A little more about Murray, Marcus, and Philippa Dowding in the Yate and Sodbury Voice ...

 

 

"Septimus Murrells Dowding (aka Murray Dowding, 1881-1966) was one of the most renowned figures in the modern history of Chipping Sodbury ... he was a notable civic figure and local historian ... Dowding was also a colourful character, eccentric, and well-read ..."

Really lovely to see my grandfather Murray Dowding, my father Marcus Dowding, and me (yes, Philippa Dowding), all connected in this article by David Hardill, in the Yate and Sodbury Voice. Thank you, David!

Here is the full article: Yate's Dowding Connection, October 4, 2023, by David Hardill

I recently returned from a fascinating research trip to England, in which I was visiting archives to read about WWII and the day my father survived the main bombing of Parnall's Aircraft Factory, in Yate. He was 15 years old on February 27, 1941, and although he survived the bombing, 53 of his coworkers and friends did not. I've always known about this story, but I've never researched it before, and I have to say that the experience was incredibly moving.

At the Gloucester Archive:
Holding one of
Murray's postcards.

There are so many ways to sidle up to our histories, yet sitting in an archive and reading or listening to first-hand accounts of your intimate family past ... no one can really prepare you for the impact that makes upon you. How it changes you. How past and present come face to face in a sudden jolt. It's a fascinating experience.

Thank you to the Canada Council Research and Creation Grant, for sending me on this fascinating journey. I'm still processing it, but I will be adding more and more information here in the weeks and months to come. This research will culminate in a young adult/late middle grade novel, more to come on that!

At right: "The open mouth of this hideous face was used as a peep-hole from the Lady's gallery into the banqueting hall at Little-Sodbury Manor House, Glos. A rare specimen. Dates from about 1500. Copyright, M.D."

More posts about Murray Dowding here.

Update: The War Lantern will be published October, 2026.

Research, roots, and Saxon ramparts

 

Author and road named for her grandfather, 
Murray Dowding, near Old Sodbury, Gloucestershire.
Photo credit: Rich McDonough

After taking hundreds of photos on my recent research trip to England, this one kind of captures a lot of how the trip went. 

It was fantastic. I met family (some I'd never met before) and friends old and new, discovered histories, heard narratives, and drew close to my roots here, in Chipping Sodbury, part of the beautiful Cotswolds. 

At left, I am standing beside the street named for my grandfather, Murray Dowding, who was a talented photographer and who took thousands of photos of his part of England from the 1890s-1930s. His photographic record is in archives all throughout Gloucestershire, and part of my trip was to see as many as I could.

The other part of my trip was to research a book based on my father's experience as a boy, bombed during a work shift at the local Yate aircraft parts factory (Parnalls), in 1941. 

Read more about THE WAR LANTERN here.

Difficult reading, hard material to work with, I drew close to the war and my father in a way I never have. The book-writing commences now.

I discovered so much about my father's life in wartime England, in archives and on-site videos, and through listening to the Yate Oral History Project (headphones image). Thank you to David Hardill for all his help there.

This part of the research trip was generously supported by a Canada Council Research and Creation grant, and I am and will be forever thankful for the opportunity to travel to England (where I was born) to do research on a book about my father's wartime experience. Stay tuned, it will be finished next spring, more to come as I work with all this material.

More to come too, as I slowly process and digest this amazing trip. Trip of a lifetime friends, truly.