Although Winifred Tiplady was to eventually
find happiness on Teardrop Lake, her life began hundreds of miles away in
abject poverty, in the midst of the great depression.
Her life began at a grim time and then
it only got worse.
She was born in Patrington, a small village
a little more than 4 miles outside Withernsea, East Yorkshire.
It was in 1930 when she entered the
harsh world where her father William was a brick maker.
She was born the youngest of 8 children
and the only girl so therefore she was the apple of her father’s eye.
Winifred’s life could not be described
in any way, shape or form as a privileged one, she had no rich parents to
cosset her or a grand lavishly appointed home, a governess or a private
education, nor did she have servants to wait upon her hand and foot.
She was born into a world when three hot
meals a day during the depression were very much a dream rather than a
realistic expectation.
Meanwhile in leafy Downshire, the
Travers family were living very high on the hog and wondered what on earth a
depression was.
There was certainly no chance that
rickets or scabies would affect any of the wealthy members of Teardrop Lake
Society, they were far more likely to
suffer from gout due to their gluttonous overindulgence.
At the outbreak of World war Two
Winifred’s oldest brother, Bill, was already in the army and was to be part of
the British Expeditionary Force due to sail for France and then Tom and James,
always inseparable, joined the Royal Navy.
At which time William made the decision
to move the rest of the family to Hull, a decision he would not live to regret.
In was a hard life in East Yorkshire in
the 30s but it was a life made even harder by the outbreak of war.
And although the hardy folk of East
Yorkshire had grit and were granite tough, but they were not indestructible.
War time life seemed to bring little
change for the Lake sider’s, there were shortages of course, food, spirits and
petrol but such deficiencies could be easily be overcome if you knew the right
people and were able to pay.
Suffice is to say the Travers family did
not go without.
In fact the entire Travers family were
seated around their overladen dining table enjoying venison steaks amongst
other things at the precise moment that Winifred’s mother Selina was reading the
telegram informing her that her eldest son Bill had been killed on the beach at
Dunkirk.
In May of 1941 Horace Travers and his
new bride Elspeth Clifford were enjoying their honeymoon in the West of Ireland
seemingly oblivious to the fact there was a war going on.
They were fast asleep in their beds when
in the dawns early light of Thursday 24th May, HMS Hood steamed
through the Denmark Strait and engaged with the Prinz Eugen.
And they still slept soundly when just
after 6.00am a shell from a salvo from the pocket battleship Bismarck, struck
the Hoods magazine and the ship was destroyed in a single explosion.
And that shell not only obliterated the
pride of the British Navy, HMS Hood it also killed instantly, Tom and James
Tiplady.
Proving the brothers were as inseparable
in death as they were in life.
Having lied about his age another of
Winifred’s brothers, John left England in June 1942 with the Yorkshire Regiment
aged just 17.
John joined up in secret and left his
home shores likewise, his only contact was a simple postcard to Selina telling
her not to worry.
But she did worry, how could she not
worry, having already lost three boys, and now a fourth was off to war.
And at the same time Selina’s family was
being whittled down Horace and Elspeth Travers were making plans to start a
family of their own.
By January of 1942 William was working
12 hour days at the docks with his sons Sam and Arthur and his wife worked at
the munitions factory every night.
Winifred being a girl, found that most
of her duties revolved around the house but she did earn a few shillings a week
helping out the local butcher, Sam Holland, who ran a book on the side.
Winnie was good with numbers even at the
age 12 and she also did a bit of “Running” for Sam as well on the pretext of
delivering meat.
But she collected more than she
delivered, in the form of bets.
It was on one of those evenings when Win
was helping Sam with his books in the back room of his shop that it happened.
And it was about eight o’clock on a
January evening when the raid began.
They were fairly common place in Hull so
Win didn’t panic, Sam kept her calm, he never went down shelter as he had claustrophobia
and besides they’d never had a hit in their street.
Win wasn’t entirely convinced as one or
two of the bangs were a might louder than she would have expected, but she
pressed on and finished the job she was doing just before the “all clear” sounded.
“Here you are lass” Sam said and tossed
her a half a crown “Now get off home”
“Thanks Sam” she said and left “Night”
It was only when she turned into Warwick
street that she realised the terrace that her house used to be, wasn’t there
anymore.
Win lost her dad and two more brothers,
Sam and Arthur, in the raid.
Her mum Selina was safe as she was
working at the Munitions Factory, making bombs when one fell on her house.
The irony was not lost on Winnie as she
trudged back to Sam’s.
After the bombing Selina Tiplady was
merely a shadow of a woman but she kept going for Winnie’s sake and for her
remaining two sons.
Her
resolve held firm until October when John was killed in the Second Battle of El
Alamein.
In July 1944 at Hedgerley Court, a private Hospital located in the
quiet Downshire village of Applesford, Elspeth Travers gave birth to a son, Daniel.
And everything in their privileged world
was perfect, a perfect baby son for a perfect privileged couple.
But by the time little Daniel made his
entry into the world Winifred Tiplady was an only child having lost the last of
her brothers, Walter, in the fields of Normandy, on D-Day + 1.
And with that final telegram Selina was
at last broken beyond repair and went into an asylum she would never leave.
After the war had ended, at the time
when Daniel was taking his first tentative steps by peaceful Teardrop Lake,
Winifred was taking bold steps of her own and she married butcher and bookie,
Sam Holland’s younger brother George.
He was good looking fella, a bit of a
hot head but she loved him.
And a year after they married, in 1947,
her Mum Selina passed away.
The marriage to George, although a happy
one, only lasted three years, but not through any fault of her own.
It was George, ever the hot head,
brought it to an untimely end when he got knifed to death in a brawl with a
German sailor in a dockside pub.
So after the funeral, just one more
funeral in a long line funerals Winnie made a life changing decision, she was
going south.
The gritty north had claimed almost
everyone she held dear and if she didn’t leave while she could it would all too
soon claim her too.
Daniel Travers was a Teardrop Lake lad,
if not born then certainly bred.
He was born in 1944 at a private
hospital but grew up during the post war austerity on Teardrop Lake.
Not that the Travers family suffered any
shortages during the post war rationing any more than it did during the war.
It didn’t apply to the same degree to
those with money anymore in peacetime than in war.
And the Travers family still had plenty
of money.
His father Horace was a Stock Broker in
the City and his mother Elspeth, was part of the Clifford’s Biscuit Empire.
The only thing they couldn’t buy was another
child, so Daniel was an only child and as a consequence he was spoilt terribly
and never went without anything he wanted, but although he was spoilt as a
result he was not spoiled by any degree.
Despite his privileged beginnings
however and much to his father’s distain he grew up to be something of a local
philanthropist.
Nonetheless his mother looked upon her
sons actions with a source of pride.
Another way in which he disappointed his
father was that although his parent brought him up in the prejudicial light of
atheism he still became a Christian and was very active in the church.
And as he grew up in Shallowfield he
achieved a certain amount of popularity, and not a little respect, but had he
received either he would have been undeterred by that.
When Winifred Holland left Hull to travel
down to London she was just twenty years old.
And as the train steamed its way across
the countryside of England she was filled with optimism about the future.
Her thought process was along the lines
that the future twenty years couldn’t possibly be as bad as the previous twenty
were.
Her brother in law Sam had arranged digs
for her at a respectable boarding house in Wood Green, which was owned by a
distant cousin, Brenda Smithson.
As she approached the house in Palace
Gates Road she stopped and looked up the steps to the front door and confirmed
the house number she was looking for.
In the window was a hand written sign, “No
Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish”
As she was safe on all three counts she
went up the steps and knocked on the door.
She found Brenda Smithson was much more
welcoming than the sign suggested and they hit it off immediately.
Sam Holland also provided her with a
small cash sum to set her up until she got on her feet.
As it turned out she very soon managed
to get a job in a small accountancy firm in Muswell Hill called Cooper and Brandon
and she very soon made herself indispensable.
Having moved such a distance from the
familiar to a strange city, of all things that might have happened to her the most
surprising thing was that despite all the tragedy she had under gone in her early
years she had found solace in God.
Winifred wasn’t sure where it came from,
it certainly wasn’t from her upbringing, and although her mother and father
were both from strict Methodist families they were not believers themselves.
In fact Winnie had never even set foot
in a Church until she was almost 21, when Cousin Brenda persuaded her to go to
midnight mass at St Michael’s Church with her on Christmas Eve in 1950.
Brenda was the church organist and her
presence was very much required.
Her usual companion was unwell so she was
facing the walk there and back on her own.
But Brenda was of a nervous disposition
and really needed the company so Winnie volunteered.
And as soon as she walked through the doors
she felt it, it was like a hand settling on her shoulder and she immediately
felt at home.
Work was quite all consuming for her,
which she found very fulfilling and as a result she worked long days.
After becoming a widow at such a young
age she was in no rush at all to complicate her life with another man so she
needed a hobby.
As she had become a regular at Church
she started to turn the pages for Brenda if she was playing an unfamiliar
piece.
And after a while of watching Brenda
play she decided she would like to have a go.
So she had Brenda teach her to play the
organ and she turned out to be a natural and then she spent most of her
evenings and any spare time practising.
When Brenda died in 1958 Winnie replaced
her at St Michael’s.
Daniels journey to faith began at
Roespring boarding school, which he hated, mainly because he missed his mum and
the lake and his friends, and because it made him feel so small.
His literal salvation came when he was
chosen for the school choir.
The Chapel became his second home and it
was the only place at school where he felt safe and happy.
And from that sense of safety and
happiness grew his faith.
Following school Daniel went on to
attend Abbottsford University where he studied theology much to his father’s
disgust.
Horace wanted him to study economics and
work in the city as he had done.
But Daniel was adamant and stuck to his
guns and defied his Father.
Winifred Holland, having lost everyone
she had ever loved, resolved never to love anyone again and insulated herself against
the world, apart from the Church and she concentrated on her job which after 20
years had become her career.
By the time of her 40th
birthday the accountancy firm was no longer small and it was now named Cooper, Brandon
and Holland.
After he graduated with a first in
theology, Daniel Travers, took the position of Religious Knowledge teacher at
Childean Grammar School.
Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied
largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and
a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and
beyond and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared
even worse.
Only
a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been
rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such
an extent they were little more than ruins.
But
by the 70s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an
increase in leisure time.
More
importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact
that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple
from Lincolnshire, Rob and
Sheryl Brown, was being turned
into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the
rebirth of Teardrop Lake.
It was also in the 1970’s that the firm,
Cooper, Brandon and Holland had decided to move out of London as the running
costs were becoming prohibitive.
As the junior partner, Winnie was tasked
with finding them alternative premises at a price that would reduce their
running cost to such a degree that they would recoup the associated moving costs
within a twelve month period.
After six months she presented the other
partners with the three best alternatives and of the three they chose
Shallowfield.
And so in the spring of 1972 Cooper,
Brandon and Holland moved in to a converted wood mill on the outskirts of
Shallowfield.
Most of the staff moved with them and
those who didn’t caused no significant issue to replace.
Those who did make the move did so only
professionally and chose to commute to Shallowfield, if only in the short term.
Winnie Holland was a little cannier than
that however.
During the negotiations for the mill she
mentioned to the agent that the company’s decision to take the Old Mill was
wholly dependent upon her finding somewhere locally for herself.
Three days later the agent had secured
her the renovated Old Mill Cottage nearby to rent and the deal was done.
At the time Winnie was moving into the
Old Mill Cottage, Daniel Travers, was living alone at South View, his parents
had retired the year before and were living in the south of France.
He felt at the age of 27 he really
should be settling down himself but try as he might he couldn’t find the “one”.
At that time Daniel was dating a very
nice geography teacher called Pamela Evans but the writing was on the wall for
the relationship.
On the surface Pam ticked all the boxes,
pretty, intelligent, funny, loving but there was something missing.
Win loved the cottage and soon settled
down to life in Shallowfield and very quickly assimilated into country life.
She also became a regular at St Mary’s
and felt the same hand on her shoulder that she had felt more than 20 years
before.
A year after Winifred moved to
Shallowfield Daniel parted company with Pamela and decided one of the things
that missing from his life was the Church, although his faith was still strong he
had let his Church attendance lapse over the previous five or six years, which
was a hard thing to admit for a Religious Knowledge teacher.
So Daniel entered St Mary’s for the
Easter service of 1973 and felt like he had come home when he was greeted by so
many familiar faces.
“Good to see you again Daniel” said
choirmaster Henry Blake “We’ve missed you”
But it was an unfamiliar face that
caught his attention.
There was a new organist and she was a
very striking looking woman with long black hair, tied in a French Plait, kept
that way with a little help to keep the grey away.
As a single woman in a well-paid job
Winnie could afford to dress well, both in quality and fit, and as a result she
always looked very elegant.
She was also very straight backed and
showed a confidence that some people found quite disarming.
But Daniel very much liked what he saw.
“I see you have a new organist” Daniel
said
“Yes Mrs Holland” Henry replied “she
plays beautifully and has a great repertoire”
“And Mr Holland?” Daniel asked “is he
here?”
“Sadly long deceased” Henry replied
“I see” Daniel mused
“Any chance you might return to the
choir?” Henry asked
“Yes I think so” he replied “if you can
use me”
“Always dear boy, always” he said amiable
“hang around at the end and I’ll introduce you to the new people”
At the end of the service Daniel stayed
on as he wanted to make sure he met the new members of the choir and in
particular the elegant new organist.
Daniel Travers was best described as
average, average height, average weight, average looking, and with averagely
mousy hair.
In fact he was singularly unremarkable
but as Winifred approached the small group standing at the back of the church
she liked the look of him instantly.
“Ah Winifred” Henry said “let me
introduce Daniel who is returning to the choristers fold”
“Pleased to meet you Daniel” she said
and offered her hand.
She was older than he thought but she
was charming, gracious and quite beautiful.
He shook her hand and it was divinely
soft in his and as she spoke Win exuded a subtle perfume.
She spoke beautifully too, with just the
slightest hint of an accent which he couldn’t quite place.
“I look forward to working with you, you
play beautifully” Daniel said
“You’re too kind, my mind went blank during
“How Great Though Art” and I had to fudge it” she responded
And for the next few months that was all
they saw of each other, Church services and choir practice.
That was until one day in July when they
bumped into one another in Shallowfield.
For him it was the School summer
holidays so he was often out and about but on that day he had just been in to
see Dr Collins about his asthma.
As he left the surgery he headed across
the road to the newsagents to buy a Newspaper and as he was going in Winifred
was coming out.
She was clearly dressed down, but for
her being dressed down was someone else’s idea of dressing up.
She was immaculate, it put him in mind
of Audrey Hepburn, although Win was much taller.
Hepburn could have worn bin bags and
dusters and looked a million dollars, he thought Winifred Holland had that
quality.
“Hello Win” he said “No work today?”
“Oh Daniel” she said and jumped “my giddy
aunt you startled me”
It made Daniel smile as he had never seen
Winifred flustered before, he liked it.
When she got her composure back she said
“I have the week off and as it’s a nice
day I thought I would explore a bit”
“Excellent idea, but how about a cup of
tea before you set off” he said and nodded in the direction of Addison’s Tea
Shop.
“What a good idea” she acquiesced
They went into Addison’s which was very
quiet, there was a middle aged couple that Daniel didn’t recognise and a young
lad nursing a Coke that he did.
Paul Cooper was one of his neighbours on
Teardrop Lake.
They sat down and the waitress came over
to take their order
“Good morning” she said and took out her
little note book
“Hello
Lynn” Win and Dan said in unison, they both knew Lynn Fletcher from Church.
“What
can I get you?” she asked brightly
“A
pot of tea” Daniel replied
And
to Win he added “And a cake?”
“Well
I do have a weakness for a cream slice” she admitted
“And
two cream slices please Lynn” Dan said
Lynn
nodded, smiled and put her notebook away and went off to fulfil the order.
“So
where are you going to explore?” Dan asked as Win poured the teas
“Your
neck of the woods” she replied “I hear there are a few places of interest
hidden away”
“There
are indeed” he agreed “and some of them are well hidden”
“So
I’ve heard” she said
“So
which one is first on your list?” he asked “you know you won’t get to see them
all in one day”
“I
thought the Chapel and the falls” she said
“Good
choice” said Dan
“I
hear the chapel is very special and quite atmospheric” Win added
“Yes
it’s very special” Daniel confirmed
“Well
I like special places, and I love a waterfall” she said
“As
long as I can find them”
“Well
I could be your guide if you like” he offered
That
was a stroke of luck Win was hoping he would offer
“That
would be lovely”
Since
her husband George had been knifed to death in a brawl twenty five years
earlier she had insulated herself against emotional connections and personnel
attachments.
But
ever since she had first been introduced to Daniel she had felt drawn towards
him.
“What
harm can friendship do” she thought to her self
As
they got nearer to Teardrop Lake the first thing they saw was the “work in
progress” that was the soon to be Shallowfield Lodge Hotel.
Wins first unobstructed view of the lake from the road took her
breath away.
Although she couldn’t see it from where she was standing the lake
was shaped like a teardrop, which gave the lake its name. Surrounded by the
ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest the modest body of water, just over
two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point, the lake shimmered in the
July sunshine.
They were walking along the northern perimeter road from the
narrow western end of the water.
“Which one is yours?” she asked
“It’s the second one along on the Southern side” he said and
pointed across the lake “you can just see it through the trees to the right of
the boathouse, it’s called South View”
“Oh I see it” she said
“You’ll be able to see it better as we go higher up the road towards
the falls” Dan said
As they walked up the hill Danny pointed out the houses as they
came into view and gave her a potted history of the buildings and its occupants
where applicable.
Teardrop Lake and the surrounding woodland was privately owned and
divided into twelve parcels of land, each with one significant dwelling on it
and there were also a number of cottages dotted around the woods as well, quite
a few of the properties were vacant and an equal number were derelict.
It was both idyllic and peaceful, there was little or no noise
pollution and the lake was little used.
When they reached the point where the brook flowed under the road
before they followed the water coarse into the woods Daniel pointed out South
View again.
“It’s a lovely house Daniel” she said “and it’s beautifully
situated”
“Yes it is” he agreed “I’m very lucky”
Heading up along the side of the brook, the first thing they got
to was the long disused 16th century stone bridge and then they
carried on upwards to the accompaniment of gurgling water.
The sound grew louder and louder with every yard they climbed
until eventually they reached Shoe Buckle Falls.
It was so named, so legend had it, after a 17th century
fugitive Cavalier who was pursued into the forest by Parliamentarian troops but
disappeared in the vicinity of the falls without leaving any other trace other
than a shoe buckle that they found in the vicinity.
The falls were not grand or spectacular but they were nice enough,
Win seemed to find them so.
The water tumbled and spilled over the rocks gathering briefly in
deep pools and then tumbling down again to the next pool.
It was dark beneath the ancient trees and refreshingly cool as the
misty spray settled on them.
The rocks and trees closest to the falls were covered in bright
green lichens.
Daniel and Win sat awhile and soaked their feet in one of the deep
pools.
After about half an hour they set off for Olwen’s Chapel.
It was a much less strenuous walk to the Chapel from the falls,
certainly compared to the walk up from the road.
The Olwen in question was an Anglo Saxon Lady who was one of the
early converts to Christianity but her pagan husband’s tribe would not accept
the new faith and she was forced to worship secretly in the forest.
“Wow” Win said as they emerged into a clearing that was the site
of the old Chapel.
The Chapel in actuality appeared to be just an assortment of
stones on the forest floor arranged around a granite altar stone in a woodland
clearing though Win was impressed by its simplicity and smiled.
Daniel was also smiling but not because was not smiling because of
the Chapel he smiled because of the joy in Win’s eyes.
When the Chapel had been rediscovered early in Queen Victoria
reign a local society was formed and from that moment kept it lovingly
maintained.
“It’s wonderful” Win said “it really is atmospheric”
“I’m sorry you’re not seeing it at its best” he said
“It’s normally kept much neater than this”
When they got back down the road by the
Shallowfield Lodge where the Lane led past the Hotel under construction, which then ran parallel to
the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards
Shallowfield and beyond.
Win was just thinking how much she had
enjoyed their expedition through the woods, so purely in the spirit of
friendship she said
“I’m famished, let me buy you lunch as a
thank you for being my guide”
“Well as we’re so close, why not come
back to mine” suggested Daniel “I can’t promise you more than a ploughman’s
lunch but you can wash it down with a glass of wine”
“Well I’m a Yorkshire lass” she said “So
a glass of beer would be better”
“It’s a deal” Daniel agreed
When Daniel first saw Winifred Holland
in St Mary’s Church on Easter morning he found her very striking indeed and
when he found out she was a widow he was rather pleased, but when he met her at
the end of the service and discovered she was considerably older than he
imagined he was a little disappointed.
But spending time with her during choir
practice he and Winifred became friends but that day at Teardrop Lake he saw
her in an entirely different light and Winnie, against her better judgment found
herself forming a personal attachment.
There were many more such explorations
over the course of the summer.
However for the rest of the year nothing
came of it despite the fact they spent time together as part of the choir and
having also joined the Chapel Preservation Society and on the obligatory exploratory
trips.
Neither of them wanted to jeopardize the friendship they were
enjoying so much so they maintained the status quo.
That was until the third Sunday of
Advent when as he approached St Marys, Winifred rushed towards him in a blind
panic, saying
“Daniel, Daniel, I need you”
And with those words his heart soared
“What’s the problem?” he asked
“They’ve changed the first hymn that I have to play” she said with
great alarm “I’ve only ever played it once before and ....”
“You want me to turn the pages” he said interrupting her
“Oh yes please” she said with some relief and she visibly relaxed
and her panic was over.
It wasn’t that it was a particularly
difficult piece to play but it was not one she familiar enough with to know it
by heart.
As she began to play he was stood very
close to her, close enough in fact to smell her perfume.
She smelt divine and he felt momentarily
guilty for such improper thoughts in church but breathed in her perfume again
anyway.
And as he turned the next page she
looked at him and smiled at him and it was as she played and he turned another page that he
decided.
It was the following night as a light snow fell when he drove to
the Old Mill Cottage to see Winnie.
He parked the car and walked to the front door and knocked loudly.
The door opened and Win appeared with a surprised look on her face
“Hello!” she said and surprise turned into a smile
“Hi” he replied
“Is everything alright?” Win asked
“Yes fine”
“It’s not choir tonight is it?” She asked thinking she may have
gotten her days mixed up
“No it’s not choir”
“Is there a Chapel Preservation Society meeting then?”
“No, no” he replied
“Ok” she said totally confused
“I need to talk to you about something important” he said enigmatically
“Come on in out of the cold then” she said ushering him inside.
Win sat down on her sofa and Daniel stood before the fire warming
himself.
“So what do you need to talk about?” Win asked
“I want us to go out” he said
“It’s a bit cold out there” She replied
“No I mean I want us to “Go out” together” Daniel said
“Oh I see” she responded settling back into the cushions
“Look we have become very good friends who have a lot in common
and who enjoy each other’s company” he explained and then he sat down next to
Win
“But I think there is more, I want there to be more”
He waited while Winnie processed what he had said and then there
was a knock at the door.
Win got up and went to the front door and found it was Lynn Fletcher,
the girl from the Tea Shop, delivering Church Newsletters.
“Thanks Lynn, good night” Win said and shut the door.
If the people found out she was entertaining a man in her house
tongues would wag but Win knew they wouldn’t find out from young Lynn.
She put the newsletter down on the table and sat back down next to
Daniel.
Win perched on the seat and looked at him before taking his hand
in hers.
“I like you too Daniel” she said “But I’m far too old for you”
He began to speak but she put a finger to his lips
“That was Lynn at the door” she continued “and I was her age when
you were born, you are still a young man”
“I know you’re 15 years older me” Daniel said “and I don’t care,
and my young heart doesn’t care, because I love you”
Win gasped as the words left his lips, it had been a very long
time since the previous time they were spoken to her.
And she had thought she would never hear them spoken to her again.
And a moment later she heard herself saying
“I love you too”
Daniel saw her lips form the words, but dare not believe the evidence
of his eyes until each word was delivered.
“You do?” he asked
“Yes I do” she said “now kiss me before I change my mind”
