Wantage historian Trevor Hancock remembers George Penney, the Pearly King of Wantage

George Penney was born on June 17, 1904, in Southampton, the younger son of Lewis George Penney and his wife Mary (nee Goudry).

He had two siblings, Stanley (born 1901) and Kathleen (born 1909).

George's father Lewis was from Sheerness in Kent and the family came to Wantage in 1906, when Mr Richard Bromley "sold the goodwill" of his drapers business in the Market Place to Lewis Penney. The business was based in what is now Barclays Bank. Lewis Penney ran his drapers business here for 34 years until his death in 1939. During this time he was a founder member of the Wantage Chamber of Trade, a prominent member of the Methodist Church and a member of Wantage Urban District Council for many years.

His sons, Stanley and George, came into the family drapers business after leaving King Alfred's school. When Lewis died, his son Stanley continued to trade from the building that we know these days as Barclays Bank and George ran the menswear side of the business at 21 Market Place which later became Badgers and is now Dapper Street menswear. The building is noted for the fact that the second floor window facing onto the alleyway was, from an architectural point of view, Sir John Betjeman's favourite window.

George and his brother Stanley both attended King Alfred's in Wantage before going into the family business. Both retained links with the school after they left, George being the honorary secretary of the Old Alfredians' Club. Penney's Menswear was the main supplier for school uniforms and other clothing requirements for King Alfred's.

George Penney was married on December 26, 1939, to Gladys Olliver, a former night nurse at Wantage Hospital. The couple did not have any children. As well as being active in the Methodist Church in Wantage, George became involved in numerous other activities including:

• An active member of the Wantage District Chamber of Trade.

• Vice President of Wantage Town Football Club.

• He was a keen tennis player.

• During World War II, he served as a Special Constable and as an ambulance driver locally, later joining the army. He was awarded the MBE.

• Founder Member of the Wantage Rotary Club.

During the 1930s in Wantage there were several Wantage Hospital Carnivals to raise money to help pay off the debt owed on the building of the new hospital in Garston Lane in 1927. Penney's had a regular entry in the carnival procession with a float advertising their business. It is most probably during this time, that George started wearing the Pearly King outfit. Other events that George would have worn his outfit would have included the coronations of George VI in 1937 and our present Queen Elisabeth II in 1953. The photos you can see with the outfit in were most probably taken during the Queen's Coronation Celebrations of 1953.

This very energetic and well-remembered man in Wantage retired in 1969 and died in 1973.