CHILDREN from an Oxfordshire primary school will lay a wreath on the monument to the Battle of Chalgrove Field, where Civil War leader, John Hampden was mortally wounded before dying in the Greyhound Inn, in Thame.
Following a short talk by Mr Samuel Hearn, Chairman of the John Hampden Society, 25 pupils of Year 6 of Chalgrove Primary School will march in procession, led by standard bearers, from the school to the Hampden Monument on June 18, the anniversary of the battle. There they will be met by the Society’s Patron, the Earl of Buckinghamshire, a direct descendant of John Hampden, and Lady Buckinghamshire.
Lord Buckinghamshire will give another brief talk on Hampden’s role in the battle and this will be followed by a short service of dedication, after which a wreath will be laid at the monument, probably by one of
the teachers.
Each of the children will then receive a copy of Dr Frank Hansford-Miller’s biography of Hampden containing a specially-produced insert bearing the child’s name and signed by both Lord and Lady
Buckinghamshire.
BACKGROUND
The Battle of Chalgrove was fought on June 18, 1643 and resulted in the mortal wounding of John Hampden, a Parliamentary leader and cousin to Oliver Cromwell. Every year members of the John Hampden Society
(www.johnhampden.org) lay a wreath at the monument in
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=464580&Y=197180&A=Y&Z=120
The 10th Earl of Buckinghamshire (Miles Hobart-Hampden) is descended from John Hampden through the latter’s daughter Mary. He is Patron and one of the founders of the John Hampden Society.
The biography of John Hampden was written in 1976 by the late Dr Frank Hansford-Miller, who was also one of the founders of the John Hampden Society
in 1992.
The wreath is produced, as it is every year for the Society, by Posies and Presents of Chalgrove. (
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