SHARON by Tony Brady

The house named Sharon stands at the top of Stud Farm drive close to the village C of E church (St. Michael's). During the second half of the last century it was the family home of John and Ruth Magee. Formerly a tied-house, they inherited it from Ruth’s father: William Brewer. “Bill” had bought it from the former owners of Blaisdon Hall. He was employed as the electrical engineer before the Salesian Fathers acquired the property and was responsible for the generating equipment that powered the electricity throughout the Hall and outbuildings. In the five years period that Blaisdon Hall had stood empty, he maintained the equipment and was an unpaid watchman. When the Salesians arrived he was re-engaged to his former duties, eventually retiring when Brother Jan Osrik SDB RIP took over and in due course connected the Hall to the National Grid.

Bill Brewer was a widower. He was a staunch Protestant, as was Ruth. John Magee was a theologian one year away from ordination as a Salesian priest in the late 1940s. Ruth would sometimes accompany her father to the Hall where she came into contact with John: an attraction formed which led to John abandoning his vocation and marrying Ruth. A couple of years later their only son was christened Timothy, in nearby St. Michael’s Church.

Unfortunately, anyone in those days (1940s 1950s) who left a Religious Community, was described as "having lost their vocation" and was looked upon as something of a pariah. They lost everything; departing with little more than the clothes they stood up in. Practical charity, I am sorry to record was in short supply. Only in comparatively recent years, has a form of re-settlement with compensation and commutation of N1 & Pension rights been granted to Religious Community "leavers."

I was friendly with John in the years 1955-1961 and he talked to me occasionally about the trauma of his departure from his Community and what he saw as a "blacklisting", as he said his former fellow students were banned from visiting him at his home. Many came anyway, clandestinely. Ruth was very bitter towards the Salesians as John's action was seen as even worse than usual because she was a Protestant. Ruth longed for her husband to continue his studies for the protestant ministry but John would have to renounce his catholic faith. To ensure an income he studied by correspondence course and qualified as a teacher. This led to a teaching post at Abenall Secondary School, Cinderford and he completed his career there as Headmaster.

After retirement, John studied Divinity and became a Church of England Deacon to the great joy and pride of Ruth. The last time I was with them together was when I attended Morning Service in St. Michael’s led by John and later had lunch in their home. Bill lived to be 90 and had died in the early 1960s. I remember him as a gruff, grumpy sort who came down to Stud Farm most days for fresh milk accompanied by Toby, his faithful long-lived dog. The Salesian Fathers were always referred to as “the Monks.” When Toby died I helped bereft Tim aged 8 bury it near The Gully.

As a child Timothy - always “Timmy” to his parents was often brought by his father down to the farm and as he grew was very much a part of the Stud Farm extended family group. John came to the farm chapel regularly to attend Sunday Mass. His son became a teacher and taught in London’s East End but died tragically in an accident there in his late twenties. John died of cancer relatively young and Ruth lived on alone in Sharon for many years.

My abiding memory of Sharon - among so many - is when I visited Ruth briefly a couple of years before she died. She recalled my happy attachment to John and Timmy and in a most poignant gesture took me for the first time ever upstairs. From a vantage point on the landing, Ruth led my gaze towards St. Michael’s Church and pointed out the visible graves of her beloved John and Timmy. I am glad that she appreciated me saying that her husband was a true Salesian in his vocation as an educator and that I was edified by his sincere beliefs and permanently influenced by his spiritual example and friendship. John had taught me to understand and respect each other’s feelings, values, beliefs and culture - attributes no less relevant today than in those distant Blaisdon times.

Tony Brady - February 2010