The photograph on the left below was lent by Betty Daffurn, of Elm Farm Wickhamford. It is of Billy and Edith Howells and was taken on the entrance path to Elm Farm, with Old Vicarage and Weathervane Cottage in the background. It was taken in about 1960.
Billy, or William George, to give him his full name, and Edith Mary, died in 1964 and 1974 respectively and were buried in Wickhamford Council Burial Ground, in a grave marked only by a plain cross. They had no children.
Early life
Billy Howells was the son of John and Sarah Howells of Aldington. He was baptised at St James Church, Badsey, on 27th December 1885. His father had been born in Montgomeryshire and his mother was more local, being born in Cow Honeybourne, Gloucs. A John Howells was recorded in the 1871 census, aged 13, working as a servant in a farmer’s household in Snead, Clun, Montgomeryshire, just over the Welsh border from Shropshire. John Howells married Sarah Butler in Clun in mid-1881, so she may have been visiting the area before their marriage and persuaded him to move to the Vale of Evesham. She was a daughter of Samuel Butler, a farmer in Cow Honeybourne, so she would have been used to working on the land.
The Badsey School records show the dates of birth of all the Howells’ children:- Mary (b.14 May 1882), Kate (b. 23 Feb 1884), William (b. 29 Oct 1885), Amy (b. 4 July 1887), John (b. 15 Aug 1891) and Samuel (b. 5 Sept 1893). William was admitted to the school on 2nd April 1890 and left on 18th April 1898 to start work, aged 12. In 1891 the family was living in a cottage at Aldington Mill.
John and Sarah Howells were living at Half Acre, Aldington, in 1901 with three of their children. He was aged 43 and worked as a farm labourer and she was 48. Her occupation was given a ‘house work’ but the census enumerator had crossed out the entry! Meanwhile, William ‘Howell’, born Aldington, was living with a widowed farmer, Charles Meadows, in Four Pools, Bengeworth. Aged 15, he was working as a farmer’s general servant, but by 1911, he had moved back to his own family in Aldington.
For the 1911 census, John and Sarah Howells were still living in Aldington, but had moved to The Old House in the village street. He was now a market gardener, working on his own account and William and Samuel were working for their father. The record also shows that of John and Sarah’s six children, one had died by 1911. Although William was by now aged 25, he was still unmarried. This changed in 1913, when he married Edith Mary Gould.
Edith Mary Gould
Edith Mary Gould was born in Evesham on 3rd August 1887, but she has not been found under the surname Gould or Hill in the 1891 census. She was the daughter of Eliza Gould nee Hill but her husband, James Gould, had died in early 1886 so he could not have been Edith’s father. There is a Census entry in 1891, at 4 Boat Lane, Evesham, of an Edith Cole, aged 5, grand-daughter of the widowed head of the household, Ellen Cole. From the location and age of this child, it seems very likely that this is the girl concerned. In 1901, Edith Gould was living with a widow, Mary Hill, at 3 Boat Lane and, in 1911, nearby at 12 Avondale Terrace, Boat Lane, with the family of market gardener’s labourer, Charles Hill. Edith appears to have been raised by members of her mother’s family with the circumstances of her birth being hidden at times!
The Great War and inter-War years
War was declared in 1914 and conscription was introduced in 1916. Billy Howells did not enlist so was called before a Military Tribunal in April 1916, as was his brother, John. Both were given Temporary Exemptions until the Autumn of the year, presumably until after the harvests. John stated that he worked on 8 acres of market garden land for his father. Billy Howells was working in Wickhamford for George Lees-Milne at the Manor. His occupation was given as a carter, motor lorry driver and oil engine driver. No further Tribunal records have been found for either man and it is possible that they enlisted at the end of 1916, but no definite Military records have been found for either.
There is a Military record for a William George Howells who was in the Labour Corps (nos. 132160 and 81943) who left in 1920. As a man in his early 30s, if Billy Howells had enlisted, the Labour Corps may well have been his destiny. The record mentioned contains no further details, so it is only speculation that it might concern the Wickhamford man.
By the time of the 1921 census, John Howells had married and had four children. His family were living at 12 Council Houses, Badsey (now 26 Synehurst). William and Edith Howells were living at Oakenshore, Manor Road, Wickhamford (now 54 Manor Road) and had no children. He was now a market gardener on his own account, but his house was owned by Lees-Milne, so he was probably working for him, at least part-time. They were living at 2 Council Houses, Pitchers Hill, Wickhamford (now 7 Pitchers Hill) for the 1924 Electoral Register and nearly all of the other newly-built Council Houses had been rented to men who had served in the War. As the Howells had been allocated one of these properties, it is very likely that William had served in some capacity. His occupation as a driver, given at the Tribunal, would have been very useful in the Army.
He continued market gardening in the inter-War years and by the time that the National Register was taken in late 1939, Billy and Edith were still living at 2 Council Houses. For the National Farm Survey, undertaken in 1941, during the Second World War, William Howells had 2 acres of land for which he paid an annual rent of £9 2s 0d. When the forms were completed, he grew ¼ acre of carrots, ½ acres of parsnips, ¼ acre of onions, ¼ acre of runner beans, ¼ acre of peas and ½ acre of asparagus. He also had 28 poultry, which would probably have been kept in his back garden.
The couple were still at 2 Council Houses for the 1951 Electoral Register. At some point Billy worked for Derrick Daffurn, at Elm Farm, Manor Road, Wickhamford, which is where the photograph of him and Edith was taken.
Death records
William George Howell died, in Avonside Hospital, Evesham, on 30th April 1964, aged 78, and was buried on 6th May in the Parish Council Burial Ground at Wickhamford. The Parish Magazine of June expressed warmest sympathy for Mrs. Howells, her husband having died after a short illness. Edith Mary Howells lived for nearly ten more years and died on 4th February 1974, aged 87, and was buried on 6th February.
Tom Locke – July 2026
Footnote
The approximate location of Billy Howells’ market gardening plot has been confirmed by Jim Roberts. Willersey Road, having left Badsey and running South has a ninety degree turn to the East where it is joined from the West by the Burnt Road bridle path from Manor Road, Wickhamford. This junction is actually a cross-roads and there is a fourth track going South leading to agricultural land. Along this track in the past were numerous market gardeners’ plots and one was used by Billy Howells. The 1945 aerial photograph of Wickhamford shows that there were many plots in this area.