My Year At Fingringhoe 1944 Till1945

A Memory of Fingringhoe.

Hello my name is Derek Harrington. My Aunt was Nellie Combes who was the cook at Fingringhoe Hall and my mother was Doris Harrington who cleaned the rooms at The Hall. We had just returned to England from South Africa in 1944. I went to the stone school next door to St Andrews Church. We were taught in one large room by a lady and some of the older pupils. I was nine at the time. I was a member of the church choir and was given six-pence (old money).
My friend at school was a girl called Shirley Simpson who lived with her mum and dad and brother, John, in a cottage at the rear of the church. Her dads name was George Simpson
and he did gardening at the Hall. The Hall was owned by Major Feaurneux and Mrs Feaurneux who ran the farm. Mr Sturgeon was the man who looked after the cows and the large bull named "Plonkey". I helped find the chickens' eggs as the chickens were free range and laid most of their eggs in the church yard!! My mother had fits when she saw me carring two large baskets of eggs. My first Chritmas at the Hall was one I remember to this day. A large Christmas tree in the hall at the bottom of the staircase with presents for the village children underneath. As I lived there I was allowed to choose two presents for myself. I had a game of draughts and a torch. I sang with the choir at the Christmas Carol Concert & had to sing Once in Royal Davids City, but I had stage fright and I couldn't sing a note. The Rev Benton was very kind and was a lovely man.
When the war came to an end, my father who had been a POW in Germany came and stayed at the Hall to build himself up before we left and returned to London to live. I also remember going for a hair cut as there was no barber in the village we had to walk a long way to get a ferry boat over to Wivenhoe - it was rowed with a pair of oars, no motor in those days. We used to have one bus a week into Colchester returning in the afternoon!! I hope someone reads this and can remember me. I am now heading towards my 77th birthday but my memory is still OK.