Shepton
Mallet Collett Reunion June 1996
On Saturday 8th
June 1996 a reunion of the Collett clan took place, thanks to
The actual day of the
reunion was chosen to coincide with the annual Shepton Mallet Country Fair
known as ‘Collett Day’ and to celebrate the park’s ninetieth birthday.
The parkland and lake
originally belonged to John Kyte Collett (1836-1933) who was born in Longbridge House in Cowl Street. His father, who ran a day school for boys,
died when John was just two years old forcing his mother to open a grocery
business. As a schoolboy John was
evicted from the privately owned land behind Langthorne
House (St Paul’s Junior School). This
caused him to vow that one day he would make sure the children of the town had
somewhere to play. John eventually
joined his mother and his sister Ann Mary who had moved to Cardiff.
Once there he set
about converting his mother’s grocery business into a successful international
wholesale trading company. During this
time he did not lose touch with Shepton Mallet and quietly bought field after
field which, on 20th June 1906 culminated in him officially handing
the land over to the town.
Three years later in
1909, the park was visited by the Prince and Princess of Wales, later King
George V and Queen Mary, who officially thanked John Kyte Collett for his
gift. To show their appreciation, the
townspeople elected to honour his memory by naming the park after him. However, a formal naming ceremony had never
taken place, hence the reason for the Collett Reunion in 1996.
The day commenced
with a buffet breakfast at the Shrubbery Hotel in the centre of the town. It was a warm summer day and numerous Collett
family trees were displayed in the hotel garden, where everyone mingled and
exchanged information. A number of
vintage motorcars lead a motorcade the short distance from the hotel to the
park. The first car carried the Mayor
and Mayoress, with the guests of honour John Collett
and his wife Esme from Sydney in Australia who were
there to undertake the official naming of the park.
John’s family
originated in Yorkshire, as
depicted in Part 27 – The Yorkshire line, and this was only his third
visit to England During an earlier
visit in 1992 he had met members of the town council and it was this chance
meeting that prompted them to invite John back to participate in the opening
ceremony. It should be noted that he had
no known connection with John Kyte Collett except the sharing of the same christian name, which seemed to satisfy the town council.
Also attending the
ceremony that day were Maxwell Amner Collett, his wife Noeline
and their son Noel, who had travelled all the way from their home in New
Zealand. Their family is the subject of
Part 6 – The New Zealand Line.
Other Colletts
present that day included:
Then there was:
Alex Collett from
Dartmouth in Devon; Sheila Sewell nee Collett and her husband Donald from
Southwold in Suffolk; Robert Collett from Suffolk; Phyllis Collett Tyler and
her step-daughter Margaret Collett from Cheltenham; and Rob Collett and his
wife from
Also in attendance
were:
Diana Firmston Williams nee Collett (who is listed in Part 14 – The John Kyte Collett Line)
and her husband Paddy from Godalming in Surrey - Diana’s uncle was Bernard
Collett (Ref. 14O53) who compiled the 1921 Upper Slaughter Collett Family Tree which
was deposited in the British Library. Diana’s
brother Peter Collett lives in Australia and was
unable to be present on this day.
Another Peter Collett and his wife Vera from Oslo were also invited, but
again were unable to attend.
Last, but by no means
least, was:
Brian Collett from
Northampton, accompanied by Philip Goddard his Collett cousin from Swindon (both listed in Part 1 – The
Main Line), and father and son David Collett and Barry Collett from
Plymouth who feature in
Part 2 – The Secondary Line.
The following is a photographic record of the event,
starting with the first meeting between Margaret Chadd and Brian Collett
following many years of exchanging information through the post.
Esme and John Collett
from Sydney
A collection of
Colletts from
Suffolk, Plymouth,
Northampton, New Zealand, and Swindon,
discussing the various family
trees set out on the tables
Mid-morning tea break
on the back lawns of The Shubbery
Margaret with mother
and son Noeline and Noel Collett
from New Zealand