Gerard Parker married Dorothy Hext, the niece of Alice & Charles Hext, affluent socialites & owners of Trebah Garden from 1907-1939.
Gerard Parker was educated at Malvern College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was life-long friends with Eric Savill (later to become Sir Eric Savill, creator of Savill Gardens in Windsor Great Park). The two school friends enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment and fought at the Battle of the Somme. Eric Savill was badly wounded in the Somme and Gerard Parker, who gained the rank of Captain, was twice mentioned in despatches for gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.
We have recently sourced two photo albums full of pictures of this bygone era and gradually different stories and links between various characters are coming to light. Gerard and Dorothy were regular visitors to Trebah, as was Eric Savill.
Eric Savill, apart from being a close friend of Gerard, was related to the Martins of English China Clay at St Austell, and it a distant relative of his who came to live at Trebah when Alice Hext was widowed.
