Don Bradman's Correspondence with Norfolk Researcher

A Don Bradman Correspondence: An unique correspondence between Don Bradman to Nigel Ward of Norfolk, England, who was conducting personal research into Don Bradman's ancestry during the early 1990's. The archive comprises of 49 hand and type written letters from Bradman dating from July 1990 to February 1999. The correspondence refers to Ward's research connecting Bradman's ancestors to two small rural villages - Bradenham in Norfolk, and Withersfield in Suffolk. He had traced Bradman's ancestors back to the 16th century in Bradenham and then onto Withersfield in Suffolk. Marriage records of Bradman's earliest known relative ' show a marriage between Edmund of Bradenham and a local woman, he was obviously a poor labourer and had no surname, so they called him Bradenham. Over the years the name evolved to Bradman '. Also references to the surname variation of 'Bradnam' and 'Bradman'. The letters refer to the research, Bradman's cricket and personal life from 1990 to just before his death in 2001. Bradman talks of 'paying a visit to Withersfield in 1930 to see an old lady who claimed relationship but it was never proved' ....'I took a very poor view of the suggestion that my ancestors were deported for sheep stealing' .....'Life has been exciting in England with the downfall of Mrs Thatcher. I hope her successor is the right man for the job' .....'The English cricketers have started their Aussie tour, so far not impressive, and I think Australia will prove too strong' ....(Body-line) 'It was a bitter series, no fraternisation between the teams, Oldfield was hospitalised after a terrible blow to the temple, Woodfull received an awful crack over the heart' ....'Boycott is so engrossed by Boycott and I greatly dislike people who have tickets on themselves. Humility is one of the finest virtues of a human being' .....'I'm appalled at the ineptitude of England. There must surely be better players in the County sides, the batting in the main, lacks character and the bowling lacks venom' (1993) ....'Our boy Warne has done wonderfully well - after all he is only 22 with little experience, yet he is economical and looks the best prospect for his age that we have had' .....he also writes about his collection of Wisdens and their value, often mentions golf & tennis, unemployment in Australia, South Africa back into Test cricket (1991), cricket matches in Australia, Cricket World Cup 1992, his 60th Wedding Anniversary, Bill O'Reilly's death, One-Day cricket in Australia, Larwood, throat surgery, drought conditions, Bradman's stroke, death of his wife (1998), etc. All the letters are dated with the majority on 'Sir Donald Bradman' letterhead or aerogrammes. All the letters are signed by Bradman, either in full or by his first name. A comprehensive insight into the man, interwoven with his past cricketing career and snatches of his personal life in the 1990's. Very Good condition. 'How Sir Don Got His Name From Norfolk' by John Bultitude, 'Eastern Daily Press', 6th July, 1998: He is universally acclaimed as the greatest batsman in history. But few realise that Sir Donald Bradman also has a Norfolk link. For years it has been a closely guarded secret that the Australian run machine has family ties with the village of Bradenham, near Dereham. That connection was made public yesterday [1998] with a special presentation to recognise Norfolk's honour of being bound with a sporting icon. The discovery was made by Norfolk man Nigel Ward, a cricket umpire and penpal of Sir Donald. Nigel first wrote to 'the Don' while serving as secretary of Withersfield Cricket Club in Suffolk after hearing rumours that Bradman ancestors came from the village. Nigel said: 'I wrote via the Australian Cricket Board and must confess I never expected a reply from this very private person as he has never discussed his personal life in public.' Their pen-and paper relationship created a unique sporting double as the two swapped anecdotes and cricketing stories. Nigel, aged