Web Page 3077 16th June 2023 First Picture: Gardeners World

Second Picture: Percy Throwers Garden Centre

Third Picture: Percy Thrower Memorial

Forth Picture: Percy Throwers Garden

Percy John Thrower MBE was born on 30th January 1913 and died on 18th March 1988 and he was a gardener and horticulturist, broadcaster and writer born at Horwood House in the village of Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire. He became nationally known through presenting gardening programmes, starting in 1956 with the BBC's Gardening Club, then the BBC's Gardeners' World from 1969 until 1976. The surname Thrower is peculiar to East Anglia, where Percy's father worked as a gardener at Bawdsey Manor, Suffolk, before moving to Horwood House near Bletchley, as head gardener. Percy Thrower was determined from an early age to be a head gardener like his father, and worked under him at Horwood House for four years after leaving school. He then became a journeyman gardener in 1931, at the age of 18, at the Royal Gardens at Windsor Castle, on £1 a week. He lived in the bothy at Windsor, along with twenty other improver gardeners and disabled ex-servicemen who were employed on full wages. He spent five years there under the head gardener, Charles Cook, who was subsequently to become his father-in-law. Percy Thrower left Windsor on 1st August 1935 for the City of Leeds Parks Department as a journeyman. There he passed the Royal Horticultural Society's General Exam. In 1937, he moved to Derby Parks Department, initially as a journeyman, but was promoted to be a foreman, General Foreman and finally the Assistant Parks Superintendent. At Derby, he met John Maxfield, whom he considered to be the best gardener he ever worked under. Percy studied and passed the National Diploma in Horticulture at the second attempt He also became a lecturer at Derby Technical College. He became engaged to Connie (Constance Margaret Ina) Cook, the daughter of Charles Cook, now the head gardener at Sandringham, having moved from Windsor, where Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson had interfered with the running of the gardens. In order to help him, Queen Mary, in residence at Sandringham after the death of her husband George V, instigated his move from Windsor to Sandringham. On 9th September 1939, at Sandringham, Percy and Connie married. The couple received a wedding gift of a set of Burslem china dishes from Queen Mary While at Derby, Thrower became a leading light in the "Dig for Victory" campaign in the Second World War, carrying out educational visits to many of the local parks and even Derby Sewerage Works. Percy became a Special Constable on fire-watching duties after twice being turned down for active service after volunteering. A football pools win of £52 enabled him to buy his first car, a Morris Eight. His final career move was to Shrewsbury where on 1st January 1946, he was appointed Parks Superintendent, becoming the youngest parks superintendent. He had a staff of 35. He had reached the top of his profession at just 32 years of age and it was his sole ambition in life. He remained in post until 1974 though he expected to stay only four or five years. From his first year in Shrewsbury he helped the post-war revival of the Shrewsbury Flower Show. In 1951, he was asked to design a garden in the Tiergarten area of Berlin on the lines of an English garden. He did this and the foreign Secretary Anthony Eden opened the garden in May 1952. Percy made his first TV appearance in 1951 in a programme about this garden. For many years he was the leading face and voice of British gardening on television and radio. Godfrey Baseley, the presenter of a Midland regional BBC radio programme, Beyond the Back Door, spotted his enthusiasm and he was offered a regular slot. The first TV series with which he was associated was Country Calendar, followed by Out and About. When colour television came along, this programme was renamed Gardeners' World. He became nationally known through presenting these programmes and regularly presented Gardeners' World from 1969 until 1976. He was also the gardener on Blue Peter from 1974 until 1987, appearing in over a hundred broadcasts and establishing the Blue Peter garden at BBC TV Centre. In 1983, the Italianate garden was destroyed by vandals, ruining all of his work and leaving him desolate. Percy Thrower's work for the BBC was not restricted to gardening. In the 1960s, a habitual pipe smoker, he was asked by the radio producer Tony Shryane to provide sound effects for The Archers. He gave up smoking after a heart attack in 1985. In 1963, he built his own house, "The Magnolias", near Shrewsbury, on land he acquired with a friend in the small village of Merrington,. This gave him a garden of about one and a half acres to "play with", something which he had never had before. The garden subsequently became the location for some of the episodes of Gardeners' World. He opened the garden to the public in 1966, and this became an annual event to raise money for charity. The Magnolias was demolished in 2014 as a result of structural damage. In 1967, he became involved with the development of what was one of the first garden centres, Syon Park, near Brentford, owned by the Duke of Northumberland and backed by Plant Protection, a division of ICI, who had leased 50 acres from the Duke. The centre was a success at first, but then sales tailed off and he left the project. He retired in 1974 from the post of Superintendent of Parks as Shrewsbury and started a weekly column for the Daily Mail in 1975. He also wrote for several other papers, he wrote for the magazine Amateur Gardening and also wrote many books. The BBC dropped him in 1975 when he agreed a contract with Plant Protection, for a series of commercials on independent television. He did this in the full knowledge of what the repercussions would be with the BBC, and later said it was the best contract he ever signed. As a television personality he appeared with Morecambe and Wise (1971) and Benny Hill. He was also the subject of a This is Your Life programme in 1976. |He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1984. He became involved in hosting gardening tours in Europe, and established the Percy Thrower Floral Tours Company, chartering ships for lecture cruises and he was also involved in English Gardening Weekends. On one of these he was taken ill, and a decline in his health set in. He never fully recovered from a heart bypass operation in 1987 and eventually Hodgkin's disease was diagnosed. He made his last recording for Blue Peter from hospital one week before he died. Percy and Connie had three daughters: Margaret, born 1944, Susan, born 1948, and Ann, born 1952. They were all involved with the Percy Thrower Garden Centre. Percy had a succession of black Labradors, and was a fan of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. Maureen Remembers{- A little story about another Harry Worth. A gentleman called Harry Worth probably father of Brian Worth lived between Drayton and Cosham and frequented The New Inn. He bought a brand new Mini, when Mini’s were mini, and visited the launderette in Drayton, parked the car outside, popped the laundry in the machine and continued to the New Inn for a pint. Later he returned, collected his laundry, popped it in the car and started to drive home. He was stopped by the Police who accused him of stealing the car, when they asked his name he said “ my name is Harry Worth” and the police were not amused. It all got sorted when the police discovered his car still outside of the laundrette next to where the other mini had been parked and surprisingly his car keys fitted both cars. I understand it was common practice in the early days for more than one car to have the same key. Loved Griff’s memories of the Coronation. I have few recollections of the Coronation except we were part of the Fleet Review. Father (RN) was on his ship in the review, probably in the engine room as that is where he was most comfortable and Mother, Maurice and I were bobbing on one of the tiny boats that made up the flotilla weaving in amongst the ships. I don’t know how but Father managed to get us tickets. I also recall lining up in the playground of Solent Road School to be presented with the blue covered book “Our Queen” and a plastic beaker with the Coronation crest printed on it. I believe all school children received these gifts. Stay in touch Peter