club. “Needless to say, throughout his life Peter was an inveterate book purchaser, and of course his specialist interest was in po- litical works and biographies,” said Brian. “He was a well-travelled man, driving throughout Europe and going further afield to mystical places in the east such as Sa- markand in Uzbekistan.” Over the years and through- out the various family moves, Peter had a lifelong interest in football, supporting teams in Reading, Oxford, Watford, and latterly both Southampton and Bournemouth, for which he had season tickets. He and Diana moved to Chip- penham in 2016 to be closer to family, which included their great-grandchildren Katie and Matilda, whose visits gave them much joy. “He had a successful life and was a well-respected, manner- ly and gentlemanly figure with a fine record of public service,” said Brian. “We will miss him very much.”

BY CAROLYN GRIFFITH

A TWO-YEAR project to turn some of the most interesting but unheard stories about East Boldre and its residents into an interactive audio exhibition has been completed. Although the pandemic means the parish council, which spearheaded the project, has been unable to hold an unveil- ing ceremony, the four listening stations in the village are now ready for visitors. East Boldre Oral History spent time gathering memories and social history from par- ish residents to give a voice to those who have lived there for generations. Among the topics covered are commoning, nature, life in the early days and the longstanding Gypsy community. Parish council clerk and pro- ject curator Nicola Curzon told the A&T that the settlement was originally established by workers on the nearby Beau- lieu Estate who built two-room cob cottages and then claimed squatters’ rights in a bid to avoid paying high rents. She said: “Over the last 100 years all of the cob cottages have been extended and built A FORMER Ringwood council- lor and banker with a strong in- terest in politics, social justice and football has died at the age of 94. The son of a naval officer, Peter Baker spent part of his childhood in Malta before serv- ing in later life as chair of Ring- wood Town Council between 1993 and 1996 and going on to become the mayor of Verwood. He came of age during the Second World War and joined the RAF late in the conflict, before moving to Weymouth where he joined Barclays Bank and met his wife Diana. After having their first child, Monica, they later moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where Peter took up a position with Barclays International. Following the birth of their son Mark, the family moved back to the UK and Peter re- sumed his banking career, be- ing promoted to a management role. Peter’s son-in-law, Brian Hooper, said this was a job he enjoyed, and the position in those times “held a rather high- er social status than today”. Obituaries

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Project contributors Cliff and Wendy Harvey listening to the stories for the first time

on and the history has been lost. “We felt it was important to give the residents who have

lived there for generations a voice, as they are overlooked. “East Boldre is also a very beautiful Site of Special Scen-

tific Interest (SSSI) and we felt a lot of people don’t recognise the significance, especially at places like Hatchet Pond.

Peter Baker Former Ringwood councillor was passionate about social equality and ‘always immaculately dressed’

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“He was a little surprised when in the 1970s, in the then largely unknown and rather old fashioned Cotswold town of Chipping Norton, he was sent a brace of pheasants at Christ- mas – the sort of gift which it was thought appropriate to the role!” Brian described his father- in-law as a man of “religious commitment and conviction”, having been educated at Catho- lic academies in South London and, later, Farnborough. “Peter demonstrated his support for the church by ded- icating a significant part of his income to it,” said Brian. “How- ever, despite his commitment to the Catholic church, he main- tained a liberal and non-doctri- naire approach to life in gener- al, including religion, and was very open to new ideas. “In keeping with this, whilst living in the New Forest area, he increasingly engaged with ecu- menical church developments, and in his later years he wor- shipped within the Church of England.” Peter was also passionate about the issue of social ine-

with the Labour Party, maybe as secretary or treasurer, and faced the somewhat formida- ble challenge of being an op- position party competing in the true blue Buckinghamshire constituency of Amersham and Chesham.” After retirement, Peter and Diana moved to Ringwood and both joined the Liberal Demo- crat party. Peter was elected to councils at town, district and county level. “He was remembered as a gracious and dignified council- lor who retained his composure at all times, and was always im- maculately dressed,” said Bri- an. After moving over the county border to Verwood in Dorset, Peter became involved in the town council there and served as mayor in 2004. “He left a strong impression in the town,” continued Brian. “Despite the passage of years, the current town clerk recalls Peter was ‘such a gentleman’, and so sensible and clear-head- ed in dealing with council busi- ness.” In his later years, Peter re- FORMER guests of local B&B landlady Pat Harnett sent con- dolence cards to her husband Terry following her death, with many remembering her as “the most perfect host”. Pat had run Danewood B&B in Tiptoe from the early 1990s until last year when she was di- agnosed with cancer. Terry, of Harnett Builders, New Milton, told the A&T how touched he had been that so many people who enjoyed Pat’s hosting skills over the years had sent him their best wishes. He said: “One couple wrote, ‘Pat you were the most won- derful host. We would say about coming down to the New For- est, but really, we were coming down to see you’.” Pat had spent nearly all her life as a nurse in hospitals in Bournemouth and Milford. She went on to work in a nursing home before setting up a B&B. “She absolutely loved it. She enjoyed meeting new people. Her breakfasts were legendary,” said Terry. The couple met at a local dance in Boscombe at the Ar- cade Ballrooms in November 1959. Terry remembered: “When I saw her, I thought, ‘Christ! What a cracker.’ I asked her to dance and we never stopped all night.” At the time, Terry rode a mo- torbike but Pat’s mother would not let him take her out on it, so he used to travel to her home by train and bicycle. He ended up selling his belov- ed motorbike to buy Pat an en- gagement ring and the couple married on 28th January 1961. Pat continued as a nurse while Terry worked as a carpen- ter before setting up his own business. In 1962 they moved to Hordle where they had daugh-

quality, and was a strong sup- porter of the Labour Party. Brian continued: “In the 1950s up until the 1970s, Peter took a particular interest in Communism, taking a number of family holidays in Russia, Yugoslavia, Albania and other Eastern Bloc countries. “In the 1980s, he took on a constituency association role

Pat Harnett ‘Wonderful host’ at Tiptoe’s Danewood B&B

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ter Kay in 1964, Lorraine a year later and Cindy in 1969. She was well enough to cel- ebrate her 80th on a cruise in July last year. But her health deteriorated and she went into hospital a month ago. Terry said: “We were not al- lowed to see her because of Covid-19. It was so hard – in all our married years we had never spent a night apart. “When the doctors told me that there was nothing they could do for Pat, I told them how my three granddaughters all work for the NHS. “I said Pat would receive as good a care at home as she would in hospital. They agreed and she was discharged.” Eleven days later Pat passed away with every member of her close family around her. Terry said: “It was just amazing that we were all there. “I had hold of Pat’s hand and I told her I loved her and squeezed her hand. She squeezed back, then she was gone. We would have been mar- ried 60 years in January. “I had the finest wife any man could wish for.” Pat’s funeral is being held at Hordle parish church on Mon- day 19th October.

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