I remember the moment.
We'd moved house a couple of months earlier and were still surrounded by a liberal number of packing boxes when the phone rang.
Out of the blue, the then-community content editor of the Watford Observer, Anthony Matthews, introduced himself before saying: "I've got some good news for you."
I was uncertain what was coming next.
"We'd like you to write fortnightly local history and nostalgia articles for the Watford Observer.”
I was taken aback, but immediately agreed; happy to have a fortnightly commitment to sharing Watford, Bushey and Oxhey's past.
I can hardly believe that was five years ago; an anniversary I feel worth marking.
Those five years have flown by.
Since then, I've juggled writing articles with writing Two Lives, Two World Wars; a companion volume to Ted Parrish's Echoes of Old Watford, Bushey & Oxhey.
The articles have impacted my book writing schedule, but I am finally putting the finishing touches to it and aim to publish before the end of this year.
The book features my grandfather Reginald and my father Ted's lives and times.
I have explored the former's early life, his experiences with the Royal Fusiliers in India pre-First World War and his wartime military service, which included Gallipoli and the Western Front.
He was married in St Matthew's Church, Oxhey and lived in the village for the rest of his life.
My father served for four years with the RAF in the Burma Campaign during the Second World War, during which time he wrote letters to his then-pen friend, a number of which I have quoted in the book.
His life story and endeavours as a local historian and documentary filmmaker over several decades are detailed, as are his many other interests in Watford, Bushey and Oxhey that included the founding of Kings Jazz Club, a popular local trad jazz venue in the 1960s and 1970s.
Reginald and Ted spent a combined total of 108 years in this corner of south west Hertfordshire.
My husband Bob and I travelled thousands of miles following in Reginald and Ted’s military footsteps. Our experiences provide a modern perspective.
Returning to Anthony's surprise phone call, I'll tell you how it came about.
A short while before, I learnt of the departure from Watford of long-established local historian and author Mary Forsyth.
My father and I had known Mary for some years and I was aware of the time and energy she had dedicated to documenting local history while undertaking voluntary work at Watford Museum.
She also wrote an in-depth article on The Watford Heath Cookery School 1875-1881 in Aspects of Nineteenth Century Watford, published by the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), University of London in 1997.
Her own book, to Watford: A History, was published by The History Press in 2015.
In May 2021, when Covid restrictions were still in force, I remembered a photo of Mary that I had taken during the Watford Museum launch of Bob Nunn's Watford Past book in 1999.
She was flanked by Bob on one side and local historian George Lorimer on the other; both since deceased.
I decided to submit the photo to the Watford Observer with a well-deserved tribute to Mary, emphasising the importance of documenting local history, as Mary had done so effectively for many years.
That was the trigger which resulted in Anthony Matthews' phone call.
I have to say that, five years on, I'm thankful for his initiative.
I thoroughly enjoy sharing local memories and writing about people, places and events in Watford, Bushey and Oxhey's past.
I love delving into the area's history and especially appreciate the free rein to select topics, which have included eccentric local characters, long-lost buildings and traditions, and early shops.
When Queen Elizabeth II passed away, King Charles III was crowned, Watford celebrated its Borough centenary, the Watford Observer commemorated its 160th year and its former sports editor and assistant editor Oli Phillips passed away, I was asked to write additional commemorative articles.
At VJ Day-80, I wrote about my father’s wartime experiences in India and Burma.
A number of helpful people and organisations in England, Scotland, France, New Zealand, Canada and North America have come to my rescue when I've needed additional information or illustrations for articles.
Of those I've written, two in particular are favourites.
One described the life of George Godfrey, born in Lower High Street, Watford in the early 19th century and named after King George III.
A determined man, he had an adventurous life in the military in India and wrote a book describing his experiences; now considered by scholars of cultural importance.
In later life, he became a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London. Despite his parents' poverty, he was fortunate to have received a good education in Watford and achieved his life's ambitions.
A Georgian man's success story that I was delighted to share.
Another favourite was the two-part tale of two highly-educated academics, both well-respected vicars’ daughters: Eleanor Jourdain, head of Corran School in Watford and her friend Annie Moberly, the first principal of St Hugh’s Hall (later St Hugh’s College), Oxford.
After leaving Corran School, Eleanor Jourdain became her vice-principal at St Hugh’s.
Visiting the Palace of Versailles together 125 years ago, they unwittingly entered a "time warp" that took them back to the period of Marie Antoinette's arrest.
Their well-documented experiences became known as the "Moberly-Jourdain Incident" and are the subject of several books and a 1981 television film, Miss Morison’s Ghosts, starring Hannah Gordon and Wendy Hiller.
As for the most popular article in terms of hits on Watford Observer’s website, it was Dick Turpin’s links to Watford and Bushey. Ten thousand hits!
There remains so much to be uncovered about people, places and events in Watford, Bushey and Oxhey's past.
The detective work that often involves putting jigsaw pieces of information together can be challenging and does not always lead to an intended article but sometimes, unexpectedly, provides the basis of another.
I find it totally fascinating to explore what went on in years past; sometimes in comparatively recent memory and sometimes hundreds of years ago.
I think they combine to give us a better understanding of the whys and wherefores of life in the area today. I sincerely hope you'll agree.
Lesley Dunlop is the daughter of the late Ted Parrish, a well-known local historian and documentary filmmaker. He wrote 96 nostalgic articles for the Evening Post-Echo in 1982-83 which have since been published in Echoes of Old Watford, Bushey & Oxhey, available at www.pastdayspublishing.com and Bushey Museum. Lesley is currently working on Two Lives, Two World Wars, a companion volume that explores her father’s and grandfather’s lives and war experiences, in which Watford, Bushey and Oxhey’s history will take to the stage once again.
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