Dabchick Magazine – Jo Hutchings

Colourful Dabchicks

Thanks to the Archives & Records Association Scotland, April is a busy month on-line for Archives, Archivists and other interested folk. Using social media in a fun and positive way, we share themed snippets following a daily hashtag. As can be seen from the photo below, the prompt for 3 April 2024 was #ColourfulArchives At first, I wasn’t quite sure what angle to take or whether there was anything that would suit the hashtag in the collection.

Archives & Records Association https://www.archives.org.uk/about

However, when I started to think about the topic of colour photography within the context of Aldbourne, it quickly became apparent that was a subject worthy of in depth study. Starting with the simple lack of colour for so many of our archive photos; a monochrome glimpse into the village past. So much detail for people and faces, streets and buildings, village events and occasions; but part of me would love to know the colours worn in outfits and hats, for bunting and flowers. However, we are very fortunate to have the memories recorded in the huge collections of photos that we have to hand, and to be able to share them around the world on-line.

Looking back now at parish magazines it seems that the first pop of colour arrived in 1971.

Parish Council News first edition August 1971 – the coloured cover and colours of the pages varied (sometimes within the same edition) depending on the stocks available for printing at the time

The third edition of the Parish News (December 1971) had white pages for news and pink for the advertisements. It also sported a heavier weight cover with smart gold lettering. This cover was printed at the Quintain Press. The magazine itself was printed in Tony Gilligan’s workshop from 1971 until the last edition following his death in 1990. I notice that Quintain Press also printed the first edition of The Aldbourne Chronicle in 1974. Maurice Crane expressed his thanks in a dedication to Mr Richard Tralls and Mr Peter Tralls for their work in the production of his book. Aldbourne Our Village – an appraisal, undertaken by the Parish Council during the mid-seventies, was also printed by Quintain Press, Aldbourne.

The Dabchick magazine came next, the first edition was produced for December 1990 but it wasn’t until the 100th issue that the magazine featured colour. The cover featured a beautiful watercolour by local artist Andrea West. This was particularly appropriate, since Andrea created the sketch of the church and pond that appeared on the early editions of the Parish News in 1971.

In June 2008 the front cover photo of The Dabchick celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Aldbourne Women’s Institute, with colour photographs. Thanks to the hard work of everyone concerned with our village magazine, the front cover (and indeed now the whole publication) is brought to us in glorious technicolour!

Andrea West’s paintings were set to music for an on-line gallery during lockdown in 2020 – see the link below and listen to the mellow tones of Aldbourne Band https://aldbournearchive.wordpress.com/2020/07/08/andrea-west-lockdown-virtual-art-gallery-2020/

Read All About It!

The latest issue of the Dabchick magazine has just arrived through the door. Even in this digital age there is great comfort to be had settling down with a warm beverage, and scanning the latest village news in print. With such horrible weather over the last few days, I’ve read the magazine from cover to cover.

Then I fell to wondering: what was the latest village news 50, or even 100 years ago? We can research this because of the hard work by contributors and editors, supporters, advertisers and keepers of archives going right back to the 19th century and up to the present day. Thanks to one and all!

With thanks to Aldbourne Heritage Centre

The Vicar in 1923, Philip Jasper, expressed his sorrow that ‘an amendment to withdraw the sanction for the playing of games on Sundays in public parks was defeated by 83 votes to 33’. Rev Jasper went on to request that all people guard tenaciously the principle of one day’s rest in seven.

The Aldbourne Silver Prize Band were congratulated for their success at the Fairford Band Contest. 1st prize in the ‘March’ and 3rd prize for the ‘Selection’.

The Wiltshire Archaeological [and Natural History] Society visited St Michael’s, Aldbourne on 31 July 1923. The Rev Jasper observed that in the Society programme the church was described as originally dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, but that the dedication was probably altered to St Michael in the 15th Century.

The Society minutes record that three char-a-bancs started from Marlborough, preceded by a line of more than thirty private cars. It rained.

On the return journey the cavalcade ran into a rain storm of ‘quite phenomenal violence, which fortunately lasted only a few minutes’. Sounds familiar for August!

On 30 June 1923 Sidney David Hillier married Margaret Elizabeth Foster. Margaret was a widow with young twin sons, Fred and Arthur. Margaret’s first husband, Arthur Thomas Foster was born in London and was in Aldbourne at the time of his enlistment. He was killed in action on 20 September 1917. His widow and sons moved to Aldbourne towards the end of the war. Their family story is told on the Aldbourne Heritage Centre website http://aldbourneheritage.org.uk/new-acquisition-two-new-testaments-celebrating-peace-wwi

The cover picture for this edition of the Parish News was drawn by Mrs Andrea West. In the Chairman’s Comments, the newly elected W A Brown paid tribute to Andrea’s grandfather, Oliver Hawkins. The Joint Churches Fete had gone well (no mention of bad weather), and the village had done well in the first round of the Best Kept Village Competition.

There was a report by Harry Sheppard thanking all the walkers and helpers of the 1973 Beating of the Bounds. The highest number of participants to date was recorded – 63 starting from the Green. At one point 90 adults and children were counted through the gateway on Shuger Waie, and despite thunder, lightning and heavy rain, over 40 completed the whole walk.

The guest writer in this edition was R E M Mayne, Esq who with his wife, Cicely, came to Aldbourne to stay in their cottage in Marlborough Road, following his retirement in 1969.

The recipe of the month was ‘Fidget Pie’ – a popular dish at Harvest Time. Sounds just the thing for a chilly, damp August tea-time – maybe to be followed by Strawberry Bircher Bowl, the recipe in the most recent Dabchick!

Journeys with Shanks’s* Pony

North Wilts Herald 21 January 1938 – with thanks to Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

The Old Days – This is a phrase tinged with affection, mixed with nostalgia … Probably few now alive can remember with any clarity what life in villages like ours was like before the advent of the petrol engine. How very different life must have been in those days, fifty and ore years ago, when only the rich could afford horses and carriages, and the fastest transport the rest could command was “shanks’ pony”.
Rev Colin Perry Parish Magazine December 1961 (with thanks to Aldbourne Heritage Centre)

The reminiscences contained in parish magazines, oral histories and family memories often include references to walking: walking to work, to school, to church, to visit relatives etc. In the earliest magazines, thanks are often accorded to farmers and folk who lend a pony and trap or finance transport for parish outings. There’s a fabulous description in the August 1903 newsletter referencing such a treat at Four Barrows. The tea included strawberries and cakes, etc. Tug of war and racing and “scrambling” for sweets and coppers was part of the enjoyment. Mr Templeton very kindly lent his pony trap to carry the provisions.

Presumably the members of the Band of Hope and the Choir Boys all walked.

Mind you, later in the same issue there was news of another treat; this time the Lad’s Bible Class. They went by waggonette and bicycle to Coate Reservoir and, despite the rain, managed to enjoy their visit and another most excellent tea. All kindly provided by Miss Alice Smith and her sisters.

By August 1903 definite arrangements had not been made for the Choirmen’s Outing, but the Vicar of the time wrote that the trip would probably be to London the following month. We can only hope they didn’t have to walk!

Rural post persons were renowned for the miles they covered on foot and bicycle. John Wakefield, drill instructor and sergeant-major, veteran of the March from Kabul to Kandahar in 1880 became rural postman for Aldbourne after he retired. Then walked 105 miles a week for 12 years – North Wilts Herald 15 December 1933.

Miss Con Liddiard gave her recollections for the June 1991 Dabchick magazine. Con’s family ran the Post Office on the Green. This had long been in her mother’s family, and when her mother retired in 1952 that ended over 100 years of unbroken family Post Office service in Ramsbury and Aldbourne. Con was the Telegram Girl during WW2, delivering telegrams all over the Parish on her bicycle. Not uncommon in those days to receive multiple telegrams in one day, each delivered separately. Con remembered biking out to Russley Park three times on one snowy day.

In the very first edition of The Dabchick magazine in December 1990, there’s a local personality writeup for Jesse Emberlin – Ploughboy – born 1901. Jesse was errand boy to a local grocer and draper; his job also included looking after the pony, finishing work each night – if lucky – at 6.30pm when he had cared for the pony. Sometimes with late deliveries to be done on foot, after dark with no street lighting.

Jesse’s next job was for Mr Chandler at North Farm. He had to walk 2 and a half miles there, arriving at 6.45am and walk all day ploughing and carting, with eight horses. Then walk home. When Jesse bought a bike, Mr Chandler gave him a gold sovereign towards the cost.

It was Jesse’s daughter who lit the beacon and raised a toast to King Charles III on 6th May 2023 (in her capacity as oldest Dabchick still resident in Aldbourne).

* Placement of the apostrophe varies greatly depending on the source used. Rev Perry was clearly using a different reference volume – mine was Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable

Aldbourne Library

2023 marks 60 years since the Aldbourne Library moved to its present location. This anniversary, and fond memories of the celebrations in 2013, prompted me to delve into the history of borrowing books in the village.

The time-line crafted by Maurice Crane in his Aldbourne Chronicle shows that a Reading Room was opened in Aldbourne, at Wall Cottage on the Green, in 1892. Fundraising must have started immediately, and a ‘concert of especially good character’ was given in the national schoolroom during 1893.

The promoters were fortunate enough to secure the valuable help of not only Mr and Mrs Stuart Higgs and the Hungerford Glee Men, but also the Rev G F Dudley, of Oxford, who contributed largely to the pleasure and amusement of the audience. Miss Wentworth, of Shrivenham, who is an especial favourite with the music loving people of Aldbourne, also kindly lent her aid
Reading Standard 17 February 1893 British Newspaper Archive

The Reading Room/Library moved to the school building itself at some point.

This was possibly around 1903 when the Parish Magazine advertised that the Parish Library would re-open in January of that year. Several new books of standard English works were to be put into stock, so that old supporters of the Library would have a new selection. More particulars were to be given out to the school children when all was in readiness for re-opening.

Over the next few years things don’t seem to have gone terribly well as by March 1907, the Parish Magazine reported as follows:

For a long time the small Parish Library has been practically defunct. Anyway, no one takes out the books; the books are few in number, and there seems to be very little interest in English literature or general reading in the parish. With a view to popularise the library, and to give anyone who desires it an opportunity of regular reading of standard and other works, Miss Church and Mrs William Aldridge propose to try to organise a small circulating library. Attached to this and in connection with it will be a few works of reference and other useful books. As soon as the system is arranged, rules drawn up, and books bought, you will be able to make use of the library. Meanwhile, we should be grateful of gifts of books … It is suggested that yearly members should pay 4s a year or 1s a quarter, and others can keep a book for eight days for 1d.
With thanks to Aldbourne Heritage Centre

By 1908, things were ticking over nicely, with the Library also open as a reading room every Friday. Free for subscribing members, others were charged 1d a time. Advertised as a useful change from the sometimes monotonous routine of home life for mothers and others, who were encouraged to take the opportunity of going there for an hour and taking their needlework. Books could be kept for a fortnight and a system of fines was declared – 1d a week.

The library presumably stayed at the school until 1963, when the old building was demolished – leaving what became known as The Old School Room still standing. The new school opened in July 1963.

With thanks to the Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Kathleen (Kate) Jones trained with Marlborough Library and worked in the Aldbourne Library for a number of years from the late sixties to the mid-seventies.

The Aldbourne branch of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups was inaugurated in 1975, described in the Parish Magazine in October of that year as “a group of interested parents and any others, who are concerned with discovering what is currently available in the world of Children’s Books; and in spreading their enthusiasm and love of reading to as many young readers as possible”. By February 1976 it was reported that the Group had offered to supply a box of pre-school children’s books in the local library on Saturday mornings. Following a successful campaign by the Group in Aldbourne the County Library Service agreed to provide the library with books for children during normal opening hours.

During 1980 the library came under threat and the village rallied round to sign a Petition drawn up by the late Richard Badger and Toby Bourner. A local action group was formed and successfully fought the proposed library closure.

Shortly after this victory, Diana Loadman trained with the Wiltshire Library & Museum Service and became Aldbourne’s Library Assistant. Trish Rushen took on the role in 1988. All our library ladies made memorable and much appreciated contributions to village life and are fondly remembered. Another threat of change was averted during 2011 and the library still operates today with a dedicated Library Assistant and a volunteer led session to extend the opening hours.

To my own children, and many others besides, Trish Rushen was ‘our library lady’ and we were greatly saddened when she died in September 2018.

So I’ll end with memories from the champagne and cake celebrations at the Golden Anniversary for the Library, and Silver Anniversary for Trish.

Fundraising for the Aldbourne War Memorial Hall – Past, Present & Future

Aldbourne War Memorial Hall Account Book

Aldbourne’s aim from 1917 onwards was to build a hall in remembrance of the lives lost in the Great War, and also ‘fitted in every way for public meetings, with arrangements for concerts and theatricals – a building which all hoped would be a real and lasting centre for community life and interest in the village’ (North Wilts Herald 2 May 1919/British Newspaper Archive).

I think those long ago fundraisers would have enjoyed the idea of a Duck Race.

The present-day Memorial Hall Committee invites everyone to enjoy the very welcome return of the Easter Extravaganza on Saturday 16 April 2022. On the Green if fine, in the Hall if not. The Ducks will race again!

Our Memorial Hall is still ‘fitted in every way’ to cater for public meetings, concerts, theatricals, Yoga, Lunch Club, hire for parties and wedding receptions – the list is seemingly endless.
My focus for this month is fundraising; both by the groups who book the hall and for and on behalf of the Hall itself. A quick study of the history surrounding the early days of the campaign in 1917 and how funds were raised, shows the great ingenuity of the population of Aldbourne. Bearing in mind that this was during a time when the countryside was still recovering from the effects of the Great War, and many families were suffering great hardship; their menfolk being dead, injured or enduring incapacitating illnesses of the body or mind.
One report from March 1919 relates that on one day concerts were held in the afternoon and evening at the schoolroom; followed at the weekend by a dinner for the Aldbourne lads who had been on active service. At the same time as raising funds to create a memorial for the fallen, our village was also looking after those who had returned. It is also interesting to see that Aldbourne Band “resuscitated after four years .. received a cordial welcome”. Speeches were made, bravery was acknowledged and by the close of proceedings the sum of £15 was handed over to the scheme for which Aldbourne people were working so heartily.
Jumping forward to 1928, a kitchen was added to the Hall and declared open by Miss Evelyn Fox from the Old Rectory. The newspaper of the day lists all the festivities arranged to celebrate the opening, with generous prizes awarded for a ‘Knock-out Whist Tournament”, parcel tying and a balloon race. More music, this time from piano, banjo and violin. At the end of the day another £13 5s was raised for the kitchen fund.
Whist Evenings seem to have been a real attraction and have raised considerable funds over the decades, both for the Hall itself and for village organisations. In December 1932 no less than 42 tables were occupied for an evening aimed at reducing the debt on the Hall. A fine turkey was won by the highest scorer, Mr R Hutchins.
So successful was the fundraising that by October 1935 after a year of hard work and several particularly generous donations, the treasurer Major Ingpen was able to announce that the Hall was, for the first time, free of debt.
With thanks to Alison Delorie for helping to collate the information for this article. Also thanks to Alan Heasman and the Aldbourne Community Heritage Group for sharing their encyclopaedic collection of newspaper articles and Parish Magazines.
Originally published in the April 2022 Dabchick Magazine

Aldbourne War Memorial Hall 1922 – 2022

Photo: Catherine Hutchings #AldbourneRemembers November 2018

Over 100 years ago the village worked together to honour the memory of those lost in the Great War, and those who died following injury or illness.

At the same time, the aim was very much to provide a room ‘fitted in every way for public meetings, with arrangements for concerts and theatricals – a building which all hoped would be a real and lasting centre for community life and interest in the village’ (North Wilts Herald 2 May 1919/British Newspaper Archive). After due deliberation and a review of the money raised, the Memorial Hall Committee accepted the tender of Messrs Moulding Bros. The sum of £1,000 was in hand from the fundraising that began in 1917; the cost of building had fallen, and the successful tender was for £1,200. The contract was signed on 13^th December 1921.

By 9^th January 1922 it was decided that the names should be outside the Hall and suitable stones were on order. Miss Todd of Hampstead Cottage proposed that the list of names in Church (unveiled in March 1920) should be inscribed and ‘those who had died since’ also included. The building committee were authorised to arrange for a foundation laying ceremony when the right time arrived. It must have been such a relief that the long years of loss and huge efforts for raising funds were finally moving towards that common aim: community remembrance and a venue for people to gather.

With the festive season just over, is it too soon to write about food?
The Senior Citizen’s Christmas Dinner (then known as ‘The Old People’s Tea) moved into the Memorial Hall during the 1920s, has endured since, and took place again in 2022, with great success. Well done to all concerned!
When war came again, the Hall was requisitioned for use by the troops billeted in the village from October 1939. There was a Canteen Manager, Chef, Barman and Vegetable Cook; it certainly seems that the troops were very well fed and watered!
American veterans returned in June 1974, and by their special request sat down to lunch with Fish & Chips in the Memorial Hall. In 1994 the Parish Council hosted the Troop Carrier Veterans’ Association with tea and scones for the presentation of a commemorative plaque to the 436^th that operated from Membury. In 2015 villagers and visitors alike dined on roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, organised by the Aldbourne Community Heritage Group and a tour group from the World War II Museum in New Orleans. Photos can be found on the Aldbourne Village Gallery https://www.flickr.com/photos/aldbournevillagegallery/albums/72157651910392603
How many of us in the present day have attended community events in the Hall, or hope to in the future? There have been a full range of refreshments, from comfortable chats with tea and biscuits to themed concerts with three course meals. Luncheon Club, Soup & Puddings, Barn Dances and Quiz Night Suppers, Scouts and Guides pop-up cafés and that great favourite, Big Breakfasts. The Memorial Hall is now fully open for all activities – for more information or to book, please visit https://wvha.org.uk/listing/aldbourne-memorial-hall/
Originally published in the February 2022 Dabchick Magazine

If anyone has memories (or photos) to share from past events, please get in touch. We are looking forward to writing more articles, and plans are afoot for events and exhibitions to mark this anniversary year (with tea and cake of course!).

history@johutchings.co.uk

The Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey

Tomb of the Unknown Warrior – Westminster Abbey – Wikipedia Creative Commons

Marking the 100th Anniversary year of the Burial with a link to the Westminster Abbey website and to Pathé News 1920, including an Aldbourne connection. The film has footage of HMS Verdun carrying the coffin to Dover. Information about HMS Verdun can be found on the internet, and one of the sources I have used is the V and W Destroyer Association – http://vandwdestroyerassociation.org.uk/HMS_Verdun/index.html

The bell of H.M.S. Verdun in which the Unknown Warrior was brought from Boulogne to Dover on the eve of Armistice Day 1920. Presented by Cdr. J.D.R. Davies, M.B.E., R.N. Remembrance Sunday 1990.
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/unknown-warrior

The Revival of Aldbourne’s Beating the Bounds – John Davies second from right https://aldbournearchive.wordpress.com/2020/02/01/beating-the-bounds-2020-save-the-date-sunday-10-may/

More reading: Planning the burial of the Unknown Warrior (Thursday 5 November 2020) by William Butler – The National Archives Blog

Some #VJDay75 Recollections

VE and VJ Day 75th Anniversary commemorations have been vastly different to those originally envisaged. On 15 August 2020 there will be national events to mark the occasion, including a two-minute silence at 11am. Listen out for St Michael’s Church bells after the silence. Many of us will remember relatives or friends who died; and those who carried, or will carry, the effects of physical and mental suffering for the rest of their lives.

This is a huge and emotive subject to explore, and I hope that anyone reading this who would like to add to the stories told here, will contact me via the comments box at the end of this article. Once again I must say thank you to the folk who have helped me to tell these few stories. One of the trips I was hoping to make this summer was to the National Memorial Arboretum but instead Ive found their VJ Day activity pack, virtual guided walks and on-line exhibition really useful. These resources can be found at http://www.thenma.org.uk/events-at-the-arboretum/vj-day-75/

I’ve taken as my guide some articles from The Dabchick magazine in 1991 and 1995. Firstly, an account by Barbara Sowerby of her experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese – please click on the small image to open the full article.

Broadcast for the 70th anniversary of VJ Day. Rouse Voisey, RAF veteran, worked on the Sumatra railway as a prisoner-of-war. Barbara Sowerby was a civilian internee at Stanley prison camp. Follow the link to listen: BBC Radio 4 Today – 15 August 2015

*– The Dabchick* – *October & December 1995*

**PRIVATE RONALD ARTHUR HACKER**
Commonwealth War Grave Record
South Wales Borderers 6th Bn
Died 15 November 1944 Age 25 years old

Thanks to Ian Warrington for posting his family photo on my Aldbourne Archive Facebook page.

VJ Day 1945 – “A very happy day for my Mother. Dad would be coming home after 4 years in India. When Dad was called up it meant that Mum was left alone in London with a new baby (Chris) and she did not see Dad for the 4 years as there was no home leave all the way from India.”

Thanks to Ishbel and Annie for access to Andrew Sewell’s vast and fascinating collection of photos, diary notes and artefacts. In February 1940, and his 19th birthday, Andrew was in Scotland helping the Lanarkshire Yeomany ‘convert from horses to guns’. A year later the regiment travelled to India, which provided all the arms and equipment needed to move to Malaya in the late summer. Andrew was wounded in ‘a typical engagement between a battalion just landed at Singapore, a highly professional Indian Army unit and the Japanese’. In February 1942, Alexandra hospital was over-run by the Japanese, patients were killed and captured – Andrew’s diary is not comfortable reading and I can’t do justice to such a full and informative account here. Shortly after the capitulation by the Emperor, Russian forces entered Mukden. Andrew travelled first to Sian in South China, then to India in a USA bomber. Eventually arriving at Liverpool in early September 1945 in good time for his 25th birthday.

It is my privilege to bring the stories full circle, and return to the exhibition and coffee morning held in August 1995. The photos tell the story, and aren’t we fortunate to have them to help us remember the past.

AS with PW
VJ Day exhibition August 1995 NB: trousers made from Army blanket
left: Ronald Hacker, killed in Burma June 1945 centre – Hilda Hacker/Chamberlain’s brother in law right – Mr Read
Anthony Davies Cyril Painter Indefatigable 1945 attacked by Kamikazi
right: A ….(?) Fraser, Burma vet, mules left picture: Mrs Read’s husband, RAF
VJ Day exhibition 1995 Aldbourne Memorial Hall
left AS, centre: Cyril Painter/Anthony Davies
Flower arrangement by Audrey Barrett 1995

Cyril Ernest Painter (1923 – 2017) https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/15001651.cyril-painter/

Rear Admiral Anthony Davies (1912 – 2003) https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/7324670.naval-officer-dies-at-age-91/

The Somme – Aldbourne Fallen

Over 100 years ago the landscape pictured below was a scene of devastation. When Phil Comley sent me this photo in 2016, ready for an article in our parish magazine, he commented, ‘you can see how they were reminded of home’.

I’ve never visited the battlefields myself, nor have I conducted the in-depth level of research that Phil has undertaken over the years; all thanks to him that we can record names and histories here.

Somme Battlefields 2016 Photo: Phil Comley

Yesterday, I walked along a field margin lined with poppies in Shipley Bottom (just down from the Ridgeway National Trail along the Swindon Road) The landscape reminded me vividly of the modern images of the battlefields of the Somme.

Wiltshire landscape Photo 2020: Jo Hutchings

At 0730 hours on 1st July 1916, the shrill sound of whistles pierced the air along the 18 miles of British front line trenches on the Somme signalling the start of a 5 month joint British and French offensive. The aim was to relieve the pressure on the French Army fighting at Verdun, while stretching and weakening the German Army to breaking point. In the subsequent fighting well over a million men from all sides lay dead and wounded and despite making an overall gain of 6 miles, the Allies were unable to break the German line and the war continued for a further 2 years.
The first day of The Somme has become the stuff of myth and legend and is best remembered for the lost generations of young men, many from the Northern ‘Pals’ Battalions, who went ‘over the top’ and walked into a hail of machine gun bullets and searing shell fragments. In the ensuing chaos and amid suffocating clouds of dust and smoke, many of these men disappeared forever and to this day, still lie where they fell. Of the 100,000 British soldiers who went ‘over the top’ on that hazy sunny morning, 19,240 were killed outright with a further 38,230 wounded, sick or captured. Staggeringly 60% of the officers who led their men into the maelstrom of bombs and bullets were killed on that fateful day.
So, what became of the village boys who were there? Having survived the first few days relatively unscathed but it wasn’t long before the Somme took Aldbourne in a vice like grip leaving many families broken and devastated.
22905 Pte Edwin John Sampson of the 1st Wiltshire Regiment was the first to die. He was killed in action 6th July 1916 at the Leipzig Salient near Thiepval after the Germans unleashed a day-long barrage of shrapnel shells, trench mortars and rifle grenade fire. At just 17 years old Edwin was dead. Not only was he underage but he had only been at the front for a mere 3 weeks. In the ensuing fighting, his body was lost and he has no known grave.
Just 5 months later on 18th November 1916, his brother 8589 Pte Arthur William Sampson of the 97th Machine Gun Corps was killed. Tragically his death was ‘presumed’ meaning he simply disappeared without a trace. Arthur was 19 years old and echoing his brother demise, has no known grave. The teenage boys were the sons of William and Emily Sampson of Beaconsfield Cottages on The Green.
18311 Pte Thomas Cox of the 2nd Wiltshire Regiment was killed in action 8th July 1916 in the vicinity of Bernafay or Trones Wood. The 2/Wilts tucked in behind the Yorkshire Regiment, were held up by dense, impenetrable undergrowth and they soon became disorientated. They had been tasked with attacking Maltz Horn Trench but on leaving Trones Wood at the South Eastern tip, they were cut down by withering machine gun fire and pounded by German artillery. Thomas was 39 and listed as a resident of Aldbourne by ‘Soldiers Died in the Great War’ but neither the Memorial Hall or the Church Memorial Plaque bears his name. He has no known grave.
The next to fall was 19855 Pte Robert Edward Hawkins of the 8th Devonshire Regiment. His death was ‘regarded’ as being on 20th July 1916 during a night time assault on Bazentin Ridge, but again, nobody really knows for sure. Robert was 20 years old and the son of Henry and Emma Hawkins of The Butts. He has no known grave. By a cruel twist of fate, his brother 19283 Pte Frederick Thomas (Tom) Hawkins died just 8 days later in Mesopotamia while serving with the 5th Wiltshire Regiment. To lose one son is tragic but to lose two within a week of each other is unimaginable.
2361 Pte Oscar Cook of the 28th Australian Imperial Force was the next to die and he was killed in action on 29th July 1916. Oscar was 23 years old and has no known grave, his brothers Albert and Henry also died during the war. All were the sons of Charles and Annette Cook of Castle Street.
3/9223 Sjt Charles Haddon Cozens of ‘C’ Company, 1st Wiltshire Regiment died of wounds 13th September 1916 at the 3rd Southern General Hospital in Oxford. Upon his return to the UK he became gravely ill and soon faded away. He is buried in a civilian grave in Bourton Churchyard near Bishopstone. Charles was born at Lower Upham in 1892 but his name is not listed on either of the Aldbourne memorials.
19121 Pte Thomas George Tilley of the 2nd Wiltshire Regiment was killed in action 18th October 1916 in or around Flers Trench in Courcelette. He was 23 years old and the son of George and Ruth Tilley of Aldbourne Warren. In return for losing his son, his father received a gratuity of £2 16s and 8d from the War Office. Thomas has no known grave and is not listed on either of the Aldbourne memorials.
On 3rd November 1916, 21234 Pte William Thomas Dew of ‘C’ Company, the 6th Wiltshire Regiment was killed by artillery fire in the trenches near Albert. William was one of 13 killed on the day with a further 43 wounded and 1 missing. He was 23 years old and the son of John and Annie Dew of Lottage Road. He has no known grave.
745A Pte John Harold Liddiard of the 7th Australian Imperial Force was killed in action on 6th November 1916. Although born in Aldbourne in 1891 he had emigrated to Mildura, Australia where he worked as a farmer. He was 25 years old and has no known grave.
Although the Battle of the Somme officially ended on 18th November 1916, the fighting in this area continued long after this date. Therefore, this list includes one more name.
18594 Acting Cpl Frederick Woolford of the 6th Wiltshire Regiment was killed in action on 21st November 1916 in the trenches near Aveluy. Frederick was 24 years old and the son of Ambrose and Sarah Woolford of Clay Pond Cottage. Interestingly a memorial service was held in his honour 14th March 1917 suggesting news of his death took some time to filter through. His body was never recovered and he has no known grave.
Tragically the vast majority of the men listed above have no known grave. Seven are commemorated among the 72,000 names on the Thiepval memorial dedicated to the missing whilst another two are named alongside the 10,890 others on the Australian Memorial at Villers- Brettoneux. The numbers on these memorials do not include those soldiers whose bodies were recovered, named and given an official burial.
Author – Phil Comley (Dabchick Magazine October 2016)

Honor Liddiard recalls the Penny Post

180 years ago today (10 January 1840) the Uniform Penny Post was introduced. https://www.postalmuseum.org/…/britis…/uniform-penny-postage I will try to research Honor’s ‘four generations’ more fully. So far I’ve worked out that: Honor’s parents were John and Sarah (nee Aldridge) Orchard, who retired from keeping the Post Office on the Green in 1939. Honor’s grandmother was Elizabeth Aldridge, who ran the post office when it was in Back Lane and is described as ‘postmistress’ in the 1891 Census. William Aldridge, Honor’s grandfather, is described as ‘postmaster & smith’ in the 1881 Census. Prior to all that, Kelly’s Directory 1867 names Thomas Bacon as ‘mail receiver’ for Aldbourne.

Recollections: Miss Con Liddiard Dabchick June 1991

UPDATE 17 January 2023. “Four generations that served the Post Office for a total of 132 years unbroken service” :

Henry Iles, postmaster in Ramsbury. Henry married Rebecca Wilkins in Ramsbury on 19 April 1827. By 1841 the couple had four children, including Elizabeth, born in 1832 (‘Eyles’ on the baptism parish register).
By the time of the 1861 Census Henry, Rebecca and the 28 year old Elizabeth are all running the Post Office in Ramsbury.
Elizabeth Iles married William Aldridge, shoeing smith, and they are listed as living in Back Lane, Aldbourne on the 1871 Census.

By 1891 William has died and Elizabeth, now 58, is listed as Postmistress on the Census.
On 3 June 1891 Sarah Rebecca Aldridge, daughter of William (deceased) and Elizabeth Aldridge, married John Orchard in Aldbourne.
The Swindon Advertiser and North Wilts Chronicle 21 May 1892 announced the retirement of Mrs W (Elizabeth) Aldridge due to ill health. The same newspaper shared news of the telegraph being extended to Aldbourne and expressed the hope that “the new post office will be in a more central part of the village, many of the inhabitants having to walk a long way to post their letters.”
1901 shows John and Sarah Orchard on the Green. John is ‘sub postmaster’. The couple have five children under 10.
By 1911 the Census address for the family is ‘Post Office’ on the Green. A real family concern, including John Orchard the younger, then aged 17, later to lose his life in the Great War.
Serjeant J Orchard, DCM. Died 24 August 1917. Age 23 years old https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/458972/j-orchard/
The 1921 Census confirms John, Sarah and Honor Orchard at the Post Office on the Green – with the three youngest children still at school.