Category: Missed a ThameNews story?

DID you know that part of Lord Williams’s school in Thame was used as a hospital during WW1, that there was a rifle range in Park Street and that Special Constables were drilled every Thursday at the Spread Eagle Thame?

Leafing through my copy of an excellent history book of Thame written by two Lord Williams’s teachers in the 1930s, I came across some facinating facts about Thame and the Great War, which, as we commemorate 100 years since its outbreak, I thought Thame.Net readers would be interested to learn.

Commonly referred to as ‘Brown and Guest’, the book attempted to cover the entire history of Thame up to 1935, and the following is an extract from Chapter X11 – The War Begins.

“On the Tuesday following the declaration of war came the order of mobilisation, and the next day 41 territorials paraded in the Market Place under Sgt Arnold, and proceeded to Oxford by Train. There they were accommodated in Keble College, and subsequently went into camp at Writtle, two miles from Chelmsford. Those in the Yeomanry, to the number of 80 NCOs and men, were ordered to Henley, and from there to Churn.

“A meeting held early in August decided on the establishment of a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) hospital, and the Old Grammar School (then derelict) was adapted for the purpose, being opened in October, when the necessary alterations in drainage, water supply etc had been completed, by which time £272 had been raised in subscriptions. The reality of war was brlought home by the news of the first casuality, Pte W R Loosley of the Grenadier Guards, who was killed on October 13th; and by the arrival of the first batch of wounded on November 24th, eight British and three Belgiun, all fairly convalescent.

“Recruting proceeded briskly, and by the end of September, 177 local men had joined the colours; but it was still thought that the war would be a short affair, concerning mainly professional soldiers; and that nothing beyond these efforts would be required.

“But the war dragged on. By November 1915, just before attestation under the Derby Scheme began (Ed. The Derby Scheme was a voluntary recruitment policy in Britain created in 1915 by Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby. The intention was that men who voluntarily registered their name would be called upon for service only when necessary. Married men had an added incentive in that they were advised they would be called up only once the supply of single men was exhausted), there were 302 local men serving in the Army and Navy; and the Military Service Act of January 1916 added all able-bodied men as conscripts unless exempted by the local tribunal. In the end there enlisted at Thame 587 officers, NCOs and men (out of a population of 2,957), chiefly in the QOOH (Ed. The Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars), O & BLI (Ed. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry) and the 63rd Royal Naval Division; of these, 87 were killed and 200 wounded. At the VAD hospital the number of patients averaged 12 in the early days, but soon increased to 20 or more, the maximum of 36 being reached in January 1918; in all, 612 individual men passed through.

“Those under or over military age, the physically unfit, and the exemptions, found opportunity for service in the Volunteers, who enlisted ‘for the duration’. Of these, S Fairbairn, of Thame Park was the first OC (Ed. Officer Commanding) and Charles Simmons, CSM (Company Sgt Major); drills were held on one night a week and a half-day on Sunday throughout the whole period. The corps was taken over by the War Office in 1917, and issued with uniforms and rifles; some members were drafted to the East Coast for defence work. The rifle range in Park Street (opposite the Fire Staion) was much in use at this time, as also the open range at Bicester.

“In addition, Special Constables, some 30 in number, were sworn in at the beginning of the war, and these have not yet been disbanded. They met for drill weekly on Thursday evenings at the Spread Eagle Assembly Rooms; and their duty was to relieve the regular police by patrolling the streets at night, particularly during air raids, when it was specially importand that people should be warned about their lights.”

From: History of Thame, By J Howard Brown & W Guest: Published in 1935 by F.H. Castle and Co. Ltd of Thame.

Thame Museum currently has an exhibition all about World War One – see website for details.
Also, lots more information about WW1 on the Thame Remembers website

THAMES Valley Police is urging witnesses who may have seen a pedestrian killed by a lorry on the M40 yesterday (Monday), to come forward.

The man who died is reported to have been a 40-year-old from Thame (Source: Oxford Mail).

The emergency services were called to the scene on M40 between Junction 8A and 9 at 2.50pm yesterday . The vehicle involved was a white, curtain-sided lorry. The man was pronounced dead by a doctor at the scene. He has not yet been named.

The road was closed for approximately two hours while a forensic collision investigation was carried out by the police.

PC Matthew Booker, from the Joint Operations Unit for Roads Policing, said: “We would like to appeal for anyone who witnessed the collision, or who saw any of the vehicles prior to or at the time of the collision, to contact the investigating officer PC Polly Jacobs based at Bicester Roads Policing on 101 quoting URN 835 of 4/8 .”

If you don’t want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

A new garden was officially opened at Pearce Court in Windmill Road, Thame, yesteday (Wednesday, August 6), to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Thame & District Housing Association.

Two very special, senior Thame people, Mrs Cynthia Haynes, a founder member of the association, and Mr Trevor Cook, a member since 1964, cut the ribbon between them before a buffet lunch and cream teas were served to all the members and friends of the association and invited guests.

Among the dignitories at the garden party to help celebrate the TDHA’s contribution to the elderly people of Thame, was Mrs Ann Midwinter, the current Chairman of South Oxfordshire District Council, who Cynthia Haynes recalled mentoring as a young councillor many years before.

Cynthia, whose family kept Haynes Garage where Barclays Bank is now, initiated the housing trust 50 years ago. She recalled how she approached the local councils in the early 1960s about forming a housing association to provide accommodation for the elderly where they could still keep their independance. With a small group of other business people in the town that each contributed something to the Association, Cynthia provided the typewriter and a filing cabinet to get the Association going and to search for funding.

The Thame and District Housing Association was finally born in 1964 and the first flats were built, those on the corner of Croft Road, known as Croft Court. The man who helped Cynthia cut the ribbon at the 50th celebrations, Trevor Cook, was involved in the original surveying work and the demolition of the old cinema that stood on the site of Croft Court. The architect was James Adamson of Dinton. Trevor has been a member ever since as well as being a long-time Chairman of the now disbanded Thame Conservation Advisory Committee, set up to advise the town and district councils on planning applications within the Thame Conservation area.

Cynthia actually left Thame with her family, including three sons, for a period and moved to Devon. But she returned six years ago to live out her latter years at Summersby Court, the lease-hold flats in Windmill Road, the latest addition to Thame & District Housing Association’s sheltered and serviced properties. She recalled how Thame’s population was 3,000 when she left, and almost 12,000 when she returned 16 years later, but although there had been changes, she said, Thame ‘had not been ruined and had still retained the same charm.’

Trevor meanwhile had stayed in Thame and worked as a local government officer for Oxfordshire County Council before moving to South Oxfordshire District Council in 1970, where he worked in the Technical Services Department until it was dissolved, and he retired.

Asked if he was surprised that 50 years later there were still people who needed help with accommodation, Trevor replied that he was not. “Unfortunately, whatever the economic situation, the poor are always with us who need aid and assistance,” he replied.

THE opposition group against any development on the land next to Elms Park, known as The Elms, has organised a public meeting to discuss the proposed plans, which were officially registered on Monday (04/08).

The meeting, organised by the ‘Save The Elms’ petition group, will be at the Thame Barns Centre on Thursday, August 14, at 7.30pm.

The group claims that opposition to the proposal, and a second plan to make changes to the facilities at Elms Park itself, is growing and has written an open letter to Thame’s MP, John Howell, about their main concerns. The letter can be read in full here: LINK http://www.elmspetition.org.uk/an-open-letter-to-john-howell-mp

Full details about the ‘Save The Elms’ group’s objections and objectives can be found on its website: http://www.elmspetition.org.uk/ No need to register to attend the meeting; just turn up.

The plans for the proposed development can be found on South Oxfordshire District Council’s website here:  LINK

You can read all Thame.Net’s back stories about these controversial plans, including contributions to the Thame Community Forum Page here: LINK  https://www.thame.net/?s=Elms

ONE hundred years ago to the day, World War One was declared and dozens of Thame’s young men left home, many of them leaving from Thame railway station, to join the fighting, some never to return from a war that killed millions.

Yesterday, August 3, a century on, the town celebrated the lives of its lost sons in a collective act of remembrance, and witnessed the launch of the Thame Remembers Project, beginning the ambitious challenge to deliver a special, Thame Remembers cross to the grave or memorial of each and every person named on a War Memorial in Thame, where ever in the world that may be.

The programme began with a service at St Mary’s church, packed with local people of all ages and many dignitaries, who heard Churchwarden, Helena Fickling read Wilfred Owen’s moving poem, 1914, which begins with the heart-searing words: “War broke: and now the Winter of the world, With perishing great darkness closes in.”

Pastor Paddy Harris, of Thame’s Cornerstone Church, read the Reflection and Cllr Nick Carter read W W Gibson’s poem, The Messages, which contains the devastating chorus of: “I cannot quite remember…..There were five dropped dead beside me in the trench – and three whispered their dying messages to me….”

Afterwards, the congration filed out of the church processing behind a lone piper who lead them through the church yard, passing several grave stones marked with a fluttering, scarlet ribbon. The ribbons marked a war casualty whose memorial would soon receive a special ‘Thame Remembers’ cross to start the long, world-wide journey towards achieving the aims of the challenge.

What looked like a tented encampment from across Church Meadow, included an exhibition of military weaponry, uniforms and artifacts, an exhibition about the various tunnels and trenches that are still being explored today by ex army major and military historian, Ian Jones of Thame, and colleagues; a refreshments tent, and exhibition and videos about the project. Tom Bowen, a serving soldier who lives in Thame, was just one of many uniformed, Thame representatives of the modern fighting forces, most of whom themselves, like Tom and Ian, have lost good friends fighting in more modern battles around the world.

Then came the most significant part of the evening. As a bugler played Reveille, one-by-one, the names of 31 of Thame’s fallen, when and where they were killed and are buried or remembered, was read out. As each name was recalled, a Thame person – sometimes a relative, accompanied by a young person, often a Scout or Guide, processed to that particular graveside where they spoke a few words of recognition of his great sacrifice, before laying a small Thame Remembers cross infront of the headstone. Once all the crosses had been delivered to their respective graves, the evocative sound of the bugle call of Last Post was the signal for all the cross layers to wend their way back through the gravestones and return to the gathering. (See video: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thamenews/14651913469/in/photostream

As most of those who had gone to share in commemorating their fellow townsmen began their journey homeward, some remained to join a vigil in the church, to remember those who never did make it home, and one, Pte William Honour, of the Army Service Corps, who did make it back to Thame, but died of his wounds on Thursday, April 13, 1916, aged 42, in Thame Cottage Hospital.

You can find out more about the ‘Thame Remembers’ project, including a list of casualties and how to get involved in the challenge by visiting the Thame Remembers website.

THE newly-elected Labour MEP for the South-East region, Anneliese Dodds, has been talking about her new role as a member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in the European Parliament.

Speaking at a recent garden party, hosted by the Thame Labour Party, Anneliese explained the essential role the EU will be playing in tackling ongoing unemployment issues particularly. She noted: “One in five of young people unemployed in the EU is British. This is our problem as well, and we must tackle it together with our partners in Europe.”

Held on a glorious summer afternoon, 30 local Labour Party Members and supporters gathered to discuss local and national politics and to thank Labour activists and Councillors, and to pay tribute to the work of retiring Thame Town Councillor, Andy Gunn.

The local Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Sam Juthani, said, “Andy has been a hard-working and dedicated Town Councillor, and is held in high esteem by all who work with him. I want to thank him for all he has done to support Labour values in Thame over many years, and wish him a very happy retirement.”

Sam also reiterated his commitment to work for the residents of Thame, and across the Henley constituency, ahead of the May 2015 general election.