With a song in my heart-brain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPEBPlAdzgg

'From the crack of the pistol'.

‘From the crack of the pistol’ – F.S.Horan

Let me introduce you to Molly’s husband, my grandfather. He was known as Seymour.  I just about remember him – a rather pedantic type who wore plus fours. What are plus fours? They extend four inches below the knee – usually made of a Scottish cloth. They are still worn today in Scotland – but are not common. They would have been traditional dress for a man of my grandfather’s generation.

Not FSH but Plus Fours.

His claim to fame was holding, what would then have been, the world record for the Three Mile running race in 1895; this and teaching the Prince of Wales (Edward, Duke of Windsor who abdicated to marry Mrs. Simpson); so King George V and Queen Mary were parents of one of his students.

He wrote an autobiography called ‘From the Crack of the pistol’ which has been sitting in my parent’s bookcase, untouched, for the last fifty years.  The writing style and speech patterns are very Victorian making it a dreary read.

I was just about to dump it when clearing out my mother’s house when I decided, now I was older, to see if I could find if it had any redeeming qualities. It did!

"….there had been a tragic financial crash for us, the particulars of which I have never rightly known. I believe it came about through a fraudulent solicitor – anyhow father lost a large sum of money.

Mother started a school and strove hard to make a success of it, but though she rescued the family finances, it proved too much for her and she developed consumption (Tuberculosis) and died March 25^th, 1878.” My grandfather was eight.  “I can remember being taken up into her bedroom the night before she died, to wish her ‘good night’, which mercifully I did not realize was to be ‘good-bye’.  The school folded and without an income things went from bad to worse – they were now totally reliant on his father tiny army pension.

One day my father said he would take me and my sister into the country by train for a treat, to Hassocks, a few miles out of Brighton where there were pleasure gardens, swings, see-saws and a small lake with boats. It’s a day I can never forget.

“As father was getting the tickets at the booking office at Brighton Station, he suddenly collapsed and fell down, much to the consternation of us children. He was helped to the waiting room, where he rallied somewhat, and insisted on going on to Hassocks for the outing, so as not to disappoint us; but as the day went on, he got worse and we all had to come home hurriedly in a cab.

“He’d had a paralytic stroke. They got him to bed and he lay there for some months, paralyzed down the left side. At the beginning of August 1880 he had a second stroke and died shortly after “This left my grandfather orphaned and penniless at ten years of age. Friends came to the rescue. Very wonderfully we were helped to ride the storm. Our family motto was to prove true – “Dominus providebit” (‘The Lord will provide’)".

So how is it that a penniless ten year old orphan managed to go to a very respectable British private school (known in England as a ‘public’ school for some strange reason) and onto Cambridge University and end up by teaching the heir to the British throne?

Watch this space!

Heirlooms from my grand-mother.

                                                             Chapter II

And now let's turn to Molly's possessions. I still have some of her things! I suppose the item/s I value the most is her tea set. Her china was hand painted - tiny red roses, bone china with gold painted highlights. The cups are quite small compared to today's sizes though they are exquisite to hold.

Probably made at the turn of the 18th/19th centuries.
Here is her sterling silver teapot, hot-water and milk jugs

Here, too, is another item from her household. I wonder if you can guess what it does?

It's the Victorian equivalent to an electric blanket! You unscrew the center cap and pour in hot-water - screw it up again and then the maid passes the 'warming pan' between the sheets before you go to bed.

Similarly this... Any guesses? (apart from a nice copper jug for flowers).
It would have sat on the rear of a kitchen range with water in it - awaiting a call from one of the bedrooms for the hot water to be brought up for bathing.

This  classic 'Yorkshire' rocking chair might have been set beside the kitchen range...

I suppose the grandest item I have of hers is her side-board/dresser - which I'm guessing she bought.

The drawer handles are brass rings and the little cupboards each side still have working locks.

The oldest item I have - which I believe came from my father's home - is this blanket chest that has obviously been in the family since Shakespeare's time. The date on the front is 1656 - it has the original hinges. It smells old!

And now two classic silhouettes of the twins - probably commissioned just before she died - from a Hills & Saunders of Eton.

They are proudly displayed in our front entry hall.

And now I'd like to introduce you to FSH - Frederick Seymour Horan - Molly's husband, the twin's father and my grandfather - whom I did meet and can remember. More about him next time!

The Twin’s Book by Christopher Horan

My father, Tom, was a twin. His mother, Molly (nee Causton), died when he was fifteen – I never met her. But I had always wondered what she was like. Asking him was no good – he’d say things like “Oh she was a fuss-pot!” He was completely unable to give me a sense of her. Maybe too painful? Maybe with time he just forgot?

I flew home for my father’s funeral. Born in 1905, he had died peacefully at 81 in 1986. My mother had put me in the spare bedroom and as I reached to turn out the light, I saw she had left a book by my bed. This was a habit of hers; she would carefully select books that she thought her guests should read.

It was a photograph album. I opened it. It was entitled ‘The Twin’s Book’ and there on the first page was a photograph of a house, ‘Sunnymead’ with an inscription underneath.

“This is the house our twins were born in on May 22^nd, 1905. It was a cold day. Forbes arrived at 1:00pm and weighed 5 lbs. Tom arrived at 2:00pm and weighted 7 lbs.”

It was a photographic record of her dear boys up until the day she died. But it was more than just photos. Every snap had a comment or a little story – and there were clippings, notes and articles that brought her story to life. In her notes, written in a neat flowing hand (no typing!), you could get some sense of her personality.

Of course I want to show you every picture – for each tells a bit more of the story, but I can’t. You immediately get a sense of her on the next page when she says – “This expresses the feeling of “The mess”.

One has to remember she had these babies at home at a time when birthing twins of such a size was hazardous – not forgetting there was none of the ‘mod. cons’ we take for granted today.

As I read through the book it occurred to me what a forward thinking person she must have been. She was providing a wonderful record of a life and time that many families don’t have. Little did she think her great grandchildren would be cherishing her work one hundred and five years later.

                                                               Forbes, Molly & Tom

Here she is with her twins – Forbes and Tom – my dad’s on the right (her left).

When I learned we had this project to do – this book immediately came to mind, for storytelling is in my family’s blood and so digital storytelling is the obvious sequel. So you could say she was my inspiration – a Victorian lady I never even met.

As I turned the pages – the boys got older. Their father, my grand-father, was quite famous – notably for holding the world record for the 3 mile running race and teaching the king’s son, Edward, religious instruction – he therefore knew the royal family socially. However, I was quite surprised when I saw these two pages.

She writes “This house was most kindly lent to us by the King after Dad’s serious illness – we arrived here October 7^th, 1914”. It’s not clear to me which house it was  in the picture – I guess you could figure it out by going there and looking opposite the Henry V111 Gate!

If you consider how many of us are born, live and die – almost without trace – there are very few families that have such a beautiful record of their life to leave as a legacy for their family over a hundred years ago. I believe roots are important for giving each of us grounding and a feeling of belonging. Meet any American and within the first few moments of a conversation you’ll be asked ‘Where are you from?” (My answer is England – from Molly Horan!).

The question is – “will digital records survive the test of time as well as a physical records like my grand-mother’s baby book?” At this point, ‘The Album’ is beginning to show signs of aging. For me, the viewing of this book always induces a sense of deep sadness – sadness that this Victorian lady never saw her twins become men. She never knew that both her boys survived WW II (she never knew there was a WWII); she never knew they both were fathers. My Uncle Forbes became a Bishop, The Bishop of Tewkesbury, my father, Tom, a successful business man. She never knew her seven grand-children – and it also reminds me that I was raised by a man who did not have the loving guidance and support of his mother at a time when kids need it the most – their teenage years.