Page 19 - Jigsaw October 2018

Thrapston District Historical Society
St James’ Hall
Thursday 18th October 7.30pm English & Welsh Castles (Pre-Conquest to Middle Ages) with Colin Ray Visitors welcome £2.50
Heritage Exhibition
Saturday, 29th September
The Plaza 10am to 4pm
Free admission
WW1 casualties update and life in Thrapston during and immediately after WW1
roads from the Three Arches Bridge almost up to the White Hart Hotel, and the Midland Road to just past the Gas Works. Some householders on these routes had to take refuge in upstairs rooms, to which provisions, in baskets tied to poles, would be passed to them from boats.”
The 1908 floods, with
Midland Road in the distance,
are shown. No publisher
or photographer is named,
although I suspect the picture was taken by Frederick Knighton from Woodford.
And finally, one of the characters George mentions. “James Crow. James was
a rather simple little man whose main occupation seemed to be chasing the youngsters who teased him unmercifully — yes, I was one of them. Once, after he had been missing for some days, a friend of mine saw him in Denford and said to him “James, they have been looking for you”; “Yes”,
said James, “and I have been looking for James”. When asked “what is the capital of Thrapston” he would reply, “The town pump”.
I have been unable to find any reference to James Crow in Public Records – was it a nickname? Can anyone shed any light?
George also wrote these words: “My only object in writing these few pages has been to help to swell the Thrapston District
Swimming Pool Fund; though I hope, of course, that what
I have had to say will help to
keep alive memories of days that, although often hard for those who lived through them,
had a freshness and simplicity about them that have gone beyond recall.” Which shows how
important it is to record these memories whilst we are able.
The swimming pool was built on land beside King John School,
Market Road with a maximum expected lifespan of 25 years. It opened on 25th March 1972 and finally closed on 24th July 2004, the Nene Leisure Centre opening shortly after. It is shown on 31st May 1992 when Duncan Goodhew, Olympic swimming champion, visited to publicise the annual Swimathon 5000m challenge.
George was born in Thrapston on 3rd March 1889, the son of William and Ada. His father was a baker. By 1911 they lived in Denford. He died in Spalding in 1973.
I produced these memories as a booklet in 2010 to raise funds for Thrapston Heritage. A short print run sold out quickly, although there may be a few copies remaining.
If so, we will have them at the Plaza on
29th along with other Thrapston District Historical Society and Thrapston Heritage books and booklets about the history of our communities.
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