A life in ink and paper
Found in a wardrobe, an old bunch of papers reveals a heartwarming life story.
In 1994, Jill Jones and her husband Darrell bought a cottage at Foxton Beach. During renovations. they dismantled an old bedroom wardrobe, and made an unexpected discovery. Wedged between the back of the wardrobe and the wall was a wad of yellowing papers, a leather wallet and a zippered leather notepaper holder. The papers were a bunch of handwritten and typed references -glowing references - about a man named James William Verity, dated from 1924 to 1945.
'The previous owner of the house had died: I didn't know who to give them to,' said Jill Jones this week, "but I didn't have the heart to throw them away."
So the papers, wallet and note holder were stored on a shelf. For years, they remained there, even surviving a break-in during which the burglar rifled through the papers then scattered them in a (dry) laundry tub. In 2013, the couple sold the beach house.
Recently, after keeping the papers safe for more than 20 years, Mrs Jones decided it was time to pass them on.
Items like these are known archival world as “ephemera" – things that don’t usually last long, such as letters, cards, tickets, receipts and other paper memorabilia.
City archivist Lesley Courtney says that “... everyone contributes to history. We have lots of stories about well known people, but the ‘rest’ are sometimes more elusive. The only way we know about them is through the preserved records of a so-called ordinary life.”
So who was James Verity, the former occupant of the Foxton Beach house, and what was his story?
It begins 91 years ago on March 1, 1924, with 16-yearold James' first reference.
In hard-to-decipher handwriting it’s headed: 5 Amen Court, S. Paul’s, E.C.4 and signed “G.F/F. Kembolt, Canon ans Chancellor of St. Paul’s.”
It says: "Mr James Verity has been in attendance at my private class in the house for the last four weeks – and I have formed a high opinion of his earnestness and sincerity.
He...came to me with the highest references." It goes on to recommend him for "any post of trust".
The next reference, dated May 21, 1926, is on notepaper headed: Bucks County Mental Hospital, Stone, near Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire), and signed H. Kerr, M.D., Medical Superintendent. This reference has clues: James, a former pupil of Aylesbury Grammar School, Buckinghamshire, had been working there for two years as a of junior clerk and was planning to apply for a similar post at a mental hospital in Devon.
The assistant medical superintendent added a second reference: "Previous to his appointment here he has had school business with a well known firm in the city of London ... he is a youth of excellent character, very good tempered and obliging ... he is an excellent typist and has a good knowledge of shorthand.
But why did James then emigrate to New Zealand?
On January 11, 1929, Norman Mills, proprietor of a "high-class tailor and mercer" in Jackson Street, Petone, writes that James has learned all the parts of the trade, including banking, buying, sales, window dressing, ticket writing and bookkeeping.
"He is ... qualified to run a business of his own. My only regret is that I am unable to retain his services.”."
A reference dated November 10, 1930, from F. H. Mather & Co., manufacturers’ agents and importers of the Britannia Building, 181 Featherston Street, Wellington.
In 1922 James married Elizabeth Mary Anderson who was Scottish.
His next good reference is from the Grey Cabs taxi company in Courtenay Place.
The second to last reference is a July 1937 character recommendation from a J. W. Matthews.
Inked in the crease of the brown leather notebook holder is "30926 Staff Sergeant J.W. Verity." James fought in Wortld War II - possibly in Egypt; and Elizabeth became a WAAT, in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
The last reference, in 1945, was from General Motors NZ Ltd (Petone) signed by managing director George Seers, awarding him a gold emblem from the company's New York head office for 10 years’ service.
James and Elizabeth were just “Jim and Betty” to their friends.
They lived to many places: Wellington, Otaki, Hastings, Timaru, Carterton and Levin - between 1946 and 1978. Eventually Jim and Betty retired to Bond Street, Foxton Beach, and found good friends in their next-door neighbours, newlyweds Sharon and Royce.
They were also visited often by their "honorary family" - former Wellington and Hastings neighbours, Robert and Winifred Harkness and their son Noel, his wife and young daughter Judi, who now lived in Levin.
Judi has fond memories of kindly Jim and Betty, who had no children of their own.
"All they had was each other. They were both very short people, and all the doorways in their house were low. We had to duck under the doorframes.
Jim smoked a pipe, liked cricket, did handyman jobs and pottered in his vegetable garden, and he and curly-haired Betty drove around in a little Triumph Herald.
When news of Jim's death came – on August 7, 1981, at the age of 73 – 16 year-old Judi burst into tears at school.
Afterwards, her family stayed it close touch with Betty. When she died, on May 31, 1995, her ashes were buried with Jim’s at the Foxton cemetery.
Only then was Betty's age,a closely guarded secret – revealed.
She had been seven years older than her husband.
"To her neighbours, Betty was the same age for about 10 years.", says Judi affectionately.