Memories of Cecil Gould Hannaford (1914-2000)

One hundred years ago today, my grandpa, Cecil Gould Hannaford was born.

As he’s no longer with us to celebrate this milestone, I’ve decided to write down some of the memories I have of him. ‘Cec’ was the oldest of three children born to Ralph and Dorothy Hannaford (nee McCullough), and while he was born at Naracoorte, the family spent most of their life at Cudlee Creek in the Adelaide Hills.

I was a regular visitor to my grandparents place at Cudlee Creek, and probably spent at least half of my early childhood racing around their house, playing in the orchard, riding on the tractor, and generally just getting muddy,  which by the way, I did totally master (see the pic at the bottom)!!!

Anyway this isn’t really about me, but about my grandpa. So I’ve gone through the family photo albums, have found a bunch photos, and have decided to put them here together with some random memories that I have about him.

– He LOVED nature documentaries, and I think he owned every video (and later DVD) that the ABC and Time put out in this genre.

– There was always five meals a day. Everyday he was up early, breakfasted then out the door to do some farm/orchard work. Then he’d be back at the house by 10am for morning tea, then back out until lunchtime. In again midafternoon for afternoon tea, then back at 5.00pm for tea.

– Grandpa taught me to skateboard. Ok, well not quite. But I did find a skateboard in his shed, a small wooden one (the first I’d ever seen), so if it wasn’t for it being there, I probably never would have skateboarded in my life.

– He was a quiet man, which probably suited my grandma fine, as she wasn’t. So they were a good match.

– He had two dogs, Goldie and Butch, both of which were border collie x kelpies.

– He used to stir his tea F-O-R-E-V-E-R. It always seemed to me that he’d stir through the bottom of his cup. 😉

– He had a sweet tooth, and loved his chocolate. So when he had to give up sugar late in life, it was tough, but he did it!

– I only remember him ever being in hospital once, and that was when he broke his leg. And not one to sit still and do nothing, I don’t think he was the most patient of patients.

– I remember sliding down the hill on a sheet of iron (ie. a sled), while he and others were picking walnuts. I was good, staying out of their way, and keeping myself amused.

– I remember that he took me to the market a few times, but I really don’t remember any details, so I’m figuring that at that hour of day, who’s gonna remember anything.

– Apart from dogs, there was always a heap of other animals around: sheep, chickens, rabbits, and at one stage turkeys. There may have been more, that that’s what comes to my mind.

– Talking of chickens, I remember seeing eggs hatch in the incubator that he had set up. And I also can’t forget that he got me to pluck a chicken, which was the one and only time I’ll be doing that.

– I also remember the sheep. Including going to the sheep dip shed (uugh that ponged), and also being up in the shearing shed when that was going … and jumping on the bags of fleece to squash it down (really not sure that helped though).

– Grandpa was a believer in hard work, and just as well as working on a farm and orchard was no picnic, and there was always plenty to do.

– The big wooden 1m square apple bins were my playpen when I was I was baby … and it’s probably in the orchard that I learnt to yell so much too. Grandpa and the other pickers would move off to the next area leaving me behind, so I’d yell till they came and got me.

– One great memory I have is that Grandpa let me fish in his creek when I would have been 3 or 4 (I think). He gave me a stick, which has some haybale string tied to the end, and that was my fishing rod. Needless to say I never caught anything, mind you I have no idea if they even had fish in the creek anyway. Whatever, it has given me a great memory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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JANNAH SHARES SOME MEMORIES …
As everyone has their own memories of events and people, I decided to ask my cousins and aunties and uncles if they wished to share any of their memories relating to grandpa Hannaford, and my cousin Jannah has responded with the following  …

“Grandpa H was a man of very few words. My child self was a little scared of him I think. He was an extremely hard worker and he was still going the day he died. He was a great example being productive and full of purpose. (As opposed to lazy!) Grandpa loved birds (or was that Gramdma?) I just remember the mountain of videos in the front room.
As young teens, my cousins & I climbed the mountain of apple crates (1m cubed wooden boxes) stored in the shed to create a cubby house. I have no idea of how high it was, but let’s say approx 10m. Of course we got yelled at big time, and looking back it was extremely stupid as there was no guarantee they were stacked & stable enough to support shifting weight.
Whenever we came to visit Grandma & Grandpa or they came to visit us in Queensland, I remember that we got taken out to McDonalds or Hungry Jacks as a treat.”

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LAST NOTES …
And to finish off here’s a few more details about my grandpa which are more facts than memories …

– He married Evelyn Randell just before (I’m talking only day before) before leaving for WW2.

– Thanks to an interview a friend did interviewing him and my grandma about WW2, I found out that he (and many others) thought that it was quite exciting to get to go overseas, and he travelled on a cruise ship to the Middle East

– The Hannaford property at Cudlee Creek was named “DORADELL” after Dorothy and Ralph Hannaford

– Although a quiet man, he was an active member of the community, being a regular churchgoer, a member of the local choir, and a member of numerous fruitgrower organisations.

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So although my grandpa is gone, he will never be forgotten. And I say thankyou to him for so many wonderful memories! 🙂

 

4 Responses to “Memories of Cecil Gould Hannaford (1914-2000)”

1. Deb Miller says:

   March 21, 2014 at 7:58 am

   Lovely memories of your Grandpa Hannaford to have. Grandpa’s are the best. My Grandpa Hooper also left myself and my brother with wonderful memories of long walks to Cudlee Creek and all around Lobethal in the 70’s and 80’s. Thanks for sharing yours.

   Reply
2. Nathan says:

   November 24, 2014 at 10:58 am

   Thanks for posting this. We live on the old Hannaford homestead (Frederick and Elizabeth Hannaford) at Bonney Flat (now called Cromer, just north of Birdwood) and have the remnant trees of their apple and pear orchard still fruiting some years. It seems the Hannafords have orchard husbandry in their blood. Tony Hannaford still runs Torrens Valley Orchards on the Forreston Rd just out of Gumeracha.

   I know Anthea and her family from Sovereign Grace Baptist Church down in Salisbury. Local history is always fascinating to me.

   Regards,
   Nathan

   Reply
3. Nicole says:

   November 22, 2019 at 5:19 pm

   We have found a book on Churchill it has Cecil Gould 16 , I think it’s hard to see handwriting but Bromley ? St Kenwick could this be his

   Reply
   • Alona says:

     November 24, 2019 at 8:17 pm

     Nicole, I’m not aware of my grandpa having ever been in England. If so, it would have been in WW2 briefly. Anyway if the name you have is Cecil GOULD as opposed to Cecil Gould HANNAFORD, they would be different people. There are families with the surname GOULD so I’d be looking at them.

     Reply