Published in Windlesora 30 (2014)
© WLHG
On March 1st 1915, a soldier on guard duty in Windsor sent a postcard to his young daughter Norah in Farnham, Surrey for her collection. ‘Daddie’ Langham was serving with the 5th Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, and at that time was not far away from home, but what became of him, and did he make it safely back to his wife and daughter after the war?
A starting point was the address, Red Roof, Ridgway Road, Farnham, and from old Ordnance Survey maps it became clear that Red Roof was a very large house in a very large garden. The modern map shows that it is no longer there, but in its place is a sheltered housing development of 40 properties, built in 1980, and called…Langham Court. This was the first clue that Daddie Langham was a person of some importance in the community.
Information from the 1901 and 1911 censuses showed that Ernest William Langham was born in December 1869 and by 1911 was married to Emma Frances, 33, with a 4-year-old daughter Norah. At the time he posted the postcard to her he was therefore 45 years old, already with a well-established career. According to the 1901 census, he was a newspaper publisher, and in 1911 a letterpress printer.
It soon became clear that he was the founder of The Farnham Herald series of newspapers and had started a small printing office in premises off South Street, in Farnham, in 1892, followed by an office in West Street, Haslemere, to produce the Haslemere Herald in 1896.
In the early 1900s he combined the two papers at 114 West Street, the site of the old Farnham Post Office, extending the premises to become a large factory, which continued in use until 1989. He not only survived the First World War, but built on his earlier business success. He became a Governor of his old school, Farnham Grammar School, and played an active part in the Old Farnhamians association.
Emest William Langham lived to be ninety-five and died in 1965. The newspapers he founded are now part of the Ray Tindle group of independent newspapers.
As for Norah, in March 1933 she married Oliver Meddows-Taylor, another Old Farnhamian, at St Andrew’s Church, Farnham. He was invited to come into the business, bringing with him new ideas and enlarging the premises yet again by the incorporation of the next door building. In 1946 Mr. Meddows-Taylor returned from army service with the rank of captain and became managing director.
Sue Ashley
Acknowledgments
Images courtesy of Roger Cullingham.
Windsor Local History Group 