Professor Pickerton

DO YOU KNOW By the late Harry Church

Along the New Read, past Strike Command is a small building site, where once stood | Rolfe's Farm, but now called GRIMMS MBADOW, and at the southernmost end of the Lacey Green Parish.

Opposite is a house ‘The Quarries', previously known as ‘The Blue House! which came near to world-wide fame as, in the early part of this century, Professor Pickerton and his daughter lived there.

He was a prolific inventor and came near to some wonderful inventions, discoveries, call them what you will, but were always just behind the times.

Although I have just a faint recollection of his doings, this is mainly from heresay, and I have had to rely on cuttings from newspapers and verbal anecdotes, from people who knew him well or knew of his work. For instance Mrs. Monger, still living at Walters Ash and over 90 years of age, worked for him as did Mr. Frank Gibbons of Naphill who is now deceased and gave me much information and showed me newspaper cuttings from the National Press.

Mr. Reg. Tilbury who lives at Parslows Hillock Cottages, remembers when the Professor having set up a small hut at the rear of his house, installed equipment, then his assistant went over near the bridleway from Highwood Bottom to Lily Bottom, and commenced to, what the locals called ‘talk into the ground'. This believe it or not was an early type of wireless telegraphy. The fundamental difference between this and Marconi's being that he used the air and ground to transmit wave sounds, whereas Pickerton used the ground only.

Other inventions included a quite advanced type of machine gun, which did in fact bring him in some good financial reward, and an interesting but crude kind of radio controlled submarine, which he tried out on the pond which used to be on the corner by the road.

He employed local labour to make an early type of coal briquette, and Mr. Gibbons well remembered fetching waggon loads of small coal from Saunderton Station round about 1904 when the then new line commenced to carry goods traffic, The briquettes being made in a small shed behind what is now the Officers Mess.

Mr. Gibbons used to bring Government Officials to Walters Ash to see some of the Professors inventions demonstrated, and an especially smart pony and trap being kept for that purpose. A grand dinner was laid on as it was essential to keep up, if only temporary, an appearance of affluence.

This was followed by a period of stringent economy as Pickerton's only regular source of income was the coal briquette business.

I have been unable to find out what finally happened to this clever man who was just not able to make a success of life, or perhaps did not live in just the right era.