William (Percy) Percival Liddle

William Percival Liddle and his wife Louise

(typed by Jack Gainford, late in 2002)

Percy was born in 1883, and at Middleton Tyas he was chauffeur to the Pease family. Of the two Kneeton Cottages, he and his family occupied the one nearer to Darlington.

In 1982, we talked to a Mr Mather in Middleton Tyas. He could remember Percy. His father took over Percy’s job as chauffeur while Percy was away in the army during the first world war.

We also talked with Mr Wilf Stead, born in 1904. He remembered Percy and Alix well. Sir Arthur Pease made frequent trips to London by car, and Percy was often driving for most of the night, sometimes in fog. There was an annual cricket match in front of the Lodge, (Sir Arthur’s house), between staff and their families on the one side and a village team on the other. Percy on one occasion insisted on using his own bat, which turned out to be a home-made one, about twice the width of a normal bat!

According to Jack’s mother, though Percy was a good worker, he had a drink problem which eventually cost him his job as chauffeur. However, the family was held in such high esteem by Sir Arthur’s family that Sir Arthur arranged for him to have a job as an ambulance driver at the firm’s pits in the Esh Winning area. Today, that sounds bizarre.

Percy and Louis had two daughters, Elizabeth (Betty) and Dorothy.

We called on Edi and Betty Portmann at Barnard Castle in 1967, on our way back from Darlington to Wigton. Edi was Swiss. He rose to one of the top positions as a chemical engineer in the Glaxo firm, which had a factory there. I have not seen their John and Elizabeth since they were children. Betty died in August 1976 and Edi in 1990.

Cyril and Dorothy Holmes lived at Skipton. Dorothy died in 1979, and Cyril in 1996. I recall meeting Dorothy only once, but Rena and I called on Cyril once or twice after Dorothy died. We first met their daughters, Ann and Jeanne at Mollie Middleton’s funeral in 2001. Jeanne lives at Skipton and Ann a few miles outside.