Ryme Intrinseca

RYME INTRINSECA REP: Gilly Wilson 872982 gml.wilson@btinternet.com DISTRIBUTOR: Sue Goldsworthy 872699

Congratulations to Colin and Jan Millward who became first time grandparents when their daughter Rachel and her husband, Jamie Randell, welcomed a son Nathan into the world on 1 December.

Welcome to Chris and Miranda Pascucci who have come all the way from Blackpool to move into Barley Barn with their two dogs. Chris is a train driver, busy learning the routes to London and Bristol from Yeovil. Miranda is a dental hygienist for the NHS and she is working on Test and Trace too.

Welcome also to Georgianna and Ton Sol who join us from Hertfordshire at Violet Cottage. They are retired from running a florist business and are keen walkers, gardeners and classic cars enthusiasts. We hope they will all be very happy here.

Gilly Wilson

Leslie Arthur Gillard 1924 – 2020

Leslie Gillard, a long-time resident of Ryme, died on 27 Nov 2020. Leslie was born in Hinton St. George in 1924, moving with his parents to Netherton Farm at Closworth; his father was the carter on the farm, looking after six carthorses and two hunters. On leaving school at 14, Leslie began working for Mr. Tolley on the farm, helping with 250 sheep. His lifelong love of horses began walking miles in the fields behind the cart horses used in his youth for all farm work, though he did admit the arrival of tractors made his life a lot easier. When the War came, being in a reserved occupation he wanted to do his bit, so he upped his age from 16 to 18 and joined the Home Guard.

In 1941, a young lady called Edna House came to help in the farmhouse at Netherton. Soon she was also helping on the farm and so began a great partnership that was to last over 73 years. Leslie and Edna were married in 1947 at Sutton Bingham and had two children, Terry in 1948 and Rachel in 1950. In 1949, they left Netherton and went to work on neighbouring Darvole Farm for Mr. Snook at East Coker. 1960 saw the beginning of Leslie and Edna’s long association with the Batten family when they moved to Aldon on the edge of Yeovil, where Leslie became groom/gardener for Mr and Mrs Henry Batten, with Edna helping in the house. In 1965 the two families moved to Church Farm at Ryme Intrinseca. The Gillards were stalwarts of all Ryme activities including the village parties, cricket and rounders games. Many people locally will have memories of Leslie exercising horses on his regular route through Yetminster and back through Chetnole for many years, on two home bred greys that he adored, plus many others. As well as the hunters, Leslie looked after the children’s and later the grand children’s ponies, and also got ready the ponies that went weekly to Prince’s Place for Riding for the Disabled. He gave up riding in 1992 but continued to be a fount of information about all things equestrian. He continued with his gardening at Church Farm, managing two huge vegetable plots - one for the Battens and one for his family - and took great pride in caring for the lawns, spending hours walking miles behind the mower before a ride-on variety arrived. In later years he amused the grandchildren riding his mower across the fields to visit Terry’s family at Downfield.

Leslie was a great lover of sport, particularly football and horse racing and was a keen and well-known hunt follower. He also played skittles for the Rest and Welcome at Melbury and evening cricket at Closworth.

In 2015 Leslie and Edna moved to Brister End, Yetminster but the horses from Ryme were still calling in on him. He will be greatly missed by all his family, Rachel and Terry, four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

The photograph shows Leslie after receiving his long service award in Agriculture at the Bath & West Show in June 2000.