Books and Journals

The Badsey Society has a growing library of books and journals which are available for loan to Badsey Society members, subject to the following rules and regulations.

Whilst books have come from a variety of sources, the vast majority have come from the library of the late Tony Jerram, the first Chairman of The Badsey Society. Anthony Lionel Oldershaw Jerram (1937-2008), known as Tony, was born in Hampshire but moved to Fladbury in 1950 when his father took up a Directorship at J M Stokes Ltd. Following two years at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Tony was commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment in 1958. He had a distinguished career in the Army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He saw active service in Borneo and Northern Ireland and had tours abroad in nine other countries including Jamaica, British Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Libya, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Belize. He was awarded the MBE for organising the military contribution to fire-fighting in north-west England during the 1978 firemen’s strike. In the following year, he assumed command of the Territorial battalion of The Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters Regiment. After retiring from the army in 1989, Tony took up a civilian post at GCHQ in Cheltenham and received rapid promotion until retirement in 2002. In 1988, Tony had moved with his wife, Barbara, to Harrington House in Badsey. He was always at the forefront of village affairs and was a familiar figure around the streets of Badsey on his daily walks with two greyhounds. Tony was closely involved with both the asparagus and orchard DVDs published by The Badsey Society, acting as narrator and appearing in the opening scenes. At the time of his death, he was working as co-editor of the Society’s third publication scheduled for 2009, in which each of the Committee wrote a chapter. Tony’s chapter on World War Two was included in the publication; the book, Aldington and Badsey, Villages in the Vale: A Tapestry of Local History, was dedicated to Tony. Tony’s interests were many and varied, and his library of books, collected over many years, reflected this. After his death, his widow, Barbara, invited the Society to select some of his books.

Other people who have donated books include Richard Ecroyd, Wendy Gwynn, Brian Smith, Ann Sparrow and Peter Stewart. The journals are ones relating either to family history or local history.

The books and journals in the library fall into the following main categories: