Biography of Archbald William SMITH
[Ref. R.21]
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Biography of Archbald William SMITH
[Ref. R.21]
| Biography index | |
Dwellings | |
Vehicles | |
Photograph Album |
Archie and Doady (Dora Emily Folker) were
married at Ealing Registry Office on 21 June 1939 being
midsummers day. The best man was Archie's friend, David Summerville and his wife Louie was
matron of honour. The honeymoon was spent in Cornwall at the Lamorna Hotel, Lamorna Cove in
Cornwall.
After he left the army, Archie sold his Morris Coupe to the landlord of the Royal Oak pub at Bedfont who laid it up in his garage until the end of the war. It is reputed that it started first time when it was brought out again.
Archie and Doady moved to a bungalow called "Glencairn" in Brentmoor Road at West End, Woking late in 1940. They stayed at the Cricketers Hotel at Bagshot for a couple of weeks whilst the purchase was completed.
Archie participated in Home Guard duties at West End and was attached to a searchlight battery which operated from a place called Cuckoo Hill on the common nearby. He and Doady would often entertain the other members of the team at the bungalow as they came off duty.
Now that there was a decent garden, Archie grew a good range of vegetables and fruit as a means of supplementing their food rations during the war. He also kept rabbits for the same purpose.
They did see some action during the war and during the period 1940-1941, a machine gun bullet came through a roof slate and was embedded in a joist near to where Doady was sitting at home at "Glencairn".
All three children were born at West End, Malcolm on 14 November 1940, Stewart on 6 April 1943 and Gillian on 19 January 1945. Arthur Aman for whom Archie worked was godfather to Malcolm and Gillian was named after Arthur' sister.
After the war, Archie bought a black Austin 16 car, registration number KPK 567. These vehicles were notable for having built-in hydraulic jacks which were activated by a lever by the engine. The children liked the car because they could stand on the front seat and look out of the sun roof.
In 1946, the family took a holiday at a house called "Northfield" at Totland Bay on the Isle of Wight and which was owned by Arthur Aman's Totland Bay Hotel Company.
Whilst living at West End, Archie engaged a daily help called Mrs. Lilian Cox who lived nearby with her husband Frank in 2 Maybank Cottages. Mrs Cox was known affectionally as Cocky and the family became very friendly with her and her family. She continued to work for the family up until they left Camberley in 1967.
The family stayed at West End until 1947 when they moved to a three-storey house called "Kashmir
Cottage" in Claremont Avenue, Camberley. This was wonderful for the children as they then each
had their own room and a joint playroom in addition. Archie had a study on the top floor. The
house had a modest garden and an adjoining plot of woodland, the whole being set in pine woods
and along the lane was a pond. In the woods was a sand-pit also a large old shed full of
decaying furniture which was a grand attraction to the children. Claremont Avenue was a gravel
lane with only four other houses along it's length. Kashmir Cottage had been requisitioned to
Canadian army medical personnel during the war and some relics of this were found.
Archie had a buck rabbit/Belgian hare cross called Tommy who had remained after the war as a pet and a pen was made for him at the back of the garage. However, he would burrow his way out then run around the woods but always returned, on occasions closely persued by a dog.
For fifteen years or so from 1947, the family took their summer holidays at Selsey Bill. Archie would rent a cottage for a month and the whole family, including pets, would move down, in later years in two cars. Archie would stay for one week then return to work but visiting each week-end. Departure from home was always traumatic as Archie would invariably tinker about for ages checking that everything was turned off or locked up whilst the family sat in the car. Having finally departed, there was then a regular stop at the Spread Eagle pub at Fernhurst.
Archie changed his car for a black Austin A70 Hereford and none of the family thought they would like it as it had no running boards. Whilst living at Camberley, Archie would have his car serviced at Bagshot Motors of which the proprietor was Ernie Lee. However, he continued to buy his petrol from Jack Steer who ran the Pantiles Filling Station next door to Bagshot Police station.
He also became interested in veteran cars, probably through his friend James Hutton-Stott who had a collection of Lanchesters. A gentleman called George Upton who owned Collingwood Motors in Porstmouth Road, Camberley garaged maintained a 1902 Lanchester and Archie teamed up with him on many rallies, mostly the London to Brighton annual run. They formed part of the general scenes in the making of the film 'Genevieve'. They made a journey to Le Touquet for one rally. The car was owned by George Lanchester who often rode on the rallies. He had owned the Lanchester Company and George Upton had been an employee.
After Nappy the terrier died, Archie bought a pedigree Alsatian called Shadow. This turned out to be a nervous dog and was prone to running away, on one notable occasion just as the family was leaving for their summer holiday and this was delayed by a day. Nonetheless, it was very tolerant of the children who used to dress it up or make it pull a cart. The family also received two cats soon after the alsation, they were called Peter who was ginger and Paul who was tortoiseshell however, Paul soon had to be renamed Paula after the identity of it's gender had been properly established. Peter did not survive very long as a result of catching cat flue.
One day Archie was travelling to Otford where the family were staying with his mother and a half-shaft broke on the car at Redhill. As he had to wait whilst the car was fixed, he decided to go to the cinema and got permission from the management to take the dog in with him as it was quiet at the time. Unfortunately, the film showing starred Lassie and Shadow disgraced himself by leaping over the seats to get at her following which Archie and the dog were ejected from the cinema. Shadow caught distemper and died at about the age of two.
After the alsation came Peter, a pedigree smooth-haired terrier whose registered name was Sammy Sunshine. Although a reasonable dog he bit everyone in the family at one time or another.
As his father before him, Archie was quite fond of his beer and this often get the better of him. This would make him quite aggressive, although physically harmless and there were times when the children would be made anxious when he shouted at Doady at night when they were in bed. He was also a heavy smoker and got through over forty cigarettes per day.
He had back problems and suffered with sciatica also had a slipped disk. He was unable to work for a long period when he had to wear a plaster cast waistcoat after slipping a disk however the disk slipped out when the plaster was on and remained weak thereafter.
When Malcolm and Stewart were at school at Worksop College in Nottinghamshire, they would be visited occasionally by Archie and Doady also sometimes delivered or collected. After returning at the end of one term, they arrived with the boys to find that the house had been burgled. This experience caused Archie to go to great length to secure the house on future excursions, especially when going on holiday, which added to the time it took to leave.
Archie worked in London most days travelling there by train and Doady would take him to and from the station in her car. His travel pattern varied quite a bit and he would use different stations, normally related to which station hotel took his fancy (or from which he had not been barred).
In the mid 1950's, Archie was invited to purchase the woodland adjacent to "Kashmir Cottage" for the sum of £100 but there did not seem any point to this as it did not seem fit for anything and would have been a liability so he declined. However, it was sold soon after following which the trees were felled and the pond filled in then houses built.
On 20 June 1958 he took delivery of a grey Wolseley 6/90 with an automatic gearbox. The car was bought from The Green Service Station on the Causeway at Staines.
The family moved again in 1961, this time to "Birch Croft" in Chobham Road, Camberley. This was a a lovely house of five bedrooms set in generous grounds in a well wooded area. Archie employed a gardener called Ernie Lee to assist in keeping the gardens tidy. He was a small and leathery individual and a true countryman with a good few tales to tell the children. Mrs Cox, the daily help, also continued with the family at this house. Archie's mother came to live with the family here until she passed away in 1967.
As the children had left home by 1967, Doady and Archie decided to move to a smaller house and bought "Old Well Cottage" at Isle Brewers in Somerset having sold "Birch Croft" for twice what he paid for it. As Archie was still working for Arthur Aman and would stay at Arthur's flat at Lowndes Square in London during the week then travel home by train to Taunton at the week-end.
Archie soon established himself with the locals and used his office skills to assist them in dealing with bureaucracy in return for vegetables and eggs.
The cottage was a nice old place but being near the Somerset levels was subject to flooding. The worst such occasion flooded the house to a depth of about a foot for a week. Doady had come downstairs during the night to find Peter the dog floating around in his basket however, his problems were only just beginning as he could not go out to 'lift a leg' for several days. When Archie returned from London on the Friday, he was given a lift by standing on the back of a tractor, rather incongruous in his city attire. Muriel Brice whose family had been friends with the Smiths came to live at Somerton which was an adjacent village to Isle Brewers. Her father had been the publican at Eynesford.
Archie had been suffering with pains in his back and was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital at Taunton late in 1971 where he was diagnosed as having cancer. He passed away on 23 February 1971 with his wife Doady, son Malcolm and daughter-in-law Brenda by his bedside. He was cremated at St. John's Woking to join his mother and brother.
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