100 Years of Cox

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Frances reads letters written by the Machell Cox siblings where they discuss the first planes to fly in England as well as motor cars. The letters in this podcast are from 1907 up till WW2.

If you have forgotten which sibling is which, or you are new to this podcast, S3E4 Ten siblings - Who is who - will give you a recap.

Bernard (No.6) was a wealthy London stock broker and owned two cars in the 1930s, mainly to benefit his siblings; he never learned to drive and had a chauffeur. Vera the hockey player (No.10) had a car and drove it herself. Cuthbert, (No.8), HM of Berkhamsted School had a car; he didn't learn to drive and also had a chauffeur. Enid (sibling No.1) and Alfred also had a car. The other siblings couldn't afford to drive a car.

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

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Frances reads some letters written in April 1910 by the Machell Cox siblings.

Edmund is yet again a delinquent, he is late writing his letter and thinks he should resign from the Budget.
Avice is in Torquay with Bernard where he is recuperating after removal of his appendix and they tell their landlady all about booby traps.
Enid describes Vera playing in an exciting hockey match at Richmond, Scotland v. England on 16 March 1910, and she also describes the sectarian riots in Liverpool.
Bernard describes what it was like being ill at the Brooklyn nursing home and comments on everyone else's letters.
 

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

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Frances reads two letters, written by Aldwyn in Nyasaland in Feb and April of 1910.

Aldwyn drew a sketch map of the mission station at Kota Kota (now Nkhotakota), showing the church, school & hospital buildings.  I found his sketch, including the many buildings. The kitchen is separate to the dining room building (due to the risk of fire), and Aldwyn even drew the mud huts where the teachers lived. 

All Saints Cathedral is still there, running east-west, as in Aldwyn's sketch, with the vestry still on the south-eastern corner. St Anne's Mission hospital is also still sited on the former slave trading site, near the David Livingstone tree (which Aldwyn doesn't mention.)

Miss Thompson, one of the UMCA nurses, frets that Aldwyn may have another fever. Meanwhile Mr Manning tells stories of Winston Churchill at Ladysmith.

Aldwyn is off 'on ulendo' again, and if he doesn't take a tent the doctor tells him off, as he risks getting tick fever again.

And Katayeni is a small boy whose name means 'throw him away' (he was weak and sickly at birth). Katayeni is a word from the Chinyanja language, which Aldwyn could speak and write. It is now known as Nyanja or Chewa, and is one of the languages of the Bantu people of southern Africa

0:00 Intro
04:10 Aldwyn's letter, 20th February 1910
08:07 Notes on Aldwyn's letter
15:32 Aldwyn's letter, 24th April 1910
21:14 Notes on Aldwyn's letter

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

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Frances reads two letters, written by Aldwyn in Nyasaland in January 1910.

A village school is being built, with mud walls and a thatched roof, but it is only completed when Aldwyn uses his rifle to shoot game, so the villagers will get some dinner as payment.

The 'CJ' steamer does not arrive, so Aldwyn does a lot of walking between villages, in the mud.

300 come to church on Christmas morning, bringing offerings of live chickens, firewood, flour, bananas, eggs, rice and even a square of soap.

 
0:00 Intro
3:10 Aldwyn's letter, 5th January 1910
09:02 Kota Kota (Nkhotakota) 
12:12 Notes on Aldwyn's letter
20:24 Aldwyn's letter, 29th January
22:56 Notes on Aldwyn's letter
28:38 Sibling comments

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

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Frances reads five letters, written by Bernard, Cuthbert, Arthur, Wilfred and Vera in February and March 1910.

There is a great deal of polite arguing about whether the siblings should discuss (argue about) politics in the Budget.
Bernard has appendicitis and is at the Brooklyn Nursing Home.
Avice and Cecil are engaged.
Cuthbert has been to a lecture and is fascinated with Shackleton and Scott, the Antarctic explorers.
Arthur describes a Boy Scout visit by Robert Baden Powell.
Wilfred is home from Canada unexpectedly, and no one recognises him.
Vera has also been in the Nursing Home but recovers enough to play international hockey at Richmond.

0:00 Intro
3:04 Bernard's letter, 20th February 1910
18:53 Cuthbert's letter, 27th February
29:41 Arthur's letter, 6th March
39:45 Wilfred's letter, 10th March
48:03 Vera's letter, 17th March

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

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This episode is all about the funeral procession of Edward VII in May 1910, as winessed by the Machell Cox siblings, through handwritten family letters, read by Frances.

Vera again demonstrates how she is a great letter writer, and Bernard's annotations, on the funeral programme, after WW1, were unexpected.

Does anyone know any more about the King's little dog Caesar? How much of the procession did he walk in? Frances would love to know.

If you have enjoyed this podcast, would you write Frances a review or give her a rating? Many thanks. 

0:00 Intro
7:35 Kings and Queens 
11:50 Vera's letter, 21st May 1910
26:02 Notes on Vera's letter
37:10 Other sibling accounts

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

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Frances has been in the northern hemisphere for a few months, visiting family and undertaking a great deal of Machell Cox research.

Coming up in the podcast will be more stories from 1910, more hockey and Vera and Great Comp and more crossed letters, as Frances continues to unpick the story of these ten interesting siblings, born from 1868 to 1884.

In May 2022 Frances gave a talk at The Hockey Museum, in Woking, about Vera, hockey and budget letters. If you visit Youtube and The Hockey Museum you will be able to watch. 

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

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This episode is all about hockey. Frances reads poems written about Vera and hockey in 1908, as well as letters written by Vera, describing hockey tournaments at Weston-Super-Mare in 1911 and at Great Comp, home of the Heron Maxwells, in 1912. 

Vera is a great letter writer, and her vivid descriptions makes it very easy to imagine the events  that occurred.

0:00 Intro
3:10 Vera, hockey and poems
6:34 Weston Hockey Tournament - January 1911
17:37 Great Comp Hockey Tournament - November 1912 
26:26 The Joys of Hockey - 1909

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a Text Message.

Frances reads a second letter, written by Matilda Machell a week later, on Thursday 27th April, 1826, from 22 Gloucester Place in London. Ten letters of Matilda's have survived, all were written in the 1820s to her favourite brother, Christopher, back home in Beverley, Yorkshire.

Minnie (Matilda's daughter) kept these letters; after her death they were transcribed by her husband (Dr Cox) in 1912, for the ten siblings to read - Matilda was their grandmother.

Matilda describes carriage rides in Hyde Park, more balls and parties, visiting Boston Manor House in Brentford, home of the Clitherows, as well as all the people she meets, and what she thinks of them.

Other episodes of 100 Years of Cox  featuring Matilda Machell - 
S1E6: Matilda and Minnie
S2E6: Send horses to Hull
S2E7: Ann, Matilda and vile Colonel Donnington
S3E15: Matilda, the Belle of East Riding

If you have enjoyed this podcast, would you please write a review or give a rating? Many thanks. 


0:00 Intro
3:14 Matilda's letter, Thursday April 27th 1826
19:17 Notes on Matilda's letter
29:23 More notes on Matilda's letter

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.

Send us a Text Message.

Frances reads a letter written by Matilda Machell on Tuesday 18th April, 1826 from 22 Gloucester Place in London. Ten letters of Matilda's have survived, all were written to her favourite brother, Christopher, back home in Beverley, Yorkshire.

Minnie (Matilda's daughter) kept these letters; after her death they were transcribed by her husband (Dr Cox) in 1912, for the ten siblings to read - Matilda was their grandmother.

Matilda describes her piano teacher,  the piano virtuoso and composer Ignaz Moscheles, as well as visits to the opera, and very many parties and Balls, during the London season.

Other episodes of 100 Years of Cox  featuring Matilda Machell - S1E6 (Matilda and Minnie), S2E6 (Send horses to Hull), S2E7 (Ann, Matilda and vile Colonel Donnington)

It goes without saying - Matilda and her brother Christopher would be staggered that you are listening to their letters, almost 200 years after they were written. Enjoy.

If you have enjoyed this podcast, would you please write a review or give a rating? Many thanks. 

0:00 Intro
5:58 Matilda's letter, Tuesday April 18th 1826
13:31 Notes on Matilda's letter

You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters

All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.