Suffolk to Ontario

39 members attended our April meeting when Mrs Denise Hammond-Webb took us on a journey from Suffolk to Ontario,Canada.  Her great, great, grandfather, Nathaniel Hammond was born in Chelsworth, Suffolk on 8th March, 1851 and was the 6th child of ten.  He grew up to be a farm labourer and married Charlotte Hollocks in 1875.  They both lived in a tied cottage on a farm in Semer which funnily enough was called Canada cottages. 

As their family grew, huge changes in mechanisation on farms were sweeping the country and many thousands of agricultural workers were no longer needed.   George, the 8th child of Nathaniel & Charlotte, decided to try his luck in Canada.  At the time adverts were everywhere offering grants for free land and assisted ship passages with great opportunities in Canada & Australia. 

In September 1912 his father Nathaniel & Charlotte with their three youngest children followed George to Ontario and settled in a village called Thamesford.  Very sadly both Nathaniel and Charlotte died of the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1920.  Over 500 million people worldwide died of the Spanish Flu. However their children went on to become successful landowners and dairy farmers in Thamesford and now also grow wheat, hemp, tobacco and produce maple syrup.

Our next meeting is on May 26th when we will hear about “Trek for Life” with Tina Oldfield.

Details of all our meetings and speakers can be found on the diary of the home page of the Winstred 100 website. If you would like further information about P.A.W.S please ring either of the following committee members: Alice Holmes 01206 735510 or Jane Anderson 01206 735505.