Introduction
Joseph Reynolds’s life combined continuity with change. For about 60 years, he owned and lived in a house that had previously belonged to his father. At the same time, his working life reflected the movement away from local agricultural employment towards industrial work, as he spent many years at the aircraft factory at Westlands, Yeovil.
Early life and family background
Joseph was born on 22 September 1892, the youngest of eight children born to Arthur Reynolds and his wife, Susanna Wildern (née Smith).[1] He was probably born at Ivy Cottage, Coker Hill, Hardington Mandeville, a property owned by his father, who worked as an assistant overseer. His mother had been a domestic servant before her marriage.
In the 1890s, his father purchased and moved to Bolshay, a property in Bishops Lane, Hardington, where he farmed on a small scale until his death in 1905 from splenic anaemia at the age of 49.[2] His estate, valued at £465 5s, was left entirely to Susannah.[3]
After Arthur’s death, Susanna used the 1.5-acre holding for market gardening, and Joseph worked for her for a time.[4]
War service, marriage and family life
During the First World War, Joseph served with the West Somerset Yeomanry. His inclusion in the Roll of Honour in January 1915, followed by his marriage in the Yeovil district in the spring of that year, suggests that he was then serving in a home-based unit rather than overseas.[5] Whether he later saw service abroad remains unclear.
He married Elsie May Legg, whose father had long been a cattle dealer and butcher in Corscombe. The couple settled at Coker Hill, Hardington, and had one daughter, Mercy May, who was born in 1918. By 1921, Elsie’s parents were living with them. Her father died in 1937 and her mother in 1953.
By 1923, Joseph had purchased the cottage and small plot of land at Coker Hill that had previously belonged to his father.[6] When Joseph died in 1980, probate listed his address as Ivy Cottage. West Coker Hill.
In 1939, Mercy married Harold Lionel Snelgrove, a refrigeration service engineer, who then moved into the family home.
Westlands
By 1921, Joseph was working as a labourer in the yard department at Petters’ engine works at Westlands, Yeovil. In 1935, Petters separated its aircraft business from its engine business and by 1939, Joseph was employed as a storeman in the aircraft company.
His working life thus reflects a broader shift in the local economy, as employment moved away from agriculture towards engineering and aircraft production.
Later life
Elsie died in 1962 at the age of 69. Joseph died on 2 December 1980 at the age of 88, leaving an estate valued at £16,841.
Conclusion
Joseph’s life combined rootedness in Hardington with adaptation to an economy increasingly dominated by engineering.
References
[1] One child died in infancy.
[2] Death certificate of Arthur Reynolds.
[3] The will of Arthur Reynolds, dated 26 November 1898, proved at Taunton on 8 December 1905.
[4] Hardington rate book for 31 December 1923.
[5] Western Chronicle, 5 February 1915, p.6.
[6] Hardington rate book for 31 December 1923.