Wendover Remembers Wallhanging 2015

Wallhanging 2015

…………made by mothers, daughters, children and community groups in Wendover in commemoration and remembrance of the sacrifice of the men, women and children of 1914 - 18

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Contents

Wendover Remembers logo Contents Nine blocks Wendover Remembers No more cricket Coombe Hill Halton Camp Royal Flying Corps and the bells fell silent Grow Pruning hook and sword They Prayed The Wall Hanging Poppies John Hampden Infant School Wendover CofE Junior School Cherry Tree House Map of blocks and poppies Wendover Sewing Bee The future of the Wall Hanging Design and execution Acknowledgements The Wall Hanging in action

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

Lawrence Binyon

Written mid September 1914

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Nine Blocks Wendover Sewing Bee were asked by the Wendover Remembers Group to co-ordinate, and help make, a special quilted wall hanging to mark the 100 year commemoration of the end of the First World War. The 100 year commemoration is both a time to look back and think about the sacrifices that were made by men and women in our village, and across Europe – but also to teach the next generation about the folly of war.

This quilt will encompass both.

In order to achieve this we have worked in collaboration with many local groups and individuals including Val Moir, local historian and member of Wendover Remembers; all 3 Churches; Wendover Art Club; Wendover News and Wendover Community Library. The stories and themes depicted in the quilt are all informed by narratives from the groups involved and we have attempted to capture those stories in this document.

Wendover Remembers The central block shows the logo for the Wendover Remembers Group, showing Wendover’s iconic clock tower encircled by a ring of poppies which instantly recall World War One. This logo was commissioned by the Wendover Remembers group and designed as a piece of original artwork

by Wendover artist Andrew Rance, (andrewrance.com).

The Wendover Remembers group is led by Wendover Parish Council and is made up of a group of interested parties including the Royal British Legion.

This block was sewn by Julia Dobson.

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No more cricket The outbreak of war on a sunny August Bank Holiday coincided with a village cricket match at The Lee which was hastily abandoned at the news over the radio that the country was at war.

This blocks aims to contrast the summer concerns of young men playing cricket in August 1914 and their cheerful attitude as they enlisted enthusiastically, with the reality of their lives in subsequent summers over the next 4 years.

The village cricket game was played and completed in 2014 at the 100 years commemoration of the start of the war.

This block was sewn by Pat Thomas.

Coombe Hill Wendover was completely committed to WW1 from the start, sending its men to fight, leaving the women and children behind.

Coombe Hill is a local beauty spot whose summit is dominated by a monument to the men of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry who had fallen in the most recent international conflict before August 1914 - the Boer War. Next time you stand at this familiar spot looking down on our lovely peaceful village, contemplate the loss of these soldiers and the 57 Wendover men who lost their lives in World War One and more since then.

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This block was sewn by Pat Thomas and Claire Wheeler.

Halton Camp Halton Camp, as we still call it today, gained its moniker in WW1. At the beginning of WW1, Alfred Rothschild offered the use of his Halton estate to the War Office for training the new Kitchener Armies.

In October 1914 the 21st Division marched in to take up residence in a tented camp on what are now the airfield and sports fields.

The soldiers wore a navy blue uniform, similar to a postman’s at the time, due to a shortage of khaki cloth for several months at the start of the war.

This block was sewn by Penny Logan.

Royal Flying Corps Infantry training continued at Halton until mid 1917, when the camp was passed to the Royal Flying Corps for the training of aircraft mechanics and by the end of the war there were some 10,000 in training for this new industry.

The investment in building the workshops and other buildings was such that the Air Ministry purchased the whole estate in 1919. The formal training of engineering apprentices continued at RAF Halton from 1922 to 1993. It is now responsible for basic recruit and other training. The Royal Flying Corps badge appears in this block.

This block was sewn by Tracy Charalambous who embroidered her own RAF service number in the corner of the block.

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and the bells fell silent Rev Albert Smith was vicar of Wendover and St Mary’s Church for 47 years and planned to restore the Bell Tower when he died just before the outbreak of war. Two of the bells were recast at a cost of £213 and a new bell in memory to the Rev Albert Smith was added and dedicated on 31 January 1915.

In 1915 a group of soldiers set a record for the speed with which they completed 1,260 changes. However the bells soon fell silent as all the young men ringers enlisted in the army. On Armistice night they were heard again by ringers: 1, A Stroud; 2, A Rance; 3, B Ratcliffe; 4, T Ratcliffe; 5, G Stevens; 6, (tenor) J Ratcliffe.

This block was sewn by Mary Heathcote Smith.

Grow The children at Wendover National School located at the foot of the High Street by Clock Tower also contributed to the war effort. With encouragement from their head teacher, Mr Molenaux, the school gardens were planted with vegetables to be donated to the Belgian Refugees in the area. They also collected eggs and grew potatoes, carrots, onions and apples. Conkers were collected from the many horse chestnut trees in the areas (you probably collect conkers from the same trees now). The conkers were stored at the Windmill at the bottom of Chiltern Road and were rotted down and the chemicals produced from them were used in explosive…don’t try that at home kids!

This block was sewn by Deb and Lara McGuire.

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Pruning hook and sword The war effort required farmers to up production. Scrap metal was melted to make ammunitions. Wendover Free Church was formed in 1983 from the Baptist and Congregational churches which existed in 1914. WFC possess the two memorial boards from WW1 and has researched each of the 21 names inscribed. Not surprisingly, most of the soldiers had been farm labourers so WFC immediately recalled the message from Isaiah 2:4 invoking peace - He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

This block was sewn by Deirdre Barker.

They Prayed The 4th Bishop of Northampton visited Halton on Sunday 1 August, 1915 as recorded in “The Tablet”. Roman Catholic soldiers were freed from military duties that day. Five hundred soldiers attended Mass at 7am, at 10.30am more than 800 attended Mass in Wendover then at 6.30pm several hundred again mustered for an open air service on the Parade Ground at Halton which included hymn singing and praying the Rosary.

The Bishop, in rochet and mozetta, was supported by Fathers Green and Bernard Marshall, divisional chaplains, Colonel Shine RAMC and others. After lunch in an Officers’ Mess, His Lordship administered confirmation in the early afternoon.

Sue Abbott, a parishioner of St Anne’s RC church, sewed this block with Eleanor West.

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To identifiy the sewer of each poppy or block, please turn to pages 12 & 13

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Poppies The colourful poppies that form the background to this wall hanging were made by the children and older people of Wendover.

Over 3 very hot afternoons in the summer of 2015 over 150 children and older people sewed individual poppies with their initials picked out in white thread. Each person chose their own background and poppy from the many colours and textures available from our Wendover Sewing Bee Volunteers.

The children were aged between 7 and 11 and came from the two primary schools: John Hampden Infant School and Wendover C of E Junior School. The very lovely older ladies are residents of Cherry Trees Residential Home in Dobbins Lane.

John Hampden Infant School Several members of Wendover Sewing Bee, led by Eleanor West and Claire Wheeler, spent the afternoon of Thursday 18 June 2015 with Year 2 pupils of John Hampden Infant School.

They all set to with gusto, choosing a background colour then coloured petals and finally a contrasting centre.

These were ironed together after which the pupils concentrated very hard writing their initials in running stitch.

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Every child successful.

was

Wendover CofE Junior School The following week, Thursday 25 June 2015, the Sewing Bee visited Wendover Junior CofE School where they were met by equal enthusiasm and great sewing skill.

It was remarkable how well all the pupils took to the task at hand and they were all finished within the allotted time thanks to the Sewing Bee which had donated and prepared the fabric and were on hand at all times to rethread the needles and reassure the sewers amidst all the excited chatter.

Cherry Tree House The residents of Cherry Tree House read about the Wall Hanging Project in the March 2015 print edition of Wendover News. They had strong memories of their relatives who had been affected by WW1 so they were very keen to participate in this community project.

On Wednesday 1 July the Sewing Bee descended on these cheerful sewers who showed amazing finger dexterity despite arthritis in some cases. They hadn’t lost the ability to thread a needle, either. Once again, everyone had a lovely afternoon and finished on time with the sustaining help of tea and cake.

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1A Archie Shyvers

2A Ben Fish

3A 4A Natasha Harriet Flitney-Rich Swaby

5A Elsie Harwood

6A Daniel Rutland

7A Meggie Kehoe

8A Emily West

1B Lana Simon

2B Joseph Ryan

3B Lily Wilkes

4B Ellen Ecclestone

5B Henry Bishop

6B Thea Thomas

7B Lottie Ames

8B Sam William

1C Hannah Nagy

2C Francesca Brown

3C Freya Jones

4C Victor Stenning

5C Leo Pilcher

6C Emily Goodman

7C Emilie Leaf

8C Rowan Burns

1D Annie Thorndike

2D Maxi Bevan

3D Hannah Landymore

4D James Godden

1E Beryl Leslie

2E George Jackson

3E Adam Kukulies

4E Jay McKinnon

1F Hanna Jones

2F Jackie O’dell

3F Zachary Drammeh

4F Arthur Nkrumah

1G Glynis Axtell

2G Georgina Glazier

3G Maggie Morgan

4G Benedict Taylor

1H Joyce Leman

2H Daniel Foulds

3H Ben Edwards

4H Jane Larkham

1I Scarlett Fall

2I Dorothy Fleet

3I Rosie Robbins

4I Rosina Cordell

1J Peter Brown

2J Max McEvoy

3J Joshua Legge

4J Margorie Wallbridge

1K Jamie McIntyre

2K Luke Green

3K Mary Gibbs

4K Jake Gundry

5K Archie Smith

6K Charlotte Mogford

7K Amelia Perry

8K Isla Lloyd

1L Alex Louis

2L Margaret Cole

3L Alex Chaplin

4L Will Tencey

5L Dylan Gray

6L Samantha Ackland

7L Ellie Tompkins

8L William Merch

1M Isla McGuire

2M Caroline Graham

3M Carolyn Bailey

4M Rebecca Tennant

5M Olive Wheeler

6M Deirdre Barker

7M Stanley Morgan

8M Harry Vince

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Tracy Charalambous

Deirdre

Penny Logan

Julia D

Deb & Lara McGuire

Claire W

ms

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9A Oscar Morgan

10A Florence Beckley

11A Olivia Gosling

12A Cooper Longel

13A Lottie Mason

14A Phoebe Wong

15A Sophia Chappell

9B Owen Watts

10B Dylan Ames

11B Sophie Hornibrook

12B Isabel Bates

13B Izzy Meier

14B Charlotte Low

15B Ania Gadecka

9C Elsie Halford

10C Chloe Rose

11C Maddy Holt

12C Sophie FrancisBaker

13C Finn Lockham

14C Esme Rainbow

15C Daniel

12D Lucy Cuthbert

13D Amelia Bailey

14D Libby Palmer

15D Kitty Owen

12E Larry Taylor

13E George Grace

14E Martha Carroll

15E Kate Abrams

12F Vincent 13F Jansen van Towse Rensberg Harrison

14F Iris Kayakiran

15F Emily-Jane Langstone

12G Max Hillsdon

13G Savva Nazarov

14G Rowan Thomas

15G Finn McGuire

12H Lucy Jones

13H Imogen Peck

14H Chloe Tattam

15H Lily

12I Jaydon SalewskiAhmed

13I Hannah 14I -Marie Wilma McSweeney Leach

15I Archie McNicol

12J Holly Taylor

13J Daisy Jackson

14J Ruby Campbell

15J Dylan Walters

13K Rosina Shelley-Nials Hardy

14K Emma Phillips

15K Kristina Bird

14L Freya Keates

15L Stanley Horner

14M Lara McGuire

15M Deb McGuire

e Barker

Dobson

Wheeler

m hant

Eleanor West & Sue Abbott

Pat Thomas

Mary Heathcote Smith

9K Kate Harris

10K Kirsten Hayward

11K Thomas Barlow

9L Amber Wilson

10L 11L Livvy Stanley McLoughlin Finn

12L Chelsea Allison

9M Ewan McCrae

10M Jane Dolder

12M 13M Sophy Andrea Stringfellow Routledge

11M Clare Reynolds

12K Eloise

13L Paige Jacobs

Montalbano

Trimmingham

To match the sewer to the poppy or block, please turn to pages 8 & 9 13

Wendover Sewing Bee Wendover Sewing Bee is a group of ladies (and a brave chap) who meet monthly to sew, knit, embroider and chat, led by Deb McGuire from local Sewing School and Shop The PlainStitch Workroom. The concept of the sewing bee is an age old institution which celebrates the communal enjoyment of sharing time with others working on something creative.

Each year alongside our own sewing we try to adopt a community project, in the past we have made quilts to support local charities and for individuals who have experienced difficulty or loss. All of the fabric for this project was donated by the group and by The PlainStitch Workroom as well as countless hours of time and care in the work that the group have put into this project.

The future of the Wall Hanging The Wall Hanging was finished in time to appear at the Remembrance Parade on the Manor Waste in Wendover on Sunday 8 November 2015. Some of the sewers were able to accompany the Wall Hanging in this manifestation as a banner.

Then it was taken to St Mary’s Church to serve as the backdrop to the Wendover Remembers Concert featuring the Band of the RAF Regiment, Halton Military Wives choir and Gateway School choir, organised by Wendover Rotary.

It stayed for sometime in each of the poppy sewing venues and will eventually be mounted on the wall in Wendover Community Library for all to enjoy. Wendover Sewing Bee hopes that all participants will treasure this opportunity to be part of a local project in the national memory.

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Design and execution Wendover Art Club had the unenviable task of taking the written suggestions of various interested local groups and helping Wendover Sewing Bee to translate each one into a design which would be possible to sew. A big thank you to Pat Thomas from Wendover Sewing Bee and Marilyn Storer from Wendover Art Club who helped to coordinate this.

The central blocks were sewn by hand using various sewing techniques including embroidery and applique. The poppies were sewn by hand, the fabric having been donated and cut into background, petals and centre by members of Wendover Sewing Bee. The final quilted layers were secured by machine sewing by Jenny Otto (stitchintimequilting. co.uk).

Acknowledgements The whole Wendover Wall Hanging project is indebted to Deb McGuire of PlainStitch (plainstitch.co.uk) who had the stamina to collect together the ideas, bring them to design and encourage the Sewing Bee volunteers to produce their blocks. She was ably assisted by Claire Wheeler, Eleanor West and Ali Horner who led the sewing sessions producing the sea of poppies which make the background to the piece.

Wendover Parish Council (wendover-pc.gov.uk) which leads the Wendover Remembers Group and financed the quilting and this booklet.

Robert Duggan (notonthehighstreet.com/wendoverwood) made the poles from which the wall hanging can be suspended or paraded as required.

Jane Larkham (wendovernews.co.uk) helped produce this booklet.

Stan McCartin (stanmacimages.co.uk) photographed the finished work.

Wendover Community Library (buckscommunitylibraries.org/wendover) gave exhibiting space.

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The wall hanging visits Wendover Clock Tower and the Coombe Hill monument.

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