[00:00:05] Shooting and fishing at Castle Kennedy in Scotland. His father planting Lilium giganteum and other plants at Horwood House, brought back from a visit to Castle Kennedy
[00:03:27] Having his first 'proper' week's holiday at Castle Kennedy with his father, after working at Windsor for four years
[00:04:12] His appointment as journeyman gardener at Leeds Parks Department
[00:04:22] Going on a Sunday School outing to Southend with Bob Sharp
[00:05:05] Visiting Walberswick with his mother to see his grandfather, a great character, who lived mainly by fishing. His grandfather's black Labrador. His own Labradors Sue and Whiskey
[00:06:58] Playing in the local village cricket and football teams and singing in the church choir
[00:07:55] Buying fireworks and lighting them next to a crowd of girls in Mursley village. Going to Court for committing an offence and being let off with a warning
[00:08:50] During a holiday in Scotland, visiting Logan garden and seeing large leaf rhododendron for the first time.
[00:09:20] Re-visiting Logan garden, later taken over by Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, in 1975 to film 'Gardeners' World' television programme
[00:10:00] Playing darts in the Old Crown pub team in Little Horwood
[00:12:10] The elevated status of head gardeners on large estates. Names of some of his father's head gardener friends
[00:14:08] A typical day for his father as head gardener. Using manual tools which were bought in
[00:16:00] Use of a different potting compost for almost everything planted, with materials including crushed bricks, short turf around rabbit warrens, oak and beech leaf mould, charcoal, bone meal, fertiliser and coal dust
[00:18:19] Other duties performed by a head gardener including pruning all types of wall grown fruit
[00:20:00] His father's programme of work which he followed annually
[00:20:06] Keeping a diary of daily tasks accomplished, and details of compost mixtures for each type of plant cultivated
[00:20:59] Learning about the use of greenhouses for continuity of flowers, fruit and vegetables throughout the year
[00:22:23] Potting of strawberries at Windsor Park using a special mixture. Speed and quality of work overseen by Waltham
[00:24:00] Being driven in Mrs Denny's chauffeur driven car with his father to start work at Windsor. Starting in the cucumber or melon houses under the supervision of the foreman, Waltham
[00:26:30] Starting every day with watering, removing dead leaves and fading flowers, and cleaning the greenhouses and fruit houses
[00:28:12] The expectation that staff would attend church every Sunday
[00:31:03] An annual dance held at Windsor in aid of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society. Dancing with Con
[00:31:25] Starting work at Windsor when Con was finishing high school. Con working at W.H. Smith & Sons in Windsor then National Westminster Bank in Slough
[00:32:28] Names of the bothy boys in Windsor. Bothy boys not permitted to be married
[00:34:19] The ambition of all gardeners to become head gardener, achieved in stages
[00:36:40] Leaving Windsor for weekend visits home no more than two or three times a year
[00:39:00] Large estates having their own cricket teams and playing matches at weekends. The bowling green at Windsor
[00:40:00] Names of famous head gardeners and estates they worked at. Old school gardeners
[00:41:50] His wife Con Thrower speaks on the recording, outlining her father's career path
[00:45:35] Becoming engaged to Con about 12 months before war broke out and marrying a year later in Sandringham Church. Having no honeymoon as all holidays were cancelled
[00:46:30] Renting a house in Derby as their first home
[00:50:50] His proudest possession being the dessert plates given to him by Queen Mary
[00:51:25] Windsor having no women gardeners. Lady gardeners working for C.H. Cook during the First World War
[00:51:35] Women gardeners at Derby Parks replacing the men called up to serve, working under him in the greenhouses and in food production
[00:54:05] Each foreman running his own department separately, using their own tools, pots and compost
[00:55:15] His eldest brother giving up gardening to become a house lad, eventually becoming butler to the Dennys at Horwood House. His appointment as footman to the headmaster at Harrow and later as butler in Bicester. Spending all his life as a gentleman's servant
[00:56:37] His younger brother starting work in the Windsor gardens, moving on to a company laying water mains then joining up during the war
[00.57:27-0:57:35 Recording stops abruptly]
[00:57:45] His brother starting a greengrocer's business out of a van and eventually owning a greengrocer's shop
[00:59:00] After his father's death, his mother starting work for the Dennys in Horwood House and laundry. His mother eventually opening her own small shop
[00:59:30] His brother working at a bricklayer
[01:00:06] His eldest sister working as housemaid for the Dennys at Horwood House prior to marrying a farmer. The couple giving up farming to run The Crown at Great Horwood, later managing a hotel near Winslow and eventually opening a greengrocery and floristry business in Buckinghamshire
[01:00:50] His youngest sister working at Horwood House as kitchen maid then as parlour maid, before leaving to marry a local bookmaker and living in Winslow
[01:01:28] Going home for Christmas if he was not on duty, otherwise staying in the bothy at Windsor and having Christmas dinner
[01:02:07] Only three or four people staying in the bothy including disabled ex-servicemen from the First World War
[01:04:05] Visiting his in-laws on the Sandringham Estate and seeing the royal Christmas tree. Being introduced to King George V and Queen Mary
[01:05:00] Christmas celebrations with the Dennys at Horwood House. The Dennys' generosity. The annual servants' ball
[01:07:00] Going from private service to public parks. Living in digs in Leeds with another lodger. Working at Temple Newsam, converting it into a public park
[01:09:45] A strange feeling moving from Windsor to Leeds. Almost giving up gardening but gaining valuable experience of growing in an industrial area
[01:10:45] Head gardener Wilmshurst at Temple Newsam. Trigg, parks superintendent for the City of Leeds
[01:11:41] Being glad to leave Leeds after two and a half years to move to Derby. Marrying two years later
[01:12:25] Being reputedly the youngest parks superintendent in the country. Arriving on 1 Jan 1946. Working to clear Quarry Park
[01:13:26] Using the flat bottomed boat from the Dingle Pond in Quarry Park to act as flood warden, serving hot meals to people through bedroom windows in Shrewsbury. Rowing a boat up the aisle of the Abbey Church. Multiple floods during his tenure
[01:16:24] During Second World War restrictions on using fuel to heat greenhouses unless 75% of the area was being used for food production
[01:16:40] Propagating begonia from tubers to make four times as many. Propagating 5,000 fuchsia bushes from 50 original plants
[01:18:08] Being invited by the BBC to make a children's gardening programmes for radio in 1949 or 1950. Peggy Bacon, producer of Children's Hour in Birmingham. Getting in touch with the main towns in the Midlands requesting that they provide a Children's Hour garden in their public parks
[01:19:35] Having an annual Children's Hour garden flower show in the BBC Radio studio in Birmingham. The final show produced for television
[01:20:20] Establishing classes annually for Children's Hour in the Shrewsbury Flower Show after the Children's Hour programmes finished. His daughter Margaret winning prizes at the flower show. His daughters Sue and Anne taking part half-heartedly
[01:21:50] Margaret's aim to become a teacher. Studying gardening, flower arranging and rural science
[01:22:56] Purchasing Murrells Garden Centre in 1970 in partnership with Duncan Murphy, as an investment for the family. Margaret eventually working full-time in the business and demonstrating flower arranging on television gardening programmes
[01:24:00] His involvement in television starting in 1951 with an invitation to show the plans for the English Garden in Berlin on the 'Picture Page' programme in Birmingham, followed by participation in the programme 'Country Calendar' from the Staffordshire Farming Institute, Penkridge, in the form of a 10 minute slot on gardening. Outdoor broadcasting in all weathers
[01:26:26] Presenting the 'Out and About' television programme on Sunday afternoons. The introduction of 'Club Night' and working on the 'Gardening Night' programme
[01:27:00] Moving to colour television and the start of 'Gardener's World', broadcasting from the BBC garden adjoining Birmingham Botanic Garden
[01:28:48] Eventually broadcasting from his own garden at The Magnolias, from gardens in various parts of the country and from Clacks Farm with a garden adapted for television
[01:29:19] Presenting over 1,100 television programmes and 700 radio programmes
[01:29:35] Becoming associated with ICI [Imperial Chemical Industries], promoting their products and giving talks at garden centres, garden shops and departmental stores. Being given the title 'Britain's head gardener'
[01:30:55] Starting the 'Blue Peter' garden at the Shepherd's Bush television centre
[01:32:54] Taking part in television shows with Benny Hill and Morecambe and Wise
[01:34.36] Writing weekly notes for 'Amateur Gardening' magazine for more than 20 years. Arthur Hillier's suggestion after three years to compile the notes into a book entitled 'In Your Garden', followed by 'Garden Encyclopaedia' and many others
[01:36:30] Writing articles over many years for publications including 'Express and Star', Wolverhampton, the 'Kidderminster Shuttle', 'Shropshire Magazine', and the 'ICI magazine'
[01:37:33] His writing first appearing in the national newspaper 'Empire News' which eventually became the 'Sunday Express'. Writing a 'Northern Gardener' column in the 'Daily Express', Manchester, and finally writing for the 'Daily Mail' and the 'Radio Times'
[01:39:19] Working with Arthur Billit and C.H. Middleton on radio and television programmes
[01:42:25] Attending evening classes at University of Leeds in biology, botany and horticulture. Studying at Derby Technical College before becoming a lecturer in horticulture at the college. Taking his RHS general examinations and National Diploma in Horticulture
[01:43:10] Giving lectures to Townswomen's Guilds and societies. Giving talks, in association with ICI, to audiences of more than 3,000 people
[01:44:36] Being approached by Harold Sleigh, a local travel agent, to organise four-day trips to accompany groups of people to visit the bulb fields in Holland
[01:47:00] Taking horticultural groups on cruises to Madeira, Tenerife, Las Palmas, Tangiers, Gibraltar and South Africa, and on cruises on the Queen Elizabeth II and Canberra, always accompanied by his wife Con. 'Percy Thrower Floral Tours' becoming a successful venture
Physical description: The physical audio recording comprises 1 open reel tape
This item was digitised in 2015 by Essex Record Office. Digitisation specification: the audio was scanned to a resolution of 24bit and 96kHz. It was delivered in uncompressed wav format and MP3 access copies at 128kbps. Audios on sides A and B of the tape were combined in May 2023