41 Tunbridge Lane, Beaulieu House, Bottisham

History of Beaulieu House

The house was built around 1927-28 for Dr “Dick” Gilbert and his wife Ruth, by Howlett Brothers of Bottisham using reclaimed bricks from Cheveley Hall. It had 18 rooms, a tennis court and swimming pool.

The location features prominently in the book ‘From Bottisham to Barcombe’ by Carol Reeve (2006).

Various people and events are described in the book:

Arthur Wisbech was the gardener, handyman and chauffeur. He was known as “Wizz-wizz” by the children.

1928 Dick Gilbert married Ruth Ennion at St Mary’s, Barton Mills.

1929 birth of Adrian David Francis Gilbert

1931 birth of Carol. Christened at Holy Trinity Bottisham by Reverend Utthwatt.

1938 Frau Silbermann , her mother and daughter, arrived from Vienna to stay. They would soon move to a flat in Cambridge.

1939 air raid shelter built in the garden

1940 preparations made to send children to the USA but after news of sinking of the City of Benares and death of 85 children, the children were kept in the UK. Evacuees from London arrived and one of them, Lilian and her mother, Mrs ‘B’, lived with the family. Tennis court dug up to grow vegetables. Mr Paul, a farmer, was the air raid warden. Dr Gilbert offered to billet married officers and wives. Mr Paul attacked by Messerschmitt in his car. Family car written off in collision with an RAF armoured car.

1941 construction of air strip started. RAF officers billeted. Pilot Officer Ginn. Lots of RAF wives and children moved to Bottisham and families used swimming pool.

1942 Carol attends Byron House school.

1943 Carol is friends with Anna Joos, refugee from Germany, living with the Roughtons in Grange Road. Kurt Joos was setting up a ballet company. First American to stay at Beaulieu was Major Roy Webb. Next was Captain Weldon T Ross.

1944 Belgians took over the airbase.

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From Bottisham to Barcombe: A Childhood Journey Through the Second World War, Carol Reeve

Published by Upfront, 2006, 152 pages, paperback ISBN: 9781844263981

Summary

From Bottisham to Barcombe is a childhood account set against the upheavals of the Second World War, focusing particularly on the village of Bottisham in Cambridgeshire and the experiences of a local doctor’s family.

The central character is the doctor’s daughter, whose childhood provides the perspective through which the effects of war on family and village life are explored.

According to the publisher’s synopsis, the book examines how the Second World War brought lasting personal and social changes to Bottisham’s inhabitants, including the village doctor and his family.