Jenny Crawford
One of my strongest memories of buying our house here in Hatch Warren was walking through the door to find a copy of The Rabbiter on the doormat. Immediately it felt as though we were part of a community.
One of the people who launched the Rabbiter, who has been instrumental for decades in building and shaping our community, making Hatch Warren and Beggarwood a great place to live, is Jenny Crawford. Without Jenny, there would have been no Rabbiter, and she has contributed in so many other ways too over the years.
Jenny was born in London and has always been determined to contribute to her community. She was a Brownie and a Girl Guide, and when at university she helped at her local Girl Guides group.
Jenny and family moved to Hatch Warren from Binfield in Bracknell in September 1988 when her husband, Iain, took a job with the AA. Almost immediately, she set to work, organising a Mother and Toddler group. She somehow managed to source an old double decker bus to host it! It was parked on the nearby builders’ yard.
Jenny was one of the founder members of the Hatch Warren Community Association, and she developed the idea of a community newspaper, the Rabbiter, with the then local vicar, Rev Marion Carter. The first issue was produced to promote the opening event of the community centre, which was a Ceilidh.
The Rabbiter then became more regular. Jenny produced it on her table at home, typing the articles and then cutting them out and pasting them onto sheets so they could be sent to the printers.
Through the Rabbiter Jenny organised walks and community litter picks.
Jenny was also involved with the local church which was then based at the community centre. She ran the Sunday school. Much of her community work was focused on mothers and babies as the demographic of the estate at that time was predominantly young families.
Jenny also set up a gardening club and the first speaker there was Rosamund Wallinger who, along with her husband, restored the Gertrude Jekyll garden in Upton Grey.
Jenny was an indomitable campaigner for some local allotments, which eventually were provided at the top of Beggarwood Park.
She was also the first chair of the Hatch Warren Women’s Institute, which is still going strong today.
After the opening of the Beggarwood Community Centre, Jenny set up and ran the local Community Lunch in Café in the Park, which I was happy to assist her with for some time.
Jenny still lives in Hatch Warren. She has one daughter and two cats.
Outside of her many contributions to the local community, Jenny has an allotment which keeps her busy, and she served for some time as the Regional Rep on the National Allotment Society.
Another passion is yarn: she weaves and spins and she has been part of the Hampshire Guild of Weavers and Spinners for many years. Jenny is also part of a local craft group that puts on displays from time to time.
She is a keen baker and jam maker. Her marmalade won a bronze award last year in a national competition.
And if all this isn’t enough, Jenny recalls how she was once the Good Fairy in the Cliddesden pantomime! She says that the vision of her is a tutu was definitely a sight for sore eyes!
When I asked her why she has given up so much of her time to help others, she said that it was about building a community here, and that it is vital to give something back, rather than just taking. She enjoys doing and organising, rather than being in the front line. She added that none of what she does would be possible without Iain, who single handedly organises all the delivery of the Rabbiter every month, often delivering areas himself when they are not covered by local volunteers.
Terri Reid
