Researching Hugh Tetlow...

A young man called Hugh Tetlow, features heavily in Lore's memoirs and souvenirs of her teenage years. The pair met in North Wales, where Lore's boarding school, Edenthorpe, was evacuated. Lore spoke very fondly of Hugh, his love of nature and his beautiful correspondence and poetry. The pair talked of getting engaged, but Lore considered herself too young at the time. Hugh was sent to Canada with the RAF in the war and by the time he returned, they had drifted apart.

When I came across an envelope full of letters and poetry from Hugh amongst Lore's possessions, I added them to the website and decided to see if I could find out anything more about this gentleman, who had clearly shared a close bond with Lore when she was a young woman.

First of all I checked on Ancestry.com to see if I could find any birth, marriage or death records for him, but found absolutely nothing. I printed off the birth record of a Henry Hugh Tetlow, but thought that it was probably a red herring, as I had no reason to believe that Hugh's first name was really Henry (although I knew from his letters to Lore, that his first and middle initials were both H).

After coming to a dead-end in the official records, I searched for Capel Curig on the Internet. It looked like a beautiful, small village, so I looked for a tourist attraction in its proximity. I came across a website for an attraction called Ugly House and gave them a call. A very helpful gentleman said that he would ask around to see if any of the older residents remembered the Tetlows and let me know.

Feeling a little more positive, I decided to 'Google' Hugh just on the off chance that his name appeared. When I saw various hits for an author called Hugh Tetlow, I wasn't expecting it to be the same person, but as soon as I read a brief piece 'About the Author' on one online bookseller's site, I was sure that I had found the right man. The blurb told me that the author had spent some of his early years in North Wales and had trained in Canada with the RAF. Furthermore, one of the author's listed interests was 'ornithology.' It was obvious that the Hugh who wrote to Lore also had a great love of birds!

I was really excited by this point, especially when I saw that the publication date of Hugh Tetlow's novel 'Ear to the Wall' was as recent as 8 Oct 2007. Not only had I found the right Hugh, there was a good chance that he would be alive and contactable!

After a brief and enthusiastic call to Lore's son, David, I had the ok to attempt to make contact with Hugh. I called Hugh's publishers and explained why I was looking for him. The publishers would not let me have any contact details for Hugh, but promised to pass my number onto him. I heard nothing that day. I wondered if Hugh had no interest in being dragged back into the past with the project.

The following afternoon an unfamiliar number rang my mobile. I guessed who it was immediately. Hugh was very easy to speak to and it was clear to see that he also remembered his time with Lore with fondness. I also learned that Hugh was really a Henry!

Hugh has kindly agreed to allow me to visit him to record some of his memories of the past. Please check this section regularly in 2009, to hear some of his recollections.

Purchase 'Ear to the Wall,' by Hugh Tetlow, on amazon.co.uk (External Link)