Tilshead, Thomas A'beckett Church c.1965

Photo ref: T149024

It was in 1944 and I was an 18 year old gunner in the Royal Artillery.By mistake, my mate Peter and I found ourselves posted to a little village called Tilshead,it was a clerical error because when we got there no one at the Army unit knew what to do with us. Sunday morning arrived,and what better to do than go to the Church of St.Thomas a Becket. In the Church were about 20 people and one soldier,me.The Vicar ...see more

Sadly, the Bell Inn closed sometime in the early sixties. And along with other faithful regulars, I was there on the evening when the last pint was drawn.

Summer 1959 (I think) I was with Abingdon School Combined Cadet Force at Westdown Camp for our annual training week. The nearest pub, for us naughty under-age drinkers in the evenings, was the Rose and Crown. Apart from the excellent beer and the landlord's tolerant welcome, my abiding memory is of a simple watercolour(?) painting, possibly over the fireplace, of a night time veiw of the pub ...see more

I am researching my husband's family tree and have found out that his great-great-grandfather John Kyte was the innkeeper of The Black Horse Pub in 1901 (listed on the Census for that year). He was a widower at that time, his wife was Isabella (nee Neate). His son, Eglon Sylvanus Kyte, was my husband's great-grandfather. My husband's gran, Edith Naome Kyte, Eglon's a Edith's daughter, died in July 2010 in Long ...see more