Theodore Lamb (1880 – 1950)
For many years between the wars and until he died in 1950, Theodore Lamb lived the life of a recluse in a shack on Sibford Heath. A skilled watch and clock repairer, Theodore plied his trade around the local villages. He travelled around, sometimes on a bicycle without tyres, sometimes on foot, and usually with some form of truck loaded with junk and, in the winter, his fire in a bucket as well.
He played various musical instruments and posed for photographs for which he charged a fee of half a crown (12.5p). He always paid for his small needs, although when his clothing, which was often made from sacks, became less than decent he was banned from Banbury and had to wait at the door of the village shop to be served. He was always totally honest and completely harmless despite his appearance.
He was an immensely strong man and once pulled a chicken hut for many miles back to Sibford taking several days over the journey.
It is thought a childhood trauma may well have explained his later lonely existence: when he was a boy, his father fell from the chestnut tree in front of his house while knocking down the ripe fruit, broke his neck and died.
When he went up to Oxford to do his medical during the First World War, he would not say a word. They got so fed up they sent him back again, so he never went into the army.
He eventually contracted pneumonia and died, aged 70, in Banbury hospital, the nurses respecting his request not to cut his long matted hair – he said it would spoil his appearance! Money which he had entrusted to the vicar was sufficient to pay for his funeral, attended by many paying their last respects to a long-to-be-remembered Sibford character.
![A person sitting in a tree](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0097.jpg)
1/97 Theodore Lamb at work in Stocks Yard in Bonds End Lane
![An old photo of a person](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0098.jpg)
1/98 Theodore Lamb
![A group of people posing for a photo](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0099.jpg)
1/99 Theodore Lamb, in the doorway of his home in Stocks Yard. He later moved to the shed at Sibford Heath allotments off the Banbury-Shipston Main Road, once called the Turnpike.
![A man with an accordion](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0100.jpg)
1/100 Theodore Lamb
![A person riding on the back of a bicycle](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0101.jpg)
1/101 Theodore Lamb
![A man sitting on a bench](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0102.jpg)
1/102 Theodore Lamb
![A group of people riding on the back of a truck](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0103.jpg)
1/103 Theodore Lamb
![A vintage photo of a person](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0104.jpg)
1/104 Theodore Lamb
![A vintage photo of a man](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0105.jpg)
1/105 Theodore Lamb
![A vintage photo of a man in a tent](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0106.jpg)
1/106 Theodore Lamb
![A vintage photo of a man riding a horse drawn carriage](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0107.jpg)
1/107 Theodore Lamb
![A vintage photo of a person](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0108.jpg)
1/108 Theodore Lamb
![A person sitting on a motorcycle](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0109.jpg)
1/109 Theodore Lamb
![A vintage photo of a group of people in a field](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0110.jpg)
1/110 Theodore Lamb
![A vintage photo of a group of people posing for the camera](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Album1-0112.jpg)
1/112 Theodore Lamb
![](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tl-postcard1a-00003208abd.jpg)
“Theodore” posing for his photograph. Postcard 1.
![Text, letter](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tl-postcard1b-00003208abcde.jpg)
“Theodore” posing for his photograph. Postcard 1 reverse
![An old photo of a man](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tl-postcard2a-00003131abd.jpg)
Theodore. Postcard 2
![Text, letter](https://thesibfords.uk/sib2/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tl-postcard2b-00003131abcd.jpg)
Theodore. Postcard 2 reverse