ASTON HERTS - NEW BOOK RELEASE

The book is mainly an oral history containing the memories of Jack Pallett, 1896 – 1975, who apart from serving King and country in the First World War, lived most of his life in Aston. He was the last villager to speak the pure Hertfordshire dialect. Des has recorded his memories as spoken so those who knew Jack can hear him speaking as they read. For instance Jack recalls: "You could go in the Bee Hive and ’ave a pint a beer, a box a matches and five Woodbines and put sixpence on the counter and they’d give you a a’penny change."

His memories begin with his family who ran the Post Office, The Boot and Rose and Crown public houses. The Pallett’s trades and skills were varied, builder, carpenter, wheelwright, undertaker, coffin maker, sexton, butcher, postmaster and grocer, etc. Jack remembers: "My father ’as made a coffin, dug the grave and buried a child for five shillings." Jack even had an Aston ancestor, William Pallett, who fought at the battle of Trafalgar on HMS Bellerophon, known to the crew as the ‘Billy Ruffian’. The Palletts owned property and land in the village, two pieces of which were compulsorily purchased to build council houses and garages in Stringer’s Lane. Sadly the latter involved the demolition of a very attractive thatched timber framed cottage. He takes us back to a village of horse drawn carts and carriages when Aston had its own wheelwright, farrier and blacksmith. Most men worked on the land. Women were employed in service at the larger houses, others took in washing and helped as midwives. "If a woman was gonna to ’ave a baby, they would argue who was gonna to look after ’er."

Food was scarce and most villagers were very poor. Drinking water was pumped from deep wells or collected at the natural spring. There was no electricity and no piped sewerage disposal. This close and caring community supported each other with help friendship, advice and a packet of tea when needed. The local school taught the three R’s and strict discipline was asserted by the constant threat of the cane but the children respected and liked their teachers.

One of the men’s past times was ‘Bat Folding’ (catching sparrows in a net fixed to poles), and there were so many birds that Sparrow, Thrush and also Blackbird pie were often on the menu. "If you let it get cold it sets like jelly, they are lovely."

The Great War was an utterly devastating blow to families who lost young sons and it took others away from home for up to four years. Unusually for a war veteran, Jack, whose younger brother Edwin was killed in France, talks of his own harrowing experiences at the battlefront. He served with the 2^nd Battalion East Surrey and was in the second battle of Ypres, the battle for Hill 60 and at Loos. Twice he suffered the effects of gas attacks. "We laid in the bottom of the trenches like anybody with asthma. The bolt of your rifle and your bayonet was the colour of gold, with this gas."

He was then sent with the Division to Salonica and fought in Greece. "If I ’ad to goo through that ag’in, if I knew I was coming ’ome safe, I’d rather stand up ag’in a wall and be shot."

At home, a German Zeppelin passed low over Aston on its way to bomb London and locals witnessed it being shot down in the distance. "The blazing mass began to fall perpendicularly and broke into two pieces…."

The second part of the book is a general history of Aston and contains many interesting facts and events. For instance:

In 1598 Margaret Daye, Agnes Brisley and Joan Smyth spinsters of Aston were indicted for burglary. ‘They burgled the house of George Kytchyn at Aston and stole a cloth gown – value 40 shillings, 16 lbs of butter – value five shillings, a brass kettle – value five shillings and three yards of russet cloth – value 26 shillings. Guilty; Daye and Smyth to hang, Brisley remanded because pregnant.’

A cottage in Aston in 1691 could not be saved. The dwelling of John Featherstone, basket maker, with shop, goods and gleaning corn, went up in one roaring combustion; a poor innocent child of six years of age was also consumed, to the astonishment ruine and utter undoing of the said Featherstone. Seven years afterwards the unfortunate John along with his wife and two children was still homeless and in receipt of two shillings a week from the overseers of the poor.

This new paperback book is size A5. It comprises 80 pages of text and 84 rare photographs collected by Des over a forty-year period. The price is £7.99 plus post and packing £1.00 and is only obtainable direct from Des Turner, (Aston has no local shop.) Richmond House, 2. Benington Road, Aston, Stevenage, Herts SG2 7DX.