Saturday 23rd June 2001
Danny Howell writes:
Many people, particularly those living in or connected with Bapton and the surrounding area, will recall Bapton Stores (and its bakery), run by Roy Bryant and his wife Gladys (nee Weare). Mr. and Mrs. Bryant were ably assisted for many years by Joyce Coward whose warmth, genteel manner, steady presence and demeanour, made her an almost permanent fixture in an ever changing world. As well as undertaking shop and bakery duties, Joyce also helped, when necessary, with the bringing up of the Bryant children Christine and Peter. Joyce, who was a very likeable person, passed peacefully away on Saturday 23rd June 2001, while staying with Peter Bryant in Weston Super Mare. She was 79 years old.
The funeral service for Joyce Coward was held at St. John the Baptist Church, Stockton, on Wednesday 4th July. The Rev. Bryan Thomas conducted the service and Mrs. Carol Thomas played the organ. The service included Handel’s Largo, the hymns The King Of Love My Shepherd Is; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling; and All Things Bright And Beautiful; and the Reading was 1 Corinthians 13. An address was read by Peter Bryant, before prayers were said. After the service, Joyce’s body was interred in the churchyard at Stockton, and the family invited the mourners to refreshments at the Carriers Arms, Stockton. Donations in memory of Joyce, were given to CLIC (Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood).
Danny Howell has a copy of the address read out by Peter Bryant at Joyce’s funeral. We are happy to publish it here:
JOYCE
Miriam Joyce Coward or just Joyce as she was so fondly known, to her sister she was Sissy, to her nephews just Aunt and to a few others, affectionately, Polly – a reference to her wonderful brew of tea.
Joyce was not an academic, she will not be remembered in history for great and wondrous deeds, but what she did possess is something that very few others ever aspire to: A loving and caring nature, a shoulder for others to cry on, a confidant, a listener, a person who would always find something nice to say about everyone she ever met and would only ever give advice if asked and not then until she had time to reflect on all the issues at stake.
Joyce was born at Longbridge Deverill on 18th February 1922, the eldest of three children born to Jim and Dorothy May Coward. The family moved from Longbridge Deverill to the quaintly named place of Smoky Bottom on what was Colonel Jeans’ estate at Fisherton Delamere, where Joyce’s father took up the position of shepherd. Joyce, her brother and sister, George and Virgie, attended the village school at Wylye which meant a three to four mile walk twice a day including the mile-long muddy track from the A36 to Smoky Bottom.
She left school at fourteen and looked for work. At this time my parents, Roy and Gladys Bryant, at the Stores, Bapton, were looking for a young girl to live in and assist in the shop and bakery and generally help out where necessary. Timid and very shy, Joyce came to live at Bapton. The year was 1936, the year my sister, Christine, was born. I was born a few years later. Christine and I have very happy memories of Joyce helping to look after us; she was, indeed, a second mum. Later she became a second mother to Bob Norris and his brothers and sisters when they tragically lost their mother, Winnie, who had been a close friend of Joyce’s for many years.
As kind and caring as she was, Joyce was in no way a push-over. When I was about five years of age my mother was in bed for a number of weeks very ill and Joyce was in charge. Plainly I had been naughty once again and Joyce in complete and utter exasperation held my head under the kitchen tap and when I squealed “blue murder’ she rammed a bar of soap in my mouth to shut me up. At this point there was a knock and there, framed in the back door, was the doctor who had come to see my mother. He thought the prognosis was good, that I should live and he couldn’t possibly prescribe better medicine.
Joyce’s hobbies included gardening, knitting, sewing, and embroidery, and in later years, crocheting. In all of these pastimes she excelled. Her flower garden was always a sight to behold and she was always swapping or giving cuttings and bulbs to others. In the lean years after the Second World War Joyce knitted pullovers and jumpers for her family and for us at Bapton. Her workmanship was particularly intricate as she mastered the complexities of Fair Isle knitting.
Over the years I have heard many people remark that it was such a shame that Joyce never married as she would have made the ideal mum, a fact that I completely and utterly endorse. One thing for sure she had no intention of being swept off her feet by American G.I.’s who swamped the Wylye Valley in the early forties. Joyce helped out at the NAAFI which operated out of the old Woolstores at Codford, and, of course, like NAAFI girls everywhere she became a target for the Americans who were over-paid, over-sexed and over here. Amorous suitors were soon put in their place as Joyce informed them that she was engaged to be married to Captain such and such or Major so and so. The G.I.’s were so overwhelmed by the rank that Joyce was considered most definitely off-limits.
In the summer of 1950 Joyce’s mother died unexpectedly and Joyce went home to Rockbourne, near Fordingbridge, to look after her father and Virgie who was still living at home. Joyce stayed at Rockbourne and looked after her father until his death in 1962. She then returned to her second family, the Bryants, at Bapton. My father had finished baking in 1958, so on her return there was the shop and house to run at Bapton, while my mother looked after the shop and post office at Stockton. Joyce was very highly thought of by all of her customers, she had a ready smile and a welcome for everyone, and, very importantly, she never repeated anything that was told to her in confidence.
Those of you who called at Bapton will remember the friendly banter that existed between my father and Joyce. I recall an amusing incident one lunch time when Dad made a remark about the quantity of food that Joyce was about to eat, to which she replied, “You make me work like a horse, so I’ll eat like one.”
A few years ago a family friend of the Cowards was driving Virgie, her husband Basil, and Joyce, to visit relatives in Surrey. When they neared London they were stopped by a very aggressive traffic policeman for some minor infringement. The policeman put his head through the driver’s side window to give the driver a stern telling off. Joyce, sitting in the back, leaned forward, with her hand out-stretched, and said, “Would you like a sweetie?” If all people acted like Joyce the expression “Road Rage’ would never have been invented.
Joyce particularly liked children and imagine her joy when Virgie gave birth to first Alan, followed by Ian, and then years later two great nephews Philip and Matthew. Joyce loved her family and on visits and holidays home to Virgie’s she would encourage her to organise family parties, but to the amusement of them all, Joyce would not enter into conversation with any of them but was content to just sit, be in their company, and smile sweetly.
It was not just people that warmed to Joyce but animals as well. Animals sought her out. Even in a stranger’s house the cat would always end up curled upon her lap and the dog fast asleep at her feet. I remember, it must be thirty years ago at least, my father’s dog fell sick and was obviously dying. Joyce would not leave the animal’s side as it lay in the garden shed. She nursed it day and night, for over a week, tending to its every need.
My mother died in 1985 and my father, who was nursed by Joyce, died in 1990. Five years ago Christine sold the family home and she and Joyce went to live in Warminster. What a change in their lives? They could walk but a few hundred yards to the shops, the railway station, and a host of other amenities that most of us take for granted. Even so, Joyce missed her life-long friends from Bapton and Stockton, and looked forward to visits or visiting them.
Joyce throughout her life was everyone’s friend. Never once have I heard one word of criticism towards her . She will be sadly missed by all who have known her. I am sure though that we can all draw comfort from the fact that today she is back in the midst of all she held so dear, especially in this lovely old church.
Family mourners:
Mr. & Mrs. Alan Carter (nephew and his wife). Mr. Basil Carter (brother-in-law) and Mrs. Virgie Carter (sister). Matthew Carter and Philip Carter (great nephews). Mr. George Coward (brother). Mr. & Mrs. Maurice Coward (cousin and wife).Mr. & Mrs. Peter Coward (cousin and wife). Miss Margaret Hudd (second cousin). Christine Bryant (close friend). Peter Bryant (close friend).
Also present:
Jan Aldhous. Mr. & Mrs. Anslow, rep. Roger and Andrew. Brian Ashley. Mr. Atterton. Mrs. J. Atterton, rep. Nicholas and Gavin and families. Mr. & Mrs. K. Axtell.
Mrs. D. Bartlett. Miss Bennett. Mrs. Bennett. Eileen Berry. David Bryant. Mrs. Elaine Bryant. Heather Bryant. Martin Bull.
Elizabeth Clark. Mr. & Mrs. John Elliott. Mrs. A. Garrett, rep. family. Mrs. D. Gilbert. Dorothy Goater, rep. Ron, Steve and Lee.
Mrs. Hargreaves, rep. family. Mr. B. Henry, rep. Val. Stephen Henry, rep. Jane Henry. Andy Hill. Kelly Hill. Danny Howell. Mr. Michael Hyde, rep. Mrs. Hyde.
Mr. & Mrs. Jackson. Mrs. Judd. Mrs. A. King. Miss Davina King. Patricia Lovelock. Tricia Lucas. John Lyall. Mrs. Mary Main. James Menzies. Edwin Mills. Jean Moxham.
Mr. & Mrs. Reg Nash. Bridget Norris, rep. Mr. & Mrs. Reeves and family. Lionel Norris. Robert Norris. Sally Norris, rep. Mr. & Mrs. Smith and family.
Mrs. Derek O’Reilly, rep. Capt. O’Reilly and Miss R. O’Reilly. Mr. Graham Palmer. Wing Commander and Mrs. Piele. Ann Russell.
Mrs. Michael Stratton. Karen Strong. Miss S. Sturmey. Mrs. D. Sturmey. Edward and Lila Tanner. Mrs. Taylor. Betty Viel.
Mr. & Mrs. Went. Mr. White. Mr. C. Woollard. Mr. & Mrs. N. Yeatman Biggs, rep. Harry and Annabelle Huyshe.