A 97-year-old east Suffolk woman who has devoted her whole life to serving others has penned a book dedicated to the place where she grew up.
In her lifetime, former teacher Heather Phillips MBE has seen three national referendums, five monarchs and 20 Prime Ministers – and for almost all of those years, she has lived in the village of Wenhaston where she was born.
“Our village couldn’t survive without volunteers,” said Mrs Phillips.
She herself has given tirelessly to the village near Halesworth over the years, having served as a parish councillor for almost seven decades, from 1955 to 2022.
When the Festival of Suffolk Torch Relay took place in 2022, Mrs Phillips was chosen to represent Wenhaston.
And since 2005, she has been a Member of the British Empire, having been recognised for 50 years of continuous and dedicated service to the community.
So, Mrs Phillips could surely be forgiven if she had spent her time since retiring from the council enjoying a well-deserved rest. In fact, she has been busy working on a book which is part memoir, part history of the village, with the help of her friend, Janice Claxton.
For the past three years, Mrs Phillips has been jotting down her memories on paper, which she has taken to Mrs Claxton to transcribe at the weekly village hall café.
Finally, this labour of love is complete.
“My memories of the village go back to the early 1930s, when we went to bed by candlelight,” said Mrs Phillips. “We lived with my grandparents for a time, then we had our own home.”
Mrs Phillips won a scholarship to the Sir John Leman Grammar School in Beccles, which she began attending in September 1939. She left the school in July 1945.
She continued: “I went from Halesworth to Beccles every day by steam train. Every day through the war, despite the bombings, that train got me to school and got me home every night.”
Mrs Phillips had three “narrow escapes” from bombings during that time.
On one occasion, a bomb was dropped outside her family’s home.
“I remember we had just marked out a tennis court the night before. After the bomb, the whole tennis court and front lawn was covered with sand. The hedge might not have been there – we could walk right from our front door, over the hedge to the edge of the crater,” she said.
On a third occasion, Mrs Phillips was training in first aid, again in Halesworth, when the unmistakable whir of a doodlebug could be heard overhead – before it abruptly stopped.
Everyone who lived through the war was familiar with this sound, and knew that when it stopped, it meant the bomb was about to hit.
“When it was dark, we didn’t know where it would land, whether it would be where we were or not – it was quite frightening,” she remembered. “It landed about a mile away in Chediston.”
Readers can now learn all about Mrs Phillips memories of the village in her book, My Life and Family in Wenhaston, an Independent Village.
Because she is no longer able to volunteer herself, Mrs Phillips has decided that all proceeds from the book will go towards the village hall and the parish church.
Historically minded readers may be interested to learn what the oldest thing in the village is, said Mrs Phillips – but they will need to read the book to find out.
My Life and Family in Wenhaston, An Independent Village by Heather Phillips MBE can be purchased from Halesworth Bookshop, Wenhaston Post Office, or from the Wenhaston Village Hall Bazaar which will be held on December 14, 2pm to 4pm
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