The matchmaking Mayor

We’ll start with a story headed “Request to Mayor from Toronto” which appeared in the Watford Observer of January 28, 1933.

It reads: “The Mayor of Watford (Councillor J Evans) has just received an unusual request. It is contained in a letter signed ‘William Tattersall’ and addressed from Brunswick Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“The writer asks for the address of Mrs Lillian McKay (née Fairweather), an old friend whose address had been sent to him by her father, but which had been lost.

“Mr Tattersall enclosed a letter for Mrs McKay.

“The letter to the Mayor was delivered in an envelope which was addressed ‘To the Mayor, Watford, Surrey, England’. The Post Office first tried Guildford before sending the letter on to Hertfordshire.

“The Mayor will be grateful for any information which will enable him to forward the letter.”

And that was that – until the following week, when the edition of February 4, 1933, included the following:

“The Mayor of Watford (Councillor J Evans) has traced Mrs Lilian [different spelling this week] McKay, the lady for whom he received a letter from a man in Toronto, Canada.

“The Mayor’s correspondent wrote to him stating that he had lost her address and the letter was published in last week’s ‘Observer’. The lady in question resides in Croxley Green.

“This little incident has had an amusing sequel.

“On Monday morning, by the first post, his Worship received a letter from a widow giving an address in Wales. She asked him if he would find her a husband!

“The letter, however, bore a postmark which disclosed that it was posted in Watford on Sunday evening. The Mayor has replied to the lady declining politely, but firmly, to open up a matrimonial agency.”

And that wasn’t the only time Watford’s Mayor was called upon to act as matchmaker. Three years earlier, the Watford Observer of February 15, 1930, contained the following report:

“In an evening newspaper this week appeared a message that the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia, had received a letter from a Watford girl asking for his assistance in seeking a husband.

“She described herself as strong and healthy with auburn hair. It was stated that the Lord Mayor had refused to act as matchmaker.

“The Mayor of Watford (Councillor Mrs A.F. Broad) has received a letter from a Birmingham man asking for the name and address of the young lady in question, with a view to marriage.

“The man describes himself as 35, a butcher in regular work, a widower with five children who are all “out of hand,” he adds. He also states he is a total abstainer and is healthy and quiet.

“The Mayor states that if the girl cares to send her name and address to the Mayor’s Parlour at the Municipal Offices, in strict confidence, she would forward the man’s name to her so the young lady could take what steps she liked.”

Whether anything came of it, we’ll never know but at least in 1930 the Mayor didn’t reject the idea out of hand.

Going back even further in time, I came across this little item from the Watford Observer of February 9, 1895.

“On Saturday last, one or two of the gentlemen artists of Bushey were seen busily engaged in piling up a quantity of snow from which they moulded a fine figure of a lady about 5ft 10in in height, in evening dress, fan in hand and head adorned with representation of beautiful coils of hair plaited and rolled up. The statue was erected in the open space near the pond and caught the eye of all who passed up and down the village.

“The ‘lady’ was visited by numbers of residents and others on Saturday evening and the greater part of Sunday. A statue in snow so artistically moulded has never been seen before in Bushey.”
So that’s how they did it in Victorian times – if it’s Valentine’s Day and you’re missing a partner, make your own!

Talking of “a fine figure of a lady”, above is a picture from the Watford Observer of February 22, 1963. Described in the caption as “attractive” (yes, we can see that) the picture is “22-year-old Miss Ann Lea, from Norway, who became Miss Valentine at Saturday’s Watford Town Hall dance.” Any excuse...

Mind you, in 1963 the romantically minded had something far more exciting than that to keep them occupied. How about the heart-shaped bed?

William Perring, in Watford High Street, took out a half-page advert in the previous week’s newspaper [February 15, 1963] to publicise its exclusive Golden Heart Bed – a snip at just £250.

“The most Romantic idea comes to Life” the advert screamed, adding: “Designed and commissioned by William Perring from Rex Bedding, one of the leading bedding manufacturers in England, The Golden Heart represents the ultimate ... in design ... in quality ... in comfort ... in sheer, unparalleled luxury. Even before you ask the question – Yes! You can actually buy it.”

It seems it was only available from William Perring branches and presumably there was a lot of interest because readers were invited to “come and see it” at a special exhibition from 9.30am until 5.30pm (1pm Wednesdays).

The details of the bed are all listed in the advert, the most interesting of which, as far as I can see, is that “the cover is the most fabulous piece of gold damask ever to be woven in Northern Ireland.” Wow!

And if the picture makes it look bigger than a conventional double bed, “in reality the sleeping area is better arranged”. I’m not quite sure about that, since at its extremities it’s six feet wide and seven feet nine inches long. Looks comfy though.

If anyone reading this saw one of these – or even bought one – please let me know.

For the final part of this Valentine’s Day special, we stay in February 1963 and a piece headed Teenagers Give Views on Sex. It’s only two paragraphs but reveals much, unintentionally, about the times.

“Teenage views on sex were given by a panel of two boys and two girls at a meeting of Chorleywood Young Conservatives. The British Legion hall was crowded for the controversial meeting, some visitors coming from as far afield as Denham and Amersham.

“The panel, under the chairmanship of Rodney Corner, answered questions ranging from whether it was the duty of parents to teach their children about sex to whether girls were more likely to be impressed by the latest sports car than a pre-war ‘banger’.”

I think the less said by me at this point the better, other than to return to 1933 for this final paragraph from the Watford Observer of February 25:

“A speaker at a Hemel Hempstead meeting told a story about a boy who, on returning home from chapel, was asked by his mother what the sermon was all about. ‘Sin,’ replied the boy. ‘And what did the parson say about sin?’ enquired the mother. ‘I don’t know,’ replied the boy, ‘but I believe he was against it.’”

ONLINE TOMORROW: Lights out for a lovesick ghost

These stories formed part of the Nostalgia column first published in the Watford Observer on February 14, 2014. The next Nostalgia column – with information about living in sin, BBC man John Timpson's bird charming pipe, the world's greatest hiker and much more besides – can be found in tomorrow’s Watford Observer (dated February 21, 2014) or read online here from 4pm next Thursday.

If you have anything to add – or would like to tell us anything you think our readers may enjoy about Watford’s history – we are always pleased to hear from you. Contact Nostalgia, by clicking here watfordnostalgia@london.newsquest.co.uk