Robertsbridge, East Sussex

[mazi]

Have you visited the Rother valley railway site, they are currently hoping to rebuild the connection to robertsbridge from bodiam

Their planning application for this includes the site of The Clappers.

Bridge six in blue on this plan,  middle left

http://www.rvr.org.uk/Planning%20Applications/Plan%20B%20(Sheet%202)%20-%20March%202014.pdf

They may be able to help

Mike

[mazi]

The house may have been demolished as part of the northstreet flood defences constructed in 2003/2004, if it was still there in 2000 it would have been badly hit by the 2000 floods

Mike

[klrose]

Hi Roy.
I notice your connection with Robertsbridge.

I am in contact with a lady called Nicola who is trying to trace her grandfather who was an Italian POW in that area. He worked on Walter’s Farm Poppinghole Lane, or one close by. The lady was called Rosa and they had a son called Albert John Jarrett (John) I would be grateful for any help or information that you may have about the wartime.

Many Thanks

Karen

[RoyW46]

Hello Karen

I am sorry, for the last few months I have not been very 'active' in Family Research as a result I have not been looking at Family History websites.

The name: Jarrett is familiar, but I cannot remember why at the moment.

I was born in Robertsbridge May 1946 and I remember that in c.1948 my father took me to an Italian POW camp in the village.  This was located at what is now: Heathfield Gardens (Residential area).  I remember my father carrying me into the Camp's canteen and being given a 'Jam Tart'.

In those years a number of former German and Italian POW's had remained after the War and married local woman.  The War had finished and I recall that there was no animosity towards those that remained.  To illustrate that, my father was a POW of the Germans for five years and was made to work in coal mines in Poland and the Czechoslovakia until he was liberated by the Russians.  He was friendly with all that lived in the village.

I went to school with children whose fathers were Italian or German.

I have a friend who lives at Walter's Farm in Poppinghole Lane, if you have any more information I can ask her or her husband if they have knowledge of: Albert John Jarrett (John).

Hope I have not confused you.  I look forward to hearing from you.
Roy
Roy Willard

[klrose]

Hi Roy.
Thanks for getting in touch. I think John Jarrett went to secondary school with you. He has spoken to Laurence Carter at Walters farm but drawn a blank. All close relatives have passed away and no one so far knows the Italian pow's name who had a relationship with Rosa Jarrett. I 'm exploring all avenues atm and any names etc that you can remember would be so helpful.

Many thanks

Karen

[RoyW46]

Karen
I have emailed my friend, she and her husband live at Walters Farm Cottages.  She will certainly know more than I do about John Jarrett and hopefully Rosa.
I will let you know when she replies to me.
Kind regards
Roy

[RoyW46]

Hi Karen

My friend: Nancy has replied to me, this is part of her reply:

John Jarrett and I are in contact with each other a lot. He was born in our cottage.
He was on tele a few months back as he is trying to trace his biological father who was an Italian POW who was working on this farm and BBC did some filming here, looked good on the tele. Don’t know if his first name is Albert though.
Anyway just ask me what it is. I know John and his daughter Nicola are very keen to find out more, to that end John had his DNA done but BBC couldn’t find his father

Karen, I am not too sure where to look next for further information.  I will get in touch with my Aunts in Robertsbridge, one is in her late 'eighties, the other in her nineties'.  There is always the chance they may remember ROSA and John's father

Kind regards
Roy

[klrose]

Thank you Roy.
Yes John has uploaded his DNA but no luck there so far. That would be great if you could speak to your aunts in Robertsbridge. It's unusual for no one to remember the Italian's first name.I'm sure there must have been mutterings about it all those years ago! If we could find his first name we could then go to The Red cross in Geneva and search there. That's how I found my grandfather.

Many thanks for your help

Best wishes

Karen

[acorngen]

I know this is a very old post but I wanted to add that until 2001 I lived on Heathfield Gardens and being a now retired archaeologist I decided to put in a small  dig in my back yard.  I expected to find nothing but during that small dig I found a think layer of tarmac and just under that a button which on investigation after came from an Italian trench coat.  WHilst I had it in mind that this must have been from a POW camp I could find no evidence to support that argument and in fact the older generations around my then address couldnt remember one there.  I had to say that the provenance of the button and tarmac surface was disturbed because when I got to the bottom there was a modern waste pipe running under it all.  To read roys post brought back the memories and as given me now the proof I needed to say my old home was built on an Old POW camp site. 

Im not sure if the ROberstbridge arch society was still active when this thread was new.  I was a member of Hastings group as I couldnt find one locally active

Rob