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Lowestoft Online > Community > Strictly Lowestoft > History Closet > Topic: Alternative History (a Tongue in cheek look Local history)
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Author Topic: Alternative History (a Tongue in cheek look Local history)  (Read 31389 times)
Mel
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Alternative History (a Tongue in cheek look Local history) « Posted: 06 August 2007 at 09:29 AM »
Looking in some old history books I came across the reason for the footpaths odd name of Oily Fields Margo.

In the late 16th century Jerimiah Lee used to work the land where the cemetery and the Avenue is today. Jerimiah was very hard of hearing (in fact he was known as 'Luggy Lee'…this was the first time the word Luggy was recorded in the English language in connection with deafness; it  was recorded in the Pakefield Parish Records in 1598).

He was an intelligent and honest man and even though he had a disability he was the village spokesmen on matters concerning the village and the villagers welfare and was always in demand to settle arguments and disputes.

Often when there was trouble in the village the call went out to get Jerimiah Lee from the fields; the village children used to run to where he was working and shout very loudly across the fields "Oy Lee" to get his attention and this was how the area got it's name of Oily (Oy Lee) Fields.
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freelance
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #1 Posted: 06 August 2007 at 11:00 AM »
Be careful, Mel. You know how people tend to believe your wise words.

Incidentally, that piece of land between the Oily Fields and the chapel is now the Kirkley Cemetery Green Burial area.  It's quite a big area.  Room for us all to be buried in bio-degradeable cardboard coffins.
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Joe
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #2 Posted: 06 August 2007 at 11:08 AM »
Was it you, Mel, who gave potted histories like this on other Lowestoft related questions?  That was some time ago, but they were very good, very funny & clever.  If it wasn't you this is in the same league as those.

I think posts like this should be preserved in some sort of archive on this site.  I love it. Cheesy
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Mel
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #3 Posted: 06 August 2007 at 11:30 AM »
Quote from: freelance on 06 August 2007 at 11:00 AM
Be careful, Mel. You know how people tend to believe your wise words.

We remember it well  Grin

Quote from: Joe on 06 August 2007 at 11:08 AM
Was it you, Mel, who gave potted histories like this on other Lowestoft related questions? 

Yes it was me...glad you liked it Joe, all a bit of fun Smiley
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malcolm
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #4 Posted: 06 August 2007 at 12:00 PM »
For a while there Mel you had me running with it
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Sunny
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #5 Posted: 06 August 2007 at 02:00 PM »
You had me running too Mel, with your story, it`s very good either way, clever boy.
                                                     Nadine
                                                Pics are nice Mel, and Hi to you all.
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #6 Posted: 06 August 2007 at 02:30 PM »
Thanks for the explanation Mel – it’s so wonderful to come up with information that’s not even available from these multi-volume encyclopaedias!  When reading through this, I realised that it was obviously the real story behind the name Oily Fields (it was obviously right even though it could be, like that name – a bit slippery).
I did get a bit ker-fuddled when I looked up the origin of the word ‘lug’ and it’s derivatives (like ‘luggy’) and the OED says that ‘lug’ – meaning ear – may have originated from Scandinavia.  I found this hard to take – but thought about it and so can now wax lyrical as I realised that they must have stolen it, when they were over here a-pillaging and all that malarkey amongst the good souls of Pakefield.  Grin

(Cor blast bor, that there story a’yours made I larf so much I had to make a dash for the little room that’s right at the bottom of the garden next to the coal shed!)
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Robin
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #7 Posted: 07 August 2007 at 01:23 PM »
.
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Joe
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #8 Posted: 07 August 2007 at 01:55 PM »
Couldn't get the link to work, Robin. Huh
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Mel
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Re: Alternative History (a tounge in cheek look Local history) « Reply #9 Posted: 13 August 2007 at 10:17 AM »
Most local people would have heard of Tom Crisp VC, the brave Lowestoft seaman from World War One, but I don’t think many people would have heard of Lowestoft’s other hero from that conflict Albert Hawthorn. The family of Albert Hawthorn were always happy to keep his heroics private but after meeting and talking to them they were happy to let me share his story on lowestoftonline, so other Lowestoft people could hear of his bravery (If you are not from Lowestoft please do not read any further).

Albert was born in 1896 on the Beach Village to a poor but respectable family. His father Herbert was a fisherman and his mother Ethel a housewife. When Albert was born he was their tenth child the other nine all being girls. As you can imagine being the only boy he was thoroughly spoilt by his sisters and they used to have great fun dressing him up as a little girl.

Albert excelled at school and always has his head in a book, he never used to play with the other boys but liked to sit at home with his sisters and read romantic novels.  On his thirteenth birthday when other boys of that age were joining their father’s ships to start their working lives on the fishing boats that worked the North Sea, Albert was sent away to London to live with his eldest sister, who had married a clerk named Colin from Cricklewood. Albert’s father was glad to see the back of him saying “We don’t want any of that Oscar Wilde malarkey here”.

Albert loved London, especially the theatre and the music halls; he had found his vocation, he was going to be an actor. Within four years of arriving in London, Albert Hawthorn had become an actor and entertainer and was doing well in London’s theatre land.

Soon after his eighteenth birthday in 1914 war broke out; Albert and his friends although a little ‘girlie’ should we say were nonetheless brave and patriotic and they all joined the army as soon as possible. Albert and his three actor friends made good soldiers and even after a harrowing day fighting in the trenches they still found time to entertain the troops (they had taken a chest of stage clothes with them) with their singing and dancing.

The next extract is taken from an account of what happened at the Somme in 1915 by Captain Foster-Forsythe-Crouton-Jones MC.DSO.MFI.

It was 0600 hrs on the 1st of July when I spoke to my unit of twenty brave young men. I told them our mission was to take out three German gun emplacements, I was honest with them and said their chances of surviving the attack would be very slim…it was a hellish moment for me as I was going to have to stay behind and organise things from the safety of the trench. They would proceed to attack at 0700hrs. At 0645hrs a shout of “Come on girls…it’s Showtime” echoed along the trench and a sight I will never forget until my dying day unfolded. Albert and his three compatriots’, rifles and bayonets at the ready were charging the German guns; and amazingly all four soldiers were dressed up as pantomime dames, wigs, make-up, flowing dresses, bloomers and jewellery. Like us the Germans were dumbfounded and before we knew it Albert Hawthorn, George Gamble, Arnold Lane and Leonard Smith had taken all three German gun emplacements. Just before we started a victory cheer a lone German gunner arose behind them. “German gunner behind you” we screamed at them, and as one they shouted back “Oh, no he’s not”. “Oh yes he is” we screamed back. “Oh no he’s not “, they replied yet again…but he was and he gunned all four of them down. We retrieved the bodies of these brave men and buried them in one grave in the dresses they had died in. We placed a small inscription on their wooden cross:

Albert Hawthorn brave soldier and Ugly Sister number one.
George Gamble brave soldier and Ugly Sister number two.
Arnold Lane brave soldier and Ugly Sister number three.
Leonard Smith brave soldier, not an Ugly Sister but just liked dressing in women’s clothing.

I would just like to say thank you to the Hawthorn family for letting me tell this story of a brave Lowestoft man and I would like also to thank the Imperial Mint Museum for the picture of Albert.





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