The Kudra family in Great Canfield, 1956 to 1958
Bruno Kudra was in the USAF and stationed at Wethersfield. The family chose to make their home in Great Canfield and plunged enthusiastically into village life. This note summarises the email conversations we have held back and forth across the Atlantic.
Family members:
Father: Bruno Joseph Kudra
Mother: Ruthella (Potter) Kudra
Eldest: Byron Joel Kudra
2nd: Malcolm John Kudra
3rd: Kevin James Kudra
4th: Candace Joanne Kudra
They have kindly shared photographic records. There we have indicated where we have been able to fit names to faces. The material includes a letter dated February 1956 from Ruthella to her mother with first impressions of the house and village.
We used the above map from the 1880s for reference. It shows most features but omits the icehouse.
Malcolm writes:
“The map depicts much of what I remember as a child of 4 to 6 years of age during our time in England from 1956 to 1958 - the pond (lake?) with the island at one end.
“Assuming the top of the map to be approximately north, the very south end of the lake included a concrete weir with wings on either side, and a raceway sloping down to the stream below.
“My brother sailed his model yacht on the lake, we gathered watercress in the stream below the weir, and netted tiddlers as children do.
“To the north on the east side of the lane was a ring of brickwork sunk below ground into which we would descend on a section of purloined picket fence. This was supposedly the remains of an icehouse[1], perhaps the one you reference.
“Slightly farther north on the lane, on the same side as the Fitzjohn structures, the Barkers lived in a cottage[2] beside gooseberry bushes.
“We remember the nettle thicket near the north end of our home, and the cuckoos that called from the woods.
“Byron reminded me that we dug potatoes from nearby fields and baked them in the ashes of fires the Barker girls built in the woods with our eager participation.
“The images of Fitzjohn Lake jogged memories, too, including the time I sat upon a ground wasp nest on that island and was stung several times, on my head rather than my bottom, though.
“Byron also reminded me that we collected, cooked, and ate mushrooms along the stream below the Lake. Our father led that effort, so he probably saved our lives by ensuring the mushrooms were edible.
“Another memory Byron recalled was the horse chestnut tree on the island in Lake Fitzjohn. We used to harvest the nuts from it and compete in the schoolyard for 'conker supremacy'.
“After having been introduced to such English delicacies as beans on toast, we received the sobriquet of 'The Locusts' due to our enthusiastic consumption of this and other treats offered by our English hosts.
“We recalled together our treasured visits to a certain sweet shop[3]. We all remember the sugar mice, liquorice pipes, lemon sherbets, and sherbet fountains. Some years ago, a technician who visited from Bespoke in England to the textile company Byron worked for brought him a box full of these goodies.
“In my memories, Miss Coyle[4] could be quite imperious! She detested the way I 'shoveled' my food in the American style, with the fork held tines curve down. I had difficulty learning to eat my peas mashed against the 'back' of the tines, and Miss Coyle would get impatient with me. One time she came along and mixed all my food together and said: "There, now eat your Russian salad!" She meant well, though, and valiantly continued to teach me to live in the correct manner
“To get to High Roding School we walked up to the end of the lane and caught what I remember as a van, something like a milk van. (Not all my memories of England are picture perfect.)
“We made friends with Stanley and Marjorie Halls[5] who attended St. Mary's Church in Great Canfield, as we did. I was a choirboy and still remember sitting on those cold benches in the choir balcony. My father Bruno developed a strong friendship with Mr. Halls revolving
around their mutual interests in horticulture.
“We also made friends with Nell and David Scott, but details are sparse so far.
“It was a right proper Essex accent I had, and it followed me into third grade in the US schools. I was a good reader, so the teacher had me stand up in front of the class and read aloud the previous night's reading homework. Due to that exposure I became the hated 'teacher's pet', which hardened even more after I read a line about 'they had been to the market", pronouncing 'been' as 'bean'[6], just as I'd been taught. The entire class burst into laughter at my pronunciation, whereupon the teacher firmly hushed them and explained that I had learned to read in England more than three years before, and that was the way the British pronounce the word. Of course, the little monsters hated me even more after the teacher scolded them and came to my defense. In order not to be the 'green monkey' any more I quickly adapted my speech patterns to American pronunciations.
“I had taught myself or somehow learned to read before even starting at High Roding School and maintained my head start from then on. I remember with immense fondness reading about Noddy driving his little motorcar and 'parping the hooter' through town. I can still even now see in my mind the illustrations in the Rupert Bear books I read, the ones about the Angry Dolls, the butterflies, and his ride on the flying horse. I have a strong visual memory of Toby[7] and his tearful dragon, who cried a stream down the hillside, but have not been able to locate any reference to that picture book on the Web.
“I acquired a vicious reading addiction back then and have been helpless to end it ever since. (Actually, I've never tried ...)”.
Simon Mainwaring
March 2023
[1] The Icehouse had by then (late 1950s) silted up to within 3 – 4 feet from the top. Prior to the Open Day 2019, Mr Terry Chambers and team completely cleared it of silt.
[2] Dairy Cottage.
[3] Located at what is now called Clovelly.
[4] Teacher at High Roding School.
[5] The Halls lived at Darley Dale. In the early 1950s various people including John Dunmow and Will Easter used to go to Darley Dale to play whist and billiards, so it sounds as though it fulfilled some sort of role as a social centre. It’s thought that Mr Halls was in the book industry.
[6] In place of the American pronunciation “bin”.
[7] Toby Twirl (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Twirl).
Family members:
Father: Bruno Joseph Kudra
Mother: Ruthella (Potter) Kudra
Eldest: Byron Joel Kudra
2nd: Malcolm John Kudra
3rd: Kevin James Kudra
4th: Candace Joanne Kudra
They have kindly shared photographic records. There we have indicated where we have been able to fit names to faces. The material includes a letter dated February 1956 from Ruthella to her mother with first impressions of the house and village.
We used the above map from the 1880s for reference. It shows most features but omits the icehouse.
Malcolm writes:
“The map depicts much of what I remember as a child of 4 to 6 years of age during our time in England from 1956 to 1958 - the pond (lake?) with the island at one end.
“Assuming the top of the map to be approximately north, the very south end of the lake included a concrete weir with wings on either side, and a raceway sloping down to the stream below.
“My brother sailed his model yacht on the lake, we gathered watercress in the stream below the weir, and netted tiddlers as children do.
“To the north on the east side of the lane was a ring of brickwork sunk below ground into which we would descend on a section of purloined picket fence. This was supposedly the remains of an icehouse[1], perhaps the one you reference.
“Slightly farther north on the lane, on the same side as the Fitzjohn structures, the Barkers lived in a cottage[2] beside gooseberry bushes.
“We remember the nettle thicket near the north end of our home, and the cuckoos that called from the woods.
“Byron reminded me that we dug potatoes from nearby fields and baked them in the ashes of fires the Barker girls built in the woods with our eager participation.
“The images of Fitzjohn Lake jogged memories, too, including the time I sat upon a ground wasp nest on that island and was stung several times, on my head rather than my bottom, though.
“Byron also reminded me that we collected, cooked, and ate mushrooms along the stream below the Lake. Our father led that effort, so he probably saved our lives by ensuring the mushrooms were edible.
“Another memory Byron recalled was the horse chestnut tree on the island in Lake Fitzjohn. We used to harvest the nuts from it and compete in the schoolyard for 'conker supremacy'.
“After having been introduced to such English delicacies as beans on toast, we received the sobriquet of 'The Locusts' due to our enthusiastic consumption of this and other treats offered by our English hosts.
“We recalled together our treasured visits to a certain sweet shop[3]. We all remember the sugar mice, liquorice pipes, lemon sherbets, and sherbet fountains. Some years ago, a technician who visited from Bespoke in England to the textile company Byron worked for brought him a box full of these goodies.
“In my memories, Miss Coyle[4] could be quite imperious! She detested the way I 'shoveled' my food in the American style, with the fork held tines curve down. I had difficulty learning to eat my peas mashed against the 'back' of the tines, and Miss Coyle would get impatient with me. One time she came along and mixed all my food together and said: "There, now eat your Russian salad!" She meant well, though, and valiantly continued to teach me to live in the correct manner
“To get to High Roding School we walked up to the end of the lane and caught what I remember as a van, something like a milk van. (Not all my memories of England are picture perfect.)
“We made friends with Stanley and Marjorie Halls[5] who attended St. Mary's Church in Great Canfield, as we did. I was a choirboy and still remember sitting on those cold benches in the choir balcony. My father Bruno developed a strong friendship with Mr. Halls revolving
around their mutual interests in horticulture.
“We also made friends with Nell and David Scott, but details are sparse so far.
“It was a right proper Essex accent I had, and it followed me into third grade in the US schools. I was a good reader, so the teacher had me stand up in front of the class and read aloud the previous night's reading homework. Due to that exposure I became the hated 'teacher's pet', which hardened even more after I read a line about 'they had been to the market", pronouncing 'been' as 'bean'[6], just as I'd been taught. The entire class burst into laughter at my pronunciation, whereupon the teacher firmly hushed them and explained that I had learned to read in England more than three years before, and that was the way the British pronounce the word. Of course, the little monsters hated me even more after the teacher scolded them and came to my defense. In order not to be the 'green monkey' any more I quickly adapted my speech patterns to American pronunciations.
“I had taught myself or somehow learned to read before even starting at High Roding School and maintained my head start from then on. I remember with immense fondness reading about Noddy driving his little motorcar and 'parping the hooter' through town. I can still even now see in my mind the illustrations in the Rupert Bear books I read, the ones about the Angry Dolls, the butterflies, and his ride on the flying horse. I have a strong visual memory of Toby[7] and his tearful dragon, who cried a stream down the hillside, but have not been able to locate any reference to that picture book on the Web.
“I acquired a vicious reading addiction back then and have been helpless to end it ever since. (Actually, I've never tried ...)”.
Simon Mainwaring
March 2023
[1] The Icehouse had by then (late 1950s) silted up to within 3 – 4 feet from the top. Prior to the Open Day 2019, Mr Terry Chambers and team completely cleared it of silt.
[2] Dairy Cottage.
[3] Located at what is now called Clovelly.
[4] Teacher at High Roding School.
[5] The Halls lived at Darley Dale. In the early 1950s various people including John Dunmow and Will Easter used to go to Darley Dale to play whist and billiards, so it sounds as though it fulfilled some sort of role as a social centre. It’s thought that Mr Halls was in the book industry.
[6] In place of the American pronunciation “bin”.
[7] Toby Twirl (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Twirl).