Using The National Farm Survey as a gateway for research

West Dean Farm

One recorded farm was West Dean Farm, located in the Parish of West Dean, East Sussex. It was farmed by a Jack L Dunfee, whose address is listed at the nearby Coach House in West Dean. Its B496/EI tells us it is 52-acre farm that receives the highest grade possible, an 'A'. The surveyor reports 'production is high' and that while 'heavily stocked for its size... this farm should be self-supporting'.

E. GENERAL COMMENTS.
Production is high on this small farm...

Although heavily stocked for its size – about 50 acres – this farm should be self-supporting.

The forms show there is a diverse range of animals and crops present on the farm. They demonstrate wartime efforts to diversify farming, expand capacity, and improve self-sufficiency.

The West Dean Farm appears on both the Sussex (East) LXXIX NW and SW map, which shows the array of farmland in this area and its proximity to military land and the English Channel.

But who was the farmer, Jack L Dunfee? Using other records at The National Archives, such as census records, can we find out more about him?

Who was Jack L Dunfee?

The closest major document to the National Farm Survey chronologically, is the 1939 England and Wales Register. Undertaken to understand and organise the civilian population during wartime, the Register provides the most complete survey of the population of England and Wales at this time. Held at The National Archives, it's available to search and view on Ancestry and FindMyPast. A search of the digitised records for 'Dunfee' and 'Coach House, West Dean' finds, as expected, a Mr Jack L Dunfee living at The Old Coach House, West Dean on 29 September 1939.

The register gives Dunfee's birthdate as 19 October 1901, and his profession as a 'Company Director'. Living with him are Sandra Storme (her surname later corrected to Dunfee and Yarde Buller on the Register) and a 'horse groom' named John A Sweeney, who could be one of the three male workers noted on the farm's C47/SSY form.

Working back through census records using Dunfee's name and birthdate reveals more about his upbringing.

In 1921, we learn his full name, Jack Lawson Dunfee, but his age is wrongly listed as 28-years-old, when he was 20. He is living at 53 St Johns Road, Putney, with his 'Retired Officer' father Vickers, and two servants. Dunfee's listed profession is 'Traveller in Paper, Drayton Works, Fulham', suggesting he was a travelling salesman.

Turning to the 1911 Census, a school-aged Dunfee was residing at 25 Chartfield Avenue, Putney. Here he is living with his two brothers (Vickers Claude and Beresford Clive), three servants, and a cook.

The Dunfee family

Searching our online catalogue, Discovery, for the Dunfee family reveals military records for two family members, including his father's distinguished service record. Colonel Vickers Dunfee served mostly for the 4th City of London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), his career spanning nearly four decades. During the First World War, he commanded the 2/4th Battalion of his regiment in Egypt from 1915 to 1916, culminating in a CBE in 1919 – as detailed in the London Gazette, 3 June 1919. We hold two medal cards for Vickers and another record detailing the locations of his regiment. The other family military record we hold is that of Jack's brother, 2nd Lieutenant Vickers Claude Dunfee.

Travelling to the USA

Another useful series is the Passenger Lists, detailing those who set sail from Ireland or Britain during the 19th and 20th centuries. These record Jack Dunfee as travelling to the US on multiple occasions during the 1930s, for business-related trips.

On 26 November 1932, Dunfee departed from Southampton to New York via Cherbourg in First Class aboard the Leviathan. He is listed as a 'Director' travelling with the actress Benita Siepmann-Hume.

Widening our search

Another archive to try is The British Newspaper Archive. Searching 'Jack Dunfee' reveals a vast array of newspaper mentions during the 1920s and 1950s that reveal his profession, celebrity status, and social connections. We learn Jack was a prolific racing driver who competed at the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit at Brooklands Circuit, and at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours race in France.

He was also a company director of O'Bryen, Linnit and Dunfee, a theatrical production company, placing him at the heart of the golden age of stage and screen. He was personally involved too. In November 1932, The Daily News reported his engagement to Benita Hume the actress who had travelled to the US with him. However, it seems they never actually married. There are further newspaper accounts of US visits in 1933 and 1935.

He also features in The New York Times archive as working with Warner Brothers in June 1937 on a series of plays in London's West End. In November 1939, The London Evening News reported a new romance, a marriage to Sandra Storme, who is listed in the National Farm Survey as living in West Dean. Further exploration into Storme reveals a photoshoot she gave to The Tatler at the farm in 1941. This provides a fascinating, albeit staged, snapshot into the appearance of small-scale farming during wartime, only a few months before the farm was surveyed.

Photographic archives

Searching for other visual material in photographic archives, such as Getty Images Archive and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France’s Gallica archive, reveal Dunfee's appearance and more information about his two careers. Alongside photographs of him racing at Brooklands and Le Mans, are those of him attending performing arts galas and award ceremonies.

There is also an interview with Dunfee from June 1973, found in the archive of Motorsport Magazine, which provides more context to his racing career. Dunfee raced in two Le Mans 24 Hour races, driving Bentleys on both occasions. In the 1929 edition he partnered Glen Kidston, whose granddaughter is the designer Cath Kidston, and in 1930 he shared with Beris Harcourt Wood. We also learn his brother Clive was tragically killed at Brooklands in 1932, during the prestigious BRDC (Brooklands Racing Drivers’ Club) 500-Mile Race, after taking over a grey Bentley from his brother.

But what about Jack Dunfee being a farmer? A local history website about West Dean Parish suggests he originally rented the farmland to keep his horses and to use as a place to see out the war before resuming his theatre work after the war.

Later life

There are several further mentions of Dunfee in the Newspaper Archive after the war. This includes a photo essay in The Tatler from 1952 titled 'Hounds met at the country house of leading theatrical impresario'. This notes his 'fine house, Melplash Court, Bridport, Dorset, built in 1490 and once owned by Sir Thomas More'.

His reflective 1973 interview with Motorsport Magazine also details his later life, having never returned to motor racing after the death of his brother, his time spent driving Bentleys, Jaguars, and lastly an Austin, between Piccadilly and his country home.

Genealogy websites Ancestry and FindMyPast complete Jack's story, with death registers revealing he died in 1975, at the age of 73.

A starting point for rich exploration of history

As we continue to catalogue and digitise vast parts of the National Farm Survey, it should act as a significant resource for historians, researchers, and the public. As Jack Dunfee's story shows, this comprehensive agricultural census, rich with details, can inspire research into various places. Starting with just a name and an address, it can lead you around archives across the world and provide depth to the lives of the individuals it contains.

Records featured in this blog

Further reading

Find out more from Samuel Smith and Dylan Bunyan and their work cataloguing MAF 73 as part of the ongoing National Farm Survey Project.