Caroline Denmark (b.1823). Married to Charles Denmark. Children: George, Eliya, William. Photo courtesy of Peter Melvin.

William Denmark (b.1858). Son of Caroline and Charles Denmark. Lived at Nut Tree Farm. With his grandchildren Doris and Frederick – and Spot the dog. He and his wife Mariah’s son Frederick were killed in the First World War (see memorial in St John the Baptist Church). Photo courtesy of Peter Melvin.

Mariah (née Vincent) Denmark (b.1860). With her grandchildren Doris and Frederick. Photo courtesy of Peter Melvin.

Selina and Charles Denmark. Selina Kemp was born in 1890 at Oak Cottage by the Old Post Office (now Meadow Sweet). Her first marriage was to William Bawley and the couple had one daughter Ethel. William Bawley was killed in the First World War, as was Selena’s brother Walter. She married Charles Denmark 1 September 1923 and they had two children, Doris and Frederick and lived in Oak Cottage for the rest of their lives. Photo courtesy of Peter Melvin.

Denmark family reunion 1971. These are the children of Mariah and William Denmark. Top row from left: William, Charlie, George. Seated from left: Matilda, Catherine and Gertrude. Catherine married Frank Peck (a Metfield man) and lived in Metfield all her life. Gertrude, known as Emma, married Metfield butcher Richard Rusted. She lived opposite what is now Metfield Stores in what is now Lavender Cottage all her life. Photo courtesy of Peter Melvin.

The Red Cross Club girls. Christine Brennan recently received this photo from Muriel Thompson (née Durrant), now living in New Zealand. Muriel lived at what is now called Olivedale, near Lawn Farm on the Fressingfield Road. Muriel went to Metfield Primary School and was a friend of Christine’s mother. The servicemen would go to the villages and pick the girls up to do a 4-hour shift. Muriel is marked with a cross, on the right. The lady in the middle was American service personnel.

Officials and competitors, ploughing match, Metfield 1892. Photo courtesy of Christine Brennan.

David and Christine Brennan’s wedding, 21 October 1967.
Reception in old wooden village hall. Photo courtesy of Christine Brennan.

Huntsman and Hounds , public house darts team, early 1960s. In bar room. Left to right, back row: Basil Keable, unknown, George Rusted, Claude Barley, Malcolm Riches, Keith Rusted. Left to right, front row: unknown, Leslie Flatt, Eddie Shadbolt, Stanley Flatt. Photo courtesy of Christine Brennan.

Back row, left to right: Harsent Runnacles, Michael Hardy, Marjorie Edgecombe, George Harper, Gerald Edgecombe, Wendy Collins, Gerald Collins, Joy Shadbolt. Seated on settee, left to right: Yvonne Hardy, Margaret Runnacles, Jane Talbot (they think). Photo supplied by Jonathan Eden and taken by his father John Eden.

Marjorie Runnacles’ marriage to Harold Edgecombe 1943, St John the Baptist Church Metfield. Note the outer church doors, these have now been taken care of.
Marjorie was the church organist for over 60 years and was born at Kettles on the common.
Harold lived in Metfield from the age of 2, in the cottage next to the former chapel.
The couple lived all their married life in the home Harold grew up in.
They converted the two cottages into one, now named Bentwood. Photo supplied by Gerald Edgecombe.

Violet Harper, her husband George Harper, Marjorie Edgecombe, her husband Harold.
(Must be 1960s, everybody’s knees were on show!)
Violet was devoted to cleaning the church all her married life, while George was verger and bell ringer. Marjorie was church organist and Harold was an ambulance driver.
Photo supplied by Gerald Edgecombe.

Metfield in the snow. View across St John’s Meadow c.1960s. Photo supplied by Jonathan Eden.

Naylor’s blue and cream bus (early 1960s/70s) collecting schoolchildren outside Hatten’s Farm. The children are thought to be Jonny and Tim Eden, from Hattens Farm; Wendy and Jenny Rusted, from Sancroft (now Captain’s Farm); Julie and Mark Seaman, from Nut Tree Farm; James and Marcus Gillingwater, from Grove Farm, Hunter’s Lane. There may be Cattermole children in the picture (can anyone help identify?), who lived for a while in a caravan parked inside one of the cart sheds in Hunter’s Lane (now The Barn). Photo supplied by Jonathan Eden.

Cliff Knowles, Gurnham Godbold and Will Flatt during the Harvest at Street Farm (date unknown). Photo supplied by Jonathan Eden.

Hattens Farm dairy herd on their way to milking (mid 1980s). Photo supplied by Jonathan Eden.

My aunt Irene Sait, my grandad Harry Sait, my Aunt Olive Barnes and Uncle Wally Ridler on the doorstep of The Huntsman and Hounds in Metfield around 1940. Photo supplied by Jean Lowe.

Henry William Sait (Harry) born in Bethnal Green, London 1882. Died 24 February 1946 at the Huntsman and Hounds, Metfield. He took over the pub about 1940 after his wife Elizabeth died. He ran the pub with his daughters Eileen and Irene Sait, Olive Barnes, Ev Ridler. My mother Lil Sait (White) lived at the pub, too, first of all with my brother John and later on I arrived. The men in the family were all in the Services but were at the pub when on leave. As they were all Cockneys I think they caused quite a stir in the village when they arrived. They had loads of stories about their life in wartime Metfield, especially with the American airforce coming down to the pub. Photo supplied by Jean Lowe.

A day by the Waveney or the gravel pits. The two main families here are the Saits and Spinks. My mother and brother in the front, so it is about 1940. Also my Uncle Harry is the first in the back row. He was a paratrooper and was captured at Arnhem and sent to a prisoner of war camp. The  two women in the back row are possibly ?Hodges ?Pinner. If it is my Aunt Pinner, her husband died building the Burma railway with several other members of the Suffolk Regiment. If any of the  family are around I would like them to know that, when my son was married in Thailand near by the new bridge over the River Kwai, we went to Hellfire Pass  and the Museum dedicated to them and remembered them all. My Aunt Olive has her arms around my Uncle Harry Barnes and my Aunty Ev is next to them in the swimsuit. I think Sammy Spinks is next to my mum and members of the Spinks family make up most of the rest of the group. The three daughters married American servicemen and I believe all went to live in the States. Some  of the Spinks family still live in Harleston. I would love to make contact with them to see if they have any pictures of my family in their albums. Photo supplied by Jean Lowe. If any of the Harleston Spinks would like to contact Metfield Books using the Contact page of this website, we can put you in touch with Jean Lowe.

Lil, John Henry, William and Irene Sait; Front: Kathleen Spinks. Photo supplied by Jean Lowe.

By the pond outside the Huntsman and Hounds, Metfield,  around 1941. Harry Barnes, Lil Sait, Olive Barnes, Ev Rider, John Sait, Wally Ridler and Irene. The men would have been on leave. Photo supplied by Jean Lowe.

The Squire family outside Church Cottage, around 1900. Photo courtesy of Sylvia Wareham.

Competing teams at the Metfield ploughing match, 25/26 May 1892. Photo courtesy of Andrew Hall.

Metfield Post Office, c.1960. © Copyright The Francis Frith Collection.

Metfield, the village street c. 1960. © Copyright The Francis Frith Collection.

The Street, Metfield, 1950s. © Copyright The Francis Frith Collection.