Miss Susan Collie
Husborne Crawley Resident
1920 - 1932
Village Menu Page
Mrs Edie Butterworth recalls her childhood memories of the Children Christmas Party:
"The Christmas party was the highlight of the year for all children in the village. There would be a Christmas tree which would be so beautifully decorated and we would have lovely things to eat. The highlight was receiving a present. She would give all the children in the village a present and when you reached 14 she would give you a watch. Sadly she died in 1932 just before I was 14 years old, so I never got my watch!"

"Another event at Christmas was going about the village carol singing. All the children would call at Crawley Hall to sing for Miss Collie as she could always be relied upon to give the village children a few coins for their efforts."

The Woburn Reporter in 1927 reports on the Christmas party held at the Reading Room on 30th December, 1926:
The Christmas tree and treats provided by Miss Collie for the whole of the children from babyhood to the age of 14 was held in the Reading Room on 30th December 1926 and there were 90 children present. The proceedings opened with a tea for the guests including large iced Christmas cakes amongst the table of many delicacies. The Christmas tree provided a rare sight as it was gaily decorated and covered with presents which included large boxes of chocolates for the Sunday School teachers, silver wristlet watches for the senior children, leather purses containing silver and copper, electric flash lights and large pocket knives. Other toys were provided for the other children. Miss Collie herself handed round the presents after giving each guest a large bag of sweets. Miss Collie said, "The event had given her a great deal of pleasure, and occasions like this were the happiest times of her life".
Another Crawley resident, Barbara Neale, recalls her childhood memories of
Miss Collie:

"As children, during the summer, we used to go round catching wasps and put them in a match box. We'd take them up to Miss Collie and if the weather was fine we would find her sitting in her summer house. She would count how many we'd managed to catch, and if we'd caught a lot she would give us a bar of chocolate!"