Woodcote memories
Here are memories of Woodcote and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Woodcote or a Woodcote photo.
Bonners
Penny went on to have 2 boys, Joe and Frankie, Frankie being the same age as me. We used to play at Rogers Yard, Penny Royal, which I think was once owned by Penny's dad. But given two Frank Rogers in the family I am not sure.
Story After, my Family
Regarding the statement of Percy Bonner and his wife Rennie Bonner, written by Ken Crammer:
These people were my aunt and uncle.
Uncle Percy and Aunt Rennie went on to have 2 children, Louisa and Percy aka Penny, both married and continued to live in Crays Pond with their children and grandchildren near by.
In 1966 Uncle Percy was in a tragic accident when a tree fell on him and he was killed, Aunt Rennie died after having a heart attack in the 1970s.
Aunt Rennie was the sister of my father Joseph Smith.
The photo brings back memories of waiting outside with my coke whilst Uncle Percy and my father were inside drinking pints.
If anyone would like to contact me regarding any of the persons above then please email me johnalbiejoe@yahoo.com
WW2
I was evacuated to some wooden bungalows in Goring Road and lived with Percy and Renee Bonner. Renee's relations were Romany gypsies who lived in Woodcote. The photo shows The White Lion and the village shop which I believe was "Pointers Stores". Percy ran a log delivery business, and these were delivered by horse and cart to surrounding areas by Percy, and although only 10 yrs old, myself!! I can safely say that despite the war and my young ignorance, they were the happiest days of my childhood.
I remember a shed nearby in which shoe repairs and accumulators were re-charged and the proprietor suffered a pronounced limp. A nice chap he was. The shed was sited at the entrance to a drive to a large house whose owners were named Brewer or Burton or similar. I spent many hours with a son of the house called Peter, exploring surrounding areas.
The Bonners were wonderful people and treated me as a son. They did have a young daughter called Lena... Read more
RAF Woodcote; 70MU; 1941 - 1959.
Very few people realise that there was a RAF Maintenance Camp in Woodcote during and after the Second World War years. There is a comprehensive history of this operational base with archive photos and local oral memories at :- http://www.mycetes.co.uk/b/index.html Have a look now before all the old tell tale signs are gone forever as nature reclaims the land back.
Memories of Berkshire
Uxmore Farm Ipsden
Any news /photos/records of Uxmore Farm, Ipsden would be welcome. I have been to Ipsden Heath and Stoke Row, visiting relatives but not actually visiting Uxmore Farm. since my father and grandfather farmed there in the early 1900s I have a particular interest in the area.
The Read family owned the farm for hundreds of years then it fell into being not cared for and was eventua'ly rented/sold to Robert James Hayward and Frances Emily Hayward (nee Cotterell). The Haywards farmed there till 1925 when Robert Hayward died. Frances died about 1914. The farm was probably bought via Cotterell money as Robert's father John of English Farm, Englefield died broke, brother-in-law Ernest Cotterell being a mortgage trustee to the Uxmore Farm with sons ands daughters of Robert and Frances. Under Read ownership the farm was about 500 acres on an old Roman site. In fact my father said when a tennis court was made, Roman gold coins were found. What happened to the gold coins I don't know.
Uxmore Farm, Ipsden
Uxmore Farm is part of Ipsden and is on an old Roman site, and my dad said when they put a tennis court in, they found Roman gold coins there. Uxmore Farm was owned by the Read family for hundred of years, till around the late 1890s when it was rented /purchased by Robert and Frances Hayward (nee Cotterell). Frances's parents were bakers in Reading. Robert's parents were John and Mary Hayward (nee Kitchen of English Farm, Englefield). John came from Loders in Dorset and his parents were Thomas and Mary Hayward (nee Dodge) married in Sherborne church in November 1808 and were farmers in the Loders area of Dorset.
Robert died in 1925 and Frances died in 1914. Uxmore was a mortgaged security for several properties in the Hayward family. Kate, John, Robert, Mary, Edith, Edna and George were some of Roberts children.
Robert paid about 80 pounds for Ipsden Heath Farm for his oldest son John. Robert junior had Timbers Farm at Nuffield. No doubt... Read more
Star Brush Factory
We lived in a council house adjacent to the Star Brush factory where my father worked for some years before we moved to Peppard. While our house was very modern by some standards, we had no electricity for some years, but we did have flush toilets. I remember the beech trees being hauled into the factory for cutting up for making the backs for brushes which were then sent to London to be shaped and the bristles fitted.
There was quite a successful cricket team in the village in which my father played as a bowler and opening batsman.
I can still remember the petrol pumps at the local garage with the price at one shilling and one pence a gallon!
During the Second World War we were kept awake by the aircraft from Benson airfield going out to bomb Germany and were woken up in the morning when they returned.
Our neighbour was Tom Clark who was the village baker at the village stores before he was called up... Read more
Lived Here
I was sent here some time around 1944/45?, I lived in a farmhouse to the left of this picture, just after the turning left, in fact the entrance was just on the right as one turned left.
The family I think were called "Choules", or Choles", I can remember the post office on the right, and I also remember going down the lane on the right to what was then farm buildings on the left, where the cows were brought in for milking. I was not an evacuee, but these people fostered me for a while.
This is the first time since the 40s I have seen this picture, does anyone know of that family, or the whereabouts of them? They had a son who I played with, but I'm afraid I cannot remember his name.
I was adopted a few years later, please, any news on this family.
Don Lucas.
In Memory of My Grandparents
Mr Gran and Grandad had their home in North Stoke, a Mr and Mrs Sallis (Elizabeth and Arthur). They lived in Calendula Cottage, as it was called then. My mother had three sons, Ray the oldest, Tony, and me, Nick, the youngest. For some reason our mother decided to have us live there; our grandparents were in their seventies and still working. As you can imagine, it must have been traumatic for them and the worry and more hardship to cope with. From what I have gathered they couldn't have tried any more than they did and found it too much to cope with. Eventually we were taken into care; I was only two years old then, Tony was four and Ray was six.
It was only a two-bedroom cottage, leading down the stairs straight into a very small kitchen and into the front room and that's all. The toilet was at the back down the garden.
Gran and Grandad over the years never forgot us and used... Read more
Memorybank total
We're very pleased and excited by your response so far to our "Share your Memories" community.
You've shared 28,902 memories of 5,955 towns & villages across the UK - keep them coming!
Find Memories
Simply search for your favourite places to read others' memories and share your own.
Tips & Ideas
Not sure what to write?
It's easy - just think of an important place in your life and ask yourself:
How does it feature in your personal history?
What are your best memories of this place?
How has it changed over the years?
How does it feel, seeing these old photos of your favourite place?
Do you remember stories about the local community, its history and people?
Start now!
It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the orange "Add your Memory" icon to begin.
Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Great Holland, Essex
- Romford, Essex
- Knypersley, Staffordshire
- Knockentiber, Ayrshire
- Thurstaston, Merseyside
- Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
- Stadhampton, Oxfordshire
- Raby, Merseyside
- Llansamlet, West Glamorgan
- Glasson, Cumbria
- Southgate, Greater London
- Pant, Shropshire
- Newcastle, County Down
- South Godstone, Surrey
- Penruddock, Cumbria
- Barnston, Merseyside
- Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire
- Great Haywood, Staffordshire
- Oswestry, Shropshire
- Rhydyfelin, Mid Glamorgan
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
Your memories
To jump straight to the memories you have added already to the Community, click here
I Remember When...
This stunning compilation highlights some of the best stories selected from the thousands contributed here on the
Frith website. The result is an absorbing chronicle of British life from the Second World War to the mid 1960s.
A colourful treasure trove of memories, "I Remember When" is an
irresistible mix of personal stories and recollections that affectionately reveal the detail of everyday life in Britain.
