WW2 75. Pillow talk: a WW2 evacuee's memories

 

 

 

Annie Whittaker

More than sixty years after she was evacuated to Budleigh Salterton during WW2,  Marilyn Reynolds had vivid  childhood memories of that  most traditional East Devon  home industry: lace. As a six-year-old wartime  evacuee in Budleigh Salterton, she recalled how, ‘once a week, the Honiton lace-making ladies would climb aboard a bus and, sitting with their huge pillows propped on their knees, set off for the charming village of Otterton to pursue their craft.’

The chances are that Budleigh’s wartime lacemakers so vividly remembered by Marilyn Reynolds were on their way by bus to be supervised by one of East Devon’s truly legendary lace teachers, still spoken of with awe by today’s lace experts.

 

Fairlynch Museum volunteer Sue Morgan explains the finer points of lacemaking to members of a Probus group in October 2017

Fairlynch’s resident lace curator Sue Morgan writes:

‘Mrs Annie Whittaker, née Bolt, was born in 1894, and lived at Bicton, East Budleigh. She was taught the craft of Honiton lacemaking at the age of six by her aunt, and she herself taught the subject at many of the local schools, including Otterton, Budleigh Salterton, and Tipton St John. It has been said that at a time when the art of Honiton lacemaking was dying she kept the craft alive.

Several reflections from her pupils include their memory of her travelling to their schoolon her motor bike, wearing a leather flying helmet, a man’s greatcoat and leather high legged boots.

 

This example of Annie Whittaker’s work is part of Fairlynch Museum’s lace collection

Honiton lace became a feature of exhibitions held by the National Federation of Women’s Institute and when Princess Margaret married a Honiton lace handkerchief made by Mrs Whittaker and her fellow Devon lace teachers was presented to the Princess.

In 1967 Mrs Whittaker completed 50 years of teaching and received acknowledgement from several organisations including Devon County Council.  On 20 July in that year she and her husband were guests at the Royal Garden Party held at Buckingham Palace.

 

The grave of Annie Whittaker in St Mary’s churchyard, Bicton

Mrs Whittaker died on April 20^th 1971 at the age of 77 and she was deeply mourned by many in East Devon. A special file at the Museum has been compiled with reflections from her pupils and also includes a glimpse into her life at her home, Sandycross Lodge.’

Marilyn Reynolds remembered the extraordinary skill of lacemakers like Annie Whittaker long after she had left Devon. 

‘I was totally enthralled by this activity and by the fascinating and exquisite materials they used,’ she told listeners to a World War Two CSV Solent/BBC Radio archive.

‘First of all, each pillow was mounted with the lace pattern, picked out in tiny pins to define the borders and intricacies of the design. Then there were the bobbins, dozens of long, smooth wooden pins with silken threads of varying thicknesses wound around them, the thickest being for the outlines. The beauty of Honiton lace is very distinctive and watching the ladies at work was like watching a masterpiece in the making. The speed at which the bobbins were thrown and the relatively slow, but perfect growth of the lace are images I shall always cherish. I was told that threads were never twisted only crossed and I have never ceased to marvel at the skill of these craftswomen.’

 A version of this article first appeared in Fairlynch Museum’s Primrose magazine in Spring 2019 

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