The Aldbourne Churches Together Service of Remembrance will be at 10.45am outside the War Memorial Hall on Sunday 12 November 2023. Music by Aldbourne Band. Retiring collection in aid of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Aldbourne Churches Together Service of Remembrance 2022
Research into this aspect of village history is one (of many!) instances where I’m definitely ‘the new kid on the block’. Amazing research by many has added masses of information for the pages of Aldbourne’s story. Thank you to all concerned.
Today, I’m thinking about the Society for One Place Studies blogging and social media hashtag #OnePlaceHeraldry. Since we are in the season of Remembrance, my thoughts have turned to the three Commonwealth War Graves in the St Michael’s Churchyard.
Then my thoughts wandered to the insignia of the Screaming Eagles, 101st Airborne Division. We’ve helped to host the Operation Nightingale archaeological dig teams for three excavations (2019, 2022 and 2023), and have had the privilege to meet veterans and serving personnel from present day armed forces.
There are other military engravings and plaques in the churchyard, including the Wiltshire Regiment insignia carved on the memorial for John Wakefield, late of Kandahar farmhouse.
(left) George Kendal Liddiard in 1939 and (right) in 1942 Source: Donald Liddiard
George Kendal Liddiard was born at Vernham Dean, Hampshire and baptised there on 14 June 1891. His parents were George and Lucy Liddiard. George was a baker, born in Aldbourne; Lucy was born in Wanborough. By the time of the 1901 Census, the family were living in Lottage Road, Aldbourne. (George) Kendal was 9 and his little brother, Henry “Harry” Gordon Liddiard was 4.
Kendal went to school in Aldbourne and in 1908 joined the Somerset Light Infantry, by the time of the 1911 Census he had transferred to the Army Service Corps. His army career is outlined in this obituary from the February 1989 Parish News.
Parish News February 1989
There was a correction to one detail in the above article in the next edition of the Parish Magazine – thanks to Ted Claridge
Parish News April 1989
The first thing that caught my eye when I found the obituary this morning was that Major Liddiard “landed on the Normandy Beaches on D-Day plus 3”, so apologies for the brevity of this article but I really wanted to publish today – 79 years later.
Secondly, he was a brother of Harry Liddiard who kept the Corn Stores (where Raffles used to be) and owner of the celebrated Rover and Sox, fund raising dogs extraordinaire.
I hope to find out more about this branch of the Liddiard family, and about Rover and Sox, in the near future.
Take these men for your example Like them remember that prosperity can only be for the free, that freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it
Pericles
Aldbourne honours all those who left these shores, not to return, losing their lives in defence of peace and freedom, and remembers with affection the soldiers who were billeted here in the camps, stables and village homes.
On 5th August 1999 a service took place to dedicate the bronze plaque in the Memorial Hall to commemorate the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment’s stay in the village during World War II. Present at that ceremony were two veterans of the Regiment, William Merit True II and Tom Alley. There were also thirteen veterans of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards who had been in action with the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment during Operation Market Garden (including Cecil Newton), and representatives of the Parachute Regiment, West Berkshire Branch led by Colonel Hynes. The Chairman of the Aldbourne Parish Council, Francis May, and Aldbourne parishioners also attended. Standards and banners were paraded by the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the Parachute Regiment. The trumpeter was Carl Smith of the Aldbourne Band and the piper was Pipe Major Ian Hutton, Royal Dragoon Guards.
In May 1994 Aldbourne villagers and US veterans had gathered at the Memorial Hall to dedicate a plaque to the “gallant men of the US 436th Troop Carrier Group who operated from Membury Air Base during WW2”. I’ve been able to find memoirs from veterans who attended that gathering. Firstly, Martin Wolfe wrote to Brian Buckler to say how much he and his fellow veterans and their families enjoyed their visit, and appreciated the “precious experiences and gracious welcome” given in Aldbourne. The second reference is in An American Glider Pilot’s Story. Gale Ammerman describes his visit to Wiltshire in 1994; including the reception at the Memorial Hall in the “picture postcard village of Aldbourne” (in fact he called the village ‘Aldebourne’ which complicated things a bit when searching the internet – but we found it in the end!). He goes on to describe the poignant ceremony that took place a few days later at the Membury Airfield itself.
With thanks to Swindon Local Studies and Wiltshire Libraries
It’s the last day of #LocalHistoryMonth for 2023, a thoroughly enjoyable wander through the history societies and resources in Wiltshire and beyond. During the past few weeks, I have linked up with the Society for One Place Studies, and explored the Wiltshire Library Catalogue and Swindon Local Studies.
The sharing of information and resources is such an important part of local and family history, I’ve been reminded that Shrivenham Heritage Society have a beautiful map drawn by Abraham Dymock of Aldbourne ( 1767 – 1845).
I’ve borrowed library books ranging from a collection of poems and stories by Joan Mitchell (nee Liddiard) to WW1 in Swindon; and waded through the biography of Gerald Brenan. It’s fascinating to read these recollections of lives spent in and around Aldbourne, and it all counts towards the #OnePlaceStudy. All thanks to Wiltshire Libraries and Swindon Local Studies!
Who knew that Gerald Brenan worked with Desmond Hawkins (who also lived in Aldbourne for a time) on a BBC feature programme about Stonehenge broadcast on the Home Service in 1948?
There’s been folk-lore and WW2 history, and along the way a quick study of Wiltshire Reading Rooms to help chart the beginnings of a public lending library in Aldbourne (Ivor Slocombe – HobNob Press). The most recent volume borrowed was From Blackout to Bungalows by Julie Davis, Wiltshire’s County Local Studies Librarian at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre. This is a comprehensive and fascinating insight into WWII Home Front Wiltshire and the Austerity Years 1939 – 1945. My parents were a young married couple in Wiltshire during that time and it has really put their early days starting a family into perspective. I still have my Mum’s handwritten recipes: she made a note of what worked (but more usually jotted down what didn’t!). Julie’s chapter Pulling Together really chimed with Mum’s recollections. Back in the 1980s I acquired a recipe book produced by the Potato Marketing Board, Mum couldn’t understand why anyone would voluntarily bake with spuds, other than to smother them in off ration butter and cheese!
To be honest, I don’t think we’ll be trying sponge pud with potato any time soon, although Potato and Apple Scones came out surprisingly well
Everyone deserves a treat, so after returning the Wiltshire Library copy I have purchased a copy of Julie’s book for my Aldbourne Archive shelves. Totally recommend it – HobNob Press.
Ralph Whitlock’s Folklore of Wiltshire (borrowed via Aldbourne library) is a great little book from 1975, and there’s a very amusing description of the Dabchick legend, linking to the engravings of a small, long-necked bird on some of the earliest bells cast in Aldbourne. This snippet is followed by a reference to how the inhabitants of Stratton St Margaret came to be known as ‘crocodiles’.
Another booky treat on the horizon is Richard Osgood’s Broken Pots Mending Lives – The Archaeology of Operation Nightingale (release date 15 July 2023 Oxbow Books). Can’t wait! By the way, photos by the very talented Harvey Mills ARPS recording the Operation Nightingale 2023 visit to Aldbourne can be viewed at Digging Band of Brothers 2023
For those that survive, the traumas of military conflict can be long lasting. It might seem astonishing that archaeology, with its uncovering of the traces of the long-dead, of battlefields, of skeletal remains, could provide solace, and yet there is something magical about the subject. In archaeology there is a job for everyone; from surveying and drawing, to examining the finds, to digging itself. Often this is in some of the most beautiful and restful of landscapes and with talks around a campfire at the end of the day.
Operation Nightingale is a programme which was set up in 2011 within the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom to help facilitate the recovery of armed forces personnel recently engaged in armed conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, using the archaeology of the British Training Areas. Over the following decade, the project has expanded to include veterans of older conflicts and of other nations – from the United States, from Poland, from Australia and elsewhere.
This book is the story of those veterans, of their incredible discoveries, of their own journeys of recovery – sometimes one which can lead to a lifetime of studying archaeology. It has taken them to the crash sites of Spitfires and trenches of the Western Front in the First World War, through to burial grounds of Convicts, camp sites of Hessian mercenaries, and Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. Lavishly illustrated, this work shows the reader how the discovery of our shared past – of long-forgotten houses, of glinting gold jewellery, of broken pots, can be restorative and help people mend otherwise damaged lives.
The book features a foreword and illustrations by Professor Alice Roberts, presenter on BBC’s The Big Dig, Digging for Britain and Coast, alongside superb photography by Harvey Mills.
Tuesday 9 May 2023 – serving and retired American personnel with Kerry from Time Team also in uniform (Photo: with thanks to David Ulke)
Over the years many tributes and reminiscences have been given and shared concerning the ‘friendly invasion’ at Aldbourne and the surrounding villages during 1943/44.
The most recent of these took place on the evening of Tuesday 9th May 2023.
Not daunted by the torrential rain, retired and serving American servicemen and servicewomen paid their respects to their predecessors in Aldbourne. The group has been taking part in an Operation Nightingale Dig in the village. More details can be found on the BBC News website. Kerry Ely from Time Team, that well-known archaeology programme re-born on Patreon, also paid his respects in uniform.
May 2023
Operation Nightingale is an initiative to assist the recovery of wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans by getting them involved in archaeological investigations. This has been the third Digging Band of Brothers visit to Aldbourne. All the discoveries and finds will in due course be on display in the village Heritage Centre. Many of the finds from 2019 and 2022 are already on display. Please visit the Aldbourne Heritage Centre website for more information/opening times.
Following the ceremony the wreath was conveyed to the Aldbourne War Memorial Hall. Plaques within the Hall remember the 101st Airborne and the 436th Troop Carrier Group; the latter based at Membury.
Looking back through the archives, this was by no means the first occasion our American friends have visited the village to remember their comrades in arms. The Green has always been a particular focal point:
Most Americans who visit England fall in love with its green fields and leafy lanes. It is doubtful, however, if any of these temporary visitors get to know the English countryside as intimately as did the soldiers who lived there in the war years …
600 men were put in huts and barracks on a meadow that could well have supported at least two cows …
We arrived in Aldbourne in a blacked-out convoy one frosty September night in 1943. When we awoke the next morning, we saw the England of nursery rhyme and children’s story. Fairy-tale cottages with thatched roofs and rose vines on trellises stood all around us …
A soft village green with a weathered stone cross spread like a sloping carpet before an old grey church with a Norman door, a Perpendicular tower, and a melodious clock that sweetly chimed the quarter hour.
The words of David Kenyon Webster – Private Easy Company in Aldbourne 1943/44
A group of veterans returned to Aldbourne for the 30th Anniversary of D-Day in 1974.
Source: press clippings collected by the Aldbourne Photographic Society (1974)
The Green is often the central feature for re-enactors; such as the Gathering of Eagles in 2006.
I believe that this was the last stable at Hightown, now in the grounds of Littlecote House
A presence on the Green turned full circle again in 2007, when on Remembrance Sunday re-enactors formed up for an inspection by serving officers. Unfortunately, I don’t have any information on which group of re-enactors it was; nor anything about the serving officers. Any and all information is always welcome, please!
It was a great pleasure to work with the Aldbourne War Memorial Hall Committee over the past year. The aim has been to help commemorate and celebrate the opening of the Hall in July 1922. The Hall has had one hundred years as a village institution at the heart of our community. The Centenary Bench carries a message of thanks to everyone who has supported that long journey. Long may it continue to serve!
History tells us that the people of Aldbourne started to plan for their Hall as far back as 1917. My theory is that news of the formation of the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission in May of that year filtered out to the rural areas. Aldbourne was suffering, as did so many other towns and villages, with the loss of loved ones and the return of men and boys broken in body and mind. A decision was made to create both a lasting memorial and a village hall.
Armistice Day in 1922 fell on a Saturday. The two-minute silence was observed at 11am and a Service of Remembrance took place in St Michael’s Church at 6pm. The British Legion, preceded by the Aldbourne Silver Prize Band, marched to the service in the church. After the service the British Legion returned to the Memorial Hall for their annual dinner, followed by a free concert.
In 1923 the supper and concert were fixed for Saturday 10 November. In addition to the church services the following day the ex-servicemen arranged a United Service at the Memorial Hall during the afternoon.
Comrades of the Great War Minute Book – 6 October 1923
And so the tradition continues in the here and now. Aldbourne marks the Armistice Day with the Silence and a reading. The Aldbourne Churches Together and Royal British Legion conduct the Remembrance Sunday Service, accompanied by the Aldbourne Band and representatives from the Scout and Guide organisations.
Remembrance Sunday Aldbourne War Memorial Hall – November 2022
The Hall corresponds for us at Aldbourne to the Cenotaph in London. It is our War Memorial and on its walls are inscribed names of the men of this village who fell in the War. It is fitting therefore that at Armistice time the whole village should gather around the place where those names are inscribed.
Parish Magazine November 1938 – Rev Elliott
The Rev Elliott’s words recall the sentiments expressed by his predecessor, the Rev Philip Jasper, at the opening in 1922. They bring this brief history up to the year before the outbreak of a second world conflict that took the lives of village men, with so many others across the globe.
In November 1939, the Memorial Hall was a canteen for troops based in the village. A local newspaper reported that the Poppy Day collection in Aldbourne raised £20 17s 6d – a record – thanks to the inhabitants and the troops for their generosity in supporting this most deserving appeal. The British Legion took steps to ensure that any cases of illness or distress amongst ex-servicemen would be attended to and expressed regret that ‘owing to present conditions’ their annual dinner could not take place.
A third memorial tablet was added at the Hall in 1948, in grateful memory of the men of Aldbourne who gave their lives in the Second World War.
Lest we forget.
First published in the Dabchick Magazine December 2022
It has been a great pleasure to work with the Aldbourne War Memorial Hall Committee over the past year. The aim has been to help commemorate and celebrate the opening of the Hall in July 1922. The Hall has had one hundred years as a village institution at the heart of our community. The Centenary Bench carries a message of thanks to everyone who has supported the Hall in that long journey. Long may it continue to serve!
History tells us that the people of Aldbourne started to plan for their Hall as far back as 1917. My theory is that news of the formation of the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission in May of that year filtered out to the rural areas. Aldbourne was suffering, as did so many other towns and villages, with the loss of loved ones and the return of men and boys broken in body and mind. A decision was made to create both a lasting memorial and a village hall.
I’ve been researching newspaper reports and parish news with Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday in mind.
Armistice Day in 1922 fell on a Saturday. The two-minute silence was observed at 11am and a Service of Remembrance took place in St Michael’s Church at 6pm. The British Legion, preceded by the Aldbourne Silver Prize Band, marched to the service in the church. After the service the British Legion returned to the Memorial Hall for their annual dinner, followed by a free concert.
In 1923 the supper and concert were fixed for Saturday 10 November. In addition to the services the following day in church the ex-servicemen arranged a United Service at the Memorial Hall during the afternoon.
And so the tradition continued.
The Hall corresponds for us at Aldbourne to the Cenotaph in London. It is our War Memorial and on it’s walls are inscribed names of the men of this village who fell in the War. It is fitting therefore that at Armistice time the whole village should gather around the place where those names are inscribed.
Parish Magazine November 1938 – Rev Elliott
The Rev Elliott’s words recall the sentiments expressed by his predecessor, the Rev Philip Jasper, at the opening in 1922. They bring this brief history up to the year before the outbreak of a second world conflict that took the lives of village men, with so many others.
In November 1939, the Memorial Hall was a canteen for troops based in the village. A local newspaper reported that the Poppy Day collection in Aldbourne raised £20 17s 6d – a record – thanks to the inhabitants and the troops for their generosity in supporting this most deserving appeal. The British Legion took steps to ensure that any cases of illness or distress amongst ex-servicemen would be attended to and expressed regret that ‘owing to present conditions’ their annual dinner could not take place.
A third memorial tablet was added at the Hall in 1948, in grateful memory of the men of Aldbourne who gave their lives in the Second World War.
Dedication of the Memorial Hall July 2022 photo Alison Edmonds
How good it was to see the re-dedication of the Aldbourne War Memorial Hall on Saturday 16 July 2022. A moving service was conducted by Rev Sue Rodd and Mrs Rachel Browning, Local Preacher for the Aldbourne & Ramsbury Methodist Church. Vanessa Butler brought the words and spirit of Lady Currie to the occasion. Almost certainly, Lady Currie would approve of the continued support for the Memorial Hall that she and the whole village community worked to fundraise for, build and maintain all those years ago.
Paul Newman, Chair of the Hall Committee, then invited the assembled company to gather round for the dedication of the Aldbourne War Memorial Hall Centenary Bench. The bench was unveiled by Councillor James Sheppard. James’ great-grandfather was a founding Trustee of the Memorial Hall and his grandfather, Fred Sheppard, played the Last Post at the opening in 1922. The bench is dedicated to everyone who has helped to run and maintain the Hall for the benefit of the residents of Aldbourne, keeping it at the centre of village activities for the past one hundred years.
The Centenary Bench July 2022 photo Alison Delorie
Thank you to the Memorial Hall Committee and everyone who contributed in whatever capacity to the exhibition showcasing 100 years of the Hall. It was an interesting weekend and a great opportunity to delve into the history of this building at the heart of our community. A special thank you to members of the Aldbourne Community History Group who lent their support, and to Alan Heasman for his sterling work identifying newspaper articles charting village history for the time-line.
The centenary celebrations concluded with an excellent free concert (following a tradition established by ex-servicemen in the village during 1922). Music from the Aldbourne Band and Aldbourne Community Choir was interspersed with readings and recollections from the ten decades of the Hall, ranging from dinners served, dancing and drama through to Aldbourne Band and the WI.
A vote of thanks was offered to every Hall Trustee, past and present, and to everyone who has supported the Hall, in whatever fashion. May the Aldbourne Memorial Hall story continue long into the future – looking forward to the next 100 years!
Thank you on behalf of the Hall Committee to the organisers of Aldbourne Doggy Day and Classic Car Show for nominating the Memorial Hall as one of their charities this year. The donation of £1500 from this event is very much appreciated.
Aldbourne War Memorial Hall – Opening Day 7 July 1922
The people of Aldbourne started to plan for a war memorial during 1917. Much consideration was given to the form it should take. It was ultimately decided that a Parish Hall should be built. From 1917 onwards money was being collected by a great variety of fund-raising endeavours.
The Memorial Hall Minutes record that during 1921, alongside such important matters as pianos, billiard tables and smoking concerts for the ex-servicemen, there was an ever-present underlying concern for the cost of building. A temporary hut was built in Whitley Meadow, with a half hut for billiards established by the Comrades of the Great War (this group later amalgamated into the British Legion alongside three other national organisations of ex-servicemen). A Boys Club was also inaugurated, which was the foundation for the Aldbourne Sports & Social Club we have today.
By 21 November 1921, the fundraising target was in reach, it was proposed “that fresh tenders be asked for inside and outside the village to build the Hall. With local labour to be employed as much as possible and the lowest tender be accepted in or out of the village provided the sum is what we can pay.”
It was further proposed by Miss Emily Sophia Todd of Hampstead Cottage, “that the Building Committee see Mr Moulding as regards his tender in view of the continuing fall in prices and the money we have at our disposal”.
By 6 December 1921, £1,000 was in hand. Mr Mouldings revised tender came in at £1,200, which was accepted. The Secretary was instructed to collect the subscriptions that had been pledged from members of the community to make up the shortfall. Our War Memorial Hall was built by Messrs Moulding Bros, a family firm founded here in Aldbourne during 1798 – and today in their 8th generation.
It was decided that the names of the fallen should be outside the Hall rather than inside. Miss Todd suggested that the list of names in St Michael’s Church (unveiled in March 1920) should be inscribed and ‘those who had died since’ also be included. The building committee were authorised to arrange for a foundation laying ceremony when the right time arrived. These decisions were made in January 1922, the contract with Messrs Moulding Brothers having been signed on 13 December 1921. Did anyone suspect then that space would have to be made for more names to be added less than two decades later when war came again?
Opening Day was 7 July 1922. Described in the local press as ‘a tribute to lost sons, husbands and sweethearts’, this long-awaited day also heralded the creation of our village institute. A venue that had been the aim from 1917, enshrined in the very earliest days of the project. Built by the determination, love and enthusiasm of young and old alike, the aim was to provide a room “fitted in every way for public meetings with arrangements for concerts and theatricals, a real and lasting centre for community life and interest in the village”. The present-day Memorial Hall Committee continues this tradition: with great facilities offering a popular venue at the centre of the village.
There will be an exhibition at the Memorial Hall over the weekend of 16th and 17th July 2022. I’m always looking for new stories and history, so please contact me if you have anything like that to share. For example, this photo of opening day belonged to Effie Brown nee Veitch. Effie’s brother and father, both named John, are listed among the Great War names. Effie’s recollection was that everyone in the crowd had either lost, or knew someone who had lost, a loved one. It is clear to see the emotion on the faces of the crowd as Field Marshall Lord Methuen speaks with the ex-servicemen. Other photos show the Hall more clearly, but in this one we can see the faces of some of the people who worked so hard to create a lasting memorial.
On the anniversary of the sinking of HMS Hood, the cheerful face of Desmond Wootton always comes to mind. 17 years old and one of 1415 lives lost on 24 May 1941.
I often pause and read the names on the Aldbourne War Memorial Hall, and am gradually learning more about each of the names thanks to friends, archives and the shared memories in our village. Today’s research has been to help sort out information for the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Hall, and the exhibition planned for this coming July. It has been interesting to delve into the Hall Minutes and find that the British Legion sought permission to install a third memorial tablet on the Hall in July 1947. At a later Committee Meeting the design was accepted, leading to the unveiling and dedication of the plaque we see today on the Hall. A service took place on 20 June 1948.
Memorial Hall Minutes 1947Memorial Hall Minutes 1948Aldbourne War Memorial HallSt Michael’s Church, Aldbourne
Jo Hutchings - Aldbourne Archive 