Tower and Town, October 2025 (view the full edition)Editorial: The Dobies of MarlboroughWhen I moved here almost 40 years ago, the first Marlborough people I met were Karen Dobie and her daughter, Grace, who welcomed us as neighbours in George Lane. Later, as a teacher at St John's, I was always aware of a sprinkling of Dobies throughout the school including Grace and her sister Lydia. And there is much Dobie involvement in Tower and Town. So my question is 'Why are there so many Dobies in Marlborough?' Meeting Kim Wakeham through The Merchant's House and Helen Llewelyn through the History Society and discovering that they were both members of the Dobie family (or should it be 'clan' with their Scottish roots? ) I asked if they would like to do an edition of the magazine about their family. They very kindly agreed. My job was simply to ask the question. All the hard work of talking to family, gathering stories and photographs and doing research has been done by Kim and Helen and I am very grateful to them. As Helen says 'We have merely scratched the surface'. Kim agrees that there is so much more to say; for example, the history of the Wyatt family, who used to make ropes and sacks at the Old Rope Factory in The Parade, is worthy of an article on its own. In these pages a story emerges of hardworking people with a strong sense of family and community, welcoming and inclusive - plus a good measure of fun. There is also a remarkable ability to have large, healthy families such as that of Robert and Selina (part of which is shown on the front cover). The inevitably male surname does not hide, however, the important role of women like Selina (Drew) Dobie, Jenny (Bailey) Dobie, Vera (Riches) Dobie and Lorraine (Dobie) Thatcher to name but a few. This is just a start but a very good foundation. Other members of the Dobie family or indeed members of other Marlborough families may wish to contribute to a future edition. You are very welcome to get in touch with me - we would love to hear from you. Sarah Bumphrey |