We met so many interesting people on our visit to this National Trust property.
First up was Malcolm Walford (I remember his surname as it's the same as the place in Eastenders). Malcolm is 89 and has worked on the Croome estate for 69 years. On our visit he was welcoming visitors to the church within the estate. He was also bemoaning the fact that they can't get volunteers to meet and greet in the church. "Things aren't what they used to be. We just can't get stewards" was his main comment. I hesitated to tell him what our surname is.
I later found out that Malcolm has written a book on his life at Croome. It's engagingly entitled "My Life on the Croome Estate." As they say "it does what it says on the tin."
It was when I looked round the church that a date leapt out at me. It was the date of the death of the 10th Earl of Coventry. The Coventry family were responsible for setting up the Croome estate with the 6th Earl at the helm and with it being passed down through the generations. The date that hit me like a steamroller was on the tablet to the memory of the 10th Earl.
Killed in action in France 27th May, 1940. That was the same day as Le Paradis Massacre which I am currently writing a book about and which has a website that has taken up much of my time over the past five years. Malcolm said he thought the Earl had been killed in the retreat to Dunkirk.
We established much more about this on a visit to the house. Many National Trust properties have pristine rooms looking exactly as they did in centuries gone by. Croome, however, was virtually empty apart from a few paintings and bits and pieces. The upstairs is out of bounds after damage caused by this year's storms. It is unlikely ever to be restored to its former glory as that would cost millions.
But one of the rooms had a history of the Coventry family from the sixth earl. Combined with an internet search later in the day, I established that the 10th Earl was a lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment. His regiment was part of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France in 1939. His regiment was evacuated during the retreat to Dunkirk and he was was killed at La Bassee. He is buried in the cemetery at Givenchy Les La Bassee.
So Lieutenant Coventry was part of the same rearguard action, holding the Germans at bay whilst over 300,000 troops were evacuated from Dunkirk, as the 97 soldiers fighting in and around Le Paradis.
A memorial service for the Earl was held at Croome Church on 21st July, 1940, and details of this are available on the internet for anyone interested. The 10th Earl inherited the title from his grandfather as his father pre-deceased him.
The family has an interesting history in itself for anyone wishing to uncover it. When the 10th Earl died the title went to his son who had four marriages but never produced a son. So the 12th Earl was his 89 year old cousin who only lasted two years. He was succeeded by a distant relative who became the 13th Earl and who is now on the board of trustees at Croome.
Another of the Coventry clan went by the name of Ted Deerhurst and was Britain's first professional surfer, although he never made the top 100 surfers and took part in competitions for the sheer fun of it. Sadly he died of a heart attack at the age of 40.
The voluntary guides in the house at Croome seemed delighted to pass on their enthusiasm and knowledge. In the basement, which was the servants' quarters, a gentleman told us how he had fallen out of love with English Heritage. And you will probably find his reasons as bizarre as we did.
Apparently when English Heritage are involved with applications for listed status they insist that things are kept as they were when approval is given. So he knew of people who wanted to replace a rather cheap and unhistoric door with a proper job based along the lines of the property's historic past. They were not allowed to do so because things had to stay as they were when permission was given. I hope I have remembered that correctly.
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On the way to Croome, we drove through Pershore which I believe is where Robert Fripp and Toyah Wilcox live. They made lockdown more bearable for many with their programmes on social media. I was half hoping I would see them wandering along the High Street - but no such luck. You would think that they would have more consideration for their fans by continually walking up and down the street for about eight hours a day, just in case some stupid tourist is looking for them.
I hope you enjoy some of my pictures taken during our visit to Croome and I haven't even mentioned the airbase that was there during the war. I will leave that for another time.