It’s the end of an era for Vale Gardens Ltd. The company ceased trading at 3pm on Wednesday 26th November 2025. Another company is taking over the site. Before the entrances/exits/signage/boundaries visibly change, Jeff Nice, who took the photos in the 2008 and 2021 survey, went along to take some photos.
Frank Banner was a Licensed Victualler and Market Gardener in Wickhamford and various entries concerning him appear on the Badsey Society website. This article brings all of that information together and, with other details of his life, makes an interesting biography of the man.
In the 1939 Register for Badsey (a census taken shortly after the outbreak of war of all civilians living in Great Britain and Northern Ireland), a 53-year-old single man by the name of George Lloyd was listed as resident on A Jones & Son’s Land, Sands Lane. He was living in a hovel (demolished many years ago) on his employer’s land.
Why was he living there? What were the circumstances that led him to a hovel in Badsey? Read on to find out his story.
A recent article on the website about The Wheatsheaf Darts Team of 1949 has prompted Terry Sparrow to write to us to correct a misunderstanding. Thomas Henry Marshall (1898-1979), always known as Harry, was never the landlord of The Wheatsheaf, although his father, also Thomas, certainly was. Terry provides us with more details about the Marshall family.
BADSEY – LATE MR G LLOYD
At a visit to the Badsey Society stand at this year’s Flower Show, one of our members, Daphne Gisbourne (née Salter), mentioned that she owned a script of a BBC broadcast about market gardening that had been aired in 1940. Tom Locke went to visit Daphne and took digital images of the 26-page transcript which may be seen below. The script had originally been sent by the BBC at Birmingham to Sidney Gisbourne of 10 Blakes Hill, North Littleton, Evesham. Sidney Gisbourne (1900-1963) was a market gardener and was Daphne’s father-in-law.
Fruit-Growers on the Air
On Saturday afternoon, April 13, Robin Whitworth is producing a feature programme which he has arranged in collaboration with Charles Gardiner, Clerk to the Evesham Rural District Council and author of a number of radio plays in the Worcestershire dialect. It will be broadcast in the Home Service programme at 3 o’clock and recorded for overseas broadcast at a later date.
GROWERS BROADCAST FROM EVESHAM
Evesham was “on the air” last night when local growers and workers took part in a programme which described the work connected with the local fruit and vegetable growing industry. The programme, which was arranged by Robin Whitworth in co-operation with Mr C H Gardiner, clerk to the Evesham Rural District Council, and Mr C A Binyon, JP, was relayed from the Evesham Town Hall.
DEATH OF MRS G C TROUGHTON
The death occurred at her home, Brewers Lane, Badsey, on Friday, at the age of 34 years, of Mrs Gertrude Clare Troughton, second daughter of Mr & Mrs C Ballard of Brewers Lane, Badsey.
Mrs Troughton was a native of Badsey and had resided in the village nearly all her life. She is survived by her husband and one son.
VERGER’S DAUGHTER
Miss P L Hunt married at All Saints
