THE ANGELA THIRKELL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICACompanion to Growing Up
Set at Beliers Priory near the villages of Lambton, Worsted, and Winter Overcotes. The Priory has been taken over for use as a convalescent hospital, and the owners, Sir Harry and Lady Harriet Waring, live in one wing. Their niece Leslie is staying with them to recover from a breakdown that happened after she was torpedoed and adrift at sea for several days. Noel and Lydia Merton are also there as paying guests. The primary theme of the book is the romance between Leslie Waring and Philip Winter, but as usual the book is entertaining for its view of everyday wartime English life. Highlights: The Warings settle difficulties caused by hospital patient Pvt. Jenks’ shooting Matron’s cat; Mrs. Morland gives a talk to the soldiers (one of the funniest scenes in all AT’s novels); Mr. Beedle copes with running his railroad station with female porters, and catches the thief who stole the “best depot” trophy from its display case; Lydia sees her beloved brother Colin off to the front; Leslie worries about her beloved brother Cecil, a naval officer; Selina Crockett is courted by Sgt. Hopkins (and Jasper Margett); Nanny Allen takes in Tommy Needham while he recuperates after losing an arm. Philip wins Leslie.
Book Title and Abbreviation
| High Rising | HR |
| Wild Strawberries | WS |
| The Demon in the House | DH |
| Mrs. Morland and Son | MMS |
| August Folly | AF |
| Summer Half | SH |
| Pomfret Towers | PT |
| The Brandons | B |
| Before Lunch | BL |
| Cheerfulness Breaks In | CBI |
| Northbridge Rectory | NR |
| Marling Hall | MH |
| Growing Up | GU |
| The Headmistress | H |
| Miss Bunting | MB |
| Peace Breaks Out | PBO |
| Private Enterprise | PE |
| Love Among the Ruins | LAR |
| The Old Bank House | OBH |
| County Chronicle | CC |
| The Duke’s Daughter | DD |
| Happy Return | HR2 |
| Jutland Cottage | JC |
| What Did It Mean? | WDM |
| Enter Sir Robert | ESR |
| Never Too Late | NTL |
| A Double Affair | DA |
| Close Quarters | CQ |
| Love at All Ages | LAA |
| Three Score and Ten | TST |
Character, Description, and Book Abbreviations
| Allen, Albert | Husband of Nannie Allen. A dashing commercial traveler who drank himself to death in a couple of years. | GU, DD, CQ |
| Allen, Nannie | Formidable retired Nannie to David Leslie and to George Waring. Mother of Selina Crockett Hopkins. Lived in Ladysmith Cottages, Worsted. Daughter of a small Barsetshire farmer. Husband Albert died of drink. Also Nannie to Leslie and Cecil Waring, and was in service at Gatherum Castle when Lady Cora and Jeff Palliser (Lord Silverbridge) were children. | MH, GU, LAR, OBH, DD, HR2, JC, CQ, LAA |
| Barclay, Capt. Tom | Young officer from Yorkshire. Had three sisters. Was great friend of Lucy Marling, then married her widowed sister Lettice Marling Watson. Stepchildren Diana and Clare. Lived in Yorkshire after the war and had two sons. | MH, GU, LAR, OBH, CC, DD |
| Barton | Father of Walter and grandfather of Guy Barton. Architect who overhauled Boon’s Benefit Cottages in Winter Overcotes. | GU, CQ |
| Beak, Miss | Employee of the Marleena Domestic Enquiry Bureau. | GU |
| Beedle | Elderly stationmaster at Winter Overcotes. Mourned the decline in the station and the railways brought about by the war. Son Henry spent the war in a German prison camp. | GU, LAR, OBH, CC, LAA |
| Beedle, Henry | Son of Winter Overcotes stationmaster. Captured before Dunkirk, spent war in German prison camp. Worked for Sam Adams raising vegetables after the war. | GU, OBH |
| Beedle, Mrs. | Wife of stationmaster at Winter Overcotes. Worried constantly about son Henry during his imprisonment by the Germans during the war. Was nurserymaid at Beliers Priory when George Waring was young. | GU, OBH |
| Bent, Miss | Friend of the rather terrifyingly masculine Miss Hampton. Resided with her at Adelina Cottage, Wiple Terrace, Southbridge. Much more feminine and fussy than her companion, a bit folksy-artsy, scraggly in appearance, and somewhat domestic. | CBI, GU, MB, PBO, PE, OBH, CC, JC, WDIM, NTL, CQ, 3S&T |
| Birkett, Amy | Wife of William Birkett, headmaster of Southbridge School. “Ma Birky” to the schoolboys. Daughters Rose and Geraldine. Close friend of Laura Morland, the novelist. | HR1, DH, SH, CBI, NR, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, HR2, JC, WDIM, 3S&T, MMS |
| Birkett, Geraldine | Younger daughter of William and Amy Birkett. Attended Barchester High School. As high school student, fond of the more gruesome aspects of nursing and medicine. Worked in Barchester Infirmary during war. Infatuated with Fritz Gissing until she finally saw him in his true colors. Married Geoffrey Fairweather. Son John. | HR1, SH, B, CBI, GU, MB, PBO, PE, OBH, CC, DD, JC, NTL, CQ |
| Birkett, Rose | Older daughter of William and Amy Birkett. Beautiful but mentally negligible. Engaged six or more times, including to Philip Winter in SH until she threw her ring at him at the Keiths’. Always had an oft-repeated catchword (perfectly foul, meager, dispiriting, shattering, etc.) In CBI married John Fairweather of the Royal Navy, who could control his “elegant nitwit” well. Stationed abroad most of the war in Washington, S. America, Portugal, etc. Returned to England after war and became much more sensible, often helping others with their problems. Children Henry, Amy, two others all born 1940-1946. | HR1, SH, CBI, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Birkett, William (Henry?) | Headmaster of Southbridge School. Usually called William, but is called Henry in GU and 3S&T. Had been assistant master and Head of the Prep School before becoming Headmaster. Retired in 1947 and took the Dower House at Worsted. | HR1, SH, CBI, NR, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Bishop of Barchester | Never mentioned by name. Parsimonious, low-church, unpopular. One son, said to be “in mission field” but really worked in office at Westminster. Preached love for Germans, Communists, etc., and was a Liberal. Nicknamed “Old Gasbag.” Worthy successor to Trollope’s Bishop Proudie. Never made on “on-stage” appearance. | SH, B, BL, CBI, NR, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, PE, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Bohun, Thomas | Canon of Barchester 1657-65. Metaphysical (and somewhat off-color) poet. Oliver Marling wrote a book about him. Died in the Great Plague, leaving money to found cottages of Boon’s Benefit in Winter Overcotes. | MH, GU, LAR, CC, DD, HR2, ESR, DA, 3S&T |
| Bond, Alured | d. 1952. 2nd Lord Bond. Resident of Staple Park near Worsted. Wife Lucasta, son C. W. Strongly opposed Sir Ogilvy Hibberd’s purchase of Pooker’s Piece in BL. Small, round, with white mustache. Fond of Gilbert and Sullivan. A bit overshadowed by his masterful wife. During the war he gave Staple Park to a boys’ school and lived at the White House. Traced ancestry back to King Alfred with a “gap of only 30 generations.” Surprisingly, a Liberal. Dead by time of WDIM. | AF, BL, MH, GU, MB, PE, LAR, OBH, DD, WDIM, ESR, DA, 3S&T |
| Bond, Lucasta | Wife of Lord Alured Bond of Staple Park. “Benevolent Tyrant.” Half-sister of Lord Stoke. An organizer and go-getter for causes she believed in. In ESR lived in Bath, then in 3S&T moved to Cheltenham to live with Old Lady Norton. | AF, BL, MH, GU, MB, LAR, DD, HR2, WDIM, ESR, NTL |
| Brandon, Delia | b. 1920. Daughter of Lavinia Brandon. 18 at first appearance in B. Became engaged to Hilary Grant in B. Son Freddie, daughter Felicia. Worked in Barchester Infirmary during war. Competent and a bit overpowering, much like Octavia (Crawley) Needham and Geraldine Birkett Fairweather. Fascinated by nursing. | B, CBI, NR, MH, GU, HM, PBO, PE, OBH, CC, HR2 |
| Brandon, Lavinia Oliver | 1891-1961. Attractive and languid widow, in early middle-age at first appearance in B. Son Francis, daughter Delia. Absent-minded, inattentive, apt to say anything that came into her mind. Originally lived at Stories in Pomfret Madrigal (used as a nursery school for evacuees during war). One gathers that Mrs. Brandon, along with Mrs. Morland, is something of a self-portrait of Mrs. Thirkell as she saw herself. Expert at looking languidly beautiful and falling asleep at inappropriate moments, and at rejecting unwanted suitors. Beautiful hands, graced by a diamond given to her by Aunt Sissie Brandon because she was just the sort of woman Fred Brandon would have liked. Became engaged to Bishop William Joram in CC, moved to the Cathedral Close on their marriage. | B, CBI, MH, GU, HM, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Brown, Joe | Landlord of the Red Lion at Southbridge, also owned a taxi. Once attended Old Sewerworks Road School in London. | CBI, GU, PBO, PE, JC, NTL, 3S&T |
| Brownscu, Gradko “Gogo” | Mixo-Lydian refugee. Had title of Prodshk Browncu. Managed to live in considerable but unhygienic luxury. Yellow-faced and melancholy with beret and sheepskin coat. If possible, the Brownscus were even more selfish, disagreeable, and ungrateful than their compatriots. According to them, everything was better in Mixo-Lydia. After the war they ran a school for peasant-weaving, folk-dancing, etc., at Bathwater Cold in the Cotswolds. | CBI, GU, HM, MB, DD, CQ |
| Brownscu, Mme. | Head of Mixo-Lydian refugees, wife (??) of Gradko. Real title was Prodshka Brownscu. Small, wiry woman with frizzled dark hair and leopardskin coat. Even more selfish, ungrateful, and disagreeable than her husband, if possible, The Brownscus represented the explanation for English resentment against the worst of the East European refugees who stayed in England after the war. | CBI, GU, HM, MB, DD, JC, CQ |
| Carter, Angela | b. 1940. Daughter of Everard and Kate (Keith) Carter. Aged 2 in GU. | GU, PBO, PE, OBH, CC, JC, WDIM, LAA, 3S&T |
| Carter, Everard | b. 1909?. Southbridge School History master and Housemaster who succeeded Mr. Birkett as Headmaster. Became engaged to Kate Keith in SH. Cambridge man. Retired by time of 3S&T. Lived at Northbridge Rectory after retirement. | SH, B, CBI, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Carter, Philip | b. 1942. Son of Everard and Kate (Keith) Carter. Just born in GU. | GU, PBO, PE, OBH, JC, WDIM, LAA |
| Carter, Robert Philip “Bobbie” | b. 1938. Son of Everard and Kate (Keith) Carter. Aged 1 in CBI. | CBI, GU, PBO, PE, OBH, CC, JC, WDIM, LAA |
| Chiffinch, Nurse | Known as “Squiffy” to her nursing friends, Sisters Heath and Ward. First seen in PT caring for those ill of influenza. Drove Julian Rivers to distraction by being motherly. Later was nurse to Mrs. Keith and Lady Emily Leslie. Was at Cottage Hospital in MB. Shared apartment with Sisters Heath and Ward, and they planned to open a nursing home for wealthy patients needing unnecessary care. | DH, PT, CBI, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, CC, DD, HR2, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T MB |
| Cockle | Fishmonger at Winter Overcotes. | GU |
| Coxon | Ran garage (garridge) in Worsted. Also had taxi service. Father of Geoff. | GU, LAR, HR2 |
| Crackman, Sidney | Guard on train traveling on Worsted Line. | GU, LAR |
| Crawley, Josiah | Canon, Dean of Barchester. First seen as a friend of Lady Pomfret in PT. Eight children, 17 grandchildren in PE. Had shared digs with George Knox at Oxford. Once blackballed Sir Ogilvy Hibberd for Polyanthus Club. Grandson of Josiah Crawley, curate of Hogglestock in Trollope’s novels. Opposed Bishop’s parsimony and low-church, Liberal views. | DH, SH, PT, B, CBI, NR, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Crawley, Mrs. | Wife of Josiah Crawley, Dean of Barchester. Gave lavish teas to county families, subtly underscoring the miserliness of the Bishop and Bishopess at the Palace. Two sons, six daughters, including Secunda, Tertia, Octavia. | SH, BL, CBI, NR, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Crawley, Octavia | Youngest daughter of Dean Crawley. Competent, managing, hard-working. Interested in nursing. Married Rev. Tommy Needham and was a conscientious clergyman’s wife. Numerous children. | CBI, NR, MH, GU, HM, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, WDIM, ESR, DA, LAA, 3S&T |
| Cripps, Mrs. | Keeps Noel Merton’s chambers in London. | GU |
| Crockett, Selina (Allen) | Plump daughter of Lady Waring’s old Nannie Allen. Came to help at Beliers Priory during war. Nearer 50 than 40, tender-hearted, attractive widow of Blackheath greengrocer. Grey-streaked, curly hair (hairpins kept falling out like Laura Morland’s) and liquid eyes. Cried about almost anything. Turned down proposals from Pvt. Jenks and advances from Jasper Margett, married Sgt. Hopkins. They ran greengrocer’s in Northbridge. Later sold greengrocers, returned to Sir Harry Waring; Selina acted as cook for Priory School. | GU, LAR, DD, HR2, JC, CQ |
| Davies, Dr. | Female doctor at Worsted. | GU |
| Day, Mr. | Was in Loyal Barsetshire Regiment during war. | GU |
| Dean, Betty | b. 1917. Second daughter of Frank and Rachel Dean. 18 at first appearance in AF. Scholarship to Oxford, took first in Greats, did post-graduate work at Bryn Mawr. Fond of C. W. Bond, but their relationship was “spoiled by excessive parental enthusiasm.” Matured from self-important, obnoxious, ostentatiously agnostic teen who psychoanalyzed everyone and had the usual schoolgirl crushes on educated women, to a competent if masterful type. Worked for the Red Cross during war. Married wealthy American Woolcott Van Dryven. Three children. | AF, BL, GU, PE, LAR, HR2, WDIM, LAA |
| Dean, Frank | b. 1874. Head of engineering firm. Resided at Manor House, Worsted. Wife Rachel, children Laurence, Helen, Betty, Susan, a pair of twins, Gerald, Robin, and Jessica. | AF, GU, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Dean, Gerald | Son of Frank and Rachel Dean. In Army in India during war, stayed in Army afterwards. | AF, GU, PE, LAR, HR2 |
| Dean, Jessica | b. 1925? 1932? Youngest daughter of Frank and Rachel Dean. Child of 3 or 4 at first appearance in AF, but was an actress in PE; confused chronology unless she was a stage veteran at 16. Collected salvage and learned jujitsu during war. Married producer-writer Aubrey Clover, who wrote sophisticated small cast plays for her with his music and lyrics. Had daughter Sarah Siddons. Clever, voluble, sympathetic with shy people like Ludo Lufton. Interfered in people’s lives for their own good. | AF, BL, GU, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Dean, Laurence | Eldest son of Frank and Rachel Dean. Became engaged to Margaret Tebben in AF. Did liaison work with Poles during war. Later became partner in his father’s engineering firm. | AF, BL, GU, PE, LAR, HR2, JC, WDIM |
| Dean, Rachel | Wife of Frank Dean of Worsted. Sister of Mrs. Palmer. Languid and attractive; like Mrs. Morland and Mrs. Brandon, enchanting to younger men. Used the excuse of “having a heart” to avoid unpleasant tasks. Ran land army for area during war. | AF, GU, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, WDIM, ESR, LAA, 3S&T |
| Dean, Robin | Youngest son of Frank and Rachel Dean. Student at Southbridge in Tony Morland’s form. Graduated from OCTU during war. Married with twins by 1946. A farmer after war. | AF, GU, LAR, OBH, HR2 |
| Dean, Susan | b. 1919. 3rd daughter of Frank and Rachel Dean. Sixteen at first appearance in AF. Worked with prisoners of war at Oxford during war. Red Cross Librarian for Barchester after war. At one time fond of Colin Keith, but became engaged to Freddie Belton in LAR. | AF, GU, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, CQ |
| Dudley, Matron Poppy | Matron at Southbridge School, aunt of George Empson the wireless expert. Frequently at odds with Mr. Ferris, the Housemaster. | HR1, DH, SH, CBI, GU, MB, PBO, PE, CC, HR2, JC, ESR, NTL, CQ, 3S&T, MMS |
| Edward | Handyman at Southbridge School. Became butler there when Simnet left. | HR1, DH, CBI, GU, PE, CC, JC, NTL, CQ |
| Eileen (later Bateman) | Barmaid at Red Lion in Southbridge. A dazzling blonde. Niece (or possibly sister) of Mrs. Dingle. Married Col. Crofts’ factotum and former batman, Bateman. Her sister Florrie married Simnet. | CBI, GU, PE, CC, JC, NTL, CQ |
| Empson, George | Southbridge School Matron Poppy Dudley’s nephew. Normally a wireless operator and electrician on luxury liners to New York, he wired Editha Cottage for the Arbuthnots, with a running commentary on old wiring and proper method for rewiring that almost drove them crazy. His ship was RMS Vomitorium. Torpedoed twice during war. | HR1, SH, CBI, GU, PE, CC, HR2, JC, NTL, CQ, 3S&T |
| Fairweather, Amy | Daughter of John and Rose (Birkett) Fairweather. | GU, CQ |
| Fairweather, Geoffrey | Elder brother of John. Sister Edith married Robert Keith. Contemporary of Tony Morland at Southbridge. Not brilliant, but good athlete, captain of boxing. School nickname “Fairy.” Married Geraldine Birkett, had son John. Became a Colonel in the Barsetshire Regt. during war. | DH, SH, CBI, GU, PBO, PE, JC, CQ |
| Fairweather, Henry | b. 1940. Son of John and Rose (Birkett) Fairweather. Had one brother, not named. | GU, DA, CQ |
| Fairweather, John | Son of Geoffrey and Geraldine (Birkett) Fairweather. | GU, PE |
| Fillgrave, Sir Abel | Well-known surgeon whom Delia Brandon wanted to see operate. Undoubtedly a descendant of Dr. Fillgrave in the Trollope novels, esp. Dr. Thorne. | CBI, GU, HM |
| Flossie | Mrs. Phipps’s cat, whose kitten replaced one belonging to Matron that Private Jenks shot. Great mouser. | GU |
| Ford, Dr. James | Kindly, garrulous, and gossipy old G.P. at High Rising. Proposed to Anne Todd and was refused in HR1. Proposed to Sylvia Gould in DH, married her 20 years later after she had a broken engagement in GU. Could be very brusque to those he disliked. | HR1, DH, B, CBI, GU, MB, PE, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T, MMS |
| Foster, Giles, Lord, 7th Earl | d. 1940. Old Lord Pomfret. Resided at Pomfret Towers. Fabled for rudeness, boring dinners, and efforts to prevent modernization of the surrounding countryside. Brother of Lady Emily Leslie and Lady Agnes Foster. Married Edith Thorne. Author of A Landowner in Five Reigns. Bought Pooker’s Piece to keep Sir Ogilvy Hibberd from building on it. Died in May 1940, in CBO, with the names of his dead wife and son on his lips. | PT, B, BL, CBI, NR, MH, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| George | Soldier in Convalescent Home in Beliers Priory who liked Mrs. Morland’s books. | GU |
| Gibbon | Chameleon belonging to Percy Hacker of Southbridge School. Name was changed from Greta Garbo. | SH, GU, PE |
| Graham, Edith | b. 1937. Spoiled youngest daughter of Sir Robert and Lady Agnes (Leslie) Graham. As a child she recited poems which she invented. Admired by John-Arthur Crosse and George Halliday, but they both later married other girls. Married William Harcourt. One child, Gwendolyn Sally. | WS, BL, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Graham, John | b. 1929. Second son of Sir Robert and Lady Agnes (Leslie) Graham. In Army Guards Regt., captain by time of LAX. Described by Nannie Allen as a “tow-row boy just like his Uncle David.” | WS, BL, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, LAA, 3S&T |
| Graham, Lady Agnes (Leslie) | Wife of Sir Robert Graham, daughter of Henry and Lady Emily Leslie. Children James, John, Robert, Emily, Clarissa, and Edith. Lived at Holdings in Little Misfit. Air-headed, obsessed with her children, called by her brother David a “divine idiot.” As she aged she became more like her well-intentioned, interfering mother, but with more practical results. | WS, BL, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Grant, Freddie | Son of Hilary and Delia (Brandon) Grant. | GU, PE, HR2 |
| Grant, Mrs. Felicia | Widow of Edward Grant, mother of Hilary. Lived mostly in Italy and adopted Italian folkways, with which she bored everyone to death and embarrassed her son. The prototypical “Englishwoman abroad.” Author of a book on Calabria, where she remained during the war. | B, CBI, MH, GU, HM, PE, OBH, CC |
| Gumm, Capt. | Dental officer in Barsetshires, “have ’em out soon as look at you.” Always wanted to join Air Force but his father wanted him to be a dentist. | GU |
| Hacker, Percy | b. 1921. First encountered in SH as a very silent Southbridge student, friend of Tony Morland. Had pet chameleon named Gibbon, which he once offered to Philip Winter for coaching him before a scholarship exam. Once left the hot tap running and nearly flooded the lower dorm. In Ministry of Information during war. Became fellow and senior classics tutor at Lazarus College, later Latin Chair at Redbrick Univ. Author of well-known Latin text. | SH, CBI, GU, MB, PBO, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, 3S&T |
| Hamp | Son of the Worsted tailor. Couldn’t get into army because of lame leg. Was in The People’s Tailoring, Ltd. Poorly thought of by his father. | GU |
| Hamp, Mr. | Tailor and dressmaker at Worsted. Lost his hair due to being kicked in the head by a mule and having sunstroke in India in the Last War. Had peculiar bump on head which turned purple in cold weather | GU, DD, JC, LAA |
| Hamp, Mrs. | Sister-in-law of Worsted tailor, sold tobacco, sweets, newspapers, etc., in Worsted shop. Sister worked at Dower House during war. | GU, LAR, HR2 |
| Hampton, Miss | Hard-drinking, masculine spinster. Resided at Adelina Cottage in Southbridge with friend Miss Bent. Author of earthy novels, usually selected by the Banned-Book-of-the-Month Club. Drove ambulance in Northern France in WW I. Helped support four nephews—two in Army, one Navy, one in Consular Service. | CBI, NR, GU, MB, PBO, OBH, CC, HR2, JC, WDIM, NTL, CQ, 3S&T |
| Higgens, Betty | Age 97, she had an article in the newspaper telling what she thought of the War. | GU |
| Holinshed | Senior boy at Southbridge with chance at mathematical scholarship. Once was given a C- in General Knowledge by Philip Winter. Concerned because he couldn’t get into the armed forces at the beginning of the war. | SH, CBI, GU |
| Hooper, Lt. | Young officer in the Barsetshires billeted on the Villarses in Northbridge. His false teeth once fell out at depot. Was a captain in GU. Obnoxious without intending to be. Not “quite quite.” In military intelligence. | NR, GU, MB, PBO |
| Hopkins, Norma | Land girl who worked on Beliers Priory farm. | GU |
| Hopkins, Sgt. Ted | Convalescent at Beliers Priory during war. Had served with Colin Keith. Wife died a year earlier. Eyes were affected after injury in lorry collision. Had greengrocer’s business in Northbridge which his mother ran during war. A veteran of WWI. Married Selina Crockett and returned to greengrocer’s business, but couldn’t compete with Amalgamated Vedge so went to Sir Harry Waring as kitchen gardener. Later worked at Harefield House Boys’ School. | GU, LAR, DD, HR2, JC, CQ |
| Horniman, Miss | Old deaf and blind lady who died in GU. Her brother had been the vicar of Worsted. Another Miss Horniman, her niece and former Barchester High School math mistress, had been helping her at the vicarage. | GU |
| Horniman, Rev. | Deceased vicar of Worsted. | GU |
| Jackson, Cpl. Arthur Fishguard | Served as a sort of under-parlourmaid to officers of Barsetshires who were billeted on the Villarses at Northbridge. Married Edie Pover, the housemaid at the rectory. Became electrician in Northbridge (Fishguard is a port town in South Wales). | NR, GU, CC, CQ |
| Jenks | Head Keeper at Pomfret Towers. Father of Pvt. Tom Jenks. | GU, HM, PE |
| Jenks, Pvt. Tom | Son of Lord Pomfret’s Head Keeper. Was at convalescent home at Beliers Priory. Shot Matron’s cat for a squirrel while recuperating from appendicitis. Nephew of Mrs. Phipps’ sister. Had a second operation. Proposed to Selina Crockett but was refused. Engaged to a Land Army girl in HM. | GU, HM |
| Jessie | Head housemaid for Everard and Kate Carter. Eyesight too poor for war service, but would never wear her glasses. Had a brother who was a milkman, a cousin in laundry in Southbridge. | SH, CBI, GU, PBO, PE, CC, ESR, CQ |
| Kate, Aunt | Lydia Keith’s aunt, with whom her mother goes to live in Bournemouth after the death of Mr. Keith, just before the war. One assumes she is Mrs. Helen Keith’s sister. | GU |
| Keith, Catherine | b. 1935. Daughter of Robert and Edith (Fairweather) Keith. | SH, GU, WDIM |
| Keith, Colin | b. 1912. First seen in SH as a new master at Southbridge School, then read law with Noel Merton. Gunnery officer with Territorials in war, served in N. Africa. Became successful barrister, author of Keith on Lemon on Running Powers, the last word on railway law. Briefly infatuated with Peggy Arbuthnot and fond of Susan Dean; finally became engaged to Eleanor Grantly in OBH, proving sister Lydia wrong when she dubbed him a “perpetual uncle.” | SH, B, GU, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, WDIM, CQ, LAA |
| Keith, Edith Fairweather | Wife of Robert Keith, sister of John and Geoffrey Fairweather. Mother of Catherine, Henry, and another. Former Head Girl at Barchester High School and a favorite of Miss Pettinger. Hearty and athletic, was once captain of school cricket and hockey. | SH, CBI, GU, PE, OBH, WDIM |
| Keith, Helen | Mother of Robert, Kate, Colin, and Lydia. Boring and domestic, not very intelligent. Lived at Northbridge Manor. Had “a bit of a heart.” During war went to Bournemouth to live with her sister Kate. Dead by WDIM 1954. | SH, B, CBI, NR, GU, PE, OBH, HR2, JC, WDIM |
| Keith, Henry | b. 1932. Son of Robert and Edith (Fairweather) Keith. | SH, CBI, GU, WDIM |
| Keith, Kate | b. 1916. Became engaged to Everard Carter in SH. Boring and domestic but nice. Children Bobbie, Angela, Philip, and Noel. | SH, B, CBI, GU, MB, PE, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Keith, Robert | Brother of Kate, Colin, and Lydia. Wife Edith. Senior partner of Keith and Keith law firm. Bought home in Nutfield in GU and sold Northbridge Manor to brother-in-law Noel Merton. | SH, CBI, NR, MH, GU, PE, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, WDIM, ESR, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Knox, George | Pompous, verbose historical novelist who could turn a single sentence into a discourse of parenthetical expressions. Widower, lived in High Rising with his daughter Sibyl. Escaped the clutches of his secretary, Una Grey, and became engaged to Anne Todd in HR1. | HR1, DH, B, CBI, MH, GU, MB, PE, CC, DD, HR2, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, LAA, 3S&T, MMS |
| Knox, Sibyl | Daughter of widower George Knox of High Rising. Rather silly, and, after an unsuccessful attempt to become a writer, became engaged to Adrian Coates, publisher, in HR1. Three children by time of CBI, eldest is Laura. | HR1, DH, PT, CBI, GU, MB, DD, LAA, 3S&T, MMS |
| Leslie, David | b. 1907. Youngest son of Henry and Lady Emily Leslie. Spoiled and self-centered, a bit of a lady-killer despite thinning hair. Described as “bone selfish,” he was easily bored. Mary Preston was infatuated with him in WS, but married his brother John. Finally married Rose Bingham in PBO. | WS, BL, MH, GU, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, ESR, NTL, DA, LAA |
| Leslie, Lady Emily (Foster) | 1868-1948. Sister of Old Lord Pomfret, wife of Henry Leslie of Rushwater. Children Martin (killed in WWI), John, Agnes, and David. Delightfully unpredictable, interested in painting and arranging other people’s affairs with benevolent intent. Supposedly based on AT’s acquaintance Mary, Lady Wemyss, whose family was not amused by the affectionate portrayal. Beginning to age at first appearance in WS, became progressively more absent-minded and ethereal as series progressed. Died in OBH, calling her deceased husband and son to wait, she’s coming with them. | WS, BL, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Lorimer | d. 1937. Classics master at Southbridge (died in SH). Elderly Scotsman with genius for coaching who crammed Hacker into his Oxford scholarship. Author of standard Latin text. Replaced by Philip Winter. Had sister in Perthshire. | SH, GU, MB, PE, LAR, DD, JC, ESR |
| Lufton, Lady Mary | Gentle, anxious mother of Maria and Justinia. Completely lost and bewildered by widowhood. Married the late Lord Lufton in 1921, and he did everything for her. | GU, OBH, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, CQ, 3S&T |
| MacHeath | Apparently a nurse at Barchester General Hospital. | GU |
| Margett | “Old” Margett. Crusty old cottager of Anglo-Saxon type with a great store of folk tales, many rather earthy, and some of which he invented. Lived in a crusty old cottage. Once ate three live frogs on a wager. | BL, GU, OBH, WDIM |
| Margett, “Grannie” | Jasper Margett’s grandmother. Had mixed gypsy blood. Known as a witch who frequently took the form of a large black hare. Jasper shot “her” in GU but didn’t use a silver button. | GU, LAR, OBH, DD, ESR |
| Margett, Alf | Younger brother of Bert, son of Margett the builder, nephew of Patten the Worsted stationmaster. In Tanks during war. | AF, GU |
| Margett, Bert | Head porter at Worsted. Son of Margett the builder. Married Doris Phipps, became stationmaster after war. Two children. | AF, GU, LAR, 3S&T |
| Margett, Jasper | Head keeper at the Priory. Expert poacher. Gypsy blood made him good with horses. Flirted with Selina Crockett. | GU, LAR, OBH, DD, JC, WDIM, ESR, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Marling, Amabel (Hon.) | Daughter of Lord Nutfield, wife of William Marling of Marling Hall. Children Bill, Lettice, Oliver, and Lucy. Connected with most of Barsetshire families by ties of kinship. Lived up to aristocratic tradition of service, energy, efficiency, and self-confidence. | MH, GU, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, WDIM, DA, LAA, 3S&T |
| Marling, Lettice | Elder daughter of William and Amabel Marling. Husband Roger Watson was killed at Dunkirk. Children Diana and Clare. Married Tom Barclay, had two sons. | MH, GU, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2 |
| Matron | Matron of Army convalescent home at Beliers Priory. Very motherly both to the troops and to Winston, the kitten, which she adopted after her cat was accidentally shot. | GU |
| Merton, Noel | First seen in SH as a young barrister. Married Lydia Keith having fallen in love with her gradually while watching her grow up. Had miraculous escape at Dunkirk, convalesced at Beliers Priory near Worsted. Later in Military Intelligence. He and Lydia bought her old home, Northbridge Manor. Had flirtation with Peggy Arbuthnot in PE which caused rare friction with Lydia. (Jessica Dean straightened him out.) Became a QC, ran for Parliament in 1952. Became Sir Noel after Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. | SH, B, CBI, NR, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, ESR, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Middleton, John (Jack) | Resident of Laverings Farm near Worsted. Wife Catherine. Verbose (in the style of George Knox), slightly bald. Loved to play the role of gentleman farmer. Head of a firm of architects. Brother of Lillian Stonor. | BL, MH, GU, MB, PBO, LAR, DD, LAA, 3S&T |
| Miller, Rev. Justin | Vicar of Pomfret Madrigal, with strong Anglo-Catholic leanings. Married Ella Morris to whom he was attached years before but separated because of theological disagreement with her father. Became Vicar of St. in 1949. Had stepmother in Harrogate. Was on rowing crew at Lazarus College, where he was nicknamed “Goggers.” | B, CBI, NR, MH, GU, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, DA |
| Mitton, Ted | Former driver of locomotive, Gatherum Castle, which was shipped abroad. | GU |
| Morland, Dick | b. 1911. Son of Henry and Laura Morland. Serving in China before war. Mentioned as serving in destroyer Flatiron during war. | HR1, DH, B, CBI, GU, MB, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, 3S&T |
| Morland, Gerald | b. 1917. Son of Henry and Laura Morland. Explorer in Mexico. Married just before war, had unspecified children. Attended Southbridge School. | HR1, DH, B, CBI, GU, MB, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, LAA, 3S&T |
| Morland, Henry | Deceased husband of Laura Morland. Somewhat of a nonentity, Laura said he was “quite easy to get on with and then he died.” | HR1, DH, NR, GU, MB, JC, LAA, 3S&T |
| Morland, John | Son of Henry and Laura Morland. Stationed in Burma. In Navy during war. Married, attended Southbridge School. | HR1, DH, B, CBI, GU, MB, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, LAA, 3S&T |
| Morland, Laura | b. 1891. Widow of Henry Morland, sons Dick, John, Gerald, and Tony. Lived at High Rising. Author of Madame Koska mystery thrillers, which she began writing to support herself and sons. Also wrote two books anonymously. Attractive but rather scatter-brained, tended to lose glasses and hairpins. Acted as unofficial secretary at Southbridge School during war. It is generally thought that she is at least partially based on the author herself, though AT was, by repute, a more sardonic personality than Laura Morland. | HR1, DH, SH,B, CBI, NR, MH, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T, MMS |
| Morland, Tony | b. 1921. Son of Henry and Laura Morland. Student at Southbridge School at first appearance, major interest was model trains. Became Sr. Monitor at Southbridge. Talkative, self-centered, well-intentioned with frequently disastrous results, one-track mind when a child. Attended Oxford. In Army in Burma during war. Worked for Red Tape and Sealing Wax Office after war. Married with four children. | HR1, WS, DH, SH, B, CBI, NR, MH, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, LAA, 3S&T, MMS |
| Morple, Ed’ard | A “furriner” from the other side of Barchester. Lived at Winter Overcotes where his son Bill was a porter. | GU, LAR |
| Morris, Ella | Middle-aged companion to “Aunt Sissie ” Brandon. Married Mr. Miller, former sweetheart from whom she had parted because of his disagreement with her father years before. Selfless and full of good works. Billeting officer during war and took all the worst evacuee children herself. | B, CBI, GU, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, DA |
| Moss, Pvt. | Office typist for Barsetshire Regiment. Formerly employed by a firm of racing touts. | NR, GU |
| Moxon, Rev. | Curate to Dr. Thomas at Worsted. Scoutmaster with strong belief in (and ignorance of) boys, having run a club for boys in the East End and attended Boys’ Camp in summer. Great belief in words, also—especially his own. Moved to curacy at Clacton-on-Sea, and his departure was highly unlamented. | AF, GU |
| Norton, Lady Victoria | Known by most of Barsetshire as the “Dreadful Dowager.” Face like a well-bred horse, domineering personality, thought herself the best gardener in the county. Author of Herbs of Grace about gardening. Clothes tended to imitate the Queen Mother. Lived in Cheltenham, Lady Bond moved in with her in 3S&T. | WS, B, CBI, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Palmer, Fred | Major landowner around Worsted and Skeynes. J.P. Owner of dairy herd. Brother of Rachel Dean. Called Henry by Rachel Dean in AF. | AF, BL, GU, MB, PE, LAR, OBH, DD, WDIM |
| Palmer, Louise | Wife of Fred Palmer of Worsted. Female “squire” of Worsted because of her dominant and masterful personality. | AF, BL, GU, PE, LAR, OBH |
| Peppercorn | Boy at Southbridge School. Had either measles or chicken pox, but it turned out to be a rash. | GU |
| Pettinger, Bertha | Headmistress of Barchester High School. Highly unpopular. Known to the girls as “The Beast.” Had tired waved hair and painted her face. Madeleine Sparling lived with her before the Hosiers’ Girls’ School moved to Harefield Park. Received OBE when she retired. | SH, B, CBI, NR, GU, HM, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, DD, JC, WDIM, 3S&T |
| Phelps, Admiral “Irons” | Retired Rear Admiral. Small, dry-faced, quiet, and efficient worker on vital committees. Lived at Jutland Cottage in Southbridge. Secretary of British Legion, Boy Scouts, and District Nursing Association, and churchwarden. Wounded at Battle of Jutland. Not well off financially. In increasingly poor health. Died in CQ. | CBI, NR, GU, PE, JC, WDIM, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Phipps, Doris | Daughter of Tebbens’ housekeeper at Worsted. Became kitchenmaid at Manor House for Deans. Worked as porter at Winter Overcotes during war. In LAA, she had married Bert Margett, had two kids, was working in an airplane factory. | AF, GU, LAR |
| Phipps, Ernie | Village boy at Worsted. Son of Tebbens’ housekeeper. Apparently was the “young Phipps” mentioned in BL. | AF, BL, GU |
| Phipps, Mrs. | Housekeeper for Tebbenses at Worsted. Children Doris and Ernie. Née Pollett. | AF, BL, GU, LAR, HR2 |
| Phipps, Palmyra | Niece of the Tebbens’ housekeeper. Worked at the telephone exchange at Worsted, could always provide information on telephone subscribers’ whereabouts and doings. Named Palmyra after Louise Palmer. | AF, GU, LAR, OBH, DD, HR2, 3S&T |
| Pollett | Stationmaster at Worsted. | GU |
| Pollett, Ernie | Doris Phipps’ uncle. In Army. | GU |
| Pollett, George F. | Publican at the Sheep’s Head, Worsted. His wife was renowned for her fried fish and steak and kidney pies. | GU, HR2 |
| Pollett, Lily-Annie | Worked as porter at Winter Overcotes station during war. Had an illegitimate child. | GU, LAR |
| Pollett, Sid | Engineer on Winter Overcotes-Worsted-Skeynes RR line. | AF, BL, GU, DD |
| Pomfret, Giles, Lord, 7th Earl | d. 1940. Old Lord Pomfret. Resided at Pomfret Towers. Fabled for rudeness, boring dinners, and efforts to prevent modernization of the surrounding countryside. Brother of Lady Emily Leslie and Lady Agnes Foster. Married Edith Thorne. Author of A Landowner in Five Reigns. Bought Pooker’s Piece to keep Sir Ogilvy Hibberd from building on it. Died in May 1940, in CBO, with the names of his dead wife and son on his lips. | PT, B, BL, CBI, NR, MH, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Potter, Nurse | Helped at Convalescent Hospital at the Priory on Tuesdays. Nursed Mrs. Priscilla Dean in her last illness. | GU, MB, CC, DD |
| Potter, Nurse | Second-in-command of Beliers Priory Convalescent Hospital during war. | GU |
| Potter, Tom | Stoker on locomotive Rising Castle before war. Missing at Singapore in WWII. | GU |
| Pridham, Sir Edmund | b. 1866. Elderly country squire type, J.P. at Pomfret Madrigal, close friend of Lavinia Brandon—even proposed to her once in a friendly way. Childless widower, commanded Barsetshire Yeomanry in WWI, had crippled leg from war wound. Knew everybody in the county and all their relationships. “Doyen of the county in years and service … Had an eye that had frightened the toughest troopers in the Barsetshire Yeomanry out of their wits and made the Bishop, who was saying the Russians were our brothers, wilt uneasily into a mumbling explanation.” | B, BL, CBI, MH, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| René | A Lambton girl who replaced Bill Morple as underporter of Winter Overcotes in WWII. | GU |
| Rose, Mlle. | Professional skating partner with whom Laurence Dean was briefly infatuated. Married a chemist to whom she had been engaged for years. Apparently the same as the barmaid in the Poubelle restaurant in London during war, run by “Les Free Frogs.” | AF, GU |
| Sid | Brother of nurse of Diana and Clare Watson. Sergeant in the Barsetshires. Formerly the dentist’s mechanic. Great-nephew of Nannie Allen. Wore huge Kitchener mustache. | MH, GU |
| Simmons | Injured soldier at Beliers Priory Convalescent Home. | GU |
| Smith | Head carter for Sir Harry Waring at Beliers Priory. Father of Percy, Flo, and Marigold. Lived at Worsted. | GU |
| Smith, Marigold | b. 1932. Daily help for Nannie Allen in Worsted. Later became village “bad girl” when she was maid for Leslie Waring at Beliers Priory. Married Geoff Coxon in 1950. | GU, LAR, DD, HR2 |
| Spender, Billy | b. 1934. Elder son of Major Robert Spender. In NR he was to attend Coppin’s School the next year. Had written and illustrated stories, and doting father thought him “as good as Balzac and Michael Angelo.” | NR, GU, LAR, DD, ESR |
| Spender, Clarissa | b. 1939. Daughter of Maj. Robert Spender. According to doting mother she was a gifted ballerina at age 3. Her 2nd teeth were coming in all crooked in GU. Was attending Barchester High in DD. | NR, GU, DD, ESR |
| Spender, Major Robert | Major in Barsetshire, billeted on Villarses at Northbridge. Thin and sensitive, he spent his spare time writing to his wife and three children. Went to Coppin’s School where Mr. Villars was formerly head. Had voluble and tiresome wife whom he loved dearly. Called “Hopkins” in ESR. | NR, GU, LAR, DD, ESR |
| Spender, Mrs. | Maiden name Williams. Talkative and exhausting wife of Maj. Spender. Spent some weeks at Northbridge Rectory. Mother of Billy, Jimmy, and Clarissa, about whom she bragged constantly. Bullied her husband and talked baby-talk to him (called him “Bobbums”). Short, stout, and forty, she followed quotations of her own thoughts with “she said” and “though I say it as shouldn’t.” Was fond of telling of her economical but appalling recipes. Deceased father was Mixo-Lydian consul. | NR, GU, LAR, DD, ESR |
| Stoke, Lord Thomas | b. 1866. Ancient and eccentric antiquarian, half-brother of Lucasta Bond. A bachelor who once loved Edith Thorne (who married Old Lord Pomfret). Traveled by horse and carriage or on horseback in defiance of modern age. Was convinced that everything he dug up was Viking remains. Extremely and conveniently deaf. In NTL, he is called Algernon Courcy Stoke and is said to have been born in 1876. | HR1, DH, PT, B, BL, CBI, MH, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, JC, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T, MMS |
| Tebben, Gilbert | Husband of Winifred, father of Margaret and Richard. Resident of Lamb’s Piece near Worsted. Civil servant, interested in old Norse history and epics. | AF, BL, GU, MB, PE, LAR, OBH, DD, WDIM |
| Tebben, Margaret | Daughter of Gilbert and Winifred Tebben of Worsted. Married Laurence Dean, later mentioned as having son and daughter. | AF, BL, GU, MB, PE, LAR, JC, WDIM |
| Tebben, Winifred (Ross) | Wife of Gilbert Tebben of Worsted. Mother of Margaret and Richard. Took a First in Economics at Oxford, wrote several books on the subject. Was enamoured of her tutor, Mr. Fanshawe, but met and became engaged to Gilbert Tebben on a Scandinavian cruise. Known for her small and impractical economies, especially with leftover food, which was a sore trial for her family. | AF, BL, GU, HM, MB, LAR, OBH, DD, DA |
| Tempest, Canon | Angry and elderly clergyman who took services at Worsted when the vicar died. Stayed with a niece but wanted to go back to Devon. Octavia Crawley’s godfather. Had been a great oarsman in his day, so greatly approved of Tommy Needham who replaced him. Was Vicar of St. Ewold’s before Mr. Miller. | GU, HR2 |
| Thomas, Dr. | Rector at Worsted, father of Dolly and Phyllis. Aged and deaf, had to be addressed in CAPITAL LETTERS! Dead by the time of GU. | AF, GU |
| Todd, Anne | Laura Morland’s secretary, married George Knox, novelist and windbag, of High Rising, after turning down proposal from Dr. Ford. WVS secretary in war. Competent and practical, unlike her garrulous husband. | HR1, DH, GU, MB, PBO, PE, ESR, NTL, LAA, 3S&T |
| Tompion, Mrs. | Wife of Vicar of Little Misfit, a colonel’s daughter from Leamington. Slightly evangelical. Stayed with Col. and Mrs. Parkinson in Leamington during war while husband was a military chaplain. | B, GU, PE |
| Tompkins | Driver of the locomotive Rising Castle out of Winter Overcotes. | GU |
| Twicker, Nannie | The Keiths’ Nannie. Married the gardener before the war. Thought poorly of her own grown children because they weren’t gentry. | SH, GU, LAR, OBH, DD, WDIM, ESR, LAA |
| Villars, John | b. 1918. Younger son of Gregory and Verena Villars. Rather likeable but self-centered and immature. Wing Commander in Air Force during war. Married with two children by 1952. | NR, GU, PE, JC, CQ |
| Villars, Rev. Gregory | b. 1886. Vicar of Northbridge. Former headmaster of Coppin’s School. Canon of Barchester by LAX | SH, CBI, NR, GU, MB, PE, CC, JC, WDIM, DA, CQ, LAA |
| Villars, Verena | b. 1892. Wife of Rev. Gregory Villars, vicar of Northbridge. Typical languid, middle-aged, attractive Thirkell heroine. Had “a bit of a heart.” Two sons. | SH, CBI, NR, GU, MB, PE, DD, JC, WDIM, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Wagstaffe | Signals officer for Barsetshire Regiment. | GU |
| Waring | Sir Harry’s grandfather. Married a London heiress and had the Priory built by a friend of hers. | GU |
| Waring, Cecil | Cousin and heir of Sir Harry Waring. Brother of Leslie. Parents had been killed in an accident. Lt. Commander in Royal Navy. Tall and spare with hawk’s nose and light blue eyes. Had a bit of shrapnel in him from D-Day, which came loose, but he was rushed to Barchester Hospital by Cora Palliser, whom he later married. Inherited Beliers Priory, farmed the land, also started a prep school for naval orphans. | GU, LAR, DD, HR2, JC, WDIM, CQ, LAA |
| Waring, Gen. Sir Harry | (1866-1949) Resident of Beliers Priory before war. Son George (deceased), wife Harriet. Was in 408th Regt. in Boer War and WWI. Although he had been a general, he hated making tough decisions. Lived in servants’ quarters during war while most of the Priory was a convalescent hospital. Died by the time of DD. | GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, WDIM, ESR, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Waring, George | (1900-1918) Son of Sir Harry and Lady Waring. Killed just before Armistice Day in WWI. Attended Southbridge School. Had been in love with Dean Crawley ‘s oldest daughter, then 15, when he left. | GU, PE, LAR, DD, HR2, CQ, LAA |
| Waring, Lady Harriet | (1878-1949) Wife of Gen. Sir Harry Waring. Tall and distinguished. Competent, hard-working, intelligent, and well educated. Never truly recovered from the death of her son in 1918. | GU, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, WDIM, CQ |
| Waring, Leslie | Cousin of Sir Harry and Lady Waring. Sister of Cecil. Worked in Naval charities organization until she had a breakdown and came to Beliers Priory to recuperate. Had been torpedoed while returning from America and was in an open boat for two days. Married Philip Winter and helped him turn Beliers Priory into a school after the war. Children Noel (1946) and Harriet (1948). | GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, CQ |
| Waring, Sir George | Father of Sir Harry. Modernized the Priory to some extent for his hunting friends. Built Ladysmith Cottages in Worsted. | GU |
| Wicklow, Roddy | Son of Mr. Wicklow of Barton and Wicklow, Architects. Assistant estate agent to Mr. Hoare at Pomfret Towers, later took over the estate himself. Big, good-natured, he married Alice Barton and became invaluable assistant to his brother-in-law Giles, Lord Pomfret. Wounded in leg, which kept him out of most of war, but returned to fight in Belgium near war’s end. | PT, B, BL, CBI, MH, GU, HM, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, DD, WDIM, ESR, NTL, DA, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Winston | Kitten born to the Phipps’s cat Flossie and a Persian tom cat. Given to Matron to replace the cat shot by Private Jenks. Silky and smoke-colored. | GU |
| Winter, Philip | Under-housemaster to Everard Carter at Southbridge School, where he was Senior Classics Master. Son of a clergyman. At first meeting, a hot-tempered communist sympathizer. Was engaged to Rose Birkett, the nitwit daughter of the headmaster, and was extremely jealous. Became unengaged on day of memorable picnic on an island in the Rising River at Northbridge, culminating in Rose’s throwing her ring at him (a relief to all concerned). Joined the Territorials during the war, rose to rank of Colonel, and lost his communist sympathies. Was called “Carrots” and “Fireworks” in school because of red hair. Married Leslie Waring, started Priory School in Beliers Priory, later moved school to Harefield. | SH, CBI, GU, MB, PBO, PE, LAR, OBH, CC, DD, HR2, JC, ESR, CQ, LAA, 3S&T |
| Woolton, Lord | Apparently responsible for rationing during war. | GU |