A Family History of the Illustrious, Notorious and Eccentric Lloyds of Birmingham, Brigstock and Pipewell Hall - Flipbook - Page 102
ently, I was found by the kindly butler on my first night there, Jaasie Gould, blubbing under the
table like a dog. Jaasie Gould became a great friend and ally of Joe and I, and used to take us
g with him to the Kilmarnock municipal golf course at Caprington. We were most impressed one
hen Jaasie drove the ball so hard that when it hit a sheep on the temple, it rolled over and died
ht away.
nd Pierre moved to a lovely flat comprising half of Fullarton House, just outside Troon, close to
andparents house which they had built in 1908 in the South Wood of Troon, and within walking
ce of the beach, which we visited day after day in the warmer months, with Nanny Dudley and
y maid Milly.
35 Billy and Pierre moved down to Stoke Albany House in Northamptonshire, and Billy started
ng permanently from the Collins new fiction and non-fiction publishing office at 48 Pall Mall. He
the 10 miles to Kettering station where he commuted to London St Pancras providing excellent
ach day in the train for reading manuscripts.
was now able to see much more of the Lloyd family at Pipewell, only three miles away. Billy and
both became regular followers of the Woodland Pytchley Hunt on Saturdays or Fernie Hunt if the
were closer that day. Pierre rode Peterborough, the black cob she inherited from grandfather Lloyd,
ater inherited from her when he was aged 24. He could still sit back on his hocks and sail over a
arred gate from a trot!
accompanied Billy on all his publishing trips to New York in the late 1930s, and they became
nal friends of several American publishers. Pierre, who was much better read than Billy, described
hearty" at school and university due to his passion for sports, and from now on she became an
tant factor in helping Billy to become such a successful publisher.
g the war Pierre became heavily involved with both the Red Cross and St John's Ambulance which
er very busy. After the war her health deteriorated badly with a thyroid problem which turned her
semi-invalid for a year or two. This prevented her from accompanying Billy on his first business
the Collins overseas subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA during January,
ary and March 1948. Instead, he was accompanied by my elder sister Deborah and I (in a threeh gap between leaving school and starting my eighteen months National Service).
early 1950s Pierre started,
