Advertise on podcast: 100 Years of Cox

Send us a text Frances describes her recent visit to the Bodleian library to read Budget letters. Frances also visited Great Comp to give a presentation on Vera, and describes the house and garden, for those who have not yet been able to visit Kent and experience Great Comp. She also visited The Hockey Museum in Woking, who have received a new bequest, including more photos of Vera and her friends at Comp. https://www.greatcompgarden.co.uk https://hockeymuseum.org Three letters today - Feb 1929, where Vera describes being on the hockey selection committee when there are problems with deep snow. Also, the hockey film they had recently produced, and a film showing in London, where Vera is nervous at public speaking. February 1932 - it's the fortnight of the territorial matches again, and yes, you guessed it, loads of snow again. Vera and others clear enormous amounts of snow from the Great Comp hockey pitch. October 1941 - government ineffiency and red tape and Vera is angry. She just needs some shelves in the Gym for storing all the Land Girl uniforms, and Mr Piggins and Mr Higgins are not being helpful. You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances reads more letters from 1945, in which the siblings describe VE Day, VJ Day, the atomic bombs and the July 1945 General election. The siblings are horrified at the devastation in Japan after the atomic bombs were dropped. After 80 years, the stories are still shocking. You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances is reading letters from 1945, as the Machell Cox siblings experience the end of WW2 and VE Day in May and VJ Day in August. In this year of 2025, as we acknowledge the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2, the opinions and observations of the siblings clearly bring the events of 80 years ago to life. Seven of the siblings are in England - Enid, Edmund, Arthur, Bernard, Cuthbert, Avice and Vera, commenting from where they each live. Aldwyn is still working for the Mission in Malawi, Africa - and his letter survives, describing how they celebrated peace in Europe. Neville and Wilfred, the remaining two siblings, had died by this point.  You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text This continues Aldwyn's story from the previous episode - listen to S4E10 first. In 1912 Aldwyn took 3 months to travel from Likoma island, Lake Malawi, to Folkestone on a German East Africa steamship, describing plenty of details on board ship. Anyone for a coffin sofa bunk? After being delayed at Zanzibar Aldwyn writes " I hope this time I am fairly under weigh." July 1912 - he is finally back in Sydenham, ready to remove antimacassars from armchairs (his pet abomination) and the family are delighted to have him home. You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text This is Aldwyn's story, in Africa, in 1911 in Nyasaland (now Malawi) - continued in the next episode. He is Anglican clergy, responsible for a large Mission station, at Kota Kota, on the west side of Lake Malawi in central Africa. But the Bishop wants him to move to Likoma island.  And then a murder happens.  His siblings follow the news, by letter, from England. You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances reads letters from 1912 from the Machell Cox siblings about visiting Enid and Cyril's house, Endhall in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton. Family letters also discuss Wibbly-Wob, Women's Suffrage, pears, jigsaws, Vera's knee and the anxieties in Europe that might lead to war, finishing with Christmas at Sydenham, and another Christmas Budget, written by the siblings. You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances reads letters from 1911 and 1912 from Enid about their new house, Endhall in Tettenhall Woods, Wolverhampton. The family all give their opinions and Frances finds where the house used to be located. Edmund wants to know what the siblings all think about Votes for Women - please give details - and they do. Vera suffers a knee injury during the England v. Ireland Ladies' International in March 1912, her hockey friends are devastated and then Vera describes a marvellous trip to Norway as she recuperates. And the siblings continue discussing the suffragettes. The militant ones, WSPU – (Women’s Social and Political Union) and the law-abiding women - NUWSS (The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies.) You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances reads letters written by the Machell Cox siblings where they discuss the first planes to fly in England as well as motor cars. The letters in this podcast are from 1907 up till WW2. If you have forgotten which sibling is which, or you are new to this podcast, S3E4 Ten siblings - Who is who - will give you a recap. Bernard (No.6) was a wealthy London stock broker and owned two cars in the 1930s, mainly to benefit his siblings; he never learned to drive and had a chauffeur. Vera the hockey player (No.10) had a car and drove it herself. Cuthbert, (No.8), HM of Berkhamsted School had a car; he didn't learn to drive and also had a chauffeur. Enid (sibling No.1) and Alfred also had a car. The other siblings couldn't afford to drive a car. You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances reads some letters written in April 1910 by the Machell Cox siblings. Edmund is yet again a delinquent, he is late writing his letter and thinks he should resign from the Budget. Avice is in Torquay with Bernard where he is recuperating after removal of his appendix and they tell their landlady all about booby traps. Enid describes Vera playing in an exciting hockey match at Richmond, Scotland v. England on 16 March 1910, and she also describes the sectarian riots in Liverpool. Bernard describes what it was like being ill at the Brooklyn nursing home and comments on everyone else's letters.   You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances reads two letters, written by Aldwyn in Nyasaland in Feb and April of 1910. Aldwyn drew a sketch map of the mission station at Kota Kota (now Nkhotakota), showing the church, school & hospital buildings.  I found his sketch, including the many buildings. The kitchen is separate to the dining room building (due to the risk of fire), and Aldwyn even drew the mud huts where the teachers lived.  All Saints Cathedral is still there, running east-west, as in Aldwyn's sketch, with the vestry still on the south-eastern corner. St Anne's Mission hospital is also still sited on the former slave trading site, near the David Livingstone tree (which Aldwyn doesn't mention.) Miss Thompson, one of the UMCA nurses, frets that Aldwyn may have another fever. Meanwhile Mr Manning tells stories of Winston Churchill at Ladysmith. Aldwyn is off 'on ulendo' again, and if he doesn't take a tent the doctor tells him off, as he risks getting tick fever again. And Katayeni is a small boy whose name means 'throw him away' (he was weak and sickly at birth). Katayeni is a word from the Chinyanja language, which Aldwyn could speak and write. It is now known as Nyanja or Chewa, and is one of the languages of the Bantu people of southern Africa 0:00 Intro 04:10 Aldwyn's letter, 20th February 1910 08:07 Notes on Aldwyn's letter 15:32 Aldwyn's letter, 24th April 1910 21:14 Notes on Aldwyn's letter You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances reads two letters, written by Aldwyn in Nyasaland in January 1910. A village school is being built, with mud walls and a thatched roof, but it is only completed when Aldwyn uses his rifle to shoot game, so the villagers will get some dinner as payment. The 'CJ' steamer does not arrive, so Aldwyn does a lot of walking between villages, in the mud. 300 come to church on Christmas morning, bringing offerings of live chickens, firewood, flour, bananas, eggs, rice and even a square of soap.   0:00 Intro 3:10 Aldwyn's letter, 5th January 1910 09:02 Kota Kota (Nkhotakota)  12:12 Notes on Aldwyn's letter 20:24 Aldwyn's letter, 29th January 22:56 Notes on Aldwyn's letter 28:38 Sibling comments You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances reads five letters, written by Bernard, Cuthbert, Arthur, Wilfred and Vera in February and March 1910. There is a great deal of polite arguing about whether the siblings should discuss (argue about) politics in the Budget. Bernard has appendicitis and is at the Brooklyn Nursing Home. Avice and Cecil are engaged. Cuthbert has been to a lecture and is fascinated with Shackleton and Scott, the Antarctic explorers. Arthur describes a Boy Scout visit by Robert Baden Powell. Wilfred is home from Canada unexpectedly, and no one recognises him. Vera has also been in the Nursing Home but recovers enough to play international hockey at Richmond. 0:00 Intro 3:04 Bernard's letter, 20th February 1910 18:53 Cuthbert's letter, 27th February 29:41 Arthur's letter, 6th March 39:45 Wilfred's letter, 10th March 48:03 Vera's letter, 17th March You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text This episode is all about the funeral procession of Edward VII in May 1910, as winessed by the Machell Cox siblings, through handwritten family letters, read by Frances. Vera again demonstrates how she is a great letter writer, and Bernard's annotations, on the funeral programme, after WW1, were unexpected. Does anyone know any more about the King's little dog Caesar? How much of the procession did he walk in? Frances would love to know. If you have enjoyed this podcast, would you write Frances a review or give her a rating? Many thanks.  0:00 Intro 7:35 Kings and Queens  11:50 Vera's letter, 21st May 1910 26:02 Notes on Vera's letter 37:10 Other sibling accounts You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text Frances has been in the northern hemisphere for a few months, visiting family and undertaking a great deal of Machell Cox research. Coming up in the podcast will be more stories from 1910, more hockey and Vera and Great Comp and more crossed letters, as Frances continues to unpick the story of these ten interesting siblings, born from 1868 to 1884. In May 2022 Frances gave a talk at The Hockey Museum, in Woking, about Vera, hockey and budget letters. If you visit Youtube and The Hockey Museum you will be able to watch.  You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a text This episode is all about hockey. Frances reads poems written about Vera and hockey in 1908, as well as letters written by Vera, describing hockey tournaments at Weston-Super-Mare in 1911 and at Great Comp, home of the Heron Maxwells, in 1912.  Vera is a great letter writer, and her vivid descriptions makes it very easy to imagine the events  that occurred. 0:00 Intro 3:10 Vera, hockey and poems 6:34 Weston Hockey Tournament - January 1911 17:37 Great Comp Hockey Tournament - November 1912  26:26 The Joys of Hockey - 1909 You can contact Frances by email - [email protected] or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.