The family of a chauffeur from Eye who loyally served his employers until the very end are finally sharing his stories with the world, more than 50 years after his death.
The world changed almost beyond recognition during the life of Alfred King, who was employed by the Tacon family until 1952.
Alfred was born in 1891 in Winterton, the son of a fisherman and his wife.
Having left school at around 13, the young Alfred entered the family trade. However, he loathed the hours on end spent on a cold boat, and so, when he saw an advert for a chauffeur and gardener for the Bishop of Norwich, he leapt at the chance – and proved successful.
This was how Alfred met the woman who was to become his wife, Alice Holmes, who also worked in service.
When the First World War was declared, Alfred was called up to serve. He wanted to marry Alice before setting sail, but she persuaded him to wait until he returned, perhaps fearful of being left a widow, as her own mother had been.
Alfred would not return for another six years, serving in Gallipoli, Egypt, and the area now known as Palestine.
When he finally arrived home, the couple tied the knot, on August 2, 1920.
Finding work was difficult, but Alfred soon managed to find a position as chauffeur to Sir Thomas Tacon, a money lender in Eye.
Sir Thomas had a reputation for being a difficult man, said Alfred’s granddaughter, Christine Cooper. Indeed, few previous chauffeurs had lasted longer than three months.
The following year, Sir Thomas acquired Brome Hall, and it was decided that his youngest daughter, Maud, would take up residence there.
This she did – but only on the proviso that the family’s loyal chauffeur and head gardener went, too.
So, the Kings once again upped sticks, the family moving into a small cottage in the village of Brome.
This was a time when those in service believed in practising the utmost discretion, closely guarding their masters’ private lives and making sure never, ever to gossip.
Alfred and Alice spoke about the comings and goings of the Tacons only in the privacy of their own home.
Their sons, Eric and Alan grew up hearing these tales, but the couple's eldest daughter, Phyllis, had died as baby in 1923.
Maud was initially happy, hosting lavish garden parties for the people of Brome and Eye.
However, she cherished a secret passion; she had fallen in love with the local priest, the Reverend John Polycarp Oakey.
The couple hid their love for one another from prying eyes. Alfred would take Maude to Diss Railway Station, and then the vicar to Mellis, for they felt they could not even risk being seen waiting at the same train station together, lest their affair became a scandal.
However, murmurings did reach the Bishop, who was none too impressed – especially as Oakey had rooms at Brome Hall, until the Bishop ordered him back to the Eye Vicarage.
Maud and the Reverend Oakey became engaged, and hoped to marry. However, this was never to be.
During an Evensong service, the vicar collapsed in the pulpit of Eye Church and died.
Following a requiem mass in Eye, he was carried by an incense-filled hearse to Worcester to be interred, followed by Alfred driving a heartbroken Maude for the 170-miles journey.
Beside him kneels a figure believed to be the Reverend Polycarp Oakey, a lasting tribute to his memory.
Maud never married. Alfred continued to chauffeur her about, never being given a day off or a holiday, whether she was travelling to Diss or to Selfridges in London.
Even after Maud’s death in 1952, aged 71, Alfred continued to look after her memory.
“He was a very discreet person,” said Mrs Cooper. “When she died and the estate was going to be sold at auction, he was given the job of sorting everything.
“My grandfather took all of Polycarp Oakey’s clothes and the letters between them and burned everything. He erased all sign of him, so that her name would be protected.”
Brome Hall was sold and eventually demolished. Meanwhile, Alfred continued gardening in the village and enjoyed motoring in his own vehicles until he died in 1968.
His stories and the memories he shared are treasured by his family. His eldest son, Eric, became a local historian, and spent many years committing the stories he had grown up hearing to paper.
Before his death in 2022, Eric asked his brother, Alan, and nieces and nephew to approach the Tacons and ask permission to publish his book.
They gave their blessing and now, more than 100 years since Alfred started working for the Tacon family, his stories can be read in Eric’s book, The Car is at the Door.
The book details not only stories of the family; Mrs Cooper, who edited the book, explained that it also covers village life during the interwar years and beyond; how the introduction of electricity and the new water supply changed daily life; what it was like to work in service; and the story of a car, Bianchi Tourer built in 1910, which has remained in the Tacon family ever since.
To purchase a copy, visit: www.thecarisatthedoor.co.uk
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