68 episodes
100 Years of Cox Frances
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- History
I am telling the story of ten siblings from the Machell Cox family, through the letters they wrote to each other. They were born in England between 1868 and 1884; seven of them lived in England and three lived abroad, in the Colonies. One of the siblings was my great grandfather.
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S4E7: Planes and Motor Cars
Send us a Text Message.Frances reads letters written by the Machell Cox siblings where they discuss the first planes to fly in England as well as motor cars. The letters in this podcast are from 1907 up till WW2.If you have forgotten which sibling is which, or you are new to this podcast, S3E4 Ten siblings - Who is who - will give you a recap.Bernard was a wealthy London stock broker and owned two cars in the 30s, mainly to benefit his siblings; he never learned to drive and had a chauffeur. ...
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S4E6: International hockey at Richmond & the Brooklyn Nursing Home
Send us a Text Message.Frances reads some letters written in April 1910 by the Machell Cox siblings.Edmund is yet again a delinquent, he is late writing his letter and thinks he should resign from the Budget.Avice is in Torquay with Bernard where he is recuperating after removal of his appendix and they tell their landlady all about booby traps.Enid describes Vera playing in an exciting hockey match at Richmond, Scotland v. England on 16 March 1910, and she also describes the sectarian riots ...
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S4E5: Katayeni - Throw him away
Send us a Text Message.Frances reads two letters, written by Aldwyn in Nyasaland in Feb and April of 1910.Aldwyn drew a sketch map of the mission station at Kota Kota (now Nkhotakota), showing the church, school & hospital buildings. I found his sketch, including the many buildings. The kitchen is separate to the dining room building (due to the risk of fire), and Aldwyn even drew the mud huts where the teachers lived. All Saints Cathedral is still there, running east-west, as ...
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S4E4: Build a school? Need a rifle!
Send us a Text Message.Frances reads two letters, written by Aldwyn in Nyasaland in January 1910.A village school is being built, with mud walls and a thatched roof, but it is only completed when Aldwyn uses his rifle to shoot game, so the villagers will get some dinner as payment.The 'CJ' steamer does not arrive, so Aldwyn does a lot of walking between villages, in the mud.300 come to church on Christmas morning, bringing offerings of live chickens, firewood, flour, bananas, eggs, rice and e...
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S4E3: Arguing convincingly about arguing
Send us a Text Message.Frances reads five letters, written by Bernard, Cuthbert, Arthur, Wilfred and Vera in February and March 1910.There is a great deal of polite arguing about whether the siblings should discuss (argue about) politics in the Budget.Bernard has appendicitis and is at the Brooklyn Nursing Home.Avice and Cecil are engaged.Cuthbert has been to a lecture and is fascinated with Shackleton and Scott, the Antarctic explorers.Arthur describes a Boy Scout visit by Robert Baden Powel...
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S4E2: Vera's account of Edward VII's funeral procession - May 1910
Send us a Text Message.This episode is all about the funeral procession of Edward VII in May 1910, as winessed by the Machell Cox siblings, through handwritten family letters, read by Frances.Vera again demonstrates how she is a great letter writer, and Bernard's annotations, on the funeral programme, after WW1, were unexpected.Does anyone know any more about the King's little dog Caesar? How much of the procession did he walk in? Frances would love to know.If you have enjoyed this podcast, w...