Mrs Isabella Gale
Isabella and Charles Gale
From the Collection of Mrs Jean Moulds
Resident of Muston and Bottesford
Sue Middleton
The 2011 July/August issue of Bottesford Village Voice included a short article on how Bottesford celebrated the Festival of Britain in 1951. A call to an editor of the Village Voice was made by a great niece of Mrs Gale offering a photograph of Isabella and Charles Gale. Later in life Mrs Gale, as one of the oldest residents in Bottesford, had the honour of crowning the Festival Queen in 1951.
Mrs Isabella Gale was born in Barnstone, in the parish of Plungar. Her parents were Thomas and Ann Pritchett and her father’s family seem to have worked in and around the villages of Plungar and Granby since the census of 1841.
Isabella Pritchett was born in about 1874 and according to the census of 1881 she may have had a twin sister named Rose.
In 1891, aged 16, she was working as a nurse for a farming family in Plungar and in October 1893 she married Charles Gale in Bingham.
Charles was born in Muston and in 1901 Isabella was living on Grantham Road, Muston with him and their three children, Charles (aged 6) Christopher (aged 4) and Cyril (aged 2). His occupation was horseman on a farm.
In 1911 the family still lived in Muston with Christopher (aged 14) and Cyril (aged 12). Charles was still employed as a horseman and his son Christopher was a general worker on a farm. Bella’s relations also remember that Charles was also a wagonner and that the family lived in Skerry Lane, Muston.
During WW1, Cyril Gale enlisted in Grantham. His service number was 49381 and he served with the 7th Battalion the Lincolnshire Regiment. He was killed on 27th April 1918 and is buried at Le Cateau Military Cemetery in France.
Pte. Cyril Gale's grave at Le Cateau Military Cemetery in France
From the Collection of Pauline and Terry Sheppard
Later, the Gales moved to Bottesford and lived in one of the two cottages (now demolished) on Church Street, near the main gate of the Church.
Mr and Mrs Gale's cottage would have been near to the one on Church Street shown above
From the Collection of Bill Pinfold
Charles Gale died on the 18th May 1957 aged 86 and Isabella Gale died 28th May 1962 aged 87 at the Catherine Dalley Home in Melton Mowbray. Her obituary in the Grantham Journal of June 1962 mentioned that she had always been a regular churchgoer and a member of the Mother’s Union, the WI and the Bottesford Forget-me-not Club.
It is remembered by close relations that Mrs Gale tended to wear dark colours, always wore gloves and always had an artificial flower as an adornment to her hat.
Crowning of the Festival of Britain Queen in 1951 in front of the Bottesford VC Memorial Hall: Left to right: Mr Heath, Dorothy Calcraft, Mr Gale, Mrs Gale and Margaret Waudby
From the Collection of Margaret Waudby