Page 11 - Haldenby

Restored to health, Alan resumed his career as a solicitor as part of a firm called Partridge, Haldenby and Cawdron, whose offices were at 3 Market Place. This old building was once known as Francey’s House and dates from about 1695. It is reputed to have been used as a billet by Bonnie Prince Charlie’s troops when they reached Derby in 1745. Pat remembers going there as a young girl and recalls the wooden wall panelling, creaky floors, old fireplaces and twisty staircases. By a strange coincidence, the same offices had been used by another eminent Old Derbeian, Percy Currey the architect (1864-1942) though Alan was unaware of the connection. The partnership with John Cawdron ended on the latter’s retirement and the building was was cleared when Alan retired in April 1987 and the business taken over by Flint, Bishop and Barnett, before moving out to new premises in the Queen Street area and leaving the old premises unoccupied for many years.
Alan’s former Law firm offices. Derby Market Place in 2020
Besides resuming his pre-war career, Alan also became a keen and active member of the Old Derbeian Society and was elected as a joint secretary with Frederick Soresby Ogden (1887-1980) and J J Atkinson (1902-1973) when the Society was re-launched in January 1947, with Lt. Col. A A Dean of the Sherwood Foresters and WW1 veteran in the chair as President. From 1934-1942 the redoubtable explorer and mountaineer Rev. Walter Weston had acted as its President. “Oggers” - as the joint Secretary with Alan was inevitably known - had been instrumental in restoring the Society after the
Page 11 of 15