Ewelme memories
Here are memories of Ewelme and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Ewelme or a Ewelme photo.
Ewelme School 1957
I am Mick Phillips and I was at Ewelme School in 1957. Mr Coles was the headmaster and Miss Walker was my class teacher. We were 9 and 10 year olds in the upstairs room and the younger children were taught downstairs by a Miss Lewis, who got married around that time to someone from RAF Benson.
I remember Miss Walker being presented with some flowers at assembly one morning by Mr Coles to mark her 25th year at the school. She was a rather serious Irish lady in her fifties who rapped my knuckles for not understanding fractions and read to us from Wind in the Willows on Friday afternoon. Although probably no record exists, the BBC came to the school and filmed an item which included one or two classroom shots and a studio interview with Miss Walker. I can't remember what the item was about, but Miss Walker was impressed with the BBC's efficiency and timing and suggested how we might benefit by applying the same attitude.... Read more
Memories of Oxfordshire
Memories of Benson
My memories of Benson started in 1946/7 when we moved to Sunnyside, which in those days did not have the recreation field. Nor did the village have street lighting apart from a couple in the High Street, one of which was on the wall of Franklin's Farm. The shops in those days were Slaughters Stores, High Street & Chamberlains Stores, Castle Square. There were 2 butchers in High Street (Wm. Lee & the other I can't remember the name), Stan Blisset had the hairdressers next to Slaughters Stores. Tom Shotton was the postmaster. Bill Aldridge ran the greengrocers shop, opposite Crown Hotel, and was later taken over by Wm Turner. Gurneys Garage was a small unit in Chapel Lane. My stepfather, Stan Pether, was born in the house between the Post Office & the Crown Hotel, and was one of the local postmen for several years. I recall Mrs Wharton running the cake/sweetshopin High Street and Eva Small ran a sweetshop in Brook Street next door to the pub. In... Read more
Old Caravan Field Near Benson?
My husband was at RAF Benson in 1969. We got married in November, but could not find any accommodation around the airfield. In desperation we rented a tiny caravan in a farmer's field south of the airfield. There was no running water and the one outside tap tended to freeze in winter. The few caravans were managed by an elderly couple - the old lady I remember vividly, as she had long straggly grey hair and always wore the same outfit: big baggy sweater over a kilt over blue jeans and wellingtons! To get to Benson you came out of the caravan field, turned left and at the end of this lane was a pub, on the main road. In the other direction, turning right out of the caravan field, the lane led to a main road where you caught the bus into Wallingford (I worked at the Institute of Hydrology for a few months).
We went back to Benson recently - took photos... Read more
Nuffield, English Farm & Conduit Cottages
Does anyone happen to have any photos or information on Conduit Cottages which until about 20/25 years ago were a pair of semi farm cottages belonging to English Farm? They could be reached either by a track from the Nuffield-Stoke Row road which lead to what is now I believe Phoenix Cottage or from further along the same road nearer to Nuffield at the side of other farm cottages which lead to the actual farm. At one point a Mr. Francis, Cowman at the farm, lived here. Either way you then walked up a track to the Conduits which were in the middle of fields by a copse and three ponds. In the 1950s the farm was owned by Mr. & Mrs. Mundy (Monday?) and Mrs. Mundy's brother Mr. Purdy. The Conduits have since been converted into one very grand house, the ponds are gone and everything appears to be landscaped. The farm was purchased a few years ago, the old house renovated and the farm... Read more
Haywards From Loders Dorset
John Hayward (1813) came from Loders in Dorset and settled in this area of Wallingford, of Benson, Bradfield, Englefield and married local girl Mary Anne Kitchen. His son Robert James eventually farmed Uxmore Farm at Ipsden, near Stoke Row in Berks/Oxon. I am collecting a photographic record of the Hayward family in these areas for a family tree.
Ingrid Wilson
Hi Ingrid Wilson,
Apologise reply to your query - windows - Francis Frith site got problems connecting, my reply cancelled several times. If I can contact you direct I can give you info about the Hayward family tree free, so far as I have got. You are welcome to assist with further research.
yoga-prakash saraswati
lunarorange20022@yahoo.com.au--new email
sfrancesten@gmail.com---new email
aussieworldpolitics.blogspot.com
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