“The Horseman; Memoirs of JH Marshall”

The memoirs of John Howard Marshall (known as Howard) were published in 1970 and whilst they are completely focused on his life with horses, they do include details about the family and some wonderful descriptions of individuals and places in Hickling during his childhood – he was born in 1889 and the family leave the Manor House in 1915.

• He describes his parents as ‘handsome and headstrong’.
• Several anecdotes build a colourful picture of his parents and the household (including descriptions of the inside of the house).
• There are frequent references to his two older brothers and we are told something of their characters but nothing about his sisters or younger siblings (except in general terms and in passing – for example, when he is driving them somewhere in his pony cart when the pony or donkey is named but his sisters are not).
• Long sections of the book record agricultural shows, point-to-points and hunting in the area.
• His writing reveals a deep love of Hickling and the surrounding countryside and a genuine sense of loss when the family connection with the village is lost.

Hickling extracts can be found by clicking this book cover thumbnail:

Copies of his memoirs are often available second hand; Abe Books is a useful online platform for second hand booksellers.

We are looking for help with transcribing and indexing the Hickling sections of these memoirs (so that links can be put in place for anecdotes referring to other families and houses in Hickling at the time); please contact us if you can help.

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This gallery is from the Wadkin Archives