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‘Now we’ve all got our glasses filled,’ began Dan importantly, ‘here’s a toast to the coming year and may we all go on being as happy and united a family as we’ve been up to now, and’ - he paused for effect ‘may the weather be a bit kinder to all farmers.’ So began the year 1951 for the Archer family at Brookfield farm in Borsetshire - Dan, Doris and their grown-up children, Jack, Philip and Christine. But the farm would be the least of Dan and Doris’s worries over the years to come as they watched their children make their way in the world. Phil, after a long courtship, finally married Grace, daughter of the local landowner, George Fairbrother but the marriage was destined to end in tragedy. Christine certainly had no trouble in attracting men, but finding the right one was another matter. And when she finally married, would she ever be able to have the child she so desperately wanted? Jack, married to Londoner Peggy, had two daughters, Jennifer and Lilian, and a son, Tony. But Jack’s chosen career of running The Bull would prove a disaster for a man with a weakness for drink. And young Jennifer’s pregnancy by a father she refused to name would shock the whole family. No wonder Doris was often heard to ask Dan: ‘Do you think we’ll ever stop worrying about them?’ Family Ties, covering the years 1951 to 1967, is the first in a three-volume saga telling the story of the Archers of Ambridge. Part Two will be published in September 1999 and Part Three in September 2000, bringing the story of The Archers, Britain’s longestrunning radio drama, right into the next millennium. The Archers 1951-1967: Family Ties is also available on audio cassette from the BBC Radio Collection.
THE A M B R ID G E
CHRONICLES
THE A M B R I D G E C H R O N I C L E S P ART ONE
Family Ties
J O A N N A TOYE
In memory of Godfrey Baseley - and all that followed.
This book is published to accompany the BBC Radio 4 serial entitled TheArchers. The Editor of The Archers is Vanessa Whitburn. Published by BB C Worldwide Ltd, Woodlands, 80 Wood Lane, LondonW12 OTT First published 1998 Copyright© JoannaToye 1998 The moral right of the author has been asserted All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without the permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. ISBN 0 563 38397 6 Designed by Tim Higgins Text set in Adobe Plantin and New Caledonia Semi Bold Italic Printed and bound in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome and London Jacket printed by Lawrence Allen Ltd, Weston-super-Mare
Contents
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Archers Family Tree
6
Acknowledgements
8
New Beginnings
9
Secrets an d Surprises
27
D ifficult Decisions
45
B etray al
61
Resolution
79
M issin g the M om ent
97
To H ave an d to H old
117
L iv in g an d Loving
139
A Sh ot in the D ark
153
M oving On
171
Rescue
185
A Tale o f Two M arriages
201
Fam ily Life
217
The Other Woman
235
C hanging Times
253
The Young Generation
271
The Way Forw ard
285
A New Life
301
The
Archers
John Archer m Phoebe
r
-----------------
John Benjamin (Ben) m Simone Delamain 27.5.1898-2.8.1972 1900-1929
Frank m Laura Wilson 1.6.1900 - 29.8.191130.5.1957 14.2.1985
John (Jack) m Margaret (Peggy) Perkins* 17.12.1922-12.1.1972 b. 13.11.1922
Jennifer