Introduction
Kenneth Ernest Marsh was born into a working-class family in Hardington on 5 September 1912, likely at 342 High Street.[1] His life reflects a shift from agricultural labouring origins to skilled independent tradesmanship, mirroring broader trends in rural occupational changes throughout the later twentieth century.
Early life
Ken was the son of Albert Marsh, a farm labourer, and Emma Jane Marsh, herself the daughter of a farm labourer. The family belonged to Hardington’s agricultural working class during a time when opportunities were limited, and economic security was fragile.
The First World War disrupted the family’s stability. In December 1915, Albert volunteered for military service in the Devon Regiment and was mobilised in June 1916. He was transferred in June 1917 to the 449th Agricultural Company and later employed at Ivythorne Farm, Street. This company was one of the labour units formed to sustain food production while releasing younger men for combat. He was not demobilised until March 1919.[2]
The immediate post-war years were difficult for the family. Although Albert found work as a bricklayer’s labourer, he was unemployed by June 1921 due to the post-war economic slump.[3] The family’s situation was further unsettled by the Portman estate sale of October 1920, which resulted in much of the village housing passing into private hands, including the cottage occupied by Albert Marsh. Within a few months, the new owner, George Goldring, attempted to gain possession of the cottage, but ultimately failed. However, he did manage to evict Albert’s brother, Robert, from his own cottage. [4] This incident highlights the vulnerability of labouring households as estate paternalism gave way to commercial ownership in the early 1920s
Ken and his four siblings all attended Hardington School.[5] After leaving school in 1926 or 1927, Ken likely began an apprenticeship locally, though specific details are not available.
Marriage
In the mid-1930s, Ken met and began courting Flora Edith Mico, whose family lived at Wyke Regis. Flora’s father, Robert George Mico, had a varied occupational history. After working as a blacksmith, he enlisted in the Army Service Corps in February 1903 and served for two years. In 1907, he became the licensee of the Wrantage Inn, Taunton, and in 1909 of the Lamb and Flag Inn at Blagdon. At the start of the First World War, he was recalled as a reservist and served with the British Expeditionary Force in France from August 1914 until January 1915.[6] After leaving the army, he worked as a chauffeur at Norton Manor, Norton Fitzwarren.[7]
Following the death of his first wife in 1913, Robert married Edith Ella Brockway, and they had seven children together.[8] Flora, their third child, was born at Norton Fitzwarren on 10 June 1918.[9] Sometime between 1926 and 1939, the family moved to Wyke Regis, where Robert worked as an engineer fitter.[10]
Ken and Flora married in the Weymouth district in the last quarter of 1937.[11]
Yeovil and Hardington
By September 1939, the couple were living at The Firs, Fielding Road, Yeovil, where Ken was recorded as a plumber and heating engineer. His trade placed him in a sector that expanded steadily in the decades after the Second World War, as domestic plumbing, sanitation, and central heating became standard even in rural districts.[12]
Although skilled tradesmen were often retained for essential civilian work, Ken served in the Second World War, though specific details about his service are unclear. He continued to participate in British Legion events for many years afterwards.
After the war, Ken and Flora moved to 5, St James’s Terrace, Hardington Moor, from where Ken ran a plumbing and heating business in partnership with Stanley John Oxenbury of White Vine Farm, Hardington. Their business benefited from housing developments in Yeovil and significant improvements in sanitation and domestic heating.
Ken and Flora had one son and three daughters, all of whom attended the village school for part of their education.[13] After leaving school, their son joined Ken in the family business. Ken died in 1999 at the age of 86, having spent most of his working life in a trade that contributed to the gradual modernisation of rural Somerset. Flora survived him by fifteen years and died on 10 June 2014 at the age of 96.[14]
References
[1] Civil Registration Birth Index; Civil Registration Death Index.
[2] British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920.
[3] RG15, Hardington Mandeville, schedule 32.
[4] Western Chronicle, 17 June 1921, p.6.
[5] Hardington school admissions register.
[6] British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920.
[7] RG15, Norton Fitzwarren, schedule 23.
[8] West Hatch burial register; Civil Registration Marriage Index.
[9] Civil Registration Birth Index; 1939 Register.
[10] 1939 Register.
[11] Civil Registration Marriage Index.
[12] 1939 Register.
[13] Hardington school admissions register.
[14] Civil Registration Death Index.
