1885 - Williams family

Sidney Williams (1888-1970 or so), whose wife Flo came from a Huish family, was Wilcot’s blacksmith from 1915 till the 1960s. He took over from the Brown family, who had been blacksmiths here since 1895. Here he is at his forge:

Sid Williams was a versatile blacksmith, and became well-known beyond Wilcot, as this 1968 article shows.

He had other gifts too:

In the post-war housing shortage, one of his sons, Percy, lived for several years up to about 1949, with his family, in the fuselage of a glider that had crashed behind the forge.

Another son, Horace, came back from the war and bought 24 Wilcot in 1946-7 for £200. He lived there with his wife Doris and his two children, Peter and Michael.

Peter has been a driving force behind Wilcot Cricket Club over many years, and this is marked in the Williams Pavilion which now stands on the cricket pitch.