Most of the early work on our new local history website – Tringruralhistory.co.uk – has focused on the 20th century and in particular World War II. A number of stories mentioned the use of the local Airfield by the American Airforce and the impact on our communities at the time.
This article is based on an interview with Michael Glasser, a long term resident of Wilstone who has fond memories of the village during and after the Second World War. The conversation also covers the growth and eventual closure of the family’s poultry farming and animal feeds businesses, which were a feature of the village during the latter part of the twentieth century.
This article follows on from our website’s recent review of Pat Carty’s book – Secret Squadrons of the Eighth – by interviewing the author and finding out more about the motivation that led to such a well-researched publication. The interview with the author also leads to some interesting new facts about the occupation of Cheddington Airfield during the Second World War.
After sharing memories with two residents of Puttenham, one person stands out as a character and a benefactor to the village. We therefore decided that this person, Joan Newman, who died over twenty years ago, deserves a separate tribute, based on the facts that we have been able to establish.
This article follows an interview with Mike Atkin and not only covers the life of an enthusiastic contributor to the community of Puttenham but also describes the way in which his father’s move into this area during wartime was the start of a well-known and successful local business.
This article covers an episode in the history of Long Marston that doesn’t go back as far as some other recent interviews; it covers the time in the 1990s when the Queens Head became well known as ‘The Curry Pub’, attracting people from far and wide to the village. The landlord from this time – Simon Sturt – shares fond memories of his time as landlord.
This article follows an interview with long term Long Marston resident, Eddie Clarke and his wife Rose, describing how Eddie’s family’s connections with the village extend back to the 19th century and how farming was such an important part of his life in the post war period.
This interview features David Mead, from the family that have been farming in the local area for many years and established the farm shop that is familiar to us all. David talks about his time as a child during the second world war, the community of Wilstone and his life in farming.
This article describes how Christine Rutter, who lives in Astrope Folly, Puttenham, has become an important source of the history of the village. This has been achieved by collecting documents and photographs and combining these with personal memories of past conversations with the characters who made the community what it is today.
This is a unique transcript of an interview with Don Winfield, one of the few people old enough to remember our villages before the Second World War. Don has spent his whole life in Long Marston and his directly quoted words tell their own story of the village over time.
This interview with Wally Braginton, long term resident of Wilstone, tells the story of his time there and how the village was saved from terminal decline by the commitment of new residents to creating a vibrant and mutually supportive community.
We follow up the previous interview with Eunice Hall by discussing the bombing of Long Marston school with Neil Dean, also a child at the time. There is also coverage of the growth of Neil’s family business – Deans Eggs – and its impact on the village.
The lively social community of Long Marston in the immediate post war period is described through the eyes of Daphne, David and Alan, three members of one of the village’s oldest families, the Winfields.
It seems extraordinary that Long Marston School should have been destroyed by a German bomb in January 1941. Eunice Hall, five years old at the time, recalls her own memories of that fateful day and we discuss the impact on village life
1936 was quite a year for our country. A King died, his successor abdicated and a third King took the throne. Jesse Owens showed Hitler that ‘Black Lives Matter’ in the Olympics in Berlin. Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire and, overseas, Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected as President of the USA.
Send in your photos, stories, documents and we’ll get them added!