Hungerford Arcade have many, many overseas visitors.  Twice in a few months we have had members of the Hungerford family whose ancestors spread their wings to the USA. There is a group on facebook organised by William R. Hungerford who are building up the ancestry of the family by getting together with other family members in America and the UK who can add what they know from their side of the family.  It is all very interesting and to think it all started from our small market town,  Hungerford.

The second visit was Crystal Gaskell from New York and her daughter Emma who is engaged to a Brit but lives in Amsterdam.   Crystal’s maiden name is Hungerford, but she did not know about William R Hungerford who is tracing the family ancestry.  I put her in touch with William and hopefully they will both find new threads on this remarkable family.   It was wonderful meeting you both and thank you for letting me tell your story.   Rita

Some of you may recall the blog that I published a few months ago after William R. Hungerford visited us and gave a brief history of the Hungerford Family.  He can trace them back to the 11th century!   You can read it by clicking on this link.  http://www.wallingfordarcade.com/?s=Hungerfords

Monopoly is one of those games that everybody knows how to play. Infuriating for everybody playing it, apart from the winner and yet we still go back to play another game.  Although it originated in the US, it is a British classic and it is the British version of the board which was used throughout the Commonwealth.  If I ever find myself in London I’m always excited to see one of the street names from the famous board on an actual street sign.

I recently came across an edition of the game which was produced during the Second World War.  This was a time when resources were scarce and people needed a distraction from the threat of air raids and invasion.  So the continued production of board games and other forms of entertainment was important for public morale.

The interesting thing about this wartime edition of the game is the alterations that were made to the game pieces.  All available metals and plastics were being driven towards the war effort so the pieces, instead of being cast in metal are made from card slotted into a wooden base, all of the houses and hotels are made from wood dyed the correct colours and the money is only printed on one side.

Probably the most interesting part is the dice “spinner”, made from cardboard due to “the difficulty of obtaining dice”.  Whether or not the spinner offered the same random nature of dice I’m not sure but I suppose in times of need sacrifices had to be made.  It might seem like a small amount of plastic could have been spared for things like dice, but it wasn’t just the materials but also the manufacturing time and labour which had to be concentrated more on the war effort.  Every available factory and machine would have been commandeered for the good of the country.

It’s amazing that buying a Second World War era Monopoly set would cost you little more than buying a brand new edition of the game.  This set is worth between approximately £10-£15 and a new set can be found for as little as £12.  I think if you’re looking to buy a set, try to get hold a more interesting, slightly older edition.

Of all the artists which one can loosely term Romantic, my favourite by far is Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) whose work at once incorporated the Romantic with the Gothic as well as being very mystical.  I have viewed his paintings both here and abroad and they never cease to amaze me.  You may have well have seen a Friedrich in reproduction as his genius has become more recognised by each passing generation.

Please, if you are lucky enough to be able to view a Friedrich do so.  You will not regret your decision.

But this short article is not about Friedrich or indeed Romantic Art but about one or two items recently spotted in the Arcade.

I have always been a fan of garden and park furniture be they positioned in the strong sunlight of a Mediterranean garden or in a windswept coastal garden in Whitby.  The furniture in both our gardens and parks is occasional furniture.  We might rest on a Victorian bench and eat our sandwiches in a park .  Or on a hot day we might sit under a tree on a bench in our garden.  We do not use them often but would miss them if they were not there.

If one has a decent sized garden then I think that we all have a touch of the Capability Brown about us.  We want our garden to look good even if it is not used that often.  One does not have to adopt a Classical design, really it is all a matter of taste.

I am something of a garden voyeur (especially if I am travelling by bus) and love to look at other peoples gardens.  Some are unloved and resemble bombsites whereas others cherish every blade of grass.  Some are awash with children’s toys whilst others resemble a Samuel Beckett stage set.  Even on the short journey to Swindon, I have seen Zen gardens, Modernist gardens and gardens that resemble memories from St Mary Mead.  What would Miss Marple have made of it all?  Near Reading there is a Japanese garden all set in a space similar to that of a bus stop.  But it works even with a rather prominent Japanese gate.

I call it my sleeping hobby as because of time constraints we have a back to nature garden.  This translated means a garden that requests the minimum of upkeep but still looks good.  It is good for the bees and the frogs can hide from the inquisitive cats is my excuse.  But yesterday on a trip to the arcade, I saw an item which although not a piece of garden furniture would have been a splendid addition to the right type of garden.

What was it you may ask?

A beautiful cross which appeared to me to be made of iron as it exhibited rust stains and this added to its rough aged appearance.  It was about three feet high and immediately reminded me of the cross in Friedrich’s masterpiece The Cross in the Mountains (1807).

Whilst the cross in the painting was very plain and viewed at a considerable distance, the fir trees that are depicted nearby give it a sense of the organic.  And this was what I admired about this cross.  It had been constructed using man made materials and exhibited a certain decoration but the feeling it gave me was that it once had been high on a nearby chapel.  I did not look at the price but I would have considered it if my garden had been large and slightly shrouded.

If the cross had been located in a clearing imagine the vista on a misty morning or with the sun either setting or rising behind it.  Or on a bleak January day covered in part by snow with either the luxurious evergreens or the skeletons of winter trees nearby.

Sometimes when one is looking at antiques one finds an item that is so stunning that it takes your breath away.

The cross was in a small unit and one of its near neighbours was a beautiful Madonna.  I do not think that she would have taken benefit from being exposed to the elements but in a sheltered position she would have been a welcome addition to any house or garden.

I rather like Madonnas and possess a couple of smaller but equally beautiful ones. There is a sense of peace emitted even from the most damaged plaster Madonna.

As with the cross, one can look at a Madonna and feel a sense of tranquillity.  The combination of the two along with some weathered stone benches gave one a feeling of calm which I feel was shared with some of my fellow visitors on that day.  These are both obviously Christian symbols but to me the combination transcended religious parameters.

A friend of mine has a small stream running through his garden and he has placed a number of Buddha’s along its line.  The effect is stunning especially if on a calm summer’s evening he illuminates the stream with candles or lanterns.  But my friend is no more of a Buddhist that I am a Mormon.  He just enjoys the peace and calm.  Whilst he or I might be accused of having a Sunday supplement view of life I do not think that God would worry too much.

Religious icons in my view are not only there to be marvelled at but to be enjoyed and admired.  I cannot think that Andrei Rublev when creating his wonderful icons was not aware of their beauty.  Beauty is all around us and obviously there to be shared.  It is a gift and if one decides to create a garden with religious iconography as its main or partial theme then who I am I to cast the first stone.

As I travel around I quite often see items associated with churches and although these can be a little expensive they are quite beautiful.  I recently found a number of Minton tiles obviously created for a church restoration during Victorian times.  The condition of these tiles was very fine which made me think that they had not been used and had been stored in a long forgotten cupboard before somebody realised that they might be worth a few pounds.  I also found some carved pew ends which I think are known as poppy-heads which appeared to date from Victorian times although their history can be traced back to medieval times.

Complete pews are often found as well as offertory items and other bits and pieces associated with the embroidery of the church.  Just over a year ago I located a couple of rather tired but nonetheless beautifully embroidered stoles in the Arcade.  I nearly purchased them but decided otherwise.

I do not really collect religious artefacts as I do not have the room.  But if I had lived in a house with a spacious garden then I might have purchased the beautiful cross and would have set it between the pines at the top of the garden so that I could observe it from a distance in silhouette against the low Berkshire sun.

Happy Hunting  

Stuart Miller-Osborne

Hungerford Arcade are always proud to promote our dealers.  Here we have Sue and Dennis Brockwell (Unit 43) who are now also on line.  You can see them here on the ‘Dealers’ page on our website and by going direct to their new website at:

www.antiquejewelleryboutique.com

Jeanette Parker (L) (Great niece of Flt Sgt Ernest Hugo Traeger) with Rita

Hungerford Arcade New Year’s Day.  A lovely couple, Staff Sgt. RE Ret’d Ian Parker and his lovely wife, Jeanette were staying nearby and decided to visit Hungerford. They made a bee-line for the Arcade, which they loved and bought some very interesting items.

,

Avro Lancaster By Kogo – Own work, GFDL, Link

Ian then began telling us that they had come up from Kent for a few days covering New Year and would be visiting Welford Airfield to see the Memorial Site where Jeanette’s great uncle, Flight Sergeant Ernest Hugo Traeger, a secret Lancaster bomber radio operator and the rest of the crew are remembered.

Ernest was part of the crew of Lancaster bomber DV290 which was a secret plane with a crew of 8 instead of the standard 7.  Ernest being the 8th member.  This plane had two radio operators, but only one that could speak German and that was Ernest.  The crew were made up of four British, two Australians and two Canadians.  Ernest was one of the Australians.

Ernest Traeger’s role was speaking directly to the German night fighters, who thought they were receiving instructions from their own leaders, when in fact, it was Ernest sending them in different directions so that a path could be cleared for the Lancaster bombers to get through.

Lancaster V290 went on many missions.  On the last one, out of 500 Lancasters that went out, 101 were lost over Germany.  Coincidentally, V290 belonged to 101 Squadron.

On 31st March 1944, on their way back to Welford Airfield and not having responded to any of the air traffic controller’s radio calls, they were considered to be the enemy and the order was given to turn off the runway lights just as they were coming in to land.  In the darkness, the Lancaster went nose down into the ground, killing all on board.

When the wreckage was examined, it was with great sadness and shock to discover that it was a British aircraft, Lancaster bomber DV290.  The aircraft had been badly shot up over Germany and had limped home.

Welford Airfield, which still exists today, created a memorial site and every year on 31st March hold a Military Memorial Service for the crew of Lancaster DV290.  Ian and Jeanette have attended the ceremony each year for the past ten years and will be back again this year.

The Crew of Avro Lancaster DV290

An ABC-Equipped Aircraft

Of

“C” Flight

101 Squadron

RAF Ludford Magna

FS  E.R.Thomas RAF                         FS  L.R.McNay

Sgt D.A.Addy RAF                            Sgt D.R. Billson

WO  A.N.Rice  RCAF                        Sgt R.A.J.Collier

FS  A.H.Wilson  RAAF                      FS E.H.Traeger

Who died when their

Aircraft crashed on this airfield

During the early hours of the 31^st of March 1944

Whilst returning from a raid on Nuremburg

Hungerford Arcade had yet another talented lady visit us for a specific purpose.  Jane Lewis is a Lace maker, Designer and Teacher.  She came to the Arcade looking for any antique that required a chunk of tlc.  

Although Jane specialises in old Buckingham Lace, she has yet another string to her bow, buying tatty old parasols – the tattier the better, as long as the frame is sound, she can completely restore the parasol to its former glory.

A collection of ten patterns by Jane in beautiful Bucks Point lace.

Hungerford Arcade, co-owners, Adrian and Hazel, managers, Alex and Rita, staff and stallholders, wish all our friends, customers and visitors from across the world, a very happy New Year!

Hungerford Arcade wish all our customers, friends and followers a very, very Happy Christmas!

Best wishes to you all from  Adrian, Hazel, Alex, Rita and all the staff and stallholders at the Arcade

We re-open on Tuesday, 27th December at 9.15 am and look forward very much to seeing you. 

Hungerford Arcade is home to an extraordinary range of antiques, collectables and many unusual quirky things leaving customers new to the Arcade awestruck, which is what had happened with Samantha and her young family.

Samantha was looking around the Arcade for a Christmas present to buy for her father and low and behold, when she got to the square and looked up, she saw the model of a Spitfire aeroplane.  The perfect present for her dad as his father was a Spitfire pilot and because of this, he has always taken a great interest in this great plane.  His face will be a picture when he opens up this wonderful present.

Merry Christmas Samantha and to all your family.  From Adrian (kneeling) and everyone at Hungerford Arcade.