Fascinating People of Battle

By Joan C Guyll

Since 1066, William the Conqueror and King Harold made history with the battle they fought. 950 years later, many people have been drawn to settle in this little market town. Their lives are no less fascinating than William or Harold. 10 of them have been selected by Joan who owns Battle Electricals & Computer with her husband Brian since 2004. 2016 is the year they've decided to retire. This book is a tribute to the people in Battle who have supported them. Battle will always be in their hearts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781326614188

Book preview

Fascinating People of Battle

FASCINATING PEOPLE OF BATTLE

By

Joan C Guyll

Joan C Guyll asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this book

© Joan C Guyll 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

First Edition

ISBN 978-1-326-61418-8

Published by Joan C Guyll & Associates

FOREWORD

Back in 2003, my husband Brian and I decided to move to the UK from Singapore. Being British, Brian had no problems coming initially to do a reconnaissance of where we would live and what we would do. By the time he returned to Singapore, he had bought a business, a car and even rented a bungalow, all within 10 days. We packed, shipped out a dozen giant boxes of personal effects by snail mail and boarded the plane.

Our destination - Battle, East Sussex - a place I actually remembered from my secondary school history lessons in Singapore. ‘1066 Battle of Hastings where William the Conqueror succeeded in wresting the kingdom from the Anglo-Saxons’ had been drummed into my head in case it came up as an examination question.

We renamed the business Battle Electricals & Computer and on the 4th of February 2004 opened the doors as new owners of the shop. The ex-owner was supposed to give us a week of training but within an hour a man came in asking for his money back claiming the phone the ex-owner sold him was faulty. I wanted to know where it was originally purchased from and asked the ex-owner to contact the supplier to get his customer a replacement. Saying in a huff, Since you know all the answers, there’s no need for me to stay, the ex-owner walked out. Left on our own, we decided to do the best we could.

Twelve years have flown by and we have decided to retire. However, before we do, we wish to pay tribute to the many people of Battle who have supported us in our business and made our stay here so enjoyable.

Both Brian and I have never been shopkeepers in our lives. As an Associate of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants, I have worked for the biggest Public Accountants companies in London and Singapore. I then left it all behind when I started a trekking and mountaineering company in the Indian Himalayas, ending up back in Singapore as a General Manager of one of the largest private media companies there. Brian took up an apprenticeship as an engineer in the coal mines in Durham when he was 16. He then left for South Africa and lived there for 18 years where he ended up as a lecturer in a technical college,