In Memory of ‘Madge’ Edwards

 Those of you of a certain age will remember ‘Madge’ Edwards who passed away in December 2023. 

I met Madge when I started carriage driving with the Wolverley Driving Club and enjoyed her guidance and enthusiasm for weekend driving rallies, traditional driving and, most of all, driving trials. Madge was later elected Honorary President of Wolverley Driving Club.

In the 1990’s we drove our lorries, sometimes in tandem for reassurance, throughout the summer months to compete at the excellent two-day trials, run by the then Midlands Driving Trials Group, to venues like Chatsworth, Frog Hall and the Silverstone area. This was Madge’s heyday, a keen single pony driver and regular winner with the excellent Georgie.

Madge delighted in getting her ponies fit in the forest behind her home and, when she hung up her harness, her enthusiasm transferred to my ponies, grooming for me in the forest and country lanes of Worcestershire.

Madge was the manufacturer of ‘Forest Harness’, arguably the best synthetic harness of the time and great for leisure driving and marathons.

We also shared a love of gardening and Madge grew her own soft fruit and vegetables for her table. I tried to visit her every two or three weeks in more recent times for a tour of her garden and to drink weak tea. This was a long-standing joke; we could never convince her that a tea bag was designed for just one cup!

A bonus was that when I introduced her to Sara Jane [Hayes] they became good friends, and we will both miss her.

Rest in Peace, my friend.

David Smith