Where the past reconnects
“You can get lost in any library, no matter the size.
But the more lost you are, the more things you’ll find.”
―Millie Florence, Lydia Green Of Mulberry Glen
Adam Mills was a member of the SCR for 13 years, including ten as Head of Rugby where he inspired generations of boys to a love of the game as well as developing players at elite level. Last summer he left Merchant Taylors’ School to take on his parents’ business, Astley Book Farm in Bedworth, Warwickshire. The business started in a derelict old farm building back in 2002 and has attracted book lovers from across the country including, it is rumoured, the current Head Master Simon Everson.
Adam, I am sure, imagined his connections to MTS would be restricted to the occasional return to visit to Friday Night Lights, but at the end of last year, a lady brought in a collection of books that immediately caught the eye of Adam’s mother.
The crest was immediately recognisable, no doubt due the amount of MTS stash that Adam accumulated on his rugby tours.
The books were, of course, Merchant Taylors' Company prizes and they date from a time when the books were bound and embossed so that they were a significant acknowledgement of achievement. Out of curiosity, Adam alerted me to their existence and, as is always the case, a simple name began a journey of discovery and the unearthing of a tragic tale.
The prize winner was E.L.C Kilmister and, referencing the School Register, Edward attended the School from 1897 to 1904. This tied in with the dates of the prizes which were 1898 and 1902. The Taylorian suggests that Edward was the typical Merchant Taylors’ student. Winning a Junior Scholarship, he was also a sprinter who came second in the 100 and 300 yard dash around the quad at Charterhouse Square as well as being a wing for the Second XV. He was also a Prompter as revealed by his participation in the Prompters vs Monitors Cricket match (whatever happened to that tradition) where he scored 19 in a total of 58! Better still, he was the wicket keeper and took a stumping. Before he left in 1904, he was joined at school by his younger brother, Harold who attended MTS from 1903 to 1907. The 1911 Census has him still living with his parents, working as a Stockbroker's Clerk, but the Taylorian subsequently listed him as an assistant master in a Prep School.
As with so many of his generation, at the onset of the Great War, Edward enlisted into the 5th battalion, London Regiment before transferring to the 17th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifles. He was killed on 16th September 1916, most likely in the vicinity of the Ancre river where a significant offensive by the 39th Division attempted to wrest control of the Thiepval Ridge from the Germans, starting on 15th September. Sadly there are few details of the events and we have yet to trace a picture. He was survived by his widow, Clara.
Edward’s younger brother was also a casualty of the war. Having left MTS in 1907 he is listed as an insurance clerk at the Royal Exchange Assurance Company. He joined the 24th Battalion London Regiment and went on to win the Military Cross. Sadly he too lost his life in the last months of the war when Harold also found himself in an action to cross the Ancre on the Somme. A history of the battalion wrote:
The 9th Royal Fusiliers, with an easier task, overcame the resistance in their front readily, and for a total casualty list of 83 captured 100 prisoners, twelve machine guns and four trench mortars. Unfortunately among the casualties were Lieutenant H.H.L. Kilmister, Second Lieutenant L. F. Wade, and Second Lieutenant A. H. King killed; and the experience of the day proved the need of officers.
(The Royal Fusiliers¸ H.C. O'NEILL, O.B.E., 1922)
Both brothers are commemorated on the Roll of Honour and the discovery of Edward’s prizes is a touching reminder of the wider loss of a talented generation.
We are so grateful to Adam for sharing his news with us. The bookshop holds around 75,000 books and the range includes antiquarian, rare and out-of-print books, a huge range of fiction, comprehensive non-fiction sections, Children's Hayloft and the ‘Ten Bob Barn.’ The business adds new books to the shelves and the online shop daily.
Adam is enjoying a more rural lifestyle with his family and he would love to see members of the Merchant Taylors’ community if they are in the area. Full details can be found here:
https://www.astleybookfarm.com/