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Say Hello To----Pam & Gwil Price
Last month’s passion was Yoga. This month’s passion is the Church. See how we look after your needs in the NK News! Pam has been a member of the Parochial Church Council for 50 years and Gwil for 30. He’s also been a churchwarden for over 20 years. They are both active in our village and have interesting tales to tell of village history, with an extended family living in our village. More of that later. Pam and Gwil both feel that the church should be more appreciated by those of us that resort to it only for weddings and funerals. There are currently no churchwardens, which could precipitate closure of the church, and the church gates are in need of a coat of paint. Volunteers for both jobs would be most welcome.(Contact: Liz Jones, Carolyn Sanders, Sarah Holmes or Peter Lawrence for details) You could say ‘Hello’ to Pam and Gwil between 10 am and 5 pm on Tuesday 7th June when they will be at the church raising funds on Gift day.
Pam, who is 79, moved to Sparrow Lodge in Pincet Lane when she was five. She remembers her mother dragging most of the family (8 sisters and 3 brothers) to see Coventry burning on the skyline and German bombers flying in formation during the WW2 blitz. In 1950 Pam moved into the newly built Elmcroft on the corner of Elmcroft Road, and 62 years later she’s back there. In between times Pam moved to Dorset when 14 years old to work as a parlour maid, moved back to NK at 21, lived in the signalman’s cottage at NK station and married her first husband, George Mullard. George died of a tropical disease picked up in Burma during the war, and Pam married Gwil, who was a close friend of George, in 1974. Pam remembers a thriving active NK station, with 8 lorries a night trundling over the level crossing (see Memory Corner) as they carried steel from Corby to Birmingham. Station cargo included thousands of roses from Gandys, even more mushrooms from Kimcote, and milk from the dairy – as in Dairy Cottages. Once she was asked to retrieve an express train driver’s false teeth from the track; he couldn’t stop to pick them up himself. Pam was a school governor for 16 years and taught children (including our children, Scott and Kate) cooking. She specialises in sugar craft on wedding and birthday cakes and is currently working on a cake for Bea Poole’s mother, Freda Parr who will be 100 on July 5th. Gwil has been equally active. As well as his Church work he ran the youth club for many years, was on both the village hall committee and the parish council, and was a successful member of many darts and skittles teams. He’s been a bell ringer for 20 years, is the bell tower captain, and has a prestigious award for a 3 hours non stop First Full peal. Luckily for us, that 3 hours was in Marston Trussell. Gwil hopes to raise enough money to re-furbish our bells and fit a sixth bell, which would allow NK to compete in bell ringing competitions. £35k would see the job done. An active 77, Gwil was born in Llandovery, mid-Wales. He came to NK aged 7, and struggled at school because he spoke no English. Pam was at the same school, and felt sorry for him – so sorry that 30 years later she married him. The family home was Elmwood Cottage, overlooking the bowls club. He worked for a variety of businesses including the farm that once operated by the village green, and Midland Meat Packers. Pam and Gwil have plenty of relatives in the area, including daughter Melanie, husband Paul and granddaughter Emily who is 4. Gwil’s sister Dylis Thomas lives with husband Dave almost opposite them on Station Road; Peter Cook is Pam’s brother in law which makes her an aunty to Brian Cook and Janet Allman; Pam is aunty to Richard and David (Boots) Haupt and her sister Gwen lives in Knighton Yard. They are everywhere! Although there is a possibility that they will move to Lutterworth, Pam and Gwyl will always be around NK – so please say ‘Hello’ to them in your travels. DB
MEMORY CORNER North Kilworth Station before the days of Dr Beeching! This is where Pam worked as a porter. Can anyone date the car?