The district’s “oldest Eatonian” has recently celebrated his 90th birthday we wrote in 1976.
Arthur Morris still lives in the village of Eaton, where he was born.
His parents, Mr and Mrs James Morris, farmed Hillmoor Farm, and it was there that young Arthur entered the world on 15th February 1886, the day before Gladstone became prime minister for the third time.
It was a case of third time lucky for his parents, for both his brother and sister died in infancy in those days of high child mortality. Arthur survived to be christened at Eaton Church by the parish’s first vicar, the Rev NP Firmin.
At the village school, he was taught by Miss Carr, who lived at the School House. He recalls that there was no mains water supply in those days — each farm and cottage had its own, and the school got its water from a well in the yard.
On leaving school at 14, Mr Morris joined his father in farming Hillmoor, and in turn was joined there in 1918 by a wife — formerly Miss Annie Yarwood, who lived at Smithy Farm.
In 1936, they left to take over Marton Lane Farm, North Rode. This meant they were out of Eaton parish for the first time in their lives — but only just, as their farm actually formed part of the boundary between the two parishes.
Mrs Morris died in 1952, and the following year Mr Morris retired from the farm and returned “over the border” into Eaton, to reside with his daughter and son-in-law, Mr and Mrs P Dines, at 16, Crauford Road.
There he still keeps close to the land on which he has worked all his life, by means of his garden, in which he remains active — as our photograph shows. In fact, he was in the garden with a spade in his hands when a “Chronicle” reporter called on him this week.
Perhaps the biggest change in the village in his lifetime has been brought about by traffic.
“There were no motor cars about when I was a lad,” he recalls. “It was a lot quieter.”
To balance that, however, he adds. “But life’s a bit easier now than it used to be.”
