The Parrot, The Monkey And Tennis On The Lawn

A Memory of Rugeley.

My mother was sent away to boarding school in 1921, when she was eight years old. For various reasons, she could not go home (to Cardiff) during the summer holidays and so she and her four brothers spent the summers in Rugeley at their uncle's house.
Sadly, none of them are alive now so I don't know which house they stayed in but it must have been fairly large. My mother's uncle was Henry McGhie and his wife was called Amy. Henry had been a Royal Engineer in the Navy, serving in Cape Colonies, the Bolshevik revolution and first world war.
I have a picture of my mother aged about ten, in the garden at Rugeley, with a large parrot on her arm. She's pulling a face because the parrot had sunk it's talons into her flesh. Her aunt also had a pet monkey which my mother hated. She said it used to lie in wait on the stairs and grab a handful of hair from anyone coming up. My mother had very curly hair and the monkey used to get it's fingers entangled in her hair and pull very hard.
The best thing about her summers there appear to have been the opportunity to play tennis. She regularly played tennis with the children of a family called Anston and was Staffordshire County Ladies Champion at one point.
Does anyone know which house this was? Does anyone have any records of Henry McGhie? They didn't have any children and Henry died just before I was born in
1955. My mother was very fond of him and promised to name her baby after him if it were a boy. I was a girl but she kept her promise anyway!
Henrietta Edwards


Added 16 August 2013

#242327

Comments & Feedback

Be the first to comment on this Memory! Starting a conversation is a great way to share, and get involved! Why not give some feedback on this Memory, add your own recollections, or ask questions below.

Add your comment

You must be signed-in to your Frith account to post a comment.

Sign-in or Register to post a Comment.

Sparked a Memory for you?

If this has sparked a memory, why not share it here?