Reg & Rose Tilbury
From Lacey Green History
click Families for other local families
click Tilbury for others in this family.
Reginald Tilbury born 1899 at Hillock Cottages No 1, was the son of Eldred & Mary Ann Tilbury.
Lucy Rosetta 'Rose' Evans born 1908 in Wilston, near Tring was the daughter of William Job and Druesilla Evans who moved to Rowsham, nr. Aylesbury.
Reg and Rose married in 1928
Reg and Rose had 5 children as follows :-
John R Tilbury born April 1929 - died October 1929
Joan Rosemary Tilbury born 23rd July 1930, married Donald F Parslow in 1955. she died in April 1975.
Sheila I Tilbury born January 1932. married Joseph R Priest in 1952
Douglas Ian Evans Tilbury, known as 'Doug' born April 1934 married Kathleen Nicholls in 1959. died July 2022 For events in Doug's life click Doug Tilbury.
Michael G Tilbury born April 1944, married April 1966, Valerie Adkins. click Mick & Val Tilbury for their life story
In 1927 Reg bought the terrace of all four Hillock Cottages for £270. He sold Hillock Cottage no 4 to Owen Smith, Hillock Cottage no 3 to his mother and father, but kept nos.1 and 2 himself.
Hillock Cottage no 4 was the smallest, then 3, 2, 1 increasing in size - Hillock Cottage no 1 being the largest. No 1 also mentioned in 1956 Life at 4 Hillock Cottages
All four cottages had gardens, but number 1 had extra land as well.
Doug Tilbury explained. My father, Reg Tilbury, was born in 1898, and lived down Lily Bottom Lane on the right. A large area of land here was owned by the Princes Risborough Charities. People could rent a one acre strip or plot on which to grow food for themselves, or cereals to feed to pigs or chickens. Hillock Cottages no 1 had one such plot.
As a boy Reg spent most of his summer holidays stone picking on that large area. He was paid one pence per basket. The stones were emptied at the end of the field, and later loaded onto a horse and cart and taken to Cuddington for road building. The money he earned was just enough to pay for a pair of new boots, which would have to last him a whole year. His father would walk him to a cobbler who lived at Spring Coppice Lane in Speen on a Saturday night. To obtain the correct fit, he would stand on a piece of leather, and the cobbler would draw around his foot with a pencil, making an allowance for growth. They would return the next Saturday night to collect the new boots.
WW2 employment for schoolboys From an article by Gordon May. To read this article in full click 1947 Jobs for a War Time Boy
(Extract) I enjoyed my schooldays during the war. We were allowed 20 half days off per year. Another job that some of us boys had was to go potato picking, for any farmer who wanted us. We had a permit from the school for this. The only farmer brave enough to employ us was Mr Reg Tilbury who lived at Parslows Hillock (down the lane from the Pink and Lily). We boys would cycle from Lacey Green to the farm, and had a very enjoyable afternoon away from school.
1979. From the Bucks Free Press. Chair Bodger's Golden Day. A living link with the famed Chiltern chair bodgers, Mr Reg Tilbury and his wife Rose celebrated their Golden Wedding last Friday. Now in his eightieth year Reg recalls with pride his association with the men who created the local legend among the beechwoods of the Chilterns.
He can tell countless tales, some amusing, others sad, of the men who earned their living turning legs, spars and stretchers on the Earl of Hampden estates.
Reg was 13 when he started work with the bodgers. It was an 11 hour day for the princely sum of one and sixpence (old money) a week - - a shilling of which he gave to his mother for his keep. But he has no regrets. "They were good times" he says.
After a spell of active service during the first World War Reg returned to the bodgers for a while before turning to maket gardening. Later he btained Parish Council permission to farm the land around his home until he retired in 1965.
Rose was in service as a girl but after marrying Reg found she had enough work to do helping on the farm and bringing up her family.
Reg and Rose, who live at Parslows Hillocks, were married at St Nicholas Church, Great Kimble, Rose's birthplace. They have three surviving children, Sheila, Douglas and Michael, 12 grandchildren and are looking forward shortly to the arrival of a great grand-child.
On Tuesday there was a pleasant surprise for the couple when they found their friends at The 81st Club had made a cake in their honour. They were also presented with champagne and glasses.
And on Friday the whole family joined them in the home Reg has lived in all his life for a celebration with the barn cleared for dancing.
Rose Tilbury born 1908, died 1983
Reg Tilbury born 1899, died 1990