Irene Southall

Irene came from Blackheath village on the fringe of London for holidays in Mathon in 1940. She stayed at Church Farm, at that time in the care of Mr. Powell. She was glad to be away from the London blitz, then at its height. She met her future husband and married in 1942, and they lived for a time at Parkers, when it was two cottages before Tom Richardson converted it. Most of the village people had accepted her, but she knew she was really one of them when on her way to help with the decoration of the cottage she was finally spoken to by the vicar Mr. Forrest. Later they lived at Fernhill, just over the border in Cradley parish. Irene had a son and a daughter, but sadly her husband died when his son was 9. Irene is a qualified teacher and taught History and Geography at local secondary schools. She also gave some voluntary help at Mathon School when the Headmistress needed assistance. She ran a library at the school, and organised play-readings and current affairs talks in wartime. She was a member of the parish council.

When the vicar, Rev. Forrest left to take a parish in Lancashire, he was succeeded by Rev. P. Thorburn. Irene remembers how good he was with children, whom he liked, and who returned his affection His lessons with them were better than his sermons for adults.

During the war there was a Prisoner of war camp at Eastnor, and Italian prisoners were sent, under guard, to work on farms. They were not accustomed to the type of farm work needed in Herefordshire, but were friendly, and glad to be out of the war. In many cases they were fine craftsmen and they did a splendid job at Church Farm in cleaning, renovating and improving the farm buildings One of them, Joe Palmieri and another man from Rome returned to Italy after the war, and finding no work available wrote to Mr. Twist who was now running Church Farm, asking for help, and Mr. Higgins found work for them. They both married English girls, and Joe and his wife lived in West Malvern.

German prisoners were more of a mixture, some Nazi and unfriendly, some cooperative, and those who were, being more used to Northern European farming methods were useful farm workers.

Captain Harrison and his wife had a large oil painting, “Flight into Egypt” which neither of them liked and they presented it to the church. Pevsner mentions it in his Penguin book” Buildings of Herefordshire” It seems the P.C.C. did not like it either, because it was sent to Sothebys and sold to pay for improvements to the heating system.