‘MAYMYO’, a large house on Milnthorpe Hill is a reminder of how far flung British Troops were spread out during what was rightly designated as a ‘World’ war, writes Roger Bingham.

It was built by John Mashiter in 1922 and named after the place in Burma where his eldest son Captain (later Major) Ernest Mashiter was stationed for most of the war.

John was the village postmaster, who handled and often personally delivered over 100 war office telegrams containing news of death in action of men from the Milnthorpe district.

He was also church warden and lay reader and took part in many memorial services.

Ernest, who had gone on to Oxford from Heversham Grammar School, was the apple of his father’s eye.

Accordingly, John was relieved when on the outbreak of war Ernest left with the Westmorland contingent of the Territorial Army for Burma, far away from the slaughter of the Western Front.

Although towards the end of the war Ernest ended up in France, no fatal telegram arrived at Milnthorpe Post Office with his name on it.

The strain of fearing the worst for Ernest when the dreaded telegrams arrived caused John to have a post war nervous collapse.

But, building ‘Maymyo’ aided his own recovery, while its name is a lasting reminder of Ernest Mashiter’s safe wartime haven.