The Nash family at Weedon Hill Farm

By Alison Bailey and Peter Healy

A milk delivery tricycle is not the most romantic of vehicles but nevertheless this particular tricycle, which was used to deliver the milk around Hyde Heath in the 1930s, played an integral role in the courtship and later marriage of George and Mary Nash. The tricycle was made by Hardings, a Bath-based manufacturer of specialist bicycles, tricycles & invalid carriages.

Amersham Museum are delighted to display the renovated Nash milk delivery tricycle for Amersham Heritage Day on 7 September 2025 as the family are loaning it especially for the occasion.

Weedon Hill Farm

George was born in December 1901, the son of farmer Frederick Nash who farmed the 300 plus acres of Weedon Hill Farm, Hyde Heath, which had been sold out of the Fuller Estate (an estate of four farms in Hyde Heath) early in the 1900s. Both George’s parents were from farming families. Frederick from Great Missenden and Mary Evans from Chartridge. George was their only son although he had two older sisters, Elizabeth (Lizzie) and Hilda and one younger sister Lily.  When George was 8 his mother died and a housekeeper, Bertha Goss moved in with her young son, Eric, to help with the children.

The farm had a dairy herd and grew cereal crops and root vegetables.  After finishing school, George joined his father working on the farm and took over the milk delivery around Hyde Heath. For this he used the Hardings tricycle, with the front basket loaded with glass milk bottles, proudly displaying the Frederick Nash branding. 

By the 1930s, George’s older sisters had married, Lizzie to Frank Sear and Hilda to George Dedman, although both stayed in the area with Lizzie and Frank living in one of the farm cottages. George continued to run the farm and the younger sister Lily (who never married) helped Bertha look after their father who was now blind and could be difficult.

Mary Short

In 1935 a new family was added to the milk round. Labour MP Alfred Short had moved to Orchard Cottage virtually next door to Weedon Hill Farm with his wife, Mary, a maths teacher, and their 17-year-old daughter, Mary. George and Mary met for the first time on the doorstep of the cottage when Mary went out to bring in the milk which the tall and handsome farmer had just delivered.

Mary was born in 1917 in Sheffield, where her father worked as a trade union official and served on Sheffield City Council. The family moved to London after Alfred had been elected as the Labour MP for Wednesbury in 1918. Mary attended a private school in Pinner, then St Joan of Arc Catholic School in Rickmansworth. After studying at a secretarial school in Harrow where the family were then living, Mary started work as her father’s secretary. In 1935, he had been re-elected to Parliament as the MP for Doncaster.

A Notable Wedding

Despite the 16-year age gap, the families did not oppose the relationship and George and Mary got engaged in the spring of 1938 when Mary turned 20. Sadly, in August Alfred died after being ill with Leukaemia, but the wedding went ahead on 17 November. November had been chosen as a suitable date as it was a quiet time on the farm.

Mary and George wanted a low-key wedding; however, it was widely covered by reporters because of the fame of her late father, who had been a popular MP and respected by all political parties. It was also correctly assumed that prominent Labour party members, such as Ernest Bevin would attend the wedding. And coincidently it was on the same day as the Doncaster by-election caused by Alfred’s death.

The wedding was at the Union Baptist chapel in Brays Lane, Hyde Heath as Mary’s mother had “had a to do” with the vicar at Little Missenden. A news reporter found out that this was the first wedding at the chapel for 400 years so there was also newsreel coverage, by Pathe & Movitone, outside the chapel. Prior to this the residents of Hyde Heath had usually been married in Little Missenden Parish Church or one of the Amersham or Chesham Free Churches. In honour of the occasion the deacons of the Union Chapel presented the couple with a present of a Bible, and the villagers gifted a cut glass rose bowl.

The local paper reported that: “The chapel was decorated in a delightful colour scheme of white chrysanthemums and pink carnations. The service was conducted by the Rev. J R Mitchell, of Chesham Bois, assisted by the Rev. James Barr, MP of Glasgow, an old friend of the late Mr Alfred Short.

Miss Mary Short wore a princess blue satin gown, with coat and shoes to match, a silver Juliet cap and silver veil. She fulfilled a childhood ambition by carrying a bouquet of deep red roses.

Her bridesmaids were Miss Lily Nash (sister of the bridegroom) and Miss Gladys Chapman (friend of the bride), whose dresses were of shell pink embroidered silk crepe de chine, with headdresses of blue velvet. The two little attendants were Miss Peggy Belsham (cousin of the bridegroom) and Master Maurice Dedman (nephew of the bridegroom), who were dressed in blue velvet. Miss Peggy Belsham had a headdress of pink leaves and carried a blue, pink and silver Victorian posy. All the bridal dresses were made by the bridegroom’s sister Mrs Frank Sear.

The bride was given away by Mr W R Gavigan of Sheffield, an old friend of the family, and the best man was Mr Leonard King, of Hyde Heath, friend of the bridegroom.

Guests were entertained at the Hyde Heath Village Hall, which had been decorated with Autumn colours. The honeymoon is being spent in Bournemouth, the journey being made by car, loaned by the bride’s mother. For travelling bride wore a navy-blue ensemble, with silver fox fur, velvet hat, shoes and gloves to match”.

According to Mary’s later recollection (her oral history was recorded by Amersham Museum in April 2015) things did not go totally to plan as Gladys Chapman was actually the sister of her best friend who couldn’t get attend as she had just started a new job and couldn’t take a Thursday off. The best man wasn’t George’s first choice either, as he had the same problem! Mary did not like the “blessed fuss” of the reception held in the village hall. Kathleen Graham’s cake shop in Amersham supplied the catering.

Married Life

After the wedding the couple lived in Orchard Cottage with Mary’s widowed mother. She moved to Chesterfield to live with her sister. Mary, George and their growing family moved to Hyde Cottage, one of the many properties owned by Frederick Nash. The Nashes had seven children, including three boys, David, George Junior and Richard who continued to run the farm after their father’s death in 1967. Their grandfather continued to live at Weedon Hill Farm until his death in 1974 and Mary died in 2016 at the grand age of 98.