Profile Parish Profile – Gwen & Derrick Thurley Gwen & Derrick Thurley, a very well known and highly respected couple in the village, were both born in Melbourn in 1921. Derrick was born in the centre of the village where the garage now stands in what was a Campkin’s cottage, where he lived until he was three years old, when the family moved to Whaddon. His grandfather, Charles Harrup, lived and worked as a wholesale fruit grower from the premises now occupied by Fieldgate Farm shop and he owned several orchards in Meldreth. At the age of 11 the family moved back to Meldreth, but to one of the houses just beyond Sheen Mill, which meant that he went to Melbourn Primary school rather than Meldreth as it was closer. He has a younger brother, a Chartered Accountant, who met and married a Scottish lass and moved to Scotland where they still live. Gwen, having been born Gwen Vellam in the white house next to The Star, was already at the school with Mr. Ogden and head teacher Mr. Varley and she and Derrick became classmates. Gwen’s father worked with Jack Palmer growing fruit and at one time he had over 500 pigs and hens. Her grandfather, William Vellam, had come from Lincolnshire to work at Meldreth Station. She had one sister Daphne, who married Christopher Wedd and lives at Summerhouse Farm, and also a half brother Eric. At the age of 14 Derrick got a free scholarship to the Cambridge Technical School and Gwen joined him there on a Triggs scholarship, Derrick doing training for the building industry and Gwen doing a business-training course. They used to travel in to school on the ‘Bedlam Bus’ so named because of the rowdy occupants! (Funny thing, it was still the same when MY daughters went to Cambridge on the school bus!) They both remained there until they
were 16 when Gwen left to work in Royston at the North Met Electricity Co., cycling there each day. Derrick went to work, also by bicycle, at the Aero Research in Duxford, which later became CIBA Geigy. After work he would then cycle into Cambridge for an evening class in building and architecture and finally back home to Melbourn. A very fit young man! During this time they were courting but in 1939 the second World War started and this threw a spanner in the works. The Atlas Cement Company offices relocated from London to the safety of Whaddon, and Gwen applied for and secured a job in the office. Derrick meanwhile was not called up because, as a technician he was marked down for vital defence work at Landguard Fort at Felixstowe where he worked on the installation of gun emplacements. Whilst the work was supervised by the army, he was actually employed by Coulsons. He was also concerned with building the 100ft high Director towers with 3ft thick walls at Beacon Hill, Harwich and with building searchlight emplacements into the sea.
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